Posting twice today! These two chapters are dialogue-only. This one is between Ernst and Targes. The next one has a group setting.
Interlude
A conversation between a lord and his retainer
"How should I say it… please, have some discretion… is what I mean."
"Discretion? Targes, do you mean to say that I have no discretion?"
"No, well… what I mean to say is…"
"What is it? You can say it clearly; I won"t mind… In other words, the message is that I have no such thing as propriety?"
"I wouldn"t exactly say you have "no such thing"… Well, there is no problem with you being with Ganche, right? Discretion just means taking steps to not let the people around you take notice."
"Is it not natural to be affectionate with one"s partner? Furthermore, I have no recollection of letting news of our relationship be widespread."
"No, that is, it is certainly good to be affectionate with your partner. It is absolutely wonderful that you have such a harmonious relationship… It is true that Lord Ernst had never announced it. However, news still trickles out… well, what I mean is that the people around you are being exposed to it."
"Being exposed…?"
"Right. They"re being exposed to your relationship. I am not affected by it at all, but it troubles the younger ones."
"I haven"t the slightest idea what could be causing them trouble. I"m sorry. Is there something off in my behavior?"
"You could say it"s your behavior… or you could say it"s your speech and conduct… Lord Ernst, let"s say that you shared affection with Ganche on a certain night. The next day, if someone asked you about it, you would answer them truthfully, correct?"
"Of course I would. What purpose would lying serve?"
"No, well, normally, when it comes to that, people would gloss over and avoid the question."
"Why is that?"
"Because it"s embarra.s.sing."
"What exactly is so embarra.s.sing?"
"Normally, no one would ever tell someone that they… had s.e.x."
"I don"t think I understand…"
"Lord Ernst, you would never let anyone else see you and Ganche having s.e.x, right?"
"Of course not. This isn"t the royal palace."
"…So if you were in the royal palace, you would let other people see…?"
"If not, then what else? Who would be able to verify that the child the princess carried was the child of the king?"
"…I only ask this because I would like to know for reference, but in the royal palace, how was that act supposed to be done?"
"The King should lay on the bed, facing up. After doing so, a butler would make the King"s instrument harden, whereafter the consort would sit upon it. That was all. In the case of a Queen, the positions were reversed."
"…By the way, at that time, just how many people would be in the room, taking notes…?"
"There would be three each of the King"s butlers and the princess"s maids. Then, there would be the King"s chief chamberlain along with the two administrative officials who would serve as witness, adding three more people. There would also be five doctors standing by in the unlikely event that anything were to happen. Thus, there would be at least fourteen or fifteen people in the room."
"…"
"However, the room where the King is meant to beget his children is quite s.p.a.cious, so it would be no issue at all if there were more people than that."
"…"
"Targes? Are you alright? Your expression doesn"t look very well?"
"…Thank you for your concern. It"s nothing. I had only just been hit by the realization once again that Lord Ernst is different from us people of the lower cla.s.ses."
"I"m the same as everyone else."
"I beg to differ…"
"I understand that the way it is done is more or less different from how it is performed in the royal palace. Besides, I had also never taken part in such a scene. After all, my member had been unable to stand erect."
"Is…. is that so…"
"Ah, no, it is able to harden now. When Ganche holds it in his mouth for me, my member becomes erect, though it remains small."
"…I"m sure that must be a very happy matter."
"When my member reacts that way, it pleases Ganche greatly. In the beginning, it wouldn"t happen unless I felt Ganche within the deepest parts of my body, but now there are times where I harden with just a kiss… Amazing, isn"t he? Ganche, that is. No matter how many doctors the royal palace had gathered, none of them were able to do what Ganche had achieved."
"That… that sure is… amazing, huh…?"
"It is a wonderful thing, isn"t it."
"Well… it sure is…"
"I have now gotten to the point where I feel shivers just from Ganche"s touch. When he gently holds my member in his mouth, I…"
"Lord Ernst."
"What is it?"
"You should refrain from providing such detailed descriptions…"
"Is that so?"
"Ganche will butcher me."
"Why is that?"
"Why, you ask… Lord Ernst would also dislike it, right? If I knew about Ganche"s most private area in such great detail."
"…I see what you mean."
"Please don"t glare at me like that. I"m only talking theoretically. Though, of course, since we"re both soldiers, there were times where we changed clothes in the same area, or went to go wash up at the same time. So we both saw what kind of thing was hanging on the other person."
"Ganche"s body is magnificent, isn"t it? The perfect proportions of his body are beautiful."
"Haa… well, he certainly has a lot of musculature… he"s Dunbertian, after all."
"It isn"t because he"s Dunbertian. Ganche himself is magnificent. As for myself, I had never seen a body which so beautifully abounds with vitality as his does."
