I arrive at Esther's mansion, greeted by two maids who tell me she's expecting me. Amanda came with me, since she's the one handling all the political maneuvering that comes with noble affairs.

We're quickly led to a reception room, and as soon as we enter, I see Esther drinking a cup of blood that I recognize by scent as mine. She has a gentle smile on her face as she reads a book, as if she didn't have a care in the world.

"Lovely night, don't you think, my Queen? The moon truly enhances the calming beauty of your presence," she says in a tone that immediately frustrates me.

"Esther, I came to ask that you please... release the trade routes under your control... Amanda drew up a very fair contract, and I'm willing to pay a substantial amount..." I say, sitting down across from her while Amanda stays quiet.

"I see you've made more living puppets, three this time, right? Not afraid they'll betray you like that gray bitch you had before?" she mocks, placing her cup on the side table next to her book.

"They won't do that..." They're incapable of it. I placed several restrictions on them, mental and psychological chains binding them to their duties so they can never betray me in any way.

"I'll believe you for now. Could you give me the contract to look over?" She extends her hand as Amanda hands it over. She glances at it without interest, focusing more on looking at me every few seconds.

"It's a good deal from a logical standpoint. The payment is excellent too..." She takes the paper and tears it in half. It was obvious it wouldn't be that easy.

"That's not what I want, Evelyn."

"What do you want from me?"

"Nothing."

"?" Amanda and I exchange confused glances. I could have sworn Esther would say something absurd and I'd have to negotiate.

"Nothing? Like, nothing at all?"

"Yes. I want absolutely nothing..."

"B-But then why won't you let the shipments pass through your newly acquired territory?"

"To show you that you are completely dependent on my goodwill, on my wanting to help you. And if I don't, I can ruin this kingdom."

"..."

"Did you tell anyone my plans?"

"...No..."

"I see. Then let it stay that way. And know that this girl by your side miscalculated. Obviously, she thinks that because I'd also lose money, some offer would make me allow your passage."

"But you, Evelyn, you know I don't care about money, territory, or the lives of the people who will be affected by my choice."

'Of course you don't.' She wants a genocide; obviously she wouldn't care if her decision makes her lose money and causes deaths.

"Is that all? You're doing this just to flaunt the fact that I can't do anything?" I say, finding this all very childish of her.

"So cold, Evelyn. I'm your wife. I don't need to flaunt myself to you. You know full well what I'm capable of."

"Then why, Esther? What's the point of keeping it like this and not even letting me negotiate?" This is so unfair to me.

"Because I can. Nothing more, nothing less. You understand me well, Evelyn. You know what I want. You just won't do it because you got arrogant with your victory."

"You beat me in that fight, I admit that. Your plan was brilliant. But one victory doesn't mean you're more capable or better than me. You were too arrogant to think that being queen means you're not beneath me."

"But I never thought that..."

"Evelyn, you think we're equals, don't you? You think that now that you're queen, you can beat me. You think you can stop me, stop my plans, prevent me from doing whatever I want."

"And that's ridiculous. The very fact that you think you're on the same level as me is humiliating. You're the only one in this world who is my equal, but you were always beneath me. And your arrogance in assuming you can beat me or stop me is simply the same as trying to diminish me."

"So I'm showing you, Evelyn. You never had a chance against my intellect. I admit, you becoming queen wasn't a stroke of luck. You did well."

"But suppose an experienced genius and a rookie genius are playing chess. In a million tries, the rookie genius will get some victories. That doesn't make them equal to the experienced genius."

"You won once, and that was just probability working in your favor after you manipulated the board a little. But you've never even come close to me."

'Arrogant...'

"Arrogant."

"!!!?" She speaks at the exact moment I think she's being arrogant.

"..."

"Evelyn, you're so predictable. You know, I loved our little game. It was fun. But it was just me treating you like a rookie. I went easy on you."

"But you, Evelyn, you wanted to take a step bigger than you should have. And now I'm treating you like a real player. You think all I did was put a collar on you?"

