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Fanreek was a good friend, and I had no animosity to Lord Typhon. In fact, despite the circumstances behind our meeting, he had always been kind to me, so I was inclined to heed his invitation. I nodded and then proceeded to follow Fanreek. Baron would gnash his teeth for a while, but he would just have to wait for me. It was better to say that he was obligated to wait for me.
The pair of us left Whitewinter and headed through the familiar camp that I had made my home for some time. It felt somewhat nostalgic. It had only been less than a month, but it might as well have been a year since I was walking around this camp. Many of the soldiers recognized me, and a few even waved and wished me a good day. I smiled coyly, giving them a wave back. The effect hit most of them, even those who it wasn’t directed at. They would blush or look down and dig their feet in the dirt while grinning to themselves.
“You’ve gotten bolder recently.” Fanreek snorted.
I sniffed. “I’m not Typhon’s slave anymore. I don’t need to act properly anymore to put on a good girl image as a slave of his household.”
“Before was acting proper?” Fanreek’s eyes widened, and then he rolled them. “I’d hate to see you when you’re intentionally bad.”
“When I get bad, people die…” I responded, but there was little energy in my words, and I was thinking back to events that had happened a long time ago.
A lot of people had died while I tried to keep myself safe. Cambions had all died because of my interference. The slave traders had all died by my hands. The bandit camp was burned to the ground. The nobility of an entire country was wiped out. I had more blood on my hands than ever, but I suspected I’d soon be adding more.
I had never told Fanreek those kinds of details of my life. He nodded as if I had only said that water was wet. He was a warrior, after all, and what I said was a very warrior thing to say.
I saw Mom and the women of the camp, but we turned away, and I didn’t have a chance to say anything to them. I found myself being brought to Lord Typhon’s tent. It was the same one where I had lived by his side for several weeks. It was how I remembered it. Some other servant was keeping it clean now that I no longer was around. The man himself was sitting in a chair with a table set up for one on one discussions. When he saw me, he gave Fanreek a little nod. Fanreek nodded back and then turned and let the flap fall, standing at the entrance. This was the first time I realized that this visit was more than just casual.
“Sit, girl. Would you like something to drink?” He offered. “My maid just brought it. She’s not quite as good at making it as you were, but few are…”
I shook my head no, but went over to the chair across from his and sat as commanded. He had a somewhat tense expression his face. These few weeks of negotiations seemed to have aged him. I swear I could see a few more grey hairs on his head and a few more wrinkles around his eyes. This was definitely a stressful job.
“The negotiations are progressing as expected.” Lord Typhon said, watching me carefully as he poured himself a cup of tea.
“Oh?”
I was genuinely curious about the negotiations. Everyone was. Both the demon and human world were sitting on the edge of their seats to find out what was going to happen. However, it would be strange for Lord Typhon to call me here just to talk about his day. In the grand scheme of things, I was a nobody when it came to these negotiations.
“You know… you’ve become quite famous in town, whether you realize it or not. They call you the Fairy of Whitewinter.”
“I’m the fairy?” I made a face.
I had heard rumours about myself, but I also heard about the Fairy of Whitewinter. I had thought they were talking about an actual fairy. They spoke about it like an elusive thing that only appeared at night. I had been hoping to see it, actually. Apparently, the crowds really were bored if they were talking about me like that.
Seeing my face, Lord Typhon actually chuckled. It was rare that I saw the man laugh or smile, but for some reason, he did when he looked at me.
“You’re more amazing than you think.” He responded, “Not just your beauty, but your skills. I’ve experienced many of them. As my slave, it wouldn’t do if I complimented you so much, but now that you are a free woman, I am comfortable telling you what I really think.”
“If you wish to be honest, then I’ll be direct. I don’t care for flattery, and I know my beauty and abilities, and neither has spared me in this world. What is it that you want?”
His smile didn’t slip, but it did turn somewhat sad. “It is true. You have had it hard. I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through. I know a bit. After finding out that this Lord Devon had an interest in you, I naturally had you investigated. Masquerading as Cornelia Bartrum, you infiltrated the country of Nidia on orders of the Bandit King Nova. After helping him rob the country blind, you proceeded to spread a curse that wiped out almost the entire aristocracy.
“You don’t need to clarify…” He continued when I tried to speak. “Some of it might be true, some of it might be false. The human realm blamed us. A spy of ours, you know him as Reinhart, seemed to have some kind of connection with you during that time. He has a weak bloodline, but he is a good man, and he spoke extremely highly of you. Although he stressed one thing in his report about you, you’re extremely dangerous.”
“Did he?” I was using my art of deception, so my face gave nothing away.
I was genuinely startled at how much he had learned, but I suppose it made sense. Several weeks had passed, and the humans were right here. If Reinhart had fled back to the demon lands and left a report, he knew more about me than anyone. Now the demon realm knew as well. It hurt a little bit, being called dangerous by something you saw as a friend, but betrayal and I were good acquaintances at this point.
“He said the greatest danger you pose is to yourself.”
I blinked. “I don’t know what he means.”
“I think I do…” Lord Typhon took a small sip of his drink.
“Lord Typhon… I…”
“Your death has been written into the peace treaty.” He said shortly.
“Excuse me?” My eyes widened.
