Ruler Vol 5 Chapter 9
[previous_page]
[next_page]
Author: Anit666
Editor: Weasalopes
【Sam’s POV】
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
I said as I stood in front of the bookshelf situated along the wall in Cecile’s room. With the light from the chandelier brightening up our surroundings, Cecile sat at the edge of her bed and started.
“I would once again like to apologise for putting you on the spot there.”
“How about refraining from doing something if you know you’re going to be apologetic for it?”
There wasn’t any particular need to go out of her way to create such a scene back at the party hall. I believe we could have talked about this in a more civilised way over a cup of tea. Needless to say, I would’ve refused her proposal then.
“I just didn’t have any choice…..”
Oh?
“A choice in what?”
“It seemed to me that was the only time when I could confess my feelings for you, or it would have been too late.”
Again with that? Just how long is she planning to keep up that farce?
“It seems we’re just wasting my time here; I’ll take my leave.”
I wanted to read that ‘Demon Psychology’ by Charles Xavier, but I guess it’ll have to wait.
“Please, do not go. How about spending the night here?”
Dude…..
“You’re asking me to sleep on the sofa?”
Though I’ll admit that it seemed comfier than most of the beds I have ever laid on.
“No.” She shook her head. “We’ll sleep on the same bed.”
“Could you repeat that again?”
I think my hearing is failing me.
“I want us to sleep in the same room, on the same bed.”
“Huh?”
“Why are you so surprised? Isn’t it natural for couples to do so?”
I can’t understand whether she genuinely thinks that or is just fucking with me, and I kinda don’t care. But a man should be allowed to spend his night however he wants to, right? Not to mention that we aren’t even a couple yet; all I said was that I’d consider her proposal.
“It might be natural for couples, but since we aren’t one, we don’t need to do it. Unless you are under surveillance from someone.”
She knit her eyebrows but her smile didn’t vanish.
“Geez, what are you saying? I just want to spend some time with you so that we can deepen our understanding of each other.”
Good grief.
“Now look here. I understand that the reason you’ve chosen me is because you want to dodge the responsibility of choosing a marriage candidate that you’ll have to marry in the future, but if you want me to play along, then you’ll have to follow my rules. Or else I’m out.”
I still haven’t found out the reason she is doing this though. It could be because she doesn’t want to marry anyone right now, or that she wants to marry someone who won’t be accepted by the royal society, at least not yet. That’s why she has chosen me to bide the time for now. She’ll ‘break up’ with me when this is all over.
The smile on her face vanished.
“So you understood?”
“I’d have to be as dense as the Hero to not realise that. And please, grow some balls or something- don’t take it literally, of course. Just introduce the person you want to marry to your family. It’s not like he’s Solomon so that he absolutely won’t be accepted.”
In fact, if Solomon ever told me that he wanted to marry a human girl, instead of rejecting his love I’d hold a grand wedding ceremony for him.
Oh well, the chance of Cecile falling in love with Solomon……. is…..
What, the, fuck?
“It….. it really is Solomon?”
Why do I think that? Because Cecile flinched when she heard Solomon’s name, just like now.
“What the hell are you saying?” But there was no further change beyond that. “The idea itself is so repulsing that I’m getting goosebumps.”
Hmm? Did I misread?
“Well, yeah, you’re right. There’s no way Solomon would love you, his enemy.”
Well, let’s check, shall we?
Cecile’s eyes turned a bit colder and she glared at me, but other than that her acting was still perfect.
“You’re right. Enemies cannot love each other. That’s why I’ll never love him, and he’ll never love me.”
Someone get this defeatist off me, oi.
“Well, that’s not necessarily true.”
Love guru mode: ON.
“What do you mean?”
