Chapter 241: Passive-Aggressive Progression
"...You seem so calm, Evelyn," Esther says, cutting a piece of meat—a part of my tail—with such hatred that the plate makes that unpleasant sound of a knife scraping against it.
’Her eyes seem redder.’ I don’t know if it’s my imagination, but the red tint in her pupils has become a deeper blood red, maybe because she’s actively started feeding on my blood.
"Yes, I’ve slept very well the last few days..." I’ve already started moving the standard model puppets to the location that will be the battlefield, and I’ve also started increasing Eve’s powers.
"Your hypocrisy is almost nauseating. Are you really going through with this cowardly plan to use me? Aren’t you afraid I’ll die, Evelyn?" She asks, raising an eyebrow at me. I just give a little smile.
"You won’t die, not with your blessing. Our brothers don’t stand a chance of killing you; they probably only have enough power to wound you, without actually being able to take your life," I speak with absolute certainty, knowing Esther’s strength.
"You’ve become very cold, Evelyn," she says with that apathetic expression, as if she bears no blame for me being like this now.
"You taught me to be this way, Esther." I’m just using what I learned from her. She’s the one who said I should be colder, more practical, and plan things better.
"...Now you’ve become a smart mouth, too?"
"Just maintaining proper etiquette and answering all of my wife’s questions. Is there something wrong with that?" I ask, eating what’s on my plate. The food tastes so... bland, and lately I’ve been waking up at night gasping and sweaty from unpleasant nightmares about being tortured.
"Did you really plan this during your time trapped in that bed, feeling pleasure?"
"...Yes." Even I’m surprised at how good I am at thinking about multiple things at once, to the point of being able to plan something in that situation.
"..." She pushes her plate forward as she quickly finishes her own food. She just stares at me while I finish my meal and grab my golden apple for dessert.
"You really like those apples."
"Yes, they taste good. Besides, they’re as beautiful as I am, and they further exalt my beauty," I say narcissistically. I love these apples, though I’ve never really understood why; I just like them.
"After all, someone as magnificent as I am would need her own symbol of elegance. What could be more elegant than this fruit? It’s just like me: natural, beautiful, and efficient in its purpose."
"Oh yes... of course... Don’t you think you’ve been spending too much money on clothes, jewelry, accessories, and materials lately?" She changes the subject quickly and questions my little outings.
"I can’t?"
"Of course you can, but you have money, and you’re spending mine, not yours. Don’t I have the right to question my wife about the expenses she makes with my money?" I don’t spend any of the money I have, because I’m saving it. It’s so nice to watch that pile of wealth in the vault.
"...I’m just taking care of myself. You like my beauty, don’t you? Well, the price of beauty is high." It’s a fact that I spend a lot, though not on makeup. I prefer natural beauty, but on practical things like clothes, jewelry, and general accessories for everyday use. The most makeup I’ve ever worn is red lipstick.
"Before, you had none of that and were just as beautiful as you are now," she says, not understanding that I don’t spend money buying makeup. My appearance won’t change compared to the past.
"Yes, but before, I needed more than 5 hours to keep my appearance well-maintained, and now with money, I don’t spend even 30 minutes to get the same aesthetic result." Before, it was a huge waste of time choosing clothes, hairstyles, etc., to match me.
"..." She falls silent, staring at my horns for a moment, then her gaze drops to my wings, following to my tail, which is on the table poking at an empty plate as if it were curious.
My tail is oddly "lively," doing things while I’m still, though I don’t understand why.
"Looking for reasons to complain about me, Esther?" It’s obvious she’s looking for a reason to argue; she does this when she’s stressed.
"..."
"I’m just stressed, not that you care. You’re the reason for my stress, after all, you’re pathetically weak, and I’ll have to fight and protect you at the same time."
"Oh, so you’ll actually protect me? What a surprise," I say with biting sarcasm, biting into the fruit with deliberate seduction. She takes a deep breath, ignoring my passive-aggressive remark.
