Chapter 76
Seriously About Vixen Seduction?
Isabel felt a hint of regret.
This time, she had rare brought Eivass and Lily with her… but perhaps they had arrived a bit too early, as the canteen wasn’t very crowded with students yet. Most people hadn’t even noticed the princess’s arrival.
Even the few students who had noticed them merely glanced over with a flicker of curiosity.
At most, they would point and whisper to their friends from a distance, their curiosity piqued for a moment.
No one reacted particularly strongly, and no one approached her or Eivass to strike up a conversation.
It was completely different from last time.
Isabel had already quietly prepared answers for various potential questions in her mind. However, none of it proved useful.
By the time they had finished their meal and left, not a single person had sat next to them or sought them out for a chat.
This left Isabel in a slight daze.
“…Is it really that simple?”
“It wasn’t difficult to begin with.”
Feigning sleepiness after their meal, Eivass narrowed his eyes and lay in his wheelchair, basking in the sun. He replied in a light, drowsy tone, “You were just scaring yourself.
“Besides, being approached when you’re alone is entirely different from being approached when you have company. And even if someone were to ask you questions, you could simply ignore them.
“Think about it this way—if a commoner sent a letter to Her Majesty the Queen, would Her Majesty reply?”
“…Grandmother actually does, I think.”
Isabel replied softly.
Eivass seemed surprised and sat up, opening his eyes to look at Isabel. “Really?”
That old woman was too busy! How many letters did she have to reply to on a daily basis?
Isabel quickly added, “But she doesn’t reply to all of them…”
“Ah, that’s the same then.”
Eivass followed her train of thought. “Just consider those people who approach you as letters the Queen wouldn’t want to reply to, alright? If Her Majesty replied to every single letter, she would have no time for anything else. Countless people would send her letters continuously… wouldn’t that turn the Queen into a reply-generating machine?”
Isabel found this line of reasoning plausible.
However, she was still unsure. “So, should I be polite and offer gentle advice, or should I just scold them directly?”
“That depends on whether you sense goodwill or malice from them. If it’s goodwill, just answer their questions openly and directly, there’s no need to be afraid. People don’t die for saying the wrong thing.
“Of course,” Eivass continued, his voice low, “even if the other party doesn’t have malicious intent, if you can’t reason with them or simply dislike them, you can still scold them directly.
“Even if you don’t have an affinity for the Path of Authority, do they dare to have an affinity for the Transcendent Path?
“So, from the very beginning, you don’t need to possess the power of authority. Because the rules of Avalon are already established, you just need to follow them. You are ultimately a princess, and anyone who dares disrespect you is disrespecting the royal family. If even the ministers dare not do certain things, are those rude individuals more arrogant than the ministers?”
He spoke with a foxy, persuasive tone, “You need to learn to be a little willful, Isabel. Her Majesty the Queen will only be pleased by that. Even if those on the Path of Authority want to recognize you and assist you, you still need to give them a goal, right? If you don’t let them do anything, they will naturally feel lost.
“They aren’t afraid of flattering you; they’re afraid of not knowing what you want, even if they want to flatter you.”
“…I think I understand,” Isabel said after a long period of thought, “but I’m still a bit uncertain. I don’t know what degree of ‘willfulness’ is correct, what degree will be annoying, or what degree will elicit hatred.”
“You’ll gain experience in these matters over time,” Eivass replied casually.
“Then, can I ask you?”
Isabel suddenly said, “You decide how I should treat them. I trust that you won’t lie to me.”
…Huh?
Eivass was taken aback for a moment.
Hearing this, he was suddenly reminded of Sherlock’s assessment of him during their last Advancement Ritual.
— “Vixen sed.”
Good heavens, am I really going to be seducing the princess?
He felt like some kind of powerful minister or a powerful eunuch…
Isabel’s absolute trust in him made Eivass feel a bit soft-hearted, making it difficult for him to tease her further.
At the same time, he also felt a little apprehensive…
After all, he had told quite a few lies. Whether it was his identity as “Fox” or his affinity for the Transcendent Path, there might be more lies to come.
If she firmly believed his words and his lies were exposed…
Eivass’s expression became somewhat complex. With a mixture of good intentions and a guilty conscience, he reminded her, “It’s best not to say things like ‘only you won’t lie to me,’ as that will only put pressure on people. Moreover, don’t believe anyone one hundred percent.
“Perhaps I’ve lied to you too. I rather enjoy lying—or rather, lies are my tools. They can be as sharp as the truth sometimes.
“Remember, never trust anyone absolutely. Always keep your deepest secrets to yourself.”
Eivass’s words were full of sincerity.
