Chapter 3: Trash Prince Comforts the Queen

Queen Minerva had always been the type to keep to herself in the palace, to the point that many called her the coldest and sternest of all the queens. But it’s also true she was the most beautiful queen in the entire royal palace, though some might argue it was the Second Queen... who was rarely ever around these days. So everyone naturally saw the Fourth Queen as the most beautiful, even with her frosty personality.

Aside from the Third Prince she was deeply in love with and her own son Fourth Prince Bradley, she didn’t talk to any of King Falsbane’s children. She’d heard quite a bit about her stepson Adonis and his heavenly beauty, which she had never been moved by. She’d comfortably done well to ignore him for as long as he was a child up until now.

However, life isn’t so simple...

Because that same handsome young man now had his arms wrapped tightly around her child-bearing hips like she was meant to be submissive to him.

To her, he was just a spoiled and sinful child that took away all the attention and love of his father from his other children, and she refused to yield to his charms.

’I have to humble this brat!’

With Adonis still tightly wrapped behind her, Minerva squeezed her face in disgust. Her voice trembled, and so did her body as she tried to pull away.

"Leave! What do you mean by that? Are you so spoiled that you’d go after your father’s property?! You’ve been stripped of your status, your fiancée crawled into the Third Prince’s bed, and you’re a total failure in the eyes of the man who needlessly fed your ego!"

It was obvious she was still hurting deeply from how easily the Third Prince had tossed her aside.

Adonis kept his arms firmly around his stepmother’s hips. To him, this was wrong in and of itself. As horrible as King Falsbane was, he didn’t deserve to have his wife stolen by a son he used to cherish, right?

’Nah, game is game.’ ಠ_ಠ

Besides, he was in a really delicate situation with this beautiful but crazy blood witch. One wrong word, and he would end up as a human colander.

Instead of panicking, Adonis leaned close to her porcelain ear and whispered softly:

"You are no one’s property."

Minerva’s disgusted face softened almost instantly, to the point her cheeks reddened.

[Ding! Your words are having a great effect on the Losing Heroine: Queen Minerva!]

Seeing the notification, Adonis put more pressure and held her even closer to him—which was quite difficult due to the massiveness of her round, motherly behind between them.

He leaned in again.

"Why would I mock the only woman in this miserable palace who possesses true beauty? Roses are meant to be cared for..."

Minerva froze. "What...?"

The vicious, murderous look on her face turned so mild you’d almost think she was an innocent child.

Adonis then stepped right in front of her.

"My brother is a fool."

That was less comforting for Minerva.

A look of panic crossed her face.

He walked over to be in front of her. Now he was just inches away from her, with a height difference that allowed him to look straight down into her panicked ruby eyes.

She stuttered, "Wh-, What are you talking about...?"

"There’s no need to lie. I know about your secret relationship with the Third Prince."

"What...?"

Minerva felt partly scared, but there was also a part of her that didn’t care... maybe because she was still convinced it was better to destroy this entire kingdom and join her witch sisters anyway.

Adonis gently placed a hand on her cheek.

"But that’s not the reason I’m here. I just want you to know that my brother traded a timeless, priceless experience like you for a common glass bead. Mariella is nothing but a rodent compared to you."

The way his thin, white fingers caressed her cheek made her uncomfortable, but the look in his beautiful blue eyes, like gems from a celestial world, had her totally charmed. In a way, she felt so easy. One real encounter with Adonis, and she could instantly tell why he was every woman’s favorite man.

He leaned closer to her ear.

"Don’t let a rodent provoke your feelings. What you’re about to do isn’t worth it. There’s a lot more in life to enjoy than spending it in self-resentment, okay?"

He softened his confident face to make her feel safe. And she did. It was obvious from the way her pupils dilated and her slender shoulders loosened.

[Target: Queen Minerva]

[Volatility: 95% > 89%]

[Affection Level: 0% (Indifferent) > 15% (Intrigued)]

[System Note: Host’s Max-Tier Aesthetics and modern romance-novel dialogue are highly effective against emotionally unstable targets!]

