“I can still turn back…but I have to doit!”
The boy stared at the key ring in his hand for a bit but eventually gatheredhis resolve.
The slightly rusted metal felt even heavierthan it should. His body was tense, soaked with sweat, and trembling as thegravity of what he was doing sank in.
(It’ll be okay… Everyone’s asleep, so noone will notice.)
The boy walked onward by faint candlelight.The jangling of the keys he held echoed through the dimly-lit underground area.
This was the dungeon of a fortress belongingto the great military kingdom of Sodom. It was located near the border with theCourreges Queendom.
Sodom had recently invaded the neighboringqueendom of Courreges and a few prisoners had been taken to this fortress nearthe border.
That underground world would normallyremain dark even throughout the day, but the prisoners still used the night tosleep. The silence caused his footsteps to sound all the louder.
Tension, fear, and excitement mixedtogether inside him, so his heart pounded and his breathing grew heavy. Thethought of being caught caused his legs to tremble and he very much wanted torun away right this instant.
(But I can’t just watch this happen anylonger…)
He had been orphaned when he was very young, so he had volunteered for his homekingdom’s army. But as a commoner with no connections or money, he had beenmade a dungeon guard at a fortress in the countryside.
The distant location was unpopular withthose who had families, but the boy had gladly taken the position since he hadto work if he was to survive.
He had faithfully fulfilled his duties eversince. So he had needed a good reason for committing the major crime ofdrugging his colleagues and swiping the keys.
“Okay, time to open it…”
The boy gasped as soon as he startedinserting the key in the lock.
That was because he had been brieflydistracted by the beautiful girls holding each other in their arms and quietlysleeping behind the bars.
They both possessed a n.o.ble and refinedaura not found in normal people, so they seemed to s.h.i.+ne even inside the gloomydungeon. Their presence was like a flower in the wasteland.
This was a race against time, but his heartpounded as he stared at a beauty the likes of which he had never before seen.
“…! Who is it!?”
One of the girls sensed his presence and woke up.
She glared at him with disagreeably sharpeyes.
“Oh, um…I’m no one suspicious…”
His voice cracked when she spoke to him while he watched them sleep.
“Being a Sodom soldier is suspiciousenough!”
The girl’s doll-like features twisted withanger and she stood up to shout at him. The boy was again left speechless whenher full silhouette was revealed to him.
Her long and glossy blonde hair glitteredin the faint candlelight and she wore it in gorgeous ringlet curls. She wore adeep red silk dress with elegant frills and she gave off a sense of exceptionaln.o.bility.
Her unique skirt became see-through partwaydown, giving a view of her long slender legs. The glimpses of her thighs wereoddly s.e.xual.
The dress’s chest was left boldly open, revealinga deep cleavage. The extrlarge b.r.e.a.s.t.s seemed about to burst from the dressand their size far exceeded the average for her age. The corset she wore onlyemphasized the presence of her chest.
And because she stood tall and pushed herchest out, those overgrown b.r.e.a.s.t.s gained even more intensity and they jiggledup and down whenever she moved. It was a toxic sight for a teenage boy who hadlived a life devoid of femininity.
“N-no, I was trying to…”
The boy’s eyes were glued to the girl whosedeveloped body would make any guy turn his head and he did his best to forceout his voice.
“…Nnn~, Mary, what is it? …Oh, who isthat?”
The other girl sleepily rubbed her eyes and turned his way.
“It is nothing, Stella.”
The girl who snorted unhappily was quitebeautiful, but the one who had just woken up was on another level entirely.
The pure, unsullied color of her eyes wasprettier than any jewel and her snow-white skin looked almost transparent. Herstraight blonde hair was silkier than silk and glowed gently like the sun.
Her body was like a flower bud in theprocess of transforming from a girl to a woman and it was contained in anelegant dress of pure white and pale blue. The pure and tidy image suited herwell.
Her chest was not as large as thecurly-haired girl’s, but it had grown plenty for her age and the ampleroundness of her snow-white b.r.e.a.s.t.s looked charming in the lace border of thedress’s chest.
She looked like a fairy from a fairy tale,so her beauty seemed somehow otherworldly.
“Um, my name is Akira. I’m here to rescueyou two!”
“My! Is that true? You hear that, Mary?We’re being rescued.”
The girl with an angelic smile happilyhugged the girl she called Mary.
“Stella, we must not trust the words of aSodom soldier. He clearly plans to take us from the cell so he can violate us.”
“No! I would never!!”
It was an awful accusation, but heunderstood what they were saying.
His home kingdom of Sodom had beenconquering neighboring territories a lot in recent years. And this time, it hadinvaded Courreges without even declaring war, used the surprise attack to bringdown a castle near the border, and captured two princess sisters.
The plan was to use them as hostages tomake the rest of the invasion easier. In other words, the beautiful girls infront of him were the Courreges princess sisters: Stella Lily Gatomaritie andRosemary Angelica Gatomaritie.
Akira had been disgusted with his homekingdom’s underhanded methods and had risked stealing the dungeon keys torescue them.
“Um…Akira was it? Are you really rescuingus?”
“Of course! Sodom’s recent actions aresimply unforgivable. The two of you are in danger if you stay here…so pleaseescape with me.”
The boy unlocked their cell with the keys.The door opened with a dull creak and they were free to leave.
“My…thank you very much!”
“Wait, Stella. Trusting this barbarian istoo dangerous.”
The younger princess was blatantly wary,but Stella happily left the cell. And she hugged the boy with the biggest smileon her face.
“Wah, wah!? Princess Stella…wh-what areyou-…?”
A sweet aroma surrounded his body and asoft sensation pressed against his chest. He had never before sensed a girl’saroma or body heat, so he stared wide-eyed at the princess.
“I’m so happy I couldn’t help myself.…Sorry. Come on, what are you waiting for, Mary? Hurry, hurry~”
Stella blushed when she realized what she had done and stepped back from Akira.
She must have had a luxurious upbringing. Aninnocent princess like her would never have doubted anyone before, so beingcaptured like this must have been a frightening experience. She was so happy atbeing freed that she beckoned toward her younger sister while celebrating.
“I still don’t trust you…”
With that, Rosemary left the cell withelegant steps. She brushed the dust off of her skirt, brushed back her blondecurls, and otherwise made herself presentable in the most beautiful way.
“Oh, Mary. Are you still saying that?”
“We need to be cautious. So what do we donow?”
Innocent Stella fidgeted in her eagernessto get going, but the younger princess crossed her arms and came to a stop onceoutside the cell.
“I have a carriage prepared outside. Wewill take that to Courreges’s royal palace.”
“Won’t someone notice us?”
“I drugged the guards’ drinks, so they’reall asleep. I have transfer orders for two prisoners just in case, so we shouldbe free to leave even if we are caught.”
Rosemary’s eyes widened in admiration. Shemust not have expected his escape plan to be so well thought out.
And she may have sensed how seriously hetook this.
“Understood. …Now take us safely home.”
“Yes, please do, Akira.”
The older sister bowed and the youngersister gave him an arrogant look. The sisters behaved very differently, butboth their fates weighed on the boy’s shoulders.
“Then come this way.”
“Oh… I want to see mother and everyone elseat the castle…”
“You had better not screw this up!”
Thethree of them walked toward the spiral staircase that led to the surface.