Chapter 402
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 402
Chapter Title: Let's Start the Game
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"Why on earth did you give that answer?!"
"It's fine. I have a plan."
"What plan? You were supposed to flatly refuse them!"
"Plans always change."
"That's exactly why you can't just change the plan on your own like that, White Sis! What are you going to tell the team leader?! Huh?!"
Yuna Kyung felt like she was about to explode.
Of course, dealing with Aynsha was always frustrating.
But nothing as maddening as today had ever happened before.
For her to suddenly spout nonsense about Rimon helping the revolutionaries!
Yuna Kyung, who knew how rigorously Rimon had kept his distance from them, was going insane.
Especially seeing Vachmenski blissfully unaware that it was a lie.
"Uwaaaah, the team leader's going to kill me...!"
She'd been sent to prevent Aynsha from causing trouble, and now this had happened.
Imagining what punishment Rimon would give her was already terrifying enough. Yuna Kyung wrapped her wings around her head and writhed in agony.
But the white-haired girl herself showed no sign of agitation.
She had simply spoken with her usual calm expression, which somehow felt oddly enjoyable.
"Don't worry... I will send you off painlessly when it's time to die."
"Does that mean my death is a done deal?! "
"I know a skilled taxidermist. Even if you're dead, I'll have you stuffed and displayed. Your body will stay with me forever, even without your soul."
"Normally it's 'even if the body dies, the soul stays together'! Why is it backwards?!"
"If you want that, I'll call a necromancer or death-type player to preserve your soul too. Then body and soul together. Perfect."
"Perfect my foot! That just means turning me into a zombie!"
After flailing around like that for a good while.
Yuna Kyung finally collapsed in exhaustion.
Even for her, who could float tirelessly like a duck's bill on water, constantly snapping back at Aynsha had worn her out.
'Why has White Sis gotten even weirder since coming back from the Kremlin...?'
But whether Yuna Kyung sighed or not.
The girl paid it no mind.
She simply sat on the edge of the bed, looking around the room with keen interest.
Wardrobes and storage units instead of walls.
A cramped but fully equipped kitchen.
Two beds separated by a curtain.
A small dining table next to the kitchen.
A cheap but warm carpet, and so on.
It looked like a staff dormitory that had been renovated.
A bit cramped, but with a cozy charm to the one-room setup. After enjoying it like a first-time tourist at a new attraction.
The white-haired girl suddenly seemed to have a great idea and stretched out on the bed.
Thud.
"Foolish princess, did I just hear something weird...?"
"Eek!"
Yuna Kyung reflexively held her breath.
The aura radiating from Rimon as he opened the door was far from ordinary.
Forget his chilling voice—even the vein bulging on his forehead made it look like he'd grab anyone nearby and pound their temples.
"Come here."
But right after that.
Rimon shut his mouth.
And with an indescribable expression, he bluntly asked.
"What are you doing here?"
"Marking."
"...What king?"
"Marking. This is my room now. Just checking if my scent sticks well."
Perhaps because the answer was so absurd.
After staring silently for a long time at the girl rolling around on the bed with her face buried in the pillow.
Rimon pressed his temples with his fingers and spoke.
"I have a lot of questions, but they'd just give me a headache, so I'll ask just one thing for now."
"What is it?"
"Why did you spout that nonsense about me helping the revolutionaries?"
"To find the Liberation Brigade, of course."
"...Explain."
After twitching his brow once.
Rimon lowered the hand pressing his temple, and at his demand, the white-haired girl sat up on the bed.
She looked at him with her clear eyes and said.
"The Liberation Brigade is hiding among the rebels, plotting. So if the rebels move, the Liberation Brigade gets active too."
"You're saying we should flush them out using the rebels as bait?"
"Snakes in the nest are hard to find. We need to make them come out."
"If they know I'm involved, they might hole up even more?"
"Then it's even easier. Lure out all the other snakes, and catch the remaining ones nest and all."
"...So whether they move or not, it'll make them easier to catch."
"Correct."
As if pleased that they were on the same wavelength.
The white-haired girl nodded lightly.
Rimon stared at her expressionless face for a moment, then tapped his waist with his finger and spoke.
"Two points I want to raise."
"Raise them."
"First, what if the revolutionaries actually believe that bullshit and start something?"
"No problem. We just catch the Liberation Brigade first."
"And if we can't?"
"Still no problem."
Terrorist attacks or.
Coup attempts or whatever.
They could just make the revolutionaries bear the consequences themselves, she said calmly.
Rimon furrowed his brow at the girl's nonchalant words.
"We'll skip the revolutionaries. Like you said, we just catch the Liberation Brigade before any issues arise."
"Exactly. Just do it."
"But if you're really going to do it, you should have gotten my permission first. Why pull this stunt on your own?"
As if ready to respond accordingly based on her answer.
