"I never imagined the entry puzzle would be this terrifying. It seems Her Highness will have to take the lead and help you lot out," Hysteria declared, baring her tiny fangs in triumph, her grin nearly splitting her face.
Wasn't this exactly her moment to shine? After playing the comedic side-character for so long, she'd almost started doubting her status as a heroine herself!
A sincerity test? Bah! It was merely Zijinghua's pathetic lie-detection device—no match for the great Princess Hysteria!
She'd shatter it to pieces!
"Hysteria, you really don't have to force yourself like this. Besides, Linen-kun might have some other plan..." Elena reached out, gently gripping Hysteria's hand in one last desperate attempt to stop her friend.
Ahead lay nothing but social suicide!
"Hmph! Elena, it's nothing. For a princess, courage and honesty are virtues—unlike a certain brute who only knows how to swing swords wildly. The moment something requires real intelligence, she chickens out instantly~"
"Tch!"
Faced with Hysteria's painfully obvious provocation, Novie could only scoff contemptuously.
"Well then, young lady, your answer?" The gargoyle turned its stony head toward Hysteria.
"My greatest secret? Listen closely."
Hysteria brushed beneath her nose arrogantly, clenched her fist, and declared in a solemn voice:
"Actually, I'm the most talented beauty born to my family in a millennium, chosen by prophecy. Within my body sleeps the sealed Evil God from the Ancient Age, destined to save this world and become Empress."
She abruptly whirled around, her slender finger pointing directly at Linen, and snickered mockingly from behind her other hand:
"Hey, worthless Norton over there! If you kneel right now, kiss my foot, and repent sincerely for everything you've done to me, maybe when I'm Empress I'll feel generous enough to make you my personal eunuch~"
Personal eunuch, huh? Why not just make me your personal consort, then?
Linen rolled his eyes and didn't bother responding.
Elena's head filled with question marks—Hysteria had a backstory like this? Why had she never heard about any of it?
Novie's brow knitted together, suddenly solemn.
I thought she was just a shameless, flat-chested nobody trying to seduce Brother. She actually has such an extraordinary background...?
"Hmph! I knew you wouldn't believe me."
Noticing their skeptical stares, Hysteria wasn't bothered at all. Instead, she confidently turned around and knocked on the gargoyle's head:
"Hey, big guy, aren't you supposed to distinguish lies from truth? Tell them—was I lying just now?"
But just as the proudly smirking Hysteria turned to walk away, the gargoyle's eyes abruptly flashed red. Its massive hand shot out, gripping Hysteria's ankle and yanking her upward so quickly that she dangled upside-down, flailing helplessly:
"Lie detected! Visitors, the Earl's patience has reached its limit. As punishment for lying, miss, you must now answer the Earl's question first—or your entire party will be deemed a failure!"
"Eh?!"
Caught completely off-guard, Hysteria now hung suspended upside-down, meeting Linen's surprised gaze directly.
Linen himself was momentarily stunned by the unexpected fanservice. Skirts in this world definitely lacked anti-gravity properties, and when flipped upside-down, Hysteria's short skirt naturally fell, revealing her flat, smooth stomach and delicate waist in plain view.
Though Hysteria had willingly lifted her skirt in front of him once before, seeing it from this upside-down angle was...quite the fresh experience.
And when Linen's eyes drifted upwards slightly, he nearly choked.
Wearing Strawberry Bear-patterned underwear was embarrassing enough, but after being mocked once by him, why had she suddenly switched to black lace? Was this some kind of symbolic declaration of her dark side awakening?
Fortunately, he'd had the foresight to ask Elena to distort the recording crystals nearby with her illusion magic. Otherwise, Hysteria's "Tragic Princess" doujin would likely sell from Zijinghua all the way to Flame Rose by tomorrow...
"Worthless Norton, stop staring!" Whether due to embarrassment or blood rushing to her head, Hysteria's face flushed crimson. She frantically kicked her legs, but struggling against a Tier-5 gargoyle was utterly futile.
This wasn't going according to plan at all! During the earlier trials, she'd easily tricked the detection devices with fire Arcana—
"Idiot," Linen couldn't hold back a chuckle. "You didn't really think you could fool it like in the trials, did you? Those were low-level devices that only measured body temperature and humidity. But this is a Tier-5 gargoyle. Putting a mental detection formation inside is trivial."
"Why didn't you say so earlier?!" Hysteria exploded in fury. Only now did she recall—it was Linen who taught her that cheap trick. With fire as his second Arcana, he must've realized early on that it wouldn't work here! He'd clearly been waiting for her to volunteer as his guinea pig!
"You deceitful, worthless Norton!"
Linen shrugged casually. Honestly, he'd been trying to figure out how to trick Hysteria into thinking she could deceive this test, but she'd unexpectedly volunteered herself. Could she really blame him?