"Is that so?"
"That which stands between his legs is magnificent as well, isn"t it? It is always valiantly rising tall and lancing forth."
"…If it"s always erect like that, he"ll keel over."
"…Is that true? But Ganche is always hard."
"I"m sure that"s only because he"s in front of Lord Ernst. When he"s in front of us soldiers, it"s docile… well, it is still frighteningly gigantic, though."
"Such a thing…! So you have seen a Ganche whose member is soft…!?"
"I have. But going back a step, you wouldn"t exactly let other people see when your thing is hard, you know?"
"I had never seen Ganche any way other than that… I see… so Targes has…"
"Why do you look so agitated…? If it were me, wouldn"t it be strange if I were erect in front of you?"
"Someone other than me has seen a Ganche that I myself have never been able to see…"
"Since he only acts like a nice, proper honors student in front of Lord Ernst, tch… that guy…"
"What?"
"No, it"s nothing… Next time, if Ganche is erect, please pour water over it."
"Water?"
"If you make it feel cold, it"ll calm down. Well, this might only work once, though. Since Dunbertians are strong…"
"Ganche is very strong."
"That"s not the kind of strong I meant, but… well, it"s fine. Speaking of, how many times does Ganche usually let out his stuff?"
"Two or three times."
"Surprisingly not a lot… I thought it"d be a lot more."
"Is that so? I myself am unfamiliar with what is the norm."
"By the way… about how much time does it take?"
"What do you mean?"
"In other words, from when you start doing it to when you go to sleep, how much time pa.s.ses?"
"Let me think… there are many times where I end up falling asleep in the middle, so I can"t say for sure, but… if I"m tired, then it lasts for about one hour. If not, then it goes on for two… no, about three hours…"
"I"m only asking for reference, but… you stated that you had never seen Ganche go soft, correct? …so, in other words, throughout that entire time, do you mean to say that he"s always hard…?"
"Naturally, that"s what I"m saying."
"…"
"In any case, Targes, should I cool him down while we are doing it?"
"…"
"Or would the morning be a better time for that?"
"…"
"Which one is it?"
"…How about you try attacking when he"s sleeping in bed? If you do it before he gets his morning wood, maybe it"ll go soft…"
"Is that so? While he"s asleep, is it."
"Lord Ernst."
"What is it?"
"It sure is nice to be so blissful…"
"What? Did I do something else strange?"
"No, I just had the feeling that when Lord Ernst is so happy, Meissen will be in safe hands."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. Only, please take care of your hips."
"My hips? What do you mean? You"re saying so many strange things today, Targes."
"Nevermind, please don"t mind me…"
"Targes."
"Yes."
"I tried it, but it didn"t work."
"Milord?"
"You said to throw water on it to cool it down, yes? I tried doing that."
"…You… really tried it…."
"Oh, was it a joke?"
"No, that isn"t the case… I see… I understand now."
"What do you mean?"
"No, it"s nothing."
"Humm. Then, when Ganche went to sleep, I took a cloth that I had soaked in freezing water made out of thawed snow and tried gently covering his member with it. But it didn"t work."
"Is… is that so…"
"That was all. What do you think I should do next?"
"Next… you say…"
"Yes, next."
"…"
"Incidentally, Targes. I"ve been concerned about this since earlier, but what happened to your face? For such a large bruise to form… could it be that you were injured in the midst of training?"
"Ah… no… well… this isn"t something to worry about."
"How about I make a poultice for it? Would it be better to put something cold on it?"
"There"s no need… this is, I suppose, karma coming back to bite me."
"Was there something that happened?"
"No, it was my fault for interfering unnecessarily."
"What do you mean?"
"Thank you, but really, you don"t have to worry… that guy is going to glare holes into me from afar…"
"What was that? I didn"t hear what you said at the end very well…?"
"This was a life lesson that I had to learn. Mm, a consequence of punishment for my own wrongdoings."
"Humm. I don"t really understand, but… well, Targes, if you say it is fine, then…"
"Yes. Thank you very much for your worry."
"In any case, Targes. Returning to our topic from earlier, what do you think I should do next?"
"Lord Ernst."
"What is it?"
"If you would, I would humbly like to ask you to wait ten… no, twenty years…"
"What?"
"After that much time has pa.s.sed, the relationship between the two of you will have matured and calmed. By that time, you, too, will be able to see Ganche when he is soft."
"…To have to wait that long… Targes, do you not know of any other, better way?"
"Lord Ernst."
"Yes?"
"I humbly ask for you to please forgive me."
"For what?"
"I have only accepted to receive a bruise on my right cheek. If my left cheek were to also be bruised, I would no longer be able to continue training the militia."
"…Targes, you sometimes say such strange things. I cannot understand at all what you are trying to say."