---

Chapter 29: Have I Become a Clown?

Nia Molly, the chief daughter of the Green Council, is a pureblood descendant of the Forest Elf, and a bright young lady expected to inherit the title of Elven Queen.

In the original story, she always appeared vibrant, cheerful, and youthful.

But at this moment, the elven girl found herself bound by chains, hands and feet restrained, hanging upright.

Her pure and lovely face, her curvy figure, and her smooth and tender skin were all covered in a sticky, unidentifiable substance. The formerly delicate expression was now twisted in humiliation, looking utterly miserable and in a dire state.

Even Roy couldn’t help but feel a twinge of sympathy.

However, considering that she was Sequence 8 of the golden bloodline and the original female lead, Roy couldn’t afford to be careless.

Roy took a chair and sat across from her, straightening his face to commence the interrogation seriously.

“Nia Lily, as classmates with no grudges between us, why did you break into my residence in the middle of the night?”

“How dare you ask?! You utter scum!” Nia immediately spat back, her fierce demeanor indicating she wanted nothing more than to bite Roy right then and there.

The chains binding her, made for adventurers to restrain magical beasts, were beyond what her delicate limbs could break free from.

But even if her hands were tied, Nia couldn’t stop running her mouth.

“I thought you were just a two-timing scumbag, but little did I expect you to do that kind of thing with Alice… and you tried to frame me with this disgusting trick! You pervert, jerk, scum!”

Just as Nia was on a roll berating him, she saw Alice suddenly raise her small hand and slap it down hard on her well-rounded backside.

With a crisp sound, Nia’s face turned red, instantly silencing her insults.

“Alice?!” Nia looked at Alice, her face a mix of grievance and confusion.

“Regardless of your status, Nia, you shall not insult the Master,” Alice replied, expressionless and without any hint of mercy.

Roy found himself amused by Nia’s plight.

Leaning back, Roy said casually, “It seems Nia hasn’t fully grasped her situation. I’ll ask again, with no grudges between us, what exactly are you here for?”

Roy genuinely couldn’t figure it out; he had become a far cry from the ‘villain Roy’ in the original story and hadn’t even seen Nia since enrolling, so why was she targeting him?

Yet Nia still had no intention of answering. Instead, she continued shouting back, “It’s only right to eliminate evil! Do I need a reason to deal with scum like you?!”

“Don’t think you’ve won. Once I break these chains, you’ll see what’s coming… ugh!”

Alice interrupted her with another slap, effectively extinguishing her bravado.

Roy was starting to grow impatient with the lack of progress in their dialogue.

Even with a good temper, being accused of baseless crimes and having a finger pointed at him in anger was bound to rattle his nerves.

Roy wiped the smile off his face: “Nia, have you ever thought about one thing?”

“If I were truly the scumbag you think I am, what kind of ending would that bring for you?”

Roy slowly stood up, his shadow cloaked by the light, casting an unsettling aura over the girl.

Nia finally realized how precarious her situation was.

In an instant, her mind flashed with terrifying scenarios only a tyrannical little prince would conjure.

She forced a smile, her voice dripping with disdain: “You really think I would be scared of you?”

“Not scared?” Roy asked with a smile, edging closer to the immobile girl.

As he closed the distance, he finally stopped just inches away from her.

His dark eyes roamed like one admiring a piece of art.

Starting from her cheeks, then her neck, followed by her ample bosom, and the alluring armpits exposed by her ranger outfit, down to her well-toned abdomen…

Currently, Nia was dripping with a clear goo, her skin barely concealed beneath her garments.

Bound by the chains, no matter how hard she desperately turned her face or wriggled her legs, she couldn’t escape Roy’s ominous presence, her beautiful form only becoming more enticing as she struggled.

Though she wasn’t being touched, Nia felt like his gaze was a poisonous snake sweeping across her body.

The usually brave elven girl finally lost her earlier conviction, tears of humiliation glistening with fear in her eyes, her voice trembling, “You jerk, if you dare to touch a single hair on my head, I…”

“You what?”

Seeing Roy mockingly raise his sinful hand, fear consumed Nia, and she squeezed her eyes shut tight.

But rather than the anticipated rough touch, the chains were suddenly loosened.

With a sudden release, Nia unexpectedly plopped down onto the ground.

“Uh?”

“What do you mean ‘uh’? Do you actually want me to do something?” Roy squatted down, helping her remove the bindings from her feet while jokingly lifting his head.

“Who would want that?!” Nia hastily retorted, flustered and angry.

“So, are we calm now?”

With Roy’s question, Nia finally snapped back to reality.

“I don’t understand why you…”

“Why I let you go?” Roy burst into laughter, rising with exasperated hands: “Because I’m neither a scumbag, nor a pervert, and definitely not a beast, so I don’t plan to do anything to you.”

Roy had initially intended to keep her restrained for safety, but he didn’t anticipate that the interrogation would trigger her rebellious spirit.

Given the situation, it was better to loosen the chains and show his good intentions.

In the worst-case scenario, with Alice there, two against one, Nia would still be at a disadvantage.

Roy generously extended his hand towards the seated Nia.

After a moment’s hesitation, she finally reached for him.

Roy helped her up, draped a towel over her, set her on the couch, and even poured her a cup of hot tea.

Feeling his proactive kindness, Nia calmed down somewhat, but her large eyes still sparkled with undeniable confusion.

“But I just heard you guys…”

“Ah?”

After hearing Nia’s account, Roy finally understood how she had gotten the wrong idea, and it took quite a bit of explanation to clear things up.

Once the truth was revealed, Nia’s expression went blank, and then she screamed in exasperation, “Are you kidding me?! So, all this fuss was just over who would take a shower first?!”

“What else would it be?” Roy shrugged.

“As a maid, one should bathe after the master.” Alice still stuck to this viewpoint.

“No, no, no, if we’re talking about this, shouldn’t it be ladies first?” Roy countered, shaking his head just as adamantly.

“The master takes priority over the ladies.”

“Are you saying that makes me less of a man?”

Ignoring the elven girl beside them, the master and maid launched into yet another debate over who would shower first.

Nia gazed at this scene, head down, her smile pale and weak, falling into deep silence.

What was happening was far from a cruel scoundrel torturing a little maid; their relationship was clearly far too good for her to interfere!

So there were never any scumbags or villains; it was all just rumors? It was all her own misunderstanding?!

Had it turned out that the real clown was herself?!

Nia covered her burning cheeks, wishing she could just sink into the ground and live in an entirely different world.

 

---