Give Up on Seres! The Palace Brawl
Give up on Seres!
After Ares said that, a brief silence fell over the room. But it wasn't because the others were shocked or surprised. It was more like exasperation, as if to say, This is what you called us here for? They all seemed half-expecting it, irritation hanging thick in the air.
"No thanks?"
Arios was the first to speak up. She no longer saw Ares—who kept opposing her and acting so strangely—as a potential mother-in-law. She rebelled with outright insolence.
"I wondered what you'd say, and it's this? In the worst way, you're so consistent. Or should I call it naive?"
"This time, she's not entirely wrong," Viol chimed in after Arios, as if backing her up.
"You think we'd actually give up just because you say so? Why are you acting so naively all of a sudden? It's not like you."
Viol openly mocked her, not taking it seriously at all.
"I'm leaving. I'll go sleep and think about how to seduce Seres tomorrow."
Sibylius ignored Ares and spoke provocatively, actually starting to leave. Half the people in the room weren't paying any attention to what Ares said. Like they were daring her—what are you gonna do if we ignore you?
But "This bitch's vibe is off?"
Red sensed something strange. Despite having her words brushed off after going to all that trouble, Ares remained eerily calm.
"Even after I beg like this, you're still set on it? Fine, then I'll just keep refusing."
"...What do you mean?"
As Ares spoke meaningfully, Sibylius finally turned back around. Then Ares said,
"You think you can ignore me and be done with it? I can do the same. ...Do you really think you'll end up with Seres if I keep interfering?"
The moment she said it like a threat, everyone flinched. After all, as long as Ares was Seres's mother and head of the household, getting Seres would be tough if she opposed it. Even for Emperor Viol, the odds weren't great, but
"Do you think that child would marry someone I oppose? Even if it's Your Majesty, dragging Seres off while ignoring me is impossible."
With Ares digging in her heels, even those slim chances vanished.
"This bitch is straight-up threatening me...."
"So what do you want?"
As Viol bristled and stepped forward, Hames extended an arm to hold her back and spoke instead.
"It's not like you're picking one and telling the rest to back off—you're telling everyone here to give up. It's bewildering. Honestly, I think one of us is right for Seres."
"Nonsense."
Ares cut Hames off with a sneer.
"People with fatal personality flaws like you don't suit Seres."
"...Then who does?"
"I'll take my time choosing from now on. I need to find the most proper woman possible."
If Seres had been there to hear Ares, they might've all agreed these weren't exactly normal girls. They wouldn't fully buy the "proper woman" line, but they'd get it.
But "You're talking out of your ass."
Red scoffed and refuted Ares.
"Sounds good on paper, but that only works if you're being sincere about all of it."
"You saying I'm not sincere?"
"Think about it. We've got an emperor, a demon king, a sword master, a high priestess, and a high-ranking demon like me. Sure, we've got personality issues like you say, but in terms of ability? Top-tier across the board."
So even if she rejected them all to find a "proper" woman, it didn't ring true, Red argued.
"Find a woman? Just say you plan to keep Seres by your side forever!"
"...Must be the demon in you, jumping to weird conclusions. And even if your guess was true, then what?"
Red calmly replied to Ares's taunt.
"Simple. Force you to submit and take Seres."
"...You think I'd submit to the likes of you?"
"Who knows? Won't know till we try."
"Even if you got Seres that way, do you think that child would really follow you?"
"You're the one being unreasonable first, so what choice do I have?"
What choice do I have? Her words said that, but a sly smile tugged at her lips. She'd followed Seres here, but chafing under human palace rules. Now Ares had given her the perfect excuse to cut loose.
"Let's be real. You like Seres, but you hate her, right?"
Red sought agreement from the rest of the group.
"Real talk—even if we marry Seres, a mother-in-law like this is useless. Especially one who meddles like crazy."
"...That's true."
Sibylius gave a positive response.
"With her personality, she'll interfere her whole life."
"I think so too. There's a limit to indulging her as Seres's mom...."
Viol frowned and chimed in.
"Might be good to correct her behavior now. Hames, you can heal her back to normal as long as she doesn't die, right?"
"...Yes, but are you really going to fight?"
"She started it."
Confirming she could heal before a fight made Ares panic.
"Your Majesty, I won't just stand by!"
Ares drew Black Pain from her hand in an instant.
"Emperor, you hear that? Your subject is gearing up to fight openly? What if she doesn't hold back...!"
As it devolved into the chaos she'd hoped for and Red tried to join in, she quickly changed her expression and backed off. Arios had swung her aura-wreathed sword at her in a surprise attack.
"...What the hell?"
"You're in the way too."
Arios muttered calmly, like it was obvious.
"Don't act all buddy-buddy with Seres after being enemies. You filthy demon!"
"...This bitch has lost it!"
Red clicked her tongue. She could feel the situation spiraling beyond what she'd wanted into total mayhem.
I was sleeping. My eyes suddenly snapped open. I'd figured after all that commotion before bed, I'd sleep like a rock, but a glance outside showed it was still night. Why was I up now? Then I sensed a disturbance. Not through normal hearing or sight—my mana senses were blaring like crazy.
The mana fluctuations hit like boom boom!, feeling like massive construction nearby.
What the—? Another demon raid?
Startled, I jumped up and rushed out of my room. As I hurried along, my ears started hurting next.
"Aaaagh!"
"This is bad!"
Everyone working in the palace was screaming and running around.
"What's going on?!"
It had to be tied to that disturbance my senses picked up, so I grabbed someone and demanded answers. The reply was absurd.
"H-Her Majesty is fighting!"
"With who?"
"Your mother!"
Why the hell were Ares and Viol fighting?!
"What? Tell me more!"
"I don't know! They suddenly started duking it out in the palace courtyard for all to see!"
"What started it...."
I started to ask the reason but shut my mouth. Obvious, isn't it? Who else but me?
"Then why aren't you stopping them? Call for me! Or get Sibylius or Arios—one of them can handle it!"
I scolded the panicking attendants who were just standing around, but
"Those two are fighting too! Everyone connected to you, Seres, is out in the front courtyard!"
Ah, not the attendants' fault then.
...It's those damn women's fault!
What the hell did they do while I was asleep?! I let go of the attendant and bolted to the palace front courtyard. Arriving out of breath, sure enough, there they were, all fighting as described. Ares had drawn Black Pain and was clashing with Viol; nearby, Red and Arios were going at it. Sibylius was watching them, tossing opportunistic spells at anyone who slipped up, like it was a game.
Absurd enough already, but what topped it was the spectators. Hames stood back with arms crossed, appreciating the show. And off in the distance, the Death Knights clustered together, watching like it was a fire across the river.
...In that instant, uncontrollable rage boiled up inside me. I'd been agonizing over my insane birth secret, and these idiots didn't care—they were fighting among themselves, not stopping it, just gawking. How could I not be pissed?!
Reacting to my fury, Divine Power exploded within me.
"Stop it RIGHT NOW!!!"
I bellowed, channeling my divine power. Then it felt like something burst inside, and it surged up like a fortress.
Everyone turned, stunned by the massive divine power, their expressions turning weird.
"Seres?"
"You?"
They stared at me like I'd grown a second head. I yelled,
"What the hell are you doing?! You act all meek in front of me, but the second I sleep, this shit?! You're not kids!"
My scolding got a weird reaction. They weren't responding to my words—they were staring behind me.
"...What's wrong?"
"Seres, your back!"
Something on my back? Alarmed by Arios's shout, I twisted to check—and there was a pair of white wings.