Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

"Of course it's me. Look, can this cat possibly be imitated?"

Shard jumped down from the windowsill, took off his hat, took out Mia, and smiled as he displayed the somewhat bewildered cat.

But the blonde Princess in the light blue long dress "snatched" the cat and placed it back on the windowsill, then reached out to embrace Shard's neck and kissed him passionately.

In this Steam Age, the crafting of high-quality perfumes has become quite sophisticated. Today, Margaret wore a perfume with a light rose fragrance, which smelled quite pleasant up close.

Of course, Margaret's passion was already evident in this kiss. The two embraced, with Margaret guiding the stumbling Shard towards the sofa, and it was Margaret's strength that directed them to sit down on it.

Or rather, Shard was pressed down onto the sofa.

The Princess maintained the elegance of a Royal Lady, and as she sat sideways on Shard's lap with her arms around his neck, she even remembered to take off her white buttoned high heels.

At the peak of longing, seeing this lover who was supposed to be in a distant land made the passion of this moment almost wild.

After a long while, the flushed Princess released Shard, but she still held his neck with both arms, her eyes sparkling as if allowing Shard to see the joy and restraint of her soul.

"Rejed's Hamilton Knight, although before we parted you said you would come to find me soon, I didn't expect you to come this quickly."

She breathed deeply to regulate her heartbeat, the blush on her face more beautiful than any makeup.

Feeling a change in Shard's body, her face turned even redder. She bit her lip, then shyly kissed his cheek:

"It seems, I still have quite the charm."

"I came to Huntington to handle some important matters. Now that they're resolved, I came to see you..."

Seeing the Princess's expression, he immediately corrected himself:

"Of course, the main reason was to see you."

"It's good that you remember me. After all, back in Tobesk, you had quite a few ladies around you."

She teased with a laugh but was genuinely pleased with Shard's arrival:

"I have to leave tonight; will you stay here with me this afternoon?"

The body sitting on Shard's lap squirmed a bit, blushing while trying hard to pretend she wasn't shy:

"Or, should I find a maid for you first?"

"Oh, Margaret, please don't joke about that."

At this time, the cat on the windowsill also jumped onto the carpet, then leapt onto the coffee table, watching the embracing pair.

"Actually, there are some things I want to tell you. Do you remember I mentioned them? There are still some things I haven't told you, what I mean is..."

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Just as Shard expected, the sound of knocking was perfectly timed. Margaret looked somewhat displeased towards the door, which was then slightly opened. Her personal maid softly spoke from outside:

"Your Highness, Miss Sylvia is back. She said she has something to discuss with you."

"Oh, it's the teacher."

She muttered softly, but the Princess still released Shard, sat back on the sofa, and put on her crooked pair of white high heels again.

Seeing Shard looking at her legs, she blushed again and covered the legs with white knee-high socks with her skirt:

"I know you won't follow me to Velindale City, so we must cherish this afternoon. Don't leave; I'll be back soon."

She bent down to kiss Shard's forehead, then took a few steps towards the door, reluctantly turning back to remind him:

"I'll be back soon. Don't leave here, Knight~"

Drawing out the sound:

"That's an order."

The door opened and then closed, leaving only Shard and Mia in the study. Shard gestured to the cat on the coffee table, and the cat jumped to his arm and then onto his shoulder:

"Miss Sylvia's plans... really, I hope I won't get slapped later."

Though a bit restless inside, Margaret Anjou walked down the red-carpeted corridor and, led by a maid, headed for the first floor. Only when reaching the front door did she realize that Miss Sylvia had already gone upstairs, so the Princess climbed back up and found her teacher in another study on the third floor of the manor.

Compared to the study on the second floor, the one on the third floor leans more toward private use. The room is divided into two parts by a wall filled with bookshelves, with the inner side requiring entrance through a small door to facilitate the handling of confidential documents by the estate's owner.

Entering the room, Miss Sylvia was already in the inner part of the study. Following etiquette, the Princess did not enter directly but instead, after dismissing the servants, respectfully spoke from the outer part of the study:

"Teacher, did you need to see me for something?"

"Yes... um..."

Margaret felt as if she heard a strange sound.

"It's time to tell you. The real apprentice I mentioned some time ago happened to come to visit me today. I want to introduce you..."

Miss Sylvia's breathing seemed strange, which made Margaret frown slightly.

She still remembered that the teacher's apprentice lived near Saint Delan Square in Tobesk, and she had entrusted Shard to investigate but got no results. Thinking of Shard suddenly appearing and the teacher's "apprentice" also appearing, she felt an inexplicable unease, but she suppressed this odd thought.

