<520 – Two Households? Two Households Goo!>
The Emperor’s proposal seemed to intrigue even Masugaki as much as it did me.
“Hey, craphead! Did you know? If you become a princess, you get a black card you can use for free ♡”
“I have a lot of points too!”
“Are you going to live your whole life at the academy~? Out there, it’s gold coins that are the real currency~?”
“Eek. I don’t want a lifetime! 20 years was awful enough, and a lifetime would be no fun at all. It’s not a game!”
Masugaki chuckled, covering her mouth with one hand while I racked my brain in agony.
“C’mon, you should quickly enjoy the glory of becoming an imperial princess instead of worrying like this!”
“But my papa supports me a lot!”
“What support? Don’t tell me you’re talking about the pathetic organization that plays with Oknodie?”
“Hey! Don’t talk about my kids like that. Those princess wannabes are just as pathetic!”
“If you become a princess, the professors from the empire will be itching to hand out grades and points for free~!”
“Professor Sadako even rushed to teach for ten more minutes after class! She’s so passionate she’d even bury you alive to boost your affinity for earth properties!”
“…Craphead. Isn’t that more of a threat to life situation?”
So persistent, so persistent.
“Why are you so eager to make me a princess?”
“Isn’t it you who doesn’t want to become my sister~?”
“Huh? Well, I kind of want to try it, but…”
Masugaki sparkled her eyes like a predator spotting its prey, thinking she’s hit the jackpot.
“Don’t you want to have a pillow fight in the bedroom together~?”
“A pillow fight!”
“When you come back late at night, there’ll be different desserts waiting for you each time in the dessert room~?”
“Auto-collection!”
“You love stuffing your backpack with new things, right~? If a princess gets three ‘Well Done’ stickers from Abama, she can enter the Hwanggung archives once ♡”
“Hwanggung archives!”
Just as I was about to walk over to Masugaki as if enchanted, Riap sharply pinched my side.
“Ouch!”
“Get a grip, Agassi. An overgrown child like you doesn’t just go into someone’s house to become a foster daughter without reason.”
“Eek, that hurts… What kind of reason could there be for pinching me this hard?”
“It’s usually because they want to imprison a child who hasn’t even had their first period and abuse them.”
“Yikes?!”
“In fact, there are often aristocrats with perverse tastes who adopt ‘special foster daughters’ regardless of the empire or border regions. They might even cut the ligaments in your ankles to prevent you from escaping or sever the mana heart in your body, even your vocal cords to call for help.”
Heeeek! That’s inhumane legal detention play, it’s a horrifying ending that even competes with bad endings!!
“I’m absolutely not going!!”
“Hah~? Comparing the Hwanggung to those perverse nobles is rather rude, isn’t it~? Do you not realize how haughty you are that Abama hasn’t burst your head open right now? ♡”
“Not wanting something is the same as not wanting it! To entice me with sweet words and hide the trap of a bad ending? I will absolutely not have a pillow fight with Masugaki!!”
These wicked dark shadows are trying to entice me with sweet words.
I won’t be fooled again by such a convincing statement about wanting to have a pajama pillow fight!
“How strange.”
Jibsa Jang Okashii-ne laughed quietly.
“While you don’t blink at numerous benefits, you’re blinded by trivial desserts and pillow fights. Such foolishness, such silliness. It’s almost nostalgic.”
The Emperor’s gaze grew more dangerous.
“Right… It seems you’re not an easy opponent who can be swayed by sugary proposals. I’ll add more conditions. But this proposal will be the first and last time. If you refuse after hearing this, you will die here immediately.”
“Heeeek! That’s too scary. I’ll become Titosso!!”
“I grant you the true power of the empire.”
“True power? Are you perhaps creating a Godaimax robot underground?”
“Far more powerful than that trivial fantasy.”
“How amazing can it be? You’re raising my expectations unreasonably! I’m not easy to please!”
“I permit unlimited access to the taboos.”
Huh?
This is seriously powerful!
“Monster taming. Material enhancement. Mental magic use. Dark mana training. Consuming taboo foods. Permission to enter all taboo zones including the Three Great Forests. Permission for summoning rituals to the taboo dimension. Permission for resurrection rituals. Unlimited access to all taboo matters.”
“Wow!”
“Decide. Become a foster daughter or die. Those are the only two choices given to you.”
The gleaming eyes beyond the crown were ferocious, as if indicating no further compromise would be tolerated.
In fact, it felt like they almost wanted me to refuse in order to enforce my death then and there.
But with conditions this good, wouldn’t anyone who declined be a fool?
“I’m sorry, Riap.”
