F-Rank Puppeteer!! But I'll be Queen, and I'm not a narcissist!!!!! Chapter 62: The Will Behind the Genocide

"..." I’m standing before the Demon King himself, my father, and I have to say, I feel uneasy. I didn’t expect to be summoned.

"Esther, why so nervous?" he asks, seated on his throne. I look around, noticing how isolated we are.

’Father... he’s undoubtedly frightening...’ His magical power is monstrous. I don’t know if others can see it like I do, but the Demon King’s power literally covers the entire kingdom.

It’s like an aura. Yet, whenever he’s in my field of vision, I can see it, and it’s gigantic. This shows one very simple thing: the entire kingdom is within his reach, and he can do anything within this area.

"I’m sorry, Father... your presence is just... magnificent." I say ’magnificent’ instead of ’suffocating.’ Whenever I’m alone with him, I feel like he knows I’m going to do sothing to cause massive chaos in the future.

But he has no way to prove I plan to commit global genocide soday. I’ve never said it to anyone, never let it slip, never spoken, written, or exposed this desire of mine.

"I see... Well, Esther, I called you here to talk. I’m tempted by an idea, and you, as my most talented—yet talent-hiding—daughter, have caught my attention for your opinion." He speaks while I recall he’s asked for my opinion a few tis before.

’The Demon King is truly a complicated being...’ He’s always known. He always knows when I do sothing big. He always notices, no matter how discreet I am. He doesn’t know my ability, but he knows that sohow, I’m up to sothing.

"I will do my best to satisfy your... curiosity, Father," I say, bowing to him.

"Excellent. Then tell , Esther. I’m seriously considering two strategies for the war. The first is to have you, my children, marry humans."

"And the second is to have at least two of you marry each other so that I can use your families as a foundation and support." He talks about using our families like it’s nothing.

’Ah yes... that stupid marriage rule...’ I think about it. Normally, I would say sothing completely different—for example, propose that one of us marry the Heroine, Grace.

Unlike just marrying a human, marrying soone with the title of Heroine would force the Heroine’s race to contribute. So if one of us married Grace, the humans would have to help us because Grace is human and she’s the Heroine.

’...Why...’ I try to speak but freeze. This solution is too good. I don’t know if he’s already thought of it, but it’s a fact that it’s a great idea. However, it’s very unconventional, and maybe he hasn’t considered it because it directly involves Grace, who ca here only for peace.

’I... should I?’ A strange feeling wells up inside , stopping from speaking. If I suggest this idea, there’s a 73% chance he’ll accept it, which ans he won’t try the ideas he just gave and will approve a marriage between a human and a demon.

But just as I was about to speak, I rembered Evelyn. Strangely, I can’t stop thinking about her. It’s a mix of interest and curiosity. I received a report on what she did at the guild, and it caught my attention even more.

Normally, Evelyn should have made the emblem on her license an image of herself, but she chose a flower instead. And that is unexpected; it totally goes against her normal personality.

Every second that passes where she does abnormal things like this, the more I beco convinced she’s like . Sohow, she knows the truth of the world.

"Father... I think you should... choose a marriage between ourselves... I faithfully believe this, and I think you choosing and Evelyn to marry would be... good." I say, leaving him truly surprised.

"Oh? How curious... Tell , daughter, why do you think that?" He calls ’daughter,’ sothing that very rarely happens.

"I believe my family and Evelyn’s family are very influential..." I start to explain. One just has to look at and Evelyn. Even though Evelyn is a "failure," her physical and magical characteristics remind one of so very important lineages, just like mine.

We can’t go after our families, but nothing stops us from trying to deduce who they are based on things we know about ourselves.

"Besides, Evelyn is weak. She wouldn’t have the right to refuse or run from her responsibilities. Therefore, our marriage will allow you to maintain total power over Evelyn’s family while gaining the benefit of having two important noble families helping."

"..." He falls silent. An uncomfortable silence.

’Why am I doing this?’ Political marriage is common, but normally I would never marry. Anyway, I’m going to kill everyone, which makes marriages useless. So why?

’Why do I want her close?’ I don’t understand. It’s not like I like her, but she’s so fascinating that I want to tie her down so she can’t escape my control.

"Your idea is interesting, daughter. Very interesting indeed... I think I’ll think about this. But if it happens, it will only be after Evelyn returns from her little adventure." He says, moving his hand.

"You may leave. I liked your perspective, although I expected sothing different. But it was... truly innovative to see you propose this." He allows to leave. I imdiately get up and go to the door.

As I leave, I think about books. What do books have to say about what I’m feeling? I don’t know what I feel, so I just rember descriptions from books. I return to my room thinking about this, and as soon as I arrive, I search for a specific book.

