Chapter 291
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 291
Chapter Title: You'll Regret It.
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She had hoped for it.
For Hans to bring her the violinist who had performed that ecstatic melody under her command.
But she hadn't expected it.
She hadn't believed Hans could carry out the mission she'd assigned him.
It was only natural.
If the reports from London were true, the violinist who wielded that Heart of Darkness violin was at least a top-tier expert on the level of a master.
Given how he'd been seen interacting with multiple princesses, securing his identity safely with just the Rockefeller family's power was obviously impossible.
Unless the violinist himself chose to accept her invitation, that is.
So when he returned empty-handed and bedraggled, she wasn't particularly disappointed.
But just moments ago.
His report had been enough to make her eyes widen.
"...So."
Trace the violinist's information.
Discover that his trail vanished in the jungle.
And after heading into the jungle ahead of the Green Dragon Clan to secure him first.
Until he felt that purest, most overwhelming flow of psionics that had blanketed the entire jungle.
She listened to Hans's story while lounging on a sunbed by the pool in her swimsuit, legs crossed, then asked in a low voice.
"You're saying that anomaly in the Amazon was caused by the eighth dragon psionic?"
"Yes."
"And you ignored my orders and returned immediately to report it?"
"That's correct."
"Don't you value your life?"
"With the Seven Dragon Society's long-cherished wish right before us, how could I possibly prioritize my own life?"
"Arrogant fool."
She snorted derisively.
Daring to ignore orders based on his own judgment.
Normally, that would be a capital offense warranting immediate execution and the destruction of his entire family.
"Fine. As befits our clan, that's exactly what you'd do."
Even so, she didn't rage.
Information on the eighth dragon psionic was worth it.
She acknowledged as much.
"For that achievement, I won't take your life right now. Instead, I'll prepare a fitting place for you to die, so get your affairs as family head in order."
"I am grateful for your merciful judgment."
Despite his accomplishment, he was now slated for death.
Yet Hans bowed his head as if truly thankful.
Theirs was a clan that knew no lies.
They had warned him that failure meant offering his life, so sparing him immediately was already unprecedented mercy.
Ignoring Hans with his head bowed.
She sank into thought, as ever, elegant and aloof.
'The eighth dragon psionic...'
The sudden emergence of a dragon psionic the Seven Dragon Society hadn't touched in centuries was shocking.
Even she had been momentarily stunned.
But in this instant.
She had already moved past the shock.
Her arrogance, greater than any other princess's, wouldn't tolerate her own astonishment.
Thus, she coldly organized the information Hans had relayed.
A man who wielded psionics through music.
An eerily ecstatic performance.
An identity that remained vague despite investigation.
Connections to other princesses.
The dragon psionics Hans had sensed while tracking him, and the faint violin melody he'd heard.
Individually, they seemed merely peculiar.
But pieced together, they grew increasingly suspicious.
'That black-haired man.'
He was clearly the link.
But she didn't stop her reasoning there.
Unless he'd fallen from the sky, such a bizarre man couldn't have appeared out of nowhere.
Had someone secretly raised him?
Was he a genius born of coincidence?
Or...
...was he hiding his true identity, or was his current appearance a disguise?
"I see. So that's it."
As her thoughts reached that point.
She slowly nodded.
She had finally grasped the identity of the elusive link tying all the events together.
"Sword Duke. If he possesses that... no wonder the Black Dragon Clan staked everything on their World Peace Plan."
It was astonishing.
Rimon's transformation magic didn't just alter appearances—it interfered with perception itself.
To put it extremely, even a single mole near the eye would prevent anyone from recognizing Rimon in disguise.
That was why not even Aynsha, Rose, or Maya had easily pierced his true identity.
To shatter that perceptual distortion through mere deduction.
It was possible only for her—arrogant to the core, absolutely convinced she could never be wrong.
"Heh heh heh."
And so.
She laughed.
At first, in a low voice.
"Ahahahahaha!"
But the laughter grew, shaking everything around her.
It wasn't mere metaphor.
The floor, the parasol, the water surface.
Everything in her pool area trembled as if struck by an earthquake.
When the laughter abruptly stopped.
"Li Chingwei, you wretched bitch, how dare you!"
Kwaaaaa!
The water filling the vast pool surged upward all at once, sending everything flying in all directions.
As if a bomb had detonated.
Even more astonishing was what followed.
Everything soaring skyward with enough force to pierce the heavens halted dead in midair.
The parasol rocketing upward.
The spinning sunbed.
The water weighing thousands of tons.
Even droplets smaller than a fingernail about to scatter.
All frozen in place, less like reality and more like a paused video frame.
And moments later.
The footage rewound.
The sunbed returned to its spot, the parasol slotting neatly into the table.
The vast water, enough to demolish a small building, flowed back into the pool without a single drop spilling.
As if the explosion had never happened.
