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Episode 93: Rules of Negotiation (III)
I tried to examine the intentions of Shadow.
I gazed back at him without showing any signs of surprise.
It was the moment Deborah could have the dark backing she wanted no matter what.
I could have just reached out now. However, I had to ask.
“Why are you making such an offer to me?”
Shadow looked as if he was admiring the fact that I didn’t know why. He asked with a low smile.
“Queen, how many people do you think have come into this ‘Calypso’, sit across from me, and make a deal with me?”
‘I don’t know. There won’t be many. Less than five?’
Shadow let out a smirk, it hung from the corner of his mouth.
“To be exact, one.”
“…….”
“The Queen is the only one.”
Oh, did you mean they all got on their knees and traded in humiliation?
Among them, there must have been nobility, and there must have been the imperial or royal family members of other countries.
This dark guild of Aktoum, ‘Calypso’, was a guild that was notorious across the continent.
Still, my heartfelt condolences to those who kneeled on the humiliating wooden planks.
“So? Why does that matter?”
“If you do this for a long time, you will see it.”
“What?”
“Who will be the first to reach the ‘Western End’ in the future?”
‘Calypso’ believed that at the end of the Western Continent, there was a temple where the bones and souls of all wolves gather.
There was a belief that the first person to reach and occupy the land would lead all the wolves.
“I want to bet on the Queen.”
……So, in a nutshell……
It was saying that he was buying my ‘stock’ because he thought I would do well.
It meant to have my back.
‘I’ve heard a story similar to this before.’
When I received ‘Verdi’s Ears’, from Madam Verdi.
When I heard the same story again, I felt strange.
“Leave all the dirty work to us.”
The hand of ‘Shadow’ was within walking distance.
“When there is darkness, light becomes as intense as burning.”
His lips went up.
“Take my hand.”
The tenacious eyes of Shadow seemed to be squeezing or wishing for something.
As innocent as the eyes of a child who wanted a good toy, he also showed an obsession that he could never let go.
It seemed that it would be difficult to even show such passionate eyes to a lover.
In front of the eyes burning with curiosity, possessiveness and longing, I looked down with an expressionless gaze.
The benefits of holding hands with Shadow.
If I could have beasts without a sense of guilt for committing that evil, what could I do?
If I could wield the greatest ‘evil’ on the entire continent with my own hands.
I would be the object of fear. No one would be against me.
Everything would be easy
Contrary to what I said, if I had a shadow to kill for me, that was all.
The same was true for Deborah. It had to be a rather tempting proposal.
However…
“I will decline the offer.”
“!”
I was the villain in this story, not a real ‘wicked woman’.
All my life, I had been trying to overcome that fate.
The setting given as ‘the villain’ was so clear that I could be as corrupted as I wanted to if I let go of my conscience.
Nevertheless, I truly loved and cared for my people; I was abandoned in the swamp, but I tried not to have a destructive vengeance; I had dangerous powers, but I tried to use them for the right.
Throughout my eight times of life, I had made every effort to protect my ‘humanity’.
So, I couldn’t accept that offer.
“…Can I ask why?”
And I didn’t want to be tied to that guy.
I said with a light smile.
“The sun burns by itself without darkness.”
Then I leisurely walked out of the place.
* * *
“Ugh, Seryl doesn’t like that.”
Meow—
“That’s right. Seryl likes that!”
Meow—
“Oh really?! There are a lot of similarities between us, it’s really interesting.”
……What the hell was going on in that conversation……
‘You’re more interesting, cotton candy head.’
I was listening to the conversation between Seryl and the cat with the expression of looking at the seven great mysteries of the world.
After I went to Yggdrasil, several days had already passed.
That white kitten hadn’t left my office.
Ires came to find his cat, and when the cat refused to be touched by him, he grumbled out of my office with wounded eyes.
Cats were said to be territorial animals, and within one day, it seemed to recognize this office as its territory.
It tried not to leave, and it looked comfortable.
So, it was difficult to just chase away that little cat.
Furthermore—
“Come here, I must return it to Ires.”
“Your Majesty, please, Seryl will clean up the cat’s poop and give it food. Yes?”
“What—?”
Seryl and the cat joined forces and looked at me with tearful eyes.
Seryl’s large pink eyes and the cat’s amber eyes were quite appealing.
‘Damn it, I should have sent it anyway.’
‘It keeps running around in my office!’
I stared at the tiny, white, fluffy cat with narrowed eyes.
‘I can’t help but take care of it.’
With the sensibility of a modern person, I had no choice but to pay that much attention to animal welfare.
In the end, I had no choice but to make a toilet out of sand, a fishing rod toy made of soft feathers, a ball-shaped toy made of tough boar fur, and a cat tower made of sturdy, high-quality maple wood.
