Extra chapter, enjoy.
This is the SFW version of the novel without the smol/l*li stuff (it will nuke this novel). For the NSFW version, please visit my Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/c/SmallScribble.
#######
The relief was immediate… and disastrous.
From that day she'd returned from the dungeon, something deep inside Rosalinda had fundamentally changed.
The masculine appeal of men no longer moved her, instead the curves, the scents, the soft supple bodies of other women stoked flames in her gut.
Especially when they touched her, their hands tracing over—
Urge! Urge!
#######
Another knock on the door.
"I said don't bother me, can't you understand?!"
THUD THUD
Rosalinda's fist slammed against the bed as she yelled at it.
"Lindi, it's me, can I come in?"
The voice was feminine, soft yet… underneath it lay unmistakable authority.
'WHAT…?'
"Wh… Why is she here?! She can't see me like this…!"
Panic surged through Rosalinda.
There was only ONE person in this entire kingdom who could called her by her pet name.
Elara Aurelia Valencrest.
The Eldest Princess of Indyrge.
She was a princess… but also something more.
Behind the facade of elegance hid a predator coiled to strike at just the right moment, calculating, always watching through those serene eyes with an observer's precision.
The people trusted Elara, foreign nobles respected her.
But no one questioned where that reputation came from and none would dare challenge the source.
Because they didn't know. Whispers existed about her in hushed corners of the palace…
A noble house, once prominent…
Then dissolved, dismantled piece by piece. Their fortune, their name, their influence…all crumbled without bloodshed. Even whispers stopped when questioned.
Another tale…
A trade dispute. Foreign nobles arrived for negotiation, sure of their power, ready to force terms through strength and silver. In the end they left humiliated, exhausted and agreed to every single condition.
No one remembered the eldest princess's involvement. They could only recall a sense of exhaustion, a feeling they were beaten… but couldn't name by what.
And most recently…
Rumors reached her ears about two noble houses.
One family kept receiving the finest produce from distant lands, each shipment inexplicably stolen before their caravans returned. Their frustration grew with every month.
The second house…
Oppositely. Their caravans began arriving with produce twice expected in amount, three times in frequency…
One cursed, one blessed. Both unable to identify where luck lay or misery came from…they just knew it was manipulation of some kind. By whom, they'd never learn.
Only a select few had ever witnessed her in her full glory.
Elara the Ironflower
Generals who had served alongside her in the field, mentors who watched her grow into what she was now and Rosalinda, whom Elara had taken under wing at a young age.
They knew the deadly smile lurking beneath serene calm, the precision in her every action, and above all, the absolute confidence that never wavered.
Because she always had already calculated the outcome before others even grasped the question.
"Please, wait… just a bit!" Rosalinda pleaded frantically.
She rushed to clean herself as fast as her trembling hands could manage, tying her dress back into some semblance of order and hastily wiping her tear-stained face with the back of her sleeve.
When she finally peered through the slim gap she'd left in the door, those bright green eyes were staring directly at her.
Peaceful as ever.
The eldest princess carried herself with an effortless, almost dangerous allure. Long crimson hair flowed down her back in silken waves, framing a face of striking beauty, her vivid green eyes glinting with a teasing light.
Her figure was gracefully defined, a slender waist giving way to fuller, natural curves that lent her presence a quiet authority.
Her gown accentuated it with regal precision, a fitted corset bodice shaping her form, the crimson silk rich and luminous. Gold-thread lace and ruby accents traced its lines, while a layered white underskirt spilled beneath a high-slit outer skirt, revealing fleeting glimpses of her stride.
"Can I come in?"
The same gentle voice but the undertone was something Rosalinda couldn't quite place… a hint of pressure perhaps?
"I—it's fine, we can talk while walking!"
She barely opened the door, slipping through at the exact moment she closed it, just enough for Elara to not see inside.
#######
"I just remembered I haven't had breakfast, do you want some?"
Elara just stared.
Her bright green eyes pierced Rosalinda like a blade.
The young princess flinched, certain that somehow Elara could see through her.
But she couldn't have known, could she?
"I'm fine," Elara replied, her tone carrying a slight edge. "Come, let us go."
They began walking through the palace corridor together.
Opulence surrounded them on all sides.
Polished marble with golden veins, their surfaces catching every light like precious gemstone. The walls reflected the warmth of chandeliers overhead, which dangled at precisely measured intervals. Each was crafted from crystal so finely woven that it seemed to shimmer with enchantments, casting dancing patterns across everything in sight—the walls, their clothes, even their faces if they looked close enough.
Light cascaded down like waterfalls of captured starshine, Illuminating everything in soft yet radiant glow.
"Princess Elara," a butler passing them gave a respectful bow, bowing so deep his knee nearly touched the floor.
"And good morning, Princess Elara," a maid scrubbing one of the palace windows turned around at their approach.
They continued on.
The garden materialized as they stepped through an ornate arch.
Suddenly, the air softened. Cool. Fragrant. Alive. In contrast with oppressive indoors, here everything seemed light.
A wide path of pale stone wound gently through lush greenery, bordered by low hedges trimmed with impossible precision as if shears were guided by divine hands. The symmetry was perfection.
Everything burst into sight.
Roses as large as dinner plates, their petals unfurling in spirals of pinks and crimsons that caught even faint light with blazing color. The blooms were so large, so vibrant it hurt to look at them full-on.
Lilies that actually seemed to glow at dusk, their white petals catching shadows like they were swallowing darkness just to emit its light. During twilight they'd glow faintly in moonlight, a gentle luminescence visible across gardens at night.
Delicate blossoms of smaller varieties, woven between larger flowers. Their petals so thin they caught wind and chime, a sound like distant bells.
Soft and pleasant.
The breeze stirred them just now… and suddenly the entire garden sang with their voices.
"How was your previous adventure?"
The question cut through warm air like a knife. Elara's voice was soft, yet somehow colder than ice.
Rosalinda flinched. Her eyes darted right when Elara met her gaze.
A weak smile tried to surface on her lips, quivering like a trapped bird.
"W-what ad-adventure? what are you talk-king about?"
"Lindi,"
There it was.
Her pet name, again.
Elara's expression never shifted but the tone told everything.
*She knew.*
Rosalinda swallowed hard, throat suddenly bone dry.
Worry coiled in her gut like a poison.
'Did she know?'
'There's no way… does she?'