I Became the Hero's Bride! Chapter 10

IBHB 10
I Became the Hero's Bride - Chapter 10 - Your queen rates this s.h.i.+p highly

TL: Eevee
Ed: Hungry Panda

Clarice didn't seem to take too kindly to the queen that appeared without any warning. Rather than kindly, her hackles were raised like an angry cat and she offered her refusal.

"This son, is not in the mood to talk with Mother at the moment so could you please leave."

Normally this reaction would have been unimaginable for such a cute and kind son, but right now she was a daughter that had been smacked upside the back of her head by her parents so it didn't matter. But the queen ignored Clarice and wormed her way in like a snake and took a seat, talking with Karina and even having the s.p.a.ce of mind to sip at her tea.

Indeed like husband, like wife.

"Thank you for helping out our princess. Karina. Since the princess is not used to her female body yet."
"Of course not. Your Majesty. No, I was honoured…. Cough, I did what I had to as a maid."

As the queen listened to the mess that Clarice had come to in the bathroom, she made all sorts of pitiful noises and shook her head. Right beside her, Clarice desperately tried to temper her boiling anger.

"Leave the room for the moment. I have something I want to talk with the princess just as the two of us."
"Understood. Your Majesty. Please call me if you need anything."

Karina bowed and exited the room.

Now it was just the two of them.

"Clarice."

The queen called Clarice's name gently as if she was handling a child. Clarice huffed. No matter what she said this time she wouldn't fall that easily.

"You're not a son anymore but a daughter, no?"
"……At least try to make excuses for yourself."

Not something ridiculous.

"But it's true. Because Clarice is a woman."

So Clarice said it in the way the queen wanted to hear. With tightly clenched teeth.

"This daughter, iz' no' in th' mood t' talk ri' now, so c'd you please leave."
"Oh my. But your mother came to talk with Clarice?"

The queen discarded her elegant bearing and said nonchalantly. This was it. This was the queen's true face that she didn't show in public.

And this was exactly why Clarice was so angry.

"So what. Disgrace, feels dirty, saying you'd imprison me, so why now…!"

Clarice screamed her resentment. What Clarice had truly been angry at the queen was, more than her gender change, the queen's cold, heartless appearance. That that had all been an act. All a giant act to fool the hero.

"Do… do you know how scared I was…?!"

But even so it wasn't as if she could just laugh it off with a wave of the hand. The hurt, the shock, the betrayal, it was not as if it had never happened. Her gentle mother changed so drastically in a single morning and coldly threw her away, what child wouldn't be hurt by that.

"I'm sorry."

The queen quietly drew the sobbing Clarice into her arms. Because she was still her mother. Because she was much too sorrowful to reject her warm embrace, Clarice buried her face in the queen's chest. For a long time afterwards, Clarice's tears soaked the queen's b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

"I'm sorry. I came here to apologise… I won't ever do that again."

Clarice decided to forgive Mother just this once.

If there ever was a next time then she'd straight up knock some teeth out.

***

Of course, even if Clarice forgave her, she'd forgiven the queen for deceiving her, not turning her into a woman. When Clarice glared at her with slit eyes and asked why she didn't stop Father, the queen smiled brightly and replied.

"Of course, it's because I wanted a daughter!"

Clarice thought.

'This is a problem. This person, her head's filled with nothing but flowers.'

Having long surpa.s.sed 'purity' and entered the realm of ditzy cuteness, who would have thought this was the master tactician that had ensnared the hero. Then again, it wasn't like she was the queen for nothing.

"But Mom was shocked when she heard it for the first time as well, you know? It was so unbelievable I thought someone was pranking me."
"I can't believe that I turned into a woman now, either. It would be good if this WAS just someone's joke."

Clarice wondered if the king was worse than the demon king. At least that woman only made people dress like women, not actually turn them into women. Wait, hold up. If you put it like that, hadn't that woman dressed her up as a girl and married her to an orc? Ahh. Just remembering it made her b.u.t.tcheeks shudder. Clarice hugged her shoulders and s.h.i.+vered.

I don't like orcs. Orcs are scary…

"What's wrong? You've turned blue all of a sudden, does it hurt anywhere?"
"It's just. I recalled some bad memories. Please don't be concerned."

Clarice sighed and focused again. Yes. Turning into a woman and marrying Hero-nim was a far better option. Rather than an orc with nothing but a pointlessly big p.e.n.i.s, she'd much rather have the kind, n.o.ble and handsome hero…

'I will have, hold and cherish her for the rest of my life.'

Aaaaack! What'm I thinking!

"What's the matter? You've turned red all of a sudden. Does it hurt anywhere?"
"It's just. I recalled an embarra.s.sing memory. Please don't be concerned."

The queen hid her mouth with her feather fan before asking.

"Did you think about the hero, by any chance?"
"Eh?!"

Whoops. Correct.

"Although your mother is one to talk, you're quite quick on the mark as well. How long have you been a girl that you already love…mff."
"Ab. so. lute. ly. Not."

Clarice reached over the fan and stoppered the queen's mouth. The queen's lips squirmed around a bit before finally freeing itself from the hand, and smirked.

"Why? The hero, he's a good man. He's quite a man even to your mother, you know? He's handsome, tall, and he'd go to war with the kingdom for your sake."
"Hh, hmph. Hero-nim starting a war for my sake. That is too far."

Even while denying the queen's words at the praise of her close friend Hero-nim, Clarice felt much better. A fool for the hero indeed.

"Mom doesn't think it's weird for Clarice to fall for the hero. Plus Clarice has already been saved once like a princess in a fairy tale? Kyaa. So romantic~"

Clarice stared at the queen with dead eyes. No wonder she'd been saying good words.

