Ch.9Temptation?

“This is driving me crazy, seriously.”

As I sighed deeply and threw myself onto the bed, I sank into bedding that the word “luxury” couldn’t begin to describe, covered by sheets large enough to comfortably accommodate five or six people with room to spare.

When I first lay down, it was so soft that I had to sit up for a moment to adjust.

That wasn’t all—the bed canopy was draped with what appeared to be extremely expensive silk hanging down like curtains.

I couldn’t even calculate how much money had gone into this bed alone with my limited financial sense. An ordinary person could probably furnish an entire house with that amount.

The place Charlotte had teleported me to was a room decorated with such extreme luxury that her earlier comment about “preparations” seemed entirely justified.

Golden decorations were embroidered throughout the room, and expensive-looking vases and jewels were scattered everywhere.

Near the bed, a small round table with two chairs held a tray of vibrantly colored fruits.

I tried a grape, and it was so large and sweet that I questioned whether it was the same fruit I knew. I hadn’t tried the others, but they were probably similar.

It seemed her promise to welcome me as a guest in her name wasn’t entirely false. However, despite this expensive hospitality, I didn’t feel comfortable at all.

The reason was obviously those three who would be gathered without me by now. Even having just two of them together was concerning, but all three in one place? Anyone would be anxious.

Moreover, the expression Charlotte wore before teleporting me here clearly suggested she was deliberately sending me far away.

At least Christine’s ability would restrain Charlotte, so the place wouldn’t be completely destroyed, but if Serena and Christine clashed, that would be a headache in itself.

The moment Serena decided to fight Christine, we’d have to be prepared for the entire castle to be blown away.

Those two had more than enough power to do that even without enhancing their bodies with holy power or mana.

I was so worried that I considered going out to look for them myself, but the door wouldn’t open. For a moment, I wondered if Charlotte had mistaken imprisonment for hospitality.

The person who put me here was nowhere to be seen, so I had no one to complain to. So I just stayed cooped up in the room, passing time.

The room was so lavishly decorated that I felt hesitant to move around freely.

Of course, even if I broke an item or two while wandering around—or even if I trashed the entire room—Charlotte wouldn’t bat an eye. But still, I have a conscience.

Just as I was finishing a bunch of grapes, a magic circle suddenly appeared in the middle of the room. It was a teleportation circle.

And soon after, a beautiful woman with red eyes and a tight-fitting uniform emerged from the magic circle, her long silver hair that reached her waist fluttering. Was the door really locked?

“I was wondering why the door wouldn’t open, but it seems it was just for decoration.”

“Are you such a weak man that you cannot open a single door without me? Fear not. Even if you are nothing but a parasite living off your wife, I shall take care of you for life.”

“…Why did you use teleportation instead of just using the door?”

I tried to tease her but got more than I bargained for. I changed the subject after taking that heavy counterattack.

Charlotte used teleportation so frequently that it was easy to forget that it was originally a spell that required multiple magicians pooling their mana together to use. In other words, it had terrible cost-efficiency.

At minimum, one needed to be a royal magician to use it alone, and even then, they couldn’t replace trivial tasks with teleportation like Charlotte did, or perform outrageous feats like precisely bringing specific people from the edge of the continent to the center.

Typically, teleportation was the epitome of inefficiency—dozens of intermediate magicians would take turns pouring magic into a circle for hours just to move three or four carriages.

And here was Charlotte, casting it without incantations and with overwhelming transmission speed. She truly was a monster.

“Let me ask you this: why should I use the door when teleportation magic is available?”

“…”

She was so confident that I had nothing to say in response. As I sat dumbfounded on the bed, having lost my wits, Charlotte grinned and sat down beside me.

“You look dumbfounded. Didn’t I tell you? Your expressions reveal everything.”

“Of course they do. Put yourself in my position. How would that sound to you?”

“I haven’t yet perfected the magic to swap souls, but when I do, I shall consider it.”

Charlotte wiggled her finger, bringing a few grapes from the tray to her hand. As the grapes burst in her mouth with a small sound, a faint grape scent briefly filled the air.

A magician who teleports in and out of rooms and eats grapes with telekinesis. That’s not what those spells were originally meant for.

