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[Crossover] Ch 231: Weak, Pitiful, and Helpless!
🕑 Added 2025-09-02 19:02:55 +0000 UTC— — — — — —
"Hope you like this place. I'll excuse myself for now."
Inside the royal suite of a five-star resort hotel, Erica closed the door with her usual graceful smile.
She had barely taken a few steps down the hallway when she spotted Liliana leaning against the wall, looking distinctly displeased.
"Oh my, Lily—were you waiting here just for me?"
Erica's tone was warm and sweet, like she had just bumped into an old friend.
"Hmph!"
Liliana snorted, glaring at her. With a sharp, jealous edge to her voice, she said: "Shameless as ever. You actually dawdled in His Majesty's room for several minutes, Erica. Your face is getting thicker by the day."
"I only stayed that long for your sake, Lily~"
Erica's expression instantly shifted into a look of exaggerated heartbreak, as if she'd just been cruelly wronged by her best friend.
"For my sake?" Liliana blinked in surprise, then scoffed. "As if someone like you, with no sense of morals whatsoever, would ever do something out of kindness."
Erica's eyes curved with mischief.
"I handed over that collection of love stories you've been writing all these years to Mr. Ryo."
"..."
Liliana froze for three long seconds, then her jaw dropped.
"What?!"
"You—you shameless woman! You actually dared—"
Her cheeks turned scarlet. One hand flew to the hilt of her sword, and for a moment she looked ready to cut Erica down right there.
"Relax. I was joking."
Erica winked playfully and added, laughing, "All I did was casually ask what kind of lunch Lord Yagami prefers."
"You—!"
Liliana exhaled in relief, her secret safe. But her eyes hardened, full of suspicion and hostility, even though she didn't dare lash out further.
Because what if it hadn't been a joke?
If Ryo ever saw those embarrassing knight-falls-for-the-dark-lord romance stories of hers, Liliana really would have no choice but to throw herself into a lake and disappear.
And the worst part? Erica had clearly brought it up just to threaten her.
Grinding her teeth, Liliana muttered through clenched lips,
"You vile woman..."
"As expected of Milan's elegant Fairy Knight. Even when you curse, you do it so gracefully."
Erica's smile was as composed as ever, though her fox-like eyes gleamed with cunning amusement.
After a long silence, Liliana demanded: "What scheme are you plotting this time?"
"Scheme?" Erica covered her mouth in mock surprise. "Not at all. I'm being perfectly open about it—I'm blackmailing you."
"You—!"
Liliana nearly snapped her teeth from grinding so hard. But no matter how angry she was, she couldn't do a thing against Erica and could only stew in frustration.
Finally, the fear of her secret novels being exposed—and the horror of being branded "impure"—won out. She bit back her pride and asked:
"Fine. What do you want?"
"Information." Erica snapped her fingers, then narrowed her eyes with a sly smile. "I want everything you know about Ryo Yagami."
"Impossible. That's classified."
Liliana rejected her instantly, glaring warily.
Was Erica trying to leak sensitive intel to Copper-Black Cross, so her organization could evaluate whether Ryo was worth backing?
Absolutely not. No matter the risk, as a knight she could never allow such a betrayal.
But Erica only smiled brighter.
"Don't refuse so quickly. The kind of intel I want isn't what you're thinking of."
Liliana frowned suspiciously. "Then what do you mean?"
Her rival's lips curled into a playful grin.
"Oh, little things. His preferences in women's figures, what talents he expects from a lover, maybe even… what poses he prefers at night. That kind of intel."
She leaned in with a sparkle in her eyes. "Of course, I can study up quickly if I don't know all the answers. I'm pretty confident I'd manage."
"H-huh?!"
Liliana blinked blankly at her. Apart from the word lover, she hadn't understood a single thing.
"Wait! Y-You want to be His Majesty's lover?"
The proud, arrogant Erica—wanting to lower herself to become a man's lover?
Was this really the same woman she knew? The arrogant lioness of Milan?
"..."
Erica fell silent, giving Liliana a strange look. "Wait. That's what you took away from this?"
"Isn't that the obvious part to care about?!" Liliana shot back, genuinely confused.
Erica stared at her for a long moment, then sighed deeply.
"Lily, I finally understand why in all your knight romances, a kiss is considered the ultimate limit."
"Wha—what does that even mean?" Liliana blinked again, completely lost.
Another long sigh. Then Erica said with mock pity,
"Fine. As payment for the intel, I'll teach you a few things they don't cover in class. Otherwise, I really don't see how you could ever take proper care of Ryo."
"I don't need you to teach me that!" Liliana snapped. "As a knight, I can fulfill my duties just—"
But then she caught Erica's pitying look and faltered.
"You... what exactly are you planning to teach me?"
Erica took her hand, her voice dripping with exaggerated sympathy.
"Come on. I'll start from the middle-school level."
---
Meanwhile, inside the royal suite.
The curtains were drawn, cloaking the room in heavy darkness.
Ryo watched with the cold, detached gaze of a man observing lab rats.
Athena's sharp, dissecting stare radiated both curiosity and merciless interest.
And in the middle, Pandora hugged her knees, teeth chattering as she looked at the two of them. Her whole body trembled, her heart pounding in terror.
It was the perfect picture of weak, pitiful, and helpless.
"Somebody, please—HELP!"
"Just where are my six children?!"
"Hurry and come save your poor mommy! Wooo..."
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