“Agassi…”
With parents who can’t be faithful to their homes, do you think I can’t grow up in two households?
“I’ll do it! From today, my home is the Hwanggung!”
Papa, who gives me food and plays with taboos, vs. Papa, who shows off with food and torments me with commands.
No matter how I think about it, the balance is broken.
The first one is definitely the correct choice!
*
Inside the Jeido Imperial District, Siwol Palace.
One of twelve annexes resembling the characteristics of the twelve months was granted as my personal palace.
“The maids will join us for the meal as well.”
“It’s inappropriate for the Agassi and maid to sit together.”
“Even to check for poison, you must verify it yourself, don’t you want to ease your temper?”
Riap enjoyed the meal together.
“This area is a botanical garden where we’ve gathered rare plants from all over the world collected from the Hwanggung.”
“Wow! Can I collect these?”
“…The empress who arranged the botanical garden may not be pleased, but I have no authority to stop you.”
As I watched Agassi scoop up soil-stained plants into her backpack with a gardening spade, I munched on a cookie lightly soaked in tea.
Though it frustrated me, the depth of the taste and aroma exceeded what I made in the mansion.
“Hmph. It’s just a difference in budget.”
I memorized the faces of the maids taking care of Agassi, preparing for any unexpected scenarios with unfamiliar maids suddenly showing up.
Then, I witnessed a phenomenon where cleaning maids, laundry maids, nanny maids, kitchen maids, garden maids, and so on continuously appeared wherever I walked.
Overwhelmed by the sheer number of maids, I opened the ceiling, and an assassin maid glared at me, extending her hand to close the ceiling back.
“The maids are incredibly well-prepared, but I can do it all by myself.”
But considering the enormous size of this annex, Riap reconsidered.
The value of a person is not defined solely by what they can do but also by their relationships with others.
Agassi won’t form any attachments to the maids that rolled in overnight.
“Bedroom maid, do you really wrap yourself in the blankets after finishing work to keep them warm every time?”
“Yes… Don’t worry, Your Highness. We always use a fixed fragrance in each annex to ensure it smells nice.”
…Darn it.
You’re trying to conquer Agassi’s olfactory senses with your fragrance?
Scents are a quick and powerful means to establish an emotional relationship between a child and a guardian.
Just as Riap imagined slashing at the blanket with a dagger, the bedroom maid approached, surprised.
“I don’t like this scent!”
“Yes?! I-I’m so sorry. If you could tell me the scent you prefer…”
“Riap doesn’t smell at all!”
“No smell… How can a person not smell at all? You might still be too young to know certain fragrances. Let me…”
As the bedroom maid surprisedly rushed to uncover the blanket, Riap scoffed, confidently opening her chest.
Bring it on!
It wasn’t baseless confidence.
“Really…?”
She truly had no personal scent.
Colorless, odorless, intangible poison.
One who has reached the degree of odorlessness as a master of poison would never allow an odor to exist.
“Now that you know, please step aside. Only Agassi and I may stay in the bedroom.”
With a sense of superiority as a maid, Riap expelled the giggling bedroom maid with ease.
That maid wore a pitiful expression as if to ask when she had last called Agassi but then changed it to a content smile.
“I’m glad I stayed behind in the Hwanggung with Agassi.”
“Riap? What about the foundation?”
“The foundation can be neatly discarded. Honestly, it’s not a place for humans to live.”
“Hehe. You liked life in the Hwanggung, didn’t you?”
“I have no regrets; I’m more than satisfied. Being by Agassi’s side remains unchanged, and I’m enjoying luxuries beyond compare. At least until now, I’m extremely satisfied.”
If the maids were to compete among themselves, the use of memory and dispersing poison would be basic, but the fragrance and scent struggle was child’s play.
However, for some reason, Agassi wore a slightly apologetic expression.
“That satisfaction seems about to break, what should I do?”
“Are you planning to leave the Hwanggung? Of course, I will follow Agassi’s wishes, but the Emperor’s surveillance probably isn’t finished yet.”
“Not that. Since the Emperor graciously set conditions for me, I should utilize them while it’s still available, right?”
It was then that Riap finally grasped Agassi’s intention.
“You plan to break a taboo? Is it human transmutation? Or do you intend to resurrect a lion’s soul and turn it into a puppet?”
No matter what cruel act she commits, Agassi is still Agassi.
As Riap exhibited her loyalty to stay by her side, Agassi shyly smiled and said,
“I want to start with 15-tier gear, from shoes to cloak!”
Veteran players should indeed have at least a full set of 15-tier gear.
Agassi displayed a proud confidence for reasons unknown.
