Chapter 33: Midnight Interrogation
The grand banquet finally wound down to a close as the visiting nobles stumbled out of the dining hall in a drunken haze.
The lower servants rushed in to clear away the silver platters and scrub the massive mahogany tables under the watchful eyes of the estate guards.
Leon moved through the bustling room with practiced efficiency while actively testing the limits of his newly acquired Mana Manipulation skill.
He could feel the raw magical energy buzzing beneath his skin and flowing through his veins with incredible precision. He casually directed a small invisible current of mana to lift a heavy stack of porcelain plates right into his hands without bearing any of the actual physical weight.
He mentally pulled up his system interface and smiled at the glowing numbers.
His Agility sat at a staggering eighty five points and his Strength was securely locked at seventy. He also possessed a highly impressive balance of four hundred Shameless Points. The frail floor sweeper who had nearly died carrying a crate of flour just days ago was rapidly transforming into a genuine powerhouse.
The grand grandfather clock chimed the midnight hour and signaled the end of his shift.
Leon deposited his cleaning supplies in the storage closet and navigated the quiet opulent corridors of the upper wing toward the Head Maid’s private office.
He expected to find the hallway deserted but the ambient temperature dropped drastically the closer he got to the heavy mahogany door.
A thick layer of genuine frost coated the polished stone walls and a harsh chill bit at his exposed cheeks. Beatrice was clearly waiting for him and her volatile mood was leaking heavily into the surrounding environment.
Leon knocked twice and pushed the door open.
The private office looked like the heart of a winter blizzard.
Ice crystals bloomed across the windowpanes and a suffocating magical pressure hung thick in the air. Beatrice stood behind her oak desk with her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
She had removed her wire rimmed glasses revealing her piercing blue eyes blazing with a dangerous mixture of furious authority and deep unresolved suspicion.
"Lock the door Leon," Beatrice commanded in a voice that sounded like grinding glaciers.
Leon slid the heavy iron deadbolt into place and casually turned to face her.
His passive Aura Sight revealed the immense dense blue magical core spinning wildly inside her chest. The Ice Queen was preparing for a confrontation and she was not holding back her oppressive aura.
"You have been lying to me since the very first day you stepped into my kitchen," Beatrice stated while slowly walking around the edge of her desk.
"I watched Lord Kaelius spill that boiling broth. I saw the silver bowl abruptly reverse its trajectory in midair. That requires high tier invisible kinetic magic and immense precision. Yet you stand there wearing a servant uniform possessing zero readable mana."
She stopped just three feet away from him and the freezing mist radiating from her boots curled aggressively around his leather shoes.
"I want the truth right now," she warned in a low chilling whisper. "Are you an assassin sent by a rival family? Are you a spy meant to destabilize House Sterling from the inside?"
Leon utilized his forty five Charisma points to project a calm magnetic dominance. He did not flinch or step back from the freezing pressure pushing against his invisible Mana Skin.
"I am exactly what I appear to be Lady Beatrice," Leon replied smoothly while locking his dark eyes onto hers. "A very talented Upper Wing Attendant who simply dislikes watching arrogant nobles disrespect beautiful women."
The crystal bell suddenly chimed in his skull and bathed the freezing office in a bright neon pink glow.
[Quest Issued: Melting the Permafrost]
[Context: The Ice Queen is using her lethal magic to mask her own intense vulnerability. She wants answers but she desperately needs to be dominated. Break through her frozen defenses and take control of the interrogation.]
[Objective: Step through her freezing aura, pin both of her wrists firmly against her oak desk, and whisper that she owes you a massive reward for saving her skin.]
[Reward: +20 Agility, Skill ’Basic Kinetic Repulsion’, 150 Shameless Points.]
[Failure Penalty: The Host will suffer permanent and highly agonizing frostbite on his tongue making speech nearly impossible for the rest of his life.]
Leon read the digital text and felt a surge of predatory excitement.
The system was actively pushing him to corner the fiercely strict Head Maid and the penalty left him no room for hesitation.
Beatrice raised her right hand and summoned a swirling orb of jagged ice spikes hovering directly over her palm. She intended to force him onto his knees to extract a proper confession.
Leon did not give her the chance to strike.
He channeled his massive eighty five points of Agility and blurred into motion.
The sheer speed of his advance shattered the freezing mist hanging between them. He stepped directly inside her personal guard before her brilliant tactical mind could even register his movement.
He reached out with his large hands and firmly grasped both of her wrists. His seventy points of Strength easily overwhelmed her physical resistance as he forcefully pushed her backward.
Beatrice let out a sharp gasp of shock as her back hit the edge of the heavy oak desk.
Leon smoothly pinned her arms down against the polished wood and trapped her athletic figure between his muscular chest and the furniture. The orb of jagged ice instantly dissolved into harmless vapor as her concentration violently shattered under the overwhelming heat of his close proximity.
"You are incredibly bold for a woman who just had her dignity saved," Leon murmured in a deep resonant voice that vibrated heavily against her neck.
He leaned his face down until his lips hovered mere inches from her ear.
"You owe me a massive reward for stepping in tonight Beatrice. And I intend to collect it."
Time seemed to freeze in the isolated office.
Beatrice stared up at him with wide dilated pupils while her breath hitched erratically in her throat.
Her passive Lie Detector aura flared with blinding flashes of overwhelming heat and submissive panic.
The untouchable Ice Queen of House Sterling had spent her entire life ruling the servants through strict fear but she was currently pinned to a desk by a man whose raw physical power and magnetic confidence dwarfed her own.
Her rigid posture slowly melted. She stopped struggling against his iron grip and her eyelids fluttered shut for a brief tantalizing second as the warmth of his chest seeped through her crisp uniform.
[Quest Completed Successfully!]
[Your tongue remains warm and perfectly functional.]
[Distributing Rewards: +20 Agility, Skill ’Basic Kinetic Repulsion’ Acquired, 150 Shameless Points.]
A sudden explosive rush of weightless energy flooded his legs pushing his Agility to a monstrous one hundred and five points.
The intricate magical theory for Kinetic Repulsion burned into his mind granting him the ability to violently push objects away using raw mana.
Leon acknowledged the rewards but kept his focus strictly on the trembling woman trapped beneath him. He knew the best way to bring these women submission was to make them want it themselves, he could not give her total satisfaction just yet.
He needed her to chase the feeling.
He slowly released his firm grip on her wrists and took a deliberate step backward to restore the physical space between them.
Beatrice opened her eyes and let out a shaky breath while desperately rubbing her wrists.
Her pale cheeks were stained with a furious dark blush that clashed violently with her icy reputation. She looked deeply flustered and highly frustrated by his sudden retreat.
"You are a dangerous mystery Leon," Beatrice whispered softly while refusing to meet his magnetic gaze. "But if you ever touch me like that again I will freeze your heart."
"No, you wont’t," Leon offered with a charming wicked smirk. "Get some rest Lady Beatrice. We have a lot of work to do tomorrow."
He turned around and unlocked the heavy mahogany door before strolling casually out into the opulent corridor.
He left the fierce Head Maid standing alone in her freezing office grappling with the terrifying realization that she was rapidly falling under the spell of her own subordinate.
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