"Alright, teacher, I have always hoped to meet... that lady."

She withdrew some small malicious adjectives from her mind, though she was envious of the other's "luck," she accepted the outcome. After all, no rule says a witch cannot simultaneously nurture two apprentices.

"There's something else... you need to, oh, know."

Miss Sylvia continued:

"My apprentice is also my lover, and we have a very close relationship."

Margaret didn't react much to this, knowing witches dislike men, and Miss Sylvia's appearance is so stunningly beautiful. Thus, this outcome was anticipated long ago.

"You... may come in."

Granted permission, Her Highness the Princess did not immediately walk over, but instead looked down to check her attire, took a few deep breaths to adjust her mindset, and showed the "royal smile" she usually showed to the public. Although the other party is the teacher's apprentice, Margaret Anjou decided to try to use her family identity to create her aura.

After nearing the small door on the inner side of the study, the strange noises became more pronounced, and she soon identified them as the sound of passionate kissing, which she had made similar noises a few minutes earlier.

Only then did Margaret realize that the two people behind the door were kissing. Thinking of her beautiful math teacher kissing another young, likely more beautiful girl, a peculiar feeling surged in her heart.

Then came anger:

"Does she want to give me a blow? So young and childish!"

That's how Margaret understood it, but royal upbringing taught the young lady to be tolerant. She maintained her elegant smile, determined to relax her mindset and not lose to the other in aura.

She lightly knocked on the door before pushing open the thin brown painted wooden door. What she saw next immediately turned the princess's smile into astonishment.

She didn't even manage to maintain her smile for over a second after seeing that scene. The picture before her eyes, young and naive Her Highness the Princess, would probably be etched in her mind forever.

The familiar cat lay on the desk, its small and cute appearance unmatched by any cat, and the two people behind the desk were indeed kissing. Except one was her teacher, the Grand Witch of the Witch Council, Miss Emma Sylvia; the other was her lover, Draleon's "Rejed's Hamilton" Knight, Shard Hamilton.

The cat looked at the princess, the princess looked at the witch and knight, the witch opened her eyes, smiling at the nearby knight, the knight looked at the cat on the desk.

Miss Sylvia released Shard, wiped her lips, got off his lap, stood up, and introduced to her student:

"It's time to tell you this secret, Shard is probably the only male creature since this world's creation to not be affected by the Witch's Curse."

She smiled and patted Shard's shoulder:

"Moreover, his spatial talent is terribly powerful, his mathematical knowledge might be stronger than mine. There's no better apprentice than him. But unfortunately, he didn't agree to become my apprentice because he has other witch lovers... your current expression is truly undeserving of the royal lady education you've received for more than twenty years."

"I..."

Throat dry, she couldn't speak, Margaret swallowed some saliva, but inside she didn't feel the anger she had imagined. Instead, a baseless, overwhelming joy surpassed the slight anger and surged into her heart, only then realizing the reason for the joy:

"Shard knows the teacher and can approach the teacher, there's no such thing as the talented pretty apprentice!"

"Becoming the teacher's apprentice and maintaining a close relationship with Shard, these aren't opposing choices!"

"The teacher let me know all this, knowing Shard's secret is further trusting me!"

"Shard's influence over the Witch Council exceeds imagination, through him I can further connect with the Council!"

"Having Shard as a male lover, the teacher won't oppose!"

"Through Shard, I can directly influence the Draleon Royal Family, then my ideals... I truly can have it all!"

Then she also felt quite strange at the moment:

"My lover kissing my beautiful math teacher, I'm actually ecstatic."

Shard sat there somewhat awkwardly, lowering his head and reaching to hold his cat:

"Margaret, this is what I wanted to tell you... Actually, the person you saw in Huntington City, Viscount Benhart's friend, who provided the red wine, Mr. Holmes, is also me... I should have told you before you left, but there were still some issues then..."

"Margaret, how are you feeling right now?"

Miss Sylvia interrupted Shard, though she smiled as she asked, the princess knew what her teacher was truly asking, and what this question represented.

"This time, it would affect many things, and my answer..."

She controlled herself not to laugh out loud, kept a straight face looking at the beautiful grand witch, restrained her inner urgency and passion, pretended to look regretfully at Shard, internally counted three numbers, then closed her eyes, and bowed her head saying:

"Teacher."

Emma Sylvia showed a satisfied smile.

Closing her eyes and bowing her head was to prevent the spirited smile in her eyes from being seen.