CHAPTER 141: CHARADES*

The academy halls were quiet.

Aegis’s footsteps echoed off the stone walls as she made her way through the east wing. No clusters of gossiping nobles. No scholarship students rushing to class. No prefects patrolling with clipboards and disapproving frowns.

Summer break had emptied Rosevale like someone had pulled a drain plug.

Most students were back in their home villages or off touring foreign nations with their families. The ones who stayed were either too poor to travel or too invested in summer training to leave. Aegis fell into both categories, technically, though "too poor" was becoming less accurate by the day.

[House Vermillion’s stipend hits next week. Plus whatever I can squeeze out of monster hunting. Should be enough to start the garden restoration, at least.]

She turned down a corridor lined with portraits of former headmasters. Their painted eyes may as well have followed her with vague disapproval.

[Yeah, yeah. Commoner in the noble wing. Clutch your pearls harder.] She paused. [Or, well... Former commoner, hehe.]

Talia’s room was at the end of the hall.

Her door was unlocked. Given that no one except for Aegis would walk in without at least knocking at this hour, that was probably on purpose. Aegis stepped inside.

There, lying on her side on the bed, completely naked with her ass facing the door, was Princess Talia Stone.

[Good God.]

Her black hair spilled across the pillows like ink. The curve of her spine drew Aegis’s eye down to the swell of her hips, then, naturally, her ass, and her thighs pressed together.

Aegis’s mind rebooted.

"Had a fun time with Valdris?" Talia asked without turning around. Again, there was really only one person who’d just casually walk in like this, so Talia knew it was her.

"Yeah, actually." Aegis closed the door behind her and leaned against it, arms crossed. "She gave me a house."

That made Talia turn. She rolled onto her back, propping herself up on her elbows. Raising one brow high.

"A house."

"A manor, technically. In the Noble Quarter." Aegis grinned. "It’s a complete shit right now—half the east wing is just framework—but the location’s downright perfect. Want to see it later?"

Talia sat up fully. The sheets pooled around her waist, leaving her tits bare. She studied Aegis with an expression that was hard to read.

Pride, maybe.

"Later," Talia said. She swung her legs off the bed and stood, crossing the room toward Aegis lazily. "First, I need to relieve some stress."

"Oh?" Aegis raised an eyebrow herself. "Rough day?"

"You have no idea."

Talia dropped to her knees.

Her fingers worked at Aegis’s belt, tugging it loose quickly. Aegis’s pants followed, pooling around her ankles. Her cock sprang free, already half-hard from the sight of Talia’s naked body.

Talia wrapped her hand around the base and stroked once, twice. Aegis tried not to chuckle. Even now, Talia always stared so goddamn intently, like Aegis’s dick was something to be studied.

"Mother’s been insufferable," she said, her breath warm against Aegis’s shaft. "Three meetings today alone. Trade negotiations with House Whatever-The-Fuck. A lunch with some merchant’s heir—who, by the way, spent the entire meal staring at my chest."

"Can you blame him?"

Talia shot her a glare, then took the head of Aegis’s cock into her mouth.

Aegis groaned, her head falling back against the door. Talia’s tongue swirled around the tip, teasing the sensitive underside before she took more of the length.

"Mmph." Talia pulled back just enough to speak, her lips brushing against the head. "And tomorrow I have another ’bonding date’ with Darius."

"Sounds terrible."

She pulled off with a wet pop.

"It is." She took Aegis deeper, her cheeks hollowing as she sucked. "He keeps trying to hold my hand. Like we’re already engaged." She looked up. "By the way, are you afraid I’ll break or something?" She looked at Aegis’s hands, which were hovering uselessly by her sides.

Hearing that, Aegis threaded her fingers through Talia’s hair, guiding her rhythm. Talia gave a low, appreciative moan. The princess’s mouth was hot and wet, her tongue working magic even as she continued to complain between strokes.

"Mother keeps—mmph—dropping hints about wedding dates." Talia’s hand pumped what her mouth couldn’t reach. "As if I haven’t made my position clear."

