F-Rank Puppeteer!! But I'll be Queen, and I'm not a narcissist!!!!!-Chapter 198: Reunion

"..." I step out of the carriage, arriving at the castle. Lucien and Laplace get out as well, and Laplace immediately bolts through the gate, running away from Lucien, who stares at me and gives a malicious smile.

"Well, I suppose our partnership ends here! It was... inconvenient, but not entirely bad. So if we work another mission together, I hope for equally good cooperation," Lucien says and also heads into the castle.

My puppets will only arrive tomorrow since their carriage is nowhere near as fast as the one we, the demon king’s children, used to come to the castle.

"Haa... Seems I’ll have to stay in my old room..." At Esther’s mansion, I lived in our shared bedroom, and it was large and comfortable. Going back to that old room seems quite dull and unpleasant.

"..." I walk toward the gate to enter, until I notice something strange. The guards here aren’t the ones who used to mock me before, and the current ones don’t even try to stop me.

"Hey, you two, where are the others? Those two who guarded from morning until night?" I ask, confused. The two glance at each other and look away. I’m puzzled until I see someone who immediately makes my heart beat faster.

"E-Esther..."

"Hello, Evelyn. Looks like I arrived before you... Where’s my hug?" She opens her arms with a smile. She seems much calmer and happier than when I left after our fight. I take unsteady steps toward her and hug her.

"...S-Sorry for being ungrateful before... I-I worked really hard to improve... Y-You were right... W-What did you think of my letters?" I start with apologies because I messed up and I know I messed up before, and I sent at least 13 letters to her since we fought that day.

"Ah, it was great to see how much you accomplished on your own... Also, are you curious about what happened to those two guards?" she asks while I nod.

"I killed them. Does that sadden you?"

"...T-That..."

"I didn’t like their attitude when I arrived yesterday, so I killed them right here at the gate. It was a slow and painful death, and I made sure to make it very slow for what they did to you in the past."

"...Thank you." I thank her. It’s strange to thank her for that. She and I even had that conversation before about how I didn’t want revenge, how I didn’t want her to hurt people just because they hurt me in the past.

"..." When I thank her, she smiles and gives me a kiss. I hug her tightly, kissing her back.

[Esther’s Favorability +40 (Total = 60/100) / Hatred Mark = 80/100]

The favorability suddenly appears, but the number doesn’t make sense for a simple reunion unless... she was spying on me. Ever since I studied a lot, I’ve gotten better at recognizing this sort of thing.

’S-She... was spying on me...’ I think for a few seconds about whether I should say something, but then I stop. Why would I complain just when everything is getting better? She’s loving me again, the number went up. Even though her hatred increased, her love increased too. That’s... that’s good, right?

"Haa..." She breaks the kiss, leaving me gasping for air. She’s still as intense as ever. The guards watching the affectionate exchange look uncomfortable.

"Y-You know, I..."

"I’m going to reward you," she interrupts.

"I’ll give you a lot of gold, a lot of pleasure, and the golden apple tree you asked for has already been planted in the mansion’s garden for you to use. Besides, considering your war achievements, you can stay away from the battlefield now." She gives me a bunch of good news.

There are so many that tears start rolling down my face. I fought so hard to achieve this, and now that I have, I feel a strange joy I never thought I could feel.

"The vault I built for you already has a relatively large amount of gold. Also, there’s the payment from the demon king for your good service. It was delivered to me since I’m the matriarch of our family. I put it entirely in the vault as well, in gold bars." She showers me with gifts.

"Y-You’re spoiling me badly..." I say, knowing that this way I’ll get addicted to this euphoria of getting more and more things.

"It’s all because you deserve it, love. I still love you very much despite the ugly way we fought before," she says, smiling.

"S-So then—"

"I won’t change for you." She cuts me off as if she knew exactly what I was going to say. She grabs me by the thighs and lifts me up, starting to walk while carrying me.

"I know well what you think, but none of that changes what you did. I forgive you for what you said to me before. I forgive you for ignoring my effort. And I reward you for your success. But change? I already tried once. It failed. And now I won’t try again."

"I haven’t changed my plans either. I will still be queen... and I..." She brings her face close to my ear.

"I’m still going to kill everyone on this miserable planet. Except you." She pulls back and smiles at me cheerfully.

"B-But I... I tried so hard..." I say sadly, with some tears I can’t hide.

"I know. I know very well how hard you tried. But... effort doesn’t always get us what we want, does it?" She says this negatively, and I realize it’s the same thing that happened to her, where she worked hard for something and her effort didn’t give her what she wanted.

