Chapter 25: A Maid’s Duties
The Storm Witch’s territory!
A fragment of Jie Luo’s soul!
He couldn’t hide anything from Shaye.
It was to be expected. She had been the one to reveal this information to him. It was only natural that she would be suspicious of his interest in Benson’s movements.
Qin Chu’s reaction confirmed her suspicions. She floated in front of him, her crimson eyes fixed on his, her voice low and menacing.
“So, your true target isn’t Benson,” she said, her voice laced with barely suppressed anger. “It’s Jie Luo’s soul fragment.”
Qin Chu, his deception exposed, decided to drop the pretense. “I have a dream, Shaye,” he said, his voice taking on a dramatic tone.
“Huh?”
Shaye stared at him, utterly bewildered. Was he serious?
They were discussing matters of life and death, and he was talking about dreams? Was he insane?
“What are you talking about?” she asked, her patience wearing thin.
Qin Chu, disappointed that she didn’t understand his reference, shrugged, his expression earnest. “I dream of a day,” he said, his voice filled with conviction, “when I can hold Jie Luo’s soul fragment in my hand and say to Loseweisse…”
“To Ekaterina…”
“To Athena…”
“To Eileen and Airi…”
“To Sylph…”
“‘You wouldn’t want anything to happen to this, would you?’”
Shaye, though still confused by his reference, understood that it wasn’t meant to be complimentary.
And the names he had listed… all female members of the Hero Squad.
His intentions were clear, his desires… less so.
“You’re planning to use Jie Luo’s soul fragment to blackmail them, aren’t you?” she asked, her voice dripping with disdain. “To force them to… do unspeakable things?”
He winced. Couldn’t she phrase it a little more delicately?
But she was right.
His hatred for the female members of the Hero Squad burned hotter than his anger towards their male counterparts.
Their years of camaraderie, the occasional flirtations, the seemingly innocent touches… it had all been a cruel deception, a game they had played to manipulate him, to keep him under their control.
He had never had a girlfriend before. Their attention, their feigned affection, had been intoxicating, feeding his insecurities, making him believe he was… desirable.
He had even dared to hope that this world, this strange and dangerous land, might be a place where he could finally find love, acceptance.
He remembered Athena, her voluptuous figure pressed against him, her lips whispering in his ear, “Do you like older women, Hero?”
He remembered Ekaterina, drunk and giggling, draped over his shoulder as he carried her back from a tavern, her words slurred, “No one likes me because I’m tall and… bossy. I want to get married, Hero. Will you marry me?”
He remembered Sylph, her gaze intense, her voice husky, during their “accidental” encounter in the forest, “I like strong men, Hero. And you’re the strongest of them all.”
He remembered Eileen and Airi, their arms linked through his, their smiles sweet and innocent, their voices echoing in unison, “We love you, Big Brother Hero.”
He had truly believed he had found a place where he belonged, where he was appreciated, where he could be… happy.
Despite his feelings for Loseweisse, he had protected them, risked his life for them, cared for them.
Now, looking back, he realized they had seen him as a fool, a pathetic plaything.
Everything had been a lie, a carefully constructed illusion.
He would kill Benson without hesitation.
But these women… he would deal with them personally. Death would be too merciful, too quick. It wouldn’t be enough to sate his rage, to quench the fire that burned within him.
Jie Luo’s soul fragment was the perfect tool, a weapon to be wielded against them, to break them, to make them suffer as he had suffered. He would watch them crumble, their hatred and humiliation a feast for his soul, before finally crushing the fragment, extinguishing their last hope.
Their despair, their anguish, would be a masterpiece, a symphony of pain and suffering.
Twisted? Perhaps.
Cruel? Undeniably.
But they had made him this way. They had twisted his heart, poisoned his soul. Now they would reap what they had sown.
“You’re a monster, Qin Chu,” Shaye said, her voice a mixture of amusement and disgust. “I’m beginning to think you were always a Demon at heart.”
She understood his intentions, and a flicker of concern crossed her face. “I won’t stop you from seeking revenge,” she said, her voice softening. “But be warned, Qin Chu. The Witches are not to be trifled with.”
“The Storm Witch, though not the strongest among us, is still a force to be reckoned with. Her power surpasses that of the Hero Squad, perhaps even rivals that of Wadsworth, Augustus, and Monique. Do you truly believe you can steal Jie Luo’s soul fragment from her?”
Her power was beyond his current capabilities.
Confronting her now would be suicide, for both of them.
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Qin Chu replied, his voice calm and confident. “It will take time for Candice to relay the information, for the Seventh Prince to investigate, to formulate a plan. I will use that time to grow stronger.”
He had a plan, a strategy based on his previous life’s knowledge and his Devourer Ability.
“And don’t worry, Shaye,” he added, his lips curving into a reassuring smile. “I’m not suicidal. If it proves impossible, I’ll retreat. I still have a world to destroy, after all.”
He stretched, his muscles aching from his prolonged stay in bat form.
“It’s getting late,” he said. “We should return.”
He shifted back into a bat, soaring through the night sky, returning to his chambers through the open window.
The illusion on the bed dissipated as he landed, his movements silent and fluid. He rubbed his eyes, ruffled his hair, feigning drowsiness, then opened the door.
Nikles, his vigilance unwavering, snapped to attention. “Hero,” he said, his voice respectful. “Do you require anything?”
“What’s all that noise?” Qin Chu asked, yawning theatrically, his acting skills improving with each performance.
“A number of nobles are requesting an audience, Hero,” Nikles replied, his brow furrowing slightly. “Lady… Angelica is attending to them.”
In this world, maids were little more than servants, their status barely above that of slaves. Their duty was to serve their masters, to fulfill their every whim, no matter how degrading.
Nikles, a proud knight, chafed at the necessity of addressing a mere maid with a respectful title. It felt like a stain on his honor.
“Angelica is here?” Qin Chu’s eyes brightened. “Excellent. Send her in.”
Nikles grinned, his expression knowingly suggestive. The Hero, it seemed, was eager to… indulge his passions.
He hadn’t even waited for Angelica to settle in.
The rumors were true, then. The Hero was a maid fanatic, rejecting even the Holy Maiden and the Emperor’s daughters for a lowly servant girl.
Nikles shook his head, unable to comprehend such a… peculiar preference.
He bowed, then hurried to fulfill his orders.
Moments later, Angelica, escorted by Nikles, stood before Qin Chu’s bedroom door.
Her cheeks were flushed, her golden eyes shimmering with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. Her heart pounded in her chest, her body thrumming with a strange, unfamiliar heat.
Summoning a maid to his bedroom at this hour… even a fool could guess his intentions.
This was part of her duty, after all. To serve her master… in every way.
She followed him into the room, her mind racing, her body trembling with anticipation. She was ready to offer him everything.
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