Slave of the Demon King’s Castle 196

## Chapter 196 – Acer’s Decision (2)

While Low, Acer, and Ryu were arguing, unable to agree on their opinions, Charlotte, who had stepped outside, held a different view from Acer, who was floundering in pain.

Charlotte wasn’t greatly shaken even when she saw Ryu having consensual sex with another woman. It would be a lie to say she wasn’t jealous, but she could now brush it off as insignificant. The余裕 of the person who took the first time? It was a kind of confidence that Ryu would inevitably return to her, and it was the same type of confidence that Low possessed.

Besides, even when she heard about fighting the Outer God, she was only surprised at first. There was no way Low would plan something that would put Ryu in danger. Surely, if Ryu was in danger, she would step in. Charlotte had already finished thinking all of this through in her head from the moment she heard Low’s story, so she was able to maintain her composure unlike Acer.

But Acer was not.

The ability to purely show her emotions to others was both her strength and her weakness.

According to Lahart and Low, Ryu would be having sex with other women in the future, and Acer would go wild every time? Ryu would have no choice but to give in for now, but if that piled up, it could damage the relationship between the two of them in the future. It wasn’t that Charlotte didn’t want to monopolize Ryu, but she didn’t want the relationship to be strained like this either.

How could she build Acer’s tolerance? While she was thinking about that, Hilda hurried past Charlotte.

At the same time, a good idea flashed through Charlotte’s mind.

“Hey!”

Hilda, who somehow heard Charlotte’s voice from a distance, approached with a frightened expression, pointed at herself, and asked back.

“M-me?”

“Who else would I be talking to here?”

Hilda started quickly racking her brain, wondering if she had made a mistake today. Masturbating with Ryu as a side dish? Explaining Ryu’s cuteness to the new maid? Or was it when Acer broke a flowerpot in the yard and secretly hid it? No matter how much she thought about it, there was nothing she had done that would get her scolded by Charlotte.

“It’s nothing much, just come to my room when you’re done with work today.”

Come to her room, what kind of harsh punishment was waiting for her… Charlotte thought Hilda’s terrified, pale face was quite a sight to see. She didn’t bother adding any explanation and walked away from the spot.

After Hilda finished all the work she hadn’t been able to handle, Charlotte headed to Acer’s room.

“Your Majesty, I’m coming in.”

Charlotte entered Acer’s room before Acer could even answer. Acer was hugging her knees with a gloomy expression, burying her face in between them. It was the first time she had shown such a depressed appearance since Ryu left for District 2. Of course, the situation wasn’t that serious, but it was still unpleasant to see.

Charlotte opened her mouth in a nonchalant tone, putting the scattered trash and dolls back in their places.

“Even if you’re the Demon Queen, you should at least clean your room. Open the window to ventilate, turn on the lights, this is worse than a pigsty.”

Acer threw a question at Charlotte, who was cleaning the room while nagging.

“Charlotte, am I weird?”

Charlotte’s hand, which was picking up trash, stopped, and Acer continued to speak.

“I was happy as long as Ryu lived happily with me here. I can understand Low visiting sometimes too.”

Acer’s voice trembled quietly.

“But this is different. Why can he so readily step up to something that’s life-threatening? What am I supposed to live for if something happens to him… or if he leaves my side like my mother? Why didn’t he say a word to me when he was planning this from the start? Doesn’t Ryu love me from the beginning?”

Charlotte grabbed Acer’s shoulders somewhat roughly as she finally shed tears.

“Acer!”

Acer flinched in surprise at the firm shout and looked up to meet her eyes. The somewhat sternly furrowed brow relaxed and returned to its usual appearance.

“I’m sorry. I thought I would keep thinking negatively if I left it as it was. Is it a little better now?”

Charlotte naturally sat down next to Acer. Charlotte, who was sitting quietly and staring at the air, said softly.

“Don’t doubt.”

“Acting for our sake, not saying anything because he didn’t want to worry us, that’s definitely love for us.”