"B-But..."

"Things remain the same, Evelyn. If you want to stop me, then become a queen and kill me. Otherwise, just watch me take the top and make my wishes come true."

"..."

"However, Evelyn, you can be proud..." She presses me against the castle wall near the entrance.

"I acknowledge you as a worthy competitor. I’m not blind, nor am I so arrogant as to ignore reality. I am aware of what you did. And yes, it’s true you have the potential to be queen. Even the demon king has noticed this, which is why he sent you with Lucien."

"Our father holds a fair competition, giving everyone an opportunity. And he gave you your opportunity. And you, even without fighting, just tending to the wounded and giving some commands, did something that showed you’re fit to compete for the throne. You knew how to make good use of the opportunity to show you’re no longer a failure."

"...I’m very proud of you." She kisses me again, more deeply, more lovingly now. I hug her, feeling that sweet validation as I kiss her back despite the tears streaming down my face—a mix of confusion, love, and disappointment that it’s not everything I hoped to gain.

The feeling of hearing her say she’s proud of me fills me with so much euphoria that if I had a tail, it would be wagging. Esther, who’s super hard to please, just admitted she’s proud of me. How could I not be happy about that? It shows I’m no longer a failure.

"...H-Hmmmm." Her tongue meets mine as I blush with embarrassment, feeling hot. The kiss feels like it lasts an eternity until I can’t breathe anymore and she finally pulls away.

"..." I see she bit my lips, drawing a little blood, but I was so focused on the good feeling of the kiss that I didn’t even feel the pain.

"Beautiful, just beautiful! Getting it on right at the castle entrance! Where’s your decency?!" Someone interrupts us. I look back, embarrassed, and see Marie along with Grace.

"..."

"Not going to say anything?! You know this is the castle entrance, right? How shameful and..."

"Nice mark," Esther says while I also see a large, soft mark from a bite and a hickey on Marie’s neck. When Marie understands what Esther said, she turns completely red and runs for the castle door, going inside.

"Fuck you, you damn bitch!!! I don’t know what you’re talking about!!!!" she yells from inside.

’So Grace chose Marie... I see...’ If Grace chose Marie, it means she’ll never try to make Lucien, Laplace, and Augustus into better people. A shame, but I guess Marie deserves her happy ending. She’s a very sad person too.

"Well, sorry to interrupt. I was also summoned by the demon king. By the way, Evelyn, what lovely thighs." When Grace says that, I look down and see Esther’s hands gripping my thighs firmly, leaving them exposed because my dress is pulled up.

"!!!!"

"Hehehe, good to see you two getting along. Anyway, see you two later." She enters too, leaving us here. Esther finally puts me down on the ground, adjusting my dress so it’s not messy.

"E-Esther, is there... still a chance I can change you? And make you give up your evil desire?" I ask hesitantly.

"Who knows? Probably not. But the future with you is unpredictable. Still, I doubt it very much... Besides, it’s quite bad of you to want to destroy my dreams, isn’t it?"

"Have you ever stopped to think how important my dreams are to me? You want to stop me from fulfilling my wish, but you never thought about how sad that would make me," she says seriously.

"B-But you still have me! I-I... I can replace your wish... D-Don’t you want that?"

"..." She ponders for a second and then smiles—a smile that seems too demonic to give to someone you love.

"Perhaps. That’s an interesting proposal. So you’re saying you want me to desire you more than my desire to kill everyone? You’re saying you want to be the only thing I think about my whole life, a thought that distracts me from how fake the world really is?"

"...Y-Yes..."

"Perfect, then. Let’s run a test. I have a lovely collar and a great whip to try out. Would you like that?" When she says this so explicitly, I remember she has a great interest in BDSM.

’Whip and collar...’ I don’t really like that, and I don’t really understand the concept or why someone would want to feel pain and be extremely submissive to another in a relationship. But... but the idea seems tempting. The idea of receiving all her love and attention.

Something in my instincts screams that this is proof I’m succeeding in accumulating her love, and that makes me accept.

"Y-Yes..." When I say yes, she looks strange for a moment and then smiles—a loving smile.

"I’ll be very gentle for our first time trying this. We can test it after we meet with the demon king. I’ll have Elizabeth fetch it from the mansion." She’s really serious.

’BDSM...’

"Alright..." I give her a kiss on the cheek and run into the castle, embarrassed but strangely happy. Even though I didn’t get everything I hoped for, I’m no longer a failure. I’ve accomplished one of the goals I set for this life.