When Zack entered, he saw Natalia stomping her feet in anger. He didn't know what he did, so he said, "Big sister Natalia, why are you so angry with me?" he asked while carefully moving forward.
Natalia turned around in anger with her hard steps stomping, came close to Zack, and said in an angry voice, "First of all, it's Natalia to you. How many times do I have to teach you that? Stop calling me big sister. It makes me look much older than you," she said while slapping his biceps with her hand. "And youu... youuu, what you diddd to herrr... thattt you know that thinggg..." Natalia, now coming face to face, could not ask him about all that. She stuttered a lot and looked here and there, her eyes rotating in panic mode, clearly couldn't make up her mind.
Seeing the talk was going nowhere, Zack asked, "Are you okay? I haven't got any details, but I felt Queen Mother was saying something—your day was not good. What happened? Are you okay?"
Since Zack was slightly shorter than Natalia, he could see her face turning from happy panic to fearful panic, her eyes getting teary. Remembering what happened, she looked at Zack and completely broke out her water dam, and started crying loudly like a kid. "Waaahhhhh, waaahhhhh, I am so tired, Zack... all thhiisss, sobb, sobbb, everyoneee keep looking at me as a failuurree, aaahhhh, waaahhhhh." She kneeled down and started bawling her eyes out. "And thattt basstardd Kanneee, that filthy mann harassed mee, wahhhh, wahhhh, aahhhh." She took her hands to her face and cried loudly.
Hearing this, Zack's pupils dilated, as anger surged in his mind. He clenched his fist with a fiery glaze and said, "Wait here. I will cut his dick off and kill him on the spot," he said while leaving the bawling princess on the ground and started opening the glass window. Wind came through gaps and brought warmth to the princess. She realized what Zack just said and hurriedly got up and ran while stumbling, barely stabilizing herself she ran awkwardly, and grabbed his waist while he was about to jump from the window and glide away. "Waiiittt, waiiitt, Zackk," her eyes still teary, trying her best to stop this madman. "Waiitt, do you even know what he looks like? Where are you going?" Natalia said while barely holding her weak body and him.
Hearing this, Zack paused, his thoughts flickering. Yes… I don't really know Kane. He came here only once, and I couldn't even see his face then. He exhaled slowly, calming himself, and lowered his raised leg—but their awkward positioning threw his balance off. As he turned, his foot slipped, and he began to fall, dragging Natalia with him. Her head was about to hit the wall, but in a desperate reflex, Zack thrust one hand above her head to shield it while his other arm wrapped around her waist. As his supporting leg slipped further, it brushed against her legs, knocking them out from under her. In a fluid, almost instinctive motion, he twisted her body mid-fall, forcing her to turn so her back faced the ground instead of her face. The two crashed down together, a mess of motion and breathless surprise.
THUUMMPPP! With a loud sound, Zack and Natalia fell on their butts with Zack's back on the wall and Natalia slightly more slanted towards the ground, and her head protected by his hand while she lay on his stomach.
"Ow, ow, ow," she exclaimed in pain.
"Are you okay?" Zack asked, his voice low with concern. "I'm sorry... I lost my cool and ended up hurting you," he added, still holding her gently, afraid that letting go too soon might hurt her more.
Hearing this, she came out from her pain and first realized her awkward position and pushed her back, making herself comfortable while her head now rested on his shoulder and her butt touched his crotch. She let herself be back-hugged by him, who was still holding onto her.
"It's okay." She breathed calmly now as she let herself in his embrace. She closed her eyes, feeling his breath on her head. "Don't worry. Even though I am saying all this, I am still strong, you know." She brought her legs more closer to herself and like a small child got into his embrace. "Let's stay like this for a minute, then I will be okay," she smiled warmly as moonlight came from the window with wind, making them warm and cozy. She felt most relaxed today here in his embrace.
Zack, clearly a little uncomfortable, said, "Uhmmm, isn't this a little awkward?" he asked while looking down to her sleeping face.