In the now serene, silent pool area, she settled back onto the sunbed.
She brushed back her damp golden hair and spoke in a languid voice.
"Hans, relay to Ellis to mobilize the Pacific fleet."
"Understood."
He hadn't been told where.
Yet Hans, unmoved even by the chaos, knelt and replied without hesitation.
There was only one place to pressure in this situation anyway.
But her orders didn't end there.
"Withdraw all funds tied to the Black Dragon Clan and East Asia, and force every domestic company to cut ties."
"I'll relay it immediately."
As if gearing up for war.
After issuing a barrage of directives.
She added one final haughty command.
"And prepare a letter."
Long ago.
Before the Seven Dragon Society went legit.
Back when they were called a demonic cult, they'd amassed jewels and gold through mining, and wealth through usury.
With that vast capital, they'd dominated global banking, securities, insurance, cards— the entire financial sector.
In terms of sheer funds, owners of the world's largest conglomerate, Fafnir.
Golden rulers who could command all of the United States with a word.
Charlotte G. Rothschild.
The Seven Dragon Society's mightiest Gold Dragon Princess spoke, her pride wounded yet her demeanor as arrogant and aloof as ever.
"Can't keep this good news to myself, now can I?"
"Allow me some advice. Take the wisest course while you still can."
Maya said softly.
She gazed at Li Chingwei, smile gone, with a cold sneer.
"That way, at least you'll save your life."
A mocking remark.
But Li Chingwei knew.
It wasn't mockery—it was sincere counsel.
"I think just sharing this information has repaid every debt our clan owes you. What say you?"
"...I should be the one thanking you."
"No need for thanks. I never intended to burden you with debt."
Maya stated flatly.
Then slowly turned her head.
To look at Rimon, who scratched his cheek as if this had become a headache.
"Now, Sword Duke, only our score remains."
"..."
Rimon stayed silent.
The entire Seven Dragon Society held grudges against him, but especially the Green Dragon Clan's was deep and tangled.
"Make no mistake—you are our clan's enemy."
He had uncovered their stronghold in the past.
Summoned the Sword Demon.
And when the princess stepped forward to protect the clan, he'd cut her down—giving the Sword Demon the chance to slaughter most of the Green Dragon Clan.
In that sense, Rimon was their archenemy.
"Yet you also protected the remnants from the Sword Demon and saved my life."
But when the Sword Demon pursued the survivors.
When he sought to exterminate the Seven Dragon Society even at the cost of half humanity, Rimon had stood in his way.
That alone might spark outrage—"Give poison, then the antidote?"
But by saving Maya this time, Rimon had tipped the scales again.
To the Seven Dragon Society, the princess was everything.
Even the grudge from slaying one paled against saving their dragon lineage from extinction.
Thus, Maya proposed once more.
"If you become my consort, our clan will forget past grudges, honor you as benefactor, and offer any service you require."
Her earlier confession was personal.
This proposal was purely pragmatic, emotions set aside.
After the jungle ordeal.
Unlike the elders foaming at the mouth for revenge or possession at any cost, this reflected the clan's true stance—as Green Dragon Princess.
"But refuse, and we'll keep hunting you."
That held only if he came willingly.
Reject to the end, and they'd stop at nothing for the eighth dragon psionic.
Threats, war, human experimentation.
Anything.
For their wish, it was indispensable.
"Still no change of heart?"
"No."
"...Not even a moment's hesitation."
"What can I do? This is who I am."
As if earning grudges was routine.
After staring at Rimon shrugging, Maya spoke lowly.
"For saving me, a warning in advance."
"What is it?"
"Kill me now. Or I'll become your enemy."
Rimon didn't flinch at the absurd warning.
He met her sunken gaze steadily.
"Regrettably, no such plans."
"You'll regret it."
"Yeah, maybe."
Rimon nodded readily.
He hadn't lived regret-free either.
When he involved the Sword Demon with the Green Dragon Clan.
When they retaliated by flooding South America with drugs.
He'd wondered countless times if there'd been a better way.
"Still, this is my choice."
"...I figured you'd say that."
But regret was part of life.
No 'perfect' existence predestined for success.
Even if one existed, Rimon wanted no part of it.
Games won with cheat keys were boring.
Constant success stripped effort, will, meaning—puppetry.
So even if he'd regret this choice someday, he couldn't kill Maya just because she might cause trouble later.
Maya nodded at his firm words.
She glanced one last time at Li Chingwei's conflicted expression behind him.
Then spoke lowly.
"By the power of the Scales, I command you."
From her sickbed.
She lightly extended one hand.
Vaporizing all ten scale weights on her wrist.
"For the next minute, offer no resistance."
She grabbed Rimon's collar.
His eyes widened at the intensified compulsion from the time limit.
She yanked him close, face to face.
And...
Something soft.
Overlaid his lips.