F-Rank Puppeteer!! But I'll be Queen, and I'm not a narcissist!!!!! Chapter 255 255: 1 in 10 Million

I arrive at Esther's mansion, greeted by two maids who tell she's expecting . Amanda ca with , since she's the one handling all the political maneuvering that cos with noble affairs.

We're quickly led to a reception room, and as soon as we enter, I see Esther drinking a cup of blood that I recognize by scent as mine. She has a gentle smile on her face as she reads a book, as if she didn't have a care in the world.

"Lovely night, don't you think, my Queen? The moon truly enhances the calming beauty of your presence," she says in a tone that imdiately frustrates .

"Esther, I ca to ask that you please... release the trade routes under your control... Amanda drew up a very fair contract, and I'm willing to pay a substantial amount..." I say, sitting down across from her while Amanda stays quiet.

"I see you've made more living puppets, three this ti, right? Not afraid they'll betray you like that gray bitch you had before?" she mocks, placing her cup on the side table next to her book.

"They won't do that..." They're incapable of it. I placed several restrictions on them, ntal and psychological chains binding them to their duties so they can never betray in any way.

"I'll believe you for now. Could you give the contract to look over?" She extends her hand as Amanda hands it over. She glances at it without interest, focusing more on looking at every few seconds.

"It's a good deal from a logical standpoint. The paynt is excellent too..." She takes the paper and tears it in half. It was obvious it wouldn't be that easy.

"That's not what I want, Evelyn."

"What do you want from ?"

"Nothing."

"?" Amanda and I exchange confused glances. I could have sworn Esther would say sothing absurd and I'd have to negotiate.

"Nothing? Like, nothing at all?"

"Yes. I want absolutely nothing..."

"B-But then why won't you let the shipnts pass through your newly acquired territory?"

"To show you that you are completely dependent on my goodwill, on my wanting to help you. And if I don't, I can ruin this kingdom."

"..."

"Did you tell anyone my plans?"

"...No..."

"I see. Then let it stay that way. And know that this girl by your side miscalculated. Obviously, she thinks that because I'd also lose money, so offer would make allow your passage."

"But you, Evelyn, you know I don't care about money, territory, or the lives of the people who will be affected by my choice."

'Of course you don't.' She wants a genocide; obviously she wouldn't care if her decision makes her lose money and causes deaths.

"Is that all? You're doing this just to flaunt the fact that I can't do anything?" I say, finding this all very childish of her.

"So cold, Evelyn. I'm your wife. I don't need to flaunt myself to you. You know full well what I'm capable of."

"Then why, Esther? What's the point of keeping it like this and not even letting negotiate?" This is so unfair to .

"Because I can. Nothing more, nothing less. You understand well, Evelyn. You know what I want. You just won't do it because you got arrogant with your victory."

"You beat in that fight, I admit that. Your plan was brilliant. But one victory doesn't an you're more capable or better than . You were too arrogant to think that being queen ans you're not beneath ."

"But I never thought that..."

"Evelyn, you think we're equals, don't you? You think that now that you're queen, you can beat . You think you can stop , stop my plans, prevent from doing whatever I want."

"And that's ridiculous. The very fact that you think you're on the sa level as is humiliating. You're the only one in this world who is my equal, but you were always beneath . And your arrogance in assuming you can beat or stop is simply the sa as trying to diminish ."

"So I'm showing you, Evelyn. You never had a chance against my intellect. I admit, you becoming queen wasn't a stroke of luck. You did well."

"But suppose an experienced genius and a rookie genius are playing chess. In a million tries, the rookie genius will get so victories. That doesn't make them equal to the experienced genius."

"You won once, and that was just probability working in your favor after you manipulated the board a little. But you've never even co close to ."

'Arrogant...'

"Arrogant."

"!!!?" She speaks at the exact mont I think she's being arrogant.

"..."

"Evelyn, you're so predictable. You know, I loved our little ga. It was fun. But it was just treating you like a rookie. I went easy on you."

"But you, Evelyn, you wanted to take a step bigger than you should have. And now I'm treating you like a real player. You think all I did was put a collar on you?"

