Weeping Men: The Innocent Princess's Secret Delight - Chapter 2.10
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“Are you really thinking of stepping forward yourself, Your Highness?”
“Doesn’t it sound fun?”
“You could be in danger.”
When Judith expressed her intention to participate directly, Kaizen was troubled.
He could accompany her as a close aide and guard, but he was worried about the dangers he might not be able to prevent from reaching her.
“It’s okay. I’m going to learn how to protect myself from now on.”
“?”
“Please, teacher!”
And Judith never missed a chance to be alone with him.
“How could I possibly teach Her Highness…….”
“There’s no one more suitable than you!”
“Still…….”
“……Other knights besides Sir Kaizen are a bit scary…….”
Judith, who found persuading the firm Kaizen troublesome, shrank back and pretended to be scared, recalling past events.
“……!”
Kaizen immediately recalled the recent incident. The princess, crying with her clothes torn, among the three knights who had kidnapped her.
‘……I can’t let that happen again.’
Grinding his teeth, Kaizen looked at Judith firmly and answered.
“Understood. If you’re okay with me, I will help you.”
“Thank you so much.”
Judith smiled. It was convenient that Kaizen was weak to her pretending to be vulnerable.
“First, Your Highness should learn to escape quickly from dangerous situations rather than fight.”
Having decided to do it, he intended to do his best. Kaizen took Judith to the winter forest, where the event was planned to be held.
Bringing along two horses, Kaizen mounted one upon arriving at the forest.
“I’ll demonstrate first. You just need to watch and follow, Your Highness.”
“I, I have to ride by myself?”
Judith had known this would happen since she changed into her riding outfit, but she pretended to be nervous.
“Even if an accident occurs, I will protect you. There’s no need to worry.”
Sometimes, watching the resolute Kaizen make such assurances made her heart flutter like an ordinary girl.
“I trust you.”
Judith smiled shyly. Kaizen was momentarily captivated by her smile, then quickly snapped out of it and pretended nothing was wrong as he urged the horse forward.
“It seems there are fewer obstacles if you head this way. If you run, just keep going this way…….”
He moved slowly to show her the path. Judith occasionally let out exclamations, pretending to listen attentively, but her gaze was fixed on one spot.
‘……Riding is a good thing.’
The tightly fitting pants accentuated the strong line of his thighs beautifully.
“Your Highness?”
“Yes, Sir Kaizen. I understood everything perfectly so far.”
Judith, who had been savoring the moment, immediately feigned innocence when her name was called. Kaizen tilted his head slightly.
‘It felt like something snake-like was slithering across my lower body.’
He called out wondering if Judith had felt that strange sensation too. But seeing her fresh smile, it seemed she hadn’t felt anything.
‘Am I still suffering from the aftereffects of war…? I need to pull myself together.’
Firmly believing that the sensation was a hallucination due to his own oversensitivity, Kaizen brushed it off and returned his attention to Judith.
After dismounting, he helped Judith climb onto a gentle white mare. After seating the princess, he planned to mount alongside her and observe her from slow walking to fast galloping.
“Put your foot here… That’s it. Now I’ll—”
“Wait, wait a moment, Sir Kaizen.”
As he was about to turn away, the princess gripped his hand tightly and wouldn’t let go.
“It’s, it’s quite high… I’m scared! Can’t you not let go of my hand…?”
She was trembling even as she spoke.
She looked like a newborn calf, wobbling because it couldn’t put strength in its legs. Kaizen almost smiled but bit his lip to hold it back.
“I won’t let go. Don’t be afraid.”
He soothed her instead. He was startled by how gentle his own voice sounded.
“Thank you…”
The princess seemed too distracted to notice, though.
Kaizen cleared his throat unnecessarily before pulling her hand to guide her. The mare Judith was riding followed slowly, step by step.
He planned to let her get used to walking like this first, then once she was somewhat accustomed, they would ride side by side to get her used to the speed.
“Ugh… uh…”
But Judith wasn’t adapting easily. She groaned in fear every time the saddle bobbed up and down.
“……”
Kaizen’s face gradually turned red. The heat spread to his neck, making him feel flushed.
Twenty years of growing up under strict family precepts, three years thrown into the bloody north.
There had been no room for femininity in Kaizen’s life, but he instinctively recognized the strange feeling.
“Hnngh, hnn…”
Moist, fearful groans. Her waist awkwardly rose and fell repeatedly as she tried to mimic what she saw. Her hand unconsciously gripped tighter with every swaying step that rocked her body.
Those things were somehow, somehow… indescribably ticklish…
“…I think that’s enough for now.”
Kaizen couldn’t endure anymore and let go of her hand. Forget riding side by side, they hadn’t even reached the end of the planned escape route.
“Ah…”
Judith looked bewildered for a moment when her hand was released. But soon she made a determined promise.
“…I was shaking too much, wasn’t I? I’ll try to be brave and do it on my own!”
She thinks the reason he let go was because of her incompetence. Kaizen couldn’t affirm or deny it, only biting his tongue hard.
Impurities flowed into his mind boiling with heat. It was a muddy stream called self-reproach.
‘The princess who has no awareness… How am I any different from those three bastards…?’
The heat wouldn’t subside easily. Kaizen stood far away, observing Judith’s actions while shaking his legs and hitting his head, fidgeting restlessly.
By the time Judith had figured out the knack on her own and was skillfully riding the horse, Kaizen’s inner turmoil had finally calmed like a placid lake.
“You’ve learned in the blink of an eye, Your Highness. It’s amazing.”
Kaizen praised Judith’s horseback riding skills, relieved that his voice came out normally without trembling. Judith smiled brightly.
“I can finally ride a horse too!”
In truth, she had learned horseback riding as part of her education. Judith had deliberately pretended to be clumsy until the end.
‘Of course, I got to see something interesting thanks to that!’
Kaizen’s face, flushed with heat mixed with self-reproach, was the best. It was as exciting as seeing him cry.
She wanted to see more of it. Judith, with her newly awakened libido, decided to stimulate Kaizen in a different way.
“Then for the next course— Ugh, ouch…”
She pretended to rub her waist, staggered, and threw herself off the horse.
Of course, she wasn’t worried about getting hurt. Kaizen would catch her.
“Your Highness!”
As expected, Kaizen caught Judith in his arms and quickly examined her all over. Seeing her complain of pain despite no visible injuries, it seemed to be a typical case of muscle pain.
“Your Highness, this is because you moved too suddenly. If you get a muscle pain injection from a doctor…”
“…I don’t want to.”
“…Pardon?”
Kaizen, who was about to rush off, stopped in his tracks. The princess had rejected the obvious solution. He was perplexed.