“Where are the other two? Serena and Christine?”

“How cruel. Ignoring me right in front of you to ask about other women. A crime worthy of a thousand deaths.”

“You’re right here in front of me. Perfectly fine. Is there any reason to worry about you?”

Whether she was just testing me or not, Charlotte didn’t deny it and simply put another grape in her mouth.

“As for those two, I sent them away.”

“What?”

“Can you not hear me from this distance? I clearly said I sent them away.”

When I blinked in surprise at her unexpected answer, Charlotte calmly chewed the last grape and added:

“Don’t make me repeat myself. The only person I welcomed in the name of Charlotte de Gargantua was you alone. Why should I entertain those other two?”

“Did you really send them both away?”

“My dear, if you truly think I forcibly drove them out, I would be astonished. You know as well as I do that those… women are not the type to meekly follow my orders. I merely sent the Knight Commander back to the royal knights’ quarters.”

I nodded slightly in agreement.

If Charlotte, a magician capable of altering continental maps, were to seriously clash with Christine and Serena, we would need to prepare for the battlefield to become a barren wasteland where not even a blade of grass could grow.

Individuals of such caliber would hardly follow each other’s orders obediently.

Although Serena was nominally following Charlotte since I had told her to join the royal knights, Serena deeply disliked this fact.

To the point where it would be a relief if she just didn’t openly ignore orders.

For such a Serena to follow Charlotte’s orders when not in front of nobles or knights? Even I found it hard to imagine.

“The Knight Commander must have known she committed an outrageous act. Intercepting what should have come to me. Had anyone else done so, their entire family would have deserved extreme punishment.”

“When did you notice?”

I had expected Charlotte would figure it out. Serena must have been prepared for it too. It was just a matter of when.

“Everything that happens within this castle is in the palm of my hand. The entire castle is my eyes and ears. Who would dare deceive me? I overlooked it only because you were where the Knight Commander was headed.”

“What about Christine? I doubt she would listen to you.”

“That woman…”

Charlotte gritted her teeth. Her hand gripping the bedding tightened.

Unlike earlier when she corrected herself from saying “that woman” to “those women,” she openly used such a term now, showing how heated she must have been. What on earth happened after she sent me away?

“…That woman left the castle of her own accord. Said she was going to gather more sacrifices for you.”

Her fist was trembling, and her hair was fluttering strand by strand in a rather ominous way.

When I placed my hand on Charlotte’s, which seemed ready to tear the room apart, she flinched and quickly flipped her palm to interlock her fingers with mine.

“Your perception has improved. I commend you.”

“How could I not notice when you’re like this right next to me?”

Given Christine’s personality, she definitely would have insulted or provoked Charlotte.

To Christine, both Serena and Charlotte were nothing but heretics and infidels who deserved to be torn limb from limb, but she was forcibly keeping them alive because of me.

Especially Charlotte, who had no choice but to endure whatever provocation Christine threw at her. From her extremely proud perspective, her relationship with Christine was the worst possible match.

Because she couldn’t use any magic and could only run away at best. It would be impossible for her to objectively accept such a state.

“Very well. If your intention was to comfort me, it has succeeded. Let us move on to the next stage.”

“Wait, what more do you want me to do here?”

“The women you’ve gathered caused the problem, did they not? Naturally, you must take responsibility.”

Charlotte released my hand and rose from the bed. With a small snap of her fingers, an elegant wine bottle and two glasses appeared on the round table.

Judging by the label, it was wine from a winery that exclusively targeted nobility, not even selling to commoners.

That sales strategy had been quite successful, with numerous nobles willing to pay exorbitant prices.

“But first, I need to change my clothes.”

“Change clothes too?”

“I cannot drink in this uncomfortable attire, can I?”

As she spoke, Charlotte tapped the emblem on her chest. The intricately intertwined emblems swayed as her fingers touched them.

“How seriously are you planning to drink…”

“I don’t wear this uniform because I like it. I wear it only to show authority.”

Authority, huh? I’m not so sure. Couldn’t she just wear a long, classic dress? In my opinion, since the clothes revealed her figure so clearly, it seemed less about authority and more about something else.

But that was just my perspective.

