Chapter 51

Punishment turned out to be rather brutal. That is to say, there was no physical punishment at all. As soon as Min got me back into the room, taking side hallways where we were unlikely to run into anyone who could see me so messed up, she immediately collapsed against my chest and started crying. She held me tightly, and I found myself stroking her head.

She must have been worrying about me all night when I didn't come home, and I had been busy fornicating with a bunch of monsters. For perhaps the first time, I actually felt guilty about sex. Not the act of sex itself, but guilty that I worried someone who cared about me. It was a tough punishment, indeed.

"It's alright." I found myself soothing Min, "I'm alright."

"Thought, maybe, found out," Min mumbled into my right breast.

"Even if that's so, I'm tough." I tried to show my bicep, but my arms were still putty from a night of Handjobs and my arm dropped before I could.

Min tightened her grip. "…burn traitors."

"The nobles do? Well, if they burn me, you'll just wipe away the ashes and I'll come out good as new!" I rested my cheek on her head.

"P-promise?" she muttered.

"Promise… I'm not going anywhere. I'm not so easy to kill, you know?"

That wasn't just blind bravado. I really couldn't imagine how I'd survived until now. I could have just as easily ended up in a ditch with my neck broken, just like the princess I was replacing. I had been living in this world with my neck in a noose since I'd gotten here. Monsters and men, although it was hard to say which was worse, and I had survived it all. I'd like to think it was something in me, but part of me feared that it was just blind luck. Still, my tendency to survive relatively unscathed had started to inflate my ego; it was something I'd need to watch in the future.

After holding Min for some time with the feeling of her hot breath on my neck, I started to feel horny. I went to make some moves on Min. If the leveling up hadn't healed my vagina, Reinhart's potions should have. Either way, I wasn't beyond enjoying Min a little. I had just woken up, and I needed a morning quickie.

"Mmm… No… smell."

"Ah…" I was rejected on account that I smelled like animal cum.

It was a pretty good reason, so instead of the usual wash basin, Min left and prepared a bathing room. She brought me there, and I was finally able to immerse myself in water once again. They didn't have a big tub like the inn we went to. Instead, this was just single copper tubs more like the western style I was used to. It had to be filled by hand as well, lacking a water stone, or I supposed if you knew water magic like Jenai, it would be easier.

"Do you know water magic?" I asked Min.

Min shook her head. "Only forest."

I assume she meant forest magic, but that wasn't one of the eight, so I was confused. However, even with how close we came, Min never talked unless goaded, so I instead enjoyed my bath. Min scrubbed my body down, very thoroughly cleaning me up, and I enjoyed the feeling of being cleaned and rinsed, which was especially enjoyable after I had been covered in nastiness the night before. Two fingers found their way into my snatch, and I was surprised to find it was Min taking the initiative.

She never did before, so seeing her willingly fingering me, I spread my legs in the water, leaned back, and let her do what she wanted. She had improved a bit from those first nights, so her fingers moved with more skill. My masturbation skill was getting very high though. I could finger myself from nothing to completion in under two minutes. She didn't have that kind of skill, but a mixture of the clean feeling, the warm water, and Min's hard work allowed me to climax comfortably.

Two days later, I was back in the laboratory trying to experiment with the vials of semen I had produced. I tried various techniques. I mixed two semen together. I heated them. I mixed them into some of Reinhart's cheaper potions. I even tried to add sugar and freeze the Minotaur semen. Although I thought the Minotaur pops tasted good, I couldn't get Min or Reinhart to try them. After eating three of them, I started feeling a little nauseous, so I also quit, but I considered sending a box of them anonymously to Sylvia.

In the end of my experimental phase, I had ended up gaining two more levels in potion making, and three never before made potions.

