kscans

Chapter 187 - The Dungeon Cell and a Moment with Maryanne (Part 1)

I was in a dark room. The air was damp, and it smelled of mold and something else, something rotting. It seemed I had been laid on a mat woven from straw. The floor beneath it was stone, making my back ache. I lifted my head and looked around.

"Are you awake?"

"Maryanne, are you alone? This place is..."

Maryanne was sitting near the wall, her knees drawn up. She was wearing a green flared skirt that went down to her knees and a long-sleeved white tunic over it. It was the kind of outfit a town girl would wear. Perhaps she intended to hide her identity when she went out into the city. Her legs were apart. If I changed my angle, I might be able to see her underwear. As I tried to move my head, she shifted her posture, moving from her knees to sitting sideways.

"It's just me and you, Mash. This is the dungeon of the One-Land family's mansion."

I sat up. Indeed, it was a space surrounded by stone walls. One side was made of iron bars. The only other thing in the room was a square wooden box in the back. It seemed I really was in a dungeon. My throat was parched, so I tried to use water magic, but nothing happened. I panicked and tried to open my storage, but that didn't work either. It seemed that magic was sealed within the cell. I remembered being with Laciel on top of the government building's dome and passing out from mana exhaustion. How did it come to this?

"I saw you fly up to the top of the government building with Laciel-sama, so I thought it would be rude to interrupt, but I left the church's matters to Myra-san and followed after you with Famu-san and Mo."

Maryanne probably didn't know what state I would be in after performing a Goddess Summon.

"Then we found you collapsed on the terrace, and Famu-san made you drink a mana recovery potion."

"Maryanne, among this group, you have the highest status and are the most important. As I said when I introduced Laciel, you can just call all the other companions by their names."

Yet she called Mo by her name. They were both well-known nobles in the same city. They must have been acquainted.

"...I can't just call Laciel-sama by her name, but I understand. Usually, you would wake up after that, but you didn't, so we all carried you down."

I tilted my head. Was it the effect of using the Crystal Core?

"Down below, the knightly order had come after us, having seen us leave the site after the Great Temple disappeared."

"The One-Land family's?"

She nodded at my words.

"That bearded old guy?"

I asked again, and she shook her head.

"He is the captain of the Royal Guard. The four regent families take turns guarding this hill every quarter. It is currently the One-Land family's turn, but it is not the Royal Guard, but another unit on duty. They are men under my uncle's influence. My words did not reach them."

"I see... so we were suspected of being the ringleaders."

I suppose you could say we were caught, since we really were the ringleaders.

"The church... Elisha didn't help?"

"The Archbishop has authority, but the four regent families do not accept her—or rather, the church's—power. Also, the knightly order cannot arrest me and Mo."

"Then why are you in this cell with me, Maryanne?"

At my words, she furrowed her brow in thought.

"Before I explain that, it was decided that you would be imprisoned as the mastermind of the incident. The four regent families will gather tomorrow to decide your fate. We accepted that for the time being to calm the situation. However, Famu became enraged, so Mo put her to sleep with magic and took her back to the Star Union family. But Mo also said that if you are not released tomorrow, she will attack the One-Land family..."

"Attack? That's rather violent..."

"I don't think the person who attacked the Star Union family yesterday has any room to talk."

Still, I wondered if there had been some trouble with the guards.

"Famu can be stubborn sometimes, but like her appearance, she's generally a laid-back and gentle person. I can't imagine her getting angry over something like that. Did someone provoke her?"

"It was about none other than you."

So she got angry for my sake. Still, I couldn't help but think. We had aimed for this city for Famu's sake, but we had attracted people's attention in Richel, so we had come to Miglutt in search of a place where we could live peacefully. And yet, on the first day, we were kicked out of Mo's mansion, on the second day we attacked her house, on the third day we summoned a goddess and destroyed the Great Temple. And now, I was in the One-Land family's dungeon. What on earth was going on?

"...For now, I'll think of a way to get out of this situation, so could you tell Mo to calm down?"

"I can't. I'm in the cell too."

"That's right! No, from what you just said, why are you in the cell, Maryanne?"

At those words, she blushed.

"That's... because there is someone who wants something to happen between you and I sharing a bedchamber."

"Is that so! Then let's get started right away!"

I went to embrace her, but she pushed me away with her arms.

Maryanne, the head of one of the Four Regent Families, the One-Land family, had assumed that position in her childhood. In her place, her uncle served as the house steward. As the years passed and Maryanne turned twenty-three, her uncle continued to hold the real power in the One-Land family. She existed merely as a figurehead. However, she was not the type to be content with that. Though those around her were aware, she went out into the city every day under the guise of being incognito. There, she felt the atmosphere of the city change under the threat of the Demon Kingdom. And then, she began to speak out. Believing it to be her duty, she tried to get involved in Miglutt's politics. Furthermore, upon learning that the dog-eared settlements near the border had been raided, she tried to move the army and take decisive action. Without being aware of it, power had begun to gather under her hand. And then, I arrived in this city. She tried to make contact with me. These things must have been unacceptable to her uncle. And so, Maryanne had a fiancé. It was a shocking fact that she herself had only learned last night. The man was the child of her uncle's mistress, a man who couldn't speak properly. Even now, at the age of nineteen, he had difficulty speaking.

