CHAPTER 94: THE REAL TRUTH!!

Meanwhile, Celeste was galloping as fast as her horse would carry her, determined to put as much distance as possible between herself and that deranged spectacle.

She made a wide circle around the perimeter of their camp, scanning every shadow for any lurking goblin who might have stayed behind.

Aside from a few scrawny magic beasts scampering out of her way, she found nothing.

No footprints, no tracks—nothing at all to confirm he’d even been here.

A tiny, persistent voice in her mind suggested he’d lied, that the entire absurd panty-bargain was some elaborate distraction.

But she shook it off.

The rain had been pouring minutes ago, any prints would have washed away long before she’d finished her patrol.

She decided not to think about it further. She’d done her part, embarrassing or not.

With a final kick to her horse’s sides, she galloped straight back into the tents.

One hand clutching her gown tight against the wind as it threatened to whip clean off her thighs.

’Damn this cut... it’s too high.’

She cursed under her breath, cheeks warming.

The gown had been designed for battlefield agility, to let her move freely while fighting, but right now, all it was doing was making her feel ridiculously exposed.

Her horse skidded to a stop near its hitching post, hooves kicking up mud and steam.

Celeste was ready to leap off and make a beeline straight for her tent, but at the last second, she caught herself.

’Dammit.’

With one hand gripping the front of her gown and the other yanking the back down to preserve what little dignity she had left, she squeezed her thighs together and executed what could only be described as the most awkward, rage-fueled dismount in the history of heroic landings.

’Shit!’

She cursed as her boots hit the ground. Her landing was fine—her pride, however, not so much.

Never in her life. Never in her entire life had she felt this ridiculous.

Her eyes burned with fury, her cheeks flushed a deep, traitorous crimson.

Her jaw clenched.

She could still see the smug bastard’s face in her head, still hear those words—just as a voice cut through her spiraling thoughts.

"Ara ara... are you alright, Celeste?"

"Krggh—!"

Celeste nearly flung herself back onto the horse in surprise, her body jerking like she’d just touched a live wire.

She was so caught up in the emotional aftermath of PantyGate that she hadn’t even noticed someone crouched nearby, tending to the horses with the casual grace of someone who definitely saw everything.

It was Melissa.

Of course it was Melissa.

Celeste tried to straighten up, hand still awkwardly glued to her gown’s high-cut slit, bracing for a breeze like it was a damn sneak attack.

"Y-Yeah! I’m okay! Why wouldn’t I be? Ha ha ha... ha."

The laugh came out like a broken flute.

Seeing her flustered reaction, Melissa raised a single, perfectly skeptical eyebrow.

As someone who preferred listening over talking, she’d developed an excellent radar for when people were acting...off.

And right now?

Celeste was radiating the exact kind of suspicious energy you usually saw right after someone committed a social crime.

"I see... so... where were you just now?"

"That... I... I was... patrolling the area."

Celeste stammered, forcing a bright, brittle smile.

"It just rained, you know? I didn’t want our enemies using the sound of the rain as cover for a sneak attack."

She nodded emphatically, as if overexplaining would somehow make it more believable.

Right on cue, a mischievous gust of wind whipped across the clearing, catching the high-cut hem of her gown and threatening to give Melissa a full show.

"Ha ha... damn wind, right?"

Celeste slapped both hands over the front and back of her skirt with a sharp smack, her face turning a deep shade of mortified red.

"I should...go now. To...study. Obviously."

Melissa didn’t blink. She just watched her with the same politely suspicious look, then gave a slow shrug and a small, knowing smile.

"Sure. If you ever feel like talking... you know where to find me."

"Yeah. Sure. Bye."

Celeste lifted a hand in a stiff little wave before half-jogging, half-shuffling away—moving in reverse so she wouldn’t dare turn her back and risk the wind finishing what that bastard had started.

Melissa watched Celeste’s awkward backward retreat with an expression that hovered somewhere between amusement and intrigue.

’Something’s going on...’

