Lena de Feron.
When she opened her eyes, the person she loved and respected the most was right in front of her.
The Grand Duke who ruled the Feron Duchy, her father.
Feron IV was there.
He was holding her hand tightly, tears streaming down his face, overjoyed.
Despite the suddenness of the situation, Lena began to fully understand what was happening.
'That's right! We won the war!'
Unaware that it was a dream, Lena, seeing her moved father, also began to feel overwhelmed with emotion.
Until a strange man appeared…
Seeing the man who had rudely entered the Grand Duke's chambers, the Grand Duke began to treat him with utmost respect and formality.
Lena definitely knew who he was.
She couldn't remember where they had met, but she recalled that he was someone acquainted with the Demon King.
The moment she tried to drive him away, her father suddenly began to scold her fiercely.
"Lena de Feron!"
"Ugh… Yes, Grand Duke Perron…."
Upon hearing her full name, Lena immediately knelt on one knee and bowed her head.
In her childhood, the Grand Duke had been the one to guide Lena on the right path.
Though always gentle, he never hesitated to discipline her when necessary.
She knew from experience that if her father was angry, there was a good reason, and it was always for her own good.
"This won't do! Turn around and lift your skirt!"
"…Yes."
Lena, who had experienced many punishments in her childhood, calmly obeyed her father's command, even in the presence of an outsider.
Her respect for her father played a part, but Lena's actions were also possible because it was a dream.
No matter how strange the situation, everything flowed naturally.
Just as the Grand Duke was about to strike Lena's calves with a whip, as he had done in her childhood, the man beside him spoke up.
"Your Grace. Even though you are her father, using a whip in front of others seems too harsh for the Princess."
Lena felt relieved upon hearing his voice.
Without realizing it, she thought to herself.
'He's not a bad person….'
Though she couldn't remember exactly who he was, she thought she had misunderstood him.
The Grand Duke lowered his arm, signalling that he wouldn't proceed with the punishment.
"Hmm…. I apologize, I almost showed an unbecoming side."
Lena, feeling reassured, was about to lower her skirt when…
"Then, would you like to discipline her yourself?"
"…Father?"
Lena thought she had misheard.
'W-What did you say…?'
Despite the situation being incomprehensible, Lena lifted her skirt again.
The man looked at her with a sly smile.
"Then, let me educate her."
Lena's mind was in chaos, but the concept of "why?" had disappeared from her thoughts.
In the dream, everything flowed as if it were natural.
Even Lena's own will…
Though embarrassed to show her lower body to an outsider, her fingers tightly gripped the hem of her skirt.
But the man didn't strike her with the whip; he just stared intently at her legs.
'…Is he not going to hit me?'
Just as relief began to spread through her, the man spoke.
"It still doesn't seem proper to use a whip on the Princess."
"Phew…"
"I'll spank her with my hand instead."
"…What?"
Despite the absurdity of his words, Lena didn't let go of her skirt.
Her proud father laughed and said.
"Hahaha. You truly are considerate. Lena de Feron!"
"Huuu… Yes…"
"Lift your skirt higher."
"Yes…"
Lena naturally obeyed her father's command, lifting her skirt to fully expose her buttocks.
Her white silk underwear shimmered in the sunlight.
The man, who had never seen her private parts before, except by her maids, looked at them with delight.
The man, who had been leering at her buttocks, began to grope them with his hands.
"Hmm…."
"Huuu! W-What are you doing…."
Without any response, he continued to fondle her to his heart's content.
Squeeze, squeeze!
After groping her several times, he said.
"You'll bear good children."
"W-What a rude thing to say!"
"Lena de Feron!"
"Ugh…. S-Sorry."
At her father's shout, Lena focused on holding her skirt again.
The man began to spank her with moderate force.
Slap!
"Huuu!"
A moan escaped her lips, more from shame than pain.
Slap! Slap!
"Haa! Huuu!"
For someone who had been through the battlefield, the pain in her buttocks was nothing.
But she couldn't bear the shame welling up inside her.
The only reason she clenched her teeth and endured was…
'It's what Father ordered! There must be a reason for this punishment!'
Because it was something her respected father had commanded.
She rationalized the situation in her mind as she felt the man's hand on her buttocks.
After being spanked dozens of times, the man finally stopped.
But then, suddenly, he whispered something in her ear, inaudible to the Grand Duke.
"Princess…"
"Haa… Haa…?"
The man's whisper echoed like a wave.
"Could it be that you're wet?"
She had been so focused on the minor pain in her buttocks that she only now realized…
Her underwear was damp…
"N-No!!"
"Gasp!"
Suddenly, the Princess's shout startled everyone awake, and they all turned to look at her.
Viola and Beatrice, who had been fooling around at the table, also looked at the Princess.
"Haa… Haa… Haa…."
She slumped in her chair, unable to regain her composure, breathing heavily and looking around.
'Time's up.'
[What happened?]
'Well….'
I briefly explained to Armonia.
That I had spanked the Princess's buttocks firmly…
[That's quite the wicked deed. Still, it's fortunate that the dream manipulation proved effective.]
'It's a good thing her resistance and mental strength are ridiculously low.'
The Princess was the perfect material for a tutorial.
She quickly assessed the situation, stood up abruptly, and bowed her head to us.
"I apologize for the disturbance."
Despite her dishevelled maid outfit and hair, her posture was impeccable.
Even though she should have been disoriented from the chaotic dream, she calmly straightened her posture.
I lay on the bed, my eyes still dazed from sleep, and said.