{Potion Making has increased to level 3.}

{Magic has increased to level 5.}

{Vial of Minor Sexual Recovery – Grade D – Restore stamina, reduce frictional damage, and restore lost fluids after sexual intercourse.}

{Vial of Minor Skin Restoration – Grade D – Softens and hydrates skin.}

{Vial of Moderate Numbness – Grade D – Numbs area under contact with potion.}

The Vial of Minor sexual recovery was made from the satyr's seed. It required heating slowly over hours while keeping it from evaporating. The vial of skin restoration was actually that sticky silky seed from the orc which needed to be diluted with water before inserting magic in it. The numbness potion actually came from the troll. You had to strain out the black flecks, dissolve them in ethanol, and then dilute it with water. Reinhart was especially impressed with that last one, especially after I explained the idea hydrophobicity and detergents.

The Vial of sexual recovery seemed like a replacement for my Rejuvenation and All Nighter Skill. Skin restoration sounded nice as a simple lotion to improve my skin, and the numbness potion could have many uses. Prolonging sexual intercourse with a man, easing the discomfort from anal sex, and deepthroating without activating the gag reflex. Reinhart pointed out that there were many nonsexual reasons a numbing solution would be useful as well, and I reluctantly agreed.

I spent the entire day making potions, and by the end, I had well over 200 potions mixed up including the three new ones, and the Pigman potion I had made from the beginning. After watching me methodically trying out different concoctions, Reinhart had promised he'd start training me to make the more classic potions as well.

This is how I ended up spending the next week or so. Either I'd be in the lab with Reinhart, straddling the King in his study, chatting with the girls, or gaining experience with Min. The girls usually talked about sex toys and boys, but eventually, our conversations went to more mundane tasks like tastes in clothing and shoes. Not even Melinda was too comfortable talking about her experiences with her sex toy, so other than the fact they all had them, I was spared from those kinds of talks.

Reinhart continued to teach me potion making, and after successfully generating my own healing and stamina potions, regrettably at a grade C as opposed to Reinhart's Grade A, I went up another level in potion making.

{Potion Making has increased to level 4.}

Along with that, I continued to practice in other areas too. Except for my time with Denova, I had really left leveling up to fate. Whatever I experienced naturally is what ultimately led to level gains. I wanted to do a little more controlled work, so I started seriously training myself. I would have liked to have worked out with Min and the guards, but at as a princess, I was restricted. As a result, the things I practiced were role playing, sleight of hand, magic, and the sex arts.

However, the books in the King's study had suggested that skills increased faster with variety. This is why some skills would take hundreds of repetitions, but others would suddenly spike without warning. As the books stated, a person who practiced swordsmanship with one other person would level slower than someone who practiced with a different person every day. The reason should have been obvious. You can only truly understand a skill after seeing and performing all its variations. For me, that meant my sex skills thrived on promiscuity. Different dicks from guys with different kinks in different positions. Having the cocks from nine different species of monster likely contributed to my massive spike in Handjobs and blow jobs.

This realization led to an increase in my masturbation skill from an unlikely source. While I masturbated daily, the lack of variety was part of the reason I didn't level very fast. I only had one pussy after all. However, after a meeting with the girls, I had decided to ask them how they masturbated. Only Melinda was forthcoming with her techniques, but a few drinks later and I had heard all their techniques, which turned out to be a lot different from my own.

I had assumed all women lied on their back, using their pointer and ring finger to insert while their thumb rubbed the clit. As it turned out that wasn't the case. Mary masturbated on her knees. She liked bending over in doggie and then fingering herself as she lied on her arm and pressed her face into a soft pillow. Destine used her middle finger, squeezing her outside lips with the side fingers and thumb. Meanwhile, Melinda liked to use a mirror. She said she couldn't get off unless she watched herself masturbate. In the end, I went back to my room and tried each of their methods. I still considered mine the best, but a few minutes later…

{Masturbation has increased to level 7.}

Unfortunately, for the moment, most of the sex arts left me with really only one person as my test dummy, so Min became my practicing partner every night and every morning. My next real leveling opportunity would be the underground sex party, especially since Min and Reinhart had banished me from the monsters for a while. So, I wanted my skills to be as sharp as possible. The only weapon I had was my body, so I wanted it to be at its peak physical condition.

