FitzClarence Family

As I slowly pushed my way through the crowd, I finally arrived back in the ballroom.

I set my sights on my target and made my way over to her.

The idol bitch was smiling while surrounded by a dozen or so noble men. She seemed to be having a good time. As one would expect of an idol bitch like her. She has to put in the hours when in public to keep her fan base strong.

“I’m sorry to intrude on your conversation, Cyan-sama.”

“..Baron Tanaka?”

“Your father wishes to have a word with you. I apologize, but if you could please follow me.”

“...”

She’s just staring at me.

I know she’s smart enough to understand what I want, but I’m not sure if her idol bitch nature will allow herself to be taken away from her adoring fans.

“I understand. I’m sorry everyone, but if you’ll excuse me for a little while.”

Great she’s going along without any questions.

Thank you, Sophie-chan.

On the other hand, the crowd of gathered men were annoyed at my intrusion. However, due to me mentioning Sophie-chan’s father, none of them raised any objections. This is the common reaction of most herbivores.

Honestly, I was expecting them to try a little harder. There are several good looking guys among them. If they were around Ester-chan, I’m sure that one of them could have successfully made a move on her. I stopped that train of thought there as I felt a cold pit forming in my stomach.

“This way, please.”

“Yes, of course.”

I escorted the idol bitch through several hallways, weaving our way through the crowd as we went. We continued on until we found our way outside and the crowd had thinned considerably. The final location I decided on was a secluded area of the garden located between the walls of the mansion and the walls surrounding the entire estate.

“I don’t think anyone will be able to hear us here.”

“Thank you for remaining patient, Cyan-sama.”

Sophie-chan stopped on the spot and turned to me.

The slight turn caused her miniskirt to lift up slightly. Every movement she makes is calculated. Furthermore, the words she said to me were ones that every man wishes to hear from the opposite sex at least once in his life.

“..and Sophie is fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“As long as there’s nobody around to hear.”

The feeling of being offered a special treatment by Sophie-chan was amazing.

The pure sexual aura that she emits is almost overwhelming.

If I didn’t study in Kabukichō, I’d be in danger by just being near her.

“Really? Good, I feel more comfortable this way.”

“Of course.”

However, the reason I brought her here is serious.

I need her advice.

“I need to know about Ester-san’s parents.”

“Have you finally decided to marry her?”

“No you’re mistaken. Her father invited me to dinner tonight.”

“..you’re serious?”

“Yes.”

Sophie-chan’s eyes opened wide. It gave her more of a cute look rather than her usual aloof one.

She always hides her emotions and it’s rare to be able to see a real reaction from her.

“He might be planning something after all.”

“...”

Her reaction worried me.

“My father and I were also invited to dinner here once. I was around ten at the time, but I still remember that day clearly. Honestly, I try not to think about it if I can.”

“I’m sorry, but could you tell me more.”

“I was young at the time, so I didn’t understand the full extent of what was happening. However, I didn’t need to understand their words to understand their difference in status. The image of my father prostrating to Ester’s father will forever be burned into my mind.”

“...”

Oi, oi, the mood became serious again.

“I belong to a prestigious family. We have held power and the title of ‘Earl’ for generations now, but that was the first time I’d ever seen my father bow down to anyone. I couldn’t believe my eyes at first.”

The idol bitch may have given me my answer.

Run away and tell Edita Sensei about all of my problems.

I want Sensei to embrace me.

She’ll probably be confused at first, but I know she’ll want to comfort me.

Maybe she’ll let me lie my head on her thighs as she strokes my head.

Free of charge, of course.

“I’m sorry for making you relive those bad memories.”

“I don’t mind.”

“But...”

“This house, party, and everything you see today is nothing more than a facade to hide the true monster that is the FitzClarence family.”

“Monster?”

“It’s not just the members of the FitzClarence faction that are aware of this. Anyone allowed entrance to the imperial castle know that the head of the FitzClarence family holds tremendous power and is capable of committing atrocities without a second thought. He only took over as the head several years ago, but in that time, he’s raised the FitzClarence family up from being one of the weakest Duke families to become the strongest in the Empire. That is who Esther’s father is.”

“Wow...”

I know that there are very few Duke’s in this country. It’s safe to assume that, even though Sophie-chan described the FitzClarence family as being weak when Richard first took over, the muscular grandpa must be powerful as well if he earned the title of Duke.

“If there is one piece of advice I could offer you it would be this: I’ve been close with Ester for many years, and all of the rumours about her father’s relationship with her are true. He would do anything for her.”

“I see.”

“Whatever your intentions are, maintaining a good relationship with her will make whatever path you choose to walk much safer. That is as long as it’s you.”

“As long as it’s me?”

“Ester and Allen weren’t that close just a few years ago, but I think it was good that they became as close as they did. And that’s not just because of the relationship him and I developed.

“...”

Sophie-chan looked off into the distance.

