Chapter 229 - Do You Wish to Die?

["... What?"]

The White Dragon Clan had always been the weakest in the Seven Dragons Society. The Blue Dragon Clan had squandered its strength on charity. They were, in fact, relative outliers within the Society, and she should not assume the other clans were just like them.

Yu Na-gyeong blinked blankly as Li Qingyu kindly explained all this.

["Uh... are you saying this is one of those predictable comic-book twists? ‘The Princesses I've met so far were the weakest of the Seven Dragon Princesses!’ That sort of thing?"]

"It's not that simple."

Limon clicked his tongue.

Of course, there were differences in strength and influence within the Seven Dragons Society. Leaving the Blue Dragon Clan aside, it was also true that the Black and White Dragon Clans currently vied for the position of weakest clan.

But mere differences in strength were not what he and Li Qingyu were trying to explain.

"Differences in strength are one thing. What matters more is that the clans have different dispositions."

["Is that really something to worry about?"]

Yu Na-gyeong looked utterly bewildered. She had experienced each clan's distinctive character firsthand—the Black Dragon Clan's somewhat sinister ways, the White Dragon Clan's peculiar thinking, the Blue Dragon Clan's benevolence, and so on. But she had never considered those differences particularly important.

"The very fact that you can say that means you still know nothing about the Seven Dragons Society."

["I think I know quite a lot, actually."]

"If that's what you think, just keep quiet and watch."

Limon gave a faint chuckle. Her answer alone had made it perfectly clear that no verbal explanation would get through to her anyway.

Rather than explain further, he sank back into his seat and turned his head.

The Atlantic stretched beyond the window. Thinking of the clan that ruled the jungle-covered continent at its far end, Limon concluded coldly,

"Once we reach Brazil, you'll realize you've never seen the Seven Dragons Society's true face."

* * *

She opened her eyes.

Was it the lingering drowsiness? Or the chill that had seeped into her skin?

She gazed at the familiar ceiling for a long while before slowly sitting up.

SPLASH

Her naked body rose from the rippling surface of the translucent liquid, without a single thread covering it. Droplets fell from her long, loose hair and trickled down the milky skin of her slender body.

She smoothly picked up a towel and dried herself. It took some ten minutes to carefully wipe herself from head to toe, leaving not a single drop, and place the third damp towel in a green chest.

Only then did she reach for the clothes set out separately.

Over thin garments that covered only the bare minimum, she donned five layers of outer clothing. She tightened a cloth sash until they fit snugly against her body, then arranged her hair. Finishing each step with practiced ease, she finally slipped smooth, elbow-length gloves onto both hands.

Her preparations complete, she at last left the sealed chamber.

At the end of a bare corridor devoid of people, decorations, or even a single painting lay an enchanting flower garden. Flowers of every kind bloomed in brilliant profusion around channels of clear flowing water. It was so vast and beautiful that it hardly seemed possible it was indoors.

STEP

The moment she entered, a strange sight unfolded. The flowers, all of which had displayed vibrant beauty just moments before, began undergoing all manner of changes wherever she stepped.

CRUMBLE

Flowers that dried out or rapidly withered as though dozens of days had suddenly passed were among the more ordinary cases.

Some lost their white color, turned rainbow-hued, then black. Others shook their stems, which split into writhing tentacles. Still others melted away like snow or hardened like metal.

The changes undergone by dozens of varieties of flowers were so diverse as to seem unreal.

But what happened afterward was even more absurd. The flowers that had transformed grotesquely at her footsteps returned to their original state once she had passed. Even those that had melted sprouted anew on the same spot and regrew in an instant.

It was truly like witnessing a dream.

STEP, STEP

Yet she neither showed surprise at the garden's strange transformations nor so much as glanced at them. She simply crossed the flower beds and slowly seated herself in the green-jade chair on the dais at their center.

"Enter."

CREEEAK

Just after she spoke softly from her jade throne, the large, firmly closed doors opened, and two women entered.

They had identical faces and stood at the same height. The only difference was that one had short hair and wore white, while the other had long hair and red clothes that barely covered her intimate parts. The twins stopped some distance from the throne and knelt on one knee.

"Your servant Arbella greets you, Your Highness, and wishes you good health."

"Your servant Barbara greets you, Your Highness, and wishes you everlasting glory."

"Hmph. Health and glory."

Whatever she found so amusing, a mocking smile briefly touched her bluish-white lips. Then she snorted as though it mattered little and spoke.

"Report."

"Your servant..."

"Your servant Barbara shall report first."

The woman in red, with twin spears on her back, cut Arbella off. Pretending not to notice her sister's fierce glare—ignoring it altogether—Barbara bowed her head to the princess and spoke.

"We have received word that the Black Dragon Princess departed as scheduled. She is traveling by private aircraft, so we expect her to arrive by midday."

"Are the preparations for our guests complete?"

"Yes. All ceremonial arrangements are already perfectly in place."

