Chapter 15: The Ice Queen’s Interrogation
The heavy wooden door of the storage pantry swung shut and left Leon standing alone in the shadows while the intoxicating vanilla scent of the Head Cook slowly dissipated into the cool air.
He took a long moment to steady his violently racing heart before stepping back out into the bright and chaotic kitchen.
The junior maid who had delivered the terrifying summons was waiting nervously by the massive stone arches and she visibly flinched when Leon locked his dark magnetic eyes onto hers.
His forty five points of Charisma were clearly completely overwhelming for the ordinary female staff.
The young maid instantly flushed a brilliant shade of crimson and nervously gestured for him to follow her toward the upper servants wing.
Walking through the sprawling corridors of the Sterling estate was a profoundly different experience now that Leon possessed genuine strength. Just yesterday he would have kept his head aggressively bowed and prayed to avoid the heavy boots of the armored guards.
Today he walked with his back perfectly straight and his shoulders squared while utilizing his enhanced hearing to pick up the hushed whispers of the estate soldiers.
Two heavily armored knights were standing near the grand staircase laughing maliciously about how the arrogant Kaelen had been officially stripped of his rank and banished to the disciplinary cells for drawing a weapon in the presence of Lady Seraphina.
In this ruthless aristocratic society a single display of weakness was all it took for a man to lose his entire livelihood.
Leon knew his own position was infinitely more precarious because he was playing a highly dangerous game of deception with women who could obliterate a city block with a simple wave of their hands.
He finally arrived at the polished mahogany door of Beatrice’s private office and casually dismissed the trembling junior maid with a smooth smile that nearly made her faint on the spot. He knocked twice and heard the crisp and terrifyingly cold voice of the Head Maid grant him permission to enter.
The ambient temperature inside the office was significantly colder than his last visit.
A thin layer of genuine frost was creeping up the edges of the grand windowpanes and the air felt incredibly heavy with concentrated magical pressure.
Beatrice was sitting perfectly straight behind her immaculate oak desk while aggressively reviewing a stack of disciplinary reports. She wore her pristine black and white uniform completely buttoned up to her throat but the strict tailoring could not hide her exceptionally elegant and dangerous curves.
"Close the door and lock it Leon," Beatrice commanded without even bothering to look up from her paperwork.
Leon silently obliged and slid the heavy iron deadbolt into place.
His passive Lie Detector skill immediately flared to life and painted a highly complex aura of swirling blue and volatile pink energy completely surrounding the stern woman.
She was projecting an outward facade of pure icy indifference but beneath the surface she was practically boiling with intense curiosity and lingering flustered agitation from their previous encounter.
Beatrice carefully set her silver pen down and folded her hands neatly on the desk before raising her piercing blue eyes to meet his gaze.
"I have spent the last hour listening to highly conflicting reports about a scrawny floor sweeper miraculously dismantling an Adept level Aura Knight in my kitchens," Beatrice stated in a chillingly smooth voice that carried a thinly veiled threat.
"And to make matters entirely worse I am told this same servant had the astronomical audacity to look Lady Seraphina directly in the eyes and insult her family’s military discipline without instantly being executed."
She slowly stood up from her leather chair and the temperature in the room plummeted another ten degrees. A faint mist of cold air escaped her lips as she began to slowly walk around the edge of her desk toward him.
"You are hiding something incredibly dangerous Leon," she whispered while narrowing her eyes to inspect his physical form.
"I can sense absolutely no mana or aura emanating from your body but normal commoners do not suddenly acquire the speed and strength to shatter armored knights. I want the absolute truth right now or I will encase your legs in solid ice and shatter them with a hammer."
[DING!]
The crystal bell violently chimed in his skull and illuminated the freezing room with a highly obnoxious neon pink glow that completely ruined the terrifying atmosphere.
[Overlapping Arc Quest Issued: Thawing the Permafrost]
[Context: The Ice Queen is attempting to interrogate you like a common criminal and reassert her dominance. Do not submit to her chilling interrogation tactics. Control the room and force her to acknowledge your authority.]
[Objective: Step boldly into her personal space, place your hand firmly on her black stocking covered thigh, and ask her if she is simply jealous of the attention you gave the Head Cook.]
[Reward: +10 Agility, 50 Shameless Points, System Shop Item ’Soundproof Ward (Basic)’.]
[Failure Penalty: The Host will violently vomit a swarm of live butterflies every single time he attempts to lie for the next thirty days.]
Leon stared at the digital text and actively calculated how fast a woman could sever a man’s arm with ice magic.
Touching the fiercely strict Head Maid on her thigh while she was currently threatening to shatter his legs was the absolute pinnacle of suicidal behavior.
However the penalty of vomiting live butterflies would completely destroy his ability to bluff his way through this dangerous world and guarantee his eventual execution.
He took a slow deep breath and channeled his entire reservoir of Charisma into his posture. Beatrice was standing just two feet away from him and preparing to summon her magical frost to force him onto his knees.
Instead of cowering or begging for mercy Leon smoothly closed the remaining distance between them with a burst of enhanced Agility that completely caught her off guard.
He stepped directly inside her personal guard and boldly reached down to firmly place his large hand right onto the side of her left thigh just below the hem of her pristine black skirt.
The sheer dark fabric of her stockings was incredibly soft and the firm athletic muscle resting beneath his palm radiated a delightful heat that completely contrasted with her freezing aura.
Time in the private office instantly ground to an absolute halt.
Beatrice completely froze exactly like a poorly constructed ice sculpture.
Her brilliant tactical mind utterly failed to process the astronomical impossibility of a common servant aggressively grabbing her leg.
Her icy blue eyes widened to the size of saucers and her breath hitched violently in her throat as the highly concentrated heat from his hand seeped directly through her sheer stockings.
Leon utilized his Piercing Gaze to lock directly onto her stunned pupils and leaned his face dangerously close to hers.
"You are asking an awful lot of questions about my time in the kitchens Lady Beatrice," Leon murmured in a deep magnetic whisper that vibrated heavily in the quiet room. "Are you simply jealous of the attention I was giving the Head Cook?"
Comments