Chapter 114. Discord and Bonds
Queen Marceline ground her teeth involuntarily. She had ground them so hard that her jaw was beginning to ache.
Yet it still wasn’t enough, so—
Grind!!
Just as she began grinding her teeth again—
“How did this happen, Your Majesty?”
A seductive woman’s voice emerged from the darkness. It was a voice that sounded gentle yet deadly.
Starting from her legs, the woman’s figure gradually materialized.
“The bribe failed, the drug failed, the brainwashing failed, and even that individual’s whispers were useless....”
The woman’s face was revealed.
Her alluring yet intimidating beauty momentarily caused Queen Marceline to freeze.
“There is an informant among us. That is the only conclusion we can reach.”
The woman, Luseria, narrowed her gleaming eyes.
“With that in mind, I have a question for Your Majesty.”
“......”
“Did you truly lose the funds during the tea party?”
“Are you suspecting me?”
“The circumstances are far too convenient.”
Luseria slowly continued while observing Queen Marceline’s reaction.
“Of all things, Your Majesty suddenly lost the funds we provided.”
“......”
“Meanwhile, you still possess all the funds we gave you personally.”
“....Are you accusing me of lying?”
“If that isn’t the case—”
Luseria slightly tilted her head.
A cold smile appeared on her face.
“Perhaps Your Majesty is secretly communicating with Adrian.”
“What are you—?!”
“Adrian’s actions during the banquet and Salon were intentional. He behaved as though he already knew everything about our plans.”
Queen Marceline remained silent. She agreed with that assessment.
“We had no choice but to consider the possibility that you were communicating with him. In particular, we suspected Your Majesty, who conveniently lost our funds during the tea party.”
“What about the possibility that the information leaked from your side? Have you not even considered that?”
“Well, I suppose that’s technically possible.”
Luseria shrugged once.
“However, if information leaked from our side…. Well.”
Luseria stopped speaking and appeared to contemplate it briefly. Before long, she smiled faintly and continued.
“I don’t believe that would be possible.”
“What remarkable trust you possess.”
“It isn’t so much a matter of trust as it is literally ‘impossible’.... But if you wish to call that trust, then I suppose it is.”
“So what exactly are you trying to say?”
“Not all the events have ended yet.”
Luseria’s gaze abruptly sharpened.
“The final ball remains.”
Darkness gradually enveloped Luseria.
The darkness soon dispersed, and Luseria disappeared without a trace.
“You must succeed.”
Her final words became echoes of darkness that lingered in Queen Marceline’s ears.
* * *
The tea party, banquet, Salon, and Contest.
I had completely blocked every scheme Queen Marceline had planned.
‘There’s only one event remaining in the Royal Social Gathering....’
The Ball.
It was the highlight of the Royal Social Gathering and the most important event that would bring it to a grand conclusion.
Unfortunately, I hadn’t been able to discover their plan for the Ball.
I considered using Assimilation [C+] to infiltrate their meeting again, but decided against it.
‘There’s a chance I’ll be discovered.’
I still hadn’t acquired the complete Genetic Factor for Assimilation [C+].
Luseria had nearly discovered me last time.
She was already suspicious, and if I recklessly infiltrated again and got caught, my own plan would be ruined.
However, that didn’t mean I intended to stand by and merely observe their secret meeting.
I had acted conspicuously and deliberately.
I wanted them to think that I knew their plans.
Since the Monarch of Darkness was orchestrating this incident, Luseria would never consider the possibility that information had leaked from her own side.
As she had said, that was impossible.
In other words, Luseria could only conclude that Queen Marceline had leaked the information.
The discord between the two of them would consequently deepen.
Discord became a fracture, a fracture created an opening, and that opening would ultimately lead to collapse.
It didn’t matter that I didn’t know what they were planning for the Ball.
I belonged to the Special Task Force under the Coalition Operations Command.
I was the Special Warfare Unit’s Covert Operations Commander.
I had accumulated experience through countless operations.
I had developed instincts by repeatedly crossing the boundary between life and death on countless battlefields.
No matter how skilled Queen Marceline was at political intrigue, she was ultimately in the palm of my hand.
Politics wasn’t my specialty, but the battlefield was my domain.