"..." As soon as I find the book, I open it to the page that has exactly what I’m looking for.

"...Loneliness..." I read the exact word that describes what I feel. This imdiately confuses .

’Loneliness? Is that it? I feel lonely?’ I sit in my chair, thinking about when all this started. Not the feeling for Evelyn, but the loneliness I’ve always felt.

"Ah, yes... 4 years old..." I rember when I started feeling displaced from the world. 4 years old. That’s when my curse made hate the whole world.

"This disgusting, fake world..." I know the truth of the world. Our world is just a source of entertainnt for other beings. I know they watch our lives, take sides, and choose our decisions while having fun.

They treat our lives like a ga, a pre-programd script where our lives only serve as their amusent. This fills with the purest hatred. My life is no one’s entertainnt.

I... never accepted being a puppet controlled by others just so they could have fun with my life, my choices, and my mistakes... That’s why, at 5 years old, I decided.

I will kill everyone. I thought this while watching Marie destroy Augustus’s toy and seeing Augustus cry. It turns out that when soone destroys the entertainnt, it’s not fun.

I arrived at a simple logic: if everything ceases to exist, then they won’t have anything left to watch for entertainnt. No one notices, but I know soone is watching us, enjoying our lives as if we were toys.

And that’s why I decided to break all those toys and leave the world empty. No life ans no entertainnt, and no entertainnt ans freedom. This is also the only way I found to be free.

Because I know. No one is forcing to make this choice, because this choice is bad for their entertainnt. This choice to kill everyone is sothing I chose to do with the freedom I conquered.

But I think knowing that everyone is just entertainnt following a pattern gave a strange feeling. They don’t understand. They aren’t like . They are "inferior."

If I’m the only one who notices, then everyone who doesn’t is inferior to . It’s only natural.

They are trapped being what others want them to be. But that’s where the current Evelyn cos in. She stepped out of those pre-defined lines. She acts now like I acted when I discovered the truth of the world.

’She knows... the rose-shaped emblem shows it... she knows the truth. She knows this world is ’fake.’ She knows we are entertainnt for sothing greater... but why...’ I wonder why she does nothing.

"Why... why... why... why... why... why... why... why... why isn’t she doing anything... is she so stupid she doesn’t understand?" I stop questioning myself and look at the book.

’Loneliness... yes... I am lonely... After all, how can I beco attached to a bunch of idiots made to be entertainnt?’ Everyone who doesn’t understand is an idiot. They are stupid for not noticing this manipulation.

But Evelyn... she is different. Clearly, she is still inferior to in many aspects, but the re fact that she also knows the truth of the world already puts her above everyone else and brings her closer to being like .

Whether it’s a god, a deity, or whatever being is watching our lives, I will never be a toy for soone’s entertainnt.

My curse allows to see far beyond. There are many things I know that others can’t even imagine.

"Is that why Evelyn is afraid when she’s near , but still tries to talk? She knows that I know?... H-Hahahaha." I put both hands on my face and press hard.

"She knows... She knows... She knows... She knows... She knows... She knows... She knows... She knows... That’s why it’s fun to watch her... because she is ’alive’... she isn’t like the others..." I get excited by this discovery.

That’s why she attracts . That’s why she generates curiosity in . That’s why, even though I hate change so much, I still don’t hate how Evelyn has changed.

I don’t hate her. It’s not because her change is acceptable. Actually, I don’t hate her because her change was from sothing generic that followed the will of another to a living being with real freedom, like .

’That’s why she was hiding, right? She knew all along... but just hid...’ This irritates . I suffered so much to deal with this. I was forced to live a lie, while this coward hid.

’Calm down... calm down... it’s fine... I know now... we are the sa...’ My desire to have her near increases. The marriage idea, which was just a confusing thought before, seems even better now.

If I tie her to like this, I can have her close and see sothing truly alive. Now I feel bad for having talked so little with her.

I can’t say I like her, but right now I feel like a child who finally received sothing it wanted so badly and didn’t even rember it needed.

’My heart is racing... is this... joy?’ I look in the mirror. I have a crooked smile. It’s been so long since I’ve had a genuine smile that the smile in the mirror looks strange on my face.

"Joy... it’s been... over 14 years since I’ve felt joyful about sothing..." I murmur, looking out the window. Now I’m more interested in observing Evelyn.

’Evelyn should return to the competition before she falls too far behind everyone else... 1 to 2 years... that’s the maximum ti she can spend out there, and I know it...’ I look out the window.

"Two years... Evelyn, show many entertaining things during this ti..." I murmur with the first good feeling of looking forward to sothing in the future that I’ve had in a very long ti.

Evelyn achieved what no one else could: she gave the desire to see the future. Sothing I can’t predict. Sothing made by her own will.