Chapter 11: The Hardcore Masochist and Her Royal Highness the Princess

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First Meeting with Second Princess Charlotte Bernstein

And so, I had my first face-to-face meeting with Her Highness Princess Charlotte Bernstein, the Second Princess. It seemed that the secret meeting at the Adventurers’ Guild had been smoothed over somehow by Marianne negotiating with the church authorities, so apparently it was fine to meet her openly.

…Was that really okay? A secret meeting with a second princess sounded suspicious as hell.

“Because she has no power,” Marianne had said with a gentle smile and that, more than anything, had felt terrifying.

No way… Was Dark Marianne not just a delusion living in my head, but actually real? No! Marianne was divinely kind. Otherwise, there was no way she could receive a blessing from the Goddess and fire off insanely powerful magic. A saint favored by the Goddess herself… That was Marianne.

Still… Sadist Marianne had its own appeal. Extremely so. On the surface, she behaved like a saint but once we returned home, her attitude completely changed! The staff that had emitted healing light became a bloodstained weapon used to torment the weak! As I begged her to stop, Saint Marianne said, “We cannot allow this filthy demon to persist.”

No, please, help me!— I cried as she approached me from behind, and that radiant staff was drawn into the hole…

Guhhh!! Agh… Aghhhh!! This was a bad pleasure!

First of all, it was already wrong to have those kinds of fantasies about someone close to me, but turning a saintess into a villain was the worst possible fantasy!! This…. This kind of thing… 

I’m ashamed of myself!!

『Ufufu. How filthy… Do you like it here?』

She wouldn’t say that, but… No! Marianne would never say something like that!!

“Ah…Um, well. It’s been a while.”

“──It has indeed been some time, Princess Charlotte.”

Tripping out right in front of a princess was seriously dangerous. Between the tension and excitement, I felt like I might misfire but I was a man of steel. Even if my inner self had gotten soft lately, my outer shell was ironclad, so I wouldn’t mess up. I mean, as a shield-bearer, I’d lived an absurdly long time. Five whole years, even if I was carried by my party. Didn’t I deserve a nickname by now?

There weren’t any other shield-bearers who’d survived five years…

──Huh!? C-could it be that I was being mistreated!? Not by my party, but by the Guild!?

…Well, whatever. Honestly, being mistreated was almost better. Being looked down on while beautiful companions worried about me… That kind of hardcore masochist scenario was the best. Even if someone told me to switch places, I’d never give it up.

“U-um. At that time, had you not been there, I would surely have died. Allow me to thank you again. Gold-Rank Adventurer Finn Debyura-dono. Thanks to you, I—no, we—are alive. Truly… Thank you.”

“Your words are far too kind. That a mere commoner such as myself could save a noble princess is an honor that will be spoken of for generations.”

“Hoah…”

Kukuku. Born a commoner—no, more like a full-on country bumpkin second son—I was hopeless with noble etiquette, but I’d been drilled thoroughly by the three of them yesterday, so I was perfect now. Carla was from a good family, Astrea went without saying, and Marianne was a saint so all of them were flawless in that regard. I was the only one who still smelled of potatoes. No wonder I didn’t get a nickname.

“May I call you Finn-dono?”

“As you wish. …You called me that back then, did you not? And if it is your wish, I would gladly accept any manner of address.”

Ugly pig, filthy rag, things like that… Couldn’t you call me those instead? And while you’re at it, maybe whip me or drip candle wax on me while I’m tied up naked…. Since I can’t go to an SM shop, having a real princess do it would be… Ah! W-what luxury…! And such disrespect! Hah, hah… Unforgivable disrespect! If found out, it’d be the death penalty! S-so exciting…!

“Th-then… Finn-dono.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Finn-dono. You may call me Charlotte.”

“Eh? But—”

“It is fine. As I said then, I wish to stand as equals with my savior.”

As she said this, Princess Charlotte’s face was faintly flushed, but her gaze was straight and sincere.

Ugh… I—I’m ashamed of myself! Thinking about SM play or wanting to be insulted by such a good girl… I’m the worst! But she’s a princess, you know? A princess saying she wants to be ‘equals’ with someone as lowly as me… That makes me happy even if it’s a joke. Being equal to me means becoming a target of those fantasies.

『I’m cutting ties with you.』

Wait, Carla!! Just kidding! I was joking!

“Then… Princess Charlotte.”

“…Mm. You don’t need ‘Princess.’”

“…Charlotte.”

“Yes. Finn-dono…”

She smiled shyly, clearly happy.

Damn… Was this some new kind of honey trap!? No, think calmly. Even if I was a Gold-Rank Adventurer, I was still just an adventurer without a nickname. Would a second princess really act like this toward someone like me? Impossible. There had to be something behind it. I wasn’t well-versed in noble affairs, but I knew how strong their power was.

Back when I lived in my village, there’d been the prettiest girl around. A wealthy merchant heard the rumors and wanted her as his third wife. Naturally, there was compensation, and the whole village was excited. Then the lord’s legitimate son appeared.

『This girl will be my concubine.』 With that single sentence, everything ended. He already had five concubines. To nobles, peasants were just people they could squeeze dry because “we protect them anyway.” The girl was taken the next day, the promised compensation vanished, and the village was left with nothing. If even a lord’s heir could take women freely…

She was a princess. Even if she didn’t belong to a major faction, there was no commoner who could refuse her wishes. And yet she was acting in a way that made me misunderstand…

Damn it, this has to be a trap!

