Very Reasonable Deduction

Seeing Iver suddenly become serious, Emma simply clasped her hands together apologetically. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

"... No, it's that I myself still have shortcomings."

Iver remained silent for a while, shook his head slightly, and finally managed to squeeze out a sentence after a long pause.

This crow... is rather unusual.

Scarlett Emma thought to herself.

Just as Iver was about to agree to stay with her that night... a crow ruined everything. This surprised her greatly.

Even without using Extraordinary Ability... her natural charm should still work on wild animals.

But she could clearly sense that the crow harbored some kind of hostility towards her— Emma tried to give the crow a gentle and harmless smile, but the subtle hostility only grew stronger.

... This feeling is like a child's intense jealousy.

Emma was somewhat familiar with this situation.

She rarely uses her Extraordinary Skills of mind manipulation, because her beauty and charm alone are enough to easily distort the minds of others.

Emma also enjoys taking other people's lovers away—whether they are male or female. She sees it as a kind of beastly hunting, an aggressive kind of transcendence.

Without her deliberately using her charm abilities, as long as the hatred and anger towards her are strong enough, it is possible to break free through one's own will.

When young boys and girls have their hearts and bodies taken away by their lovers, parents, idols, or crushes, they often have this intense reaction—they don't know how to deal with it or how to win back the person they cherish, so all they can do is glare at them fiercely.

That reaction was just so adorable.

Just as a touch of salt or bitterness makes sweetness stand out, it is only when people hate and despise themselves that the love they receive from others truly reveals its sweetness.

But... something shouldn't be like this.

She scrutinized the crow closely, and aside from finding it quite beautiful, she couldn't discern anything unusual about it for a long time.

It must be some kind of extraordinary being to be able to resist its own Bewitching Aura.

This also explains why it looks so much better than a normal crow...

Emma can only be certain now that this crow is definitely not a transcendent being of the Path of Love or Path of Transcendence.

—Because he could not sense the power of these two paths from the other party.

It's even more impossible for a being to have the same or even higher cultivation level as himself. Such a powerful supernatural being wouldn't obediently follow Iver like a pet.

This is why Emma became even more curious about the raven's owner Iver.

"If I were you, I would immediately stop coveting Iver."

Without warning, the crow let out a cold, alarming cry.

Emma was quite experienced in judging people—she could tell at a glance that it was a well-mannered voice.

She immediately ruled out the possibility that the crow was a supernatural being, and asked with interest, "Are you someone's eye? Could it be... Her Majesty the Queen?"

If the crow has no self-awareness and is merely a medium for another person to monitor Iver, then it makes sense that he wasn't bewitched by her.

Emma's allure is fundamentally linked to her scent.

If you haven't met her up close and only see her visually through newspapers, photos, or other means, you'll at most just think she's pretty.

And those who meet this condition...

Thinking of this, Emma immediately thought of the "tough" new Queen Isabel.

She is an extraordinary figure on the Path of Beauty. And she just happens not to be on Glass Island.

Could it be that... this crow is an artifact she created? That would explain why it looks so beautiful. Because its form is inherently fake, artificial.

Thinking this, Emma reached out with interest to touch the raven. The raven, with its clear, ruby-like eyes, remained motionless, gazing at her indifferently and silently.

But at that moment, Iver suddenly reached out and grabbed Emma's hand.

Emma was taken aback by such a clear rejection.

Within one's sphere of influence, one should try to comply with one's own requests and care about one's own safety and needs.

Has Iver managed to break free?

"... It's better not to do that."

Iver's face showed clear signs of struggle, but he still warned in the end, "For your safety."

"Well... thank you."

Emma chuckled softly and grabbed the hand that Iver was using to hold her arm.

Like warming a hot water bottle, she placed her hands on Iver's palms and whispered, "Your hands are so warm..."

She completely ignored the crow's warning.

Rather, it was the crow's warning that truly piqued Emma's interest.

She enjoyed the feeling of taking things from others. Not to mention, it was something that even the noble Queen liked.

"...fine."

The usually talkative Iver had become taciturn at this moment.

He simply gave a brief answer and then shut his mouth.

Emma could tell at a glance that his rational mind had sensed something was wrong and he was trying to focus his mind to resist her interference.

But how could something like that possibly stop you?

She hadn't even actually cast a spell to control Iver, so it couldn't be considered an attack. It was entirely a part of Iver's own mind that leaned towards her... his own body fighting against itself. This intense psychological conflict caused Iver's body temperature to rise, his cheeks to turn an abnormal red, and his breathing to gradually become rapid.

"You know what, Iver?"

Emma smoothly replaced the title "Minister Moriarty" with Iver: "I have come to Avalon for lasting peace between our two countries."

"... Yes, I know."

"Star Antimony and Avalon are not enemies... never have been."

She murmured softly, taking Iver's hand and leading him step by step into the house.

Iver, standing at the door, staggered slightly and was almost gently helped there by her.

The crow glared at her, seemingly about to attack several times, but Iver stopped it each time with a wave of her hand.

Feeling the astonishing surge of murderous intent, disgust, and hatred around her, Emma's smile grew even brighter.

—You may hate me. But as the Queen of Avalon, can you really lay a hand on me before I truly infringe upon Avalon's interests?

That could drag the entire Avalon into a quagmire.

If it were Iver, perhaps he could have made that same decisive decision—he is indeed an exceptionally talented young man. So talented that Emma was captivated by him.

But Isabel is not like that.

Although she had received intelligence suggesting that Isabel's actions were merely a facade, Emma believed that even if it was a facade, it was enough to confirm that Isabel was inclined to a "wait-and-see" approach and "endure hardship."

Even if you hate me, what can you do? You still have to put up with it.

If she really did lay a hand on Iver, it might strengthen Isabel's resolve.

But she really didn't do anything, did she? And this feeling made Emma even happier.

She took Iver's hand and naturally hugged it to her chest, placing it under her breasts. Countess Emma smiled sweetly and said gently, "You know, Iver... Star Antimony has no hostility towards Avalon. Long, long ago, we were family."

"The founders of Avalon were the knights who came from the Herasul Empire. You were pioneering knights who conquered new lands and punished the giants who slaughtered humans... The Empire is proud of you."

"And we, Star Antimony, are merely one branch of the Empire. Now the Empire is only one piece away from being fully restored. Once the Empire rises again, Avalon will become a powerful ally—and we will inevitably conquer the vaster and richer the East and South."

"In the past, Star Antimony wanted to take action against Avalon. It was entirely because Avalon was blocking an important shipping route— Avalon's rejection of other races forced the Goblin Merchant Guild's merchant ships to take detours. This increased costs. In addition, Avalon imposed high tariffs on many of Star Antimony's advanced products... We were forced to defensively raise tariffs on Avalon's original products."

Emma spoke softly, while Iver remained silent.

Being so close to her body, constantly breathing in her fragrance, Emma thought to herself, "Iver's brain must be turning to mush by now."

But it doesn't matter, she wasn't originally going to tell it to Iver anyway.

She was speaking to the bird perched on Iver's shoulder—

The room appeared to be occupied by a man and a woman, but in reality, there were three people inside! She thought to herself smugly.