NOVEL NEXT Chapter 126: Accomplice and Perpetrator
I pass a bandage I took from my storage ring over my neck as Esther watches me finish dressing the wound.
"Evelyn, I realize now I was somewhat rash. Tell me, how much do you know about me... no lies," she says while I look at my hands stained with my own blood, making me shudder.
I truly felt I was going to die, even though I wouldn't have. I always forget that as a puppet, killing me is harder than just suffocating me like that.
'The suffocation was strangely painful...'
"I-I know about your blessing... and your curse... and I-I know you want to k-kill everyone... that's all I know..." I can't reveal everything I know, because I know quite a bit, but those three are the main points.
"Hmmm, I'm satisfied that you never told anyone about my blessing. I don't want others knowing about it..."
"E-Esther, w-why kill everyone? I-It doesn't make sense," I say nervously, afraid she might have another outburst.
"..."
"Evelyn, you like dolls, right? Would you like it if someone broke them?"
"O-Of course not!" I quickly deny.
"You just got your answer, Evelyn. It's quite simple. If this world is entertainment for something watching us... then that something doesn't want its toys broken."
"I've always hated the lack of freedom, the uncertainty of whether my desires are my own or the desires of some other entity... that's why I concluded that killing everyone is the solution."
"Because I know this is a decision absolutely my own. I will spoil the fun for whatever is watching us," she speaks with unshakable conviction.
"If I eliminate all life, this world will become tedious... that's why I don't understand you, Evelyn. Why have you never considered this obvious solution? Not that I expect you to accomplish such a feat... but seeing you fail to grasp this is... ridiculous." She gives me a look as if I'm strange for not considering genocide.
"W-Why are you... telling me all this..." I ask, confused. Esther was never the open type who shared these things about herself.
"Because we are getting married. Marriage is a permanent union, and I prefer to be honest with the one who will be bound to me for eternity. And also, because you are like me."
"Don't worry, the room is sealed. No one will know anything that happened or was discussed here... now, what do you think of my plan?" she asks honestly.
"It's... h-horrible... why kill everyone? And what will you do afterward!?" I say, not understanding. She seems like those cartoon villains who want to destroy the world but live in the same world they plan to destroy.
"It's simple, Evelyn. I planned two paths. The first was to just live a normal life alone... and the second was to kill myself as well. Either one was perfectly fine for me." She speaks with a chilling coldness about her own life that is disturbing.
"B-But what about me? I-I don't..."
"I won't kill you, Evelyn... not without reason. I plan to let you live until the end, because you are like me. That makes you superior to others and worthy of life... and with you here, the plan to live normally afterward becomes more solidified." Her conviction is frustrating.
"B-But i-if we are the same, w-why not j-just live normally together!? You don't need to kill everyone..." I try to convince her, but she silences me with a dark look.
"I won't give up my goals for you. You are merely the entertainment that makes my life a little more... lively. Nothing more than that. Once I become queen, the plan will begin..."
"Then I'll become the queen!" I say with courage.
"..."
"What did you say?"
"I-I... said that... I will be the queen... I-I will strive and fight for the position... I-I will be the Demon Queen and th-then you won't... you won't do this..." I say fearfully, but I have to make my will explicit, just as she decided to be honest with me.
"You? Queen? Are you saying you'll defeat Augustus, Laplace, Lucien, Marie, and me?" She gives a scornful, mocking smile.
"Evelyn, you don't stand a chance... but no matter. We'll see about that in the future... from your answers, I already understand your mentality... you knew of my desire and thought of stopping me by becoming queen..." She hits the nail on the head.
"But Evelyn, I don't need to be queen to fulfill my desire. Becoming the Demon Queen just makes it easier, but it's not a mandatory requirement." She states something that is also true.
'...'
"Evelyn, do you think you can win against me?" she asks, as if it only now became clear that I think so.
"..." I don't answer, but my reaction answers her question.
"Hahaha... seriously? How... quaint? I don't even know what words to use for such absurdity... but fine, let's suppose you could supposedly defeat me... what would you do with me?" she asks with interest.
"W-Well... I-I would try to talk and m-maybe we could resolve things p-peacefully and..."
"Stop..." she interrupts.
