F-Rank Puppeteer!! But I'll be Queen, and I'm not a narcissist!!!!!-Chapter 199: A Cruel Choice
"..." We are all now in the throne room before our father! That’s me, Marie, Lucien, Laplace, Augustus, and Esther! Our father also seems pleased with something, since his aura is less oppressive than usual.
’Could it be that I’m going to be praised in front of everyone!?’ I glance at Esther from the corner of my eye. It would be great if the Demon King praised me in front of her.
"Since the situation is favorable, I have gathered you all here to commend the good work of the majority." When he says ’majority’ instead of ’all,’ Laplace flinches. This is already her second failure in a row.
"Starting with Augustus, who did an excellent job blocking the angels’ lateral invasion on the northern continent near the coast, I commend you for your achievement. Your reward has already been delivered, so we’ll move on to the next..." He looks at Marie, and the atmosphere turns awkward.
"Marie... I commend you for your efforts in your area, but... you will not be rewarded, and I believe you know perfectly well why." He speaks sharply while I think about the fact that he called Grace as well.
’Oh... so it seems Grace and Marie have taken their steps toward a serious romance!!’ That’s interesting! But it also means time is passing very quickly, and soon that total war will approach, along with the succession for the throne.
"Now... Laplace... how much you have disappointed me is unpleasant. Another failure on your part. This is already the second time we see this here, and all I can give you are criticisms. It is truly regrettable, not that I ever expected much from you anyway. So, shortly, I will send you your punishment." His words are harsh and severe.
"Lucien and Esther, you two were the ones who obtained the greatest gains in this war. And for the first time, Lucien surpassed Esther in something, successfully conquering the [Bridge] and blocking it so that only we can use it, which will be very useful for invading the angels soon."
"As a reward, I will grant you some confiscated territories. Esther’s reward has already been delivered... now... Evelyn." He looks directly at me, and I feel the gazes of the others on me.
"You did well. Among everyone here, you were the only one who impressed me. Although it wasn’t necessarily anything exceptional, it was your first real advance in something useful for all demons. And some of the lives you saved belonged to quite important people, so you truly did very well on this mission."
"Your reward has also been delivered to you. And now, all of you except Laplace may choose whether you wish to return to the front lines or try to continue the competition for the throne here at the castle."
He waits a moment for our decisions. Marie, Augustus, and Lucien decide to return to the battlefield. Marie and Augustus are far behind in the competition, and Lucien is very close to Esther in the standings.
Esther says she will stay, and I also say I will withdraw from the war. As for Laplace, she has no choice, so she will probably have to return to the battlefield again.
"Now you may go. Everyone’s time in this room is precious, and I believe the sooner everything is, the better." The Demon King begins to leave along with the others, but I notice something strange.
’Wait, why did the Demon King rush everything?’ This doesn’t make sense. No matter how busy he is, he did everything too quickly, which is abnormal for someone like him. It’s as if there is something more important about to happen. Besides, his praise for me was strange, too great in a way.
"..." I get up and try to go to him as he’s leaving, but before I can, I’m grabbed by the waist.
"Where are you going, love? We have a game to play, don’t we? I said, after hearing what our father had to say, we would have some fun."
"I-I know, but something’s wrong. Our rigid father suddenly sped everything up. Isn’t there something wrong, then?"
"...Does that really matter?"
"...P-Perhaps it does..."
"And you’d rather go waste time with him? Or stay with me?"
"S-Stay with you..."
"Great. That’s all that matters, isn’t it? Or perhaps you’re disappointed that, so soon after our reunion, I want something sexual instead of a romantic date?" She hugs me tighter, whispering in my ear.
"T-That’s not the problem... I-I just think... we’re being a bit fast... I-it shouldn’t become a pattern. We can’t always patch things up after a fight with something sexual. It would become a bad habit..."
"You talk as if we’re going to fight again, or as if we fight all the time... But do you think you’re capable of fighting with me for much longer?" She asks a strange question.
"What do you mean?" I say, pulling away from her. At this point, the Demon King is already gone, so I didn’t even get to ask if something was happening.
"You are a dragon."
"...W-Well, yes, but I don’t understand what you mean? Why would me being a dragon prevent me from fighting with you?" Okay, dragons have that whole hoarding issue, and the thing about accumulating love, but I don’t understand what she’s getting at.
"Wait, you don’t know what happened with your grandmother?" She asks, confused.