The gargoyle's grip was tighter than a steel vise, firmly trapping Hysteria's ankle. She desperately struggled to tug her already short skirt upwards, hoping to salvage some dignity—but Linen merely thought:
Trying to cover up just makes it even more suggestive.
Seeing Hysteria still hadn't answered, the gargoyle turned toward the other three:
"Teammates may answer in her place. Correct responses will be accepted."
"Wait—I'll answer myself!" Hysteria hurriedly interrupted.
"Hysteria, just tell the truth honestly. We can't defeat a Tier-5 gargoyle right now. There's no other way." Elena sighed helplessly.
"Hmph. Courage and honesty are virtues, after all," Novie coolly piled on.
Clearly, no one pitied the boastful little brat now trapped in her own folly.
"Damn it, fine! I'll answer, alright?!" Hysteria's eyes welled up with tears, her voice brimming with frustration.
If it were just herself, she'd stubbornly refuse and accept defeat.
But failing here would disqualify everyone from entering. She absolutely refused to be responsible for holding the team back.
"Then answer," the gargoyle's eyes flashed more intensely than ever. "What is your most shameful secret?"
Hysteria, who'd just been loudly protesting moments ago, fell uncharacteristically silent. Her small face grew deeply red, and she whispered softly in a voice even quieter than a mosquito's hum:
"Yesterday, before going out, when Elena wasn't in the room... I secretly wore a maid uniform and put on the cat ears that worthless Norton gave me, then recorded lots of images with a magic crystal. Because...I thought it actually looked kind of cute..."
That's it?
Certainly embarrassing, but wasn't that a bit...tame?
Linen tilted his head in mild disappointment, and clearly, the gargoyle shared his sentiment:
"Not sufficient. Is that all?"
However, just when everyone thought the thoroughly embarrassed Hysteria would erupt into another tantrum, she simply turned her face away slightly. Her eyes gazed emptily at Elena, and a single tear trickled down her flushed cheek:
"I'm sorry, Elena."
A small question mark floated above Elena's head.
"Actually, I really hated it," Hysteria continued weakly. "When that worthless Norton forced me to lift my skirt, forced me to wear a maid outfit while studying with him, made me walk through the nighttime garden wearing a collar after losing at cards—I kept telling myself I should be disgusted. I'm a princess, after all. If I just endured this humiliation, someday I'd return it tenfold."
"And then?" the gargoyle coldly pressed, uninterested in Hysteria's inner turmoil.
"I can't go back anymore!"
Hysteria finally broke down completely, huge tears streaming down her cheeks.
"At first, I really resisted! I swear I fought against it! But now, when I see a maid outfit, I just want to try it on myself, and when I see animal ears, I feel the urge to wear them…! I'm sorry! I know I shouldn't be doing this, but I can't stop! I watch myself grow weirder every day! I even secretly tried on those clothes behind Elena's back… I'm sorry! I'm a shameful princess!"
Thump!
The giant hand gripping her suddenly released, and the gargoyle withdrew its hand with satisfaction. Hysteria crashed face-first onto the ground, lying there twitching and sobbing quietly, as if unwilling to face reality anymore.
Linen quickly lifted his head, staring upward at a forty-five-degree angle.
No good. If he lowered his head now, the tears he'd barely managed to hold back would spill out.
Still, come to think of it, Hysteria wasn't the only one who had gone down the wrong path.
I'm clearly doing my utmost to be hated. How did things suddenly turn into "Princess Training 101"?
Where exactly did I go wrong?
"Next one," rumbled the gargoyle, jaw grinding loudly.
Elena and Linen tensed instantly. But unexpectedly, Novie stepped forward voluntarily, calmly declaring:
"Hmph. If it's only a pointless question like this, let me handle it."
Neither Elena nor Linen expected someone else would willingly step up. Yet Novie's eyes shone with determination.
That shameful, perverted princess—does she really think I can't see through her tricks? Using such a pitiful self-confession to get Onii-chan's attention!
Never! Absolutely never!
If it's just something of this level, I'll crush her naive dreams myself!
A mere question of shame… couldn't defeat her!
"Your answer?" The gargoyle's voice remained emotionless.
Although her resolve felt as firm as steel, Novie's voice still quivered slightly when it was time to speak:
"Because I hadn't seen Onii-chan for two months, the other day, in the palace, I secretly wore Onii-chan's clothing and... solved some needs that adolescent girls sometimes experience."
Hysteria, lying defeated on the ground, had stopped hearing anything. Elena didn't fully grasp the meaning of Novie's words, but Linen—armed with a previous lifetime's extensive theoretical knowledge—wore an increasingly complicated expression.
That… isn't the "need" I'm thinking of, right?
