Free Web NovelChapter 222: Party Setup
After his ’negotiation’ with the princess, Mark gathered his subordinates in the meeting room and explained the proposal she had made to him. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Of course, he conveniently overlooked the fact that the two of them had been having sex during that time.
"To summarize," Mark said, looking at the five women gathered before him, "Princess Luna wants us to support her in her succession struggle. And for that, she wants me to go to her kingdom in person to publicly back her."
For a few seconds the room stayed silent until Ely decided to speak.
"If everything that woman says is true, then this is an opportunity we can’t pass up, Master," she said, crossing her arms. "It would be stupid to turn it down."
"I agree," Alice added, nodding firmly. "If we manage to get her into power it will be a big step toward completing your Quest, Master."
Aria, who was sitting sideways in her chair with her cheek resting on one hand, let out a scoff.
"Of course you two agree..." she said in a mocking tone. "The two geniuses whose solution to everything is to punch it until it stops being a problem."
"Excuse me?" Ely said, narrowing her eyes.
"And that’s without counting that we already have plenty of work here," Aria continued, ignoring her and turning toward her Master. "We just stabilized the kingdom and there are still a thousand things pending. Are we really going to make our lives even more complicated? You understand me, right Yuki?"
Yuki, who had been standing in silence by the wall, glanced at her sideways before simply shrugging.
"I don’t care what you all decide," she replied in her usual flat tone. "I’ll do whatever the Master says."
"I knew I couldn’t count on you... You’re the worst ally in the world, did you know that?"
Yuki didn’t even flinch at her words.
Aria sighed and turned toward her last hope.
"Rose," she said, in a tone desperately searching for some support. "You’re the smartest one in the group. Surely you think the same as me, right? Tell the Master that getting mixed up in this mess is a bad idea."
Rose, who had been listening to everything in silence with her arms crossed, looked at her. ƒrēewebnovel.com
"Actually, I also think we should go."
"...What?"
"They’re right," Rose continued. "The opportunity is too good to waste, and the risks are manageable if we plan well. Supporting the princess works in our favor."
Aria stared at her with her mouth open for a moment before dramatically dropping face-first onto the table, arms spread out.
"I give up... do whatever you want," she said, her voice muffled against the wood. "What’s the point of me giving my opinion if nobody listens to me anyway? I’m just a talking decoration."
Mark, who had stayed quiet throughout the whole exchange, couldn’t help letting out a small laugh at Aria’s outburst.
"Well," he said, straightening up in his chair. "Since we all agree on going, now comes the important part... deciding who comes with me and who stays in charge of the kingdom."
He had barely finished the sentence when two voices rose at the same time.
"I’ll accompany you, Master!" Ely said.
"I’ll go with you, my lord," Alice followed.
Both looked at each other with furrowed brows.
"While I’d love to take both of you... one of you will have to stay here," Mark said, looking at them both. "If something happens while we’re away, I need someone capable of protecting the kingdom."
"Then Ely stays," Alice said immediately. "She’s the stronger of the two, so it makes more sense for her to stay and protect the kingdom."
"Excuse me?" Ely shot back, turning toward her. "Precisely because I’m stronger is why I should accompany the Master. If he’s going into hostile territory, he needs his best warrior at his side."
The two moved closer until they were face to face, sparks practically visible flying between their glares.
"You know what?" Ely said, putting a hand on the hilt of her sword. "Let’s settle this properly. You and me, right now. Whoever wins accompanies the Master."
"Fine by me," Alice replied, the golden energy of her gauntlets beginning to glow. "I’ve been wanting to wipe that little smile off your—"
"Stop, stop!" Mark interrupted, raising both hands. "Nobody is fighting inside the palace."
Both stopped, still looking at each other with rivalry.
"Then how do we decide?" Ely asked without taking her eyes off Alice.
"Rock, paper, scissors," Mark replied. "It’s fast, fair, and most importantly, keeps you from destroying my palace... Whoever wins comes with me and the other stays."
Ely and Alice looked at each other again, this time with a completely different tension.
"So be it," Ely said, getting into position.
"You’d better not cry when you lose," Alice replied, mirroring her.
Both raised a fist.
"Rock..." they said in unison.
"Paper..."
"Scissors!"
Ely threw scissors.
Alice threw paper.
The room went silent for an instant before Ely let out a shout of joy.
"YES!" she exclaimed, literally jumping off the ground before lunging at Mark and hugging him around the neck. "I won! I’m going with you, Master! I knew it, destiny wants me by your side!"
Alice, for her part, stood staring at her own outstretched hand with an expression of defeat, as if the paper she had thrown were responsible for every misfortune in her life.
"I hate this damn stupid game..." she muttered, her voice heavy with resentment.
Mark, with Ely still hanging from his neck celebrating as if she had won a war, couldn’t help laughing.
"Well, problem solved," he said, gently patting Ely’s arm so she’d loosen her grip a little.
"As you command, my lord," Alice replied, still stinging from the defeat.
"Yuki, you’re staying too," Mark said, turning toward the assassin. "I need you to keep watching the nobles. While we already pruned the most problematic ones, I still don’t fully trust the ones who are left."
"Understood," Yuki replied, nodding. "I won’t take my eyes off them."
"Good."
Then Mark looked at Aria, who was still sprawled across the table in her pose of dramatic defeat.
"Aria, you’re staying too."
Aria lifted her head with an offended expression, ready to protest.
"And before you say anything, it’s because you’re the only one who can do it," Mark explained. "The palace runs because of you, and if you left, this place would be chaos in less than a day because nobody else can fill your role. In short, you’re indispensable."
Aria, who had opened her mouth to complain, slowly closed it.
"Well... when you put it that way, I suppose you’re right," she said, flattered and playing with her hair. "Someone with my abilities is hard to replace, after all... Fine, I’ll stay in charge of everything."
"I’m counting on you, then."
"Of course you are," Aria said with a satisfied smile.
Finally, Mark turned toward Rose.
"And you’re coming too," he said, pointing at the vampire. "If things get complicated, I want a safe way out, and with your teleportation magic we can come back at any moment."
"That seems reasonable," Rose replied calmly. "I’ll prepare everything needed for the journey and have the emergency teleportation circles ready before we leave."
"Perfect."
After scanning the room and confirming nobody was going to argue further, Mark considered the matter settled.
Ely and Rose would go with him, and the kingdom would be left in the hands of Alice, Yuki, and Aria.
"Then it’s decided," he said, getting to his feet. "We’ll start preparing for the trip. Rose, give me an estimate of how long it would take us to get there and what we’ll need to—"
"Master," Rose interrupted. "Could I speak with you for a moment?... In private."
Mark looked at her and took a moment to remember that, after that business with his blood, Rose had mentioned she had something important to tell him.
"Alright... let’s talk in my room," Mark replied, walking toward the door.
Rose got to her feet and Mark said goodbye to the others before calling the meeting to a close.
