Under the subtle stimulation, Yu Deng's legs trembled uncontrollably. He struggled to suppress a muffled groan and tried to press his legs together.
The troublesome knight hiding beneath his skirt noticed that the princess was having difficulty standing steadily. Thoughtfully, he reached out to support Yu Deng's legs, kneeling so close that he was practically pressed against the little princess's thighs.
Although the layers of fabric making up the skirt were enough to conceal an adult man, the space underneath was ultimately limited, and the air was somewhat stuffy.
Song Shiyu's breaths were filled with Yu Deng's uniquely rich and sweet fragrance.
"Your Royal Highness," Song Shiyu whispered silently. "Allow me to continue treating you."
If this had happened before, Song Shiyu would never have imagined himself doing something so utterly abnormal. Yet, at that moment, his actions felt completely natural.
—He simply couldn't control his desire to get closer to the little princess, to mischievously tease His Royal Highness, even if it meant kneeling beneath the princess's skirt like a dog.
Everything about the little princess was soft and sweet. Even the briefest taste of such intimacy was enough to make someone completely infatuated.
Yu Deng, meanwhile, was both embarrassed and annoyed. Having an unsuspecting NPC in his room made the situation even more humiliating.
"So... what did you want to tell me?" Yu Deng tried his best to refocus his attention on the important matter. Remembering what the Queen had said earlier, he furrowed his brows. "The trade agreement between the mermaid race and our kingdom... Does that mean the mermaids are coming to the Kingdom of Sturit?"
Queen Audrey gave him an affirmative answer. "Oh, my child, you're truly clever."
Yu Deng grew even more confused. "B-But... they're mermaids."
Hadn't the human kingdom been hostile toward other Fantasy Species? Just yesterday morning, a count had been exiled and sentenced to death for conspiring with the giants.
While they were discussing serious matters, the knight beneath the skirt behaved himself reasonably well and refrained from interrupting Yu Deng's thoughts.
The Queen understood his confusion and explained, "Of course, it's because we share certain interests and have problems that must be resolved. These circumstances have temporarily allowed us to set aside our differences, child."
Yu Deng tried his best to understand what the Queen meant. Could the matter that had allowed them to negotiate peacefully have something to do with the Dreamlike Heart?
"However, mermaids have peculiar temperaments and are highly aggressive," the Queen cautioned him. "If you encounter them, you must be careful. They enjoy dragging people into the depths of the sea and torturing them through suffocation."
Yu Deng nodded repeatedly. "I understand."
"Besides telling you about this, I also have one small request." The smile on the Queen's face dimmed slightly. "If possible, please visit your two elder sisters more often."
Yu Deng was puzzled. "Hmm?"
"The little princess of the Kingdom of Sturit can bring happiness to others. Seeing you would make them very happy."
Yu Deng met the Queen's gaze. Unlike the gentle, happy expression she'd worn when speaking with her daughters that day, her face was now tinged with a faint sadness.
After thinking for a moment, Yu Deng agreed. "Alright. If I have time, I'll visit Sister Fuli and Sister Funa again."
"Thank you, my good child." The Queen expressed her gratitude sincerely before lowering her voice to a whisper. "Be careful of His Majesty."
Yu Deng looked at her in bewilderment. "Hmm?"
Be careful of whom? The King of Sturit...?
The Queen offered no explanation. She simply gazed at Yu Deng with gentle affection, giving him a few seconds to process her words before casually bringing up a lighter topic, as though she had never issued that warning.
"Our little princess has come of age. Is there anyone you like? I can make preparations for your wedding."
Yu Deng froze.
A wedding? W-Why had the conversation suddenly turned to that?!
Song Shiyu reacted even more strongly than Yu Deng.
The mischievous knight hiding beneath the skirt had heard the Queen's words as well. Merely imagining the little princess marrying someone else nearly caused him to lose control of his emotions.
Song Shiyu supported Yu Deng to keep him from falling. His movements became increasingly bold, reflecting his restless jealousy, as though he wanted to leave his own mark on the princess.
His actions were much more noticeable than before! Yu Deng could barely control himself and could only tremble repeatedly.
He almost failed to suppress a muffled groan. Clutching his skirt tightly, he struggled to maintain his composure.