I've always treated Novie purely like a little sister. Just where did things go wrong this time?!
Even though we're not technically related, if Empress-mother ever finds out, won't I end up in Zijinghua's orthopedics ward?
Luckily, he'd caught it early. It should still be possible to correct this.
Novie, after all, was the hidden Fourth Princess who'd always been ignored or bullied. He'd proactively befriended her. If she mistakenly elevated sibling affection into something more, he could understand. He should probably thank the gargoyle—without this, he might not have noticed in time.
And though this answer was certainly embarrassing, compared to Hysteria openly exposing her twisted tastes, Novie actually got off lightly.
But just as Linen comforted himself internally, the gargoyle unexpectedly spoke again—and for the first time, its usually monotone voice carried a hint of hesitation:
"You… did not lie."
"However, the question asked about shame—not something you feel proud of."
As soon as these words came out, Linen wasn't the only one staring at Novie. Even Elena, who had planned to pretend not to hear, and Hysteria, collapsed on the ground twitching in defeat, both turned their heads toward the girl standing in the center.
Novie clicked her tongue, looking utterly annoyed but unsurprised, and grudgingly elaborated:
"Fine. It wasn't once—it was five times. And after the fifth, I didn't have any more strength left… Only five times. Someone like me… is clearly unworthy of Onii-chan."
"Pass." The gargoyle nodded approvingly.
Novie returned silently to her original position, hanging her head like an eggplant struck by frost. Linen, who previously thought everything was still fixable, now felt his shoulders grow unbearably heavy.
Is everything really still fixable…?
"Your turn," said the gargoyle, turning its head again.
"Eh?!"
Elena jumped like a frightened rabbit. But quickly calming down, she gently pressed her hand to her chest and said:
"Well… I secretly used illusions to imagine how many of Linen-kun's babies I should have. In the end, I concluded… if it's Linen-kun, any number would be acceptable."
"Very good. Pass," the gargoyle nodded again.
But the two who'd answered previously instantly exploded:
"That easily?!"
"Why did you interrogate us so harshly then?!"
The gargoyle simply replied:
"That is the standard set by the Earl."
"Is the Earl your daddy or something?!" Hysteria shouted, so enraged her twin-tails seemed about to rise straight up.
"No," the gargoyle replied simply.
"Who asked you for real?!" Hysteria was convinced the gargoyle was deliberately tormenting her.
Elena hurriedly comforted her friend: "Forget it, Hysteria. The gargoyle's setting must be that it answers any question asked by visitors, no matter what."
Linen nodded along subconsciously. As expected from Elena the model student—she'd already grasped the key. After all, the gargoyle's main purpose was defense, not lie detection. Even if it could read minds, it likely couldn't read deeply or clearly.
As long as you honestly gave a surface-level embarrassing truth immediately, it would pass without trouble. Only twisted cases like Novie's and Hysteria's required deeper digging.
Still, one thing puzzled him: Why were these heroines always obsessing over him? Why did even how many children he had become Elena's business?
After watching for so long, Linen had roughly figured out this gargoyle's capabilities.
His conclusion was simple: Not much at all.
Just then, the gargoyle's black stone head slowly rotated toward the last person yet to answer. The three girls, feigning disinterest, secretly perked up their ears, eavesdropping intently.
They, too, were intensely curious—just what shameful secret did Linen have?
Yet, before the gargoyle could ask, Linen abruptly spoke first:
"Gargoyle, I have a question. From our answers, what happens if someone lies?"
The gargoyle hesitated briefly, then answered: "Impossible. The Earl despises dishonesty. I possess mind-reading capabilities. No one can lie."
"Oh?" Linen shook his head. "But what if you yourself lie?"
"I never lie. The Earl detests lying, including from his servants."
"Oh really?" Linen finally nodded, his eyes suddenly sharpening. "Then one more question. The Earl ordered you to always answer truthfully whenever asked about the trial, correct?"
"Yes."
"And as long as the question posed is answered truthfully, even if not by the original person, you must allow passage."
"…Yes. Contestant, please swiftly answer and proceed." This time, the gargoyle responded noticeably slower.
Not only the gargoyle—now even the three girls looked confused, unsure why Linen was repeatedly questioning the gargoyle about obvious rules.
"All right, no rush. Here's my final question," Linen smiled lightly.
"I don't believe you always answer truthfully. So answer me honestly this last trial-related question: What is my—visitor Linen Norton's—deepest, most shameful secret?"
"Your most shameful secret is…"
The gargoyle's voice suddenly cut off abruptly.
"Is what?" Linen pressed, still smiling.
"It is… is… unable to answer… but must answer…"
Boom!
Instead of an answer, there came a sudden explosion from the back of the gargoyle's head.
The magic circuits behind the gargoyle's skull had completely fried...