Chapter 236
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 236
Chapter Title: No Choice But to Test Him
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'What the hell is this guy's deal...?'
Just moments ago, he'd been acting so arrogantly in front of her, as if he were her superior rather than a mere slave.
Arvela couldn't hide her astonishment as she watched Rimon shower Maya with flowery flattery, sweet as honey on his tongue.
But neither Rimon nor Maya paid her reaction any mind.
They simply continued their conversation calmly.
"You've mastered greetings so archaic even our clan's elders no longer use them."
"Your merciful grace in praising this lowly slave for knowing what any servant of such a noble master ought to know fills me with gratitude beyond words..."
"Enough."
Maya raised one hand.
She furrowed her brow, as if even listening further irritated her, and pressed on.
"Spare me the empty formalities. Speak freely."
"How could a slave like me do that?"
"That's an order."
"Well, if that's what you truly desire, Master."
Arvela gaped in disbelief at Rimon's sly smile, as if he'd expected exactly this.
She realized his overly deferential demeanor and grandiose words had been a ploy to draw out that very response from Maya.
Maya, of course, hadn't missed it either.
She curled her lip in a cold sneer.
"With a tongue and mind that clever, I can imagine how promising a talent you must have been in the 'Black Dragon Clan.'"
"You're too kind."
Rimon smiled and brushed it off.
But while his face beamed innocently, his eyes were deep and shadowed.
'So she saw through me.'
'As expected, he anticipated it.'
Through her pointed words just now, Rimon confirmed she'd already seen he wasn't from the Black Dragon Clan.
And from his unflinching composure, Maya realized he'd even anticipated her noticing.
The two stared at each other in silence for a moment.
One kneeling on the floor.
One seated on her jade throne.
As if peering into each other's souls.
Or like predators searching for weakness in their prey.
Not blinking once as they observed each other, they were interrupted by Arvela's sharp voice.
"How dare a slave stare straight at the princess? What insolence is this?"
"Ah, my apologies. Your beauty simply left me entranced."
The strange tension vanished like mist as Rimon flashed a cheeky grin.
Maya gazed at Arvela with an expression somewhere between annoyance and pity, then let out a cold snort.
"An attendant to the Black Dragon Princess, undone by mere beauty? It speaks volumes about how poorly Li Chingwei manages her clan."
"The Black Dragon Clan's not in great shape these days."
"Blatantly selling out your own people?"
"As you know, Master, the shame for us Black Dragons lies in ignorance and incompetence that yields no gain—not in what we say."
"Truly fitting words for a Black Dragon."
They both already knew he wasn't one.
Yet Rimon brazenly kept up the act, and Maya made no move to call out the lie.
He still needed to hide his identity for Hermann's treatment, and she didn't want to squander her chance to uncover his secrets with clumsy questioning.
Thus, an unspoken agreement formed between them.
Rather than drag out this obvious farce, they'd stick to the original deal: his slavery in exchange for the treatment.
That was why Maya acted without hesitation.
"Arvela, give him the item you prepared."
"Yes, Princess."
"...Why are you suddenly giving me a violin?"
"What do you think?"
As if anyone with a brain would know.
Rimon chuckled at Maya's sneer and took the violin.
"Any particular piece you'd like to hear?"
"Play whatever you're confident in."
It was an oddly casual command for preparing an Amati—one of the violin world's three great masters.
But Maya's words didn't end there.
"However, if your playing is subpar, a mere whipping won't suffice."
"Duly noted."
Do your best, or lose even this privileged treatment as a skilled musician among slaves.
Rimon nodded readily at Maya's grim stare, devoid of any jest.
He briefly checked the Amati's sound and bow condition.
Only once satisfied everything was flawless did he raise it to his shoulder.
And as the bow glided across the strings.
Giiiing—
A warm melody resonated.
Atop the garden bursting with flowers, a field of sonic blossoms bloomed.
"...!"
Arvela unwittingly held her breath.
Until Rimon picked up the violin, she'd had zero interest in his skill.
Her sole focus was using the performance to pry out his secrets.
But the instant he began playing, she forgot all about them.
Giiiing.
It was a garden of sound.
Like countless flowers forming a vibrant display, myriad notes wove an enchanting melody.
Though mere sound, its pull was so intense it swallowed all stray thoughts, drawing listeners inexorably in.
