F-Rank Puppeteer!! But I'll be Queen, and I'm not a narcissist!!!!!-Chapter 214: Opposing Sides

"Lyn!!" Faye sees me stepping out of the carriage and comes toward me, with Syl’Vyr who gives me a small smile while Esther behind me shoots a look that makes Faye stop and retreat behind Syl’Vyr.

’I understand, Faye! Esther’s eyes are terrifying...’ I shake my head in agreement with that fact, but nearly trip slipping off the carriage, forcing Esther to grab my hand so I don’t fall because of my damn bad luck.

"Evelyn-chan... can we talk? Or are you going to ignore your puppets again? It’s been a while since you even tried to speak with us..." Syl’Vyr speaks, her tail swaying softly, her ears drooping.

"Ah, I... I will. Esther, could you go ahead? You’re the family matriarch. I bet you have lots of papers to sign and territories to manage," I say with a smile toward her, and she releases me.

"Of course, clever girl. See you later," she says, giving my butt a slap and a tight squeeze, then starts walking, waving at me as she passes Syl’Vyr.

"Hmmm..." My tail moves gently from side to side with a bit of excitement as I blush at what she did. Syl’Vyr and Faye approach cautiously.

"Sorry, I’ve been really busy these past few months, so it’s been hard to talk with you..." I tell them, scratching the back of my head. Eve must be training because of the time—it’s around 5:30 in the morning. My "meeting" with Esther lasted all night.

"Now, could you follow me?" I start walking toward a special room Esther made for me. It has materials for puppets and relic crafting, where I can train in peace.

’Though I’d love a bath. I reek of dirt, blood, and sweat...’ A bath would be great, but if I delay talking with them again, it’ll look really bad on my part.

"Lyn, you’re bleeding. Did you hurt yourself?" Faye asks as we walk forward. I glance back briefly, seeing the bloodstain on my dress on the left arm area.

"No... I’m fine." I already rebuilt that. It’s just leftover blood from another one of Esther’s bites. At this point, I’m getting used to her bites, and they’ve stopped hurting.

"..." I open the door to the place upon arriving and go silent. It’s the first time I’ve seen this room, and it’s full of puppet materials. I look at the table and see a plate with a golden apple and a note that simply says [For You] with a lipstick mark.

’Is she predicting me this easily... am I that predictable?’ I pick up the apple, take just one bite, and place it back on the table. I don’t even know when she had time to do this—whether she did it just now or had it prepared last night.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I ask, sitting in a chair and turning toward the two. My horns shimmer softly in the room’s light while my tail rests on the table as if it owns the place.

"You know, it’s about how you’ve been neglecting us a little... and all the other puppets..." Syl’Vyr says, sitting in a chair. Faye stays beside her, shifting restlessly.

’...’

"Yeah... I really am doing that. Time is short... and the situation hasn’t helped much... but it’s not on purpose, you know? It’s hard to deal with lots of people... when things are tough," I sigh, staring at them.

I created them, but I’m neglecting them. I guess that makes me a terrible creator, since I made them with certain personalities that require my attention, but I’m not giving them the attention they need.

"Can we do something right now, maybe? I have time..." I offer with a smile as the two exchange glances.

"Of course, Evelyn-chan. What do you need?" Syl’Vyr asks, while I feel the broken connection with the two. I still haven’t found a way to repair the damage that "Evelyn" caused.

"I’m thinking of testing creating objects, not necessarily a puppet. I’ll use my power to create puppets, but choose the form of an object. I want to test if the object can have functions, powers, even other things..."

"Faye, could you grab those materials over there in that box? They seem to be the lower-quality ones—perfect for testing. We can run these tests together, the three of us," I say, pointing to a box while Syl’Vyr starts throwing out idea after idea of what I could try to make. In this moment, we seem to return to those more animated conversations from the past.

...

...

...

"Urgh..." I cover my mouth, almost vomiting as I look at Lucien staring at me. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"Laplace, hurry up, you bitch. If you vomit, I’ll break your teeth," he says furiously as I force myself to swallow with tears. The taste is horrible—bitter, disgusting, and it makes me feel filthy.

