Author's Note:
To be honest, I truly believe this is one of the best chapters I've ever written. Have a good reading
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"I see. So you acted like a Hero (Idiot). Let's go back to the estate. What happened after that?"
"I managed. The critical stage had passed, and my arm started healing. It would've taken a couple of days to fully recover, but there was no longer any danger to my life or health. We searched the estate and hurried back to the city..."
"Monica was waiting for us there. She sees me as her son, so she got very worried when she noticed my injury. Maybe she lost someone. Maybe she fell into despair. I know she enjoys taking care of me, so I didn't object."
'So you know...' Veronika noted, but chose not to interrupt.
"She took me to Doctor Laurentius. There wasn't much need for it, but I couldn't bring myself to refuse her. I couldn't tell her the truth. I couldn't reveal my secrets. I thought it would end with an ordinary examination... Nothing out of the ordinary... And that's exactly what happened."
Grey's emotions rapidly began slipping out of control. His breathing quickened, and his pupils once again started pulsing almost imperceptibly.
Veronika hurried to calm him down.
She gently smoothed his hair and gifted him the most enchanting smile imaginable. Her sakura-colored eyes shone with a soothing, affectionate light, as though he were the only person in the world.
'Just what happened to affect you this much?!' she wanted to groan.
"Then... Then... She gave herself to him as payment! Why did she do that? I never asked for it! I didn't need that."
The words burst out sharply, almost painfully.
'That's it?!' Veronika cried out inwardly. 'You're this shaken over that? You didn't even flinch when you told me about your wealth, like you were afraid of forgetting some detail, but this nearly pushed you over the edge because of something so trivial?'
Suddenly, she wanted to cry.
She had heard plenty of interesting things and had expected no less from the cause of the conflict. Yet the entire tragedy came down to wounded pride and blatant double standards.
It felt as though she had gone to a restaurant, enjoyed the finest appetizer, savored every course of the meal, only for the dessert that was supposed to make the evening unforgettable to turn out to be nothing more than a stale crust of bread.
Veronika slowly drew in a breath and just as slowly let it out.
No. She refused to let this story end on such a mediocre note.
She decided to raise the stakes.
Veronika leaned even closer until her lips stopped mere centimeters away from Grey's. The tension between them was so intense that it felt as though they were being pulled toward each other by magnets.
"I understand... None of this was your fault... Just apologize and forget this little incident," she said in a gentle, soothing voice. "What about those children you took out of the city? What are you planning to do with them?"
Grey answered at once. "Help them grow stronger, build the foundation of a powerful organization, take control of the entire city, and turn it into my stronghold."
'How boring...'
"Why? What's so good about this city? It's just a hole. Do you simply want to satisfy your own vanity?" she asked with a trace of sadness, as though disappointed in him.
Grey objected, "No, it's Junior's wish. We have to find... his mo..%#&%& and ((%?№*%:"
His speech gradually became incoherent.
Veronika perked up.
Finally, something worthwhile.
"Who is Junior?"
Grey's eyes narrowed.
The instincts that had lain dormant until now suddenly awakened, screaming warnings of danger.
It felt as though he had been resting comfortably in his own bed one moment, only to find himself plunged into the depths of the sea the next, with a shark about to swallow him whole.
His pupils pulsed desperately.
In an instant, every muscle in his body went rigid, and his mind snapped back to full awareness.
He blinked and saw Veronica's beautiful face right in front of him. She was sitting on his lap. Her soft ass squeezed her crotch pleasantly, and her breasts were only a few centimeters from her face.
To say that he was surprised would have been a ridiculous understatement.
"W-What are you doing?" he stammered. "I'm not against it or anything... It's just so sudden. I'm still a teenager, you know... Well... Fine, let's do it. You're too beautiful for me to refuse. Besides, you're strong, and I... I'm so weak. If you insist, I simply don't have the strength to resist."
He immediately closed his eyes and puckered his lips.
'Bastard! Things had just started getting interesting, and you decided to wake up?! What is this, "to be continued..."? And what the hell is that disgusting expression on your face? Ghehe... Who do you think even wants you? Resist? If I hadn't been holding back, you'd already be drowning in either drool or blood...'
"Ahem, ahem." Veronika cleared her throat and gracefully rose from Grey's lap.
Stretching lazily, she glided back to her favorite couch and slowly reclined into a relaxed yet elegant pose.
Having failed to receive a kiss, Grey's mind rapidly kicked back into gear.
He immediately began analyzing his surroundings. He remembered Veronika suppressing him with her aura, but after that, his memories turned hazy, as though he had been intoxicated.
'An illusion? Magic? Charm? She seduced me? Why? There's only one reason... She wanted to extract information...'
Grey began to grow angry.
It felt like he was being played with. (And he was.)
Who knew what he might have let slip? His very life depended on the secrets he kept hidden. He had already died once because of wealth and knew exactly what he was talking about. And wealth was the least of it. What if she had learned that Junior was the Child of Prophecy and a spawn of darkness? Would he be sent to the gallows?
Wait.
Inside his mind rested the knowledge of an entire civilization. What if they locked him away in some primitive laboratory to experiment on him or interrogate him? Who wouldn't want to uncover the secret of reincarnation? He certainly did.
Each thought was worse than the last. He no longer cared about holding himself back. His face twisted with rage and grievance.
