The Princess's Private Tutoring - Chapter 11

Episode 11. Houston’s Request

‘If I can’t speak, I won’t be able to have lessons with Sir Killian. Unless the lessons are physical. For example…’

Celestia’s cheeks and the tips of her ears flushed red.

In Celestia’s mind, fluffy clouds of imagination began to bloom.

If others were to hear it, they would all find it embarrassing.

Celestia shook her head to shake off the improper thoughts.

Wholesome thoughts, a virtuous mind.

Celestia muttered it like a spell.

“Dancing, fencing, hunting, archery!”

That’s what they would do.

The subjects for lessons were endless.

Among them, there was one lesson Celestia most looked forward to.

The request she had made to Houston, even lying to him!

‘I want to start the lesson quickly.’

Her heart pounded with anticipation.

In the end, it came out indecent.

***

“How are the lessons with my adorable little sister?”

At the Blue Club, Houston plopped down in front of Killian, who was sipping from his glass. His rough movements sent dust flying.

Killian waved his hand in the air and twisted the wrist holding his glass.

“Why? Is Her Highness not listening?”

Houston took a whiskey glass from a passing server’s tray.

“Her Highness was famous from a young age for being at odds with her teachers. She was a little unusual. Not that our princess has any problems—no, the teachers were all strange. Still, I thought she’d get along well with you. Guess not?”

“Her Highness.”

Killian didn’t like the way that mouth so casually ran on about the princess’s past, even if Houston was her closest friend.

He snatched away Houston’s whiskey glass and said, “She listens too well. That’s the problem.”

That’s what drives a man insane.

“What?”

Killian looked at Houston with disdain.

He didn’t know a thing.

No—it was Killian himself who hadn’t known.

Killian had been certain he wouldn’t waver before Celestia.

Even if he did, he believed he could regain his composure and focus solely on his official duties.

He had striven relentlessly to see her only as the sovereign he served.

Logic, reason, restraint—he honed them all. Thus, he earned the nickname of monk. He never yielded to temptation, always keeping his distance from every sort of indulgence.

Now, restraint had become such a habit that he had no interest in women or in pleasures.

So he thought he would be fine even before Celestia.

But from their very first meeting, the instincts he had long pressed down began to awaken, and when he saw and touched Celestia’s pale skin yesterday, he nearly lost his mind.

Her skin under his hand was as soft as whipped cream, and her innocent eyes gazing up at him stirred his appetite.

Appetite? Killian, who even in food preferred plain flavors, was aghast at the perverse desire.

His reason collapsed completely. Because of that, Celestia nearly fell and hurt herself.

Thankfully, he caught her in time.

But even that led to another accident.

‘Damn bastard, are you getting hard?’

Killian looked down at his lower body.

As if aware of its wrongdoing, it was calm for now.

Still, he couldn’t be certain he would get through this full moon unscathed.

Ever since he saw the now twenty-year-old Celestia from a distance, the full moon’s temptation had grown even stronger. Could he withstand it?

“What’s with that look? You look like you want to kill someone right now.” Houston stiffened.

Though he wore a neatly tailored suit and looked like a genteel scholar, in truth, Killian was a man whose entire body was a weapon.

In school days, after a sparring or fencing session with him, the number of people who had to be carried away in a carriage easily filled a dozen.

Houston swallowed hard. He had spoken lightly, but having once seen Killian run amok, his instincts told him to shrink back.

“Killian.”

Houston carefully spoke again. He deliberately poured liquor into his empty glass and clinked it against Killian’s.

At the ringing sound, Killian’s eyes at last grew clear, as if waking from sleep.

“Apologies. I was lost in thought, ignoring you.”

“What were you thinking about so intently? No, never mind. Don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”

Houston was curious, but decided it was better not to hear.

Killian didn’t intend to say anything anyway. He just lifted the corner of his lips slightly and drank.

One glass, then two—each round of drinks softened Killian’s sharp aura. As the mood grew lighter, Houston asked, “Tell me about the princess’s lessons.”

“Why do you keep prying? If you’re that curious, come and see for yourself.”

“That won’t do.”

“Why? From the way you act like a guardian, I think you could even apply to observe the classes.”

Houston grinned.

‘Even if you’re fine with it, the princess would hate it.’

Celestia had warned them.

“I won’t forgive anyone who interrupts my studies!”

Thus, even King Perriorson couldn’t go near the lesson’s location.

“You’re being way too overprotective. Our princess is an adult now. She’s all grown up.”

“…An adult, all grown up?”

Killian muttered under his breath.

“Of course. She’s grown.”

His voice was proud yet somehow bitter. Killian narrowed his eyes.

Houston gave a wry smile. “The date mentioned in the curse is drawing closer day by day.”

Instead of replying, Killian clenched his glass. Crack. The shattering sound startled Houston.

“Blood!”

Even as glass shards dug into his skin, Killian remained calm. He shook his hand to scatter the shards away.

“It’s nothing. Don’t fuss. So there’s really no way to break the curse?”

When Houston tried to call a server, Killian stopped him.

He opened his palm, pulled out the shards, and poured strong liquor over it.

Perhaps because of the grave conversation, he felt no pain at all.

It was Houston, watching, who felt miserable.

Killian wrapped his palm with a handkerchief and finished staunching the blood.

“Why did you suddenly break the glass?”

“I ate something good at dinner. Lost control of my strength.”

“You even make jokes now. Something’s wrong?”

“No. I’m the same as always, so just answer my question.”

It was a reply tinged with hope that a way to break the curse had been found.

“I tried everything. I even asked sorcerers from other continents, but they all said prophecies can’t be changed. There’s no solution.”

Killian knew that too. He had scoured the vast continent himself, but found no way to stop Celestia’s prophecy.

“The prophecy could be wrong.”

“Everyone hopes for that. But before then, the best thing is for the princess to overcome her aversion to men and find a partner. So, about the request I made, is it going well?”

On the surface, Houston’s request for Celestia’s lessons was to strengthen her diplomatic skills. But the true purpose lay elsewhere.

To overcome Celestia’s rejection of men.

“I recall I refused that.”

“I know. You refused. But did I ever say I’d given up?”

“Don’t play word games.”

When Killian frowned, Houston shut his mouth and downed his drink.

Moments later, he clutched his head as if in agony and said, “Then what do we do? Just sit by and watch our beautiful princess die?”

He looked as though he might burst into tears. In truth, it was Killian who wanted to cry.

Just imagining a world without her made part of him collapse.

Quietly, bitterly, he muttered, “She doesn’t seem particularly averse.”

Killian recalled his encounters with Celestia.

She had approached him without hesitation, and even when they touched, she seemed composed. It was Killian who had been startled and flustered.

“She’s holding it in. That’s the kind of girl our Celestia is. Even if it’s hard, she hides it. She suffers alone, which makes her all the more pitiful. So please help her.”

Houston grasped Killian’s uninjured hand tightly. He trusted him completely.

The trust shining in his eyes made Killian’s chest sting.

‘What the hell are you trusting in?’

Houston entrusting Celestia to Killian was like leaving a fish with a cat.

Ever since seeing the twenty-year-old Celestia, every time Killian looked at her, he burned with lust. Whenever he touched her, he went into heat.

And now the full moon was near.

Once a month, he was cursed to lose his reason.

‘This full moon will be tough.’

Should he take a sedative to knock himself out?

“Oh, right. Are you coming to the gathering this Sunday?”

At just the right moment, Houston changed the subject.

“Sunday? What gathering?”