Sitting on a balcony in a suite room I rented in the best hotel, I enjoyed the Capital City's night scenery while drinking a glass of wine. It was normal wine, not fancy, but enough to allow me to enjoy this moment.

It had been two hours since I contacted Beatrice, and only a while ago did she contact me again, saying that Eve suddenly asked for her to hear her worries.

I allowed the primordial Succubus to accompany the Queen a bit longer, as hearing her might let her get more information. Queen Eve might have changed her mind about the coronation if Beatrice refused to hear her.

Watching many people walk around the street, stopping at stalls to buy food, and some travelers stopping at hotels made me think of one thing.

"Somehow, it's not that different from the Border City. It's just that the brothels are stores and stalls, and Nina's hotel is a normal hotel here." I muttered, sipping on the wine and then chuckling. "What am I saying? Of course, they are different. Maybe I am drunk already."

After using <Cure> to lift anything that plagued me, I leaned back on the chair and put my legs on the table. I knew I wouldn't get drunk, but the feeling of lightheadedness was similar to it.

I continued to drink alone. A few minutes after that, I noticed Beatrice's pink dot began to move toward me in a straight line. She was flying in the sky, and I managed to see her from a distance as her figure passed the bright moon. Her body was a bit blurry, the effect of using <Illusion Magic> to hide herself.

She noticed my gaze and waved at me with a smile. I lowered my legs to allow her to occupy the chair across from the table, and she flapped her wings as she landed on the balcony.

"I am sorry, Master! It took longer than I thought."

"No rush. You can sit there." I pointed at the empty chair.

Beatrice followed my command and sat after hiding her Succubus traits, such as her tail, wings, and horns.

"Do you want to drink wine?" I offered, "I am in a great mood now, so accompany me for a drink."

"Gladly, Master. Let me pour the wine for you."

Saying so, Beatrice stood up again and took the green bottle filled with red liquid, which was reduced slightly, gently. She tilted the bottle and poured the wine into my glass before pouring it for herself and sat back down.

"It's really rare that you invited me for a drink, Master." Beatrice smiled softly and raised her glass.

"I told you. I am in a good mood today." I replied, and we cheered. A clunking sound rang as our glasses hit each other, and we sipped the wine slowly.

Unexpectedly, Beatrice was such a good drinker. She sipped her wine elegantly, like an aristocrat. Noticing my slight surprise, she giggled playfully.

"Fufufu, I learned from Eve by watching." She smiled smugly, proud of her effort.

"I see." I nodded at her. "Tell me something I don't know yet."

"Hnn…" Beatrice replied, crossing her legs. "First of all, Eve has decided to take the throne yesterday. It's after she saw her sons coming to her, getting excited about the training with you while telling her their dreams. Prince Thomas wanted to be a Grand Marshal, while Prince Edison wanted to be a monster researcher."

"Hmm, so the First Prince wants to be a Grand Marshal?" I mused, my lips curled up into a smile. "That's why he looked up at Garland and wanted to be stronger. I already knew the Second Prince's dream when he told me that day."

"Yes. Even though they are Princes, they want to be a knight and monster researcher, respectively. I think they are pretty stupid." Beatrice giggled as she mocked the Princes.

Maybe that was how it was from other people's perspectives.

But knowing how innocent and naïve those Princes were, I understood their choice.

Many people in the Kingdom thought Princess Carissa would be the next Ruler of the Virtue Kingdom. No one expected the Princes to beat the talented Princess. It was already set in stone, basically.

So they decided to spread their interest anywhere else; Queen Eve surely understood that. Maybe that was why she suddenly decided to take the throne after hearing her sons' dreams.

'She wants to support them and do her best as their mother.'

That made it easier. I had never thought those Princes would help me even before I asked them. My decision to hear and push Prince Edison's dream and reassure him wasn't useless. It helped me a lot. The Queen reached her decision faster thanks to this.

"They are good sons. Try to reassure the Queen that I would help her sons to reach their dreams. Of course, make it look like you heard me talking to the Princes and that you accidentally heard it."

