Chapter 32: The Game begins...
"...Sigh." The sound escaped me the moment consciousness returned.
’A mansion,’ I observed as I sat up, taking in the ornate ceiling above me.
’It appears my prediction is in order,’ I noted internally, then swung my legs outside the bed. I examined my palm calmly, then nodded. "Good. Looks like the harm done to me in the Legacy world was reversed when I got out." Another sigh.
I had stayed in that void for so long that I began to lose my sense of time. I can’t tell how long it took Anna to finally conquer that Legacy world, but that doesn’t really matter anymore. My being here means everything went according to plan... I will take this into consideration for my future plans. It seems the human mind truly can be manipulated to attain desired results. She must have, of her own accord, defended me, telling a story believable enough for me to end up here. And Vivian must have already been taken to her kingdom. Simple cause and effect.
[You took quite the gamble on this one. What if she didn’t do what you wanted?] the voice in my head that had been my companion all along in the void spoke with what I could only assume was curiosity.
"That wouldn’t have happened... unless there was an unexpected variable I didn’t account for. Being hypocritical aside, the heroes of this world have a soft spot for anyone they come to care for," I said, walking towards the huge window from which the soft sunlight flooded the room in streams that were, admittedly, quite pleasant on the skin.
[But there was a chance she was just pretending to have fallen for your act.]
"The possibility of that happening was low. I know Anna probably more than she even knows herself. She isn’t one to pretend for such a long time. And no matter how much she hated me, I just had to make her attached to me somehow... the rest would take care of itself," I explained as the window opened at my touch, the curtain fluttering with the wind in what poets might call a romantic gesture. I took a deep breath, composing myself. I had a rough guess what awaited me outside from this moment onwards. Well, I would have been certain if it wasn’t for the variable of whether Anna’s excuse was able to convince them enough for her father to protect me, and not let Vivian’s kingdom take me.
Well, my being in this mansion without being chained only means it’s more likely the former.