Other nobles might think Charlotte in that uniform looked more authoritative, and even if there were nobles who thought like me, anyone who dared to nitpick about it would have their entire family exterminated.

And I agreed that she wasn’t wearing it because she liked it.

The size fit her exactly with no room to spare, the fabric was stiff, and it was adorned with accessories and emblems—it must be uncomfortable.

Suddenly, Charlotte’s uniform top stirred, and the accessories began to disassemble themselves. Then the buttons unfastened one by one, revealing the white skin hidden beneath the uniform.

“Are you changing here?”

“Indeed. Why? Are you perhaps excited at the sight of my bare skin?”

With a bounce, as the uniform top came off completely, Charlotte’s chest moved up and down.

It was a chest that perfectly matched her toned, fat-free body. The two hills, in perfect balance, were firmly wrapped in black underwear with lace here and there.

“Just hurry up and change.”

I’ve lived too long to get excited by such sights.

That’s not to say I’m impotent. I just mean I don’t get excited merely by watching someone change clothes. Especially since Charlotte often played such pranks, I’d grown accustomed to it.

“Is that so? How disappointing.”

Despite her words, she didn’t look particularly disappointed. As if she had expected this response from me.

The telekinetic force supporting Charlotte’s body now began to remove her lower garment. Her underwear, which covered her pelvis and intimate parts, was also black.

Below that were thighs that, like her upper body, showed off slender curves without an ounce of fat, and long, extended calves.

After teleporting away the completely removed uniform top and bottom, Charlotte snapped her fingers again, and instantly a semi-transparent black negligee covered her body.

With sleeveless arms that completely exposed her armpits and a length that barely covered her pelvis, her bare arms and legs were fully visible.

Even the torso, which was covered by fabric, revealed the 11-line abs carved into her abdomen and the black underwear covering her intimate parts, as the silk of the negligee was so thin.

“What are you wear— Never mind. Someone like you must have your reasons. Right, how could I understand you?”

“Reasons? If someone heard that, they might mistake me for planning all my actions. This is my nightwear.”

Before my question of why that would be nightwear could be answered, the round table and chairs floated between us following Charlotte’s gesture.

The distance widened slightly as if inviting me to sit. When I obediently sat on the chair, Charlotte, seated across from me, grinned and picked up her glass. The meaning of that action was obvious.

“Alcohol… I don’t see why we need to drink. Not for me, and not for you either.”

Of course, my super-regeneration ability cleanses all alcohol, so I can’t get drunk, and Charlotte could completely dispel the effects of alcohol through healing magic if she wanted to.

Unless she drank enough to lose consciousness, but Charlotte wasn’t the type to lack self-control.

“We’re not drinking alcohol. We’re drinking the atmosphere. It seems you lack a sense of romance.”

“I’m someone who’s lived without romance. Sorry about that.”

What romance could there be for someone who’s been traveling across the continent trying to die? After all the horrors I’ve witnessed? I’ve come too far for such things now.

“Then I shall take care of the romance, and you need only play along. Surely even you can do that much.”

When I nodded, the wine bottle on the tray rose into the air by itself, and the cork was pushed out with a spirited sound. The subtle scent of alcohol and grapes spread.

Some well-trained individuals can identify wine types accurately just by scent or color, but sadly, I’m far removed from such fine liquors.

The bottle tilted slightly, and reddish wine with a subtle purple tint was poured into the glasses. The important thing was that nothing flowed from the bottle’s mouth, yet wine was filling both my glass and Charlotte’s.

“Using transfer magic for this…?”

“It’s a personal hobby.”

While there are countless magicians whose lifelong wish is to open a transfer gate with their own power?

Charlotte, who had casually belittled all the continent’s magicians, set the bottle upright, and the mysterious stream of wine flowing through the transfer gate abruptly stopped.

The wine at the bottom of the glass rippled as the glass moved.

Charlotte, who had been resting her chin on the table and swirling the liquid in her glass, suddenly looked up.

When our eyes met, she raised the corners of her mouth while fluttering the fabric near her chest with her other hand—an action that made it impossible to believe she was wearing nightwear.

No matter how I looked at it, she seemed to have come with a clear intention.