Marianne had warned me beforehand 『You’ll definitely be sweet-talked, so don’t agree too easily.』 She was right. I was sensitive to malice. Because malice felt good. Jealous violence in back alleys was the best. It happened a lot when I first formed parties—schemes like, “That dull shield-bearer is in the way since he’s partying with cute girls, let’s beat him up and take his place.” They couldn’t touch the strong Astrea or Carla, and Marianne was affiliated with the church, so she was off-limits. I was always the target. Relentless blows, being surrounded and beaten, sometimes left unable to move…

Just remembering it made me feel good…

“Charlotte. I have a request, though I know it is rude.”

“What is it? If it is something I can do, I will hear anything.”

Anything? Then could you dress properly, tie me up naked, whip me, drip candle wax, and insult me? Facing death was part of my daily life, but being abused with sexual intent by a beautiful woman was a different kind of pleasure… Surely a bliss rivaling death itself.

Queen play by a real princess…

“If… If Finn-dono wishes it…”

Blushing, she agreed. 

Kind-hearted as she was (even though she knew nothing), it was a painful decision. But since the request came from her savior, and was preferable to demands for money or connections, Princess Charlotte took up the whip and lit the candle to punish the ugly adult man bound in chains…

“……”

“…W-what’s wrong? Truly, anything is fine?”

Huff, huff… Hold on, my reason! I’m a gentleman, a shield-bearer, a Gold-Rank Adventurer, a rational hardcore masochist! There’s no way I could make such a request to a princess…!

…Okay. I am calm.

“Yes. Then, Charlotte. Please continue to be my friend from this day forward.”

“! Ah, of course! I would be honored… My lifelong friend!”

“I am deeply honored.”

Friend. That was the condition Marianne had given me. Neither above nor below, but equal. I’d prepared myself to declare that, and since I wanted nothing else from the princess, I followed through. But she hadn’t intended to see me as above or below at all. I’d expected noble condescension, so honestly, this was anticlimactic. I’d been mentally spiraling, ready to endure noble oppression, but now it was just like always.

Still… Didn’t something special just get added? I think she said “lifelong friend.”

“To be honest, I wanted to ask you myself. Finn-dono, I’d like to… Uum…Do many things together.”

Many things!? W-what does that mean!? Is that some noble euphemism!? It only sounds dirty to me! Help me, Marianne! Even Dark Marianne is fine!

“But as I am now, I am weak. Powerless. I can’t even meet you freely.”

She clenched her fist. I’d heard that Charlotte was a so-called ‘decorative princess’ without backing from major factions. That was why I was warned she might try to use me and I’d been wary of that too. I didn’t want to get involved in messy noble politics. That was why I’d swallowed my pride and asked my party for help.

But… Somehow…

It didn’t feel like she was trying to drag me in.

“Recently, I met with the Cardinal. Was that because you arranged it, Finn-dono?”

“The Cardinal… Ah, Marianne’s.”

I’d never met the Cardinal. Marianne usually kept us away from the church, and we didn’t push it either. Still, she really did have connections there. Relying on Marianne had been the right call.

“I see…So the Saint of Holy Smite-dono moved on my behalf.”

“…I’m sorry, but she did not. She acted to protect the party.”

“…Is that so?”

“Yes. Unlike them, I am merely a commoner.”

I was just a Gold-Rank Adventurer with no backing. Marianne had contacted the Cardinal for the party’s sake, not mine.

“I possess no such power. I apologize for disappointing your expectations.”

“—N-no! That doesn’t matter!”

Eh?

“I… I’m just happy to have met you, Finn-dono. That alone is enough.”

“Your Highness…”

“Charlotte is fine. For now… Would that be enough?”

Is she really that short on allies?

Well, she had no guards despite being a princess, so it was obvious… But still. Was she really that happy just from being connected to me?

Wow… That’s rough, Princess. I kind of feel close to her now. Being surrounded by amazing people while having nothing yourself… That hurts. I really get it.

My childhood friend was amazing too, so I was always compared…

I’m a masochist so insults felt good, but my childhood friend took it hard… Why is the one being insulted fine while the praised one suffers? That’s messed up.

“Yeah. Um… Charlotte. Let’s get along from now on, okay?”

“Y-yes! Absolutely! For a long time!”

She grabbed my hands with both of hers and shook them enthusiastically.

Cute…

As expected of a princess. She really was beautiful. My three companions were all gorgeous too, so with scar-covered me among them, it felt borderline criminal. I’d probably look the same next to her. Still, I liked my face.

They were medals… Proof that I’d protected everyone. Sometimes they hurt, and that felt good too. Now then, I’d enjoyed watching the innocent princess, but I had to tell her something very unfortunate. I wasn’t alone here. I was the only one in the room. but not the only one who’d come.

“Charlotte. There’s something I’ve been hiding.”

“Hm? What is it?”

“My companions are actually waiting in the next room…”

“…………Eh?”

Bang!!!

The door burst open. Marianne in front, Carla second, Astrea bringing up the rear. Astrea carefully closed the door. In the slightly chilled air, Marianne spoke with a gentle smile.

“We have been listening, Princess Charlotte. I am pleased that my Finn-san was of service to you.”

“Well, of course my Finn could manage that much. Honestly, everyone has terrible judgment. In the Elf Village, he’d be written in the books.”

“Hahaha. My Finn has a more fitting place. A battlefield in the East, perhaps.”

The three exchanged glances. Charlotte, still holding my hand, turned pale, then red, then pale again as her hand began to tremble. Heh. These were my proud, party members. She seemed to be trembling with joy, but I had no intention of forcing them on her.

They’d offered their help of their own goodwill. Knowing I was clueless about nobles, they didn’t want me taken advantage of… What great companions they were. As tension and pressure filled the room, Charlotte murmured in a trembling voice.

“……H-ha ha. How reassuring…”

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