The Author's POV

*Sigh*

Sighing out loud, I couldn't help but glance at the Matriarch, no, Angelica from the side.

It's been a bit of a rough week for me.

...Under the influence of Monarch's indifference, it seems like I 'enslaved' her and forcefully brought her here.

Fortunately, I wasn't in any danger as any time she would try to attack me all I had to do was channel the mana inside of my body, towards where the demon core I swallowed was located, and she would be subjected to immeasurable pain stopping her from whatever she wanted to do.

Like this, Angelica was pretty much under my control.

...However, even if she was under my control that didn't mean she would do anything I asked of her.

After all, although I could dictate her life and death with a simple thought, that was of no use for me.

How could I use a pawn that refused to move?

Such pawn wasn't something that I needed nor wanted...

There was no point in me keeping her if she refused to listen to my orders...I didn't need such liability to stick with me...especially not when considering how dangerous of a person she was.

"Huuu..."

Leaning back on my chair as I exhaled, I started thinking of a way to fix this problem.

Although I hate to say it...taking her in was in fact the right decision. Considering her strength, she was probably the strongest person among us in the mercenary group...and by quite a large margin at that.

Moreover, she could still grow stronger...especially since I knew of a couple of things that could benefit her growth.

Glancing at the Matriach who was coldly sitting not so far from where I was, massaging my chin, my mind raced.

Since I already swallowed her core she was definitely somewhat under my control...the problem was how do I get her to willingly follow my orders without betraying me?

Although the demons seemed united, in reality, they weren't. If not for the demon king keeping them in check with his overwhelming power, all hell would've broken loose among their ranks...and I could use this fact to my advantage

...the fact that her loyalty towards their own race wasn't very strong.

Thinking thus far, I glanced towards Smallsnake and Leopold who were both looking at me. Thereafter, nodding slightly towards them, I said

"Smallsnake, Leopold, can you guys give us a minute?"

Staring at me for a couple of seconds, Smallsnake's head alternated between me and Angelica a couple of times before he eventually nodded his head.

"Alright..."

Standing up from his seat, and tossing the cigarette in his hand towards the trash can, Leopold lightly waved his hand as he followed Smallsnake out of the room.

"Take your time, boss"

-Clank

Shortly after they left, as the doors to the room closed, silence enveloped the room. Breaking the silence, I looked at the Matriarch and lightly said

"...so, still not speaking"

Crossing my legs, I stared at the Matriarch who was quietly sitting in her chair. Ever since I brought her here she didn't speak a single word. She neither complained nor lashed out.

...I guess that was her way of telling me that she won't do anything I ask of her.

Smiling inwardly, I lightly covered my mouth to hide the smirk that had appeared on my face. Staring at Angelica who was coldly looking back at me, seemingly wanting to devour me whole, I lightly spoke

"Do you want your freedom back?"

"..."

Frowning Angelica didn't respond.

...there was no way she would believe anything that came from my mouth. In her head, I was a vile worm that only won due to some trickery.

To her, every word that I spoke was merely a trap devised to trick her into doing something that she didn't want to do...fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.

Coldly staring at me from her seat, Angelica tried her best to hold herself back from lunging at me in hopes of killing me...

Noticing her unresponsiveness, I once again spoke

"...let me rephrase, do you want your core back?"

"..."

Once again, Angelica refused to speak. Unbothered by this as I lazily leaned on my chair I continued speaking knowing that I had gotten her attention...

"...you see returning your core isn't actually that hard of a task for me...it's just that it really wouldn't be profitable on my end...you understand?"

Pausing and looking at Angelica straight in her eyes, I smiled and said

"If I were to return you the core, what can you offer me?"

Staring at me for a couple of seconds, after a short pause she said

"...what do you want"

Hearing her speak, I couldn't help but lightly chuckle as I spoke

"Ahh...so you can speak. Mh, doesn't this situation seem a bit ironic? I remember you calling me a mute befor-"

Cutting me off, Angelica's cold voice echoed across the room.

"Get to the point!"

Smiling slightly, I sat up straight. Staring at the Matriarch in the eyes I shook my finger.

"tut..tut..just listen to what I have to say...I will offer you a deal, and you will decide whether you agree or not."

Pausing there for a second, my demenour turned serious as I coldly looked at her as a white hue started emanating from my body.

"Don't think that just because I'm keeping you alive means that I won't kill you in the future...after all, what use does a chess piece that doesn't function have for me? Me offering you a deal is your last chance at keeping your life...if you choose to refuse, only death awaits you"

Seriously staring at Angelica for a couple of seconds, after a while, I smiled and my usual lazy and cheerful demenour came back. Clapping my hand I lightly said.

