Chapter 183: Arguing with Thara, the Possible Final Boss

Max walked through the castle hallways with a smile so wide his face was starting to hurt.

He couldn’t help it.

Last night had been perfect.

Dinner with Elanor.

The way she looked at him.

The kiss.

The night together.

Waking up with the princess sleeping on his chest.

Everything felt like it was going too well.

Even the castle looked different that morning.

Brighter.

Calmer.

Max was practically jogging through the hallways while searching for Dorian so they could continue investigating the issue with Thara.

Because yes, they had a possible criminal performing forbidden rituals inside the castle.

But honestly...

It was hard to feel worried after waking up while hugging the most beautiful woman in Eldoria.

"I’m engaged to a princess..."

he told himself, still unable to fully believe it.

And not just that.

They were actually going to get married.

For real.

Max let out a quiet laugh to himself while turning down one of the corridors in the west wing of the castle.

Then he slammed directly into someone.

"—Ah!"

The impact made him lose his balance.

Both of them fell to the floor.

A pile of papers scattered through the air.

"Shit!"

Max quickly lifted his head.

On the other side, a dark violet-haired drow was staring at him with obvious annoyance.

Thara.

Of course.

The woman sighed tiredly while adjusting her glasses.

"What are you doing running through the hallways?"

Her voice sounded cold.

"Don’t you watch where you’re going?"

Max blinked a couple times. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Then reacted.

"Sorry!"

He quickly crouched down to gather the papers scattered across the floor.

"Though technically you crashed into me too."

Thara let out a dry little laugh.

"And now you want to argue about it."

Max started picking up sheets while glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

And he felt it again.

That strange sensation.

Uncomfortable.

Like something about this woman was wrong.

Even worse now knowing everything connected to the forbidden rituals.

The seals.

The paper she had lost.

Vesper’s story.

Everything pointed toward her.

Thara suddenly looked up.

"I don’t like the way you’re looking at me."

Max raised an eyebrow.

"If you were a little kinder, maybe I’d look at you differently."

He handed her several papers.

"Here."

Thara slowly accepted them.

Max sighed.

"I have more important things to do than argue with an evil woman."

The drow let out a short laugh.

"Evil?"

She looked at him in amusement.

"Just because I have a personality and speak logically?"

Max narrowed his eyes.

There it was again.

That way of speaking.

As if she were always above everyone else.

And the worst part was that Max knew perfectly well he was probably arguing with some kind of final boss performing forbidden rituals.

Yet even so, he couldn’t stop himself from getting irritated.

Because he still remembered perfectly how she had spoken to Elanor.

How she had implied that marrying him was embarrassing.

Thara watched him for a few more seconds.

"Did I leave you speechless?"

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Because you seem pretty good at spying on other people’s classes."

Max grimaced.

"I wasn’t trying to spy on you."

"Sure."

"I heard you because you literally talked about me through a door."

Thara smiled faintly.

"And you didn’t like it."

"No."

Max crossed his arms.

"I didn’t like anything you said about me."

The drow exhaled through her nose in amusement.

"I only said that because I knew you were listening and wanted to annoy you."

Max froze for a moment.

"...What?"

Thara smiled calmly.

"You’re very easy to provoke."

That irritated him even more.

Though it also made him uncomfortable.

Because if she had really known he was outside...

Then this woman noticed far more than she let on.

Thara spoke again while continuing to organize her papers.

"Though realistically speaking..."

She looked at him directly.

"You know perfectly well that it’s not viewed favorably for a princess to marry you."

Max clicked his tongue.

"Here we go again."

"Royalty usually marries counts, lords, or important nobles."

she continued.

"People with wealth. Influence."

She pointed at him lightly with one of the sheets.

"Meanwhile, the crown princess of Eldoria is going to marry her own pet."

She smiled sideways.

"It sounds like a joke."

Max felt a vein throb in his forehead.

"And why do you care about the princess’s decision?"

Thara stared at him for a few seconds.

Then sighed dramatically.

"Because thanks to her wedding, I now have too much free time."

Max blinked.

"What?"

"Several of her classes were canceled."

She adjusted her glasses again.

"So all I can do is study while you two play romance."

Max stared at her in disbelief.

"You’re miserable."

Thara smiled faintly.

"I get told that often."

Max tightened his grip slightly on the papers still in his hand.

Then he spoke without thinking too much.

"Well, you’re not the only one who knows things about other people."

The drow raised an eyebrow.

"Oh."

Max stared directly at her.

"I know you abandoned your sister when your mother died."

Thara’s expression shifted slightly.

Very slightly.

But Max noticed it.

Genuine surprise.

"How do you know that?"

That was when Max felt a small stab of regret.

Maybe he shouldn’t have said that.

But it was too late now.

He sighed.

"I ran into your sister, Vesper, in the castle hallways."

Thara’s eyes widened slightly.

"...Vesper?"

"Yeah."

Max tried to sound natural.

"Didn’t you talk to her?"

For the first time since the conversation started, the drow frowned.

"What is my sister doing here?"

Max hesitated slightly.

That reaction really did seem genuine.

"Not my business."

he answered at last.

"You should ask her yourself."

Thara slowly stood from the floor, holding the papers against her chest.

"Where can I find her?"

Max felt that strange sensation again.

"Wait."

He looked at her in confusion.

"You didn’t talk in your room yet?"

"My room?"

Thara frowned even harder.

"I haven’t seen her all day."

Max went silent for a few seconds.

That made no sense.

Vesper had said she was going to wait for her there.

Then...

Why hadn’t they spoken yet?

Had Vesper lied?

Or was Thara lying now?

Max couldn’t tell which one was telling the truth.

And that was starting to make him nervous.

Thara asked again.

"Where is she?"

Max sighed.

"I’m not exactly in the mood to help someone who gives me headaches."

The drow rolled her eyes slightly.

"But the only thing I can tell you..."

he continued,

"...is that supposedly she was going to wait for you in your room to talk."

Thara went thoughtful for a moment.

Then nodded.

"I understand."

She tucked the papers beneath her arm.

"Thank you."

Max raised an eyebrow.

The drow looked at him for a few more seconds before adding:

"You’re not as useless as I thought."

Max let out an incredulous laugh.

"That wasn’t a compliment."

"I know."

she replied immediately.

And surprisingly...

She smiled faintly.

Then she started walking down the hallway.

Max stayed there watching her leave.

The elegant figure of the drow slowly disappeared as she turned a corner.

And only then did he release the breath he’d been holding.

"...What an unbearable woman."

he muttered to himself.

But even so...

Something still didn’t add up.

If Thara really hadn’t seen Vesper...

Then what was going on?

Had Vesper lied to them?

Or was Thara simply much better at acting than they imagined?

Max frowned.

Because for a moment...

Just for a moment...

The surprise on the drow’s face had looked completely genuine.