Seduce the hero's mother (GL)

When Rachel said those words in front of me, I was still confused for a long time.

And, even more embarrassingly, it was at that moment that the commander of the guards came into the imperial dining room. He caught our ambiguous pose by chance, and coughing embarrassedly.

I blushed in the blink of an eye, while Rachel frowned.

— What's wrong? — She asked coldly. «Have you forgotten the rules about not disturbing me on my own time?»

He shook his head hastily.

— Y-Your Majesty, that's not it at all…! But we can't make that decision ourselves.

— Hmm?

The girl finally pulled away from me, and I was able to exhale freely. The commander approached her and said something in her ear. After that Rachel seemed even more annoyed.

— Again? — snorted.

— I wanted to clarify your orders. Should we kill her, or…

Rachel took a deep breath.

— Let her in.

— What?» the man staggered.

— I'm going to finish this myself.

The commander was somewhat taken aback, then immediately nodded:

— Done and done!

He walked out of the dining room, and Rachel was off somewhere, too.

— I'll be right back.

The girl tossed me those words before leaving me alone. I stared after her in bewilderment, not knowing what could have happened so suddenly.

Rachel was walking swiftly down the palace corridor toward her office, and I felt more irritated with each passing second.

That nasty girl… managed to interrupt them again at the worst possible time!

Ever since Leriana had entered the imperial palace and never returned from there, Maximiliana Windsor had been waiting for the girl at the gate. A couple of times she even forcibly tried to break in, but the guards stopped her.

Up to this point Rachel didn't know what to do with her, but the constant presence of this annoying insect was a real thorn in her side.

Eventually, Rachel couldn't stand it and decided to let her in.

Today she was going to set the record straight. In any case, killing Leriana's friend, not even her most pleasant one, was not the best thing to do.

Rachel walked into the study, where the notorious Marquis' daughter was already waiting for her. A couple of years older, which made her seem a little more mature and put together. Long scarlet hair, outlaw clothes with a cape that didn't fit her status at all. There was a black patch over her left eye, and the right one burned through Rachel Cassius with all the hatred she could muster.

Barely encountering her, Maxie immediately approached her and grabbed her by the collar. Started shaking her.

— You…! — She cried out furiously, «What do you think you're doing?»

Rachel gave her a cold look.

— I should be asking you that. Who do you think you're talking to right now?

Rachel threw her hands off of her and grabbed her by the throat herself.

— I've had enough of your antics. Don't think I'm going to put up with this forever.

Invisible lightning flashed between them as the girls burned each other's eyes.

Rachel's fingers gripped her as if in a vise, but Maxie pretended not to feel it at all. Right now she was too angry.

— I had no idea that Lerian had gotten mixed up with such a monster,» she gritted her teeth.

— …

— When I trusted her to you, I didn't think you'd treat her like that.

— What do you know? — Rachel grinned. «Leriana was never yours. Don't pretend like you did me a favor.»

— The same goes for you.

Rachel raised an eyebrow. She'd been right. There was no one in this room to whom Leriane's heart belonged. And the one she really loved had disappeared the day the Bloody Camellia's ability had stopped working.

Noticing the confusion on her face, Maxie seized the moment and decided to press on.

— You locked her in here and won't even let her leave. What did Leriana do to deserve that kind of treatment?!

— Who said she was «locked up»? The crown princess can go anywhere she wants at any time.

— Aha!» she said indignantly, «Accompanied by that mob of ambassadors? How is that different from an animal in a cage then?»

Rachel frowned, for this comparison did not sit well with her. Her grip loosened slightly.

— It's not up to you to decide what I do. It's all about safety.

— «Safety?» You just don't want her to run away, do you?

— …

— You should know that I won't allow this absurd marriage. Once Leriana knows the truth, there's nothing you can do to force her to marry you.

Maxie threatened her by revealing the truth about Elsa's true identity. Once Leriane knew that Rachel had been lying to her all along, she would hate her once and for all. It was an entirely expected outcome.

And Maxie assumed that Rachel would certainly not let it be done so easily.