I tried practicing dirty talk although I found myself really poor at it despite my increasing Seduction skill. I was surprised to find that even after numerous attempts to talk dirty to Min during sex, I hadn't seen an increase in skills. I would have trained titty fuck as well, but after pushing my size C breasts together and asking Min to stick the dildo between them, she touched her own chest, far too small to perform this act, and then wouldn't do it. Boy or girl, it looked like I had stumbled on a sensitive issue for Min.

Therefore, I focused on role playing with Min. Sometimes, she'd be the princess, and I'd be the slave. Sometimes, I'd pretend to be an adventurer coming home after a long journey to his wife. These were Min's favorite fantasies. I'd tell her stories about slaying dragons, while she ate me out. I practiced anal sex, as silly as that sounded, letting Min stick it in my butt while I took turns tightening or releasing in order to adjust friction and comfort. I also practiced Handjobs and blow jobs on Min, always smiling when her dildo concentrated and squirted her juices at me. I was very used to Min's taste by now, and while I wouldn't say I loved the taste, it was quickly giving me a nostalgic and safe feeling whenever those familiar juices hit my tongue.

{Anal Sex has increased to level 4.}

{Kegels has increased to level 3.}

{Role Play has increased to level 3.}

{Handjob has increased to level 7.}

{Acting has increased to level 2.}

{Technique Unlocked: Emotional Manipulation}

I had finally worked out the difference between acting and role playing. Role playing was fulfilling a role. Acting had to do more with voice inflection and creating a believable narrative. In essence, role playing made you fit the part, and acting made you sound the part. As a result, the new technique Emotional manipulation was an interesting skill. Through the use of my acting, I could make someone change their attitude. With Min, simply by altering the tone of my voice I could make her feel slightly sadder or happier. Then, when I tried to make my voice cause her to become horny…

{Seduce has increased to level 5.}

Of course, I didn't just play with Min in her male form. I practiced cunnilingus on her too. At first, my stubbornness convinced me that since I had a pussy, I knew pussy well. After Min pointed out that my masturbation ability had improved when I took other women's advice and that even though she was a woman, she had to improve fingering me, I finally was willing to listen to her pointers. It seemed to do the trick because I leveled shortly after. A week of practicing had done wonders for my skills.

{Cunnilingus has increased to level 6.}

{Name: Cornelia Bartrum (Aria)

Class: Princess (Seductress)

Titles: Town Bicycle, Gang Banger, Lesbian Lover, Rough Rider, Solo Player

Level: 17

Statistics: Strength 27, Intelligence 25, Wisdom 23, Endurance 34, Agility 22, Charisma 42

Resistance: Carnal 5, Concussion 1, Damage 4, Disease 3, Fear 2, Mental 16, Pain 16, Panic 1, Poison 2

Standard Skills: Anal Sex 4, Blowjob MAX, Conceal MAX, Cunnilingus 6, Dagger 1, Deception MAX, Deepthroat 5, Etiquette 2, Examine 8, Flee 1, Hand Job 7, Magic 5, Masturbation 7, Potion Making 4, Seduce 5, Sneak 2, Sword 1, Throwing 1, Titty Fuck 1, Vaginal Intercourse MAX

Advanced Skills: Acting 2, Dirty Talk 1, Disguise 1, Kegels 3, Lip Reading 1, Role Playing 3, Sleight of Hand 2, Stealth 1, Tongue Craft 1

Techniques: Emotional Manipulation, Role Projection, Swipe, Grab

Special Skills: All Nighter, Beautification, Black Widow, Cat's Meow, Enhanced Positions, Eye of the Beholder, Frenzy, Lover's Breath, Mental Fortitude, Pheromone, Possession, Princess Kiss, Rejuvenation, Rock a Bye, Seduction, Sexual Experience, Sexual Saint, STD Immunity, Voyeur