“But…”

“Ryu is like that, and we’re the same. It’s just that we didn’t know how to love properly. But is that a strange thing? He’s the first opposite-sex person we’ve ever loved, right? There are many forms of love, and the way of giving and receiving is different for each person. Ryu was just clumsy in the way he gave this time, and Your Majesty couldn’t receive it properly.”

Charlotte was already gently stroking Acer’s hair.

“It’s not now, but as Ryu grows up, there will be times when we clash with him and argue. Are you just going to hole up in your room and sulk like this every time? Conversation is necessary to build up each other’s feelings while spending more time together in the future. Even if your loving heart is overflowing, the other person won’t know properly if you don’t express it in words.”

At the end, Charlotte said with a smile on her face.

“So, if you keep acting ambiguous, I’m really going to steal him, okay?”

Only then did Acer shake her head and answer in a loud voice.

“T-that’s absolutely not allowed!”

For Acer, the most dangerous rival was not Low, who was like a parent, nor someone she didn’t even know, but Charlotte. This woman, who took Ryu’s first time and still has sex with him whenever she gets the chance, was her biggest enemy.

Charlotte covered her mouth with her hand and laughed as if Acer’s reaction was amusing.

“Fortunately, we don’t die of old age, right? There’s still plenty of time to get to know each other. So please understand all the things Ryu is doing now. For the sake of that day when everything is over and the three of us can live peacefully together in a quiet place.”

“It’s not strange to consume the present for the happiness of the distant future, so don’t trap yourself and hide in doubt and pain.”

After Charlotte finished speaking, Acer remained silent for a while. It wasn’t the silence that came from an escapist act of trapping herself in negative emotions. Acer sighed deeply. It seemed like she was pouring out the negative emotions that she had been foolishly worrying about.

Acer, whose expression had become much brighter, smiled at Charlotte and said.

“Thank you. You’re always a source of strength for me.”

Charlotte, who had confirmed that Acer’s mood had improved, joked with a smile.

“Your Majesty can’t do anything without me anyway. I’m glad you don’t grab my skirt and cry like you used to.”

“I-I never did that!”

Charlotte, who had solved the biggest problem, opened her mouth about the next problem.

“So you won’t react to Ryu hugging other women one by one, right?”

“To be honest, I don’t like that either. I wish Ryu would only love me, or at most Charlotte. But if it’s something he has to do… do I have to accept it? Ryu hugging other women, the sight of him falling for their bodies?”

Charlotte said nonchalantly.

“It’s okay as long as his heart doesn’t leave.”

“I… guess so?”

Acer answered in a reluctant tone. She understood it in her head, but she couldn’t hide all of the unsettling feeling that was causing this emotional turmoil. Would she be able to maintain her composure even after seeing Ryu hugging other women? No, she wasn’t sure that Ryu, who was hugging other women and falling for their bodies, wouldn’t abandon her.

Charlotte could see Acer’s thoughts clearly, and she opened her mouth.

“I have a good training for Your Majesty like that.”

“Training?”

Charlotte’s sly smile felt unsettling today.

“Just follow me for now. Oh, you don’t have to change your clothes.”

At those words, Acer followed Charlotte in her pajamas.

Charlotte headed to her room. Acer wondered about the presence she felt behind the door. Charlotte wasn’t the type to invite others to her room unless it was absolutely necessary. With a meaningful smile, Charlotte opened the door, and two people were standing there with bright light.

Standing there were Hilda and Ryu, who, like Acer, had expressions of not knowing what was going on. Charlotte sat down on the bed with a nonchalant voice as if she knew everything.

“Everyone’s here?”

Hilda, Ryu, and Acer, who had just arrived in the room, looked at each other with bewildered expressions. What was the purpose of gathering everyone here? The three of them didn’t say anything and just stared at Charlotte.

In the ensuing silence, Charlotte finally opened her mouth.

“What Your Majesty has to do is simple. From now on, you just have to quietly watch the two of them having sex here.”