"Hmmm, didn't you do the same thing with your sister while being naked?" Natalia finally said while her breath was calm and warmth in her heart.
"Huuhhh, she said that to you?" Zack, embarrassed, explained in a hurry, "It's not like that. She has always been like this as far as I can remember, so for me and her, there is nothing suspicious," he tried to explain to her.
"I know, I know. Don't worry, I know everything. I don't have any problem with that. Jussttt... let me stay like this. I am tired."
Zack, seeing her face, smiled warmly and let her stay like this for a while. They stayed like this for a while until several steps could be heard.
"Hey, hey, I guess your time is up, princessss." Sasha came with other girls, watching her in his embrace like a kid. Other girls giggled.
"Waaahhh, so embarrassing." Little princess closed her eyes in embarrassment that her big sister was doing something shameless in front of everyone.
"Haha, she is looking cute," Sio said while giggling.
"Indeed cute," Fia said in a calm manner.
"Hey, hey, don't be so lovey-dovey. I still haven't found any man for myself. So You can't beat me to it," Maren said, picking a fight with everyone she saw.
With all girls seeing him hugging her, he got embarrassed and got up while carrying her in princess style.
"Wow, a princess style for the princess," Sio laughed sweetly.
Natalia, getting red to her ears, hid her face in his chest.
Zack brought her and let her sit on the sofa. He kneeled while putting her on the sofa and touched her knees and said, "Take care of her!" He patted her knee, signaling it will be okay. As he said that, he went from this balcony room and went to the room where everyone was eating and enjoying.
A few minutes back...
Maid Emmy was taking care of the dishes, and everyone had already eaten, so she was cleaning the mess. But then suddenly, a plate full of food came into her face, held by a handsome-faced man.
"Here, eat it, then you can do the work," Oliver said while holding the plate with one hand and the other behind his back.
Maid Emmy, clearly surprised, said after the shock, "Thank you, but I can't eat now. I will finish my task, then eat it," she declined the offer kindly.
"Oh my, you should not deny the food on the plate. It will go to waste." Maid Emmy shook her head, clearly not thinking she would hear this from a noble's mouth. She hesitated but still said, "Please keep it here. I will eat it and not let it go to waste," she said while turning away.
"Then I guess I can't give you this. If you had said yes, then I would give him to you to pet." Oliver brought cute Tyra with his other hand behind his back and showed him to Maid Emmy, whose eyes dilated in madness as her inner word shouted, Shammmppooo bassstarrrddd playing dirty with meee! I will never fall into the trap!! She thought this, but her body already sat on the chair. Fixing her glasses, she said, "Please go ahead."
Seeing this, Oliver smiled and placed Tyra on her lap and gave the food to her table in front.
Seeing Tyra sitting comfortably on her lap made her want to scream with joy. Yeeeeeeessssssssssss!!! Finally! Thank you, God, for letting me be born! she shouted in her head, with her face remaining calm as she gently patted Tyra, who yawned adorably and snuggled deeper into her lap. Then, out of nowhere, Oliver's mind went blank—he couldn't hear or feel anything. All he could see was the most breathtaking smile he had ever witnessed. Maid Emmy's serene smile as she lovingly stroked Tyra made him feel as if he were lying in a field of flowers under warm sunlight. She then picked up the spoon, took the first bite herself, and offered the second to Tyra, who sniffed it and took a tiny, cute bite. Emmy's heart fluttered wildly, though she remained composed. Turning slightly, she said in her calm, cool tone, "Thank you."
Oliver just nodded and kept staring at her in astonishment, who ignored him like plague and kept petting Tyra.
After some time, Zack came and patted his shoulder. "Let's go, buddy." He dragged Oliver from his statue-like self and made him sit on the sofa. Maid Emmy glanced at the going Oliver and thought in her mind, I could give you 1 point for this, Shampoo bastard, then turned her away.
Oliver said, still looking at Maid Emmy, "Zack, I think I am in love!"