Even if she made a hundred attempts to stop her, the girl was ready to fight to the end. Perhaps try to sneak into Leriane's chambers in the middle of the night to report it…

But quite unexpectedly, Rachel Cassius suddenly let her go. After which she threw:

— Go ahead.

— What…? — Maxie was a little taken aback.

— Tell her everything, if you want to.

Maxie stared at her perplexedly, sensing some sort of trick in that sentence.

Rachel declared nonchalantly:

— You can take your chances and put it all on the line. But then don't be surprised if your father's head ends up on my desk tomorrow.

Maxie got mad.

— What the hell are you talking about?!

Rachel let out an icy chuckle.

— Your daddy became king just because I let him,» she said mockingly, «And I can also take that privilege away at any time.»

It was like a chill went through Maxie's body. Her legs buckled involuntarily as she realized what she'd said.

— You…» she said in a trembling voice.

— I didn't realize your family was so naive,» said Rachel, «Some wretched marquis could seize power without consequence and live happily ever after. Your father's pretty lucky, isn't he?

— I-it's…

Maximiliana Windsor was momentarily speechless.

The coup d'état in the Oberon Empire seemed strange indeed, since it had gone too smoothly. No one had tried to interfere with it. But the Marquis of Windsor, intoxicated by the long-awaited victory, didn't notice it at all.

As it turned out, it was for a reason. Rachel Cassius deliberately did not send any troops to them and simply «let» it happen. And all in order to…

— It can't be…» Maxie squeezed out disbelievingly, «Azeroth didn't interfere in this so you could manipulate my family now?»

Rachel looked satisfied, noticing the obvious disappointment on her face.

— This is what happens when mere pawns forget their place.

— …

When the prickly reality finally reached her consciousness, the girl couldn't stand it and laughed bitterly. But it was more of a hysterical cry of despair.

— At any moment I can deprive your family of everything it has now. You must always remember that.

Maxie shuddered involuntarily as she tried to realize how many more traps and manipulations the bastard had managed to pull off.

It turned out that Rachel had premeditated a plan by which Maxie could never reveal the truth willingly. More precisely, now she can do nothing at all. After all, the lives of those close to her were hanging by a thread — from just one word of this terrible woman.

Thus, Maxie was left «disarmed» in an instant.

When she was still frozen in a stupor, unable to utter a word, Rachel Cassius patted her on the shoulder.

— Be a good girl, and then everything will be all right,» she said with a sneer.

Rachel walked out of the office, fully confident that now the Marquis's daughter wouldn't dare do anything behind her back. And indirectly it turned out to be true.

Maxie was in a state of utter confusion. Slowly she settled down on the floor, trying to come to her senses.

This was not what she had expected when she came here.

From the beginning the girl had seen this «useless» journey as an opportunity for Leriane to come to her senses. Since the Archduke's daughter was terribly stubborn, she certainly would not have listened if she had been told to stop. Therefore, Maxie decided to simply let Leriane see for herself.

If Leriana was convinced that Elsa had disappeared, she was sure to stop looking for her at some point. In other words, as they sometimes say, «piss off and settle down.» Then she would have a chance to start a new life without being tied to the past.

But who knew it would turn out this way in the end?

If Maxie had known everything beforehand, she certainly wouldn't have let these two get close. No. She would have exposed Rachel Cassius from the start.

True, it was too late to think about that now.

Maximiliana clutched her head as she had absolutely no idea what to do now.

No… Stop!

A terrifying thought pierced her in an instant.

Razor had just recently finished his training with the Marquis of Windsor, and was scheduled to join their journey. The last time they had contacted each other was through letters about a month ago.

And since then, enough time had passed for the former second prince to make it to the kingdom of Azeroth.

Maxie slapped herself on the forehead.

She didn't know what Rachel would do to the once potential heir to the throne. Especially not after what had happened to his brother. Right now a meeting between them was like sticking her head in the jaws of a tiger on her own.

And when the truth comes out in front of him… This Lerian lover isn't going to come to her rescue, is he?!