"You say you have to choose between marrying me and your title of the queen?" Alvine asked once again. He did not understand much of the customs of vampires; his curiosity was equal to his astonishment.
'I can certainly understand that she must no longer deserve her title of queen since she is no longer free. But what is the relationship with marriage? It doesn't matter if we create such a link between us, it won't change much; even worse, it's as if she decides to give me her throne. What are their objectives? They are currently weak overall, but with a few years of intensive training under the wing of one of my servants, I am sure they will be significant army forces for my army.' He analyzed the situation with unparalleled coldness thinking only About the interests that can come with Liliana and not his feelings for her.
"Since we had not been confronted with these kinds of situations, we did not know what decision to make. You must surely know the responsibility it implies to marry a queen. That was why we did not make a stable decision without knowing your strength. This was also the reason for the disapproval of the second and third counsel regarding this decision. But after seeing your previous battle, the second counselor had no choice but to approve the decision. Concerning the third counselor, he is no longer of this world because of the horde that attacked them before you came into conflict against you." She explained the difficulty regarding the previous indecision and her delay in announcing the news.
Alvine looked at the transparent water in which, he could see the attractive silhouette that was lazily lying on him with an impassive look so as not to lose control over his thoughts. "What would I have gained by accepting such a proposal? Apart from the problems and the extra work I would have at hand, what would tell me that I would not be used by you with such a decision?" He asked in a placid voice devoid of emotion. As if he were asking for the usefulness of an object from a merchant.
'Even if it's ruthless on my part, this universe is different from the earth. I swore to follow my creed, whatever happens, it is to serve or be served. So I have no guilt with my words, even if it's inhuman. Sigh, it's funny to have such thoughts when I'm not even human anymore, why would I care about that?' He concludes with himself.
He could obviously feel Liliana's dissatisfaction after she heard his question, but he didn't care.
"Even so objectively, I have not lived as long as you; but I still remain older than you, technically speaking. But all this does not matter too much. I will accept your proposal only if you show me the benefits that come with it. Otherwise, I'm sorry for you but you will stay here or wherever you want while I find a solution to untie this annoying link that accidentally formed between us." He continued after realizing that Liliana did not intend to speak and gave her a categorical answer.
"So I wasn't mistaken about your case, wasn't it?" She murmured with a mysterious sigh.
Alvine raised her eyebrows slightly, seeing her regain her previous calm. "What do you mean by that?"
"A man who acts and makes decisions related to interests and not to his heart. Do you know how pitiful you are?" She replied with a mischievous smile, raising her head to watch his reaction.
Placid and imperturbable as always, Alvine was in no way affected by her words.
"Well, if you speak this way, then I don't see what is annoying in your logic. Even if I am frustrated by your words, I know you are right. Sigh, however, I am supposed to have this kind of state of mind as a sovereign; it's pathetic." She continued with an understanding but sigh, which had a bitter taste on her tongue.
Alvine was always silent since he had finished saying what he had to say. He closed his eyes while being immersed in his thoughts by weighing the advantages and disadvantages of Liliana's proposal.
Liliana was no different from him by the way. Hence the reason for the heavy atmosphere that reigned between them.
After a short but indefinite moment, Liliana opened her scarlet eyes after suddenly remembering Sylvia's advice who had strangely foreseen this situation. [He may seem heartless but it's only for those he didn't know. So if he does so with you, tell him this:...]
"You say that you are a man of principle, don't you? Does this also imply that the favors of your loved ones are also considered yours and vice versa?" She asked a strange question that made Alvine's eyebrows frown.
He did not know what she had in mind but, he was certain that he had already heard these words somewhere, especially when he saw the strange smile on Liliana's lips. But he could only slightly nod his head with curiosity and perplexity to want to know more about Liliana's thoughts.
"Among your loved ones, Miss Sylvia and this girl, are Sabrina among them?" She continued by preparing the ground to better trap her prey. She was now no different from Alvine in this game. She knew she was at a disadvantage in the negotiation, at least until that moment!
"What do you mean by that? Sigh, you may not know it yet, but I am making you a rather generous proposal. I suggest that you free yourself from this hindrance without a counterpart and you will be able to live your life as a queen as before without worrying about anything. What more do you want than that?" Alvine tried to bait her with these words by trying to make her abandon what she had in mind. He had the firm intuition that he will lose for the first time in a negotiation if it ever continues.
"Fufu, so you're getting more talkative all of a sudden? It only motivates me even more." Her voice suddenly regained the confidence she lacked from the beginning when she saw Alvine's reaction.
"Ugh, you're just unaware of not seizing the opportunity I'm about to offer you. If you...
"Is this the best decision for me and the future of my race? No, I know it because I know that you are not someone who offers free favors. Otherwise, you will not try to propose to me something that is more profitable for me but less advantageous for you." She says while turning to him. But she couldn't help but be alarmed by feeling something starting to agitate under her buttocks. But she acted as if nothing had happened even if she could not control the blood that came up to her head.
Now that she was facing Alvine and was sitting on her legs lying down, she could clearly see his nervousness. "I'm right, aren't I?"