Hearing this, Zack smiled and said, "That's what you always say!"
"No, this time it's true. I am really in love," he continued.
"That's also what you always say," Zack reprimanded him again.
"Ugghh, you will not understand this handsome man's feelings." He shrugged and came back to the real world, still occasionally glancing at Maid Emmy, trying to catch that smile once more.
"So, what do you want to speak about?" Getting serious as he fixed his posture and cleaned his little outfit.
"Tell me about Kane Cox first," Zack, with anger in his voice, asked.
"Hmm, that pervert of a bastard is nothing special, just a typical son of a rich Crown. I don't know how he got chosen to rule this land in case Natalia fails, but I am sure he can't even take care of himself, let alone a whole city." He took a sip of water and continued, "I can find exactly where he is staying at the 5th rock, and you can beat him up, but doing that will offend the representative of the Empire of Echor, and we people of this little island can't really do anything to that hegemon. One person of theirs is enough to blast this entire island. If we want to do something about Kane, then we have to know why they chose him. This is technically their territory, so they could say what they want and we would have to give it to them with free hands. Also they could have chosen a capable man to lead this place, but sending him doesn't add up to me." Oliver put his glass down. "The only way to know is to gather info about that representative, but I don't think that would be an easy task," Oliver said while touching his hair coming on his forehead.
Zack nodded and said, "Find a way to get close to that guy or find info on him." Oliver nodded, clearly wanting to do this also.
"What else?" Oliver asked, seeing Zack not getting relaxed.
"I want to know people who are not registered in the official entry booklet of the city," Zack asked, thinking of that man who casually jumped from the city walls.
Oliver, surprised, gathered his thoughts and said, "That would be easier if you just ask the 4th rock leader, Alfie's father, about it."
"What about Leader?" Alfie came with Big guy and a sleeping Gloomy getting a princess carry from Big guy. They sat down. Gloomy was sleeping like a log on Big guy's thighs, not minding his rough bed, clearly blacked out.
"So what about Leader?" Alfie asked again, hearing no answer back.
Zack sighed and decided to tell them. "I saw a weird man jumping inside the city wall. Of course, jumping was not the big deal, but what I felt when he walked past me... still giving me goosebumps." As he explained in detail what happened, everyone was shocked, looking at each other, realizing they never saw anyone at that time.
Zack breathed out a heavy breath and said, "Don't worry about him. Just keep an eye on each other, especially both princesses," he said while looking at Alfie, who just nodded. "So I want the info on that man and others to avoid any mishaps," Zack said in full seriousness, "and of course, that representative guy and Kane Cox," he added.
Alfie, while thinking, said, "Leader may have some info, but I believe that, for that Caliber of a man doesn't really need any identification to live normally in this huge city. And even if Leader had that info, he can't mobilize the force to just hunt that man since it will leave other important places defenseless. The other option is just wait, which probably everyone is doing, and the other choice is to go ourselves and make our hands dirty, which could lead us into more trouble," Alfie said in his not-so-usual calm manner, completely different from his usual personality.
Big guy, not saying anything, just listening and absorbing everything, clenched his fist tightly thought to himself, "This time I will not let anyone get hurt," he thought of his sister's pain while getting more determined.
While the boys were deciding what to do, Maid Emmy glanced at them, not eavesdropping but taking note of the seriousness, and turned away.
Outside in the balcony room, girls gathered around Princess Natalia and said teasingly, "Takeee careee offf herrrrrr, takerrr carerrrr offff herrrr, takeee careeee offff herrrrr." Everyone started teasing her as she put her head on her knees, hiding her embarrassment.
"Shut upppp, you guyyz! You have to take care of me, not tease me," Natalia sounded irritated.
"We are taking ccareee of you, right, girrllss?" Maren said laughingly.
"Now, that's enough. Don't be so hard on our princess." Fia patted her head to console her.
"You have a long way to go to steal my little brother from me," Sasha said proudly.
