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[AI CENSORSHIP BLOCKED THIS CHUNK - RAW ENGLISH RETAINED]

Aside from the residences of the royal family, the Silver Palace contained a number of splendid gardens.

There was the Rose Garden, full of plants with red flowers; the Peony Garden, full of plants with black flowers; the Hydrangea Garden, full of plants with blue flowers; and finally, a place where only white flowers bloomed—the Lily Garden.

This last was the particular favorite of a certain personage.

Her name was Ariel Anemoi Asura, and she was the second princess of the Kingdom of Asura. From her mother, the queen consort, a famous beauty, she’d inherited lovely features and shining golden hair; from her father, the king, she’d inherited a peerlessly beautiful voice. And though she was not yet of age, her charisma was overpowering. The majority of the capital’s residents already spoke of her as the most beautiful princess to have ever lived.

Once every three days, this young lady came to the Lily Garden. She would seat herself at a pure-white table, accompanied only by her guardian knight and her mage, and quietly take her tea.

In these moments, the sight of her was charming enough to make any woman sigh longingly, and so enthralling that no man could help but stare. Her beauty, like that of a fairy from some old folk tale, was such that it seemed uncouth even to approach her. Thus no one came up to speak with the princess when she visited the Lily Garden. Not a single soul dared to try and drink tea with her.

Sitting all alone at her table, she enjoyed her momentary respite alone, exchanging only a few brief words with her two guardians.

Her guardian knight was a boy of great beauty in his own right. He had lovely bright chestnut hair and strong facial features; his nose was shapely, his jawline well-defined.

His name was Luke Notos Greyrat. Second son of the Greyrat family, one of the kingdom’s four great provincial houses, he was a talented young knight who had already reached the Intermediate rank in the Sword God style. There wasn’t a single girl inside the castle who didn’t know of him. Although still in his early teens, he already possessed a silver tongue, and never lost the interest of any lady he conversed with. With his dashing looks and clever mind, he was said to entrance every noble daughter who crossed his path. At the very least, no other man in the castle was nearly so admired by the girls his age.

The princess’s guardian mage was somewhat older, perhaps sixteen or seventeen—a young man rather than a boy.

While not as remarkably good-looking as Luke, he was still handsome by any ordinary standards; his somewhat slender face possessed an amiable attractiveness. His presence added a dash of playful charm that nicely complemented the beauty of the other two, making it all the more difficult for anyone to imagine approaching them.

His name was Derrick Redbat, third son of the well-known Redbat house, and he was a magician of Advanced rank who had graduated from the illustrious Asura Institute of Magic.

What did these three talk about when they were alone? It was a matter of the utmost interest to all the young people living in the Silver Palace, but none of them knew the answer. On this day, as on many others, they were conversing quietly in the Lily Garden.

“Well then, what color were they?”

Ariel’s words echoed faintly through the quiet garden. Her voice truly was uncommonly beautiful; the sound of it brought to mind the tinkling of bells.

“A lovely shade of pink… Ah, but with a tinge of orange as well,” replied the young knight Luke from across the table, where he stood in attendance. His own voice was somewhat high-pitched, as one might expect from a boy of his age, but had clarity and fullness.

Derrick, the princess’s guardian mage, listened in silence. The somber expression on his face suggested he was ruminating on their words.

“Personally, I prefer pert cherry-blossom buds on a field of porcelain white…”

“With all due respect, Lady Ariel, I feel those that turn inward have a certain appeal as well.”

“Goodness! You like the inverted ones?”

Ariel’s tone was somewhat shocked, but Luke replied calmly. “Well, I will admit I’m not especially particular when it comes to such details. In the end, size is all that truly matters to me.”

Ariel sighed and shook her head. “Honestly. You have no taste at all, Luke.”

In reply, Luke simply shrugged his shoulders.

What exactly were these two talking about, one might ask?

“In any case, how did you enjoy this new maid? Sarisha, was it?”

“Her body was very sensitive, and her innocence was charming. It made for quite a pleasant evening.”

The answer was quite simple: Luke had been describing the nipples of the girl he’d bedded just the other day.

“Is that so? Hmm. Now you’ve made me want to smuggle her into my bedchamber somehow.”

“I would be perfectly happy to assist, milady.”