Pretending to adjust his skirt, he secretly jabbed Song Shiyu with his finger, urging the troublesome man to stop.
Honestly... How could he behave like this? He was far too mischievous!
"Hmm? Why have you stopped talking?" The Queen, unaware that the little princess was being teased by his knight, spoke with a hint of amusement. "Or is it that our little princess already has someone he likes but is too embarrassed to say so?"
Yu Deng froze for two seconds before hurriedly shaking his head. He then tactfully urged the Queen to leave.
"I-I don't have anyone I like. Your Majesty, if there's nothing else, I'd like to rest... I'm feeling a little unwell."
Sensing Yu Deng's urgency, the Queen nodded. "Of course. My good child, you must be exhausted from your city patrol. Go ahead and rest."
With that, she left the room.
Once the door had closed again, Yu Deng lifted his skirt and angrily raised his leg, stomping on Song Shiyu's chest several times.
"You scoundrel! Get out of there right now!"
Song Shiyu calmly emerged from beneath the princess's skirt.
Having spent some time concealed in the narrow, poorly ventilated space, Song Shiyu's usually immaculate hair had become slightly disheveled. His handsome, refined face was faintly flushed, and there were traces of moisture on his face from Yu Deng's skin.
Combined with his cool, composed expression, the sight created a peculiar contrast.
Song Shiyu spoke softly. "Your Highness, would you like to step on me a few more times?"
"No! Y-You're absolutely outrageous! You're so wicked..." Yu Deng glared at Song Shiyu, who was kneeling before him, his voice rising several pitches. "What kind of knight behaves like this?!"
Song Shiyu remained perfectly calm. There was no indication that he had just behaved so abnormally beneath the princess's skirt, as though he had done nothing more than an ordinary everyday task.
At that moment, the magic mirror tumbled out of Yu Deng's personal system inventory with considerable difficulty. Before the city patrol, Yu Deng had experimented with storing the mirror inside his system inventory.
However, the mirror had now become so angry that it had forced its way out. It spared no effort in badmouthing the knight.
"Your Royal Highness! I told you this knight was no good!"
Yu Deng's eyes were still watery, and he strongly agreed with the mirror's assessment. He picked up the little mirror from the floor and muttered indignantly, "Exactly! He's so, so bad. All he ever does is bully me."
Song Shiyu: "."
Song Shiyu glanced at the magic mirror and silenced it with another spell before respectfully explaining, "Your Royal Highness, please don't be angry. I was treating your injuries just now. I wasn't trying to bully you."
Magic Mirror: "..." Damn it!
Hearing this, Yu Deng hesitated. "Really...?"
"Yes." The ill-intentioned knight spoke without changing his expression, deceiving the gullible princess. "This treatment method cannot be interrupted. Otherwise, we'd have to start over from the beginning. I only did that because I wanted to heal your injuries as quickly as possible."
"Look for yourself. You've already recovered."
Song Shiyu lifted the hem of the princess's skirt, revealing his fair, unblemished skin.
Yu Deng lowered his head and tentatively touched his thigh. He discovered that the swollen, reddened area had returned to normal, and touching it no longer hurt.
"It really is healed! But how can you heal me...?" Yu Deng looked at Song Shiyu in surprise.
His skin in this instance was extraordinarily delicate. Even the healing potions provided by the system couldn't alleviate his injuries, so how had this troublesome man managed to heal him?
Song Shiyu paused for two seconds before answering, "Perhaps it's because of my... talent."
A racial trait could also be considered a kind of talent, couldn't it?
Yu Deng seemed to understand, more or less. After studying Song Shiyu for a few seconds, he decided to let the troublesome man off the hook for now. He thought for a moment before taking out the item description for his scepter.
He had successfully used the scepter earlier, so perhaps there would be some new information added to its description...
Yu Deng read it carefully and discovered that the description was still incomplete. The specific details remained a series of question marks, but a new passage had appeared at the end.
\[The Princess's Authority (Limited to this instance and the player's current identity): The most honored little princess of the Kingdom of Sturit, the kingdom's heir, and the embodiment of supreme glory.\]
The Princess's Authority...
