Bab 36: How to lure cute girls with a Candy 101

A/N: What a terrible naming sense I have… No wonder people questioned me. I'm hella sus.

On another note, I finished writing the first lemon of this story last night(right before uploading the previous chapter, in fact). It's juicy. At least I think so. But still likely an amateur work, so don't expect orgasm inducing godly erotica. You'll get to see the result yourself in a chapter or two. Give me your (positive/constructive) review then. :)

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I looked at the stoic girl in front of me, looking at me with her impassive gaze.

Standing up, I smiled politely.

"Lady Ember, it's a surprise to see you here in the garden. Can I help you?"

I asked, acting like I didn't just arrive here, like, 3 minutes ago, and intentionally sat on this very bench.

"Can I take a seat?"

She asked, looking at the long bench. She was being courteous, which was one of her defining traits.

"Why, of course. There's plenty of space here if you don't mind my humble company."

Ugh, talking with etiquette was a real pain, but I had to endure it for now.

"Thank you."

After thanking me, she proceeded to take a seat a little away from me. Then, we both sat in silence.

No one uttered a word.

'Hmm, this is kind of awkward.'

I was looking at the distant scenery, away from her gaze, trying to not act suspicious.

Raking my brain to come up with a topic to start the conversation with her was not easy. I couldn't think of anything other than small talk. I needed a way to make her take the candy.

'Think, think, think, me.'

"May I ask something, lord Maximus?"

"Hmm?"

I turned to look at the stoic beauty who had started conservation herself. Something I was quite thankful for.

"Yes?"

"Are you not supposed to be present in the party hall? It is your birthday party, is it not?"

"Oh, yes. It is. And I have been trying my best to not soil my family's reputation. To be completely honest though, I don't particularly enjoy going to parties. Even if it is my own."

Even after two years of living and learning as young nobility, I couldn't quite leave my roots. I was an introvert in my past life. Though I had friends, I found myself at home in my room, playing video games watching anime, and reading mangas. A habit my friends seemed to share, thus we became friends in the first place. I missed those bastards sometimes.

"I see."

She looked contemplative for a second, then went back to her own world, looking at the scenery. The conversation had ended immediately. Welp.

After a small debate, I summoned a candy in my hand and unwrapped it.

The candy, which was wrapped in a plastic wrapper, looked like a normal, albeit slightly bigger éclair from my past world.

Undoing the wrapper, the nearby surrounding was filled with an aroma that could only be described as sweet yet mildly bitter, reminiscent of chocolate but leaning more towards the sugary side.

'Wow, it's got a really strong fragrance. And it smells quite sweet. Hey, you sure it'll be fine to eat it myself?'

[Yes. Pretty sure. The planet it was created was like your home planet Earth. People there didn't have mana and so they were weak to its effects. Here though, it's somewhat diluted in nature, so, it just becomes a really tasty candy.]

'Got it.'

After keeping the plastic wrapper back in the inventory, I ate the chocolaty-looking candy.

'Geh. Too sweet.'

Turned out, that it wasn't as crazy effective as I had previously thought. Maybe because I didn't have much of a sweet tooth.

But it was certainly the best kind of éclair I had ever eaten. Nothing even came close.

I realized someone was staring at me, 'enjoying' an exotic-looking candy.

"Ah, lady Ember. My apologies. You see, this is an exotic candy we were gifted by an important friend who claimed it was from a very popular sweets maker from a country outside this continent."

A half-truth. The first part about a "friend" gifting it was a lie, but the other two about a popular sweets maker and him being from "outside this continent" were both true.

Ember glanced at the candy I held in my arms, offering her out of politeness.

She had already smelled the delicious smell and surely she had had some urge to taste it. But she was pretty good at hiding her desires.

"Thank you for your kind offer, lord Maximus. But I'll have to pass. I am not allowed to partake in things with excessive sugar."

Utter bullshit. If the game was any indication, she swallowed a whole bucket of ice cream meant for a family of four all by herself in a single run, on a fairly regular basis. Her slim and beautiful figure was a façade. Or maybe she had a black hole inside her stomach that didn't let all those sweets ruin her looks. Or maybe the people were built differently and sweets weren't as harmful as they were in my world? Whatever the case, the fact was that she had a sweet tooth.

'Hmm, maybe I should have gone with ice cream instead? She did like ice creams a lot in the game. Eh, but that would be so much harder to casually offer like this.'

"I see. That's unfortunate."

I nodded with a sad smile.

"You see, I don't have much of a sweet tooth myself. I was keeping these to give to my younger sister who enjoys sweets. But even I find myself relishing the taste of this exotic sweet occasionally. The taste is otherworldly."

I uttered some random nonsense to entice her.

And she nodded in understanding.

"It does have quite an aromatic fragrance. I can tell it's a high-class product. The wrapper is also quite unique. I haven't seen candies wrapped in such material before. They tend to wrap them in glittery paper or other wrapping materials, but they don't look like that."

Fair enough. This world didn't have plastic yet. A boon, if you ask me.