Knock knock.

A knock on the door. Karina's voice followed shortly.

"Hero-nim has arrived."

Clarice leapt up from her seat. 'Oh my.' The queen seemed amused at Clarice's unrestrained excitement.

"Hero-nim!!!"
"Cla… Whoa!"

As soon as Minwoo came in Clarice dashed in like an arrow and buried herself in his embrace. Unaware of the hero's shock, she rubbed her face against the hero's hard chest and vocalised her longing.

"Why are you so late! I waited so long!"
"I, I know. I'm sorry I'm late. I get it so please get off me for now…"

Only then did Clarice finally lift her head off as if she felt lacking. Her(?) affectionate actions couldn't be helped. Father was completely out of it, Mother's head was filled with nothing but flowers, her new maid was nothing more than a pervert, Senyun was a panty thief…. The only person left that Clarice had faith in was the hero, Minwoo.

My only supporter. In this entire palace filled only with people to give me a giant middle finger, he was the only to take care of me. To Clarice, Minwoo had long surpa.s.sed friend and was now her only ally in the world.

"Ho, so this is the rumoured Minwoo x Clarice? It's quite something to see it with my own eyes."
"Your queen rates this s.h.i.+p highly."

Veins twitched out on Clarice's forehead.

Everything was great except for their presence.

***

Clarice's wish didn't take long to fulfil.

"These oldies who can't read the mood will vanish now. Have a nice time together."

The queen who had at some point recovered her royal dignity waved her fan and left, and shortly afterwards, Karina left the room as well, saying that she was going to prepare dinner. Like the queen had said, left alone with just the two of them, Clarice told Minwoo everything that had happened up till now.

"Eck… That was a problem."

The time when she was crying her eyes out and was eventually serviced (and talked dirty to) by Karina.

"It doesn't really look weird on you. It actually looks… quite pretty?"

Having worn this weird one piece because there were no clothes that fit her, Minwoo's words unknowingly refuted her own self-denial.

"There really aren't any normal people in this kingdom."

Once they came to what the queen had said, the two of them happily talked smack about the royal couple behind their backs.

At around dinner time Clarice listened to Minwoo's story, he had engaged in a chase-and-be-chased game of hide-and-seek with the king. When Minwoo said that he lost the king after a breath-stealing chase, Clarice sighed regretfully.

d.a.m.n Father. He needed to be punished no matter what.

"Which comes to this. What should we do now?"

At the end of the meal, Clarice asked while delicately wiping her lips, and Minwoo turned his head aside. Because of the way she put up her hair like the queen, he'd unconsciously been staring at her elegant neckline, so he fake-coughed and brought himself to his senses. Clarice's neckline was so dazzling he was worried he'd develop some new neck fetish.

"Mm. What do you mean, what should we do now?"
"That's… Uuu… I mean marriage. Marriage. Now we've got no ways to push or pull against this so what should we do?"

Ah. Minwoo smiled sheepishly. Quite unlike his normal self, he'd been the one who had basically cemented this marriage, so he couldn't say anything even if he had ten mouths. Of course, it wasn't like Clarice had brought this up to blame him either…

As the sun dipped below the horizon and the moon and stars rose to their zenith, the two of them put their heads together to come up with a plan.

Their efforts were fruitless.

Thud. It was hopeless. But hopeless or not, tomorrow's sun would rise as normal, so after saying that they would think about this again tomorrow, Minwoo stood up.

Clarice clutched Minwoo's arm.

"Are you leaving?"

Like a lost child, or a lonely bunny. Her indigo eyes seemed to overflow with sorrow as Clarice begged him not to leave.

"Just tonight. Could you stay with me just for tonight?"

Minwoo was aghast. Just, what is this kid saying.

"It, it's really embarra.s.sing for me to say this but it's scary sleeping by myself…"

Ding~ A single phrase rang in Minwoo's head like a bell's chime.

Oh G.o.d.

"No, wait what. Suddenly. You're scared to sleep by yourself?"
"It's as you've just heard. It's scary to sleep by myself. If possible, I want to stay with you, Hero-nim. I… I want to sleep together."

Clarice looked like tears were about to drip down her cheeks at any moment. On the verge of tears, as if to declare that she wouldn't lose him, she hugged Minwoo's arm. As she hugged him, Minwoo's arm was buried between her abundant b.r.e.a.s.t.s. Holy s.h.i.+t. Minwoo's rationality was steaming and reaching its limits.

No matter that this kid was a man before but she was a woman now. And an insanely beautiful and attractive girl to boot (ironically her face was still exactly the same as when she was a man). A girl like this was giving him skins.h.i.+p while asking him to sleep with her? Ho ho. He didn't have any answers for this. Minwoo desperately held onto his rationality.

'happythoughtshappythoughtshappythoughtshappythoughtslewdingthoughtshappythoughtshappys.e.xhappythoughts.'

He was 18 years of age. An age filled with desire.

"Calm down! Clarice! If we sleep together now then the royal family will only have more things to hold against us!"
"But…"

Clarice finally broke out into tears.

"I'm scared that you'll disappear… Waaahhh!"

She cried like she'd lost everything in her world. Minwoo asked the question that he genuinely wondered.

"Why would I disappear?"

"But! But!!"

Clarice howled impa.s.sionately.

"My p.e.n.i.s disappeared so there's no guarantee that Hero-nim won't either!!"

Wuwuwuwu. Looking at Clarice cry her heart out again, once again, the bell in Minwoo's head rang ding~.

Oh G.o.d.

Author's Note

Holy moly that's a scary thought;;

[][][]

Did I just go through a chapter without any translator's notes? Oh mah gawd. Also, remember. Comments make translators very happy chappies. No exceptions.