## Chapter 1121 – Royal Palace

As expected of royalty, she possesses considerable beauty.

In this world, those with power and money inevitably have good looks. Mana alone, when accumulated in the body, has a significant impact on skin and overall health. And those who train have toned bodies without excess fat.

Princess Einphel before me was exactly that type of person.

She was beautiful enough to rival even the half-elf Claudie. Still, there are limits to being human. From what I could see, she had accumulated mana in her body, but she didn’t seem particularly strong, as she wasn’t a professional combatant.

So, it’s just me, the Sword Master, and the Princess in this space? I don’t sense any other presence, so that must be it.

I walked in a bit and knelt on one knee, bowing my head.

“Kim Kat, Paladin directly under the Holy Maiden of the Bronze Celestial Order.”
“Yes… I know. Please rise.”

Her voice was languid, just as I remembered.

“Yes.”

I stood up immediately and looked at the Princess.

Her unique languid atmosphere made her look tired overall. It’s those eyes that make her look decadent. To put it bluntly, she looks exhausted. Anyway, she stood up and slowly walked towards me.

There was grace in her gait.

Is she thinking of shaking hands?

I stood still, waiting for her, and observed her.

“…”

The tiara on her head was distinctive.

It was a pure white tiara with various jewels embedded in it, practically advertising, “I’m a princess.” That’s the symbol of royalty.

Besides that, the Princess was wearing an off-the-shoulder dress. She was generally a slender, tall beauty. And she was also voluptuous, and wearing such an outfit, blatantly revealing her cleavage… she was the type of woman who used her beauty and sex appeal as weapons, like Kadia.

A woman who uses what she has.

Confident.

“It’s been a while, Paladin.”
“Indeed.”

—She slid.

The Princess extended her hand slightly, showing me the back of her hand without losing her smile. Right. Well, thanks to my achievements, the Princess is offering a handshake. I’ve become that kind of man.

In any case, I have to be polite.

I learned a bit about royal etiquette last time.
If royalty offers a handshake?

Accepting immediately is the proper thing to do.

—Grasp.

I immediately took the Princess’s hand.

Now, I just need to gently shake her hand in time with her pace… but for some reason, the Princess just stood there, looking at me, without doing anything.

“Yes?”
“Hmm?”

The Princess’s expression was questioning.

What is it?

As I looked at the Princess’s face, expressing my question, she opened her mouth.

“Ah… it’s not that I wanted you to hold my hand.”

What is it?
Did I make a mistake?

I quickly let go of her hand, and the Princess stared into my eyes, slowly raising a finger and tapping her red lips.

—Tap, tap.

After tapping her lips like that, she lowered her finger and placed it on the back of her hand. The Princess tilted her head slightly and quietly maintained that pose.

Ah, this… what is it? Could it be that she wanted me to

Kiss the back of her hand?

“Ah.”

Finally realizing, I nodded. Come to think of it, there was such a greeting. It seems I misunderstood and grabbed her hand.

“Hehe.”

Upon realizing that, the Princess laughed out loud.

“Did you perhaps want to hold my hand?”

No, it’s not that.

“I just thought you were offering a handshake.”
“Is that so?”

I feel a little hot in the back, thinking I made a mistake. At that moment, the Princess took my hand, shook it, and gently waved it.

It seems she’s a woman with some consideration.

“Are you satisfied?”

The Princess said in a playful tone while shaking my hand. It’s not like holding hands is my life’s purpose, so I wasn’t satisfied.

“Thank you for correcting my mistake like this.”
“There’s no need to worry about it.”

Anyway, it was when I let go of the handshake.

—She slid.

The Princess extended her hand again, showing me the back of her hand.

“Now, hurry.”

And she said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

I could discern a few things from this attitude of the Princess.

“…”

She’s demanding that I kiss the back of her hand, no matter what. She’s doing this with a smiling face, as if it’s nothing, but if a woman like the Princess pushes you to kiss the back of her hand while wearing such a dress and smiling, no man would be able to resist.

And it’s extremely calculated that she deliberately shook my hand to correct my mistake and then does this again.

Very skilled.

It’s just a situation where we’re meeting and greeting, but from the very beginning, she’s trying to capture a man’s heart.

A master.

It seems she’s planning to win me over like this.
As expected of royalty.

I can already see what she’s going to ask me to do.

—Thump.

First, I knelt on one knee. Of course, it wasn’t a trick that Kim Kat couldn’t see through. This made me think a little more highly of the Princess, but at the same time, it reminded me that I needed to be wary. Anyway, kissing the back of her hand isn’t a big deal.

I can do it if she asks.

“Excuse me.”

I took the Princess’s hand and lightly kissed the back of it. The young ones would have already fallen for the Princess here and would be willing to give her their liver and gallbladder.

It was the moment I was about to take my lips off and get up.

—She slid.

The Princess’s hand, moving softly, brushed past my face as if licking it… This is another blatant physical contact. I got up without paying attention.

“I think it’s a good idea to remember this greeting.”
“I will keep it in mind.”
“Well, then.”

The Princess stepped back slightly, covered her cleavage with her hand.

—She slid.

She slightly bowed her head and waist to show me respect.

Showing respect like this.

