Gilyn did not answer her and only stared at her instead. After a while, he turned to look ahead. His voice was empty, "I believe you are drunk."

Seri giggled, "Drunk as a skunk indeed!"

The Original Seri shook her head. This was certainly not going according to plan. The one thing she needed was for Seri to be tactful in this situation. However, Seri was the opposite of tactful.

Seri pointed at him, "But you didn't answer me. Do you have an owner or do you not? Are you a wolf or are you a loyal dog?"

Gilyn calmly pushed her finger away from his face. He still did not reveal his inner thoughts as he spoke, "I have no owner." He turned to look forward and said nothing more. He continued to drink while staring ahead listlessly.

"Of course, you have an owner. The King is your owner." Gilyn didn't budge so she continued, "You have to answer to the King. Whatever the King demands you listen to him and do it. If he tells you to kill someone, you kill them. Every war you ever fought. Every battle you endured. All of that was simply because the King told you to. So tell me, does that sound like something someone without an owner would do?"

Gilyn didn't respond and took another drink from his glass.

Seri nodded to herself, "I see. So a loyal dog it is then."

Gilyn spoke in a low voice, "I fought in battles because I wanted to. I chose to fight and rise up in the ranks because I wanted to."

Seri smirked, "So what? You aren't a loyal dog after all?"

"And why should I tell you what I think?" He looked at Seri with a dark look in his eyes, "You are just a pale skin who doesn't know a thing."

Seri nodded in compliance and turned to her drink. She finished the rest and wiped her face. Then she turned to Gilyn with a mysterious smirk and held out her hand. His eyes glanced down at her outstretched arm before looking back at her.

She spoke, "I heard that the Sanki people value strength. Then perhaps you will be more inclined to tell me if we have a friendly competition to test our strength."

"What kind of competition would you suggest?"

She wiggled her fingers, "An arm-wrestling competition. If I win, then you'll listen to what I say and not tell another person about it. You also can't get angry and punish me for it either."

"If I win?"

Seri shrugged, "Then I will let you enjoy the rest of the night and won't annoy you further."

Gilyn turned back to Seri and gave a firm nod, "I accept."

The two moved to another table and sat across from each other. Seri had a cocky grin while Gilyn gazed at her without any expression. They both put out their arms to interlock their hands. The bar seemed to get livelier after this announcement for an arm-wrestling competition. They all gathered around the table and started shouting.

The bartender shouted over their excited chatter, "Taking bets! Taking bets! A pale skin against our proud leader of the Royal Army! Does anyone bet on the pale skin? Anyone?"

The Original Seri stood behind Seri and looked at the scene feeling a bit worried. She wasn't confident that Seri actually could win against Gilyn. She had seen her drunk strength before, but didn't know if it was enough.

The Original Seri spoke nervously, "A-Are you sure you can win?"

A cheeky smile crossed Seri's face, "I can definitely win."

Another man overheard her confident statement and threw down a coin, "Fine! I will bet on the pale skin."

The one next to him sized him up, "Are you sure? You're going to lose your money."

He waved him off, "It's not that much money."

After everyone placed their bets, the bartender announced loudly. "We will start the arm-wrestling competition! Whoever pushes the others arm down first is the winner! Get ready and… GO!"

The two began their struggle. Seri was surprisingly able to keep her hand aloft due to her drunken vigor. However, even in her drunken state her strength was nothing compared to Gilyn who had fought in so many wars and battles since he was only a child. Her hand slowly began to shake in his grip and start to lower towards the table. It was clear who the winner was.

The Original Seri panicked, "Leia! You are going to lose!"

Seri smirked as she calmly removed her shoe from one foot under the table. She spoke in a strained voice, "If I can beat William and Dante, I can beat Gilyn too. In the end, he's still human."

No one understood what she had said. It was too hard to hear over the shouts and chants. However, her foot snaked up and started to tickle Gilyn's unprotected side under the table. He flinched from the sudden ticklish sensation leaving him open for only a moment.

A moment was all Seri needed.

She quickly took advantage of his distraction to slam his hand against the table. The room went silent in disbelief. Seri jumped up victoriously, "I won! HAH! I'm a winner!"

The Original Seri held her breath, too afraid that the people around her may hear her sigh in relief.

Everyone silently turned their heads to look at Gilyn. They hadn't expected him to actually lose. Certainly not against this person with such weak looking arms. Yet, they somehow managed to beat him. They wondered just what Gilyn was thinking.

Gilyn slammed his fists on the table and jumped up, "You cheated!"

Seri stopped gloating and turned to the presumably angered Gilyn with a sly smile, "How did I cheat? The rules were simple. Whoever pushes the other's arm down is the winner. If you didn't want to allow 'cheating', then you should have said something beforehand."

Gilyn clenched his fists, "It was a test of strength. Not a test of manipulation!"

"YOU are a SOLIDER Gilyn! How can you complain about manipulation?! You have been in many wars. Do you think you can just politely tell your enemies not to cheat?! Do you think that you can just tell the enemies not to outsmart you!?"

Gilyn only stared at her without moving his face slightly. The other men around them shook their heads as sounds of agreement spread among them.

She jumped up on the table, "No! The enemy won't ask you for permission! They won't care what you think about cheating! They will kill you without even hearing you utter a single complaint!"

One shouted, "That's right! Those d*mned Imperial swines don't care how respectful we are! Whenever they can trick us, they take the opportunity! They have no shame!"

A wave of agreement broke out among the unruly men.

Seri looked down at Gilyn meaningfully, "That is exactly why you must strike before they strike you. In a battle, it is more about brains than it is brawn."

The crowd cheered and hoisted Seri up in the air. Seri chuckled as they tossed her up and caught her. It was true what they say, the Sanki kingdom values strength.

Or in Seri's case: Manipulation.

Gilyn watched everyone cheer with a stoic expression. He had nothing he could say in response. He went to the bar, paid his tab, and left the next moment. While being tossed in the air, the Original Seri watched him leave.

She spoke in a panic, "Leia! Leia! He is getting away! Hurry up and go catch him before he leaves!"

Seri heard her shout and looked at the exit. Her eyes lit up when she saw him leave the tavern. She exclaimed, "Ah! My fish is getting away! Let me down!"

The crowd stopped tossing her in the air and she quickly scrambled away towards the exit. On her foot was still only one shoe. The other was still under the table. Each person whom she went past, patted her so strongly on the back in approval that she almost fell forward.

She managed to squeeze out of the tavern and looked around to find Gilyn. She rushed off in a direction before a hand shot out from the darkness and tossed her into the alley. She fell on her face and groaned.

Gilyn looked at her with unreadable eyes, "What is your objective little girl?"

If the Original Seri could break out into a cold sweat, she was sure she would at that moment. It was clear that Gilyn had seen through Seri's disguise and realized she was in fact a woman and not a man.

Seri rubbed her face, "Ouch! How cruel! You just tossed me on my face."

Gilyn did not encourage her and spoke in a firm tone, "I asked you what your objective is."

Seri looked at him with a frown, "I heard, I heard." She stood up and brushed the dust off of her. She turned to him with her eyebrows pinched together, "But why did you call me a little girl? Clearly I am a man."

The Original Seri sighed in exasperation as she watched Seri spin around with a sly smile, "See? I'm so manly."

Gilyn crossed his arms, "I know that you aren't a man. I also know you are Seri. Simon's fiancé."