I wondered if I should have covered the candies in a different wrapper. But then decided it was not worth the effort. It wasn't as if she was going to tell the whole world I had a weird wrapping material or something. She wasn't really the gossiping kind. Besides, in her life as the heir of a ducal family, she must have seen many strange and peculiar things. She wouldn't care about something small like this.

Leaving that worry aside, she had shown her interest in the candy, and I had to utilize that somehow.

"Lady Ember, I know it's rude to force things on someone, but I would still like to offer you one of these, as a gift of sorts for our first meeting. I don't have many friends and allies as I have been sheltered quite a bit until now. Me being somewhat shy doesn't help either. So, I would be happy if you could accept it."

"Take it Ember. He's asking so politely."

We both immediately turned to see a girl quietly standing behind us, adorning a wide, slightly teasing grin, looking as if she had caught two love birds during their private escapades.

"Your Highness."

"Princess Adrianna."

We both stood immediately and bowed in respect to the young female royalty.

I had already noticed her slowly making her way here, but I had decided to not say anything. I could tell she was hoping to "catch us redhanded" (whatever that meant) and so was being covert—at least she thought she was.

"My my, look at this. Two young birds, away from the prying eyes of others, meeting in a lonely place. How romantic~… and scandalous."

"Your Highness, it is a misunderstanding. Lady Ember and I only met coincidently (yeah right) a little ago. She wanted to rest after a stroll and I happened to be doing the same."

I tried to "diffuse" the situation. It would be kind of annoying if people started thinking we were eloping or something. Though, part of me didn't really mind either. She was a really cute girl. But Ember wouldn't have liked such a rumor. She was not the type to indulge in something like a scandal.

Looking at her Status, she was mildly distressed when she heard that. So, I had to do something to remedy her distress.

"Relax, you two. I was just pulling your legs. Fufu."

The white-haired princess giggled cutely. She had a charming smile. She was one of the most beautiful girls I knew, and she was also good-natured. But her teasing side was something I hadn't seen in the game.

"Oh, I see. My apologies for jumping to the conclusion."

I saw Ember's status change from "Mild distress" to "Relieved" and then she was back to her "calm" persona.

"If you will excuse my insolence Your Highness, may I ask why the Princess is here alone?"

I inquired while making sure I was well-behaved. I was damn sure she was not alone. Even though it looked like she had left her maids and guards and was strolling in the park alone, I could tell there were guards hidden around, ensuring her safety. And each one of them was at least Foundation Tier 8, with the exception of that one knight who was leading her guards when she came. He was a Monarch tier 2. The strongest man I had seen to date. I couldn't feel his aura, but the 'Observe' was more than enough to tell me that.

Anyway, the point was, they were here, hidden out of sight out of consideration for the princess. She must have wanted to look around the garden perhaps. Who knew?

"Oh, I was resting in the room provided by your family, but then I noticed my friend here from the windowsill, and wanted to have some chat. It wasn't possible in the hall since there were too many distractions.

So, Ember, how have you been? It's been weeks since we last met."

The princess seemed to act much more freely when in "private", like here. This was what had made her popular among the players. She was a princess, but she was really well-natured and kind. And this world's Adrianna seemed to have inherited that trait as well.

I too found her attractive because of that.

[You need a Pokeball?]

'I'll be beheaded if threw a suspicious ball at her and made her disappear. Heck, I wouldn't even know how I died. I don't want to experience that. Again.'

[Lol.]

'Do they sell those in the shop? I didn't see any while browsing.'

[Oh no, they don't. There are similar things, but I don't think you'll like them very much.]

'Ah, I see.'

I had a small talk with Iris about… weird stuff while Ember had her chit-chat with the Princess.

"I have been well, Princess Adrianna. And it has indeed been a while. I'm happy to meet you here."

"I as well, Ember. It's quite difficult for me to find time to spend with friends lately, thanks to my ever-growing responsibilities. It was quite a surprise that managed to catch Olivia along the way. We happened to have met while traveling here. I was glad to finally meet her as well. She's quite busy herself and it had been even longer since the two of us had met."

"I see."

The two conversed a bit, and I started to realize that I was being a third wheel here.

'Welp, I couldn't give Ember the Éclair. A shame. But I should leave. Maybe next time.'

"My apologies, but I'll excuse myself. I don't wish to intrude upon your reunion."

"Oh no, lord Maximus. Please don't mind us. I don't really mind if you stay here. It was I who intruded upon your conversation with Ember here.

Actually, that reminds me. I would like to enquire you about the candy you were giving her. I caught a whiff of it and it was quite palatable. I've not had something smell so savory."

'Hmm. Interesting.'

"Oh, you mean the Éclair candy. It was a gift from someone. Even I, someone who doesn't usually eat sweets, found it enticing."

I took out two candies and presented them to Her Highness.

"So it's called an Éclair candy. It's certainly attractive, with this unique packing."

To be honest, the packing wasn't mind-boggling. But it was indeed quite well-packed.

I didn't ask her to take it since that would be rude… somehow. Weird nobility etiquettes.

