"What do you think about this, Mother?" I ask Vivienne as her tail gently thumps against her seat in a more private area outside the wedding hall.

I decided to talk to her about some of my fears; she is my mother in this world, so she's kind of the only authority figure who cares about me, even though we haven't known each other for long.

So she let me talk for over an hour, and most of it was me venting about discomfort, bad feelings, and insecurity about my future.

"Daughter, why are you so afraid of that girl? I know you're a bit weak, like... these chicken arms of yours couldn't handle a fight, but still, your fear seems somewhat irrational to me," she says with genuine doubt.

"It's... hard to explain..." I can't possibly tell my mother [My wife is a genocidal sociopath who knows this world is a game but doesn't understand it, so she wants to destroy it]; it would be crazy to say that.

"I... know some very bad things about her..." I say, fearful that Esther might hear. My tone is neutral enough for my mother to notice it's bad without me having to truly explain.

"Just that?" my mother asks, confused, which leaves me confused.

"H-Huh?"

"Daughter, nobles with horrible secrets are a dime a dozen. I myself have several of them. Like, all nobles have them; it's natural to find out after you marry."

"If you don't tell anyone, Esther would have no reason to do anything, right? After all, it's a marriage. Appearances matter. If Esther hurts you without reason, her image will be tarnished," my mother speaks as if that's the only problem.

'It's so hard... there's no way to explain this...' Esther doesn't care about her own reputation, and the problem isn't just me knowing her secrets; the problem is she wants to kill everyone!!

Keeping this secret is so difficult. If I say I'm afraid of Esther, the fear seems irrational because only I know the truth. I'm sure anyone in my place would be afraid to marry someone with such terrible plans for the future.

Just imagine what our future planning conversations will be like? [Hey, we need to talk. I still haven't decided whether I should destroy everyone using method X or method Y] It's ridiculous!!!

I need to stop this, but how can I stop it without getting screwed over in the process? It's very hard to think of any logical solution, and Esther has already made it painfully clear she won't change her mind.

I'm not just afraid of what Esther will do to me; I'm afraid of the uncertainty that comes with what she will do to me.

I'm the only one who knows Esther's true character. She is someone who is naturally controlling and extremely vengeful over the smallest slights.

I know everything she hides from others, and Esther's mask is selective. Esther only hides her monstrousness from those who don't know she's like that, but Esther knows that I know, so she won't hide it from me.

"..." My mother notices my dejected look and seems to be thinking of something.

"If you're so worried, why not seduce her?" she says suddenly, briefly leaving me confused before I turn completely red.

"W-What!?"

"Think about it, daughter. If you seduce her, she'll treat you well! You don't need to love her, just pretend that you do and do nice things for her, in exchange for receiving nice things. Think of it as a commercial transaction."

"You trade your affection and attention for her affection and attention. If you seduce her well, you should be able to live a great life under her 'wings,' just like a baby bird lives under its mother's wing."

"And in exchange for your sweet attention, she will grant you more riches!" My mother has literally just told me to treat Esther like a [Sugar Mommy], which makes me as red as a chili pepper.

"I-I won't do that! T-That's absurd and..."

"She is your wife. If you're not going to treat her with affection, what will you do? I doubt Esther expects genuine love from you, so she won't be angry if you just act like you love her," she poses a complex question.

"..."

"I just... I just don't know... what to say... a-and what if Esther wants to go too far?"

"Well, just go with the flow, no? You're married anyway; it's not like it's wrong for the two of you to go at it in your free time! Honestly, I even recommend it since after 200 years things get a bit tedious."

"You're both young; you'll have time to adjust the relationship. I just recommend not fighting. Be the responsible one in the relationship. Remember, marriage is for your whole life, for all eternity."

"And spending eternity fighting is horrible, so whatever she does, act responsibly and balance the relationship! Besides, if you do it right, who knows, maybe that girl will fall in love with you?"

"It's quite common for nobles to fall in love some time after marriage; it's a natural chemistry that develops." Vivienne's cheerful words actually help me a little.

'Love can develop over time, right...' The status screen doesn't lie. Esther's favorability jumped to the level of romantic interest, skipping the general friendship stages altogether. It means love could really blossom from this relationship.