That was why.
Even after Rimon finished and lowered the violin, she could only stare at him, entranced.
And why the mocking voice that followed left her stunned.
"Is that truly your best effort?"
She'd just heard rapture itself moments ago.
Yet Maya gazed down at him without awe, thrill, or emotion.
Her sunken eyes observed him like a lab specimen.
So cold that even Arvela, beside her, shuddered involuntarily.
But Rimon, the target of that gaze, replied innocently.
"Does it matter?"
"..."
As if struck at her core.
She glared silently for a moment.
Then furrowed her brow and spoke lowly.
"Arvela, take him and leave."
"Pardon?"
"Leave, I said."
"Ah... Yes, Princess."
Arvela had expected more performances, more probing for secrets.
Puzzled by the sudden dismissal, she still led Rimon from the garden at once.
Maya stared at the empty space he'd left, smiling till the end.
After a long while, she scoffed softly.
"Insolent fool."
What mattered wasn't whether he'd given his all, but whether she'd felt it was his best.
If the master found fault, how could a slave argue?
So if she deemed it lacking, let any punishment come.
Recalling how he'd packed all that into two words, Maya sneered coldly.
'Daring to test my judgment.'
It was the perfect slave's deference, prioritizing the master's will.
Yet also the world's most arrogant slave's certainty that she couldn't possibly underrate it.
In truth, Maya couldn't call his playing shoddy, however much she mocked him.
It had been that perfect.
Even so, she'd dismissed it as "mere" because she sensed no psionics in it.
'Hiding them deliberately? Or a ruse to mislead us from the start?'
A vexing puzzle.
Especially with Li Chingwei tangled in it.
Black Dragon Princesses were always inscrutable, but that ever-smiling girl was particularly elusive.
Thus, the highest odds were Rimon truly being Black Dragon Clan, this all a trap by Li Chingwei.
'Unclear.'
But Maya couldn't turn suspicion to certainty.
Something in his playing nagged at her too much to dismiss as ordinary.
"If only I could dissect him..."
Regretting not choosing live experimentation, she shook her head.
Drugs and pulse checks had limits anyway.
Moreover, offering her the choice proved his confidence in hiding secrets from crude tests.
That's why she'd picked slavery.
A disposable slave offered more chances to uncover truths than a delicate subject too risky to dissect.
"...If experiments won't work, I'll have to test him."
Maya murmured to herself.
After brief thought, she contacted Arvela via communicator.
"Arvela, any progress on tracking that Antonio?"
[We've intel he's holed up in a Paraisopolis hideout. Ready to grab him anytime— just give the word.]
"No need."
[...!]
Arvela gasped, assuming exclusion from the mission.
But the next words made her reel for entirely different reasons.
"Prepare my outing instead."
[Pardon?]
"I'll handle it myself."
[Y-You're leaving headquarters, Princess? For trash like him...!]
Arvela panicked as if thunderstruck from a clear sky.
Barring must-attend events like Seven Dragon Society meetings, Maya rarely left this garden.
An outing for this? Unthinkable.
"Prepare him too."
[...Planning to test him?]
"Yes."
That brief addition let her grasp Maya's intent.
And why she now fidgeted anxiously.
[Escort or attendants, then?]
"Unnecessary."
[Princess, that's too dangerous. Let me handle it.]
Maya smirked coldly at Arvela's frantic worry.
"Think I'd be at risk alone?"
[Of course not.]
"And if he pulls some psionic trick, do you trust yourself to discern it better than I?"
[Well...]
"Then follow orders."
[...Understood.]
Ending the call, Maya pondered.
Rimon's brazenness suggested he wouldn't crack easily, but desperation reveals true colors.
She'd force his hand now.
As Green Dragon Princess, she'd spot even the tiniest slip.
One issue remained.
'...Condition's good today. A short outing should be fine.'
Self-diagnosing away the last worry, she leaned back against the throne and closed her eyes.
Stabilizing further for the impending trip.
But she didn't notice.
The garden flowers, always darkly beautiful, now pulsed with unusually vivid life.
Nor the faint scent blooming amid the chaotic fragrances, then fading.
The pains that used to surge.
The coughs she should've hacked up.
Aware of nothing—not even how rare this serene focus was.
Alone in the garden, she sank into her customary solitary silence.