### Chapter: 177
“Go and seduce that man and have his child.”
The moment Mary heard the next words, she was utterly shocked.
She should have doubted her ears, wondering what on earth she just processed.
But Sigrid’s eyes were serious.
How could Sigrid give her such an order?
Sigrid and she were like two souls intertwined for a lifetime.
Arthur Gramalte.
To give such a command to someone who loved the same man and whispered sweet nothings together was simply intolerable.
“Your Highness Sigrid, even so—!”
“Mary.”
At that moment, Sigrid called out to Mary with a piercing tone.
Mary flinched and looked at Sigrid, who had no trace of emotion left in her eyes.
“You don’t honestly think the old you and the current you are the same, do you?”
Those words dug deep, mercilessly scraping at Mary’s heart.
But Sigrid had no intention of stopping.
“The old you certainly deserved Arthur’s love. I could have gladly allowed it. But is the current you even worth that?”
Mary’s eyes trembled.
She knew too well that she was not worthy.
“B-but Your Highness, I… I only have Arthur! Please, can you at least revoke this command? I’ll do anything else.”
“Hah.”
Sigrid looked at Mary with a look of disbelief.
Then she gently brushed her hair back and crossed her arms, gazing down at Mary.
“Mary, there’s nothing else you can do anymore.”
With her natural talents and the memories of her past life, Mary was expected to take supplementary exams after the mid-term evaluations.
It was clear to everyone that she had become utterly worthless.
“But the only thing you can still do is use the woman’s weapon.”
Have a child.
If she succeeded, it would be a surefire way to keep Kraush tied down.
“And this is also what Arthur thinks. He specifically commanded to bring that cursed guy into the fold.”
“A-A-arthur commanded huh? Did he really tell me such a thing? No way.”
“Still in denial about reality, huh? This is Arthur’s last chance for you, Mary.”
A grin spread across Sigrid’s face.
“By any means necessary. That’s exactly what Arthur is about, right? If we don’t support Arthur’s thoughts, who will?”
Mary’s face fell silent, her lips hanging open as if she had just swallowed a fly.
But there was nothing more to say.
“Now, here’s a little gift I prepared for you.”
Sigrid handed Mary something while she remained dazed.
“It’s called the Aroma of Allure. Just releasing it in the room will make him find you utterly irresistible.”
Mary numbly accepted the item handed to her by Sigrid.
“If you let this loose, the cursed one will definitely pounce on you. Then you can seal the deal.”
Sigrid’s finger pointed, lightly pressing against Mary’s belly.
“Keep it stored well.”
With those parting words, Sigrid stood up, beaming her usual bright smile.
“Well then, I look forward to it, Mary Diana.”
Sigrid, who had started using her full name, left the room.
It took a while before Mary could regain her senses after hearing that command.
It was only at night that she came to her senses and left the dorm room as if in a trance.
The last command.
Arthur’s request.
Nowhere to go.
The only weapon a woman had.
The Aroma of Allure.
Countless thoughts spun around in her head until she found her way to Kraush’s room.
And now, behind her, the Aroma of Allure was diffusing throughout the room.
Kraush’s nostrils twitched ever so slightly.
He felt the sweet scent that filled the room, tickling his senses.
‘So this is it.’
Kraush recognized immediately what Mary was plotting the moment he caught the scent.
While he had been out tending to his tea, she had clearly used the potion Darling told him about.
Kraush let out a sigh, exasperated.
He had expected some kind of nonsense would happen.
But he never imagined she would use this dumb trick.
‘How far did she fall?’
The confidence he once felt from Shinchan was nowhere to be found.
Mary’s attempt to lure him like this was nothing short of pitiful.
Squelch!
Was it because of this?
One of the two dials filled with plans to strip away Mary’s Excel under the Black Hood started to crack.
[I will ‘isolate’ Mary.]
The last dial began to splinter.
“Mary.”
When Kraush called her name, Mary’s shoulders trembled.
As if picturing the imminent events, her face flushed bright red.
Embarrassment, shame, and her pride had shattered into dust, leaving nothing but remnants.
“Do you genuinely think everything that happened to you was really your fault?”
The moment the next words flowed from him, Mary’s head snapped up.
This was the very man she despised.
And now she had to intertwine her body with him to conceive a child, yet Mary found herself exposed to the Aroma of Allure.
So perhaps, the reflection of Kraush no longer appeared as loathsome as before.
“It’s not my fault?”
Hesitant, Mary answered quietly upon hearing Kraush’s inquiry.
With everything that had happened, her mental state was a jumble.
Thus, she had no concern for how Kraush knew what had happened to her.
She instinctively reacted to Kraush touching on thoughts she had repressed deep down.
“Since the entrance ceremony, I’ve been here as your rival.”
In response, Kraush maintained his nonchalant tone amidst the enticing aroma.
“I know your skills better than anyone else. You are the only one who could have fought me evenly here at Rahern Academy.”
Mary’s shoulders shook at his words.
No matter how hard she tried, there was never anyone to respect her.
Only scornful gazes and harsh judgments surrounded her.
Even when she attempted to assassinate the Fourth Princess, she had worked desperately hard.
Things went awry, but she had done her utmost.
But reality was merciless.