"Just you wait, you little witch," Natalia brought her head out of her shell and glared.
"Big sister, are you okay now?" Little princess was clearly worried about what happened today. Seeing her worried face, Natalia smiled and pulled her into a back hug and said, "Don't worry, I am fine now. I have everyone with me, so I would not back down. And one day I will take that pervert bastard's cock and pull it out from existence," she said while showing a cutting sign.
"Uwwaahhhhh," little princess covered her eyes while others laughed.
Sio, on the side, thinking about what happened to her, asked, "Why do we have to go through this hell?" she asked with a sad face.
"Because being women is a curse," Maren said, anger in her voice. "Everyone just looks and touches you disgustingly, not thinking about your feelings, always looking down on us, telling us what to do or what not to do. It's disgusting to the core," clearly not happy.
Listening to this, Sio's shoulders slumped even more. Seeing her like that, Sasha gently pulled Sio into her arms, giving her a warm, reassuring back hug. "Yes, it's true," she said softly, "being a woman can feel like a curse sometimes—but it's also a blessing. Because someday, you'll meet people who'll love you, protect you, and still let you be free to do whatever you want, without asking anyone for any permission." She placed a hand tenderly on Sio's lower belly. "And this," she continued with a faint smile, "is the greatest gift we have—the power to bring new life into the world. Not everyone can do that, and not everyone values it, but it's something truly sacred." Sasha's voice turned gentle and warm. "Being a woman is both a curse and a blessing, Sio… it all depends on how you choose to see it.
"And I think we do have those kind of stupid men with us, right?" Fia said winkingly.
Hearing this, everyone laughed sweetly, making the atmosphere lively.
"Let's go. It's time to rest. We are having a sleepover, right?" Sasha asked, looking at Natalia.
"Yes, I have already told other maids to take care of everything. Since our school will be closed till the ceremony, we could play a lot until night and sleep till afternoon, yeahhhh!" Everyone cheered and in a calm and happy mood walked out of the door and saw boys sitting and discussing something serious with tension on their faces.
Seeing this, Sasha said, "See? Boys also don't have it easy. Look at their faces, clearly talking about skateboards with serious faces," she jokingly said, but she could see real tension on their faces. So did everyone, but they laughed it out. Why is Zack so tense recently? Sasha wondered.
Seeing every girl returning, they decided to keep it secret for now.
"Everyone is here. Are you going to sleep?" Oliver said smiling, making the mood at their place lighten.
"Yes, we are going. So do you. Don't you dare come to our room if you do then I will crush your little head," Maren said with a threatening voice.
"Haha, we want to live so we will be staying in our room," Oliver brushed off the threatening voice.
Clappppp!!! "Now everyone, it's time to go to bed," Queen said while clapping as she led everyone to their respective room. After sending her kids to their rooms, she rubbed her head in pain, clearly tired.
"You have done well, Malina." Jason came after sending off everyone from the party.
"Thank you too for your hard work," she smiled. She added, "Did 3rd rock leader Vali Sverrisson not come?"
"No, he didn't come, and I think that's somewhat good since him being undecided will lead to less pressure," Jason said while looking out of the window to the large rocks.
Sighh, why does everything have to come to this? She breathed heavily while also seeing the big city. First, I can't get any power like other Crowns, then my poor daughter can't control the machine. Don't know why nothing is working, clearly blaming herself for her daughter's mishap.
Jason, seeing this, shook his head and said, "Everything is going to be okay. You have come a long way while protecting your city, and you will continue to do so," he said warmly. "Now let's go. Let me take you to your room. Rest a bit. I still have to come back here to protect those kids. I can't let a few guards here on the day like today, I have to be present," he said while clenching his fist, still giving full attention.
"Thank you, Jason. If you were not here, I don't know..."
"Now, now, don't give those words. We are not kids anymore. We have helped each other a lot, so let's continue doing that."
Queen nodded sweetly and followed his huge back to her room.