Minerva’s breath hitched. For months, the Third Prince had treated her like a shameful, aging secret. But Adonis, the most beautiful youth in the kingdom, was looking at her right now with undisguised worship.

"You... you don’t know what he did... he promised me..."

Her dark blood aura started to flare up again, but Adonis interrupted gently.

"I know. And that’s why I’m here to offer the proper treatment a woman like you deserves."

He raised his right hand. A blinding, deep-blue radiance erupted from his palm with a mana so dense it forced Minerva to take a step back in shock.

Adonis manifested the legendary artifact.

[The Heart of the Blue Sea] a big, beautiful sapphire capable of buying a small nation outright.

Minerva’s usually flat and unimpressed eyes widened at the sight of the lustrous item.

Adonis smiled at her expression and closed his eyes to unleash the pinkish-gold light of his class to awaken the item.

[Class Skill Active: Hand of God]

[Enchanted Item: Heart of the Blue Sea]

[Added Effect: Calming Tide — Suppresses mana corruption and amplifies blood-magic recovery by 300%.]

Fuuuush—!

The gemstone mutated. The deep blue turned into a mesmerizing, dark-indigo violet, pulsing steadily like a living heart.

Adonis took Minerva’s trembling, blood-stained hands and gently placed the gemstone into her palms. He leaned down to her adorably smaller height and let his lips rest right against her ear, making her shudder.

"This gem was born from the deepest, purest ocean. I’ve enchanted it to mirror your beauty. Wear it, Royal Mother. Let the entire kingdom see it at the engagement gala next week. You’ll look lovely."

He gave her a devastatingly handsome smirk.

"And when the time is right... I’ll help you tear this kingdom down if that’s what you desire."

Minerva stared blankly at the pulsing, hyper-boosted artifact in her hands. The deep-seated rage and corruption in her soul were instantly and suppressed by the gem’s enchantment.

Her heart hammered wildly in her chest, and she felt a strange, suffocating heat on her cheeks. Were they red? It was extremely rare for her to feel this way. She’d only ever felt anything close to this with the Third Prince.

[Ding! Investment Criteria Fulfilled!]

[Losing Heroine "Queen Minerva" Route: Stabilized!]

[Current Volatility: 40% (Safe Zone)]

[Affection Level: 15% > 45% (Possessive Tendencies)]

[10X RETURN MULTIPLIER TRIGGERED!]

[You have gifted: Heart of the Blue Sea (Platinum)]

[You receive: 10x Value Reward > Rainbow-class Core: Core of the Nereids!]

[Host’s Mana Capacity has permanently multiplied by 2x!]

A surge of monstrous power instantly flooded Adonis’s veins. His physical body didn’t change, but his eyes glowed with an ephemeral, divine brilliance.

Minerva looked up at him with captivated, wide ruby eyes that suddenly large emotions. She didn’t stare at him like she usually did with anyone who wasn’t the Third Prince. There was actual heart in how she looked at Adonis now.

"Adonis... you... why would you do this for me?"

Her voice was so soft.

It could tear any man’s walls down.

Adonis smiled and stepped back toward the door.

"Because... I hate seeing a beautiful woman cry."

He gave her a polite bow and turned to leave.

Before he could take a step, Minerva coolly folded her arms under her fertile breasts and walked right in front of Adonis, giving him a stern look. She looked incredibly sexy, but far too stern.

Adonis carefully leaned back a bit. "Is everything fine?"

She raised a stern eyebrow at him and cleared her throat with a proud but oddly shameful face.

"AHEM! Stay here tonight. I wouldn’t want the servants seeing you leaving my room so late."

Adonis cleared his throat and looked away.

’This must be some kind of death game honey trap. Or is she really trying to sleep with me? It’s too early. Even cheap dating sim games aren’t this easy. Is this woman crazy?’

He took a deep breath and smiled innocently at her.

"Mother, I’m not sure I—"

"You will stay."

"Yes, ma’am."