Private Meeting With The Tyrant Queen

If he was capable of truly saving the Queen, he was an enemy.

Neo instinctively sensed the hostile gazes aimed in his direction.

Due to his weak control, his presence erupted on its own even before he stepped past the doors, baring its fangs on those who were looking towards him with hostility.

His overwhelming presence swept past doors and drowned everyone.

The audience froze and the Queen watched with interest as the dark-haired youth entered.

At a glance, he looked weak, not even able to control the Divine Energy leaking from his body. However, everyone could feel the heavy aura of Death on him.

The guards reacted.

"Who are you!? Apprehend him!"

They swiftly encircled Neo and pointed their weapons at him.

His aura made it clear he was an apex predator who would pounce on them as soon as he saw an opening.

They mistook him for an intruder.

"Let him be," the Queen spoke.

The ministers wanted to advise the Queen against letting such a dangerous person free.

However, they swallowed their words when she gave them a glance, and they nodded.

The Queen returned her gaze on Neo.

Her eyes were glowing and, hovering before Neo, she could see something no one could.

[Name: Neo Hargraves]

[Rank: Grade 5 Awakened]

[Bloodline: Monarch of Death]

She chuckled inwardly seeing his rank, and her interest in him rose, wondering how he could have such a powerful aura despite his rank.

The audience hall, unable to use the same ability as the Queen, did not know his rank, and they remained silent, fearful of Neo.

The chilling silence was broken by Neo, who had been staring at the Queen in a daze.

"You…"

He couldn't help but notice the thick aura of Death covering the Queen.

His strong Death Affinity allowed him to roughly guess the time of arrival of others' death.

Death had touched her already. She was resisting its call through her overwhelming might.

But…

"You will die in 3 days."

Neo's words brought a catastrophic change to the mood in the audience hall.

Some were skeptical of his words.

A few looked distraught.

Most of them were happy.

Amelia grabbed his wrist.

"W-what? How can you be so sure? We have the Divine Water pond—"

"The Divine Water won't help. You can use it to concoct potions and elixirs but it's already too late for her."

She would die. Just like how she died in the novel.

The Tyrant Queen maintained a calm expression despite the news.

Looking at her, no one could guess she was at death's door.

"Today's audience is adjourned," the Queen said.

Her words snapped the people out of their stupor.

They realized they had been too agitated.

How could he, a no-name Demigod, guess the time of the Tyrant Queen's death?

It was impossible for him.

His Divine Energy Purity was weak, and there was no way he could cast strong Spells with that.

However, there was one thing that did not make sense to anyone. The Queen was not killing him after his discourteous words.

Why was that?

They suddenly had a terrible thought.

Was this the Queen's plan, to see who supported her death, and she planned to kill those who seemed happy with her coming death?

It was entirely possible for the maniac tyrant to do something like that.

While the ministers were dragging their feet out of the hall, the Queen told Clara, "Bring him to my office."

She stood up and left. Neo turned to Amelia and saw her staring at the floor with a blank gaze and clenched fists.

"Please follow me," Clara spoke.

She took Neo to another room. The doors were not as big as the audience hall but they were equally majestic.

"He is here, my Queen," Clara said after knocking on the door.

"Send him in."

Entering inside, the first thing Neo noticed was the Tyrant Queen, Elizabeth.

She was preparing tea with a smile.

"I never thought I would meet a kin of the Great Death God in my life. A recently Awakened Demigod at that," she spoke while beckoning him to sit. "Why are you here?"

"To sell the Divine Water pond."

He sat on the sofa.

He had not expected she would know his rank, but he was not agitated.

If he did not have the confidence to face the Queen, he would not have come here.

Rule 1 of persuasion skill set: Be Confident.

"Is this why Amelia brought you here? I have to refuse your offer. I don't need the Divine Water since I'm going to die either way."

As expected, she knew.

However, the fact she called Neo to meet her meant he had something she needed.

"But…" she added. "I could think about the deal if you, the Death's Inheritor, could save me."

"I can try, but I need to know what is happening to you."

Neo knew why she was about to die.

But he still needed to hear it from her mouth.

It would be suspicious if he knew something no one other than the Queen did.

"I'm cursed."

She revealed the answer easily.

Neo thought he would've had to bargain more.

He faked a thoughtful expression.

In truth, there was no need to think.

This was the reason why he came here.

To collect the hidden piece that allowed the villain to destroy the Mermaid Country single-handedly.

The Tremor-ranked Magic Spell he asked for was just a smokescreen.

Of course, the Tremor-ranked Spell was still important.

While it was true that Mermaid Country was an isolated country, away from the continent where all powerhouses lived, a Tremor-ranked was precious anywhere.

"I can save you. Of course, you must also give me the Tremor-ranked Magic Spell that the princess promised."

The vulnerabilities hiding behind her calm expression showed for a split second.

But she hid them quickly.

She brought the two teacups and placed them on the table.

As she sat across Neo, she poured tea into the cup.

Elizabeth had asked him if he could cure her as he was the blood of Death. N

ever did she imagine he could actually do it.

She stopped her arms from trembling and spoke calmly, "If you have this much confidence, you must have something you want from me."

"Your most prized possession." He smiled. "Give it to me."

He couldn't say outright that he wanted her weapon, the replica of Poseidon's Trident.

His words, however, were direct enough for her to understand him.

"You want the Poseidon—"

She stopped speaking and turned to the doors.

A playful smile appeared on her face.

She spoke loudly as if she wanted the person hiding behind the doors to hear her, "My most prized possession. You want my kingdom? You'll have to marry my daughter for that to happen."

"What?"

Neo did not understand what she was talking about.

Why did she suddenly change the subject from Poseidon's Trident to marriage?

"Oh dear, I don't mind it since you have a noble bloodline, but I don't want to force my daughter into a political marriage. Not when you are weaker than her."

"I don't want to marry your daughter."

Neo, irritated, decided to answer back.

"If your Kingdom is your most prized possession, I'd rather marry the Queen and become the King, instead of being the princess' fiancé."

The Queen cupped her face with one hand.

"My goodness, are you saying you want me?"

...

A/N:

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