In other words, only he, in his identity as the princess, could use the scepter to resolve problems affecting the kingdom's subjects.
Then... what exactly was going on with all those NPCs he had encountered?
Yu Deng looked at his knight and suddenly remembered a popular post he had seen on the forum before. Players had all said that the Guild Master of the Candlelight Guild was not only extremely powerful but also exceptionally intelligent. He could always clear deduction-based instances in the shortest amount of time possible. Could he… hear what Song Shiyu thought about this?
Song Shiyu looked up at the little princess and took the initiative to speak. "Your Highness, you seem troubled. Is there anything I can do for you?"
Yu Deng had been worrying about how to bring the subject up with Song Shiyu. His eyes immediately lit up at the question.
"I'm worried. The kingdom's people used to be so kind and simplehearted. How could they suddenly do such terrible things?" Yu Deng slowly explained his confusion. "This change worries me a lot. I… I'd like to hear your thoughts on it."
Song Shiyu met Yu Deng's gaze for a few seconds, seemingly completely unaware of what Yu Deng was trying to do. He knelt on one knee before him and replied, "I believe there are several possibilities."
Song Shiyu immediately adopted the rigorous tone of a scholar. "The first possibility is that they've been affected by something that has changed their personalities. The second is that this was their true nature all along, and they've simply stopped pretending. Also, since they all changed so suddenly, it's highly likely that a specific condition triggered the change."
"Is that so?" Yu Deng lowered his eyes, struggling to follow Song Shiyu's line of reasoning.
He couldn't distinguish between the two possibilities at the moment. As for the specific condition… The forced sale incident happened because Little Fatty and the others had stolen something. The shopkeeper they encountered during their patrol had changed because they had all done something bad…
Then, based on this, the condition that triggered dangerous situations was doing something bad in front of an NPC, or getting involved in their affairs…?
"You make a good point." Yu Deng struggled to organize his thoughts. "There's also the fact that everyone on the continent is hostile toward one another now. That worries me, too."
Song Shiyu hummed in acknowledgment. "I'm sorry I can't offer Your Highness any help with this matter. However, given the current situation, Your Highness should be careful around people of other races." He paused for two seconds before adding pointedly, "For example, strangers you happen to encounter on the road."
"Oh…" Yu Deng responded slowly.
Not long after Yu Deng finished sorting through his thoughts, he heard two instance announcements.
[Ding. Congratulations to players Yu Deng / Song Shiyu for discovering a special rule—Third: Please do not casually engage in behavior that violates specific rules of order. Otherwise, the personalities of characters within the instance will change. Note: Approaching the area of such an incident counts as participating in it.]
[Ding. Congratulations to players Yu Deng / Song Shiyu for discovering a special rule—Fourth: Please note that once a player accepts a quest from one race, they will automatically become enemies of all other races.]
Yu Deng's eyes lit up. They had discovered new special rules! But were these announcements meant for individual players or broadcast to everyone? Had his identity just been exposed?
Yu Deng secretly glanced at his knight and noticed that the other man still looked perfectly calm. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Hmm, although he still hadn't figured out exactly how to clear this instance, discovering hidden special rules was still a worthwhile achievement!
…
After a short rest, Yu Deng triggered another scenario quest. As expected, he encountered another bizarre NPC. However, thanks to the new rules they had discovered, they were able to avoid the danger with ease.
Yu Deng became increasingly certain that the new rules they had uncovered were very useful.
Still, his intuition told him that this instance couldn't possibly be so simple. The clues and rules they had gathered so far might not be enough to complete the quest safely.
As evening approached, Yu Deng could no longer stop himself from yawning. He had expended too much energy during the morning patrol and was now utterly exhausted.
"Your Highness, if you're tired, you should get some rest," Song Shiyu said.
Yu Deng hesitated. "But it's not even dark yet."
"That's all right." Song Shiyu placed a hand on Yu Deng's shoulder. "You've been busy all day. It's only right that you get some rest early. However, I may need to leave for a little while. Would that be all right?"
"Huh? What do you need to do?"
Song Shiyu didn't hide anything. "The king has summoned me."
The old king's summons had triggered a new scenario quest for Song Shiyu.
