Chapter Sixty: Lucilia is Scary Sometimes

It had been a few days since the end of the Galactic Conference and when Ren and Lily told each other their feelings.

When the others were told about what happened, there was little surprise; even Lucilia, who wasn't happy with the situation, expected it...but that didn't mean she would let it go. In fact, that night, she trapped Ren in their room for the entire night, and, well...you can guess what happened. In short, Ren woke up the next morning with absolutely no energy. He even asked Mae to give him an energy booster just so he could walk without feeling lethargic. (AN: Btw if you guys wanna see what happened that night I may have some images made in honey select up on the patreon, for silver tiers and above only. Just saying...*Wink Wink Nudge Nudge*)

"She may look like a beautiful angel, but she's a fucking demon in the night." Ren thought to himself, thinking about Lucilia.

After about an hour, he finally started to get his energy back, and he decided to go shopping. He wanted one last blow-out celebration on Volaria before they officially left to rescue Tsukiko's daughters. Everyone was preparing for the trip, including something that Lucilia and Mae were up to, which kept him and the others in the dark about what they were working on.

Rumia, one of the servants in Lucilia's mansion, asked if he wanted her to go with him to the store, but he said he would go himself. There were two reasons for this.

Firstly, Lucilia, if she knew him and Rumia went out alone where she couldn't see them, could only imagine what she would say or do. And secondly, he wanted to gauge how the public treated him. He remembered in the arena that most of the crowd hated him, and the fact that he killed Ignis, one of the golden boys of the empire, didn't exactly help his popularity. Rumia resigned to what he said and instead gave him a shopping list for different food ingredients, so it would be easier for him to know exactly what he was getting.

After being dropped off by the limousine, he walked in the streets without anything covering his face, making him instantly recognizable to the public eye.

As he looked around, he noticed...mixed reactions. Some still looked at him with disdain, some with indifference, but he noticed something peculiar. There were some looking at him with respect.

Volaria was an empire that had grown due to war, and as a result, they valued your merit on the battlefield more than most other things. The three most highly praised on the planet were battlefield accomplishments, bloodlines, and, of course, money. Intelligence and charisma were also highly respected traits, but they were far from the main priorities. It's why the battlefield where Ren fought Ignis was done in hand-to-hand combat instead of them using anything else. There was a Volarian saying "You are not a true warrior unless you bathe in the blood of the fallen."

Brutal, but that's how it went here. The fact he not only beat Ignis but killed him, staining his hands in crimson red blood, earned him some respect among the smaller groups of the empire, the ones who cared more for battlefield prowess than money and your family legacy.

Ren had shown the smaller factions that family names are not the be all and end all on the battlefield, which caused some discourse among the various noble factions on the planet.

The Legacy Faction, a faction that is made of people who carry famous surnames. Ones who's ancestors had achieved great accomplishments despised Ren due to the fact he killed Ignis, and not only that but also the fact that he was marrying Lucilia Aria Caelum. Someone they wholeheartedly believed was above Ren in every category. 

Then comes the warrior faction; this faction comes from the army generals of the Empire, people who earned their place at the top through bloodshed and accomplishments in war. They respected Ren for beating Ignis; after all, they couldn't care less what someone's last name was; if you win on the battlefield, you are superior to those you defeated.

And finally The Merchant Faction, those who's standing were earned through the thing that makes the world turn. Money. No empire could survive without those with big pockets. The merchant guilds pay for various trades around the empire and keep the populace happy by serving food and goods. Of course, something involving money isn't without corruption, but it was manageable for the time being. They were neutral in how they viewed Ren; some of them were siding with the Legacy or the warrior factions, but overall, they were not as involved as the other two factions.

Ren knew where he stood among the factions, thanks to Aurelia's intelligence; she always kept both him and Lucilia up to date on everything.

As Ren was walking down the street, he finally arrived at the shop to buy food. He walked around the store, getting various looks from the other customers and employees as he went down the list of foods Rumia gave him.

He went down every aisle, grabbing what was on the list and even a few things he was curious to try.

As he shopped, he turned around, and someone bumped into him.

The person who bumped into him fell to the ground, and Ren heard them say "Ouch"

Ren finally got a full look at the person, and it was a girl with tanned skin and blonde hair, and she had what looked like a uniform on with stockings on her legs.

"A gyaru?" Ren thought to himself.

He was reminded of an anime trope with gyaru's, who were typically girls who, in anime, had a reputation for being well...experienced in bed. Though in anime, that was rarely the case, as most gyaru girls turned out to be innocent angels.