He roared, no longer thinking about the consequences.
"W-What did you do?! Did you enchant me? Why? What have I ever done to you?" He didn't even address her as "Lady" anymore. When your life was on the line, what use was politeness?
"What did you learn? TELL ME!"
Grey reached for his dagger, intending to threaten her, but a crushing pressure stopped him.
Veronika shot him a contemptuous look and pressed down even harder.
"Calm down!"
She let out the same lazy chuckle as before, yet the pressure didn't weaken in the slightest.
"Enchant you? You? Are you even worthy? If I had wanted to, you would already be a mindless slave. I didn't use my powers on you. This was merely my natural charm. You spilled all your secrets on your own."
At that moment, Grey felt nothing but despair. He couldn't even move a finger, much less attack her. What had he been hoping for in the first place?
He suddenly wanted to laugh at himself in bitter self-mockery.
"What? Are you angry? Is your pride hurt? So what? What is your pathetic pride even worth? Can you even do anything at all? So take a deep breath in, let it out, and calm down. I will not tolerate such disrespect anymore."
Though Veronika was stretching the truth a little.
To tell the truth, she felt slightly guilty. Not because she had seduced him, but because she had used her powers on a little boy. Even if it was just a tiny fraction, it was enough to make her feel like a loser.
More than that—he had benefited!
She had pressed herself against him like a lover for a whole hour. So how dared he still be outraged? Who knew how many rulers would give everything possible just to be in his place. He should be grateful!
Grey's behavior truly angered her.
Of course, she had no intention of doing anything to him. She still had to uncover his secrets. The bored empress was a rather accurate nickname. She liked this little game, liked gradually unraveling all the mysteries that Grey hid within himself. She experienced an incomparable pleasure, as if she were slowly unwrapping Christmas presents. What would she entertain herself with if she got rid of this boy?
Putting him in his place was a different matter. Scaring him a little, just so he would behave more politely.
By this point, Grey had completely calmed down. He couldn't change what had already happened. What was the point of throwing a tantrum? He had already died once. What was there left to fear?
WRONG! He was TERRIFIED.
As someone who had already died before, Grey feared death more than anything else.
So he pulled himself together.
He took a deep breath and dropped to his knees before her.
"What's with this performance? Stop being so dramatic..." Veronika waved her hand dismissively and eased the pressure enough for him to stand. "Do you really think your little secrets matter that much to me? I was merely a little curious. Nothing more, nothing less... You can keep them to yourself."
But Grey had no intention of moving.
"Please, tell me what you learned..." he whispered so quietly it was almost inaudible.
Veronika frowned.
She truly disliked his servile behavior.
It disgusted her.
Nearly all the good impression she had formed of him was gone.
How could a man surrender so easily? Wasn't he ashamed?
"What is this? You kneel that easily? Where's your pride? Weren't you full of ambition and aspirations? Is this all it took to break you?" She spoke with undisguised contempt. Even the playful tone in her voice had vanished completely.
Grey answered calmly.
"Ambition? Pride? Is that some kind of joke? Can I eat them? Will they help me survive? If necessary, I'd be willing to become your pet, lick your feet, or hold a candle outside your bridal chambers. Kneeling is the very least I can do to save my life."
He spoke in a casual, dismissive tone, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. As if he genuinely didn't care whether she would demand such things of him.
In his voice, Veronika caught a hint of contempt and mockery, as though he sincerely couldn't understand how anyone could fail to grasp something so self-evident.
"I see?" Her interest flared up once more.
It was an unusual point of view.
On Eridania, in a world ruled by the strong, the accepted moral principles were the complete opposite.
Honor and dignity were regarded as the highest virtues. People with an unbreakable core were always respected. Legends of heroic figures who refused to bow even before gods were immensely popular.
Prometheus, Heracles, and Antigone. Sigurd and Völund. Regulus and Cincinnatus. Sun Wukong, Jingwei, and Kuafu. Tarquilius Tigon de'Liriel the Fifth. Vlad Dracula Tepes. The Wolf King. Lorelei of the Rhine.
All of them were synonymous with the word legend.
There were simply too many to count.
People admired them. Bards sang of them in taverns, and even the gods respected them.
And they all shared one thing in common: they placed their principles above their own lives.
Such behavior had become an example for others to follow. More than that, it was considered a fundamental requirement for attaining true power. How could someone without a will of steel overcome the hardships on the thorny path to greatness?
And then there was Grey.
Veronika wasn't surprised by his cowardice or his fear of death. There were countless people like that wherever you looked. What surprised her was how openly and honestly he acknowledged his cowardice. He didn't bury it deep inside himself like everyone else. If anything, he almost seemed proud of it.
To her, as a native of Eridania, his philosophy appeared strange, to say the least.
Acting on impulse, she decided to test the strength of his convictions.
"Get on all fours," she said in a stern voice.
Grey obeyed without a second's hesitation.
"Crawl like a dog!" she gave her next command.
Grey began moving his hands and knees, crawling toward her.
Veronika was utterly stunned.
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Author's Note #2:
No, seriously, I'm way too pleased with this chapter. I honestly think it's written on the same level as the scene where Grey trains his subordinates. I can't wait to hear what you think in the comments, and I hope we can discuss it together.