"That's a good idea, Master." Beatrice nodded in agreement. "Actually, she was quite uneasy about this case. She wants to support her children, but there is also various opposition from the other factions. Earlier, she told me about her worries."

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

This matter was what made Beatrice late meeting me. Queen Eve had trusted this primordial Succubus much more than I thought.

"She's worried that this Kingdom will go east if she takes the throne."

"Meaning she's worried about the Sin Kingdom?"

"Yes." She nodded firmly. "Unlike the Virtue Kingdom, there is only one Queen of the Sin Kingdom, right? A-And she's turned out to be my s-sister…"

For some reason, she hesitated and looked a bit happy when she said the last sentence.

'The Goddess talked to her again, huh…' I thought as I straightened my back, sipping the wine.

Still… Why would she worry about the neighboring country?

I wondered about that question until I realized it.

"Ah…" I raised my voice, gaining Beatrice's attention.

"Is there something wrong, Master?" She asked worriedly.

"Yes." I nodded, not hiding it. "Did the Queen know about the balance of this world already?"

"Balance? Is it supposed to be something important?"

I looked at Beatrice and sighed, "You also don't know about it despite being a primordial Succubus, huh? Right, you fell asleep at that time. Let me explain it briefly."

With a soft cough, I began to explain what I meant by the balance of the world to Beatrice, starting as to how there was no war between the two Kingdoms in the past and why war needed to be held every year after that.

My explanation was a simplified version of what I heard from Juriel and the Goddess, but it was enough for her to realize how important it was. The primordial Succubus' eyes widened in disbelief.

After hearing me, she understood the gravity of trying to 'take over' the Virtue Kingdom.

I actually also didn't realize it before Juriel explained it to me. If Beatrice managed to take over the Virtue Kingdom, this world would probably fall into chaos, as the scale of Sins would be tipped higher than Virtues.

'Encroachment of Hell starts earlier than before because the balance is restored with my presence, but tipped back again after I failed the previous Quest. The Quest's reward probably balances the missing Sins I need to shoulder. That's why I also seldom receive Virtues from my actions.'

Realizing those things made my mood lighter. Thanks to this, I finally managed to know which direction I should take and not move around without any clue.

"Do you understand it all?"

"Master… Am I truly allowed to know this?" Beatrice asked with a quivered voice. "I… I did something really bad, didn't I? My ambition almost ruined this world."

"Yes." I nodded, not trying to console her. "I almost made the same mistake." I continued.

If I tried to take the throne myself, it would lead to a similar result. The world was balanced thanks to 'Paladin' and not the 'Ruler of the Virtue Kingdom.'

Paladin held higher authority, except for moving the kingdom knights. Because the kingdom knights swore loyalty to the Ruler of the Virtue Kingdom and not the Paladin. There probably was a special skill and title gained for sitting on that throne, just like what I got when I became the Paladin.

"Anyway, thanks for your report. You can tell the Queen about what I told you earlier. As the next Ruler, she has the right to know about this. But remind her to keep this a secret. And you can divulge your identity as the Goddess Tera's daughter if you're questioned about where you know this fact from.

"That way, Queen Eve will trust you more and make it easier for you to influence her."

'Because I won't be able to dominate her yet.' I added in my mind, leaning back on the chair. 'Even so, I can still get her love, so that's not a problem. I can wait until I fix this world's problem.'

"Your wish is my command, Master. Thank you for the drink." Beatrice stood up and curtsied at me, imitating those nobles again with a beautiful smile. "Also, Eve planned the coronation to be held in 7 days."

"Alright. I will probably get a letter from her, but thank you."

"It's my pleasure." She raised her head. At that moment, her wings appeared unruffled with a loud flap, and her tail suddenly appeared behind her.

Slowly, she flapped her wings and ascended to the air. Her body turned slightly blurry before she waved her hand and flew away.

I also stood up and silently walked back to the bed to sleep early.

chapter-382
  • 14
  • 16
  • 18
  • 20
  • 22
  • 24
  • 26
  • 28
Select Lang
Tap the screen to use reading tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.