Chapter 189: An Automaton’s Muddied Intentions

Towering near the center of the city, was a tall structure of glass, metal, and iron. It was home to the most wealthy, and renowned sorceress of the current time. However, it served as a spire for those who would sacrifice everything for learning.

A spiraling dorm, a university contained within itself with only one master to teach them all, it was the home of the demi-girl Shamisha as well as her profane laboratory.

"W-wait is that?!"

"No way!"

"A t-true Mono?!"

And today; that spire was echoing with the voices of her students, watching the very first Mono-doll making her way up through the many floors.

'They stare at me like I'm some curiosity.' Her eyes squinted with contempt for the students, Grace struggled to keep her lips sealed. Walking up the stairs was a struggle enough, but pairing it with the glaring eyes of lab-coat-wearing runts? Well, that was really testing her patience.

"Will you stop following me?" She said to a button-nosed mouse girl walking beside her. Her eyes dazzling with wonder, she was in utter awe of the mono-doll's peculiarity.

"D-do you feel pain? Is your knee hurting?" The girl squeaked, her hands squeezing the notes in her arms tight from the excitement. "We have a lift for that!"

"Oh..." Finding out that the girl's intentions were quite innocent, the anger on Grace washed away quickly. "Thank you, can you take me to this lift, little girl?"

"Mono-dolls are banned inside the spire, you can kick your own ass until you reach the outside," letting her sketching pen down, Shamisha picked herself up and stomped her way toward the doll. Staring up into its eyes with a deep frown, she wanted to drag Grace out herself but refrained from doing anything stupid. "As for dropping the project, I wanna hear that from the princesses themselves."

"They suspect you've poisoned them, hence there would be no more deals," Grace's words were followed by a ripple of gasps from Shamisha's students, but the sorceress herself? She was more offended about the accusation than anything.

"I poisoned them?" Taking a step back while bobbing her head, Shamisha couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the accusation. "Okay, so tell me miss all-fucking-knowing, why the hell would I do that?"

Showing no emotions at all, Grace shot her a response without a moment's delay.

"Monopoly over the city, that's what King Zeil suspects. You're the second wealthiest after the King, and the nobles will easily side with you in case of a coup, so it's no surprise that you tried to poison the entire royal family on your visit. If anything you should be thankful that the princess is being so merciful as to only drop this commission instead of publicly executing you."

Utterly stunned by the accusations, Shamisha stood there frozen in a state of shock. She didn't know what to do about the situation. Should she be angry? Afraid? Or just baffled at the incompetence and the lack of true foresight of the new king?

"Fuck me..." Recognizing the potential effects of resisting further, the demi-human girl simply rolled her eyes and looked back at Grace. "Fine, I'll drop the project. Now get the fuck out of here before I have you disassembled by far more competent dolls than you!"

Quickly turning back, she walked over to her desk and shredded the blueprint to bits. Watching her destroy Shamisha's first attempt at a true battle model doll, a faint smile appeared on Grace's face.

'Everything progressed as planned.' Giving a bow to the sorceress, the mono-doll turned around and made her way back towards the lift. 'Now as long as the princesses don't contact her for a while, there's nothing I need to worry about.'

Planting her lies in the spire, it was time for Grace to disappear from the public eye, at least for a while longer, until a more competent leader was finally revived.