Lewd Courtship - Chapter 48

Rachel grinned as she flaunted her skill. Killian, on the other hand, adjusted his grip on his wooden sword. If he let his guard down any further, there really could have been a moment where she might defeat him.

He lowered his body and aimed for Rachel’s waist. The tip of his sword advanced with precision yet sharpness. Rachel quickly stepped back, deflecting the attack. Then she raised her blade and thrust it toward Killian’s shoulder.

Killian, in turn, slashed downward, aiming at her shoulder. In that fleeting instant, the two blades flew toward each other. It was almost simultaneous, but Killian’s hand was just a little faster.

Danger…!

An alarm rang in Killian’s head. It had been far too long since his last sparring match, and without realizing it, he had put in too much strength.

At this speed, if he struck down, Rachel could be seriously injured. If he withdrew his sword, he himself would be stabbed—but the thought of her getting hurt left him no room to consider that.

Instinctively, he twisted the direction of his blade. The forced adjustment threw his upper body off balance, and Rachel’s sword tip ended up pointing straight at the center of his throat.

“Ah!!”

Startled, Rachel tried to stop her strike. But the momentum of her already-accelerated blade was beyond her control. Just as the sword tip was about to pierce toward Killian—

“Your Majesty!”

With a sharp crack, someone thrust themselves between the two.
Rachel’s wooden sword clashed against another blade and was deflected. At the same time, a stinging pain shot through her wrist, and lost her balance. Her vision tilted sharply, and her body toppled sideways.

“Ah—ah!”

Rachel reflexively flailed her arms, but there was nothing to grab in the air. As the ground drew closer, she squeezed her eyes shut. She thought her head would crash straight into the floor, but instead her body collided with something hard—thud! A dull sound rang out.

“Princess!”
“Your Highness!!”

Several voices shouted by Rachel’s ear. She gasped from the shock and opened her eyes.

In her clearing vision appeared the face of a man—both familiar and unfamiliar. Against her palm she felt the cold, firm texture of armor. Only then did Rachel realize she had fallen on top of someone.

The man beneath her was the Imperial guard knight who had just struck away her sword.

“Princess, are you unharmed? Someone bring bandages.”
“Your Highness, can you stand?”
“I will support you.”

“N-no… it’s fine, I can stand.”

Those around her continued fussing over her safety. Rachel, still dazed, steadied her upper body. As she straightened her back to correct her posture, a strange sensation brushed against the inside of her thigh. A hard, rough surface pressed firmly against her lower body.

Rachel lowered her head to check below.

Having lost her balance and fallen, her legs had naturally spread apart. Between them loomed the body of the man clad in armor, asserting its presence.

It was a posture that, to anyone’s eyes, could only stir indecent imaginings. Realizing the situation, Rachel froze for a moment.

The knight, his face slightly flushed, looked up at her. Though his gaze carried a trace of heat, it was still cold and sharp.

That look in his eyes… could it be disdain?

Considering she had almost caused injury to the Emperor, it wasn’t impossible to understand such a sentiment. Even so, she was still a princess. To receive such a look just for one accidental collision—this was unacceptable.

The moment she recognized him, Rachel became acutely aware of the places where their bodies touched. The insides of her thighs prickled with sensitivity, and the armor pressing against her womanhood brought an uncomfortable stimulus.

“Your Highness, please step aside.”

“Ah.”

The knight twisted his body slightly, signaling for her to move away. From that seemingly indifferent gesture, her tender flesh shrank involuntarily. A faint warmth spread through her lower belly, and a tense sensation rose from deep within.

“Ah…”

Rachel drew in a small breath. The thought that she must have gone mad crossed her mind as her face flushed in an instant. Around her, those who noticed her blush began to exchange expressions—concern turning one by one into suspicion.

As bewildered as those gazes were, Rachel herself was no less bewildered by the changes in her own body. To hide her confusion, she lowered her head. Then, as if leaping to flee, she rose abruptly to her feet.