Chapter 101: Akxia – You, Take It Off
The attendants who could enter the palace and serve the royal family had already been through strict selection processes; in both appearance and demeanor, they were all the finest of the fine.
As the second imperial princess of the Granville Empire, Ophelia was naturally no stranger to this.
Though the fashion styles differed due to the era, the quality of the maids shown in the light screen was on par with those she had seen in the imperial palace of the Granville Empire.
However—
At this moment, the brilliance of all the other maids was completely overshadowed by one individual.
…
Thud—
A confidential royal document slipped from her hand and fell to the floor with a dull thump.
Ophelia stared at the light screen—or more precisely, at the breathtaking figure within it.
On that fair and delicate face, a rare trace of loss of composure appeared.
Strangely, a feeling of defeat welled up in Ophelia’s heart—a defeat in terms of feminine charm.
But she quickly shook her head and dispelled the distracting thoughts from her mind.
She was not even thirteen yet—there was still much room to grow.
Rather than feeling defeated… what truly concerned Ophelia was the true identity of that figure.
A flash of black light flickered through her wine-red eyes.
Behind her, the immortal mercury surged up and down, countless tangled and chaotic data streams flowed through the matrix and were computed.
The appearance of the figure in the light screen was analyzed and compared against the image data stored in her personal database.
Eventually, a reliable and concrete conclusion was drawn.
“Although the target has undergone extremely skillful disguise and used highly advanced facial alteration techniques…”
“But from the skeletal structure, posture, and facial contours, it is still possible to determine…”
“This individual matches over 99% of Rast’s characteristics.”
She turned her head and locked her gaze on the silver-furred dean beside her. “What’s going on?”
“You’re telling me… that my possible future brother-in-law is actually a cross-dressing pervert?”
As a mechanist, Ophelia’s database had collected virtually all information on Rast in the current world.
According to her intelligence, Rast had never shown such tendencies.
But then again… this potential future brother-in-law of hers had always been shrouded in mystery, and it was only a few months ago—after he enrolled at Starfall University—that reliable information had finally become available.
It made perfect sense that he would disguise himself in the real world and only reveal his true self in the Nightworld, where he assumed no one could see him.
However—
If that were truly the case, then that meant she had lost—lost in feminine charm to a cross-dressing man.
In the light screen, the maid was so beautiful it could steal one's breath, as if she embodied all the beauty in the world.
It rendered Ophelia speechless—completely and utterly defeated.
“There’s another possibility—that brat Rast, like little Xia, also has a past identity from the Sixth Era, and that his memories have been suppressed, with his past self currently in control or something…”
The weasel dean blinked her beastly eyes and made a guess, but quickly shook her head.
She instinctively denied that hypothesis in his heart.
For no particular reason, only because the silver-furred dean had an inexplicable intuition.
Even if Rast truly had a past life and had awakened those memories… the fusion of both consciousnesses would ultimately result in Rast’s current will taking dominance.
This judgment stemmed from the momentary glimpse the dean once had into Rast’s psyche—beneath the gray haze, something sharp seemed to be hidden, ready to pierce through layers upon layers of disguise.
Deep within his soul, something even deeper must have existed—like the core of a steam engine, driving a humanoid shell long worn and battered by time to keep moving forward.
This obsession could not be erased even by centuries of stagnant time… let alone mere fragments of past-life memory.
Even if Rast did have a past self from a previous era and had not yet awakened those memories, once they did resurface, they would only be devoured entirely by his current mind—like a black hole that annihilates all light.
“If not a past life…”
“Then this brat cross-dressing like that… must have some special motive.”
The silver-furred dean’s gaze deepened.
Although she was not as adept at gathering intelligence as mechanist Ophelia, she had spent far more time in close contact with Rast.
In fact, in a certain sense, ever since Rast entered this world, the silver-furred dean had been by his side—perhaps understanding Rast better than even Shiltina did.
Therefore, once the initial shock faded, the dean was not all that surprised by Rast’s performance.
He was a natural actor… and his experiences in Deep Blue Port had brought him into contact with, and enabled him to mimic, countless external personas.
With just a bit of disguise, a change in hairstyle and attire, and a switch of his personality mask… he could completely transform into someone else, from looks to temperament.
“From what I know of Rast, he may appear normal on the surface.”
“But in terms of inner obsession, even your sister cannot compare to him.”
The silver-furred dean narrowed his eyes. “The reason he pretends to be approachable and easy to get along with is simply because he deems that the most beneficial approach.”
“Compared to little Tina and little Xia, whose personalities are obviously flawed, Rast’s defects are far more profound.”
“He understands human nature, and he’s very skilled at exploiting it… but that also means, in his heart, there exists nothing that can restrain or limit him.”
She swished her tail, her gaze fixed on the light screen.
Any man with a normal mindset and no particular fetishes—
Upon learning he had to cross-dress, would instinctively feel disgust, or physical discomfort, or that it was damaging to his pride.
But to Rast, it was different.
“As long as it’s judged to be beneficial to achieving his goal—”
“Then all values in the eyes of the mundane, views of good and evil, morality, and law are things that can be wholly discarded by Rast.”
“His heart is already a void.”
“All that remains is that long-twisted obsession… or perhaps his sole remaining wish.”
Hearing the silver-furred dean’s explanation, Ophelia’s eyes couldn’t help but flicker slightly.
“So, that’s how it is?”
The undying metal flowing behind her gradually calmed, and Ophelia once again directed her gaze to the light screen.
“If that’s the case.”
“Then Rast infiltrating the palace in women’s clothing—he must be up to no good.”
Her wine-red eyes gleamed with intense interest.
“How exciting. I’m starting to look forward to what happens next.”
…
Within the light screen.
