Chapter 10: Jump

“Ugh, d*mn…”

The moment I saw her face in the carriage, I blurted out those words involuntarily, even though she was right in front of me.

Princess Penny, wearing a low-cut dress more befitting a back-alley prostitute than a princess, didn’t even glance at me, averting her gaze.

Even in a world where promiscuity was commonplace, a princess wouldn’t wear such a dress, so it was clearly a ploy to seduce me.

‘Has the old man gone senile?’

Did he seriously think I’d fall for such an obvious trick?

At first, I was just dumbfounded, but then I started getting angry, imagining the senile old man coming up with this idiotic plan.

He thought I was the kind of person who would fall for a honey trap that would only work on a middle schooler?

Why did he think that? Because I was a virgin? Did he look down on me for such a trivial reason?

“Get the f*ck…”

Just as I was about to yell at her to get out, a thought stopped me mid-sentence.

If I made a fuss about kicking Penny out, wouldn’t that be admitting that this childish honey trap had some effect on me?

“…Why aren’t you getting in? (Experience Count: 1)”

“F*ck…”

I couldn’t kick her out. And I couldn’t get out of the carriage myself. To think he’d come up with such a scheme despite being a lecherous old man.

I underestimated him. He might look like that, but he was still the king of a country. I should have been more cautious.

Reflecting on my foolishness, I climbed into the carriage. The knight waiting outside closed the door behind me.

“Depart!! (Experience Count: 4)”

The carriage lurched forward at the knight’s command. Before I could react to the unexpected jolt, something I shouldn’t have seen entered my view.

“Eep..!! (Experience Count: 1)”

Perhaps due to the carriage’s unexpected jolt, or perhaps because of her low-cut dress, the inside of her underwear was exposed.

Penny blushed and quickly covered herself, glaring at me, but my feelings were a complicated mess.

Penny was beautiful. At least, among the people I’d seen in person, she was arguably the most beautiful.

But why? The moment I saw her red bra, matching her hair, a wave of nausea rose within me, making me shudder.

A sense of discomfort, something I couldn’t quite place, began to creep over me.

Why was I feeling nauseous? There was no reason for it, based on her appearance or anything else.

Except for the mark of sin engraved above her head.

<Experience Count: 1>

No, even that mark shouldn’t be the cause of my nausea. I wasn’t a pathetic man who discriminated against non-virgins.

Just because a non-virgin acted promiscuously didn’t mean I should feel nauseated.

‘Could the Goddess’s blessing be causing some change in my body?’

As that unprovable question lingered in my mind, the carriage continued its relentless journey.

As we left the city and entered a rougher road, the carriage jolted even more, increasing the frequency of her underwear being exposed.

But as I mentioned before, I wasn’t enjoying it. Quite the opposite.

Seeing Penny casually adjusting her clothes, as if used to such incidents, a nameless, slimy feeling crawled up my throat.

Oblivious to my feelings, as the day darkened, Penny let out a sigh, crossed her elegant legs, tilted her head slightly, and spoke to me.

“…I’m telling you in advance, I’m wearing this dress because of my father’s orders. I have no feelings for you. (Experience Count: 1)”

“What?”

Putting aside the question of whether she became complicit the moment she put on the dress at her father’s command, I was curious about what she would say next.

After a short pause, she took a breath and spewed words that could only be described as insults.

“What else? Did you think I’d suddenly like you just because you became a hero? I’ll pass on a rude commoner cook like you! I have the right to choose who I’m with! (Experience Count: 1)”

Her words were meant to belittle me. But strangely, the nausea began to subside.

However, it was just the calm before the storm, a precursor to a greater surge of disgust.

The moment my brilliant mind grasped the hidden meaning behind her words, I reflexively asked,

“You…perhaps…”

“Perhaps what?! (Experience Count: 1)”

“If I weren’t a rude commoner hero, but a noble heir, skilled in swordsmanship, etiquette, and appearance, comparable to that knight, Las…would you have sacrificed yourself for the country?”

“……” (Experience Count: 1)

Penny couldn’t answer immediately. Perhaps realizing her own whorish mindset, she averted her gaze, hiding her shame.

And then I finally understood why I felt nauseated and why it had subsided momentarily.

The initial disgust wasn’t because she was a non-virgin.

<Experience Count: 1>

This meant she had given her virginity to someone she loved.

Despite having given her virginity to another man, she was willing to expose herself to a stranger for such a trivial reason as the country.

I found it utterly repulsive. I couldn’t stand her whorish behavior, betraying a man and selling her body for some vague notion of patriotism.

Therefore, it was natural that the disgust, which had threatened to erupt, subsided when she declared she wouldn’t give herself to someone like me.

She had removed the cause of my nausea.

However, when I realized that she wasn’t rejecting the act of prostitution itself, but merely found me unsuitable…

And when she admitted it herself, the disgust in my heart swelled even further.

I didn’t care that she wouldn’t sleep with me; I didn’t want to anyway. In fact, I was grateful.

But I couldn’t forgive her attitude – that she was willing to betray the man she gave her virginity to, depending on the conditions.

What a disgusting woman. What’s a country? It’s something you can sell like your chastity.

Who would criticize someone for betraying their country for their chastity?

Surely even the independence activists who died for their country would have given a thumbs-up, saying, “Selling your country for your chastity? Respect.”

‘Disgusting…this is a non-virgin…!!’

Unable to bear it any longer, I clenched my fist and stood up.

And…

Why couldn’t I answer immediately?

There was no need to remain silent. Regardless of the truth, I could have simply said my decision wouldn’t change, no matter who the other person was.

But perhaps because his words hit a nerve, or perhaps because I was subconsciously avoiding the fact that I was betraying Las, I couldn’t answer right away.

Penny thought to herself, even if it was her father’s…the king’s order, how was her behavior any different from a street prostitute?

A prostitute spreads her legs for money. And Penny spread her legs based on the other person’s status.

Money and a cause.

There might be a difference in value and nobility, but the act itself wasn’t that different.

That’s why Penny couldn’t move when the hero stood up with a clenched fist.

She could have stopped him if she wanted to. Her sword was always at her hip, and she wouldn’t even need it; her bare hands would be enough.

Having mastered swordsmanship and other martial arts, Penny was confident she could easily subdue a former cook who had just become a hero.

‘But why can’t I move?’

As she sensed the hero’s fist flying towards her face, Penny pondered the reason.

It was because shame and her love for Las were holding her back.

So, this was punishment. Punishment for betraying the one she loved…the one she gave her first time to.

Penny resolved not to make a sound, even if her face swelled from the blow, and clenched her fists.

But the hero’s fist never landed.

“Huh?”

What she felt on her face wasn’t a hot fist, but the cool night air, a welcome relief from the carriage’s warmth.

She opened her eyes in confusion, but the hero, who had been sitting opposite her, was gone.

Instead, the cool night air and the carriage door, which had been closed, were wide open.

“What…?”

Her thoughts stuttered at the unexpected turn of events. Then, as if mocking her slow wit, she heard the knights’ voices.

“The hero jumped out of the carriage!!!”

“He was trampled by a horse! And by the carriage!!!”

“The…non-virgin…wh*re…stink!!! I…I couldn’t stand it…!!!”