"Herta, calm down! This is marriage we're talking about! Are you out of your mind?!" Mo Wang was cornered, and frankly, a little scared. This was worse than being her lab rat. How had she turned into such a predator?
"What's there to hesitate about? Marriage is just a contract between two people with similar interests. It's no different from an alliance," she said nonchalantly. "Do you really think I, Herta, would have the same sentimental views on marriage as a common mortal?"
"I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding of what marriage is," he retorted.
"I think marriage has a fundamental misunderstanding of me," she shot back, stepping closer. He could smell the faint, alluring scent of her perfume, and his heart started to race.
"Uh... maybe we should keep some distance..." he stammered, trying to look away.
"Distance?" she purred, tilting his chin up to meet her gaze. "Weren't you so bold a moment ago? Or were you just all talk?"
"Hey, don't push it, Herta!" he said, a blush creeping up his neck. "I'm an Emanator of Preservation, you know! I'm not afraid of you!"
"Oh, really?" she whispered in his ear. "Then prove it to me, Lord Mo Wang~"
He shivered, his ears turning bright red. He was completely trapped, all his usual bravado gone.
March 7th, who had been watching the whole thing in stunned silence, finally snapped out of it. She shoved Herta away, standing protectively in front of Mo Wang. "Hey! Herta, that's enough! Mo Wang, let's go!"
"Oh? Little March, why are you so flustered?" Herta asked, an amused glint in her eyes. "Could it be... that you're jealous?"
"J-Jealous?!" March sputtered, her face turning crimson. "Wh-What are you talking about?! I'm just tired of you bullying him!"
"Are you? Or do you have... other ideas... about Mo Wang?"
"Of course not! He's our friend! You can't treat him like this!"
"A friend?" Herta tilted her head. "Then why didn't you stop him when he proposed to me? Or did you... secretly agree?"
"I... I..." March was at a loss for words.
"Herta, stop teasing her," Mo Wang said, stepping in. "And about that marriage thing... I think we should reconsider..."
"Reconsider?" she said, pinching his cheek. "You're the one who brought it up. You can't take it back now."
"Ow, ow, ow! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I was wrong!"
"Herta! Stop bullying him!" March said, pulling her hand away.
"You're so protective of him," Herta mused. "Is it really just because he's your friend? Or are you... in love with him?"
"Don't be ridiculous!" March said, her face the color of a ripe apple.
"Oh? So you wouldn't be sad if I really did marry him?"
"I... I wouldn't care..." she mumbled, her voice barely a whisper.
"March, don't listen to her," Mo Wang said, patting her shoulder. "Of course I'm not going to marry her. We're best buddies, right?"
March nodded, a warm feeling spreading through her chest. "Yeah... buddies."
"Well, this is getting interesting," Herta said with a grin. "But don't forget, Mo Wang. You proposed to me. I'm not going to let you off the hook that easily."
Oh no, Mo Wang thought. I've really dug myself a hole this time.
"I wonder how sad little March will be," Herta continued, her eyes twinkling with what Mo Wang could only describe as... Elation. Wait, aren't you an Emanator of Erudition? Why are you enjoying this more than I am?
"Don't think I'm afraid of you!" March said, summoning her weapon. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife.
"Don't fight! Don't fight because of me!" Mo Wang cried out, channeling his inner shoujo protagonist. Meanwhile, he had pulled out a bag of sunflower seeds, a beer, and a small stool. March 7th vs. Herta? This is going to be good.
"Alright, alright, we can talk about the marriage later," Herta said, a row of her puppets appearing beside her. "But you're not leaving yet. If you marry me, you'll not only get this space station, but you'll also get to... have some fun... with all my puppets."
Mo Wang's eyes widened. Marry a rich, brilliant woman with an army of puppet look-alikes? The possibilities were... intriguing.
"Hmph!" March glared at him, daring him to say yes.
"Never mind! Let's go, March!" he said, grabbing her hand. But one of the puppets blocked their path.
"Not so fast. The Simulated Universe has a new update. You're going to help me test it."
"Stay the night, and I'll give you a little something," Herta said, her voice now filled with an undeniable authority. "If you refuse... well, you know."
"Just the Simulated Universe? That doesn't sound so bad. What do you think, March?"
"Little March, if you stay, I'll upgrade your camera. Better resolution, smart processing, auto-retouching..."
"Alright, just one day," March said, unable to resist the offer. A Herta-level upgrade would cost more than a decade's worth of her allowance.
I feel like I've just been sold, Mo Wang thought, a sense of dread creeping up on him. He didn't like the look in Herta's eyes. It was a look he had seen on a certain other white-haired scientist...
She's probably just interested in the Simulated Universe, right? It's not like she's actually going to do anything to me... right?
He had the protection of Preservation, after all. He was invincible. Even an army of Hertas couldn't touch him!
The number of flags he had just raised was truly impressive. Only time would tell what would become of him, but one thing was for sure: Herta had her sights set on him, and she was not going to let him go easily.