"Alright, now that the serious stuff has been said...tell me. What are you willing to offer me in exchange for your core"

Without hesitation, as soon as I finished speaking, Angelica said

"...Money, Information, Wome-"

Extending my hand forward, I stopped her as I shook my head.

"Sorry, I was lying when I said that. I already know what I want..."

Seriously looking at me, Angelica's ears perked as she leaned slightly forward to hear

"...what do you want?"

Smiling slightly, I pointed towards her and teased

"You"

Opening her eyes wide, Angelica stood up and glared at me.

"You filthy bastard!"

"Wow, calm down, I was just joking, relax"

Raising my hands up, I lightly laughed after seeing her reaction. If not for the fact that a white hue was revolving around my body she would've already assaulted me.

Fiercely glaring at me, Angelica snorted.

"...hmph, if you say one more joke like that, even if I die, I'll make sure to bring you down with me"

Raising my brow, I shook my head. Thereafter, raising my left hand, I opened my palm and calmly said

"Five"

Calming down, Angelica raised her brow as she tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Five what?"

Briefly glancing at the palm of my hand, I looked towards Angelica in the eyes and said

"Five years. I want you to work for me for five years"

I've thought this through. For the past week, I spent a lot of time thinking about how to solve the issue revolving around Angelica.

Five years. That's how long I was planning on keeping her.

...for the next five years, she will work for me as a member of the mercenary group.

Of course, that wasn't the true end goal. The hope was that in those five years that she stayed with us she would become loyal towards us.

...If I showed her enough benefits, I was sure that such task was possible. Moreover, even if in those five years she eventually left, she wouldn't be able to go back to the demons.

With her core having been taken from her once, getting her old position back was no longer a feasible option.

If she were to come back, the highest position she would get would be that of an elder one...and for someone who had already tasted the power that came from being a leader, I knew very well that it wasn't something she was willing to accept.

Especially not if the leader was someone she used to boss around. Her pride wouldn't allow it.

Noticing Angelica fall into deep thought, I patiently sat back and waited for her to give me a response.

After a while, looking at me, Angelica softly said

"Mana contract"

"Hm?"

Leaning forward, I couldn't quite grasp what she said as her voice was too soft for me to hear. Noticing that I didn't understand, speaking louder, Angelica said

"I said I will only do this if we sign a mana contract"

Pausing slightly, glancing at Angelica in front of me for a second, a large smile appeared on my face as I said

"But of course"

It was originally something that I was planning on proposing to her. However, it seems like she beat me to it.

...a mana contract.

A contract that ties two people with the power of mana.

Upon setting the terms and signing it, the two people under the contract must fulfill the other end of their bargain. If one person fails to complete their end, death awaited them...and a very painful one at that.

The mana around their body would become erratic and their body would explode into pieces. It was probably one of the worst possible deaths someone could ever ask for.

...though mana contracts were quite expensive, they were worth the cost as this way I wouldn't need to worry about the other person not holding the other end of their deal.

This method was more efficient than just me threatening Angelica as now she would obediently follow my orders until the contract expired.

After all, now that she had a goal to work for, she would definitely comply with my orders as long as they weren't unreasonable.

Moreover, I didn't need to worry about her betraying me for as long as the contract run as this could be one of the terms I could insert in the contract.

...Everything was perfect.

Nodding my head in satisfaction, and seeing that Angelica too was satisfied with the outcome, I brushed my hair to the side and asked her something that had been on the back of my mind for a while.

"...Now, let's get to the main point."

"Since you're willing to make a contract with me, it's about time I ask you about some things that I have been meaning to ask from before, no?"

Blinking twice, Angelica looked at me in the eyes and slowly said

"...It depends on what you're asking."

Hearing her response, a faint smile appeared on my lips.

...so she still had some loyalty towards the demons huh.

It was understandable, they were her race after all. No matter how much she detested them, she would still have some loyalty towards them...but that's fine.

I really wanted to see if her opinion would still be the same by the time those five years end.

...I really was starting to get curious.

In five years' time, will you still be my pawn or will you be something that I will have to discard? Will you choose to follow me after everything I will show you...or will you go back to the demons?

Smiling to myself, I paused my thoughts there. Staring at Angelica in the eyes, I asked her the question that had been bothering me for a long time.

"What I wanted to ask is...why did you think it was me that killed Elijah when everything pointed towards Amanda being the killer? Moreover...why me?"