"No?"
"...Your mother didn’t tell you?... I see... I researched many things about your family, Evelyn. I wanted to understand more about you. Kind of romantic, isn’t it? But I discovered some rather uncomfortable information..."
"..." I look at her with some fear. What could be uncomfortable for someone like Esther?
"W-What happened to my grandmother?" My ’mother’ in this world told me nothing about my family. She only taught me that stuff about dragons and told me to hoard gold, along with some advice.
"...What happened to her? It was something truly lamentable, Evelyn. Well then, I’ll tell you what I found out. Your grandmother is currently dead."
"And the cause of her death? It was the person she loved. That man she loved so much took advantage of her love. He tore off her scales, ripped out her horns, her wings, her tail—everything valuable to sell."
"W-What... s-she was abused?!"
"Abused? Hahaha, she allowed it!!" When she laughs and says that, I’m confused.
"..."
"Evelyn, she loved that man. I’m sure at least your mother told you not to love me, right? She must have explained, correct? I researched dragons. I bought information on the black market to find the truth."
"Your grandmother died from the many injuries she received over years of being dismantled alive. All because she loved that man too much. She even attacked her own daughter and seriously wounded her when she tried to help!"
"She was stupidly in love, to the point of not caring about suffering every day as long as she could receive love from that man. She died stupidly because she didn’t know how to stop, couldn’t pull away from what was hurting her. She didn’t know how to say no to the person she loved."
"She let herself be hurt with a smile just because she loved someone. And you, Evelyn, you love me, don’t you? So how long until it becomes difficult for you to deny my requests?" When she says this, I shudder with fear, my heart beating rapidly as I remember what my mother said about marriage being a safe cave I shouldn’t get attached to and about love.
"Y-You wouldn’t do that to me, right?"
"..."
"E-Esther...?"
"I would never sell your body... Now, hurting you... that’s a different story. Maybe I’ll hurt you. Maybe I’ll tear parts of you off... because I have a flaw too."
"Because Ghouls need to eat the flesh and blood of something living. And because I love you, and you look like the most delicious thing I’ve ever seen."
"...T-That’s disgusting!! How can you tell me such a thing!! H-How can you so cruelly say you’ll do that terrible thing to me!"
"..." She approaches, grabbing my waist and staring into my eyes.
"Then tell me, Evelyn. Would you give yourself to me? Would you give me a part of yourself to satiate my hunger? It could be anything. Maybe your fingers? A piece of your arm? Maybe even your tail—I know you’ll have one in the future. Would you cut it off and give it to me? Would you help me sate this unpleasant hunger I’ve been feeling?"
"...W-Why are you asking now?"
"Because I love you. Because I know you still have the capacity to refuse. And because I know you love me. BDSM can be summed up in the extreme as a game of trust."
"So tell me, Evelyn. Do you trust your body to me? Do you trust that I will know how to recognize your limit and respect it? Or will you treat my feelings like trash again? Will you ignore how much I strive for you?"
"I’m telling you the truth now, before I lose control and hurt you. You called me disgusting. Am I disgusting just because my race forces me to hunger for flesh? Then aren’t you a greedy, disgusting creature for wanting to hoard gold you’ll never use?"
"I-It’s d-different..."
"How?"
"..."
"Now you know something about your grandmother. You know she died a horrible death because her partner didn’t respect her limits. So, Evelyn, now while you still have a choice, will you choose to try and resist what we are, or will you trust me?"
"..."
"Just... just trust in my love, Evelyn. I was brutally honest with you. I could have omitted the truth, let you become so extremely addicted to love for me that you would never deny anything again. But even so, I told you the truth. I gave you the chance for doubt."
"And I’m giving you the choice. Even if in the future you no longer have a choice, you have one now. And all I ask... is for a chance. I know I will hurt you, but I will try to make the smallest wound possible. And I will pay for your pain with the utmost of my love..."
"..."
"I-If I choose you now, if I say you can eat pieces of me... i-if I accept your love at this very moment... w-won’t I be forever stuck at this point? Won’t I forever be like a dragon who can’t escape love and this emotional safe cave?" I ask, uncertain.
"...Yes. Possibly, yes..." I stare into Esther’s eyes, full of genuine hope as she says this.
It’s left to me to truly trust her, or to try and resist something that will inevitably happen one day, because I know I can no longer stop loving Esther.
"I..."