"..." Alvine couldn't think clearly. Apart from the confident aura that emanated from Liliana at that moment, he was constantly struggling in his head not to covet the celestial perfection of Liliana who had an incomparably intoxicating body; because it could force her to succumb to his desires to want her with him. The worst was that he was totally disadvantaged in the situation. His charm will only have the opposite effect of his will and he could not simply order her to forget this story when Liliana seemed to want him to pay a debt from someone else. He won't have to worry about it if it was someone else's debt, but it was those of his maids. As a master, he obviously could not ignore that.
"It's unfair to what you're trying to do." He finally sighed knowing that he had lost the monopoly of negotiation. All he hoped for was that the debt would not be powerful enough to unbalance the balance and take away his choice of decision.
Liliana's smile became all the more beautiful when she heard her words. She wrapped her hands around his neck while she joyfully whispered to him the following words: "hooo~? Are you talking about that now that you know you are at a disadvantage? Is my husband so weak? You don't have to behave like this if you want to deserve this queen."
'This crazy girl, stop playing a game where you are the most nervous.' He replied when he saw the extreme discomfort in Liliana's eyes despite trying to be the entrepreneur.
"It all depends on the favor I owe you. Will she be able to beat all my favors? Even if you have still compensated for the debt of the weapons I had provided you, there is still an unpaid debt on your slate." He says referring to his action of exterminating the entire horde. He is not used to boasting of his exploits, but it was out of necessity that he revoked this story to destabilize the opposing camp, which seemed to have a weapon of frightening negotiations in her possession.
"Fufu~, take my word for it, your heroic action will not even be able to compensate 1/10 of the debt of your subordinates." She replied instantly as soon as Alvine had finished his sentence.
"...!"
Seeing him alarmed, she giggled like a little bell that carried a scary charm and made her tomato-red face more attractive. Even if she didn't do it on purpose, Alvine felt like he was coming across a girl cuter than Hélène whom she missed so much. "Are you going to tell me what I owe you in the end?! I hate waiting."
"Huh? You don't like to wait but you like to make others wait? What concept is this? Sigh, first, I remember one of your bad habits; so I will do the same but with a slight difference by listing the benefits I would have instead as soon as you have benefits. You know all the more than I do the reason that drives you to reject my proposal. First, because you know that you will have the title of the lord in the bosom of my race by accepting my proposal; which will force you to lead them to a better future like yours. But therefore, since they are weak, you know that they will not be able to join battles that exceed their levels. But from my observation and what Miss Sylvia showed me by sharing some memories of her with me, you won't have trouble training them even if it might take longer.
Second, you will not be able to leave us behind after accepting us as one of yours; which will force you to find us an adequate place to keep my people safe until they become powerful enough to better serve your goals and ambitions as a sovereign. This is entirely normal and understandable to any sovereign. Thirdly...
???????????????? ???????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ???????????????????? ???????? ????????????????????-????????????.????????????
The more she spoke, the more Alvine went crazy about stuns. 'I now realize that her proposal is scarier than I had imagined. But why does she tell me all these that will make me want to refuse this offer? I would like to say that she is stupid to have to tell me what she earns without being able to tell me the only good thing I would have to win in the short term but she is not as naive as she claims to be. This is sure, maybe because she knows that the debt that the others and I owed to her race is too immense compared to the loss I would suffer. Among all those with whom I had negotiated, she remains incomparably the most gifted and frightening of all!' He concludes his thoughts by listening to her speak constantly. After listing all the benefits she will have, she will stop at the eleventh figure.
'At first, I thought it wasn't much since she didn't know who she was talking about; how could beings like Sabrina and Sylvia have a colossal debt to her race? But now it's necessarily related to their ancestors. And this slut Sylvia is surely the unexpected piece that gives me more tasks than expected! She even called her by her real name and not the pseudonym I had assigned her. Sigh, once again, she ruined everything. O, Sylvia, you can't imagine how hard I'm going to make your life from now on!' At that moment, He channeled his anger to better let off steam on her when the opportunity arose.
"As a sovereign who thinks about the well-being of her people and myself, do you think I will miss such an opportunity? Why would I do that? Do you think I'm stupid enough for that?" She asked out of breath while her eyes carried an endless glow of excitement.
"If you still intend to make the mystery last, then I am forced to postpone this discussion for later."
"One Minute my dear and tender future husband. You plan to get rid of me to find a suitable solution, don't you? It won't work with me."
"So tell me this damn favor that we end, your acting is too blatant. You are too innocent to imitate the behavior of those who have acquired experiences in the queues of time. A virgin like you who reads these things in books can never destabilize me in this area." He replied between his clenched teeth while not missing the opportunity to mock the bold actions of Liliana who was trying to play with him.
"If you claim to be insensitive to me, then why doesn't this thing stop hardening down?" She stammered in complexity but did not let herself be defeated by Alvine.
"Ugh, it's natural. If you're so embarrassed you just have to get away from it." He pointed his finger to the other side of the bathtub. Obviously, it was larger to accommodate five people at a time; so they were not cramped.
"Sigh, it doesn't matter to me. But I prefer to stay where I am, you see, it's more comfortable than elsewhere." She says, leaving Alvine speechless. If Alvine did not know her, he would have sworn that she is experienced in the field. But unfortunately, even if her charm helped her, the redness on her face betrayed her in many ways.