However, Isabel clearly felt Eivass’s kindness and honesty, making her unable to truly grasp his claim of “enjoying lies.” Yet, if his words were true, then he was indeed a pathological liar…
It was like some kind of mathematical paradox…
This strange contradiction left Isabel confused and unsure of how to proceed.
Yet, Isabel’s vague premonition became even stronger.
…He really is like Mr. Fox.
Back in her dream… when he had grasped her hand and pointed at the monstrous corpse, its face half-gone, hanging in Hanging Square, she had felt this very same sensation.
He possessed an enviable freedom and ease, along with a mischievousness that wasn’t entirely unpleasant.
— Dangerous yet not fatal, and perhaps even beneficial to her well-being.
Isabel had never experienced such a peculiar feeling from anyone else.
Thus, an impulsive thought suddenly occurred to her.
Since Eivass told her not to trust him, she would trust him precisely because of that.
This wasn’t a little girl’s defiance—it was because she had suddenly understood something.
Were those ministers absolutely loyal to her grandmother? Did they never lie?
Of course not.
Isabel had heard too many lies and witnessed too much treachery and conspiracy throughout her life. Perhaps other royal girls might obsess over the purity of their friendships, but she no longer concerned herself with such trivial matters.
She could feel that Eivass’s heart was kind, and she was certain that Eivass’s actions were ultimately beneficial to her.
— Since both his “motives” and “actions” were good, that was enough. The rest was Eivass’s secret, and she wouldn’t inquire about it.
After all, she had her own little secrets too!
Secrets she didn’t want others to know. She would even lie to hide them from those close to her.
…For example, the existence of “Mr. Fox.”
Thinking of this, Isabel’s lips curved into a slight smile, her mood visibly brightening.
The group soon returned to No. 14 Ronin Street.
As Lily was about to open the door, Isabel stopped her.
“Wait, let me!”
Isabel smiled triumphantly, taking a key from her pocket. She placed the loop of the string on her right index finger and spun it lightly, humming a tune as she briskly walked past them.
“…You really kept a spare key.”
Eivass wasn’t surprised.
Her act of deliberately revealing the key seemed almost like showing off.
“This is my house, after all,” Isabel said with a grin. “Perhaps one night I’ll launch a surprise inspection to see if you and Miss Lily have been up to any mischief.”
As if to explain herself, she added, “I’m here to make sure my bed hasn’t been dirtied or anything!”
Eivass raised an eyebrow and didn’t reply. He simply tapped his right fingers unconsciously on the armrest of his wheelchair a few times.
— She had indeed remembered Master Janis’s words from before.
However, Lily noticed a detail. “Her Highness’s bed?”
“…Ah, I haven’t actually slept here, so the beds are all clean,” Isabel quickly explained in a soft voice to Lily. “It’s just that they nominally belong to me…”
As an Extraordinary on the Path of Beauty, Isabel was certainly somewhat of a looks-conscious person.
Isabel felt that Eivass’s personal maid seemed a bit like her—at least, their politeness, quiet demeanor, and reserved nature felt similar. She sensed they might be kindred spirits and thus felt favorably towards the gentle and beautiful Lily. Therefore, she didn’t want Lily to misunderstand her.
But Isabel actually thought Lily was very capable.
Although she often stood silently behind Eivass, like a shadow, she was still able to pay attention to everything around her. Eivass didn’t need to explicitly tell her what to do when he wanted to stop or move; Lily would immediately understand his intentions and execute them with composure.
Lily was beautiful in her posture, figure, and appearance, no different from girls from the Knight families. Yet, when she stood behind Eivass, she was easily overlooked.
It was as if the wheelchair moved on its own.
This made Isabel envious.
What she lacked most was this ability to assess the situation and act accordingly. Knowing what she should do was the most difficult thing for her.
From this perspective, she was quite envious of Lily.
Skillfully, Isabel turned on the record player in the living room, leaving Eivass, who had difficulty moving, to listen to music. She then pulled Lily along on the pretense of “showing you around the dormitory,” touring her through the entire house.
Although Royal Law University was located in the Red Queen District, not all buildings were red—for instance, the exterior walls of this villa were silvery white, reminiscent of the Silver and Tin Hall.
The overall color scheme of the villa was champagne, complemented by light brown furniture and pale gray floor tiles. The bedrooms featured mahogany tiles and wooden furniture. From the second floor upwards, there were transparent floor-to-ceiling glass windows. These floor-to-ceiling windows were common in Avalon among important figures, primarily for the convenience of Gryphon transportation.
The two young women chatted as they moved through the three-story villa, which covered an area of over 140 square meters and contained twenty-two rooms. Occasionally, tinkling laughter could be heard from a distance.
Eivass closed his eyes, lying quietly in his wheelchair, enjoying the melodious music. Before long, he fell asleep.
