Reincarnated as an Energy with a System

Chapter 1980: Her Choice

Minhya’s hands slowly clenched together on the table. ”Big sister Alya is dead. Big sister Yenna is dead. I don’t even know how many others are still hiding somewhere or how many were already found and forced into something they never wanted.”

Ning remained silent and let her speak.

”If I leave, then I’m safe,” Minhya said, and there was more frustration in her voice now. ”But nothing actually changes.”

Ning nodded. ”That’s true.”

She looked at him sharply, clearly irritated by how calmly he agreed with her. ”They’ll just find another woman and do the same thing again.”

”That they will.”

”And when that stops working, they’ll search for another one after that.”

”I’m certain that will be the case.”

Minhya looked down, breathing slowly while the anger she had been holding back began to replace the fear. ”I can’t accept that.”

Ning leaned forward slightly, but she continued before he could respond.

”I want it to stop,” she said. ”I don’t want another cousin of mine to go through the same thing I did. I don’t want another woman to suffer at the hands of men like them, and then have them use that suffering to push themselves forward in life. Someone has to hold them accountable. I want to hold them accountable.”

Ning held the smallest of grins. ”There is but one way to do that.”

Her voice became steadier as she spoke.

”If I run away now, then all I’ve done is save myself,” she said. ”I don’t want that. I want to save everyone.”

Ning watched her carefully, recognizing that she had already begun moving toward an answer before she asked him the next question.

”Can you truly help me?”

”Yes. I can help you with everything.”

”I’m not asking whether you can kill people,” Minhya said, and her expression tightened at the memory of the men in the forest. ”I already know what happens when someone tries to stand in your way.”

She paused and took a breath.

”I’m asking whether you can help me with something bigger than that. These are noble houses, families with money and influence, armies, old traditions, and people who have spent years supporting different candidates. You can’t solve all of that just by killing everyone who refuses to listen.”

Ning gave her a faint smile. ”No. But I can still help.”

Minhya searched his face. ”How?”

”In whatever way you actually need,” Ning said. ”I can keep you alive, get you where you need to go, protect you from anyone who tries to take you, and make sure you have the chance to speak for yourself.”

”That still sounds vague.”

”It is,” Ning admitted. ”Because you haven’t decided what you want yet, and I’m not going to decide it for you.”

Minhya frowned slightly, but Ning continued.

”If you choose to walk away, I’ll make sure you disappear somewhere safe. If you decide to challenge them, I’ll help you survive long enough for that challenge to matter. And if you decide you want the throne, then I’ll help you pursue it.”

She remained silent. Her eyes moved around as thoughts continuously played through her head, with two parts of herself clashing against each other, each one trying to come to an agreement that the other could accept as well.

They were such entirely different thoughts that they failed to reach a compromise anytime soon.

Ning’s expression did not change.

”You don’t need to make the choice because you think I expect something from you,” he said. ”I’m not here to choose your future. I’m only here to make sure you actually have one. I’ll tell you right here and now, I am going to kill Leamor. He is the one responsible for killing Alya and her son, so his death will be a slow and painful one. At the same time, the others are no better. I plan on making their lives hell as well.”

That seemed to affect her more than anything else he had said.

”But I can’t do that alone,” Ning said. ”I mean, I can do it. But it will be a hostile action from a foreign individual. Nothing I do will solve the problem inherent at the heart of the issue. Faedria won’t change just because I kill a few people. The change must come from within. And so must the person changing it.”

Minhya slowly sat straighter, her expression becoming more serious.

”And you want me to be that person?” Minhya asked.

”I need a person on the inside, and you have enough reason to do so,” Ning said. ”Together, we can change the system.”

Minhya’s eyes narrowed for a moment before fully closing a second later.

”I used to think surviving was enough,” she said after a while. ”I thought that if I could keep hiding long enough, eventually they would stop looking for me, or someone else would win the throne and everything would end.”

Ning waited.

”But I can’t rely on such luck, can I?” she asked. ”I must do something myself.”

Her jaw tightened.

”I don’t think surviving is enough anymore.”

Ning smiled faintly.

Minhya took a slow breath and looked directly at him. ”If all of them want someone with the old Royal Family’s blood so badly, then maybe they should deal with someone from that family who refuses to be used.”

Ning raised an eyebrow. ”So, are you going to do it?” he asked.

She met his eyes without looking away. The resolve inside of them was something Ning hadn’t seen before. Something had changed within her during the conversation, and it had changed for the better.

”I’m going to stake my claim,” she said. ”I do not know if you can truly help me or not, but I’m going to do it.”

Her voice was steadier now than it had been at any point since Ning found her.

”I’m going to become Queen.”

Ning’s smile widened.

”Then I’ll help you,” he said. ”Don’t you worry. I have a bit of experience in this matter already.”