Chapter 285
Chapter 285
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 285
Chapter Title: Terase's Proposal (2)
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“So you can’t accept me?”
Uorin scratched her cheek with an apologetic look.
“I do want to help, but daughters of Terase, my competitors, are in numerous kingdoms. I’m on the younger side, so I don’t want to stand out just yet. Kazra isn’t a very good foundation, either. There’s no need to make waves and become a target for my sisters, is there?”
Shirone couldn’t help but feel a bitter taste in his mouth. Fourteen years old. That was the age of the girl sitting before him.
‘You’re really something else, Uorin.’
He also realized anew just how foolish he had been a few days ago.
Even now, having grasped the reality of the royal castle, he felt a chill. What kind of nerve did he have before, thinking he could take on a woman like this?
“Fine. If there’s no room for negotiation, I’ll be leaving. I need to find Amy.”
Shirone stood up as if there was nothing more to hear.
If his assumptions were wrong, the entire situation would devolve into the worst-case scenario, but even so, there was nothing he could do.
Because in the royal castle, there were no fools who would miss the right time to act, no matter how great the risk.
“I wish you luck.”
The moment he heard Uorin’s farewell, his heart sank. But he didn’t let it show and walked toward the door.
He couldn’t show hesitation or fear. He had to genuinely give up everything and leave this room.
*‘She doesn’t need Ataraxia. Is that really true?’*
Perhaps it wasn’t that important to Uorin.
But if there’s even a sliver of profit, no matter how small, people are loath to give it to others.
Shirone clung to that small hope like a lifeline as he walked.
Even as he gripped the doorknob and turned it, there was no reaction from Uorin.
As the door opened, he squeezed his eyes shut.
This was the end of everything.
“But if…”
Shirone’s steps came to a halt.
“If I make the biggest concession possible… let’s say, by taking an advance on your future.”
Shirone slowly turned to look back at Uorin.
“You might at least get a chance to negotiate with me, a daughter of Terase.”
“A chance to negotiate?”
Was the best he could get, even by mortgaging Ataraxia, merely a seat at the negotiating table? And it was a chance he had to take an advance on his own future to obtain.
“Yes. A negotiation. I can’t just help you. As I said before, I don’t want to put myself in a dangerous position. There’s one condition. It won’t be a particularly difficult one, but if you agree to it, I’ll be on your side.”
Shirone raised his chin as if to say, ‘go on.’
“Tonight, spend the night with me.”
“W-What?”
For a condition proposed at the end of a fierce psychological battle, it was absurd. What business did he have spending the night with her?
As if reading his thoughts, Uorin added.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just mean for you to be with me tonight. Well… if you happen to get other ideas, I wouldn’t mind if you tried.”
Shirone’s expression soured.
“What in the world are you talking about? You’re my half-sister.”
“We’ll only know that for sure after a paternity test. And it doesn’t really matter. Same-sex marriage is a common affair for royalty, where a whole kingdom can be part of the dowry.”
Shirone couldn’t understand. It felt like solving a series of difficult test questions only to be faced with a nonsense quiz at the very end.
“Why? What does that condition have to do with helping me?”
Uorin let out a breath, as if reluctant, and then, for the first time, spoke of herself.
“In the Terase family, women have traditionally ascended to the throne. I don’t know how this will sound, but to us, men are nothing more than tools to be consumed according to their use. That’s why a daughter of Terase does not keep a man by her side who holds another woman in his heart. If you insist on going to that person named Amy, it means I cannot accept you either.”
Shirone understood. For a woman of the Terase family, it wasn’t strange to have such an ironclad rule.
But Uorin was mistaken. Amy was his dearest friend in the world.
“I see what you mean. But I don’t have feelings for Amy.”
The corners of Uorin’s lips lifted slightly.
“It seems Brother Zion has taken an interest in her.”
Something hot surged in Shirone’s chest.
“Of course, if she refuses, nothing will happen. For all his faults, my brother has a strong sense of pride and won’t force himself on a woman who rejects him.”
If what Uorin said was true, that was a relief. But the fire that had already been lit in his heart showed no signs of dying down.
Uorin clapped her hands together.
“Alright, let’s do this. I just want to confirm your feelings. From this moment on, I will guarantee the safety of Amy and everyone else. All I have to do is send people with my instructions right now. But only if you stay with me tonight.”
He didn’t know what kind of threats Amy had faced to make her follow Zion, but if he accepted Uorin’s proposal, she could get out safely. Moreover, the safety of his family and Reina would also be guaranteed. There was no reason not to accept.
“Zion… Where did he take Amy?”
“I can’t reveal that yet, not before you make your decision. It’s very simple. You just have to trust me. Show me that I take precedence over that woman.”
A tremor that started in his fingertips spread throughout his body. Everything was turning in his favor, yet he couldn’t make a decision.
Because he couldn’t confirm anything.
Were humans truly beings so bound by their five senses? What on earth was he supposed to trust to follow her words?
There was no proof that Uorin wasn’t helping Zion. If, by some chance, Uorin was lying, Amy would be in grave danger.
