Him being anything but highly suspicious of what was happening here would have amounted to sheer lunacy. Don't be fooled by how 'well' the two of them had been getting along previously–he was under no irrational illusion here.
Both of them had been carefully raised by forces on the level of Supreme Pillars. It was impossible for emotionally driven, inexperienced heirs to be allowed to join the competition–unless it was for the sole purpose of serving as cannon fodder. But Ninna was clearly not such a disposable individual.
Although Theodore had no idea what her specific Talents were, she was at the very least capable of keeping him on his toes. And mind you, he was no small fry!
Judging from her battle capabilities, her strategic choices, and her displayed level of Array Formation Proficiency, Ninna should be a treasured descendant of the Ur Family–certainly not someone who would throw her life and future away for something as 'ignoble' as affection or desire.
Admittedly, his ridiculously divine looks and irresistible charm had definitely exerted some influence over her. That much was plain to see, after all. However, it shouldn't be nearly to such an extent!
'She doesn't look like she's joking either, though.'
Furrowing his brows, he scrutinized her honest expression and grew even further unsettled. For whatever reason, this woman was actually being sincere right now. But why? What could have convinced her of making such a choice?
'Or could this possibly be a trap?'
He considered this for a moment, then he mostly discarded it with a shake of his head. Recruiting any kind of Subordinate was done directly through the Heavenly Dao. It was the unquestionably reliable, trustworthy intermediary between the two parties, ensuring that nothing would go awry. Therefore, unless Ninna had some means that would allow her to surpass the Heavenly Dao in this regard, the process should be perfectly safe.
Listening inward, he chose to focus on his instincts, hoping that his gut feeling would tell him if there was any danger ahead–yet this only served to further puzzle him.
'Perfectly safe? Everything is going to be fine? How does this make any sense?! It's too good to be true!'
To his dismay, even his Prognostication, Improved Threat Perception, and Spatiotemporal Harmony Talents didn't help him at all. They all just echoed the same sentiment.
'Go ahead. There is no danger here. She's serious about this.'
A part of him began to get swayed, but he suppressed it as much as possible. It was vital to his continued survival to tread as carefully as he could here.
During his clash with Ninna, he had been under the impression that she–just like him–was still holding on to some hidden cards. But what if she wasn't and had merely fooled him into thinking so? Then, it was not inconceivable that she might feel pressured to join his side, fearing that he may actually end up killing her if she didn't.
However, that required for her single use life-saving item to have been used up already. And although that wasn't impossible–a freak 'accident' had caused the loss of his own, after all–it was still extremely unlikely for Supreme Pillar heirs to encounter such an event so early on.
'That aside, she should have at least one or two survival tricks up her sleeve. Her presenting herself to me on a silver platter like this cannot be the result of fear or forceful suppression.'
Changing his train of thought, he considered other possibilities. Her being simply lovestruck was, of course, instantly dismissed. But there were some details that he felt he might have overlooked earlier.
During the Heavenly Succession, every single meeting between a male and a female Heaven's Chosen could turn out to be far more important than either one realized at a time. After all, what if the two of them ended up as the final winners at the conclusion of it all?
In essence, everyone was constantly meeting their potential future husband or wife. That was why the majority chose to treat those on the same level as themselves with respect. And if they weren't opposed to one another, then some flirtatious words might also be exchanged.
Especially amongst descendants of Named Families and above, if they weren't too confident about their chances, then it wasn't unusual for them to switch to searching for a romantic partner and aiming for pure survival with them instead.
'But for Ninna to do the same... what an absurd thought. I could have understood if she had offered me any sort of alliance, just like Eleanora back then. Even if she had wanted to make it a permanent one, I would have felt that it was a reasonable request. Yet, here she is, all but giving up her shot at becoming the next Heavenly Empress...'
With no way of figuring out the truth behind it all on his own, he did the sole thing that could possibly support him in doing so–he asked Ninna.
"Why?"
Having awaited his response for quite a while now, she had been watching his expression change a couple of times. She was fully aware of what kind of conundrum she had presented him with, but she had done so for very good reasons.
Finally hearing the question that she had been anticipating, she cleared her throat and weighed her words extremely carefully before beginning to explain herself.
"The core issue, I suppose, is that I'm terrified. Terrified of somehow actually becoming the Heavenly Empress, that is."
Shooting him a meaningful gaze that all but told him that she was not at liberty to disclose more information about this now, she could only hope that he understood her. Then, she swiftly moved on to the next reason on her list, refusing to elaborate on her prior statement any further.
"That aside, I've come to realize something during our earlier duel: You might actually have a shot at winning. And I'm not saying that to butter you up, mind you! I'm serious! Relying solely upon infusing yourself with Energy allowed you to keep up with me, even though you were at a lower cultivation stage. It's... frankly ridiculous."
Sighing to herself, she shook her head in disbelief. She knew that she was strong, even amongst Supreme Pillar heirs. Her side had an intel advantage over many others, allowing her to be clued in on some dark horses and hidden treasured heirs. And still, she judged her chances to become the Heavenly Empress... to be relatively high!