"What did you tell her?"

"That I’d rather marry a fucking goat."

"You’re cursing more often lately," Aegis pointed out. "How would the nobles feel? Watching their future ruler be corrupted and all."

"They’d feel about half as horrified as they would if they watched me do this."

Aegis held back a squeal as Talia took her to the hilt. The princess’s nose pressed against Aegis’s pelvis, her throat working around the cock lodged inside it.

[Fuck, fuck, FUCK. She’s gotten better at this.]

Talia held there for a moment, then pulled back with a gasp, strings of saliva connecting her lips to Aegis’s shaft.

"You really can’t become marryable fast enough, you know?" she said, stroking Aegis with both hands now. "Every day I have to smile at that pompous ass is another day I want to set something on fire."

Aegis chuckled.

"Goldspire isn’t that bad."

"Say that again and I’ll bite your dick off."

"In any case, I’m working on it."

"Work faster."

Talia took her back into her mouth, cutting off whatever response Aegis cooked up.

She worked with single-minded focus. Precise, lethal cock-sucking. Her head was bobbing, her tongue doing things that made Aegis’s knees weak. Every time Aegis tried to speak, Talia would do something—a swirl of her tongue, a flex of her throat—that shut her up completely.

"Mother wants me to announce the engagement at the end of summer," Talia said during one of her brief breaks for air. "Public ceremony, the whole kingdom watching."

"That’s—fuck—that’s not a lot of time."

"No. It’s not." Talia’s eyes met hers, fierce and determined. Her point was slightly ruined by the fact that she kept stroking as she talked. "I can probably push it back but the point is, we’re running out of time. Especially since it seems there isn’t even a single suitor out there who can give Goldspire a run for his money. So you’d better have a plan."

She swallowed Aegis down to the base, her throat constricting around the head.

Aegis’s vision went white.

The pressure built. Aegis’s hips started moving on their own, fucking Talia’s face with shallow thrusts. The princess took it without complaint, her yellow eyes flicking up to meet Aegis’s gaze.

That look—defiant even while on her knees, proud even with a cock in her mouth—pushed Aegis over the edge.

"Talia—"

She came hard, spilling down Talia’s throat. The princess swallowed without hesitation, her throat working to take every drop. When Aegis finally stopped twitching, Talia pulled back and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

She exhaled deeply, like she’d just received the best massage of her life... instead of, well, just sucking someone off.

"Better," she declared.

Aegis slumped against the door, legs shaky.

"... Glad I could help."

Then, Aegis collapsed onto the bed, by Talia’s side. She ran her hand down Talia’s spine, tracing the curve of her lower back.

But, abruptly, Talia stood, stretching like a cat. She walked to her wardrobe and began pulling out clothes—a formal dress in House Stone’s colors, grey and black with silver embroidery.

"Can’t stay any longer?"

Talia paused, a silk underdress in her hands.

"I have meetings."

"Skip them."

"I can’t just—"

"You’re a princess. You can do whatever you want."

Talia’s lips twitched. For a moment, Aegis thought she might actually consider it.

Then she shook her head and continued dressing.

"Mother would have my head. Literally. She’s still suspicious about how much time I spend with you. Remember, Darius paid you good money to stay away from me, and my mother is aware of that."

"Does that mean less of this?" Aegis gestured between them.

"No, I’m telling you to be a better actress. Gods know that thing between your legs is the only thing keeping me sane these days."

"Aha... Well, tell her we ran into each other and decided to study together. For old time’s sake."

"She’s not an idiot, Aegis."

Aegis pushed off from the door and crossed the room. She wrapped her arms around Talia from behind, pressing her bare cock against the princess’s ass through the thin silk of her underdress.

"Five more minutes."

"No."

"Three minutes."

"Aegis."

Aegis propped herself up on one elbow.

"When’s your next meeting?"

"An hour. Dinner with some Goldspire cousins." Talia’s expression soured. "I’m sure it’ll be delightful."

"Want me to crash it? Cause a scandal?"