She’s covering her cleavage with her hand, but it’s quite voluptuous, so when she bows, her cleavage is subtly visible. Her hand is close to her sternum, so the lower part looks like an “I.”

Was even this intentional?

“I would like to commend the Paladin for his hard work. I am truly deeply grateful. Following the ancient Valkyrie, you even dealt with the Great Demon of Pandemonium.”

Oh, finally, it’s commendation time.

Anyway, it was a bit unexpected that the Princess would bow like that to show respect. Well, I did do a lot. It’s only natural that she would do this.

“It can truly be said to be a great achievement. The royal family is also deeply grateful, and I, too, am deeply grateful.”
“I was just doing what I had to do.”
“How modest. You have done something so great that there is almost no precedent…”

She straightened her back again and invited me to sit down.

“Well, then, please sit down.”
“Yes.”

As I was about to pull out a chair and sit down.

—Squeak.

Suddenly, the Sword Master opened the door and went outside.

“…”

What? Why did that woman suddenly leave?

Did she receive some kind of instruction?

More than that, is it okay to leave me alone with the Princess in this space? I wouldn’t do anything strange, but this is a security issue.

Is it a sign of trust?
Or is there something they want to talk about alone?

Whatever it is, it can be interpreted as the Princess trusting me… More than that, it’s amazing that the Sword Master is cooperating so obediently. It seems there’s some kind of strong connection between the royal family and the Sword Master that I don’t know about.

“Hehe, now it’s just the two of us.”

The Princess said, sitting across from me. She naturally rested her chest on the desk, and I, sitting right in front of her, couldn’t help but see it.

Guiding the situation to be alone and talking.

This woman is determined to win me over.

“Isn’t this a security issue?”
“Unless the Paladin… has thoughts that would cause a security issue. There shouldn’t be any problems. Do you perhaps have such thoughts?”
“I do not have such thoughts.”
“Then there shouldn’t be any problems with being alone with me like this.”

The Princess continued to talk, adding words to words, without erasing her seductive smile.

“I wanted to talk to the Paladin like this.”
“I am honored.”

Then she pours tea.

—Pour, pour.

Two cups, one for herself and one for me. I received the cup she handed me in accordance with etiquette and placed it in front of me.

“You have done a great job. I know everything the Paladin has done so far. Each and every one of them is an achievement worthy of being called heroic.”

The Princess stared at me and stroked her lips with her finger.

“So, I’m going to use this opportunity to find out what kind of person the Paladin is, who has done such heroic deeds… We have met before, but it was very brief.”

I’ve seen her a few times, but it wasn’t very long.

“And… I’m also curious about exactly what kind of man you are.”

She’s very interested in me.

“I will answer anything. If you have any questions for me, I will answer them all.”
“Hehe, yes. Then I can ask you anything.”

From the royal family’s perspective, I must have a lot of value. That’s why the Princess is putting in so much effort.

—Sip.

I slowly drank the tea.

“How is the tea?”
“Perhaps because it’s tea from the royal palace, it seems extremely delicious.”
“Is that so? I’m glad to hear that… Oh my.”
“Yes?”
“Your hand…”
“My hand?”

I looked at my hand.

“Wait.”

The Princess gave some kind of signal, and I held out my hand. She took my hand as it was and slowly turned it around, stroking it.

This is a bit too much physical contact.

But even while touching my hand like that, she doesn’t react in any special way. It’s as if she’s just touching my hand because she’s interested.

These seductive actions are ingrained in her.

“…It’s truly a warrior’s hand. It feels very strong.”
“It is actually strong. Strong enough to kill a Great Demon.”
“Indeed. I remember your prowess at the martial arts tournament. That strange dance was quite enjoyable too.”
“I tend to do such dances when I’m in a good mood. At the time of the martial arts tournament, I was in such a good mood that I showed off my skills to the best of my ability.”

Back then, I was the Emperor of Dance.
I was Chunma Michael Jackson.

“Hehe, you’re a funny person.”
“Dancing is fun.”
“Hoo… hehe.”

The Princess continued to laugh while touching my hand.

She’s capable of using her smile as a weapon.

“Haa… Paladin-nim seems a little different from what I thought.”
“What do you mean?”
“No. It’s nothing.”

It was only then that the Princess let go of my hand.

“Being like this makes me even more interested in the Paladin, how about it? Besides official matters like this. I would like to get to know you personally… Would you like to be my friend?”

What, a friend?

“A friend?”
“Yes. If I had the opportunity to build a personal friendship with a hero like the Paladin, even if I am a member of the royal family of the Karga Kingdom and a princess, I would have to reach out and grab it first.”
“Hehehe, I think you’re overestimating me too much.”

I didn’t expect the Princess to be so blatant. Right. A friend. Is she thinking of asking about the elf envoy after breaking down the barriers of my heart like this?

It’s likely.

“…”

The Princess was silent for a moment at my words.

“The person who wears this.”

She said, gently tapping the jeweled tiara on her head.

“Does not overestimate anyone. I just think according to the facts. The Paladin is a hero with the abilities I have judged him to have. If I think so. That is the truth.”
“…”

There was a charisma in the Princess’s voice that seemed impossible to refuse… So she’s a woman on the same level as Kadia. People who reign over others have a different feeling from the start.