NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 68 Are you any different?
They began the experiment and Nele watched in excitement as she carefully controlled the temperature of the fire element crystal with her mana.
After just over an hour the amount in the beaker had dropped to just below a quarter of what was originally in there and so Nele removed the fire element crystal to let the concentrated sulfuric acid cool.
After letting it cool for a while Nele found a container to store it in along with a top so they could seal it.
Just as they finished the bell rang and three women entered the store.
A mature red headed beauty with huge breasts and wearing very revealing clothing led the three into the store, she was followed by a younger red headed beauty who Tommy guessed was Chelna since she looked very similar the the mature redhead just wearing slightly more conservative clothes.
However it was the last woman who entered that surprised him, he didn't expect to see the silver haired beauty he met back at Club Tai with the princess and her mother when she was hanging out with prince Mirvef, though thinking back she didn't seem to be enjoying herself with him much..
[Queen Tinen Etria]
[Race: Human]
[Gender: Female]
[Age: 45]
[Condition: Healthy]
[Mana Quality: Pinnacle]
[Occupation: Queen of the Rosk Royal Family, Etria Imperial Princess]
[Tirma Narkun]
[Race: Human]
[Gender: Female]
[Age: 22]
[Condition: Healthy]
[Mana Quality: Pinnacle]
[Occupation: Daughter of Duke Val Narkun]
(Wow, so the queen is actually the imperial princess while the silver-headed beauty is the daughter of a duke.)
"WHAT! The queen and the princess?" Nele shouted in surprise before asking, "Why didn't you tell me they were the ones coming?"
"Would it have mattered?" Tommy replied with a shrug as if not bothered.
Tinen noticed how the young man in-front of her didn't seem to care about her identity at all and her interest in him grew.
"Sorry we took so long." Chelna said as she approached Tommy with an apologetic smile.
"Not wearing your cloak today?" Tommy asked with a smirk.
"Why bother when you already know who we are." Chelna replied.
"Seems I need to stop revealing so many things to Kele, she has loose lips." Tommy commented before turning to the Tirma and saying.
"A pleasure to meet you again, I honestly didn't expect us to run into each other again so soon."
Timra smiled as she replied, "Indeed, I got to meet you again so that I can thank you for what you did at club Tai."
"Might I assume then that the prince has kept his hands to himself since and I don't need to cut them off?" Tommy asked.
"That would be correct," Tirma replied before sighing and saying. "if only it was so easy with every suitor."
Tinen watched with interest how Tommy didn't seem to be too bothered about her presence, in fact after his first glance at her when she entered the store he had not looked at her once. This was a new experience for her as men usually couldn't keep their eyes off her for long, especially when she dressed in a revealing way like how she was now.
"You know it's generally customary to greet the queen before the princess and the daughter of a noble house." Tinen said in a slightly offended voice.
Normally if this were to happen and Tinen showed that she was offended the man would soon be begging for forgiveness, however.
Tommy just looked at her before saying, "Is that so." After which he turned back to Chelna and asked. "Are you ready to start?"
All four women showed surprised looks as Tommy just shrugged off Tinen's comment as if he wasn't bothered at all.
It took Chelna a moment to recover before she replied, "Of course. I am here to keep my end of the deal."
"Nice to know this city has some people who keep their word unlike that blacksmith." Tommy replied.
"I heard that you plan to pay master Erden a visit in the castle in the future?" Tinen asked with a smile as if not bothered about Tommy's earlier response.
"You well informed your majesty." Tommy replied before adding. "That is correct, I plan to teach the man what it means to back out on a deal with me while also laying an ambush?"
"Oh, might I ask what you plan to do to him assuming you can reach him?" Tinen asked curiously before adding. "Do you plan to kill him?"
"It's not if I reach him but when, and no I don't plan to kill him." Tommy replied, surprising Tinen, Chelna and Tirma.
"Might I ask why after what he did to you?" Tinen asked.
"Because death is too easy and quick, with what I have in mind he will suffer longer and may even end up taking his own life." Tommy replied with a dark smirk.
"Please enlighten me as to what punishment you plan to give him." Tinen requested.
"Why should I?" Tommy asked in return.
"Excuse me?" Tinen asked in surprise as she was refused.
How long had it been since anyone, especially a man had refused a request from her.
"Why should I tell you my plans?" Tommy repeated before adding. "I don't know you and I'm still trying to work out exactly who I can and can't trust in this city, especially since that spoiled brat and Erden ratted me out to the guards while Chelna and Kele seem to tell each other everything about me."
"Have you told any of them something you don't want repeated?" Tinen asked.
"Not yet, I'm not so foolish to reveal secrets to people I don't know or trust. The only reason I have told Kele and Rizi what I have is because Kele earned a small amount of respect from me, respect I might add that is slowly thinning." Tommy answered.
Tommy turned to Chelna before saying, "Let's get this over with so you can go back to your castle and plot whatever schemes you two are plotting."
After speaking Tommy walked back towards the counter while asking Nele, "Is the water ready Nele?"
Nele took a moment to get over her surprise at how Tommy was treating the queen and princess before she nodded and said, "Yup let me go grab it for you." After Which she disappeared into the back room.
"What was all that about?" Tirma asked in a whisper.
"It seems he doesn't like the idea of his secrets being talked about." Tinen replied in a similar whisper while frowning slightly.
"You're wrong, your majesty." Tommy suddenly said make the women surprised since he heard them whispering.
"While it's true no one likes their secrets being traded, I am old enough to know that the more people you tell your secret to, the less secret it will be." Tommy said before adding. "What I'm annoyed at is that I read Kele wrong, I thought she was someone I could possibly put my trust in, however she failed at the first test."
"Test?" Chelna asked curiously.
Tommy turned to Chelna before asking, "Do you really think I would reveal my skill to Kele and Rizi simply because they asked me while smiling and fluttering their eyelashes? I'm not your step brother who you can lead around by his cock, what I revealed to them about my skill is just the bare minimum to see if they would keep it to themselves or reveal it to someone, and look how you have arrived today."
Tinen frowned before asking, "Are you saying everything you have revealed to my daughter and her friends has been to test them?"
"Not everything." Tommy admitted. "Some things I had to reveal to complete my goals."
"It seems you're very distrusting of people." Tinene replied.
"Are you any different?" Tommy asked, causing Tinen's eyes to widen before she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"You are royalty, and not just any royalty but an imperial princess." Tommy began to explain. "I am not from nobility, however I have an idea how it works. Nobles in essence stab people in the back more than assassin's do. You live in a cut throat world where every sentence, every question, every answer, every gesture has multiple meanings. Nobles very rarely speak candidly to one another and though they say one thing they mean something completely different. I suspect the number of people you feel you can speak candidly with can be counted on your fingers."
"Now look at my life, it's so much simpler. Someone hires me to kill someone and I go kill them, then there are two possibilities, ether they pay me for the job and that's that, or the go back on the deal and try to have me killed like Erden did, in that case I punish them ether by death of by something more fitting for them."
"In this essence I feel pity for you, your majesty , sure you live in a big castle and can have everything you want with maids and butlers, high class food and drink but ask yourself this, are you happy with your role in life or do you want more? Are you striving for more?"