"You wouldn't kill me? Is that serious? I don't know if that's innocence or stupidity, but you should never leave an enemy alive. If my desire will trample over your desire, it would be natural for you to kill me to defend what you want." She stands up and comes over to me.
"Don't tell me you'd try to convert me into some kind of friend if you won. Even though it's impossible for you to win, it's still fun to suppose. And supposing you defeat me, you must kill me, not try to negotiate."
"Because if you don't kill me, I will try everything again once I recover, and I'll be even more brutal in my methods so no one interferes a second time." She grabs my hand and pulls me.
"..." She notices my trembling, and her gaze is so... disturbing that I stare at the floor. I lack the strength to look directly into her frightening eyes.
"Coward," she says in an insulting tone as I hide my tears. The mixture of pain in my neck, frustration, and fear makes me tear up.
"...Evelyn... how about we test your theory." She pulls my hand and places something in it. When I look, I see I'm holding a dagger with a black blade and a silver hilt. Quickly, Esther pulls my hand toward her own neck.
"Cut. Move your hand and slit my throat with this dagger. You know what I will do in the future. You understand that if no one stops me, I will kill everyone except you. You are the only one who knows."
"So I'll make this game fun. If you tell anyone about my desires, I will kill that person, and it will be your fault. And in the future, when I exterminate everyone, that will also be your fault."
"You will be the accomplice who knew everything but did nothing. And being an accomplice is even worse than being the perpetrator, because the accomplice could have stopped the perpetrator but didn't... all because you are a coward without the courage to kill me when you have the chance."
"So prove me wrong, Evelyn. Move that knife and kill me now. I won't defend myself. I won't do anything. If you cut me, I will accept death without retaliation." When I realize what she means, my hand trembles, dropping the knife.
But she tightens her grip, forcing me to hold it despite my trembling. Her dominant gaze increases my fear as my heart races.
"Move..." she orders coldly while I freeze, unable to kill her or even look into her eyes. Even though I know what she will do in the future, I lack the courage to kill her. I can't move my hand.
"..."
"Expected, I suppose. You are an incompetent coward, and many will die in the future because you are incapable of imposing your desires above the desires of others... that's why... you are just a trophy wife." She shoves me, making me fall to the floor with the knife in hand.
"..." The tears now flow freely down my face, dripping onto my dress stained with my blood.
"You are pathetic. This conversation ends here, Evelyn. I must say you have disappointed me... I guess I expected too much from you when I saw you acting 'better' than before. I suppose that's my fault."
"But I am... satisfied. Because you are exactly what I always deduced—a coward incapable of accomplishing anything worthy of note. But I will have fun having you as part of my life from this marriage onward."
"I want to see how long you last before breaking like the pathetic toy you are... get out of here and get ready to go to my mansion. Also, enjoy the last days of freedom you have."
"Because I usually keep my things very carefully so that only I can break them when they lose their appeal. So rest assured, it will be difficult for you to waste your time on nonsense." She walks to the room door before looking back at me one last time.
"You can keep the knife. It's worth more than all the money you've gathered so far. Also, your mother sent me a letter. She asked me to make a vault for you to store things. Rest assured, I will give you that wedding gift."
"I hope to receive a gift as well. I'll see you again in a few days." She disappears through the door, leaving me on the floor, dirty with blood and tears, holding this knife that is proof of my cowardice.
"...Hic..." I sob tearfully. She hit all my wounds. She was always good with words and finding people's weak points. She struck each wound with precision, her words piercing me more than knives ever could.
My insecurity, my cowardice, and my complex of being an indecisive failure—she used it all to humiliate me. And that was worse than her choking me with her hands.
The physical pain doesn't come close to the feeling of humiliation stabbing through my emotions like knives. And the worst part is that she only spoke truths... she didn't exaggerate or lie, merely stated facts wrapped in an elegant, noble tone.
And that fills me with frustration. Why am I in this situation? The world is so... unfair. I never wanted to be in this world, yet here I am, suffering these humiliations.
[Esther's Favorability +12 (Total = 30/100)]
I look at the screen in front of me, showing her Favorability has increased... even though all she did was humiliate me. Seeing the favorability rise doesn't make me happy... it just gives me this bitter feeling of failure.