The girl's reply to Rimon's sharp gaze was simple.
"I forgot to ask for permission."
"...That's it?"
"Need another reason?"
As if she could fabricate as many as needed.
After staring at the girl speaking with no expression.
Rimon shook his head.
"No, that's fine."
No more words to say.
Or hear.
Rimon strode forward.
He scooped up the dazed Yuna Kyung, who hadn't followed their conversation, and headed back out.
Creeeak.
Just before opening the door to leave.
Rimon suddenly stopped and turned to the girl.
"Last confirmation: does the mad princess know this is the revolutionaries' headquarters?"
"No."
It was clearly a question.
But somehow it didn't feel like one. The girl answered without hesitation anyway.
"If she knew the rebels were here, Sis would definitely keep her promise. She'd catch the whole Liberation Brigade and shove them into the Gulag."
As if it was too obvious to even consider.
Hearing the girl's reply, which sounded unusually calm yet strangely upbeat compared to usual, Rimon muttered lowly.
"...I see. Then that mad princess absolutely must not come here."
"Of course."
"Remember that."
Even if she knew, she had to pretend not to.
Even if she saw, she had to play dumb.
The white-haired girl said it might not be the best path for them both, but it would be good for someone.
Rimon gave a slight snort at those clear eyes, tossed one last retort, and left the room.
The white-haired girl lay back down on the bed.
She reached through the curtain, pulled over a pillow from the next bed, and buried her face so deeply that it was completely hidden.
10 seconds.
60 seconds.
300 seconds.
So still that one might suspect she'd suffocated to death.
Finally, after a long while, the girl lifted her face from the pillow and exhaled.
"Haa..."
Perhaps from holding her breath so long.
Her previously calm face flushed red as if it had been a lie, and with an oddly excited breath.
The girl muttered, her silver eyes gleaming.
"He's such an interesting man."
His unhesitating, cold tone.
The way he'd looked at her like an insect.
Above all, that razor-sharp aura like a blade to the throat.
Recalling Rimon's thrillingly ecstatic presence, the girl giggled and buried her face in the pillow again.
On Aynsha's bed.
Hugging Rimon's pillow.
Twisting her body in the intoxicatingly sweet scent.
The silver-haired girl slipped one hand inside her clothes and surrendered alone to the rising heat.
"...What did you just say?"
"I said the one there isn't the foolish princess, but the mad princess."
After blinking vacantly for a moment.
Finally catching on to Rimon's words, Yuna Kyung asked with a dumbfounded look.
"So the one I was just arguing with was actually the klutz sis in disguise?!"
"Yeah."
"Infiltrating the heart of the revolutionaries who are dying to kill her? Does that even make sense?!"
"It makes more sense than the foolish princess saying something that smart."
"W-Well, that's true, but... No, even so, why do something that insane?!"
"Because she's insane."
With that perfectly logical response that left Yuna Kyung's beak agape, Rimon continued lowly.
"Of course, there's probably a more pragmatic reason too."
"What reason could make this insanity pragmatic?!"
"Something like using this chance to crush the revolutionaries and sabotage our deal to snatch more shares of Tiamat. That would suffice."
"So you're saying the Orcs or KGB could storm in here any minute?!"
"No, they won't."
Worried it might turn into a battlefield right away.
Rimon shook his head at the panicking Yuna Kyung scanning her surroundings.
"That would ruin the fun."
"Has the team leader gone mad too?!"
"Whether I have or not is secondary. That mad princess is definitely not in her right mind."
Rimon said coldly.
As the Seven Dragon Society's arch-enemy, he'd clashed with previous Silver Dragon Princesses several times, so he could guess Ekaterina's true intentions to some extent.
"That mad princess wants to play a game with me."
"A game...?"
"Yeah. She wants to see whether she crushes the revolutionaries first or I find the Liberation Brigade first."
"No way, that's..."
Yuna Kyung was at a loss for words.
Even for her, who prided herself on not being bound by common sense, this lunacy was too much to handle.
To her, Rimon gave an order.
"So, Na-kyung, you go find the foolish princess."
There was no way Aynsha had gone along with this madness.
She was probably locked up somewhere or restrained, so go meet her first.
After hearing Rimon's calm instructions and snapping out of it, Yuna Kyung nodded hesitantly before asking.
"What about you, team leader?"
"For now, I'll play along with that mad princess."
"For real?"
"Yeah."
He could grab Ekaterina by the collar and shake her senseless right now, but that was a last resort.
Shattering the board here could lead to unpredictable fallout, and above all, it was exactly what she wanted.
The most important reason was one.
"I'm good at this stuff too."
Games or.
Insanity or whatever.
If Ekaterina wanted to play with him, he'd indulge her as she wished.
Watching Rimon speak with a savage smile reminiscent of his old PAB "mad dog" days, Yuna Kyung thought unwittingly.
'Ah, we're screwed.'