S-Rank Harem: I Became My Character with Extra Control Skill

Chloe walked slowly, her steps heavy, across the large hall’s carpet. She finally planted herself right in front of Beatrice.

The infernal maintained her firm posture, holding the young demon by the right ankle. The boy was still hanging upside down in front of them, moving his arms from side to side in a desperate attempt to free himself.

The holy knight looked down at the carpet. She bent her knees until she touched the ground and knelt in front of Beatrice and the hanging prisoner.

Chloe took a deep breath to try to calm down. She moved both hands very slowly toward the little demon’s head.

Her fingers trembled visibly in the air before touching the boy.

Under the inquisitive gaze of all the women present in the room, Ryan began to reflect from his comfortable stone throne.

He crossed his arms over his chest. Ryan thought carefully about past events when he encountered other holy knights on his path.

’So far, with all the holy knights I have crossed paths with, they shared something very noticeable. They greatly enjoy harming demons and demi-humans without reasoning, guided solely by their dogma and their hatred,’ Ryan thought, evaluating Chloe’s current behavior.

Ryan observed Chloe in complete silence. He didn’t move a single muscle in his face while he looked at her kneeling on his castle’s floor.

’What will you do now, holy knight woman?’ Ryan asked himself.

Chloe brought her hands even closer to the boy’s face. She stopped the young demon’s movement by touching his temples with the tips of her fingers.

The boy stopped swinging in the air immediately. Feeling the cold touch of human hands, small tears began to flow from the young demon’s eyes. The drops fell upward due to his inverted position, wetting his hair. Small whimpers of panic came from him.

And Chloe did not dare to speak at that moment. She looked at the boy’s terrified, childish face in front of her hands.

Chloe held him that way for ten long seconds. She did not let her mana flow or activate any skill during all that time. The silence in the throne room became very dense and heavy for everyone. None of the women understood why Chloe was taking so long to use her magic.

”What’s happening? Are you going to disobey Ryan in front of us?” Beatrice asked, breaking the long silence in the room.

Chloe’s body trembled with pure fear upon hearing Beatrice’s voice. Her heart was beating very fast in her chest knowing the consequences of her actions.

She removed her hands from the boy’s head very abruptly. Chloe lowered her arms and remained sitting on the floor on her knees.

”Sorry,” she let out with an almost inaudible murmur.

Chloe lowered her head toward the carpet, unable to look Ryan in the eyes. ”I can’t do it,” she added with a trembling voice.

”What are you saying? Do it at once,” Beatrice ordered very harshly, demanding absolute obedience for her king.

”I’m sorry, I really can’t do this,” Chloe said, raising her voice a little so Ryan could hear her well from the throne.

”Not with a child,” Chloe clarified. She refused to use her powers on someone so small and defenseless.

”I mean, even if I don’t master this skill well, I know it’s a very painful process for whoever you apply it to,” Chloe explained to the whole group.

”I can’t cause that harm to a child,” she complained again.

Chloe clenched her fists against her legs and raised her head, gathering a lot of courage to refute the direct order from the king.

Ryan looked at her with some uncertainty from his throne. He analyzed the woman’s teary eyes and her heavy breathing. She didn’t seem to be lying in her words. Chloe was totally determined not to obey, despite the immense danger that represented for her own life.

”If it were a dangerous, greater demon, I wouldn’t mind using my magic on him. But this child hasn’t grown enough to actually harm anyone real. Even upon growing up, he doesn’t have to necessarily harm others,” the holy knight argued.

”How naive you are, Chloe,” Ryan said in a sharp, dry tone.

His words echoed in the large room, immediately cutting off the woman’s illusions.

”He is the son of a demon king,” Ryan reminded everyone present.

”He is destined to kill many humans and elves, regardless of race, simply by following his instincts,” Ryan said coldly, exposing the harsh reality of the world.

”But Your Majesty,” Chloe said in a muffled whine.

More tears began to roll down her cheeks. She felt a great helplessness in the face of Ryan’s harsh logic.

”Even so, don’t ask me to do something so horrible to someone so young,” Chloe pleaded, clasping her hands together in front of her chest in a sign of begging.

”He’s just a child,” Chloe repeated, refusing to yield on her morality.

Ryan smiled at her request. A genuine and very calm smile appeared on the human leader’s face. He wasn’t angry about her disobedience. On the contrary, he had gotten exactly the answer he was looking for.

And noticing that smile on Ryan’s face, Beatrice understood the message instantly. The infernal knew very well how her leader thought.

Beatrice let go of the young demon. She opened her fingers and dropped the boy.

The child hit the room’s carpet with a dull thud, managing to support himself with his hands so he wouldn’t hurt his head.

”It’s fine,” Ryan said, putting an end to the order.

He relaxed in his large stone seat. Ryan didn’t need to see anything else from her to confirm his suspicions.

”Huh?” Chloe asked. She widened her eyes in immense surprise.

”What do you mean it’s fine?” Chloe asked in confusion.

She expected immediate death or severe physical punishment for refusing an order. She didn’t understand Ryan’s sudden change in attitude.

Then, from behind the group, Mirian approached where Chloe and the boy were.

The archer walked with calm steps and stopped very close to Beatrice.

”Isn’t it obvious?” Mirian asked with total serenity.

Mirian was smiling very kindly toward the frightened church woman.

”Even though you are our prisoner, we have allowed you to walk freely around the castle all these days. And that is a reward for having brought Helen to this nation. Because of your help, Ryan got out of a major predicament when facing the demon king without his main weapons,” Mirian added.

The young demon was sitting on the floor. He was rubbing his ankle where Beatrice had held him. The boy understood absolutely nothing of what was happening in the room. He only watched the women talk.

The child looked at each person with a hint of relief because they let him go and didn’t use painful magic on his head.

As the boy calmed down, Chloe remained very confused in her place.

She looked at Mirian and Ryan without understanding what they were trying to tell her with all that talk about rewards.

”No,” Chloe murmured, shaking her head from side to side. ”I don’t understand it at all.”

”You won’t punish me for failing a direct order from you?” the holy knight commented.

She couldn’t believe they were letting her go without punishment for her serious rebellion.

”Stop being so dramatic, woman,” Helen complained loudly.

The swordsman approached from the throne steps. Helen walked until she was in front of Chloe.

”For days Ryan has wanted to put you to the test,” Helen said very directly.

Helen revealed the true purpose of that whole stressful situation with the demon boy.

”We wouldn’t let a woman from the church walk free in our home if she turned out to be a psychopath who loves killing without thinking,” Helen explained, crossing her arms and looking Chloe in the eyes.

Chloe listened to Helen’s words in complete silence.

She finally understood that all of this was planned to gauge her level of humanity and empathy.