Chapter 262
Chapter 262
«Aren’t you afraid to lie your queen in the face?» – Vlada asked calmly.
«How do you mean, Your Majesty?» – Kyon was totally stupefied and numb with anxiety.
«There is no master.» – Vlada’s pleasant silvery voice had a new hard edge. Her eyes turned icy cold, and her imperious aura fell on Kyon’s chest like a ten-ton rock.
{What’s the fuck?!} – Kyon couldn’t understand what was happening under the relentless pressure. He had no choice but to continue playing his part to the end. – «I don’t understand you, my queen! There are truly impressive techniques in my arsenal. I have no rival in speed and agility, and you claim that I have no master? Well, I couldn’t have learned it all by myself! Why should I deceive you, anyway?»
For a moment, Vlada looked confused. She had used some of her real aura to crush his spirit and shake the truth out of him, which usually took no longer than a couple of seconds, but he didn’t even turn pale! Moreover, he kept talking like nothing had happened. Was it even possible?
The queen toyed with the idea to unleash the full power of her aura on him out of sheer curiosity and to put the brat in his place, but then she realized that it might kill him, and it didn’t serve her interests.
«And if your life is at stake, are you going to keep claiming your master exists?» – Vlada continued pushing, her eyebrows furrowed angrily.
«…» – Kyon remained silent, unable to find the right words. He couldn’t understand what he was doing wrong. Why did she mistrust him? His acting skills were perfect! Why was she doing this?!
They stared silently into each other’s eyes for about a minute when Vlada removed her oppressive aura and smiled at Kyon. She was even more interested in him now than at the moment of his victory at the tournament. The queen’s attitude towards him had completely changed. He had awakened a curiosity in her. She had never met anyone so anomalous as this goddess’s messenger. What a nerve! Even supreme demons of deceit could never resist her aura and death threat. They would either tell the truth or try to justify themselves, while this one didn’t crack. He didn’t even break a sweat, which was delightful! And best of all, he was devilishly self-confident! He talked to her the way he did with patriarch Herman, the nasty piece of work, and she was way more dangerous than him! Or didn’t he see the difference? It was inconceivable that a boy with no status and low cultivation would treat the Queen of Boston with no servility and awe. What gave him the confidence to behave like this?
Perhaps the reason for his reckless behavior was in his nine elements. He had imagined himself a hero who was not afraid of patriarchs or queens. But was it true? Vlada had no idea. She had no one to compare him with. She had never considered a “transcendental talent” as a sign of ultimate authority, and now Kyon was trying to convince her otherwise, and quite successfully so. It was rather funny! Above all, she found it interesting and curious.
«Okay, you win.» – Vlada said finally, tossing her thick hair behind her shoulder.
Kyon could feel his shoulders relaxing in relief.
Vlada took out something red and threw it at Kyon with a lightning movement of her fingers. – «Do you remember this?»
Kyon recognized the diamond at once. It was a little phoenix feather that he had created for the auction. His heart began to beat faster, but he regained his composure, not without the help of Synergy. His face turned into an impenetrable mask.
«What is it?» – He asked impassively.
Valda rolled her eyes. – «I can’t help but admire your acting skills. You are pretty convincing in playing the part of a dim-witted simpleton. The art of deception is a natural talent. I would have believed you a couple of times if I didn’t have proof. You persist so stubbornly in standing your ground… I’ve never come across such a skillful liar.»
Kyon looked at the queen glumly.
«You see, anything that an earth bender creates has characteristic features that determine the master’s power. However, not everyone can see things as I do. An extreme spiritual feeling is not enough, it also takes some extraordinary skills that I am not deprived of, unluckily for you. I have found out that the phoenix was created by an earth bender in the advanced phase at the third stage. This fact alone made you the lead suspect. But when you took out the explosive firecracker disguised as a relic studded with precious crystals, I had no doubts. As expected, only the goddess’s messenger with incomprehensible heritage could create such a wonderful phoenix of gems. I wouldn’t be Vlada Tristan if I didn’t see through you, mischievous rascal.» – She charmingly uncrossed her long legs, dangling them gracefully in the air, and crossed them again.
Kyon was stunned. She had revealed him because he was unaware of some nuances in this world. It wasn’t mentioned in the books that it was even possible to determine the master’s cultivation based on the things they created. Why on earth did he trust blindly that the information in the elite section of the Boston library was full and exhaustive? He knew that creating jewelry was too risky and got caught up in the end! By the most dangerous creature in Boston, too! Kyon swore to himself that he would never again make money with the help of the earth element.
Anyway, his lie about the master had a hidden agenda. Vlada had revealed the first meaning, but she would never guess the second, so Kyon didn’t lose hope. In fact, he didn’t worry about his life or freedom because he was well prepared to meet the demon face to face. He had proved his incredible value at the tournament, and this together with his knowledge of secret passages, Kara’s curse, and a couple of other trifles were his main selling points.
And now it was time to do what he did the best of all, improvising and making his plans come true.
The queen’s full lips curled up into a delightful, triumphant smile. It felt so nice to expose a liar, especially such a hard nut to crack. – «How dared you lie to your queen in the face, boy… What punishment do you think you deserve?»