"As much as I’d enjoy watching you ruin Darius’s evening, no. That would just make things worse." Talia laced up her dress. "Besides, you have work to do."

"Work?"

"That manor you mentioned. You’re going to need money to fix it, right?"

"A lot of money, yeah."

"Then get started. Summer break is going to last three months. Use them."

Aegis sat up fully, swinging her legs off the bed.

"I will. I’ve already got some ideas—monster hunting with Scarlett, maybe set up some merchant contracts once the east wing is rebuilt. There’s this underground ruin beneath the manor that—"

She stopped herself, as she’d been about to mention casual game knowledge.

"... That I found during my initial walkthrough of the building," she finished. "Might have valuable stuff down there."

Talia finished with her dress and turned to face Aegis. She walked over, leaning down to kiss her once—soft and lingering.

"For what it’s worth, I believe in you," she said quietly. "You utter fool."

Then, Talia opened the door and left, closing it behind her.

Aegis stood there, staring at the closed door.

[Make it count. Right. That’s all.]

She sighed and started pulling her clothes back on. Her cock was still sensitive, making her wince as she tucked it back into her pants.

[Alright. Summer plans. Money. Manor. Save the princess. Easy.]

She left Talia’s room and headed back through the empty halls. The silence was still weird, but at least now she had a goal. Multiple goals, actually. All of them expensive.

[Should probably check on Sophie before I head out. Make sure she’s not burning the dorm down or something.]

Sophie’s room was in the East Wing, not far from where Aegis’s own dorm was. She made her way there, boots echoing in the empty corridors.

As she got closer, she heard sounds.

Rhythmic thumping. Muffled moaning. The unmistakable slap of skin on skin.

[Oh for fuck’s sake.]

Aegis stopped outside Sophie’s door and knocked loudly.

"Sophie! You in there?"

The thumping paused. There was a moment of silence, then Sophie’s voice called out, slightly breathless:

"Kinda busy, sis!"

"Yeah, I can hear that. I wanted to ask if you’re coming home at all this summer or—"

"Can this wait like ten minutes?"

Another voice—Vera’s, low and sardonic—moaned something that might have been words.

Aegis pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You know what? Never mind. I’ll just—"

The door swung open on its own.

[Oh no.]

Aegis’s eyes went wide.

Sophie was there, alright. Bent over the desk, hands gripping the edge, her ass up in the air. And behind her, Vera—black-haired, green-eyed, usually low-energy Vera—was holding Sophie’s hips and absolutely railing her with a strap-on that looked way too big to be sliding in and out of someone so tiny.

Sophie’s head turned, her face flushed and grinning, as she was currently being pegged.

"Oh hey, sis! What’s up?"

Aegis just stared.

Vera didn’t even stop. Just kept thrusting, her expression bored despite the situation, like this was just another Tuesday. That said, her complete, unbreakable focus betrayed how she actually felt.

[No doubt she’d been waiting to give Sophie a taste of her own medicine.]

"Sophie."

"Yeah?"

"Why did the door open?"

"Wind magic!" Sophie said cheerfully, moaning as Vera hit a particularly good spot. "Been practicing!"

"That’s—that’s great. Very proud of you. I’m gonna go now."

"Wait! You wanted to ask something?"

Aegis gestured helplessly at the scene in front of her.

"I was gonna ask if you’re visiting Mom and Dad this summer but I feel like this is maybe not the time—"

"Oh totally! We could go in two weeks. Two weeks sound good?" Sophie gasped as Vera adjusted her angle. "Fuck, right there—yeah, two weeks works!"

"Sure. Fine. Two weeks. Great."

"Love you, sis!"

"Love you too, you absolute fucking disaster!"

Aegis turned and walked away quickly, trying very hard to erase the last thirty seconds from her memory.

She made her way back to her own dorm in a daze, pushed the door open, and collapsed onto her bed.

Lune’s side was empty, her art supplies packed away. The room felt too big without her roommate’s quiet presence, but she’d be back soon.

Aegis flopped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling.

[Alright. Summer break. Let’s make a plan, shall we?]