“What I mean is that it’s not necessary for enemies to be unable to reconcile. You are not enemies because you absolutely hate each other, are you? You are enemies only because you both are trying to protect something which must be protected. When the war is over, then there is a chance for both of you to be able to-”
“That’s impossible-”
“It’s very much possible. Take it from someone who has fought in wars. Or, take it in this way: all failures are born from one’s own incompetence. So, if you fail to be able to have a chat with Solomon after the war, that would mean you’re just incompetent. Solomon, on the other hand, is not, so he would be able to have a nice tea party with you. I’m sure of it.”
Well, I created that guy, so I know. He doesn’t actually care about humanity, and would continue to do so unless humanity’s extinction was necessary for our plans.
“He can do it because there is no grudge to eliminate. For him, you are just a human on the other side; he’ll kill you if you get in his way, otherwise he won’t bother to associate with you.”
“Then, am I not getting in his way? So, he would kill me, right?”
“Yes, he would.” Her glare turned even colder. “But he would do it not out of hatred, but out of his duty. So, when he no longer needs to kill you, which would happen after the war, he’ll simply associate with you like a normal person. So-” I patted her shoulder. “Don’t lose hope yet.”
“I’m telling you…… you’ve got it all wrong.”
She frowned and held her temples.
But she’s most likely telling the truth. ‘Cecile falling in love with Solomon’ is too much of a stretch, but at the very least, it should be safe to assume that she doesn’t hate him. And as long as that is true, she would be able to negotiate with him if the need ever arises.
This also means that she understands that her duty is to protect humankind, not eradicate demonkind.
“I see.” I turned back to the bookshelf again, while Cecile stood from the bed and sat on the chair by the study desk. “So, why did you go through so much trouble to pull off a stunt like that? Don’t tell me that you didn’t consider me capable of rational negotiation?”
“No, nothing like that.” She used magic to light a small fire under the teapot. “Would you like some tea?”
Doesn’t she drink too much tea? Is that even healthy?
“Sure.”
I would have preferred coffee though, but I doubt she would have it.
With practiced movements, she poured two scoops of tea leaves into the boiling water.
“As for what happened earlier…..” She started. “It was because of the condition under which I was allowed to proceed with my plan.”
“By Mary, I presume.”
“Yes.”
“So, you consulted her before asking me?”
“She seemed interested in you as far as I could see.” She took out two teacups. “It would have been incredibly boorish of me to make false moves on someone she genuinely liked.”
“I appreciate your basic human decency.”
Though that’s where she fell. Most probably, seeing this as a chance, Phiria put forward this ridiculous condition just so she could fuck with me.
“And the plan to get the sympathy of the masses was…..?”
“It was my own.”
Wow.
“But why go so far as make me your fake fiancé?”
“Let’s just say that the pressure from my parents was too much for me to handle as I have absolutely no plans to marry someone right now.” She poured the tea in the cups and handed one to me. “Here.”
I see. It was because of political reasons that she had to make such a drastic move. Reasons complicated enough that her own wish wasn’t being considered at all. Did someone want to distance her from the Heroes?
“Thank you.” I took the cup from her. “So, what are our plans from now on?”
“Nothing special. I’ll play the part of a maiden in love, while you will play the role of a hard-to-get warrior. After settling things on my end, I’ll make it seem that I’m no longer interested in a dense hard-headed adventurer, and call off my proposal.”
“That doesn’t sound like much of a plan though?”
“It’s this very vagueness that makes it perfect.” She smiled. “If we try too hard, then our deception would become flimsy and we would be seen through.”
I can agree on that. Unless we are masters of deception, it would be too hard and exhausting for us to perfectly play our desired parts. That’s why, the strategy of just having the basic guidelines and acting according to the situation would insert a flexibility in our act which would be difficult to see through.
I must once again admit that Cecile is a really good strategist.
After that, we discussed some of the more intricate aspects of our ‘play’ to ensure that we would not fail anywhere.
“I guess I should be leaving now.”
I said after finishing both the tea and the discussion.
“Ah, wait.”
“Hmm? Do you need something else?”
She isn’t going to ask me to sleep on the same bed as her again, is she?
“I have one more request.”
[previous_page]
[next_page]
Comment (0)