'In the game... forget it... I guess in this regard the game doesn't matter... maybe love can change Esther?' I've seen many times that love is transformative. If Grace could cure my brothers of their flaws with love, then even if I'm not the heroine, maybe I can cure Esther of her problems.

Since Esther herself made it clear, one of the biggest problems that made her this way was the absolute loneliness that came from the truth, and in the end, we are all social beings; we need peers in our lives.

'Yes! Maybe everything will work out naturally in the future! If I validate that we are the same, but that she doesn't need to destroy the world, maybe she'll give up! And if she truly loves me, she wouldn't do something to make me unhappy, like killing everyone, if I ask her not to, right?' I give my mother a smile.

"Thanks for the advice, Mother... I think you're right... maybe she'll start to love me over time, right? Through small gestures, one after another," I say with a bit of confidence.

"That's right, daughter! I'm glad you understood!" As she says this with a smile, I decide to change the subject.

"Mother, I heard Esther's mother gave her a territory as a wedding gift. What did you give me?" I ask eagerly.

"Nothing!!!" she says in a playful tone. I let out a light laugh until I realize she's serious.

"...Nothing?"

"That's right! I gave you a great and prominent piece of nothing!" She maintains that playful tone.

"...Nothing... like... really nothing?"

"Yep, I gave you nothing," she says with this greedy look in her eyes.

"..."

'I guess I expected too much, coming from a dragon.'

"You know how I am, daughter! I already paid way too much for your wedding! The Demon King asked a lot from me... not that it was a huge amount compared to what I have, but it was a tremendous effort to give money to him! That was already the wedding gift, so blame your father! He robbed you in that sense!"

"Now forget that! I can give you advice instead of material things. There's nothing like the good counsel of a wise woman over 400 years old, right? I'm quite wise for my age!" she speaks as if she were young.

"Okay..." I decide to just accept it.

"Let's see what advice I can give... hmmm, ah! First, when your horns grow in, be careful with the headboard of the bed. It's hell to wake up in the morning and have your horns hit it, so sleep with enough space for the horns!"

"Also, when you have horns, be careful not to hit your wife during... relations in bed, since horns are inconvenient in that sense if they're large, though they can serve as handles for the other party to hold onto, if you know what I mean, hahaha!"

"Another! Another! Never sleep on top of your tail; it wakes up with cramps and strange pains! Also, your wings! Don't open your wings too much on a stormy day! Because we attract lightning due to our race, so a bolt might hit your head!"

"And... And..."

"W-What the hell! What did you say about lightning?" I'm shocked by this.

"A lightning bolt hits our heads? Well, don't worry, it's not fatal because our bodies store electricity. It's just uncomfortable. It's just that our wings naturally attract electrical energy, and on days with strong storms, if you open them too wide in an open area, they start attracting lightning bolts."

As she says this, I think about my own body. Theoretically, since I'm a puppet, I shouldn't gain draconic parts in the future, but in truth, even as a living puppet, I'm still a magical being.

Meaning, being a puppet doesn't prevent my body from changing. It's good to know that if I ever have wings, I shouldn't open them during storms outdoors.

"Is there anything else I should know..." I ask, already annoyed by the disadvantages.

"Hmmm, when you have wings, horns, and a tail, ask for your clothes to have adequate areas to place these limbs. After all, it's suuuuper irritating when clothes don't fit right because of these parts!"

"Ah, ah, and also, under no circumstances should you enter water before 5 hours have passed if you've been struck by lightning, since your body will electrify the water and it's uncomfortable."

"And above all, here is a golden rule for you to follow: never, ever, under any circumstances, use your tail for intimate activities! It wasn't made for that! The hard, rough scales will genuinely cause injury, and the tail moves a lot based on emotions, so you could really hurt yourself and your partner if you try."

"M-Mother!! Stop! Don't give me that kind of embarrassing advice!" I say, mortified with shame.

"I-I have to go. It will soon be the time Esther said I should meet her," I say, getting up to leave.

"What a pity. It will probably be a while before we see each other again, so daughter, I wish you luck. And if you need help, run away and come to my dwelling; I will try to help," my mother says as I turn the corner.

"O-Okay, thank you..." I say with a warmed heart because she said she would help me in an emergency.

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