Chapter 255: Demonstrating in Front of the Queen?

The Queen’s visit to the ducal residence was a private one, so it had to remain top secret. I had been strictly warned not to tell even Rudolf. When I said I would be bringing Lily, Rudolf seemed to guess it was related to the medicine, but he kept silent for me.

Still, because Lily would be appearing before the Queen and the Duchess, a dressmaker was summoned in a hurry and a fitting session stretched late into the evening. The previous outfits were apparently unacceptable... Once the fuss reached this level, even outsiders could probably guess something was going on.

I felt a little sorry for the dressmaker, but she cheerfully accepted the rush fee, which eased my conscience. Selling the medicine meant I would continue taking Lily out in public, so Rudolf and I discussed preparing a proper set of outdoor clothes for her as well. As for me, two outfits were enough—I could simply alternate them every day. Rudolf claimed that no one ever notices when a man wears the same clothes repeatedly. Even if he said it... it was probably true.

And so the next morning found Lily and me inside the carriage. Between us stood the single arrow that separated our seats. If I grabbed it and pulled hard it would probably come free, but doing so would destroy its value as a monument. I wanted to glue it in place so it wouldn’t fall out by accident, but no such convenient substance existed in this world. Thanks to that arrow the pierced door could no longer be opened, turning the carriage into an extremely inconvenient vehicle... What a nuisance.

When we arrived at the ducal residence, an extremely luxurious carriage was already parked there—complete with four white horses. They called it a secret visit, yet anyone who looked would know it belonged to the Queen. This had to be her personal carriage. A vehicle far more splendid than even the Duke’s could only belong to the royal family.

If everyone already understood that this was the Queen’s carriage, then the "secret visit" was public knowledge. Thinking about it that way, the Queen of the Marie Kingdom had been truly admirable—she had walked out to buy pudding. (She had taken a carriage partway, though.) Careful. If I kept thinking like that I would end up dragging the Queen of Mainz out for pudding as well. I had to remember that flags like this could destroy a person.

The moment we entered the residence we were shown inside. Because the Queen was already present the number of people was large. Guards stood on every few steps of the staircase. Thank you for your hard work, gentlemen. Some of them looked at me with clear What’s this brat doing here? expressions.

We were led into a room I had never entered before. A woman who could only be the Queen already sat in the far seat, radiating an unmistakable aura. The Duke and Duchess sat on either side of her. So His Grace is attending today after all? At least there were no guards inside the room—only the Duke and I were male.

The Duke sprang up and beckoned me over, looking extremely pleased.

"Ambassador Marie! Glad you could come! Her Majesty—no, Lady Scarlett—couldn’t wait and arrived before noon. We shared lunch together."

She had arrived before noon! No wonder the Duke’s face looked so strained. Forcing the kitchen to produce an unplanned meal on such short notice must have been hell for the head cook. He was probably already in bed with a stomachache by now.

Setting that aside, the Queen and the Duchess stood and waited for my introduction. I bowed.

"I am Robin Marie, serving as ambassador of the Marie Kingdom. As you can see I am still young and inexperienced. I look forward to your guidance and instruction."

The Duke let out an impressed "Hoo..."

The woman at the far end answered:

"Lord Robin Marie, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Scarlett. I will omit my family name, but I believe you already know it. After hearing Lady Mariska’s stories I have been looking forward to this day. Please take care of me."

She was the picture of blond hair and blue eyes—someone who must have been a true beauty in her youth. Now she was a slightly plump middle-aged lady. "Slightly plump" only in comparison to the Duchess; next to ordinary middle-aged women she was not particularly overweight. But those massive breasts looked ready to spill out at any moment! I want to bury my face in that cleavage!

Keeping any such thought off my face (I hoped), I asked:

"Then... how shall we proceed? Is Lady Scarlett’s time flexible?"

I glanced from Lady Scarlett to the Duchess to the Duke, gauging the atmosphere.

The Duke looked as if he had been waiting for exactly this moment.

"Right. I’ll step out so you can begin. Just call me when Lady Scarlett is ready to leave."

Every word dripped with I do not want to stay in this room one second longer. I understood the feeling perfectly. The Duchess of course understood her husband’s feelings as well—and that he would be of no use here—so she said:

"Yes, please do that. We’ll call for you later."

The Duke couldn’t wait for her to finish.

"Then I’ll leave it to you, Ambassador Marie!"

He patted my shoulder and left. Only the Duke exited, so a fair number of people still remained in the room.

"Lady Scarlett, would you mind dismissing everyone except the absolute minimum?"

She had apparently been informed in advance.

"Everyone except those I named earlier, leave."

People filed out in a stream. Remaining were the Duchess, Elle, Annie, and two female maids who belonged to Lady Scarlett. Now what? The only real question was who would assist me; everything else was already decided. Still, six women felt like a lot.

Before anything else:

"First, please drink the medicine."

I placed the usual two glasses in front of Lady Scarlett and the Duchess. I felt we needed to warm the atmosphere a little. The Duchess downed hers in one go. Watching her, Lady Scarlett picked up her glass, sniffed it, and made a face. Even a beauty’s grimace was rather charming.

She took a sip—and her expression became pure Ugeh—?! Of course she made no sound. Then she realized that the Duchess and everyone else in the room were watching her. Looking a little embarrassed, she drained the rest in one swallow.

She managed to get it down, but not all of it stayed. She pressed a hand over her mouth and held the glass out unsteadily. Elle slipped over at once and poured wine into it. As expected of Elle! Anyone who had already drunk the medicine understood perfectly how the next person would feel. Elle’s face was full of sympathy. Lady Scarlett finally forced the last of it down with a heavy gulp. Her first words were:

"What is this?"

I already knew it didn’t taste good. The Duchess immediately answered with a smile:

"You’ll get used to it quickly. And if you think of how beautiful it will make you, you can endure the taste."

Exactly right... yet was that really enough? I glanced at Lily. She nodded, so either it still tasted terrible or she had simply grown accustomed to it.

At any rate, both Lady Scarlett and the Duchess had now drunk. That meant neither of them would be putting their mouths on my cock. I couldn’t deny a small part of me wished the Duchess would, but in front of this many people it was impossible. Alone with the Duchess—or with Annie added—might have been different. With Elle present she would almost certainly stop it. Absolutely not, she would say.

"Lord Robin, I have already explained everything to Lady Scarlett. Secrecy will be strictly observed. Lady Scarlett, now that Lord Robin is here, let us swear the secret before God."

The Duchess knelt on the floor and bowed her head. Everyone else in the room followed suit and offered a prayer.

Seven women—including Lily—were now praying to God. Looking at the backs of their heads, I suddenly felt it would be impossible to get hard while being watched by this many women. If those seven backsides had been lined up with an open invitation of Take your pick!, I might have managed it. But six pairs of intense female eyes locked on me and my cock... that was too much. Even a grown man would wilt under that kind of pressure—let alone someone who was still supposed to be a child.