Akxia—or rather, Queen Helen’s gaze—also fell upon the maid.
She looked at the clay doll in her hand, then looked again at the figure in the distance.
A hint of confusion suddenly flickered through her violet eyes.
Not only because the other’s appearance bore a striking resemblance to the clay doll that had just formed a soul bond with her—
But more importantly—
When her gaze landed on that figure—
An inexplicable sense of familiarity arose within Helen’s heart.
It was as if some subconscious instinct was urging her to protect this person during this time.
Helen tilted her head, a few strands of icy blue hair falling.
She gently extended her fair index finger and tapped the void.
In the next instant, accompanied by a flash of icy-blue light—
The figure of the maid disguised as Rast disappeared from the open courtyard below.
Then, abruptly appeared before her.
…
Rast felt the world around him spin wildly.
A breath later, as his vision cleared, the surrounding scene had completely changed.
From the city-state’s scenery to a silent, empty palace bathed in twilight glow.
In the center of the palace stood a throne seemingly encased in eternal frost.
And atop the throne, a girl with ice-blue long hair looked down at him from above.
Akxia?
Because the queen of the Underworld Nation rarely left her palace—and due to the era’s halted technological progress following the Great Cataclysm—the tech trees for imaging stones and cameras had never been unlocked.
Even the Shoreguard organization, with its intelligence network spanning the continent, knew nothing about the queen’s appearance—not even a portrait existed.
And now, upon seeing the girl seated upon the ice-blue throne…
Rast nearly thought the president of Starfall University’s student council had appeared before him.
What’s going on?
Did Akxia somehow enter the Nightworld Remnant of the End Era along with him?
But that wasn’t possible—he didn’t enter with her, and according to Professor Barbalossa, the Remnant couldn’t be accessed as a team.
Also…
Rast slightly raised his head, meeting the gaze of the ice-blue-haired girl on the throne.
Those violet eyes, identical to Akxia’s, now shimmered with curiosity and doubt.
Though her appearance and aura were very similar, this wasn’t the reaction Akxia would have had upon encountering him.
“Your Majesty Helen?”
A woman’s voice broke the still atmosphere between them.
It was the head maid of the palace—the one who had overseen the entire selection process for the palace attendants.
She was also the one who had guided Rast into the palace earlier.
Sensing an unusual aura from the queen she served, the head maid stepped up beside the throne and spoke with confusion.
“Your Majesty Helen.”
Helen.
Such a name caused Rast’s astonishment to ease slightly.
This was the name mentioned in the intelligence provided by the Shoreguard organization.
Mistress of the Underworld, queen of the Underworld Nation.
The one who had been born harboring the relic of the Death God… the source of all disasters tied to 「Paradise」.
The resemblance between Helen’s face and Akxia’s could stem from many reasons.
Perhaps it was due to some entanglement between them as members of the Death God sequence, perhaps it was pure coincidence, or maybe it was a past-life connection…
Or perhaps, this Queen Helen was Akxia’s great-great-great-great-great-grandmother from the Sixth Era, and the similarity in appearance stemmed from bloodline inheritance.
However, no matter the reason—
Even if the real Akxia stood before him, Rast’s actions would not change in the slightest.
While pondering this, Rast noticed something in the corner of his vision.
By the queen’s side, above the head maid’s position, icy-blue text appeared in the air.
「The others… can wait.」
「I want to be alone with Her.」
“As you wish, Your Majesty.”
The head maid respectfully answered.
She gave Rast a glance. “It seems Her Majesty shares my opinion—you’re quite the promising one.”
“But of course, that’s only natural… after all, in terms of looks, talent, and conduct, you’re flawless.”
“I did think assigning someone of your caliber to maid duty was a bit of a waste… but since Her Majesty likes you so much, serve well as her personal attendant.”
“Remember, as the queen’s attendant, you must be prepared to give your life for her.”
“If not for Her Majesty, this peaceful and joyous life we enjoy in Paradise wouldn’t exist.”
After whispering a few more instructions, the head maid quietly retreated.
Soon, the other newly selected maids in the distant courtyard were also led away.
Within the empty throne hall—
Only Helen and Rast remained.
…
“What’s going on? Little Xia clearly had her memories suppressed, so why did she still choose that guy at a glance?”
The silver-furred dean puzzledly flicked his tail.
Even by weasel standards, the dean had to admit that when Rast got serious, his charm was worthy of his top-host title in Deep Blue Port.
But right now, he was in full-on cross-dressing mode.
Besides, based on what the dean knew of Akxia, she wasn’t the type to be driven by superficial attraction.
Even with different life experiences, as long as it was the same soul, the essence of their mind wouldn't change—be it Queen Helen or Akxia.
“It’s probably because, before entering the Nightworld, you told her… to protect Rast as best she could in the Era’s Remnant.”
Ophelia narrowed her wine-red eyes.
“Based on my intelligence database, she’s someone who takes promises extremely seriously. As long as her soul remains unchanged, this trait will persist.”
“Even in the Nightworld, Akxia’s memories are only suppressed, not erased. So, they still influence her subconscious.”
“For example, even if she doesn’t remember anything about the real world or the Nightworld… she would still instinctively want to protect and help Rast.”
Ophelia raised her glass, watching the scene on the light screen with interest.
The male and female leads had finally met—she was curious to see how this story would unfold next.
But in the next moment, Ophelia was dumbfounded to find that a portion of the screen suddenly blurred.
【Detected content may violate the Imperial Minor Citizens’ Psychological Health Protection Act and the Visual Transmission Regulation Amendment III. Certain scenes have been censored.】
Along with this warning message, icy-blue text silently appeared beside Akxia’s fingertip.
「You…」
「Take it off.」