"I've heard a story like that from some elf family."

"I believe in her case, it was due to her genius."

That man, in place of wisdom, possessed an abnormally strong physique, the exact opposite of Mo. Furthermore, he had a short temper and a violent nature, and was said to be confined in his uncle's mansion. Marrying Maryanne off to that man was her uncle's ploy to completely strip her of her power. However, that method would take time, and in the meantime, those who opposed her uncle's power might turn to support Maryanne. So, first, he had her imprisoned as a co-conspirator in the Great Temple's explosion. Then, he intended to have her commit adultery with me while she had a fiancé, and use that dishonor to punish her and seize her power.

"Does your uncle have another heir?"

"Yes, he has three sons born to his legal wife,"

she said apologetically. It seemed he was blessed with children. He probably wanted the power he held to go to his own children. I peered out of the iron bars, but there seemed to be no guards.

"Even if you and I had an affair here, how would anyone know?"

"No, I am checked regularly to see if I have been unfaithful. I will probably be checked tomorrow."

"How? Do they spread your legs and examine your vagina?"

"Y-Yes,"

she answered, her voice choked.

"Such a wonderful job exists? When I get out of this cell, could you let me do that job? A single silver coin is fine!"

"What are you talking about! Men aren't allowed. Only women."

"Can't be helped. Just let me do it for a single copper coin."

"It's not about the money!"

I sat down next to Maryanne. Our shoulders touched. The cell was cold, but there was a warmth there.

"So, Maryanne, is there a man you like?"

"Sooner or later, this body will be offered for the sake of the One-Land family. I tried not to think about such things too much. But now..."

she looked at me with teary eyes.

"You fell for your cousin's child, didn't you?"

"That's not it!"

I put my arm around her other shoulder and pulled her close. She leaned against me obediently.

"Then there's no problem. Shall we begin?"

Did she not understand what I meant? She looked at me with a blank expression.

"Begin what?"

"The things we can do in this place are limited. Sex!"

"Wh-wh-wh-wh-why would it come to that?"

She tried to escape my arms, shifting her hips to create distance. But I held her shoulder firmly so she couldn't escape. And I closed the distance even further.

"Maryanne, you yourself said you were mine. I want you too. And isn't your uncle encouraging it? In other words, doesn't that mean it's officially sanctioned? Let's surprise the person who checks your hymen. I want to ask what they'll think when they see my semen, your juices, and the blood from your broken hymen flowing out."

"No, no, no, no, were you listening to what I just said? My uncle put you in the same cell to disgrace me. If that happened to me, it would only please my uncle."

"Isn't that fine? Let's please him greatly."

"You have a plan, don't you? But, if we're going to do this, I'd rather... do it with you... on a soft bed, not in a place like this."

"I have no plan. For now, I want to hold you and calm this excitement, then think slowly. And for you, losing your virginity in a place like this is a rare and precious experience you won't get often!"

However, if it was a Four Regent Families meeting, the Star Union family would also participate. I had a hunch that whoever came would be on my side. The problem was which side the remaining two families would take.

"You only lose your virginity once. If so, I wanted to lose it at the inn yesterday! Just a little patience. The situation will change again tomorrow. I'll invite you to my room. There, you can do as you please as much as you like."

"How can I be patient when I'm forced to breathe the same air as such a beautiful woman in a place like this!"

I hugged her and pushed her down.

"I-I don't want to right now. Please forgive me."

Maryanne looked up at me with frightened eyes. That gaze sent a shiver down my spine. I took her hand and made her touch my crotch.

"It's something hard... is this a man's thing?"

She ran her hand over it, as if to confirm its shape, stroking it repeatedly. This woman, while saying she didn't want to, was she not seducing me?

"Mash, if you can calm this down, will you wait until the next opportunity?"

"Is there going to be a next time? I might be executed just like this, you know?"

"It's alright. You have a real goddess on your side. So, for now, please be patient with just my mouth."

She didn't know that I needed a two-day interval before I could use Goddess Summon again. Maryanne got up and started to take off my lower clothes. That was what I wanted, so I lifted my hips to help. My lower body was bared, my thing exposed. She stared at it intently.

"It gets this hard and big..."

My glans was caressed. The soft touch sent a thrill through my brain. Her fingertips traced down the shaft and touched my scrotum.

"This part doesn't get hard, does it? It really feels like there are two balls inside."

She got on all fours, her face moving towards my crotch. I reached for her back and lifted her skirt.

"Hic! W-Wait a minute!"

Maryanne hurriedly held down the hem of her skirt. Her face was bright red.

"It's not fair that only I'm completely exposed. You take yours off too!"

"N-No way. It's embarrassing!"

"I'm embarrassed too!"

"Ugh... alright... don't laugh, okay?"

With that, she stood up, reached into her skirt, and pulled down her underwear. They were white bloomers, probably made of silk, with a glossy sheen. They were a short-hemmed type, you could say. She was about to put them on the floor, so I held out my hand and she gave them to me. I checked the crotch area and it was slightly damp.

"Wh-What are you observing! It's embarrassing, so please don't look!"

"This is a first for me. I wonder if Famu would wear them?"

"Those are mine. Of course she wouldn't wear them!"

She didn't know. Famu had a secret hobby of wearing other people's underwear.