Chapter 173: Pray I do not alter it any further
Having him respect the ’Emissary’ was good, it made him open to suggestions. Making him fear her was better. Fear would avert his eyes, make him second guess certain things. He would be less willing to call out little anachronisms if he feared she might do sothing because of it. It let her get away with her ruse easier, even if it might co with stronger consequences.
But most of all, fear would let her shake him down for even more than this deal was supposed to give her. He was a tree full of golden apples, and she was hungry. So it was ti to start shaking!
"Do not think for a mont that a simple offer of blood will be enough now." Belladonna said in her displeased tone, turning to fully face the Duke as she increased her glare.
"Had you done that to begin with, I might have been more accepting. Instead you send such a lovely gem to debase herself in your stead. Perhaps you are unworthy of our deal after all..."
"No!" He shouted back in anger, making Belladonna wonder if she had gone overboard with her act, before his anger faded into quivering desperation and she smiled internally again.
"I.. I am worthy. I will offer my armies to you in your tis of need, I will serve your clan, I will offer my power to the Matriarch.
I am worthy of our deal. I am the Duke for a reason. My... my power is unmatched in my realm, No other is able to carry out this deal for you, that much you must know! But please... I need this. I cannot wither away."
Belladonna could see his desperation, to the point that it was a little sad. She also made sure to take ntal notes of certain nas or phrases he was ntioning, coming closer to understanding so of the deal in question. However there was still sothing she was missing about it all. One piece of the puzzle.
In the corner of her eye, she could see the maid smiling to herself, either from her masters behaviour or because of Belladonna’s earlier comnt on her appearance.
"If the master wishes," The maid interjected, speaking up softly, "we still have the beasts corpse in storage. Even if the Madam Emissary’s hunt was spoiled, there is not need for her to miss out on the spoils."
Belladonna allowed her eyebrow to raise, as a sign of her interest and curiosity, but directed it to the Duke rather than the maid. The man in question lit up, his eyes regaining hope as he nodded quickly.
"Yes, Yes! Emissary, I would be most honoured to give you spoils of the hunt. Whilst I have rite of blood, I would not hesitate to share it with you. It is only fair as apologies for spoiling your hunt and taking the rite from you."
The Duke intentionally made no ntion of shooting her with a sedative laced arrow, as the Emissary herself seed unconcerned about it. Since that was the part he had been most worried about, as he had only done so to protect his people and reputation, he was glad that such a matter could be solved with so at.
Even if it was so from a Lesser Dragon. But that was nothing compared to what he would gain, so it was an acceptable loss.
Pumping her fist and dancing with joy, in her mind, Belladonna physically only nodded her head, as if that was just barely satisfactory, before moving on abruptly as if the previous conversation had bored her. Another classic mannerism she had picked up from watching these types for so long.
It was just a sha she didn’t have a chance to practice their most common mannerism, bitchy gossip. She would probably be a pro at that.
"Good. Now I hope that you have prepared everything that was necessary for the deal, especially considering the extra ti I had graciously given you."
Still unsure of what she was talking about, Belladonna intentionally left it vague enough to allow for wiggle room, but thankfully the Duke seed to understand her as he nodded quickly.
"Yes, Madam Emissary. I prepared the vessel exactly as I was instructed, I am sure of it, and have kept it secure and ready for the process. Eliza, If you would."
’Vessel? Process? I thought this was just going to be a letter or sothing. Maybe a nice sack of gold to change hands. Actually... if he is giving his army, wouldn’t I be the one giving him gold in that scenario? Maybe this option is better... Whatever it is.’
Eliza, the maid, stepped forwards with a nod and began to wave her hands in a slow, deliberate manner as the mana in the air stirred in obedience. The earth beneath their feet shoot slightly before a section of the stone floor started to shift and open up into a doorway.
At the sa ti, a soft ping in the back of Belladonna’s mind sounded, and the crystal on the back of her hand glowed ever so slightly as it protected a screen that only she could see.
[Secret Quest Discovered!]
[Secret Quest - New Blood
Through a case of mistaken identity, and a small amount of deception, you have found yourself tangled up in a web of hidden politics. One such case is the Duke Lucian, so eager to betray his own king and country in exchange for another.
Continue to play the part of the Emissary of Blood, and complete the ritual.
Failure - Discovery of your deception and Death]
A secret quest? That made sense, considering all the secrecy around it and how difficult it was to discover in the first place. But not only did it offer very little details, other than a vague ntion of a ritual, the quest description refused to even imply that there would be any rewards. Only offering her a punishnt if she failed.
Quite reassuring.
By the ti Belladonna had finished analysing the vague, unhelpful quest alert and returned her attention back to the matter at hand, a staircase had been ford in the ground. More accurately, it had been ford out of the ground, literally.
With the Elven maids magic, she had turned the stone floor into a doorway and the earth beneath it into a long staircase that descended deep into the darkness.
The Elf maid bowed her head to the pair of them before the Duke stepped forwards and began to descend the staircase first, as a way of showing Belladonna that it was perfectly safe. A mont later, Belladonna descended herself, followed closely by the maid.
With a wave of her hands, the doorway in the floor closed up, plunging them into complete darkness and hiding their passage, as they continue down.
Belladonna was fine in the darkness, her vision shifting to the greyscale world of her dark vision, allowing her to watch the nervous tics of the Duke as he descended in front of her.
He led them down and down, deep into the earth, until a new door opened up at the bottom of the staircase. A door in the wall this ti rather than the floor.
Stepping through it, Belladonna found that she had been led to what seed like an abandoned dungeon, with countless little beasts skittering between the shadows.
Chains hung from the walls, as did the skeletal remains of the previous prisoners, their bones picked clean by the little skittering beasts. And in the middle of the dungeon room, there sat a perfectly clean, and freshly made black coffin.
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