More importantly, the Monarch of Darkness could no longer become an unpredictable variable for me.
Successor’s Will [EX].
No matter what variable intervened, I could handle it.
If necessary….there was also the option of preventing the Ball itself from taking place.
For example, I could use Wrath of the Frenzied Dragon [L] to destroy the stage.
If I did that, it wouldn’t matter what kind of scheme they had planned.
‘That’s not a bad idea.’
Just as that thought occurred to me—
◆ The Relationship Quest [Tonight, I’m the Star!] has arrived.
A quest message suddenly appeared before my eyes.
Furthermore, this was the first ‘Relationship’ Quest I had ever encountered….
‘What?’
....What was this supposed to be now?
* * *
Inside a guest chamber in the royal palace—
Seraphia lay facedown on the bed and released a deep sigh.
‘I wasn’t helpful at all....’
The Royal Social Gathering itself descending into chaos was a problem, but even setting that aside, she had accomplished nothing.
Adrian, on the other hand, was different.
Adrian had been the star of the event since the tea party.
After all, Adrian was the Merchant Company Master of the Predator Merchant Company.
He was the only person on the continent who distributed monster meat.
Then there was the recent disturbance in the royal palace.
Adrian had boldly refused to shrink back even before a prince.
He had also demonstrated tremendous strength by beating the Deputy Commander of the Royal Knights like a dog.
Instead, that incident became an opportunity for Adrian to increase his fame, making him immensely popular with the young noblewomen.
And that wasn’t all.
During the banquet, he had presented the unprecedented item known as Peanut Wine.
During the Salon, he demonstrated an extraordinary intellectual capacity and overwhelmed the renowned Court Mage Floyd in a debate.
Compared to Adrian—
‘I’m far too inadequate....’
Seraphia had accomplished nothing.
Just as another bitter sigh escaped her—
Knock, knock.
“May I come in?”
Adrian’s voice suddenly came from outside.
Seraphia’s body involuntarily flinched.
“....Ah, yes! Come in!”
Seraphia tidied her disheveled hair.
The moment she quickly corrected her posture—
The door slowly opened, and Adrian entered the room.
“What were you doing?”
“I was just resting.... More importantly, what brings you here?”
Adrian casually moved past the question.
“Did you bring a dress for the Ball, the next event of the Royal Social Gathering?”
“....What? Oh, yes.”
Seraphia nodded.
The Ball was the most important event of the Royal Social Gathering.
The dress worn to the Ball had to receive even more attention than the outfits worn during the other events.
“I did bring one.”
“Then put it on and show me.”
“Right now...?”
So suddenly?
While Seraphia remained flustered, Adrian had already left the room.
After stepping outside—
I checked the contents of the Relationship Quest again.
==[Tonight, I’m the Star!]==
[Objective] — Successfully debut Seraphia.
[Reward] — Unlock Seraphia’s Affinity <Bond Stage>.
[Upon Refusal] — ???
‘Bond Stage?’
I didn’t know what that was.
Until now, Affinity had consisted of three stages.
They were the Conflict, Neutral, and Interest stages.
The Conflict Stage included the states [Hatred, Disgust, Anger, Conflict].
The Neutral Stage included the state [Indifference].
The Interest Stage included the states [Favor, Friendliness, Trust, Affection].
Therefore, the Bond ‘Stage’ wasn’t simply another [state]—
◆ Are you curious about the Bond Stage?!?!
For starters, the reward was the unlocking of the <Bond Stage>.
I could tell that it was related to Affinity.
....No, that wasn’t what I meant.
I was simply—
◆ If so, it is only proper that I answer you!!
Had it been itching to speak after remaining silent for so long?
As if thinking, ‘This is my chance!’ the messages completely ignored my opinion and began appearing one after another.
◆ A bond can be described as the ultimate destination of a relationship!
◆ The <Bond Stage> is the final stage of Affinity!
◆ In other words, it comes after the <Interest Stage>!
◆ Then, can it be unlocked for just anyone?!?!
◆ Absolutely not! Not in a million years!
◆ In short, that’s complete bullshit!
◆ It can only be unlocked for individuals whose Affinity has reached its ‘limit’!
◆ Furthermore, it can only be unlocked through a special event!
