Taming SSR And UR RANK Superwomen-Chapter 78 — Announced Controversy

"I don’t need you to be happy," he said. "I just need you to comply."

Selene looked up.

"You always come back to that."

"Because it works."

There was no immediate response. Selene studied him for several long seconds. Outside, beyond the closed door, the silence of the mansion remained intact. In another kind of conversation, that kind of pause might have led to a softening. Not with Thomas.

"I’ll be there," she said at last. "But I’m not going to pretend to be enthusiastic."

"That won’t be necessary."

"And if they put a camera near me or someone tries to force a statement out of me, I’m not going to lie for you."

"I didn’t ask you to."

Selene arched an eyebrow.

"Then what do you want me to say?"

"The useful truth."

She let out a short laugh.

"That sounds dangerously close to a trap."

"It means you don’t feed into stupidity. If they ask why you’re with me, you’ll say you chose to come."

"I chose?"

"Yes."

Selene held his gaze.

"You know that’s verbal manipulation."

"I know it’s functional."

"And you want to control the narrative before even stepping in."

"Yes."

Selene shook her head slightly. Not in full disagreement, but with that resigned gesture of someone who recognizes an irritating but effective mechanism.

"They’re going to say you’re using me for my fortune."

"And they’ll be right."

The blunt honesty of the answer threw her off for a moment.

"That doesn’t help."

"I don’t need to help people who have already decided to criticize."

"So what you’re looking for isn’t to be liked."

"It never was."

Selene fell silent. She knew that part too. Thomas wasn’t entering the tournament to please anyone, or to fit in, or to be accepted by an environment that would see him as an anomaly. He was going to enter, take space, and force others to react to his existence. From that logic, bringing her along was as obvious as it was irritating.

"It’s going to be controversial," she said again, more slowly.

"Yes."

"They’re going to talk about you."

"Good."

"They’re going to talk about me."

"You’ll handle it."

Selene exhaled, this time without sarcasm. Just fatigue.

"I’m going to hate part of that."

"You can hate it while doing it."

She stared at him for several seconds, then leaned her head back against the chair, accepting in the way some people do: not emotionally yielding, but stopping the waste of energy on resistance that would no longer change the outcome.

"What time?"

Thomas finally opened the folder. Inside, there was only a single sheet with schedules, routes, and brief notes. He slid it across the table. Selene took it and reviewed it.

"Early," she said upon seeing the time. "Of course. Because if you’re going to steal my entire day, it might as well start badly."

"Being late would be worse."

"I wasn’t planning to be late."

"Good."

Selene let out a small expression that could pass for a smile if someone didn’t know her.

"What a charming conversation."

Thomas closed the folder when she finished reading.

"I didn’t come to charm you."

"No. You came to use my fortune, my image, and my free time."

"You don’t have free time."

Selene stared at him for two seconds. Then, against her own will, she let out a short, dry laugh.

"That was cruelly accurate."

"That’s why you’re useful."

She set the sheet back on the table.

"I’ll go. I’ll take care of moving what’s necessary. My manager is going to hate me. My team too. And if someone leaks a photo ahead of time, social media is going to explode."

"Let it burn."

Selene shook her head, though no longer with the same tension as before. She was still annoyed. She still didn’t like it. But the framework was already set, and part of her, uncomfortable as it was to admit, preferred that to being left in uncertainty.

She stood up.

Thomas didn’t stop her.

Selene took her coat from the back of the chair, but before putting it on, she looked at him once more.

"One more thing."

"Speak."

"If this turns out worse than you expect, I’m not going to carry the public side alone."

"You won’t."

"You’d better not."

Thomas held her gaze without moving.

"You’ll be with me. Not behind me."

Selene stayed still for a second at that. Not because it was kind. It wasn’t. It was another form of strategic possession. But it also meant he didn’t plan to use her as a shield and step aside. The controversy, at least, he would face head-on.

"Fine," she said at last.

She put on her coat, adjusted her twin tails outside the collar of the fabric, and placed her glasses back on.

Before leaving, she rested her hand on the doorknob and spoke without fully turning around.

"I’m going to hate that you’re right if fortune favors you."

Thomas replied with his usual calm.

"Then try to hate it quietly."

Selene closed her eyes for a moment, smiled tiredly, and opened the door.

"Good night, Thomas."

"Good night, Selene."

She left, and the door closed behind her with a soft sound. Thomas remained in the room for a few more seconds, motionless, the folder once again closed on the table. He didn’t need to review anything else. Selene would attend. Luck would be close. And the controversy as well.

Neither of those bothered him.