Positions: Asian Cowgirl, Ben Dover, Cowgirl, Cunnilingus, Deep Stick, Doggie Style, Double Dip, Double Oral, Downward Dog, Eating Out, Fingering, Kneeling Blowjob, Lap Dance, Leg Up, Missionary, Ol' Fashioned, Rockin' Rockette, Rodeo, Scissoring, Sidewinder, 69, Spooning, Sultry Spooning, The Doggy Deluxe, The Fan, Valedictorian, Woman On Top

Status Effects: Infertile, 10% more experience per sexual experience beyond 2 in a day, Cursed Ring – Identity Changed, Tracking, Death Curse, No-Remove}

There was a knock on my door. At the moment, I was practicing with magic. However, I was not practicing with a dildo, but a special device Reinhart had given me. It had numerous interlocking parts, and the goal was to weave the magic through it in a particular way. Reinhart said that if I wanted to improve beyond 5, I'd need more complex magic practice than making a stone vibrate. Thus, I was feeding magic into this device in what felt like threading a needle.

After the third knock, I remembered Min had left to go cook. She's usually quiet, so when I was focused on stuff, I sometimes forgot whether she was there or not. I sighed, stood up, and opened the door. The person on the other end was a surprise to me. It was none other than the fourth prince, Devon. Since our fight a bit over a week ago, we had not talked. However, my surprise didn't last long and I already suspected why he stopped by today. Tonight would be the underground meeting.

"Hello, Cornelia." Devon gave a respectful nod.

"Devon," I responded curtly.

"So… how is your day going?" He asked.

His obvious attempts to try to awkwardly move into the conversation he wanted were tedious, and I wasn't in the mood. Instead, I decided to speed things along, as I had better things to do.

"I'm getting ready for the party tonight."

Devon's eyes immediately narrowed with a flash. "That event, you're seriously going to go?"

I sniffed. "Of course, my husband-to-be is going. It's only natural that I see what happens at these things."

"Cornelia… please, reconsider."

"Are you going?" I demanded.

He winced at that. "I… I have to."

"Then I am simply doing the same as you."

"That is…"

"What is your problem with me going anyway?" I demanded.

Devon shook his head before answering. "I don't want you to see…"

"See what?"

"That… side of me."

I frowned at his words. "What's wrong with that? Why am I the only one who doesn't get to see the real you?"

"You're the only one who has!" He spoke fervently. "That… thing… that's the mask… the real me is the me right here, with you, now! I don't want you to see that fraud and confuse it for me."

Wasn't that just more convenient interpretation? He could act however he wanted as long as he hid behind the mask. How was that any different than any other noble here? In the end, the hypocrisy of Devon was showing again.

The anger started to surge back in me again. "Then bring the real you!"

He took a step back. "I can't… I've made an oath…"

"Then break it!" I snapped.

"Damn it… why can't you just understand!" he started to become angry as well.

"Because you aren't telling me!" I shouted back.

"It's not so simple."

"Not simple?" I growled. "Then how about I make it simple. If you want me, I'll be there. But you'll have to hold me down if you expect me to just sit quietly and not enjoy myself."

Devon's face was starting to scowl. He wore a stubborn look that had already told me what his answer was going to be. He had made his choice, and I had made mine. That's why I didn't want to waste time retreading this same conversation again. After a few moments of staring at each other in silence…

"If I don't go, will you still go?" I asked.

"I have no choice," He turned his head angrily. "Will you consider staying?"

"No," I said blatantly, and when he didn't say anything, I turned away from him. "Then there is nothing to discuss."

When he didn't respond after a minute, I turned back to find that the entrance of my doorway was now vacated. He had left without saying a single word. I bottled up my anger and then slammed the door. I had to get ready to go.