However she sees Allen and how she feels about Ester-chan ending her relationship with him, she must have genuinely been worried about what may happen to him if Ester-chan’s father found out about his true relationship with her. The relationship between a commoner and a noble would not be approved of in this world.

At the very least Sophie-chan considers Allen a friend, but there’s no denying her attraction to him as a man. She may have claimed to be willing to accept almost any man to sleep with, but it’s obvious that the idol bitch would be happy that she has an opportunity to get closer to Allen.

“Ah, please, pretend you didn’t hear that.”

She did reveal their relationship to her father after all.

“Have you given up on Allen-san?”

“Of course not.”

“Really? I feel like I’m starting to understand you a little bit more.”

“...”

How is Allen able to get both Ester-chan and Sophie-chan to love him? I guess it’s natural, isn’t it? That guy is so handsome that it’s only inevitable that many beautiful women would gather to him. As always, I’m envious of him.

“I didn’t mean to be rude; it’s just that you seem to be more open with who you want to be with if you’re considering a serious relationship.”

“..what are you saying so suddenly?”

“I’m not sure either. I just feel like I can be open with you.”

“It doesn’t make me happy at all to hear you say that.”

“How disappointing.”

“It doesn’t sound like you’re disappointed at all.”

Don’t fall for her charms. It’s all just a scam, she doesn’t have a hymen after all.

Yes, it’s all a scam.

How can a woman that’s already lost her virginity speak so casually to a busamen like me? She treats me as a person, she’s smart and good-looking, yet she lacks the most important feature: a hymen.

“Still, it’s not wrong to say that, as you are, you’re not doing anything to further your relationship.”

“You think so?”

Oh, is the idol bitch coming to her senses?

“Honestly, I’m not sure what I really want for myself.”

“...”

That’s actually quite philosophical.

I”m not sure how to respond to that myself, but I’m the one that brought it up so I should at least be able to offer her some advice.

“If you worry about it too much, it will just become harder to figure it out. You can take your time to think about it and not rush into anything. It’s not like you need to be worried about this at your age.”

“At my age?”

“You’re still young. You’ve got a lot of time left to figure out what you want out of life.”

“A woman only has a few key years before she begins to lose her charms. I’m already passed the turning point.”

“...”

She’s as perceptive as always.

Which explains why she’s been idling.

“Things may be different here, but in my hometown, women in their thirties were still considered beautiful and the average age for marriage was around twenty-five.”

“Eh...”

The idol bitch stared at me with her mouth agape.

That confirms what I already suspected. Teenage marriage seems to be common here. As a lolicon, that makes me happy. If you get married so young, that means you’ll have another twenty or so years of youth to enjoy.

I could love her honestly until the day I die with no need to lie to myself.

“I-Is there something wrong with the men there?”

“The country has low birthrates and over forty percent of the population is considered elderly.”

“Wha–”

The idol bitch was left astonished again.

It was nice seeing a real reaction on her face, but I feel like if I tell her anymore of the unfortunate truths about my country my chest will start to hurt.

“By the way, Sophie-san, I have something I want to ask that only someone as cute as you could do for me.”

“I don’t need any of your meaningless compliments. What is it?”

“I’m sorry to ask this so suddenly, but, will you go out with me?”

“..come again?”

Sophie-chan was completely dumbstruck.

Again, she looked cute.

But she’s used. Remember that she’s used.

“I’ve told Ester-san that I have someone that I like, and it’s true that I do, but I’m not sure if I’ve made any advances toward furthering that relationship. To be honest, I don’t know if it will ever happen.”

“In other words, you’re asking me to be your scapegoat?”

She immediately regained her usual composure.

“I appreciate your ability to understand the situation so quickly.”

“...”

There’s no chance I can win a fight against Ester-chan’s father head-on, but if I choose to further my relationship with Ester-chan, Allen will lose the one thing that protects him from her father’s wrath. Therefore, in order to protect both of us and our positions in the country, the idol bitch netori plan begins.

However, the idol bitch looked reluctant to agree.

“What do I get out of this?”

“”Eh, umm, that’s hard to say...”

“...”

She’s just quietly staring at me with her upturned eyes.

Why?

Why is Sophie-chan so cute today?

Was some of the food that I ate an aphrodisiac?

“I can’t do it.”

“..is the idea really that terrible to you?”

“I can’t put the Bitch family in a dangerous position for a favour. I’ve already told you how much the Duke dotes on his daughter, so you should be able to understand what Duke FitzClarence would do to punish those that betrayed his beloved child. If you actually want to marry me, you’ll have to take down the FitzClarence family first.”

“I should’ve known that things can’t be resolved that easily.”

“Of course not.”

It was useless.

Now I have to come up with a new plan.

“..is that everything?”

“Yes, thank you for speaking with me.”

“All right, then I’ll be going.”

The idol bitch turned on her heel, raising the hem of her skirt as she did so.

“Be careful.”

“...”

I had no reply to give her.

Her figure disappeared around a corner and I was left alone in the garden.

***