"Better. Now take this. I don’t want you pregnant." He tosses a medicine at me, which I take quickly, because I don’t want children either, especially not with this damn bastard.

"Don’t you think you’re pretty lucky, Laplace? Because of your recent failures, our father sent us to the same area, making you come with me so you can fix your mistakes," he says maliciously, throwing my clothes at me.

"Get dressed. I still have things to do, and you’re coming with me..." He glances at the door when we hear it opening. I quickly cover my private parts with the clothes, ashamed to be seen in this pitiful state.

"Augustus, what are you doing here?" Lucien asks, speaking in a cheerful tone to him.

"Our father is acting strange, so I’m looking into a few things... Don’t you think he was too hasty before? He seems to be doing something. Besides, he clearly wants us out of the castle, so I’ll be heading to the battlefield soon," Augustus says, hugging a stuffed toy. His tone is paranoid, and his eyes dart around as if someone might be listening.

"Oh, yeah. It is strange to see our father being quick with rewards and punishments. Plus, it was weird how he praised Evelyn. Actually, a lot of things were strange there. The place was pretty empty..." Lucien says, placing a hand on his chin while Augustus starts staring at me.

"I didn’t know you and Laplace were together..."

"TOGETHER, HELL NO!" Lucien shouts angrily, making Augustus take a step back. I quickly put on my clothes, despite the disgust I feel from my sweaty skin and this sticky substance dirtying me.

"I’m just teaching this whore her place. Never say we’re ’together’ again. I’d rather die than be a couple with this disgrace," he runs a hand through his hair, stressed from what he heard, while I tremble in fear that he’ll take his stress out on me.

"Anyway, Augustus, don’t ask too much. Whatever our father is doing, he clearly doesn’t want us to know. And if we try to dig into it, it might come back to bite us..."

"Fine then... What about you, Laplace? Anything to add? You’re... the one most involved with the battlefield..." Augustus looks at me with suspicion, as if no matter what I say, he’ll see it as a lie.

"I don’t know anything. Don’t ask me..."

"Hey, hey, hey, bitch. You shouldn’t tell lies, you know? Want to be punished?" Lucien says with a malicious smile and curiosity, savoring the power he holds.

"I-I swear I don’t know anything. O-our father doesn’t even trust me much, and most of the time when I’m on the front lines, it’s just for combat! I-If you want to know something, ask the demon king’s generals, b-but they’re required to report all interactions, so our father will know if they talk with you..." I say quickly, burying my face in the bed and bowing as he told me I should do.

"... Hear that, Augustus? This idiot doesn’t know anything. Satisfied? By the way, now I’m curious—what have you been up to, Augustus?"

"..." Augustus stares at Lucien in silence for too long, making it clear he won’t say anything, being too paranoid.

"Tsk. You ask but don’t answer. What an ungrateful brat. Fine, get out. I’m still busy with her. If you want to know more, ask Evelyn or Esther. Those two are a weird duo who probably know something." Lucien slams the door in Augustus’s face, then turns to me.

"Come on, get up. We have things to do, and I need to go to the black market before heading to the battlefield. I have business with someone..." He comes over and yanks my hand hard.

"I-I can walk..."

"..." He stares into my eyes with pure disgust and disdain.

"You know how to walk, huh? Yeah, of course you do. But knowing how to walk didn’t stop you from forcibly dragging plenty of girls with you who also knew how to walk and clearly didn’t want to go with you. So if you don’t shut up, I’ll make walking impossible for you."

"...I-I’m sorry..."

"Better." He releases my hand and goes to the dresser, taking something out and putting it in his pocket.

"And be damn grateful I haven’t killed you yet, because you’re hanging by a thread and I can’t stay patient all the time if provoked. Now fix those sloppily worn clothes and hurry up. We have to leave as soon as possible."

"B-Bath..."

"Baths are for normal people. You’re not a normal person. You’re a filthy, disgusting whore who doesn’t deserve the bare minimum."

"..."

"What are you staring at? Move it!"

"O-Okay, okay..." I start fixing my clothes quickly, following his orders, because even though all of this is degrading, I don’t want to die.