Well, maybe only one or two percent. But considering how many peers she had to contend with, and what it would mean for her to claim that spot... these odds were high enough to deeply unsettle her!
Last round, she hadn't understood why her grandfather had found it necessary to inform her and all of the others about a male Winter Family heir. Yet now, she felt like she had figured it out: Theodore was definitely worthy of her side's attention.
'Fortunately, they can't directly intervene here. And if he actually manages to become the next Heavenly Emperor... then all will be golden, and I won't have to worry at all!'
Seeing him neither humbly deny nor arrogantly reaffirm her flattering statement, she grew further convinced of her judgement. Therefore, she moved on to the next point–a deeply personal one.
"I'm different from you, you know. We've gone through the same training regimen, but that didn't stop me from wanting nothing to do with this entire mess. Except for one person–well, now two–nobody else knows that I've only played along on the surface. I don't want to be restrained by these shackles of expectations that have been forced upon me! I want to do my own thing, to do what my heart desires!"
Staring directly into his eyes, a hopeful, tender smile blossomed on her lips.
"And for that, I'll need you to break my chains–in a way that my family cannot possibly oppose! I've already tried to defeat you once, but I wasn't able to. I've done enough to repay their care, so now I'll be taking the easy way out."
Searching for any traces of deception yet finding absolutely none, Theodore pointed out a perceived flaw in her reasoning.
"But wouldn't you just be exchanging one cage for another? Surely, you don't think that I'd be allowing you to laze around and do nothing for all your life. I would be putting you to work, for sure."
Chuckling a little, Ninna's expression softened a lot. If she had previously still been a tiny bit unsure about taking this path, then her worries had now evaporated entirely.
"That won't be a problem, I'm not intending to be a leech. I couldn't choose the shackles that I was born with, but I can decide on the ones to restrain me from here on out. And that makes all the difference! This time, it will be my own choice."
'I never would have expected for the renowned Winter Saint... to be this kind. Amongst Supreme Pillar heirs, or even Pillar heirs... that's almost unheard of. Treasuring their own people isn't rare, but to extend such courtesy towards a stranger... Theodore Winter, you're growing more and more interesting!'
Smirking to herself internally, she was patiently awaiting his decision, or any other potential questions that he might have. In actuality, she was kind of sitting on pins and needles. After all, it wasn't like the Heavenly Succession couldn't be observed from outside at all.
Not only were there a couple of methods relying on the four Foundational Elements that the Ur Family had derived, but other forces also had their own special ways of gathering intel and communicating with their people. That aside, whenever a round ended, some general highlights would be shown to the inhabitants of the Heavenly Dao, in an effort to allow them to participate in the excitement.
It had to be said that the Heavenly Court was fair and just when it came to this, though. Although they had access to all of the data, they wouldn't deliberately expose details that were too private, or risqué–like someone's personal secrets, or nights between lovers. Mostly, exciting breakthroughs, battles, or feats were what the audience would get to see, alongside the rankings.
All participants would also have a few personal highlights that those interested in them could check out, but the Heaven's Chosen themselves were incapable of accessing these, as it could give them too much of an intel advantage over their fellow competitors.
In any case, considering that Ninna was still in an environment very rich with Foundational Element essence, she was certain that every single action of hers could be spied upon by her family. No matter what they did, though, they couldn't stop her–but that didn't mean that she didn't want to cut her ties with them once and for all as soon as possible.
Whilst she was stealing expectant glances at him, Theodore felt deeply conflicted inside. On the one hand, the surreality of it all caused him to be hypervigilant, but on the other, there was that famous saying: 'Don't look a gift horse in the mouth'.
He was really tempted to rush up to Ninna and pry those lips open, though. Just to search for anything amiss, of course! Banish any other, more salacious thoughts!
'You know what? To hell with it! I'll risk it. The moment I sense something wrong, I can simply kill myself and go back to an earlier point. As long as I'm quick enough about it and don't hesitate, I should be able to make it!'
Narrowing his eyes, his expression hardened to one of utmost solemnity. In secret, he prepared to detonate his very soul, which should serve to send him on his way in the quickest, most efficient manner.
'This woman... she's worth such a gamble.'
He had many Subordinates, and a few truly outstanding ones that could hold their own. Vigdis was even his trusty right-hand woman! But Ninna here... she showed promise beyond all of them. Even during the later rounds of the Heavenly Succession, he likely wouldn't have to worry about her much. He would be an utter fool to let an opportunity such as this slip through his fingers!
Sure, her background was largely unknown, and presented a huge potential danger. And he still wasn't 100 percent certain that he wasn't stepping into a trap of some sort. But what if? What if he was actually just lucky? Then, he would regret not jumping at this chance for the rest of his days.
"Fine, you convinced me."
Taking a last deep breath, he extended to her the offer to become his Follower. All the while, he proverbially held a gun to his very soul, and had his finger on the trigger.