“It doesn’t say it in so many words, but your existence is small and unimportant, and it was easy to give you up. Once the treaty is made, you are to be handed to the human side and executed immediately.”
“Devon… that liar!” I cursed with clenched teeth.
“Devon may not know about it. I barely even knew about it. It was hidden deep in the contract and covered by flowery language. This was some kind of agreement between General Maford and Tigon. He’s working through his Truthsayer, but his prints are all over it. It was also Maford who had that curse placed on you.”
My hand touched my neck instinctively. “You even know about this.”
“That you were ordered to kill me?” Lord Typhon snorted. “Yes, The Truthsayer told me this personally. This is why I had to give you up during the meeting. It was supposedly for my protection.”
I looked around, noticing we were still alone in the tent. “You’re not afraid?”
He chuckled. “I don’t believe you will kill me. A death curse is powerful, but I’ve seen you shake off slave collars. I don’t believe anyone is capable of controlling you.”
This time, I allowed a blush to reach my cheeks. It was actually genuine.
“Then why am I here?”
“Because I want to save your life, girl.” Typhon sighed. “Before the peace treaty is signed, I want to smuggle you out of the city.”
My eyes widened at that. “Really?”
He laughed again, but then coughed immediately after, clearing his throat by drinking more of his tea. “Don’t be so surprised, girl. You have genuinely impressed me. Here, take this.”
He handed me a folded letter and some kind of sigil. It was two swords and a horned ram. I grabbed the items, turning the letter over to see it was sealed in wax and stamped with an emblem that resembled the sigil.
“What is it?”
“A letter of introduction and the sigil to my house. I’ve already sent notification to my manor to keep you safe and not to ask questions. I live on an estate a half-day ride from the Capitol. I’d like you to go there.”
“What for?”
He gave a wry smile. “To live, my dear. Officially, you’ll be working as a servant in my household, but perhaps with time, I can marry you to one of my sons.”
“Marriage!”
“With time!” He cleared his throat, taking another drink. “For now, just stay around my manor and get to know my family. My home is your home.”
“Home…” Despite my impressive deception abilities, I suddenly felt tears stinging my eyes.
I had already given up the idea of home. Suddenly, Lord Typhon was offering me another chance. I could get away from here. Live in a manor. I could have stability. I could have a life.
Suddenly, all of my army building, all of my desperate levelling, all of it seemed like such a pointless endeavor. This was my true path. Seeing a tear fall down my cheek, he gently reached out and wiped my cheek.
“Let’s get that Deathmark removed.” He said, “In a few hours, you’ll be on your way to a new life.
I nodded dumbly, reaching out and grabbing the tea he had been drinking. I brought it up to my lips, and then immediately spit it out.
{Poison Resistance has increased to 3.}
At that moment, Lord Typhon, a strong and muscular man, had attempted to stand only to fall back down on his chair.
“I’m… suddenly feeling dizzy and numb.”
My face turned white. “You’ve been poisoned!”
Thanks to my studies, I was familiar with a large array of poisons. This is one I had made myself a few times. If ingested, it caused paralysis. That paralysis eventually included the lungs. For a high-level guy like Typhon, it’d take a while to reach full effectiveness, but it was already clear he couldn’t move.
“It’s okay!” I opened my satchel and brought out several vials and my alchemy equipment I had repurchased. “I can make an anecdote. You don’t have to worry.”
I suddenly felt a hand grab my wrist, and I looked down to see Lord Typhon wearing a strange expression while his body shook. “I’m sorry. I guess they made their move sooner than I thought they would. It looks… like I messed up…”
“Don’t talk like that. You’re fine!” I looked down at the hasty concoction and then shook my head. “What am I thinking? Stupid… Poisoned is a status misalignment. I can just use Princess Kiss.”
I turned to him and froze. A black mass had formed behind him. It coalesced into someone that I recognized but hadn’t seen in a while.
“Jenai?”
Her face held no expression. She had one hand on Lord Typhon’s shoulder. The other was clenching a large dagger. She raised her hand up, pointing the dagger down at Typhon.
“No!” I screamed as I finally realized what was happening.
“I’m sorry…” Lord Typhon barely managed to get out.
The dagger plunged into Typhon’s neck. I screamed and lunged towards her, but she had managed to stab him three times before my hands reached her. As soon as I touched her, she disappeared like smoke. The bloody dagger fell to the floor, and I landed on Lord Typhon’s lap.
Blood from his neck squirted into my face, my eyes, covering my body. I grabbed on to him, wiping the blood away so I can see.
“It’s okay!” I cried, “It’s okay. I can just heal you.”
I started to use Healthy Sex on him. In an instant, the wound in his neck healed and his body restored to perfect condition. I let out a laugh of relief as I kissed him and used Princess Kiss for good measure. It was a bloody kiss, but it never felt better. When I pulled away, still laughing in relief, I realized that he wasn’t moving.
“Lord Typhon…” My smile started to drop. “Typhon… M-master…”
His eyes were open, but he wasn’t breathing. He stared straight ahead, but there was nothing in his eyes. It was clear that he was dead.
“I-I don’t understand…” The words fell from my lips.
“Murder!” A voice shouted behind me.
I spun around to find the source of that voice. A man stood there, pointing directly at my blood-drenched form. Rather than look terrified, shocked, or angry, the look on his face was a sneer. This was Lord Typhon’s enemy, the Truthsayer.