Avalon's Dungeon

When the priestess scolded him, Fernando quickly stood in front of Angelica and tried to hide his sister's hanging figure, whose lower half of her body was facing downward.

　However, he was discovered in vain.

　The priestess, with a furious look on her face, pushed the prince's small body away from her and grabbed the rope of Princess-Maiden.

「What are you doing, Your Highness the Prince? To do this to Her Highness Princess-maiden! O poor you! Surely the children of the concubine are not well behaved and don't know what is right and what is wrong!」

　Seeing the priestess's back as she tries to untie the rope, Fernando comes to his senses.

　He had made a mistake, he thought, and deeply regretted it.

　He might indeed have overdone it just to punish his sister who is always violent and the priestess was right.

　Still, she is really an inviolable one.

　Angelica must have been angry and dismayed.

　As he stood there thinking this, his sister, who was crippled, twisted around and stared not at Fernando but at the female priestess.

「...Y-You're the rude one. My brother is my brother. He's a prince. Please don't insult him by saying he's the son of a concubine.」

　Fernando is inwardly surprised at Angelica's attitude as she glares at him even with her cheeks bright red.

（Ane-sama）

　This moment made him see her in a new light.

　He had thought that she was just a mean sister who torments him in a fun way.

「P-Please forgive me, Your Highness Princess-Maiden」

　The priestess said as she is still searching for the rope.

　Looking at her, the rope did not seem to be loosening at all.

　Eventually, the priestess looks back at Fernando.

「...Your Highness, I can't untie this rope...」

「「What!?」」

　The voices of the brother and sister overlapped.

「W-Wait a minute! I'll untie it now...」

　In a panic, Fernando ran to his sister and fumbled with the rope for a while.

　But then...

「...I can't untie it either」

　He muttered, and instantly Angelica twisted around in a fit of rage.

「Idiot, you stupid Fernando! You're not my brother!」

「Hey, but you just called me brother!」

「I don't accept it! I won't accept you as a prince!」

　To her sobbing sister, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Fernando panicked.

　The priestess, who saw the two of them, nodded her head.

「There's nothing we can do. I'll have to call someone else...」

「No way!」

　Angelica was the one who took the initiative in shouting.

　Her ears were red and her eyes were misty.

「No. I don't want anyone to see me like this...」

　Seeing his sister's voice become weak like that, makes Fernando feel happy rather than feeling sorry for her.

　It's probably because he likes a gentle girl, not a violent one like his sister. Fernando thought to himself.

「But it's not good for your health if you stay like this... Hmm... I understand. So, I'll call only the minimum number of people...」

　The priestess said and turned back to Fernando.

「Your Highness, please watch over Her Highness Princess-Maiden so that others don't find her. And also, please take care of her so that she doesn't get sick. Do you understand?」

　Fernando nodded his head with his shoulders drooped.

　He looked at the priestess as she quickly ran away, and then he felt relieved.

　Anyway, he should apologize again to his sister.

　And he should be responsible for protecting her from being seen by others.

　With this thought, he turns his head to look back at his sister who is still hanging from the ceiling.

「...Fernando. You'll remember it.」

　He heard his sister's voice, full of black anger as if she were a messenger from hell.

　It made Fernando stiffen, unable to turn around, and he nodded his head shallowly.

* * *

　The priestess came to the library in a great hurry and told Queen Fransisca about the children.

　In the meantime, Fransisca was just working on her morning duties with her aide Fatima, dressed in a slim, comfortable dress.

　Fransisca's hair was the same beautiful silver color as Angelica's, waist-length and shining like trapped moonlight.

　She is a beautiful and elegant woman who looks calm and serene. That is the Fransisca of today. But now...

「What did you just say?」

　To Fransisca's question, the priestess says, "Just what I said..." while glancing at Fatima who is standing next to Fransisca.

　The reason why the priestess still chooses to speak is probably that not only Queen Fransisca but also Fatima is not unrelated to the case.