It scorned her efforts, did not respect her.
“Think hard.”
Before she knew it, Kraush stood before Mary, having risen from his bed.
Mary gazed up at him, enraptured.
“Was everything you’ve worked for truly in vain?”
“Whose fault is it, then?”
With a seemingly earnest appeal, Mary asked Kraush, wishing to know the answer.
Watching her escape from reality, Kraush slowly smiled.
“The one who commanded the hound is its master, right? Do you ever question a hunting dog when it makes a mistake?”
Mary’s eyes slowly widened.
She recognized who Kraush was directing his words to.
And it had always been the nagging thought hiding in the back of her mind.
Her current state was solely due to her obedience to orders.
Even if, ultimately, she failed to follow through, perhaps the command itself had been flawed from the start.
“What happened to you isn’t your fault. It’s due to your master Sigrid’s command.”
In that moment, Kraush unlocked the question that had long festered in her mind.
In the room infused with the Aroma of Allure.
In her hazy mental state,
Kraush’s words echoed repeatedly in her head.
The Aroma of Allure disoriented her, drawing her deeply within its confines.
Normally, Mary wouldn’t have needed to succumb to its effects.
But in her desperate state, she was forced to rely on the Aroma of Allure to conceive Kraush’s child.
And as a result, amidst the surrounding haze, Kraush’s words penetrated her mind like brainwashing.
Unwittingly, she had dug her own grave.
“It’s all Sigrid’s fault.”
Kraush was known for his keen sense.
So perhaps that was why, seeing her eyes loosen, he tilted his head to meet her gaze.
“Indeed, has a single order from her ever resulted in something good for you? Every burden of responsibility always fell on your shoulders.”
As he stated, Sigrid had never once taken responsibility.
It always reverted to being Mary’s fault.
She would give commands and continuously belittle her.
Slowly, the image of Sigrid in Mary’s mind began to fracture.
Once someone who cared for her, a ruler who loved the Empire became transformed into a rival who was arrogant, petty, and lacking in consideration for her subordinates.
Sigrid began to reflect that way.
Mary’s eyes filled with tears.
The floodgates opened as she found it hard to contain her sorrow.
She knew she had done wrong.
She wanted just one acknowledgment.
“Mary, you did well.”
That one phrase was all she sought.
Yet Sigrid treated her like nothing more than a tool and never provided kind words.
Regardless of her lifelong vow of loyalty to her master, cracks began to form in Mary’s heart.
“Mary.”
Kraush called her once more.
Mary, her face a mess from tears, dared to lift her head.
As she committed to Sigrid’s last command, the makeup she’d carefully applied had been ruined by her tears.
“You can stand on your own.”
With those next words, Kraush deeply shook her again.
“What have you gained by following Sigrid up to now? Accomplishments? Status? A place? A lover? She has never offered you a single thing.”
As he said, Sigrid was truly an insufferable human being.
Her possessiveness often sparked chaos.
Just look at how she gathered the elite of the Sky Generation.
Yearning for the love of everyone in the world, she only drew near to those who followed her male constituents.
That was the harsh reality of Sigrid.
And now Mary had the time to see that reality.
Sigrid clearly belonged to the outstanding.
Her achievements were undeniable, and her twisted desires fueled by her possessiveness belied a sharp mind.
But she was not the hero meant to save the world.
She was so foolish as to be ready to give everything to someone who loved her Empire blindly.
“How long will you keep following orders?”
“Me, I…?”
Mary had lived her entire life as Sigrid’s knight.
She was accustomed to orders and thus craved them.
With a head as dull as hers, she often blundered if left to think for herself.
“Now it’s time to stand alone. What I see in you is the ability to stand on your own.”
The next words startled Mary again.
Kraush, who had directly toppled her ego.
Though it was true that Mary had not yet regained the powers she wielded back as Shinchan.
Despite her struggle to overcome, she had suffered brutally at Kraush’s hands.
Since the entrance examinations, Mary had shown nothing but weakness before him.
Even now, her hunched shoulders and inability to meet his gaze revealed the truth.
So perhaps that was why.
Subtly, in her heart, Kraush now occupied a higher position than herself.
Originally, Sigrid was above her in that tier, so she had paid no mind.
But with Sigrid’s collapse, Kraush settled right beneath her.
Having lived her life as a subordinate, every utterance from above sounded like genuine advice.
Kraush, who she felt was far greater than she, declared she could stand alone.
She had been acknowledged.
She had been recognized.
“Hah…”
For some reason, her body kept tingling.
With her cheeks flushed, a hot breath escaped her lips.
Mary, who had been consumed by the desire for recognition since her reincarnation.
But there was no one around to fulfill her desire.
Not even Arthur, the one she cherished the most.
Mary’s red eyes grew ever cloudier.
The sweet scent that filled the room seemed to emanate from Kraush now.
In Mary’s heart, the moment she became completely isolated while Sigrid shattered away.
Squelch!
Soon enough, one of the remaining two dials began to crack.
Upon the broken dial’s fragments trickling to the floor, before Kraush’s eyes, the last dial flashed.
[I will ‘subdue’ Mary.]
The moment Kraush saw that dial, he slowly broke into a smile.
Mary would never grasp the reason behind his wicked grin.
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