The door closed behind Selene, and the sound quickly dissolved into the room, as if the mansion had learned to swallow any echo before letting it grow. Thomas didn’t move immediately. He remained seated, the folder still on the table, his gaze fixed on the exact spot where she had been a second earlier.

The conversation had ended as it should.

Not with enthusiasm. Not with real agreement. But with a result.

Selene would attend the tournament, she would be at his side, and the controversy would be set even before he stepped into the arena. Her fame, her Gift, and her very presence were enough to tighten the atmosphere. The combination of all three would do the rest.

Thomas picked up the folder, opened it again, and reviewed the schedules without real need. Transportation was arranged. The tickets were purchased. His registration was already done. What remained wasn’t complicated, but it was delicate: who would be close to him, who would be visible, and who would need to stay at a certain distance.

He closed the folder and stood up.

He didn’t go to the basement.

Not yet.

He left the room and took the mansion’s central hallway with calm steps, not rushing but not hesitating either. At that hour, the house was almost still. The lights that remained on were few, placed at specific points—just enough to keep movement comfortable without breaking the sense of contained silence that dominated the place at night.

Freja was in the main hall.

She wasn’t sleeping. She rarely did when the mansion entered those quiet hours. She was lying on her side on one of the couches, with two tentacles hanging over the backrest and another slowly swaying in the air, as if entertaining itself.

"You’re done," she said, without fully sitting up.

Thomas stopped in front of her.

"Yes."

Freja opened her eyes fully. The expression on her face held genuine curiosity, though not too much—just enough to ask for information, not to demand it.

"Is she coming?"

"Yes."

A slow smile appeared on her lips.

"So you do want to make noise."

Thomas didn’t respond immediately. He looked at her for a second, as if evaluating how much was worth explaining.

"I want the noise to exist on useful terms."

Freja let out a low laugh.

"That’s still a fancy way of saying you want to shake things up."

"I’m not interested in shaking things for entertainment."

"I know." Freja shifted slightly, resting an elbow on the arm of the couch. "But let’s admit it, Master. A man entering the tournament is already going to put a lot of people in a bad mood. If you also show up with Selene, all eyes will follow you from the entrance."

"Good."

Freja smiled sideways.

"Yeah, sure. Good."

She kept watching him for a few more seconds, as if trying to guess what part of the plan he hadn’t said yet. With Thomas, there almost always was one. A detail. A second layer. Something he didn’t need to reveal until the exact moment it started serving him.

"Does Seraphine know yet?" she asked.

"No."

"Then she will now."

Thomas turned slightly, looking toward the exit of the hall.

"Call her."

Freja didn’t make any dramatic gesture. She simply raised one hand, and one of her tentacles slid off the couch with the natural ease of an extension of her body. It didn’t take long. A minute later, Seraphine appeared at the entrance, as if she had already been awake and only needed to hear she was being called.

She stopped at the appropriate distance.

"Master."

Thomas nodded.

"There’s been a change of plans."

Seraphine didn’t ask what kind of change. She waited.

"Selene will be coming with us to the tournament."

There was no visible surprise on her face. Only a brief stillness in her eyes, the kind of minimal reaction that indicated she was processing the new information quickly.

"Understood."

Freja let out a small amused snort from the couch.

"I’ve always liked how she never asks questions first."

Seraphine didn’t look at her.

Thomas continued.

"I want you to review entrances, access points, and the layout of the venue. I’m not interested only in the arena. I want to know where important people enter, where teams gather, what alternative routes exist, and which sectors will have the best visibility."

"I will."

"I also want an assessment of the probable audience."

This time Seraphine did take a fraction longer to respond.

"Do you mean the general profile or groups with intervention capability?"

"Both."

"Understood."

Freja rested her cheek on her hand, more entertained now.

"Now that sounded like you’re expecting trouble."

Thomas shifted his gaze slightly toward her.

"I’m expecting attention."

"That almost always brings trouble."

"Not if it’s anticipated."

Seraphine absorbed the line of thought instantly.

"Do you want visible or discreet presence?"

"Depends on who."

Seraphine inclined her head just enough.

"Selene visible."

"Yes."

"And me?"

Thomas didn’t respond immediately. He walked toward one of the dark windows in the hall, though he wasn’t really looking outside. He was organizing the overall picture before putting it into words.

"You won’t be at my side when we enter."

Freja raised an eyebrow.

"That’s new."

Seraphine remained still.

"Will I remain out of sight?"

"Not completely. I want you close, but not as part of the initial focus." Thomas turned toward her. "If Selene is with me, the attention will concentrate on that. I don’t need to saturate the scene too early."

Seraphine nodded.

"Understood."