「Her Highness the Prince hung Her Highness Princess-Maiden from a tree with a rope. It seems that the rope couldn't be untied... So, out of respect for your dignity, please help her without letting anyone else see it...」

　Fransisca and Fatima looked at each other at the same time.

　Their amethyst and blue eyes meet each other.

　Both were more or less familiar with each other.

「...I understand.」

　Eventually, Fransisca quietly responds.

「Thank you for your report. We'll take care of the rest.」

　Smiling softly, the priestess bows her head.

「Yes, please. Now, if you'll excuse me.」

　The priestess leaves and the door to the library are closed.

　As soon as Fransisca saw this, she murmured

「I wonder if they are father and son...?」

「Maybe they are father and son...?」

　Fatima also said this and let out a sigh.

* * *

　Fransisca and Fatima were not the only ones who came to see the siblings in the courtyard.

　There was also Alexis, the priest-king.

「...Hey, what are you doing?」

　Alexis was troubled, even though it was his own children.

　Angelica is hanging with her lower half bare and tied with ropes. Next to her is Fernando, the man who did it.

「Please forgive me! Please forgive me!」

　As soon as Fatima sees what's happening, she turns pale and bows her head to Fransisca. This is because the situation was beyond her expectations.

　She had heard that she was hanging, but she had not heard that her lower half was exposed.

　Fransisca responded with an indescribable smile that could be described as bewilderment or a wry smile, "Ah, no, don't worry about it."

　While the two wives were talking, Alexis was touching the rope around Angelica's body to make sure that it was tied very tightly.

「I don't have a choice. I'll just have to untie it myself...」

　He sighs and soon realizes that he is passing through a thick branch of a tree, so he slides up the trunk.

　Today Alexis is dressed in a tunic and pants, which is not very rough for a priest-king, but that is not what he usually wears in the street. However, it is the usual thing in the castle. Thanks to this, it was easy for him to go back and forth between the tree trunks and untie the rope for Fernando.

「Okay, it's untied. ...Still, it must have been tied very tightly...」

　Angelica is finally allowed to get down, and the rope marks are firmly etched on her body.

「...Wow.」

　Fransisca, who had only been looking at the scene so far, murmured, and her cheeks turned vermilion as her eyes drifted to the floor.

　Beside her, Fatima's eyes drifted awkwardly.

　Alexis knew what they were thinking.

　He sighs and turns to the problem children without pointing it out at this moment.

「...Really, I don't know what you were thinking when you did this. But anyway, Fernando. Just give Angelica her panties back.」

　Fernando opened her sister's white cotton panties and held them out in front of Angelica. But she raised her fists in front of him.

「Wait! Wait a minute! I can't give it back now! If I give it back now, I'm sure I'll get hit! Barrier! Panties barrier!」

「Hey, Fernando! What are you doing? Give it back!」

　The battle line between the siblings seems to have reached a stalemate.

　Seeing this, Alexis shakes his head in exasperation.

「Anyway, let's get back to work.」

「Fufu... Yes, I guess so.」

「...Let's do that.」

　Fernando almost cried as the three adults simply walked away.

「Someone stops Ane-sama from punching me!」

　In front of him, Angelica was smiling a devilish smile.

「Now that there's no one here, I can punch you as hard as I want, can't I?」

　"Aaaaah!" screamed Fernando.

　Fernando's scream echoed around the room.

「...be strong, my son.」

　Alexis looked at him with a faraway look and murmured.

「Well, Angelica, she always tries to do too much...」

　Fransisca, who was standing next to his left, smiled bitterly.

「In a way, I think it's good therapy. Fernando's counterattack...」

「Ah... I'm really sorry, with Her Highness Princess-Maiden...」

　On the right, Fatima is shaking her head.

「By the way, he tied her up pretty well. Where did he learn that?」

　Alexis murmurs, and instantly both of the women fall silent and stare at him from both sides, which makes him flinch.

「D-Don't blame me...」

「No, he looks just like Alexis-sama, I think.」

　Fransisca smiles at him. Fatima also nodded her head.

「...I agree.」

「Haha, you guys...」

　Alexis laughed.