"So, how was it, Your Majesty?" Bajed asked, looking at Jierunifu with a subtle smile.
"Though it was a bit unexpected…" Jierunifu recalled the shy and proud expression Iri had revealed after he had approached the 'willful' princess, and Jierunifu himself couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
He finally understood what Bajed meant when he came to Nazarick and said those words. Regardless of ability or strength, wouldn't it be more pleasing to the eye to have a beautiful girl riding on him?
He had to admit, purely in terms of appearance, this 'willful' princess was the best among the women Jierunifu had ever encountered.
Although it was initially determined that her brain wasn't very good, and her personality was also quite regrettable, plus she had the physique of a child.
Uh… though some parts of her body weren't quite like what a child would have, and she possessed immense strength, and was even the Great Demon's daughter.
However… what surprised Jierunifu was that this 'willful' princess was unexpectedly pure; just a slight tease had elicited such a strong reaction from her.
Although her mouth was stubborn, her body honestly showed it. When he teased her just now, he clearly saw the 'willful' princess trembling a little. If that glasses maid hadn't interfered, he probably could have tested the 'willful' princess's reaction further, which would have also facilitated the next step of action.
"It's just, I feel that for Your Majesty to do such a thing…" Bajed still maintained that subtle expression, looking at Jierunifu meaningfully.
"It doesn't matter what happens to me; what's important is the future of the Empire and the survival of humanity," Jierunifu replied firmly.
…
What's been going on these past few days! This Blood Emperor keeps coming over to get close to her for no reason. The various overly sweet verbal attacks were one thing, but he almost always initiated physical contact whenever he found an opportunity.
These past few days of accompanying him, Iri had become a little afraid of being alone with the Blood Emperor. Fortunately, You Li Jie was there. It seemed the Blood Emperor was definitely plotting something?
Uh… judging by his behavior these past few days, Iri couldn't help but feel… that the Blood Emperor's various actions, combined with the games she had played and the manga and anime she had watched before, made her wonder if this guy was trying to flirt with her?
"Uh… Aie!!" Thinking of this, Iri, who was sitting in the driver's seat with You Li Jie, was instantly shocked!
"What's wrong, Illy-dono?" You Li Jie, beside her, noticed Iri's startled appearance.
"Ah! No, it's nothing… I just suddenly thought of something." Iri quickly explained. Iri naturally felt embarrassed to tell You Li Jie that the Blood Emperor had been flirting with her for days, and she had only just noticed. How embarrassing! She must be too slow-witted!
"Hmm!" Upon receiving Iri's response, You Li Jie looked at Iri with a sparkling expression.
With that expression… she must have misunderstood her, thinking she was contemplating some grand plan. However, You Li Jie, you're going to be disappointed. I'm not Ainz Papa, nor am I Xiao Di, so what kind of plan could I come up with!
She had only just realized that the Blood Emperor was flirting with her. Speaking of which… what was the Blood Emperor's intention in flirting with her?
She felt that the original plot description didn't portray this guy as someone who was fond of women! In the original plot, it was indeed mentioned that his attitude towards marriage was primarily based on the needs of the state. So, to suddenly do something so abnormal, what could be his purpose?
"Princess Elizabeth!" Renas's call interrupted Iri's thoughts.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Iri looked over at the sound and saw Renas, riding a horse beside them, calling out to her.
Ever since she had rescued Renas, Renas had directly assumed the role of Princess Elizabeth's guard. This could be considered a good thing!
"His Majesty said he wants to stop and rest," Renas said.
Hmm? Strange, why stop to rest again? Iri felt a sense of incongruity. Why is this Blood Emperor more delicate than a woman, stopping to rest repeatedly? What's he trying to pull?
"Oh! You Li Jie, then let's stop!" Although she thought this in her heart, seeing that the Blood Emperor's convoy had already stopped, she couldn't just keep going. So, Iri could only order them to stop as well.
Actually, there was another reason Iri didn't want to stop and rest: the Blood Emperor would definitely come over and try to get close to her again.
Iri couldn't just chase him away, so she could only brace herself and play along with him. At first, she just found it strange and endured the chill and goosebumps all over her body while playing along.
Now… knowing that the Blood Emperor was flirting with her, the nature of it immediately changed.
After all, Iri understood the Blood Emperor's 'peculiarities.' Such an artificial way of flirting must have some ulterior motive.
One should know that the Blood Emperor's ability to overthink was second only to Xiao Di's. This guy must have overthought some 'messy' things in some aspects.
Moreover… what made Iri feel strange wasn't just this. Logically speaking… given the Blood Emperor's current mindset, shouldn't he be in a hurry to get back and discuss countermeasures against Nazarick with his ministers?
Why would he have the leisure to travel for a few hours and then rest for a long time just to flirt? She felt there was something fishy going on.
Sure enough, as soon as they stopped to rest… the Blood Emperor came over with a 'fawning' face, and just like before, he showered her with sweet words.
Although he occasionally asked Iri probing questions about Nazarick and Ainz Papa, Iri was very careful in responding to those. However, what Iri couldn't handle was the Blood Emperor's current attitude towards her.
As mentioned before… Iri strongly disliked Handsome guys, especially super Handsome guys like the Blood Emperor. This was related to Iri's experiences before she came here, which she naturally didn't want to recall.
"So, Emperor Brother, we've been traveling for several days now, how much longer until we arrive?" To hide her extreme displeasure, Iri could only find a topic herself to forcefully change the subject. Otherwise, if the Blood Emperor took the lead, it would definitely fall into that kind of conversation, full of floating petals and otome game vibes.
"At this speed, we'll reach the Empire Capital tonight, my princess," the Blood Emperor said with a beaming smile, his eyes revealing a cloying sweetness that, if a sparkling filter were added, would look exactly like a CG from a female-oriented game.
But Iri wasn't falling for it. From this one sentence of the Blood Emperor, Iri finally understood the reason why the Blood Emperor had repeatedly suggested resting these past two days. So, it was for this!
Iri only now realized that the apparent reason for resting, to take care of Iri and prevent her from getting tired on the journey, was actually just an excuse to delay their entry into the Capital!
These past few days, because most of the time was spent traveling, although the Blood Emperor occasionally came over to ride with her and talk, more often than not, Iri was either spacing out alone in the carriage or sitting outside with You Li Jie, looking at the scenery. It was basically very boring, so these past few days, Iri had been constantly recalling this part of the original plot, afraid that she might have missed some details.
Of course, she also gained something, so she immediately saw through the Blood Emperor's trick of wanting to delay time.
One detail was that in Nazarick, when Ainz Papa proposed sending them back with headless horses, the Blood Emperor decisively refused, fearing that the Church would see those undead monsters and that relations with the Empire would deteriorate.
Aren't the two Soul Eaters she brought with her undead monsters? After she caught up, the Blood Emperor had also invited her to ride with him. Fortunately, she had only brought You Li Jie out, and it wasn't convenient to turn back. It was a happy coincidence. If she had brought more people and sent the Soul Eaters back, she would have truly fallen into the Blood Emperor's trap.
At first, Iri thought the Blood Emperor was scared by the Soul Eaters' aura. It wasn't until Iri calmed down to think and recall that she noticed this point. Regarding this, Iri was quite proud that she hadn't fallen for the Blood Emperor's trick.
This time was the same; if she hadn't been smart enough, she wouldn't have noticed this detail. The Blood Emperor's delay was simply to enter the Capital at night, to conceal the existence of the Soul Eaters.
Now that she understood the Blood Emperor's little trick, it was easy. Since the Blood Emperor was going to play along with her plan, then she would also follow his lead and play along with his!
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