Ch.50Dating? – 3

The fear that Charlotte, Serena, or Christine might cross the line had always occupied a small corner of my mind.

To put it bluntly, if those three truly decided to ignore whatever I said and make me theirs, there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.

They would fight over me, scorching the entire continent, until only one remained.

I had no idea who that final victor would be, but one thing was certain.

Once any of them crossed that line, it would be eternally impossible to make them observe boundaries again. This wasn’t speculation—it was certainty.

Fortunately, so far, Serena, Charlotte, and Christine remained within my control.

To them, my existence was absolute, and they tried their best to listen to me, striving to receive my love without going against my wishes.

I could control these three, who could rightfully be called the continent’s strongest, because they feared my anger and rejection.

Their usual behavior, like chopping me into pieces, only happened because they knew such actions wouldn’t truly anger me.

But if that love grew uncontrollably beyond fear, what would follow was beyond even my prediction.

Serena, Charlotte, and Christine could end my immortality, but they could also force me to live eternally.

They could imprison me regardless of my anger, making me whisper words of love for them forever.

They could destroy everything in this world so I would never see anything else, forcing us to live eternally in a world where only they and I existed.

The word “eternity” might be an absurd fantasy to other beings, but not to me.

And what would I do in such a moment? Get angry? They would just take that as another expression of affection.

To a woman already mad with love, such emotions were completely insignificant. It was obvious they would be delighted to see a different side of me.

It would be fortunate if they merely imprisoned me. There was even the possibility they might try to exterminate all living beings, claiming that no humans besides the two of us were necessary in this world.

I didn’t want to experience that a second time.

“Take this.”

Thud. A heavy pouch fell onto the trembling hands.

The restaurant owner, who clearly hadn’t expected Charlotte to pay at all, quickly knelt down, bowing his head deeply and expressing gratitude with his entire body.

The other employees followed suit, bowing as deeply as they could.

“Th-th-thank you! Your Majesty King Gargantua! I don’t know how to express my gratitude for your grace!”

Through the slightly open pouch, silver-white coins gleamed brightly.

They were platinum coins, used only for large-scale transactions between cities and rarely seen by ordinary people in their lifetime. And she had tossed them a whole pouch of them.

It was quite unexpected behavior considering she had criticized the food as cheap throughout the meal.

“The interior was cheap, the food was terrible, and even the tables and chairs were of inferior quality.”

The owner’s body trembled like an aspen tree at this unexpected harsh criticism. He had thought she was satisfied after throwing platinum coins, but now she was suddenly insulting the restaurant.

Moreover, since it was Charlotte making these criticisms, he must have been wondering if she was looking for an excuse to behead him.

But Charlotte glanced at me and gave a faint smile only I could see. I could roughly guess what she was going to say next.

Despite complaining about the cheap food, just being with me seemed to be enough for her.

“However, I’ll let it slide this time.”

“Th-thank you, Y-Your Majesty…”

Leaving behind the owner expressing his gratitude with profound relief, the three of us left the restaurant.

Perhaps because the most expensive dish we ordered was an extended course meal, the sun was already beginning to set in the opposite direction from where it had risen.

Had we been in the restaurant for over two hours?

The streets were completely empty. Charlotte had given advance notice to the lord, who had cleared the streets entirely.

Upon hearing that Charlotte had come to this city, the lord had rushed over and knelt before her, and Charlotte had given him just one command:

Don’t let anyone be seen by her.

The lord had executed that order perfectly, as the streets were eerily quiet. It was hard to believe this was the same vibrant city from this morning.

And knights were probably controlling adventurers at the city gates too, preventing them from entering and potentially losing their heads.

Normally adventurers would protest, but with Charlotte herself visiting and warning them not to be seen by her, no one would dare oppose that decision.

Defying Charlotte didn’t mean you might die—it meant you would die. The only question was how.

“My lord, what would you like to do now?”

“I was originally planning to walk around and see the city, but I’m not sure if there’s anywhere worth taking you two.”

Although this was a large city, it wasn’t famous for tourism, and the places the old man had recommended would undoubtedly be empty due to Charlotte’s orders.

Above all, normal sightseeing became practically impossible the moment Charlotte joined us.

If we had used perception-blocking magic from the beginning, it might have been different, but at this point, after Charlotte’s conspicuous arrival, such magic would be meaningless.

Moreover, with the entire city aware of Charlotte’s presence, what would they think of humans walking around normally?

Serena was probably seething inside about this, but it was already foreseeable from the moment she discovered my initial plan to explore the city with just her.

No, it was foreseeable from the moment I beheaded those heretics and submitted a report about the humanoid monsters, which reached Charlotte’s ears.

It was a perfect opportunity to summon me to the royal palace, and she wouldn’t miss it.

Serena had managed to buy some time by asserting her authority as the Royal First Knight Commander, but it was clear that Charlotte would intervene somehow since it involved me.

It was just surprising how much faster it happened than expected.

“Then there is only one place to go, isn’t there, my dear?”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to say the royal palace?”

“It seems you’ve gained the ability to read minds like me.”

Well, it was obvious to anyone that she would suggest going to the palace.

The familiar sight of Serena growling at Charlotte, and Charlotte effortlessly deflecting Serena’s hostility, had become routine.

I patted both their heads to prevent them from fighting again, then pondered what to do next.

It was easier on my mind to just do this whenever they showed signs of fighting.

“…We really have nowhere to go, what should I do?”

But no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with a suitable place. Wherever we went, those two would try to tear each other apart at the first opportunity, and I would be the one exhausted in the end.

Yet I couldn’t send just one of them away either. The one sent back might take out her frustration elsewhere.

This meant I had to either stay with both Serena and Charlotte or send them both away—a binary choice.

Sending them both away was out of the question. That would only be unfair to Serena, who had been looking forward to spending time with me in this city.

Charlotte had probably anticipated this from the moment she appeared before me.

Knowing my personality, I wouldn’t tell just one of them to leave, so if both were dismissed, she would gain satisfaction from Serena’s disappointment. And if neither was sent away, she would still benefit from being able to accompany me.

Either way, Charlotte herself wouldn’t lose.

“How calculating.”

I applied more pressure as I patted Charlotte’s head. I wondered how far ahead she had planned this.

Of course, no matter how much force I applied, it had no effect on Charlotte. She just wore a happy expression while being patted. Come to think of it, Serena had reacted the same way.

After standing still for a while, I suddenly thought to ask Charlotte.

After all, Serena would follow me without complaint wherever I went, and she had already said she would follow my lead when I asked before.

“Charlotte, is there anywhere you’d like to go? Besides the royal palace.”

“I don’t care where, as long as you take me there.”

“Is that why you criticized the restaurant we just left as cheap?”

“You misunderstand. Because it was a place you took me to, I ended it with just a few harsh words. If it weren’t for you, I would have captured everyone there and had them torn limb from limb.”

“…”

So that was her showing restraint. Next time, I should just pack a lunch and suggest we appreciate nature instead.