episode_0068

Episode 68

“If your mother is a member of the Black Goat Society and tempted your father to harm the kingdom, this is not an easy situation. Not only will she lose her status as queen, but there is a high possibility that she will be executed in a cruel manner.”

Carmel closed her mouth and was glaring at me. You’re probably trying to guess how much I’ve found out.

“Black goat sashimi? I told you I didn’t know about that. The items in there… are just my mother’s keepsakes.”

“The item with such a powerful curse is your mother’s keepsake?”

“Curse? Did you do that? I didn’t even know that.”

“Do you think such an argument would work in the interrogation of the guards?”

“Well? It might not work for the guards, but it would definitely work for your father. If you are that incompetent and affectionate person. They have the king’s protection, so what can those knights do?”

…That’s definitely not the case. Because Fehat is an extremely soft person towards his own people.

It’s so easy to picture it in your mind. If you shed tears while saying that it was your mother’s keepsake and you couldn’t bear to leave it behind, Fehat will probably let you go.

Not a bad conversation. But Carmel seemed to have forgotten that there was an important prerequisite for that.

“Hehehe.”

Looking at me suddenly smiling, Carmel narrowed her eyes as if she were sorry. I spoke in a happy voice.

“Aren’t you forgetting something important, Mother? I have already given my father poison once. It’s not that difficult to do the same thing again.”

“…What?”

“If my father wants to protect my mother, it is very sad, but I will have no choice but to exclude my father and take over the throne. The official heir to the throne of this country is none other than me.”

Carmel’s expression hardens as she understands what I mean. His face was somewhat different from the cold expression from before, as if he had heard a horrifying story.

“Moreover, the situation will be even more unfavorable for your mother. Her Majesty’s mysterious death in a situation where serious charges were at stake… Ah, I’m already heartbroken as to how the world will view my mother.”

“You really did that…”

“There’s no way you can do it? If so, would you like to check it? Are you really ready to test my resolve, risking everything you have, including your life?”

Carmel’s face gradually darkens. It is a face that realizes that it has lost without even having to unfold its cards.

Still, it looks like he hasn’t given up yet. Even though he had a despairing face, he was desperately trying to think of a way to get out of this situation.

But at least as far as I know, Carmel doesn’t have any more cards to play. I was appreciating Carmel with a relaxed attitude.

Did you remember something? Carmel spoke in a somewhat cautious voice.

“No, you, you can’t. Huh, don’t be bluff…”

“Are you bluffing? Where is this pretense?”

After much deliberation, Carmel was still hesitant as she spoke. Honestly, I was also very curious about what method Carmel came up with.

“You said it clearly. What you fear most is… losing me. So there’s no way you could execute me.”

I know it’s rude, but I couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Ahaha, ahahahahaha!”

“Well, what are you laughing at? Could it be that it was a lie? Everything I said that night…!”

Carmel’s face twisted as if she was trembling with betrayal. I think such a sad misunderstanding needs to be corrected quickly. I said with a gentle smile.

“No, it was all sincere. It is my honest truth that I am most afraid of losing my mother. To me, my mother is more important than anything else.”

“Then why…”

“But it’s funny. The last thing my mother wants to rely on is the love I have for her! Is it really okay for you to save your life like that, Mother? Does that mean you are surrendering to me in some way?”

“Pfft…”

Carmel clenched the hem of the skirt she was wearing. It seemed like he finally realized what he meant.

The structure to lead Carmel to execution has already been completed. If I treat Carmel as a simple enemy, she is as good as dead.

In this situation, Carmel’s words were a statement that destroyed each other’s equality. Although there may be superiority, it is not a relationship of equal competition, but a dependent relationship in which one cannot even survive without my affection and mercy. It was no different from acknowledging it.

“Pfft…!”

Carmel jumped up with a face bright red with anger and shame. And he lifted the glass artifact on the table as if he was going to throw it at any moment.

But it ended there. Carmel stopped in that position, trembling.

If you make a fuss now, the maids will come running. Then the negotiations end unfinished. Without even ensuring your own safety.