"Hahaha, it's almost funny that you haven't discovered even half of what I've done in the last two weeks."

"W-What do you mean?" My voice wavers, a sign of hesitation I try to hide.

"I've taken over the black market. I've also started buying ports from some nobles by cashing in old favors. Soon, the docks where the warships will be stationed will be under my control."

"Likewise, I've already started buying fertile lands for agriculture. I've also invested a lot of money in technological advancements, buying up several patents for everyday items."

"And I've also curtailed the power of several nobles, reducing what they can do by meddling in their areas of control and generating competition."

"I-Impossible!! You don't have that kind of money!!" I stand up, agitated by this absurdity! From what Amanda said, she spent over 80% of the money she had buying the trade routes and the dungeons. There's no way she could have bought even more things.

"You're right, Evelyn. I don't have all that money. But you do." When she says this, she gives a huge smile.

"Me?... YOU STOLE FROM ME!!"

"Don't shout, Evelyn. Shouting is a loss of composure during a negotiation. Besides, stole? I didn't steal from you. Have you forgotten how marriage works?"

"All your marital assets are mine. The Demon King or Demon Queen always has two coffers: the personal coffer and the treasury coffer."

"The treasury coffer is a private asset meant for the kingdom's economy, so it's not a marital asset... however, the personal coffer is an asset of the ruler, so it's yours. And because it's yours, it's also mine, as I am the matriarch of our family and you are my wife with no power of choice in these matters."

"I just used the laws, Evelyn. The same laws you should know by heart. This is how you play a real game, Evelyn."

"...You... this is so unfair..."

"Yes, Evelyn, this isn't fair at all. Because you wanted to leave our fun, low-level confrontation for a professional competition. And when taken seriously, you never had the slightest chance of beating me, not even in a million tries."

"I'm using my blessing. You know what your chances are of beating me now? One in ten million. It means that out of every ten million intellectual confrontations, you'll beat me once."

"..." When she says this, I collapse back onto the sofa, burying my face in my hands. This is so humiliating, in a way that truly wounds my pride. I... I thought... I thought I had finally reached her level.

I thought I could finally equal Esther. What was the point of everything I did if she's practically invincible like this? I always thought the game exaggerated, that Esther won in every route just because she was very strong and because it was a game, so a villain who seemed invincible was interesting.

But it's obvious it wasn't an exaggeration from the game. Esther is simply so unbalanced that she completely broke the game by being invincible.

'One in ten million... how do I beat those odds?' It's not literally ten million tries; I could beat her today. But the chance of me figuring out how is so infinitesimal it seems impossible. Like she said, it would literally take an absurd number of attempts for me to beat her, and that still wouldn't put me at her level.

"I-I lost... okay, I lost... you win, Esther. I... I can't beat you. Is that what you wanted to hear? I'm inferior to you. I... don't even come close," I say, tears welling in my eyes.

It's like someone took a life's work and set it on fire. It's so painful to realize how inferior I am to her. The entire image of a powerful queen I was trying to maintain crumbles, while Amanda looks away.

"You don't need to cry, my love. It makes you look pathetic. After all, hope is a double-edged sword. It motivates you, but when you lose, it strikes you back with full force."

"That's why, Evelyn, you remain as pathetic as ever. You have too much 'hope' in things and in people. You can't rely on hope when it comes to planning and strategy. It's a shield the weak use."

"I work with things more concrete than hope when it comes to physical matters. For me, hope is more for the sentimental side, like having hope in love, for example. In that sense, it's at least more comforting and less harmful." She stands up, comes over to me, and grabs my face, wiping away my tears with her thumbs.

"My fragile and pathetic queen. It will still be a very long time before you can even glimpse the top where I stand. So don't be mistaken again. I lowered myself to your level to teach you how to play, but I was never truly at the bottom with you."

"So don't cry. Because when you cry, it only makes you look even weaker. And the weaker you look, the more I want to lock you in a cage." She finishes wiping my tears and returns to her seat.

"Now that we've made that clear, I think we can negotiate a 'fair' offer for me to open the trade routes for you."