And I prepared a cube of dried salmon that could be a cat’s snack.
Then finally, I had a soft cushion and box brought in.
It was really cumbersome. I didn’t even like cats that much. There was a statue of a cat by the bedside of the bedroom, but it was because I got it as a gift and left it alone. This was difficult.
I would stroke it if it jumped on my lap, but it was just because my hands were bored.
I spoke as if I had no blood or tears.
“If you make noise, I will drive you out.”
“……Let’s be quiet, meow.”
It was when I was turning over the papers.
Tok, tok—
There was a knock on the door and the servant’s voice flowed in.
“Your Majesty, Lieutenant Ires wants to see you.”
As I stamped the paperwork, I said without looking at him.
“I can’t give him the cat. Just tell him to go back.”
The cat loves my office so much, thus I prepared this and that, but if the cat goes away, the garbage grows, so I really couldn’t help it.
“…He’s saying it’s not because of the cat, he’s saying that he has something to tell you.”
“…….”
“The Crown Prince sent him.”
……Rixus? I looked at the door quietly and then put the documents down.
“Tell him to come in.”
After a while, Ires came in and politely greeted me.
There was a fairly large box in his arms.
“Oh, the Crown Prince must have sent another present!”
“…A wedding ribbon is attached…”
Laura and Maribel, who were working so hard that they almost became fossils in the corner of the office, took interest and sneaked up to us.
‘Wedding ribbon? What is it?’
Ires put down the box politely and said, kneeling in front of me.
“Your Majesty, please open it yourself. This is a gift from the Crown Prince.”
I slowly unwrapped the ribbon and opened the box.
As soon as it opened, the light was twinkling and it was almost dazzling.
“Ah, these are wedding shoes!”
“Oh my God, they are so pretty. Your Majesty.”
“His Highness Rixus even cares about such things…”
At the sound of the three chicks admiring, I became a little embarrassed.
To be honest, I was not a big fan of accessories, but these wedding shoes were… It was really beautiful.
“Your Majesty, I will put them on you.”
Iris, who was still kneeling, took out the wedding shoes.
The comfortable design (the heel height was not high) was densely studded with white and shiny jewels.
Every time it moved, it sparkled like sunlight shining on the water.
“This…….”
“All of them are first-class  ‘Deprecito’.”
“!”
The three chicks widened their eyes as if in surprise.
‘Deprecito’ was a gem found only in Aktoum.
It was harder than diamond and had the property of reflecting light in more branches. This gem was more expensive because it was more beautiful and shiny. It was almost 500 times the price of diamonds.
“…The shoes are more expensive than Seryl’s house?!”
“Of course, he told me that I should prepare this much.”
Ires spoke calmly and put the shoes on me.
It fit perfectly, and above all, it was very comfortable.
When I saw the wedding shoes, I felt once again that I was finally getting married.
My heart was pounding and I felt something unfamiliar.
‘Is marriage supposed to be like this?’
‘Or is it just marriage with this man?’
‘Can I just receive this much every day……’
Thinking about it, I suddenly wanted to see Rixus very much.
‘I haven’t seen him much these days.’
I didn’t expect his big hands and body scent to come to mind. I missed those warm eyes and body temperature.
Iris gazed sadly at the cat who stared and yawned at him, and politely bowed to me.
“In the box, there is a note left by the Crown Prince.”
He just said that, and after receiving my permission, he left the office.
I had a lot to think about, so I told the chicks to leave work.
I was left alone in an instant. I rummaged through a box full of shredded colored paper and found a note.
Then, I opened it with a throbbing heart.
As soon as I read it, I smiled.
<Why did you seduce me then? That’s all I can think of.>
I was under the illusion that the languid bass of Rixus’ voice was ringing in my ears.
The space was narrow enough to hear each other’s breathing and heartbeat.
I remembered the space where I carefully confessed my feelings.
When I thought of that time, I felt my heartbeat accelerating.
“……?”
But there was one more message. I also quickly unfolded it.
<Take responsibility.>
“Fuh—”
I finally burst out laughing, eyes lighting up playfully.
‘He’s acting so cute that it doesn’t suit him.”
With a smile on my lips, I looked through the box just in case.
Then the last note fell.
“…Wow, he’s really obsessive. He wrote three notes.”
I personally found it a little funny, and even somewhat admired it. Then I shook my head and opened the note.
Indeed—
“I thought he was obsessed. I’m right.”
<See you at the fireworks festival.>
I had no choice but to laugh again in front of such an expected Rixus-like answer.
Fireworks festival.
It would be tomorrow before I know it.
However, I still could not face ‘tomorrow’ with a relaxed mind.
Because what I had been waiting for hadn’t yet come.
‘When will the wolf deliver the information?’
I thought so that night.
Amidst gloomy, deep vision.
A wolf came to my bedroom.