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Duke Goddodin's estate
At Princess Alice's warm invitation, Ryo arrived at the mansion and headed straight for her bedroom.
The estate was lavish, filled with priceless art and furniture arranged by masterful hands, elegant yet refined, exuding an air of history.
Walking through the gothic-style halls, Ryo smiled faintly at the figure ahead of him and said, "So, Alice, I think you owe me an explanation. Why call me here alone, leaving Liliana and Erica behind?"
Alice, who had been walking ahead, suddenly spun around, the hem of her dress fluttering as she smiled sweetly.
"Does admiring a princess's newly decorated room count as a reason? And for the record—this is the first time I've ever let a boy my age into my bedroom."
Her words were teasing, but Ryo just narrowed his eyes at her and smiled without answering.
Alice had been expecting some sort of reaction, and his silence made her grit her teeth inwardly. 'This guy really doesn't get it…'
Faced with Ryo's unshakable attitude, Alice had no choice but to sigh, dropping the pretense and saying seriously. "You've heard about my condition, haven't you?"
Ryo nodded slightly. "Your bloodline is so strong it practically pins you to bed. That's… definitely rare."
In the world of Campiones, Hime-Miko are descended from Divine Ancestors — former Mother Earth goddesses themselves.
In other words, witches were the inheritors of divine blood.
And Alice, the White Hime-Miko, was a true throwback to that lineage, an exceptionally rare regression to a purer form.
Rumor had it her bloodline was even more exalted than some of the Divine Ancestors themselves, so much so that her mortal body couldn't handle the overwhelming divinity, leaving her weak and frail.
"..."
Alice could practically feel her teeth grinding at the calm, almost playful way Ryo said it.
He obviously knew why she'd invited him—she wanted him to find a way to treat her condition. But he just stood there, letting her squirm, get flustered, and embarrass herself.
It was infuriating.
For the first time in her life, Alice thought being manipulative was an awful personality trait—especially when it came from a man she had to rely on.
Ryo raised an eyebrow, looking at her with mild surprise. "What's wrong? Your face suddenly turned red. Are you feeling sick?"
"No… it's nothing. I just got a little emotional."
Alice forced a graceful smile, but inside, she was cursing him.
She wasn't even here in person—just a spirit projection—so how could she blush?
Still, she played along, saying things that were so fake they almost hurt to say.
She sighed and said, a little irritated, "You really don't know how to be considerate to a girl, do you?"
Ryo gave her a long, meaningful look.
"Are you sure that's what you want from me—consideration? Or do you just want to lower the price you have to pay?"
"Or maybe you actually think I'm obligated to sit here and play guessing games with you, wasting our time?"
"…"
Alice was stunned into silence.
As harsh as his words were, they weren't wrong.
The reason she'd been so coy and roundabout was simply because she didn't want to pay too high a price for what she wanted.
And clearly, Ryo had already seen through her—and was warning her not to test his patience.
Alice let out another sigh. "So it's just a straightforward trade of benefits then? You really are a man with no sense of romance."
Then, almost to herself, she added softly, "But you're also the kind of man who makes people feel safe."
Feelings could be faked, but interests never lied. Alice was no stranger to this truth.
Ryo didn't answer. He just watched her quietly.
Alice exhaled lightly, then said, "Your target is the gods, isn't it? Maybe you have other goals, but that's the one you're after for now."
Ryo kept his eyes on her, waiting. "To summon a god down into the mortal world, you need key ritual components—and a shrine maiden, a miko."
Alice's tone became calm and serious. "Liliana has exceptional talent as a shrine maiden, but she's not enough on her own. You'd need at least ten shrine maidens of her level to perform the ritual."
She smiled faintly. "But if you add me into the mix, that requirement is instantly satisfied."
"Of course, if you really wanted to use Goddess Athena herself as the shrine maiden, you could probably drag any heretic god you want straight out of myth."
"Even with all my talent, I could never compare to a goddess."
"But using Athena as the key would probably limit the summoning to certain myths—and that's something I doubt you'd be willing to accept."
Ryo's smile sharpened. "And what else?"
Alice froze slightly at the question, biting her lip before saying, "… so Athena is really a Heretic God? Maybe... you're not even a true Campione?"
The moment she said it, she regretted it.
Some secrets were safer left unspoken—especially ones that could get her killed.
She might have been bedridden for years, but she wasn't ready to die at Ryo's hands.
"And?" Ryo asked again.
"Huh? There's more?" Alice blinked in confusion.
She'd guessed there was some bigger plan behind Ryo working with Athena, but she could never figure out what it was.
"..."
Seeing her confused look, Ryo sighed. "So that's all you know, huh…"
Then, in a tone that left no room for argument, he said, "Serve me for twenty years, and I'll give you a healthy body in return."
Alice let out a long breath of relief, gathered her skirts, and gave a graceful bow. "Thank you for your generosity~"
Ryo snorted. "Don't think I'm some kind of benefactor. As soon as your treatment's done, we're heading to the Papal States. I'm going to conduct a summoning ritual there.
Then we're moving on to China for another experiment. After that, Japan and the U.S. are on the list—maybe even India while we're at it."
Alice blinked, then smiled sweetly.
"If this is going to be a grand world tour on the public dime, then by all means, please take me."
Ryo gave her a look that was almost too knowing. "You said it yourself. Don't you dare regret this later."
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