"You’ve been releasing magic all the time. Did something happen?"
"...Nothing really important." It’s because of what I learned from Arial, that seduction ability that’s active all the time. It manifests as magic being released noticeably with some effort.
Which clearly affects my status. Although my status has increased a bit: my defense went from F to E, my physical defense also went from F to E, and my magic went from S to SS, which is good overall.
Strength = F
Stamina = F
Defense = E
Physical Defense = E
Magic = SS
Magic Defense = S
Vitality = SSS+
Everything else remained the same. My defense probably increased because of the torture I suffered for over a month. My puppet body rebuilding itself must have helped, and since I use a lot of magic, it naturally increased too.
"Evelyn, what do you plan to do in the upcoming fight? You are aware of the risks, right?" I already have a plan, but I’m clearly not going to tell Esther this plan.
"I’m going to hide somewhere and wait until everything is near the end." I’ll do much more than that, but I’ll really be hidden for most of the time.
"!!!"
"Are you serious? You’re not even going to try!?"
"Why would I waste time and effort trying when I know everyone is stronger than me? I just have to wait for you to finish everyone off, and then I step in at the last hour and defeat you."
"I don’t know if that will give me the title of Demon Queen instantly, but it will be enough for me to practically have an 80% chance of winning the title on the spot, and maybe if I don’t win it right away, I’ll win it later."
"The title won’t care if I win through cowardice; it will only care that I won, and that’s enough." That’s a fact. This is the best approach for me, and I hope that when I win the title, my power becomes much stronger.
"...Is that the kind of queen you want to be, Evelyn? A queen who needs to be carried on someone’s back to the finish line to take credit for something she didn’t do?"
"Yes, that’s exactly it, Esther. You’re only angry because you lost this round to me. You were arrogant and didn’t think I’d do something so crazy. But someone at rock bottom wouldn’t mind digging at the wall until it collapses and climbing up on the rubble, even with the risk of being buried."
"That’s why I don’t care about being a queen who had to step over already exhausted people to get the throne! Isn’t that how you said I should be? Well then, I have you to carry me to the finish line; why wouldn’t I use your help?"
"So I am rock bottom to you, Evelyn?"
"...Yes, you are my beloved rock bottom where I threw myself, but don’t worry so much; I’ll be careful."
"Now, Esther, let’s put that aside. I want some money to buy a few things."
"Do you really think I’m going to pay to strengthen you so you can try to defeat me?" She asks as if I’d asked for something absurd.
"Of course I think so. You’re my beloved, powerful wife who would never be afraid of someone as weak as me, right? Or... do you actually think I’m going to beat you?" She’d only need to prevent me from getting stronger if she thought I could win. Denying me support now would indicate fear, and someone as proud as her would never be afraid of me.
Esther made me a strategist who knows how to see her weaknesses, so just as she knows all my weaknesses, I know her weaknesses too.
"...How much do you need?" She stares at me seriously.
"60 Dadyon coins," I say, smiling. It’s a lot of money and will allow me to prepare even better for what’s to come.
"...Alright." She gets up and comes over to me. She leans down and briefly kisses my lips.
"You should rest," I tell her, smiling gently.
"..." She stops when I say this. I can see how tense she is.
"Do you want me to hug you to sleep?" I ask, both for her sake and mine. I would like that; just sleeping embraced by her without these conversations, without doing anything, just sleeping in each other’s warmth.
"...Maybe, it seems like a good compromise... I’d be better off if you hadn’t done this. You have no idea how much trouble you’ve caused me."
"..." I look into her eyes, knowing full well how much trouble I’ve caused.
"You cornered me and pressured me too much; that’s your fault too. But it’s okay now because I love you and I accept this burden." I get up and kiss her.
"Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to do a few things. Thanks for the money. I’ll bring you a little gift when I get back in about two hours."