Kyon sighed heavily and confessed, staring into the distance. – «Your Majesty, I must admit that I have no master named TsyJi. You probably want to know why I was such a persistent liar. It’s simple. The truth is even more incredible. People find it easier to believe that I have a legendary master than that my mother is a goddess. Ask yourself, if you may not believe me, how else I could have mastered all the nine elements, ignoring the heaven limitations, why I have superhuman speed, why I am agile like a snake, how I have mastered the incomprehensible techniques. I couldn’t have made them up, right?»
Vlada was listening attentively to another intricate story, her eyebrows raised at him incredulously. – «Hypothetically, you couldn’t.» – His words sounded, as usual, sincere, and most importantly, logical. He really couldn’t get around heaven’s limitations without the help of someone incredibly powerful like a goddess. But could she believe this skillful liar? Anyway, there are was a trusted method to find out the truth, and she was going to use it soon, but for now, she decided to pretend that she believed everything he had said.
«When I was born, my mother left me for some unknown reason and sent me to mortals, leaving me knowledge as a legacy at parting, maybe because she still loved me. Curiously enough, my knowledge is not superficially intuitive, I can make nephrite recordings for others to study it.»
The queen’s eyes sparkled with the desire to get it. If the demon empire got the legacy from his head, their race would enslave the whole world in the next few generations! The mere thought of his aerial protective technique against the heat, the cold, and the ether gave her goosebumps! Vlada really wanted his words to be true.
«As you may have guessed, I am not telling you this to impress or justify my lies. I want to make my dream come true and make Princess Kara my wife.» – Kyon breathed shakily with sudden passion. – «I… I love her more than anything… I can give away my legacy for her… I can even give away my heart if need be.» – Kyon’s eyes were clouded with a dreamy veil.
«So, what about giving her you-know-what gift and making her happy?» – Vlada said happily.
«I can’t.» – Kyon shook his head, visibly upset.
«Sorry, but I don’t know what you are getting at.»
«I really want to make her happy, but I know that she will never love me for expensive, meaningful gifts. On the contrary, she will take me as a servant, or even worse. Such relations will break my heart and tear my soul. I’d rather die in hellfire than let it happen! Therefore, I will share the most precious thing that I have, I mean my legacy, but only in exchange for your daughter’s eternal loyalty.» – He finished with unfeigned determination and unwavering gaze.
Vlada looked at Lovr in amazement. His behavior was too bizarre for someone enchanted. Was it even love if he wasn’t willing to give his life for her whims? Besides, he wanted to make her his forever. It was absurd! Love didn’t work through the prism of self-interest! Something didn’t add up…
«Are you talking about a wedding?» – Vlada’s voice sounded threatening.
{She is shrewd.} – «This and the wedding night!»
«Bullshit!» – Vlada flared up. His insulting words made her release the depressing aura again. – «Do not even think of asking this from my daughter without giving her the precious gift first. She is the princess of the empire, not a village girl who would fall for shiny trinkets. Your request is absolutely ridiculous and disrespectful.»
Kyon’s answer was quick and to the point:
«Your Majesty, I am not forcing you to do anything. I’m just saying that I’d rather burn in hellish flame than lose my chance to be with the girl I love even if she isn’t too happy about it. Forgive my impudence, but I will exchange my knowledge only for your daughter’s hand, heart, and virginity.»
Vlada’s fierce eyes the color of garnet pierced the insolent jerk. His words drove her out of her mind. Kara’s virginity was the root of all trouble connected with their move to Boston! The scale of this problem affected not only the two of them but the entire demon empire. All in all, her virginity was of too a great value for a mere human to take it for himself! If he were talking about a wedding, they would quickly exchange rings as primitive people love to do, and that would be it. But no, the jerk wanted something really priceless!
«The little liar wants too much from the empress’s daughter! Well, you will have to pay for your lies!» – Vlada growled furiously. She instantly approached Kyon and hit him on the head to knock him out for a while.
Kyon pretended to pass out, completely confused. He couldn’t understand what she was up to. Did she want to kill him? It was absurd! To punish him? He had mentioned that he didn’t mind any tortures! Kyon was going to play his part to the end! She had no choice but to play by his rules… And why did she call herself an empress and her daughter a princess of the empire? Could she be one of the wives of that very emperor?
Suddenly, Kyon had a tingling sensation on his forehead… Was it… A formation? – {Does she know formacy? Is she applying a subjugating formation?!}
It was a pleasant surprise for Kyon. As expected, Queen Vlada wasn’t only extremely intelligent, she also had a wide range of diverse skills, including formacy. It would be a sin not to take advantage of this opportunity!
A minute later, the formation was successfully applied. The difference in Vlada’s and Kyon’s cultivation was too great for anything to go wrong. Besides, the queen was a formacist of the third rank. For comparison: Flitz had the 5th rank, and the best formacist in Rosarrio also had the 3rd rank, and he was the only one.
Now the queen was going to know the truth, and no miraculous deception skills would help him anymore, not with this formation on his forehead. By the way, it was the best formation in the demon empire applied to a human being.
Vlada slowly bent over Kyon and purred almost affectionately in his ear:
«You are in the wrong hands, dearie. From now on, you will be my slave. Open your eyes.»