◆ If you miss that opportunity, you may never be able to unlock it for the rest of your life!
◆ Since forming a bond is so difficult, the reward is equally generous!
◆ You will receive a ‘Bond Skill’!
◆ And that is not all!
◆ Prepare to be amazed!
◆ You can learn about the past of the person with whom you have formed a bond!
◆ You can also discover the emotions that person is desperately trying to conceal!
◆ This will allow you to ‘capture’ that person!
◆ I know exactly what you are thinking!
◆ You are far too devious!
◆ Anyway, the <Bond Stage> has been unlocked! Fact!
◆ This means you can pursue an entirely different direction in your relationship with that person! Fact!
◆ Of course, since relationships are diverse, there are also many kinds of bonds! Fact!
◆ Bonds between family members! Bonds between lovers! Fact!
◆ Bonds between companions! Bonds between master and disciple! Fact!
◆ Bonds between rivals! Bonds between monarch and retainer! Fact!
◆ Which of these bonds do you wish to pursue with that person?! Fact?!?!
The fact that this appeared to be related to the Monarch of Darkness.
The fact that rejecting it recklessly would therefore be difficult.
The fact that this meant I couldn’t prevent the Ball itself from taking place.
Therefore—
....At the very least, it was undoubtedly insane.
It was obvious that when I acquired Berserk [?], this thing had also acquired Berserk Overreaction [?].
Otherwise, there was no way to explain this degree of commotion.
Anyway—
This quest had apparently been unlocked when Seraphia’s Affinity reached its ‘limit’ last time.
It wasn’t a quest that I particularly needed to complete, but—
The fact that the penalty for refusing was marked as ???.
There had been times when the reward was marked as ???, but the penalty had never been marked that way.
◆ The fact that the Relationship Quest [Tonight, I’m the Star!] has begun.
And somehow—
The fact that I seemed to be gradually losing my mind as well.
* * *
A short while later—
Seraphia slightly opened the door and peeked outside.
“Brother.... I’m ready.”
Feeling inexplicably embarrassed, Seraphia cautiously opened the door and stepped out.
“H-How do I look...?”
Adrian examined Seraphia from head to toe.
Then came his assessment….
“The design is acceptable.”
“Really?!”
Seraphia’s expression instantly brightened.
However, Adrian continued.
“Only the design is acceptable.”
Her bright expression darkened again.
“The dress doesn’t fit you.”
Seraphia looked over the dress and lightly bit her lip.
The waistline was clearly too loose, while the sleeves hung limply from her arms.
The chest area awkwardly protruded away from her body.
The upper portion, in particular, shifted even with the slightest movement and refused to remain properly in place.
Overall, the dress didn’t fit Seraphia’s figure and consequently didn’t suit her.
“I’ve never worn clothes like this before....”
Seraphia answered with an utterly dejected expression.
At that moment—
“Take it off.”
“......”
Seraphia’s red eyes blinked involuntarily.
Her face suddenly turned bright red and began burning hot.
“R-R-R-Right now...?! H-Here—?!”
“It requires extensive alterations, so hurry up, take it off, and bring it out.”
“Ah...?”
Her expression momentarily malfunctioned.
“Ah! Oh, yes! I’ll change and bring it out!”
Seraphia hurriedly rushed back into the room.
* * *
Marble that gleamed brilliantly as though it contained a thousand stars.
Golden light poured from an enormous chandelier.
This was the royal palace’s ballroom, where splendor and nobility coexisted.
To the melody performed by the Court Orchestra, young noblewomen entered one after another.
The Ball was the final event of the Royal Social Gathering.
It was an honorable occasion where young noblewomen introduced themselves to aristocratic society by receiving an audience with the queen.
Therefore, the daughters of the noble families had poured everything they had into their preparations.
Some had lost weight solely for this day.
Some had deprived themselves of food and drink to fit the silhouettes of their dresses.
Some had spent tens of thousands of gold on skincare.
The young noblewomen, who had prepared by drawing upon every last ounce of their strength and spirit, looked truly radiant.
However, the ballroom doors opened—
And a fresh, radiant girl with silver hair appeared—
“Gasp...!”
“Ah...!”
Everyone seemed to stop breathing.
Every conversation and movement in the ballroom came to a complete halt.
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