"Would you mind if I took one as well, Lord Maximus?"

"No, Your Highness. Please, by all means. If you find them up to your standards, you can freely take them. I only have 4 left, however. Unfortunately, due to how rare it is, we weren't given that many to begin with. I only had 5 left with me and I ate one."

"Oh, it's alright. I shall only take one. You can give the rest to your younger sister. You were going to give it to her, correct?"

"Ah, yes, Your Highness."

She had listened to our conversation for a little while before interrupting. She knew I was planning to give some to Alice. I wasn't, not initially. But since I had ensured they weren't dangerous. I could now give her some.

She took one and unwrapped it. The same savory smell of Éclair wafted in the surroundings.

"Mm. It does smell quite flavorful."

She commented as she observed the tasty-looking candy between her fingers.

'Hey, is it really alright for her to eat food like that? Are the guards not going to interrupt or something?'

I wondered if they deemed it safe somehow, or didn't care enough for her safety. But the princess ate the candy without it being inspected. It was probably one of the rare occasions when something like that had happened.

Definitely a blunder from the ones tasked to guard the princess.

'If they blamed me in the future—not that they should, if but they did in case something strange happens, I would blame the guards and maids. They shouldn't let the princess roam so freely like that.'

Luckily, no such trouble would come my way in the future. Well, except one. But it would be a good kind of trouble.

"Mmmm! Th-This! It's delicious! So sweet and savory. I've not had such a tasty candy before. In fact, this might be my first candy in quite some time, since I grew up from my childhood."

The princess's expression showed a clean ecstasy as she enjoyed the flavourful candy while giving her reviews.

"I'm glad Your Highness enjoyed it. Please allow me to dispose of that wrapper."

'Can't have the plastic getting in the wrong hands. I'm kinda worried someone will question it.'

Well, if it came to that, I'll just act ignorant. That the candy came wrapped in it. It did.

I took this chance to offer the candy to Ember who looked stoic on the outside but seemed really curious about the taste of candy. Even the princess, with her exquisite palate, had praised it now.

"Lady Ember. Would you like some? Please do. I insist."

With a little bit of push, she agreed and after mulling over it, decided to eat it on the spot.

Which was good for me, since I wanted to take back the wrapper.

And lo and behold, she had lost her stoic façade and was lost in the flavorful paradise of the Éclair. Her external expressions only showed a fraction of what she was actually experiencing. Her status was bombarded with blissful emotions. The candy showed its true potential with the sweet-toothed ducal princess.

I smirked internally.

'Mission 'Lure cute girl(s) with a candy' successful.'

This alone would allow me to develop a good relationship with Ember.

And having Ember see me in favor would help my standing in the academy as well. The princess was an added bonus, honestly. Something I hadn't planned for, but something I was thankful for.

With this, my work was officially done. I didn't need to go any further and try to seduce her, since that wouldn't work, and since the Princess was there.

So, while they were relishing the aftertaste of the candy, I excused myself. But not before I politely took back the wrapper to "dump it". It'll go to my inventory and stay in the trash/junk section I had made.

***

*Author's Rant*

Feel free to ignore. Don't bother to unnecessarily argue or fight(unless you have a genuine point to make), I will ignore it.

A/N: I was in a bad mood today. I got two new reviews after a while and both of them were 1 star reviews. And both of them were from the supposed fans of "The Conqueror's Path". One of them was downright lame and the other one stupid, but they managed to unsettle me. So, I fought back one of them, deleted the really dumb one and then played terraria for an hour or so to calm my mood. It sucks when someone just shits on your honest and hard work with no real thought put into it. They completely ignored the over 150 hour work I have put into this novel(admittedly, they didn't know, but I had hoped it would show from the above average quality of the novel) and just gave it one star because they didn't like me saying the novel they like has bad writing quality(it does. It's a fucking fact. I literally used to find 15 mistakes in a single paragraph and a butt ton of cringey text every now and then. Of course, mine has its fair share of cringey stuff in it, but it's fairly limited, nor overblown). I'm not just an author, but also a reader and from my perspective the novel's quality was subpar. What WAS good, however, and what kept me hooked for 100 chapters before I dropped it, was the setting of the story and the possibilities. That's the only good point of that novel I liked, and the reason why I ended up taking the mantle of an author and created this story.

Long story short. 1 star reviews, without a genuine reason, are hurtful. I have got 2 and 3 star reviews and they didn't bother me as much. But these two 1 star reviews did. I believe that the story I have created it atleast deserving of 2 or 3 stars, preferably more. Not a meager 1.

Anyway, bad reviews are normal, I have realized. Everyone has their own opinion and views and they are entitled to it. Including me. So, I'll move on and carry on writing. I have an audience who like what I write so I should focus on them instead. But this was a lesson for me(that many newbies perhaps learn) that I won't please everyone with my humble story, nor can I be bothered to. They're reading free stuff(so far) and they can just fuck off if they don't like me, my views or the story. I'll eventually stop caring for such reviews once (and if) this novel becomes famous enough. Peace.