It seemed like there was at least enough reason left to think about that. I spoke to Carmel in a calm voice.

“Would you please take a seat, mother? I’m not finished talking yet.”

Carmel sat down, glaring at me with extreme anger in her eyes. Carmel’s self-esteem would already be in tatters, like a beaten punching bag.

“I definitely have no intention of executing my mother. But you don’t have to die to be punished.”

“What… what do you want to say?”

“It is not difficult to replace one person in an execution that will be carried out in utmost secrecy. Rest assured, mother. No matter what happens, I won’t kill my mother. Instead, I need you to be my doll. A poor doll who is trapped in a place where no one knows, and whose only value in existence is to be loved by me. It would be easy if you use the power of the king.”

I’m already doing something similar to that. Rika, who was imprisoned in a coffin, is in such a situation. If I were to do it for Carmel, I would probably take a slightly different approach.

But to be honest, I don’t want to do it, even if I could. What I want is not an obedient doll. Because I want to have the original arrogant Carmel itself.

Carmel’s expression was dark and pale. It was clear that he was feeling a sense of fear that was easily overpowering even the anger that had been burning before.

“Oh, are you surprised? Don’t worry too much. I don’t want that to happen either. All I can say is that it would be better than executing my mother with my own hands. Hehe.”

Carmel closed her mouth with a truly desperate look on her face. Carmel is probably busy with thoughts about how to overcome this situation right now. But it seemed like what I had just said was deeply embedded in my mind and was interfering with my thoughts.

In the end, Carmel let out a single word as if she was in pain.

“I… lost…”

I smiled with joy in my heart at Carmel’s declaration of surrender.

“Good. So shall we enter into a deal? There is only one thing I want this time. It’s the truth.”

Was he worried about what kind of dirty orders he would receive again this time? A very faint look of relief flashes across Carmel’s face.

Of course, I don’t plan on doing that.

“Are you asking me to answer the question?”

“Hmm… simple questions and answers are not enough. Let’s play a game with me, mom.”

“A game?”

“Yes. If I ask my mother a question, she can give me an answer that I can be sure is the truth. If I am not convinced that what my mother says is true, I will play a light prank on her.”

“What, that is…! What is that… Do you think I would accept such nonsense?”

“Huh? Is there something wrong?”

“Of course…! Make sure the person speaking is telling the truth, so it’s up to you to decide! Can you call something like that a game?”

Hmm, well, it’s worth the usual backlash. But Carmel doesn’t deserve that.

I quietly got up from my seat and walked over to the box containing Mystilia. The black magic seeping out showed that the source of the curse was there.

“Pakeas Che Enekra.”

Carmel was looking at me with an expression of shock as I opened the box. I looked back, smiled, and said.

“I know much, much more than you think. In other words, what I just said is not a suggestion, but an order. Hehe, that’s right. Like my mother said, this isn’t fair. But that doesn’t mean you can refuse it.”

“Uh, how…”

Carmel’s expression was at a level that could not be described simply as a feeling of defeat.

A feeling of defeat bordering on despair, as if even my desperate bluff had been completely overlooked and even the workings of my mind had been discovered.

It’s the kind of face that seems to have intuited that he will never be able to win against me in his entire life.

“Nonsense… No way…”

I approached Carmel, who was in shock. And he spoke in a sweet voice, as if comforting a soul in despair.

“Don’t worry. Let me make a rule. The question I am asking is limited to my mother’s personal circumstances. Would this be a little easier to accept?”

It would be too harsh to ask about the Laurentian family here or to make Carmel reveal the card she is hiding. If that were to happen, the situation would be tilted to the point where future ‘deals’ would not be possible. It is not wanted.

Carmel responded in a weak voice to my words as if she was making a concession.

“Okay…uh…”

There was something new about Carmel’s appearance with half-dead eyes. I spoke softly while making a loud fanfare in my mind. Shamelessly, as if conveying an obvious rule.

“Then, would you please take off your clothes first to prepare for the game? Of course, even underwear.”