"Oh… Then go ahead." Yu Deng remembered the warning the queen had given him earlier that day. He pressed his lips together before adding, "Be careful."
A faint smile appeared in Song Shiyu's eyes. "Of course."
…
Taking his knight's advice, Yu Deng didn't even have the energy to change out of his dress. He simply removed the clinking ornaments attached to the hem of his skirt. Before long, he had fallen asleep with his face buried in the bed.
However, Yu Deng's sleep was far from peaceful. He kept feeling something strange poking into his back. Unable to stand it any longer, he tossed and turned for a while before finally opening his eyes.
How strange. His bed had been layered with so many mattresses and fluffy quilts. How could it still be uncomfortable?
Yu Deng stared blankly at the starry magic formation decorating the ceiling for a few seconds before abruptly sitting up.
He was determined to find out what was hidden inside his soft, fluffy bed and poking him.
Yu Deng got down on his hands and knees and rummaged around haphazardly for quite some time. At last, beneath several layers of fluffy quilts, he discovered the culprit—a small, dark-green sphere.
Yu Deng: "...?"
Was this a bean? A seed?
Such a tiny thing had been poking him and making him so uncomfortable. Could it be that the identity background's claim that he had the world's most delicate skin meant his skin was sensitive to this extent?
Yu Deng was thoroughly confused.
He reached out and poked the seed. A few seconds later, it actually began to sprout right before his eyes.
A dark green shoot broke through the seed's outer shell and grew at an astonishing speed. Within just a few dozen seconds, its leaves had filled the entire room, even forcing the window to crack open with a huge gap.
In an instant, the plant broke through the protective magic array surrounding the castle palace.
Yu Deng: "?"
Yu Deng stared blankly at his room being filled with plants, still unable to process what was happening.
The plant continued growing at an incredible speed. Finally, a gigantic pink flower bloomed right in front of Yu Deng.
The flower seemed to possess a hint of shyness. It swayed gently in front of the little princess a few times before opening its petals and drawing Yu Deng inside, securely wrapping its petals around him to protect him.
Yu Deng: "???" Huh? Wait a minute?!
Carrying Yu Deng, the enormous flower continued growing outward along the windowsill. Before long, it had brought him all the way to the top of the castle.
Sensing that the princess had been taken away by an unknown force, the protective magic array immediately sounded the alarm. However, it was powerless to stop this strange plant.
The alarm blared across the sky, drawing everyone's attention. All the citizens of the Kingdom of Sturit, along with the players and Fantasy Species spies hiding in the shadows, witnessed this dreamlike and miraculous sight the moment they looked up.
Perched on the towering spire of the castle's main tower was an enormous green plant. A flower bloomed in the center of its leaves. Nestled among its layers of petals sat the kingdom's little princess, gazing down at the city below.
The extraordinary blooming plant surrounded and protected the princess. The last rays of the evening sunset fell upon him, draping him in a faint golden veil. He looked so beautiful that he seemed almost divine.
Before anyone could marvel at this scene that seemed like a miracle, a massive shadow swept across the sky.
It was a dragon.
The flower's petals closed together, forming a bud that enclosed Yu Deng and protected him inside.
Meanwhile, the suddenly appearing dragon swooped straight down. Its target was unmistakable: it seized the strange plant encasing the princess and pulled it away.
The plant was carried off on the dragon's back, with the flower bud resting right in the middle. Something resembling a saddle had even been installed on the dragon's hard back, allowing the flower bud containing the little princess to be secured in place.
After confirming the little princess's safety, the dragon beat its wings and vanished into the clouds in an instant.
—The dragon had abducted the kingdom's little princess.
"!!!"
The entire kingdom erupted into an uproar. However, Yu Deng, the person at the center of this incident, hadn't yet realized that he was high up in the sky. All he could feel was the violent jostling and hear the howling wind.
In a daze, he lifted one of the flower petals. The scenery before him was rushing past at incredible speed, while magic shielded him from the biting wind. Beyond the petals lay a deep blue sky filled with twinkling stars…
Wait. The sky?!
Yu Deng froze for a few seconds before hurriedly pulling the petal shut again, curling up inside the flower bud.
He must have opened his eyes the wrong way. Let's try that again!!