"Stay away from my husband!"
’!’
While having a conversation with the Empress, suddenly, I heard the voice of Aleriana.
She interrupted in the middle, referring to me with a title that clearly sent a ripple of silence around the nobleman’s table.
All of them were already bowing to the Empress, but now they flinched at the arrival of the Princess.
’Stupid System’.
I could clearly see how, unlike how I wanted to keep the Empress and Princess both away from each other, the System settled with this outcome.
Not without giving me a warning, it sent that message telepathically to the Princess, who most probably heard it and arrived here.
But...
’What’s with you?’
Yet, I couldn’t help but look towards Aleriana, who had spoken up for me, but she halted mid-sentence.
Her eyes widened, and her hands were clenched together as though she didn’t want to intervene.
Yet, she had done so on impulse, and now guilt began to return to her, though I didn’t know what it was.
Soon enough, I heard another set of words from her.
"I-I will take my leave!" she stated hurriedly before swiftly vanishing from there.
Her departure sent gusts of wind that visibly caused me to cover my face by crossing my arms, clearly surprised by how she arrived and left so quickly.
It felt as if I had just come here to give her attendance.
"Princess seems shy."
’....’
A voice came from one of the nobles who didn’t know when to speak.
Everyone remained silent, trying to fathom what just happened here, but he came in with his own theory that was not going to be believed by any sane man.
"Oh, yes, it might be possible."
"HoHo, it appears the Princess does have a side like this in her."
’Or not’.
Hearing these ten men really believing that the Princess was shy, I clearly saw how they lacked discernment.
I understood their overall value from observation without having to peek at the status window.
As I turned towards the Empress, I noticed she stood there with her eyes still set on me, clearly unbothered by the arrival or departure of the Princess.
"So, I was saying, Kyle, how about—"
"Stop, Empress."
Nista, in particular, was about to state something along the lines of how she wanted to protect me.
She likely wished to help me against the Princess and make me align with her.
This had the highest probability given that I knew very well that these dolls shared the same personality traits of the real Empress at each age phase.
Nista, in particular, portrayed her teenage years where she appeared cunning, easygoing, yet shrewd.
The other one belonged to the Empress’s older phase, where she had matured enough to not smile or smirk.
Her expressions were devoid of innocence, making it easy to read through her emotions.
But for this particular doll, she exhibited an open-window personality that only expressed laughter while sharpening her knife.
From whatever I knew about this woman, due to me giving her a name, which I did to get her attention, I knew Nista would definitely have an interest in me.
I was planning to intensify that interest because, at the very least, if I couldn’t secure the Empress, I could at least align with one of those two dolls who might help me unlock the legacy left behind by the Puppet Master.
Of course, that story was for another time.
Presently, I looked towards Nista, whose expression behind the thin veil went stoic after hearing my words.
It signified that she definitely did not like what I had said.
"I mean, I need to go for my wedding night, as you can see, the sun is already set."
Entangled in the banquet, my conversation with the Empress had made me lose track of time.
Finally, night had fallen over the capital city.
I stated this with no better excuse than one that would be believable to those sane noblemen.
"Oh, so it was the Princess’ signal."
"It seems so, hehe."
To prove their sanity, not just the noblemen, but even the noblewomen, in groups of four or five, came forward.
Clearly, they intended to introduce themselves to the Empress, yet they didn’t retreat from giving their own theories about my words.
They supported my narrative enough to make even Nista ponder for a moment.
"Are you trying to make an excuse?"
But, expectedly, she did not fall for it, her tone hardened.
Yet there was a hint of doubt mixed within.
And that hint was enough to provide me with an opening.
"Empress, pardon me, but any sane man in this world would be willing to be on his knees if there are women like you or the Princess waiting for him."
I stated this with a smile, which caused the Empress to tilt her head in confusion.
The nobility, too, seemed to not understand my words.
It only highlighted how messed up their sense of humor and understanding was.
After all, to make it funny and help me escape from this situation, the plot needed to show that these nobles didn’t get my joke and would now act stupid.
This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēwebnovel.com.
Gasp!
"Th-this..."
WHOOOSH!
"Urgh—!"
Unlike how I had expected them to misunderstand my joke, they did the unexpected.
They understood it—maybe even better—based on their exaggerated reactions.
Women placed their hands over their mouths while the noblemen looked towards each other, scratching their chins.
The Empress burst out with energy, causing me to cross my arms defensively.
I could feel I was about to be thrown at any moment.
:: You deserve this for being outspoken, now endure the consequence of your mouth. ::
[ Host, the mouth is the source of all evil. ]
"Are you alright?"
’Huh?’
Suddenly, I heard a voice from Nista.
She had suppressed her energy and placed her hand on my shoulder, causing me to flinch.
I looked towards her, not understanding what had just transpired.
A moment ago, she was about to attack me, and now everything seemed to return to normal.
"Y-yes, but what happened?"
Given my expectation of the fate that my words had caused a clear anger toward me from the Empress, I was caught off guard by Nista’s consolation.
"Nothing, just a bug was trying to see through me."
In a firm tone, she stated this, making me understand exactly what happened.
My words were only understood by the nobility, but coincidentally, at the same time, someone attempted to see through her.
She was, after all, out of the real Empress’s side, and there were people who would want to gauge her strength levels to see if she had grown stronger.
But there was a catch here.
Both dolls were linked with the real Empress’s consciousness.
It was as if her brain had been divided into three parts, each sharing consciousness, allowing her to manifest special types of energy akin to that linked with souls.
This connection was crucial, especially during moments when someone tried to see through their power levels and activated soul repulsion spells or whatever those techniques were called.
I was literally never good at remembering names of bloodlines, names, physique, and such things of cultivation novels.
"Then, I will take my leave. I will meet you gentlemen soon; let me work hard today." With a smile, clearly seeing that the only dense person here was Nishtha, I noticed the flush on the noblewoman’s face, while some gestured towards their husbands. The same was true for the men, doing the same, clearly indicating that today I was the only one not doing any hard work.
’Sigh, when will I be able to bestow these powers to my children?’
:: Say that and I will cut off your reproductive organs. ::
’Fine, but use your teeth.’
:: You PERVERT! ::
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"Haaah.... Haaah.... Damn, this woman is stronger than me!" came a voice from an empty space within the sky. An old man, belonging to the Ghost Sect, had come here after being instructed by the sect leader to kill Kyle Arcutus.
Elder found himself facing backlash when he tried to see through the strength of that woman, who was renowned and known throughout the Azure Flame Kingdom. Right now, the force that seared his sight was far stronger than his own, as he was at the sixth layer, something he did not expect.
’But she doesn’t seem interested in saving him.’ The old man also noticed how the backlash was not strong enough to kill him, as if the woman only reacted due to him trying to see through her strength, not to save that boy.
This gave him enough time to bring that young man into his faction.
Considering that the assassination mission was likely assigned by the sect leader at the behest of Princess Aleriana, having her husband on his side would definitely earn him the favor of the Second Queen.
Even if it doesn’t, it does not matter much, considering he has already broken through the fifth layer and is in the sixth, proving himself to be one of the three strongest pawns under the Queen’s hand.