"Hahaha, it's almost funny that you haven't discovered even half of what I've done in the last two weeks."

"W-What do you an?" My voice wavers, a sign of hesitation I try to hide.

"I've taken over the black market. I've also started buying ports from so nobles by cashing in old favors. Soon, the docks where the warships will be stationed will be under my control."

"Likewise, I've already started buying fertile lands for agriculture. I've also invested a lot of money in technological advancents, buying up several patents for everyday items."

"And I've also curtailed the power of several nobles, reducing what they can do by ddling in their areas of control and generating competition."

"I-Impossible!! You don't have that kind of money!!" I stand up, agitated by this absurdity! From what Amanda said, she spent over 80% of the money she had buying the trade routes and the dungeons. There's no way she could have bought even more things.

"You're right, Evelyn. I don't have all that money. But you do." When she says this, she gives a huge smile.

"?... YOU STOLE FROM !!"

"Don't shout, Evelyn. Shouting is a loss of composure during a negotiation. Besides, stole? I didn't steal from you. Have you forgotten how marriage works?"

"All your marital assets are mine. The Demon King or Demon Queen always has two coffers: the personal coffer and the treasury coffer."

"The treasury coffer is a private asset ant for the kingdom's economy, so it's not a marital asset... however, the personal coffer is an asset of the ruler, so it's yours. And because it's yours, it's also mine, as I am the matriarch of our family and you are my wife with no power of choice in these matters."

"I just used the laws, Evelyn. The sa laws you should know by heart. This is how you play a real ga, Evelyn."

"...You... this is so unfair..."

"Yes, Evelyn, this isn't fair at all. Because you wanted to leave our fun, low-level confrontation for a professional competition. And when taken seriously, you never had the slightest chance of beating , not even in a million tries."

"I'm using my blessing. You know what your chances are of beating now? One in ten million. It ans that out of every ten million intellectual confrontations, you'll beat once."

"..." When she says this, I collapse back onto the sofa, burying my face in my hands. This is so humiliating, in a way that truly wounds my pride. I... I thought... I thought I had finally reached her level.

I thought I could finally equal Esther. What was the point of everything I did if she's practically invincible like this? I always thought the ga exaggerated, that Esther won in every route just because she was very strong and because it was a ga, so a villain who seed invincible was interesting.

But it's obvious it wasn't an exaggeration from the ga. Esther is simply so unbalanced that she completely broke the ga by being invincible.

'One in ten million... how do I beat those odds?' It's not literally ten million tries; I could beat her today. But the chance of figuring out how is so infinitesimal it seems impossible. Like she said, it would literally take an absurd number of attempts for to beat her, and that still wouldn't put at her level.

"I-I lost... okay, I lost... you win, Esther. I... I can't beat you. Is that what you wanted to hear? I'm inferior to you. I... don't even co close," I say, tears welling in my eyes.

It's like soone took a life's work and set it on fire. It's so painful to realize how inferior I am to her. The entire image of a powerful queen I was trying to maintain crumbles, while Amanda looks away.

"You don't need to cry, my love. It makes you look pathetic. After all, hope is a double-edged sword. It motivates you, but when you lose, it strikes you back with full force."

"That's why, Evelyn, you remain as pathetic as ever. You have too much 'hope' in things and in people. You can't rely on hope when it cos to planning and strategy. It's a shield the weak use."

"I work with things more concrete than hope when it cos to physical matters. For , hope is more for the sentintal side, like having hope in love, for example. In that sense, it's at least more comforting and less harmful." She stands up, cos over to , and grabs my face, wiping away my tears with her thumbs.

"My fragile and pathetic queen. It will still be a very long ti before you can even glimpse the top where I stand. So don't be mistaken again. I lowered myself to your level to teach you how to play, but I was never truly at the bottom with you."

"So don't cry. Because when you cry, it only makes you look even weaker. And the weaker you look, the more I want to lock you in a cage." She finishes wiping my tears and returns to her seat.

"Now that we've made that clear, I think we can negotiate a 'fair' offer for to open the trade routes for you."