“Why are you hesitating? I am Uorin Terase. Not only do I not tell lies, but isn’t this proposal what you wanted? If you just prove that you don’t harbor feelings for another woman, I will place you in a position of importance. I won’t spare any support in honing your skills, and when I later become empress, you too can become the world’s greatest mage.”
It was a dream-like story for Shirone. And she had the power to turn that dream into reality.
Even Archmages were submitting their résumés, wanting to serve under Uorin. Such a colossal opportunity was laid out before him.
Lost in thought, Shirone finally made his decision.
“I’m going to Amy. I will not be accepting your proposal.”
Uorin sighed as if frustrated.
“Are you saying you’re going to kick away this incredible opportunity to form a bond with Terase? No, more importantly, you can protect the family you hold so dear. And yet you’re going to let it all go up in smoke for a mere woman?”
“That’s right. That’s what I’m going to do.”
Uorin fell silent, as if in shock. But on Shirone’s face, there was neither resignation nor regret.
“But Uorin, for a human, that’s everything. What one sees and feels is the only real world. Even if you really do save Amy, if I can’t confirm it, then it’s a world that doesn’t exist for me. I cannot leave Amy to face a visible danger in exchange for an invisible safety. That’s why I have to go to her.”
A flicker of sadness crossed Uorin’s eyes.
“You live such a difficult life. It would be so much easier if you just chose.”
Shirone smiled bitterly. He often had the same thought himself. But that was the shackle of intellect. Once you knew, you had no choice but to act.
“I know it was a huge opportunity. And I know how much you, the heir to the throne, conceded to help me. I’m not doubting you. But I have to go.”
Uorin walked over to Shirone. She wrapped her arms around his waist and buried her face in his chest.
“You’re such a fool, brother. I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything for you. Personally, I really liked you. I hope fortune favors your future.”
Then she took a couple of steps back and revealed the information Shirone wanted to know.
“Go to the gallery. It’s the only place where he can avoid prying eyes. It’s also the place he frequents whenever he’s seducing women.”
Once again, a fire ignited in his heart. As Shirone finished his preparations to leave, Uorin took something out of her pocket.
“Wait a moment. Take this.”
Shirone caught the small object Uorin tossed him.
When he opened his palm, he saw a bead that glowed with a red light. From its color, it seemed to be a ruby, but it lacked the characteristic cold texture of a gemstone.
“This is…?”
“It’s payment for the El Krauch porcelain doll. It’s worth at least 100 million.”
“No. I really gave it to you as a gift…”
“Of course, I know your sincerity. But reason and emotion are two different things. Now that our negotiations have broken down, I can’t be indebted to you, can I?”
With her putting it that way, Shirone had no choice but to accept.
Personally, he felt a certain fondness for her, but politically, they were now strangers. It was better for both their futures to settle any debts cleanly.
“Alright. I’ll put it to good use when I graduate.”
Shirone put the bead in his pocket and walked to the door.
Then he suddenly stopped and looked back at Uorin. Thinking back, she had helped him a great deal.
She had saved his parents’ face at the dinner, and she had supported his claim that he would attend magic academy.
In the gallery, she had introduced him to the objets d’art, and in the colosseum, she had given him advice that helped him realize the truth of the royal castle.
Now, as payment for the porcelain doll, he had funds to escape. Facing pursuit from the royal castle, 100 million gold would be a tremendous help.
“Thank you. For everything, from the beginning until now. Thinking about it, I wouldn’t have lasted this long without you.”
“Hehe, even in hell, there’s water to drink.”
Uorin replied with a Kazran proverb.
It meant that there was hope even in difficult situations, but conversely, it could also mean that a sliver of hope only intensifies the suffering.
“Haha! That makes sense.”
Realizing the state of his own situation, Shirone let out a hollow laugh and left Zion’s room.
“Hoo.”
As the door closed, Uorin let out a long breath. She clasped her hands behind her back, something she rarely did, and paced around the room.
“Arian Shirone…”
She stopped walking and quickly glanced back at the door.
A cool smile on her lips, her eyes were colored with a madness, like a child before the greatest toy of their life.
“He’s really not ordinary, is he?”
Uorin burst into a fit of giggles, then briskly returned to her seat and plopped down in the chair. Crossing her legs and resting her chin on the table, she stared intently at the door Shirone had left through.
Less than ten percent of what Uorin had told Shirone moments ago was true.
It was all a lie. She had no intention of putting him in a high position, nor of guaranteeing Amy’s safety.
The claim that Zion had a strong sense of pride was also false.
On the contrary, he was the type of man who would stop at nothing to conquer any woman he set his sights on.
Therefore, if Shirone had stayed with her that night, his life would have been utterly ruined.
“Humans don’t have a sense for trusting others. Isn’t that right, Cleo?”
Meow.
Uorin’s cat replied. It was impossible that it understood human speech, but it didn’t change anything.
There is no way for one human to be able to trust another.
But people live their lives turning away from this simple truth, merely because the thought isn’t beautiful.
Those who accept the truth and those who turn away from it.
She believed that this small difference was what divided all the rulers and the ruled in the world.
Uorin leaned her head back over the chair and looked up at the ceiling, a faint smile on her face.
“If you keep on being yourself like that, you might just reach it someday.”
The cat did not answer.