"You startled me…"
"…I'm sorry."
"We're fine."
"Ugh… I'm not fine, nya…"
Viola, who had been playing with Beatrice, nonchalantly resumed her antics.
The Princess looked at me with an indifferent expression.
'Sigh…. Armonia, you should have seen her expression in the dream. It was a masterpiece.'
[Even if I had seen it, it wouldn't have meant much.]
Lena de Feron returned her chair to its original place and stood stiffly by the door.
I looked at her groggily and said.
"Why don't you get some sleep? Aren't you tired?"
"No, thank you for your concern."
Judging by her expression, no matter how I persuaded her, she wouldn't sit down.
'Tch, I wanted to try it again.'
[Guardian, Lena de Feron has started to be on guard. If she remains standing like that, casting a sleep spell might cause problems.]
If I cast a sleep spell while she was standing, the Princess would collapse, and Viola and Beatrice would notice, making it impossible to manipulate her dreams.
'There's a way~ I'll just do it later.'
[?]
I went back to bed, preparing for what I had to do that night.
***
A knocking sound echoed through the room.
Knock, knock, knock.!
"Come in."
The one who entered through the large door was the same boy from yesterday.
Like before, he carried a towel and water.
Judging by his expression, he had been looking forward to something today, but as soon as he entered, his disappointment was evident.
Viola was already lying in bed, asleep.
The boy, glancing at me, placed the towel and water on the table.
'Do you think I'll show you something every day, idiot?'
[Earlier, you cast a sleep spell on Viola. What are you planning to do?]
'Hehe, just watch.'
After the Princess and Beatrice left, I experimented with Viola.
I tried using sleep and dream manipulation spells on her.
And I discovered some important facts about the two skills.
The sleep spell didn't necessarily end after the duration was over.
In the Princess's case, she woke up abruptly because she was startled by my words, but if left undisturbed, she would have continued sleeping.
However, during the duration, it was nearly impossible to wake her.
But dream manipulation was different.
Once you entered, you were forcibly ejected after five minutes.
Both sleep and dream manipulation were tricky to use without a magic circle.
But I got the hang of it, and with a few tries, I could enter as long as I knew the right position.
I looked at the boy and said.
"Hey, by the way. Where exactly do you guys stay? I didn't see you when I was walking around the castle earlier."
"W-We stay near the kitchen…"
I hadn't visited the kitchen, so I must have missed it.
Beatrice had no reason to guide me there.
"Let's go check out your room."
"…Huh? Why…"
"Just bored, let's go!"
I dragged the boy, who kept glancing at Viola, out of the room.
The boy and I walked through the dark corridor, illuminated only by mana stones, and arrived at the kitchen.
The building we arrived at was neater than I had expected.
"The kitchen is inside, and the building next to it is our dormitory…"
"Take me to your room."
"Ugh… Okay…"
With a look that suggested he had no idea what I was up to, the boy reluctantly led the way.
Perhaps because I had leverage over him, he followed my instructions without protest.
The building had a staircase in the center, with two rooms on each side.
There were four rooms per floor.
The boy climbed the stairs and went all the way to the top floor.
He stopped at the door next to the staircase and began to unlock it.
'So the Princess's room is one room over?'
[I don't see any other likely places.]
I followed the boy into the room.
Though it was far from suitable for a prince, the room was decent enough for someone to live in.
A bit old, but the bed and various furnishings were well arranged.
The bed was right next to the wall of the adjacent room.
I lay down on the bed and said.
"Hey, are you going to sleep now?"
"Ugh… Not yet. The Princess will be making her rounds soon to check on everyone."
"Hmm…"
Looking at the door's position, it seemed like I could hide beside the wardrobe without being seen.
"When the Princess comes, I'll hide over there. Don't let her know I'm here."
"Ugh… Okay."
'This might not be as easy as I thought.'
[Without knowing the layout of the room across the hall, using your skills won't be easy either.]
My plan was to cast a sleep spell on Lena in the adjacent room and then use dream manipulation.
Earlier, when I used the skills on Viola outside the room, it was easy because I knew the approximate position.
But now, with only a rough idea of where the adjacent room was, both sleep and dream manipulation seemed difficult.
Knock, knock, knock!
There was a knock at the door.
I quietly hid beside the wardrobe and signalled to the boy.
He took a deep breath and opened the door.
Creak!
"G-Grand Princess…"
"Welcome back."
"Yes… Nothing much happened. Haha…"
The Princess spoke to the boy with respect.
"Please bear with it a little longer. The people in the guest room won't be here for long."
"Yes…"
"And please take care of my key again today."
Key?
Was she talking about the room key?
The boy, flustered, began to stammer.
"G-Grand Princess. Shouldn't something that important be entrusted to someone else…"
"The only person I trust to handle this is you, Berius. Please take care of it."
"Ugh… Okay."
"Then, have a good night."
"You too, Grand Princess… Have a good night!"
With that, their conversation ended, and the door closed.
I lay back down on the bed and asked the kid.
"What do you mean by 'key'?"
"Well... recently, the princess hasn't been able to sleep well, so she's been taking a drink that forces her to sleep at bedtime. She asked to be woken up in case of an emergency, so..."
In other words, she was taking sleeping pills, and in case of an urgent situation, they were to break in and wake her up.
...Wow.
***
Hey readers!
Want to read ahead? 📖 Join my Patreon for early access to 30+ advance chapters! Your support helps me write more and bring the story to you faster.
🔹patreon.com/aarvan🔹
Thanks for being awesome! ❤️