“Oh? You’re already prepared to toss her aside, after sleeping with her only once?”

“I’m afraid Sarisha’s breasts weren’t quite large enough for my liking.”

Ariel and Luke, in stark contrast to their appearances, were in fact a pair of lecherous young philanderers. For some time now, they’d been preying indiscriminately on the palace maids and the daughters of mid-rank nobles.

“Nothing’s more exciting than teasing cute girls like that, if you ask me. I imagine Sarisha would squeal quite nicely…”

Only a limited number of people in the palace were aware of this, but Princess Ariel was both bisexual and a sadist. Many among the Asuran nobility possessed extraordinary sexual proclivities, and she was certainly no exception. Luke wasn’t quite as extreme a case, but his love of big-breasted women knew no bounds.

Hiding in the shadow of their outward appearance and reputation, the two of them lived carefree lives of pleasure—indifferent to the plotting and intrigue that defined the royal court of Asura.

In this, they were hardly unusual for those of their rank. The majority of the nobility indulged in behavior just as scandalous, or even more so. Asura was a kingdom with a 400-year history that had never known war or famine. For many of its upper class, a demonstrated taste for decadence was a sort of status symbol. Ariel and Luke were still young, but they were already immersed in the amusements of their kind.

However…

“Luke. Lady Ariel. I think it would be best for you to behave…somewhat more discreetly.”

Derrick was a man with a more conventional mindset. In no small part, this was because the Redbats were merely mid-rank provincial nobility. They lived in an entirely different world from the decadence of the capital.

One might wonder why such a young man had been granted the prestigious role of guardian mage to the second princess, but the answer was quite simple: his results in the Institute had been superb. Advanced-tier magicians of noble birth were a rare commodity.

“Oh, Derrick…you really ought to learn what it means to be an Asuran noble.”

“Milady is quite right, Derrick. You’realwayslike this. If you don’t figure out how to read the room, you’ll never be popular with the ladies.”

As Ariel and Luke shrugged their shoulders, Derrick heaved a heavy sigh.

“That’s not what I meant, Lady Ariel. You may very well rule this kingdom someday, so it seems unwise to expose yourself to gossip and jealousy. You risk making enemies.”

This time, it was Princess Ariel’s turn to let out a long sigh. “Look, Derrick. You’re always saying things like that, but you do remember that I’m thesecond princess, correct?”

“Of course. Which means you’re high in the line of succession, and a potential candidate to succeed the throne.”

“I have two older brothers and one older sister. It does appear that they’ve found a husband for my sister, but my brothers are wrestling ruthlessly for the throne. With them around, there isn’t the slightest chance I’ll ever become queen.”

“That isn’t true. You’re the daughter of the queen consort. That makes you the only fully legitimate heir to the throne, and—”

“Stop it, Derrick,” Ariel interrupted sharply. “What if those words reached my brothers’ ears? Do youwantthem to send assassins after me? It’s bad enough that I’ve got all these nobles swearing fealty to me out of self-interest…”

“If you chose to fight, Lady Ariel, I’d happily lay down my life to protect you from anyone they may send.”

“Would you please stop saying such alarming things? That’s not too convincing anyway. I know what you really think of Luke and me… You’d probably like to get me caught up in a power struggle just so you can abandon me when the fighting starts, wouldn’t you?”

“Wha—” Derrick’s eyes went wide with shock. After a moment, his body began quivering, his face grew fierce, and he clenched his hands into fists.

“Look here, Derrick. I don’t care if I never take the throne. I can still drink tea in a lovely garden and live my life the way I please, and that’s enough for me. I wouldn’t stand a chance against my brothers anyway. The idea of throwing myself voluntarily into that mess is justabsurd.”

Ariel’s pessimism was fully justifiable. No matter how high her place in the order of succession, she was younger than her rivals and had far fewer allies. Her chances of victory were slim to none. Surely, then, it was wiser not to strive for the throne at all and simply live a life of indulgent pleasure. She was still a princess of the largest country in the world, so that option was available to her.

“Never mind then…” Derrick’s heart was clouded with frustration, but he could find no other words to say.

As he turned and left the garden, Ariel and Luke shrugged their shoulders, then resumed their discourse on the nipples of the palace’s women.