Ren reached out his hand to the girl and apologized to her "I'm so sorry, here."

The girl reached out her hand in response and said "No, I should be sorry; I was the one who bumped into you."

Ren helped the girl up, and she dusted off her clothes before taking a double take while looking at Ren.

"Wait...aren't you the guy who's marrying the princess?" she asked Ren.

"Uh...that I am." Ren said. "Am I really that well known?"

"Woah...this is awesome. You're like a celebrity around here." the girl said. "My name is Iena. It's nice to meet you, Prince Ren."

"Please don't call me Prince; I'm still not used to that." Ren said.

"If that's what you say, Prin- i mean Ren." Iena said, rubbing the back of her head nervously. "So, what are you doing in a place like this?"

"In a grocery store?" Ren asked in confusion.

"I mean, don't nobles have, like, servants who do this for them?" Iena asked Ren.

"Maybe I just wanted to shop by myself today." Ren said.

That's when Iena smiled upon hearing this "Maybe I can...help you around. I mean, just show you that the stuff on that list is in the store."

"Sure, that'd be a lot of help; I can get done quicker." Ren said.

Iena smiled upon hearing that and grabbed Ren arm in arm as she led him around the store. If anyone who didn't know who Ren was saw this, they would think they were a couple.

After Iena showed him around and they got everything on the list, Iena followed him to the exit.

"Thanks, Iena; I appreciate the help today." Ren said.

Iena, however, didn't let go of Ren, even after they had finished shopping.

"Hey Ren, can you help me with something?" Iena asked.

"Uh, sure, since you helped me, it's only right." Ren said.

"Follow me~" Iena said, leading Ren in the opposite direction of Lucilia's mansion.

"So what is it you need help with?" Ren asked.

It was then that Iena led Ren down a dark alley, where Ren would start getting a bad feeling about this situation.

Ren stopped in his tracks and asked Iena "What are we doing down here?"

Iena turned around and smiled "Your so cute,Ren. You helped me without a second thought, so naive...makes me wanna just tie you up and keep you all to myself. It's no wonder why the princess loves you, but sadly, we weren't meant to be. I just have zero luck." Iena said with a pouty face.

"Iena...what are you talking about?" Ren asked.

Iena smiled and then whistled; afterwards, four men with blunt weapons turned around the corners, blocking Ren's only exit. He was now trapped with Iena, two guys in front of him, and two guys behind him.

"Shit..." Ren thought to himself.

"Sadly, you pissed someone off tremendously during your fight in the arena, and my brother and I were paid to break your knees and turn you into a cripple. No hard feelings, right?" Iena said with an innocent smile. "But don't worry, we won't toughen your most important tool; I'm saving that for myself."

One of the guys next to Iena turned to her "That's gross, sis." he said with a disgusted look on her face.

"C'mon, who can blame me? Look at those green eyes of his~" Iena said with a blush on her face. "I just want him to be mine~ at least just once."

Ren felt more uncomfortable around her than he did with the four guys, ready to break his legs.

Ren was trapped; there was no way around it. His best chance was to fight and hope for the best, but it wouldn't be easy without a weapon.

As Ren contemplated what he would do, that was when he heard a voice—the voice of an angel.

"What do you think you're doing?"

It was Lucilia, standing on the sidewalk, her red eyes glowing in anger, looking at the group of people surrounding Ren.

While it was the voice of an angel, she had the look of a devil.

Lucilia pulled out a dagger from inside of her boot that she was wearing.

The two men at the entrance of the alleyway smiled "We get paid, and we get to have fun with a princess! Our lucky day!"

This time it was when he had a look of anger as he charged full speed at the two at the front, and he kicked the one who made the comment about Lucilia right on at his kneecap, breaking his leg instantly as it now bent the wrong way.

"AAAAAH!" the man yelled out in pain as he fell to the ground.

"Dant-" the other man was about to say before his neck was sliced open by Lucilia.

The two then turned their attention to the other three: Iena, her brother, and one of their group.

Iena was shocked at what she was seeing. She had seen Ren killed before in the arena, but she had never seen the absolute anger on Lucilia's face before. An expression that showed no mercy, one with extreme focus, one hellbent on killing her.

"Princess Lucilia is scary..."

---------------------------------------------------------

If you guys want to to support me check out my patreon, it's as cheap as a dollar!

Patreon:

https://patreon.com/Alex_Blackwood628

Discord:

https://discord.gg/97ejzvAGKb