Her eyes narrowed just a fraction as she straightened up, dusting her hands off on her skirt before strolling back to her tent.

’Ku ku ku... is the Ice Princess finally feeling the vigor of youth... fu fu fu.’

...

Meanwhile, Celeste wasted no time.

She all but barged into her own tent, face still hot enough to fry an egg.

She found Lily standing by the side table and waved her off with a frantic gesture.

"Dismissed. Go. Outside."

Lily blinked. Once. Twice.

But in the end, she just nodded, picked up her book and a chair without a word, and slipped out to sit guard in front of the entrance.

Celeste waited until the flap was securely closed.

Then she locked it, double-checked it, and pressed her palm over her racing heart.

She sucked in a deep breath and let it out in a shaky, mortified exhale before sliding down to sit against the wall.

She stared down at her knees, her expression somewhere between horror and outrage.

"Oh no... oh no... that motherfucker!!"

Her face went crimson, ears burning.

"How dare he?! How dare he make me do that vile stuff!!"

She buried her face in her hands with a strangled groan, wishing the ground would just open up and swallow her whole.

Of course, Celeste wasn’t naive.

Not in the slightest.

She wasn’t so simple-minded she didn’t understand exactly why the damn Goblin King had asked for her panties.

And she definitely wasn’t naive enough to forget how to time her anger, or her blade, when it mattered most.

Playing dumb had been her best move. The only move that wouldn’t end in a massacre.

If she’d reacted the way she wanted, by driving her sword clean through both of them, she wouldn’t just have lost the fight.

Her friends would have ended up butchered or worse, paying for her pride.

But by acting clueless, by offering her dignity up like a clumsy sacrifice, she’d caught them off guard.

Disarmed them in a way no blade could.

Because if she hadn’t handed over her panties willingly, she knew damn well what would have happened:

They would have forced her. Laughed in her face.

Savored every humiliating second while she was made to strip under their eyes.

They would have thrived in her shame.

She felt it. She knew it.

And now, the worst part—she felt it again.

A slow, electric ache between her thighs that made her breath catch in her throat.

’Oh no... oh no, no, no.’

Carefully, as if checking for a wound, she spread her legs and gathered the folds of her gown in trembling hands.

She pulled the fabric aside and looked down at herself.

Her face went so red it hurt.

’Oh no... oh no, no, no...’

Right there, on her own sacred temple, she saw...

***

’She’s a damn liar.’

A slow smile curled across his lips.

It grew wider and wider until it split into a sharp, delighted laugh that echoed across the clearing.

Gear scratched the back of his head, watching his liege cackle like a man possessed.

He had no idea what was happening, or why the air suddenly felt so weird.

"M-My liege...?"

Rae abruptly shoved the panties into his hands.

"Here."

Gear flinched, holding them tentatively between two fingers.

"Give it a whiff. Tell me what you smell."

Gear didn’t bother questioning a single thing.

He was far too curious to find out what the uptight hero’s panties actually smelled like.

He brought them to his nose with almost reverent care and took a long, deep whiff.

The moment the scent hit him, his eyes snapped wide open, pupils dilating like he’d just seen the gates of heaven crack ajar.

"This..."

Rae watched, lips curling into a wicked smile.

"What do you smell?"

Gear swallowed, his throat working hard as he tore his gaze away from the black lace.

His eyes flicked fiercely toward the direction Celeste had ridden off to, burning with something halfway between awe and unholy fascination.

"I smell... I smell arousal."

***

Right there, on her own sacred temple, she saw unmistakable evidence of her betrayal.

A glistening proof of exactly what her body had thought of the entire humiliating encounter.

"How? Just... how???"

She stared down at herself, utterly appalled.

Her voice came out strangled, caught between disbelief and something she refused to name.

Celeste was feeling it. For the first time...She was feeling it in her core...

***

Meanwhile, Gear had his mouth wide open as he saw a smaller goblin was standing at the same place his liege had just stood.

"Who? What the hell!"

He raised his spear against Rae, the real Rae, preparing to cleave the stupid goblin.!