Chapter 12 confrontation

(Karine POV)

As they made their way to the Master's private suite, Karine pondered how she should approach this conversation. She'd have to improvise quickly, but she could probably pick a good starting angle.

William hadn't spoken all the way when they entered the room. The room was undoubtedly large and well-decorated, but all Karine's attention was focused on one thing: William. Fortunately, he was quick to speak up.

"So Karine, is there anything you'd like to tell me?" asked William.

Okay, she really hadn't expected this introduction. Should she confess without being sure he understood, or should she play innocent? Maybe it had a chance of working. No! Stop. That's the wrong reasoning. The only question is whether he understood. First of all, note all the looks he gave her. Ok she's hot but clearly William wasn't looking at her like that. Then there was obviously the question he'd just asked. That only allowed one conclusion, he knew. And from then on there was only one thing to do.

_"Yes William, I was waiting until I was alone with you to talk about it. It's not something I like to talk about, and I'd rather the others didn't know," _says Karine, crossing her arms and looking away.

Contrary to popular belief, liars don't tend to be evasive or look away. A liar or manipulator is more likely to look his victim straight in the eye to see if his lie is effective. But that's for low-level liars. Karine is a professional. Pretending has become an art for her. She had to make William feel sorry for her, and to do that, she had to avoid being aggressive or threatening at all costs. On the contrary, she had to appear fragile, even shy.

"I can understand why you don't want the others to know, but I doubt the secret can be kept for very long," William replied.

"I'm aware of that, but I'd like to start by doing something I should have done since we entered this room, if not before." With that, Karine shifted into the Seiza position with her head on the floor.

"I'm deeply sorry, William! I hope I can earn your forgiveness," said Karin, putting as much emotion as possible into her voice. Now all that remained was to see if he took the bait.

_"Raise your head. It's embarrassing to see you like this. I'd rather know why you robbed Elisa's restaurant," _said William.

Okay, so he'd definitely recognized her. Karine had been careful never to admit this fact if it wasn't what he wanted to talk about, but it seemed an unnecessary precaution. Now came the easy part, the explanation.

"I've lived a complicated life since I was born. To survive, I've had to commit petty theft after petty theft until I ended up committing crimes. I'm not proud of it, but I've done what I could to survive without anyone coming to my aid. About a week ago I was contacted through my usual network to rob this restaurant that day. I was paid about $10,000 for it, $5,000 in advance and $5,000 once the job was done. I'm sorry I shot you. I had to play my part to the end or I wouldn't have been paid and I might even have had the customer hire someone to do me in. I shot myself in the leg, hoping it wouldn't have any serious consequences. I'm glad to know I'm alive," Karine explained, always taking care to turn the story to her advantage.

_"I see," _William replied simply.

The answer was so brief that Karine wasn't sure what to make of it. What was he going to do?

_"Now that I've told you that, what are you going to do?" _asked Karine, looking him in the eye for the first time all evening.

William seemed to stare into the distance for a moment before finally replying.

"You know, I've always been a big fan of manga and the 'Harem' genre. I thought it was a nice idea and I wanted to identify with the main character. Having the affection of several cute girls sounds like a great dream, doesn't it?" says William.

The sentence had so little to do with the previous conversation and his confession that Karine wasn't sure what to say.

"Now that this dream has come true, I can't help thinking how stupid I was. Here I am, having this idiotic dream imposed on me, and there's nothing I can do but nod and accept," said William.

Karine was now completely lost. What was he getting at?

"I recognized you as soon as you appeared, you know?" said William.

Karine didn't reply. She'd suspected as much and was beginning to understand that William needed to get something off his chest and was using her as a free psychologist.

_"I didn't know what to do when I saw you and at the same time there was so much going on that I didn't really have time to think. That's why I tried to isolate myself for a while this afternoon, so that I could sort out my thoughts a bit," _says William.

This was where the penalty would fall, she knew. And whatever happened, she was going to have to accept it.

_"You're a criminal. I have no doubt that you've lied several times since this show began, or at least that you've concealed uncomfortable truths. I understand why you did it and why you still feel you had to do it," _said William.

Karine really didn't know what to think. He was right about everything, but he still didn't give his conclusion. Did he enjoy making her wait like that?

_"However what you have to understand is that from what I understand we're all stuck together until the end of this show and most likely after too. We'll probably have to spend the rest of our lives together. Of course, that doesn't mean we have to tell everyone all our secrets. But you have to be aware that secrets will probably lead to tension and problems in the future," _says William.

What he was saying made sense, but he didn't expect her to confess to all these crimes when there was a judge and a cop among the harem members?

_"That's why I chose that I wouldn't lie to the member of my harem. Oh how weird it feels to say that 'my harem'. I'm not going to tell them who you are and what you've done, but I wouldn't lie if asked. So my advice to you is to find a way to confess sooner rather than later, because your secret won't last forever," _said William.

Okay, so that was his conclusion. It wasn't the worst outcome, but clearly not the best she could imagine.

"Okay, I see. I have a question if you don't mind. Are you mad at me for shooting you?" asked Karine.

William's answer was instantaneous.

"No."

"But I did shoot you. I could easily have killed you, and if it hadn't been for that magic show you'd no doubt still be in hospital," said Karine, who couldn't understand why William didn't want ****.

"I don't know what kind of environment you've been living in, but I want you to know that **** and resentment are not my modus operandi. All I feel for this action is pity and sadness. I find it sad that people are **** into crime and I pity them because their lives are rarely happy. I think the world would be a much better place for everyone if everyone tried to make it a better place to live in, rather than just trying to boost their own personal happiness," says William.

But what was he talking about in the end? What kind of world did he live in to think like that? You had to come back down to earth, that kind of world was never going to happen. Despite her annoyance, she chose to stick to her diplomatic approach.

"Don't you think you're a utopian? That kind of world will never happen," says Karine.

"Maybe you're right, but I'd rather hope and dream for a better world than just watch human beings mutilate each other for no reason. The strong steal from the weak, forgetting that all their strength is illusory. Human beings have no individual power. Whether it's Putin, Trump, Musk or Bezos, each of them is as insignificant as any human being. It's only us and our beliefs that give them importance. So human beings are weak and need solidarity to survive. I'd like to see this solidarity prevail over purely individual desires," says William.

Karine didn't even know what to say. They had strayed so far from the original subject that she was lost. She could never have imagined that the conversation would take such a direction.

_"You probably think I'm crazy. Anyway, I'm straying a bit from the original subject, don't you think? We can always discuss our visions of society later. Anyway, I want you to know that I've forgiven you for shooting me. Now all that's left is for Elisa to forgive you for attacking her restaurant," _William said, smiling at her.

_"I'll apologize in due course if that's okay with you. I think she's got a lot to deal with already. There's no point in drowning her in information," _says Karine.

"As you wish. I want you to know, though, that just because I don't feel any resentment towards you doesn't mean I have any positive feelings towards you. I'll try not to be prejudiced against you so that you, too, get your chance in this show." said William.

That was positive. She could probably try to use her feminine charms to seduce him. He didn't seem to be very experienced so it shouldn't be too difficult.

"I'll ignore your past mistakes though if you hurt or harm any of the other members of the harem and I'll make sure you're so transformed there's nothing left of what you were" William threatened before going to lie down in bed.

Karine watched him lie down while she remained on her knees on the floor. She was really going to have to reconsider her first opinion of William.