Barbara was triumphant. Had she been given ample time, it would have been another matter, but completing the ceremonial preparations in a single day was, even by her own estimation, a remarkable achievement.

The princess, however, did not praise her accomplishment. Instead, she asked sharply,

"Have you discovered why Li Qingyu requested this visit?"

"Th-that..."

"And the investigation I ordered earlier?"

"..."

It happened in an instant. Barbara's face, brimming with confidence only moments before, became drenched in cold sweat, and her head drooped.

The princess watched her with a sneer.

"You may leave the matter of Li Qingyu be. But continue investigating the rest."

"... Yes."

Barbara replied dejectedly, her head lowered. Arbella, the woman in white, looked at her sister as though she had gotten what she deserved, then quickly interjected.

"May your servant Arbella make her report?"

"Have you anything noteworthy to report?"

"I have found traces of ambrosia."

"Where?"

Unlike her response to Barbara, the princess showed clear interest. Arbella's eyes sparkled as she poured out the rest of her report.

"A player named Antonio is involved. He's a vile man who controls a gang in the slums, and we are already tracking his whereabouts."

Arbella spoke confidently. Seeing the resentment on Barbara's face, she smiled in triumph.

But the very next moment, she froze.

"Is that all?"

"Pardon?"

"I am asking whether you had the gall to present your failure to capture even such trash as a report."

Faced with a gaze that seemed to convey not merely disappointment but irritation, Arbella paled.

"I-I'm sorry. I'll go myself and capture him at once."

Barbara promptly spoke up.

"Your Highness, please entrust that task to me. I am confident I can capture him faster than Arbella."

"Barbara! Are you trying to steal my work?"

"Hmph. I'm merely trying to make up for your shortcomings."

"You think you can say whatever you please...!"

Barbara had stepped forward to turn her sister's failure into an opportunity to make up for her own mistake. Arbella, meanwhile, suddenly faced the prospect of having her sister steal the credit.

Glaring at each other, they began drawing up their psionics.

Or rather, they tried to.

"Arbella. Barbara."

Both women froze. It was not merely because of the sharp voice that sent chills down their spines.

Powerful psionics spread from the jade throne, and the garden began rapidly withering in concentric circles. A fragrance richer and sweeter than all the flowers here combined reached their noses. Their limbs suddenly stiffened, and a dizzying wave of vertigo swept over them.

All of it reminded the feuding twins exactly whose presence they had been about to fight in.

As they stood rigid as statues, she asked softly,

"—Do you wish to die?"

It was an utterly clichéd remark, something anyone might say in anger at least once. But Barbara and Arbella went deathly pale. As her close attendants, they knew she was not the kind of person to say such things in jest.

No, anyone could have understood that much upon seeing her dark eyes. She had removed one glove, and her already sharp eyes narrowed further as she stared at them.

"Y-your servant has committed a sin worthy of death!"

"Please punish your foolish servants."

THUD!

Forcing their stiff limbs to move, the two women struck their heads against the floor. She glared at them and spoke bitterly.

"I care little whether you are close enough to wish to die together. But do not disappoint me any further. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"I will keep it in mind."

Only after hearing their answers did she tap her fingers against the jade throne.

RUSTLE

As though time were flowing backward, the withered flowers regained their vitality. The two women recovered from their paralysis and could just barely move again.

After confirming this, she leaned back against her throne.

"If you understand, you may withdraw."

"But..."

"That is..."

"Do you intend to disgrace yourselves by receiving the Black Dragon Princess in such a sorry state?"

Whatever was making them so uneasy, they briefly looked with concern at her exposed, milky-white hand and bloodless face. But at her cynical remark, Barbara and Arbella finally bowed their heads and left the room.

She silently watched them with sharp eyes as they withdrew, their movements still stiff, perhaps because their bodies had not fully recovered.

Only after a long while did she open her mouth.

"Cough! Cough, cough!"

The moment her bluish-white lips parted, a violent cough burst forth. Several bouts of coughing followed, so fierce that the hand covering her mouth did little good, before she finally regained steady breathing.

Her face paler still, she opened her hand and gazed for a moment at her palm, stained with dark blood.

"... Hmph."

As though this were nothing new, she gave a faint snort and took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood from her hand. Then she put her glove back on, concealing the exposed skin, and casually tossed the blood-soaked handkerchief aside.

HISSSS

The instant the handkerchief hit the ground, it began smoking and melting. The flowers around it once again began undergoing bizarre transformations.

She paid no heed. She merely took a thumb-sized medicinal pill from a small vial, swallowed it, and murmured languidly.

"It would be nice if the sisters got along a little better... Carla, your daughters still seem to have a long way to go."

The green-haired woman had a complexion as pale as a patient's and a figure so slender it looked as though a breeze might sway her.

Maia leaned back against her jade throne and closed her eyes.

As though she were more comfortable alone. Or as though she rejected anyone else's approach.

At the center of the flower garden, where no one remained but herself, she sank into a silence deeper and lonelier than death.