Ilaya was looking at the peeved Ivana with anxiety. She almost said the truth from the pressure, but she heard in her earpiece Nicole's voice
[Ilaya. You know what to say right?]
Ilaya hesitated, but eventually, she said
"Some of your guards are starting to get worried about your safety. Since they have their own missions, they needed someone excellent at infiltration to help you. So, Nicole decided to call me to help. Through Kazuki's suggestion of course"
Ilaya seemed to hear an enraged shout from her earpiece, but was immediately silenced by a heavy thud. Ilaya maintained her poker face and vanished the imaginary voice as she was being scrutinized by Ivana
Ivana then smiled at her and said
"You're lying"
Ilaya cursed in her mind as she hated Ivana's sharpness at this time. She sighed and said
"Alright. It's not the suggestion of Kazuki, but my request. I always wanted to repay you all for helping me and sheltering me. So, I thought that I can help even just a bit in this operation"
Then, Ilaya stared at Ivana with resolute gaze
"You know how valuable my talent is. I can have a tremendous impact in this operation"
Ilaya decided to lie and immediately cover it with truth. Then, she used a distraction to divert Ivana's attention from reading between her lines. Ilaya stared at Ivana anxiously and waited for her reply
Ivana stared at her for a bit before smiling. She reached out her hand and caressed Ilaya's face
"Ohh. How thoughtful of you. I'm starting to like you more now, Ilaya"
A shiver ran through Ilaya's spine at her creepy action. The Ivana that she knows will punch someone, not caress them. Ilaya removed Ivana's hand from her cheek and said
"Stop it. That's creepy. By the way, what are your plans?"
Ivana smiled at her as she leaned on her chair. Then, she said
"I'm about to start my plan just earlier, if not for some woman who showed up out of nowhere. Now, I have to alter my plan again thanks to you"
Ilaya smiled sheepishly when she heard her words. But, she asked Ivana
"So, what do we do now? What do I need to do?"
Ivana thought for a bit, before saying
"Since you're already here. It's a waste if I can't insert you to my plan"
She studied Ilaya's face and body as plans in her head assembled and disassembled rapidly. Ilaya suddenly wished to cover herself with her arms, but she forcefully held back her impulse as not to attract any more attention. Still, she anxiously asked
"W-What is it? Why are you… studying me?"
Ivana then asked her
"Ilaya. Can I use you as bait?"
Ilaya immediately refuses vehemently
"No. I don't want to be a bait. A fisherman will not care whether the bait was devoured or not, as long they caught the prey"
As Ilaya said that, she lowered her voice and said
"Wait. Are you planning to fish out your targets by using me?"
Ivana shook her head and said
"No. They have much more important things to do right now than to play with you"
Then, Ilaya became confused as she asked
"Then, what do you mean by using me as a bait"
Ivana looked at her eyes and said
"I plan to let you entertain the guards while I enter the tunnel to let some of my forces in. And also eliminate any enemies on our way back. Then, as I give you the signal, you can fight back and kill them"
Ilaya tilted her head in confusion as she asked
"What do you mean by entertaining them?"
Ivana replied to her flatly
"I think the guards plans to r*pe me, by Chelly's order of course. So, what do you think is the meaning of entertaining?"
Ilaya froze as she looked at Ivana with wide eyes. She couldn't believe that Ivana was planning on using her body as a distraction! She trembled from anger and glared at her
Ivana smiled and said
"But you're obviously not going to agree to that aren't you? So, we will switch roles. I'll be the one to distract the guards, while you will head back to the tunnel and let my guards enter"
Ilaya was shocked again as she looked at Ivana. She was really starting to get worried about her lack of self-love and acting like a mad woman. Then, she asked worriedly
"By distracting, you mean…"
Ivana nodded
"Yes. It's just what you think"
Ivana noticed the worry and pity in her eyes. She scoffed and said
"It's just a mere breast rub or something. I will not let them do more than that"
After saying that, she sneered
"Also, I will kill them. I'll just treat it as a farewell gift to them"
Ilaya nodded. But she still said
"Can we do other plans and avoid that? We're two here now. Surely, there must be a more suitable plan than that… 'entertain' plan"
Ivana shook her head and said
"The security here was tighter than I initially thought. My guards will be exposed before they even reach this mansion. The fact that they're giving us an opening to their ironclad defense is an advantage that we couldn't let go"
Ivana looked at her ears as she said
"You have your earpiece right? Tell them to connect mine to yours so we can contact each other and move as one"
Ilaya nodded and said
"Okay. Now, do I just need to let them in? What can I do after that?"
As she said that, Ilaya tilted her head and thought
'But, is the way Ivana was saying, is the one I entered on the way here? Can't her guards enter the same way as I did?'
Unbeknownst to Ilaya, the moment she infiltrated, she unknowingly used her power from the pressure and anxiety. That caused her to succeed in entering the compound while dressed in a gown and heels. All her thoughts when she's being guided by Nicole, was to prevent anyone from noticing her. That's why she succeeded in her infiltration, but she didn't know that it's because of her powers. Which Ivana's guards didn't have. As Ilaya was in confusion, Ivana's words startled her
Ivana asked
"Do you want to help them kill?"
Ilaya trembled and said nothing. Ivana scoffed at her and said
"Look for the power switch of this mansion. Then, when you find it, wait for my signal before you switch it off and destroy it. Then, you can do whatever you want. Leave or wait. It's up to you"
Then, before Ilaya could reply, she saw Ivana made a sign to her. She abruptly stopped her following words as she smiled like a graceful 'princess' once again. A woman arrived at their table and said to Ivana
"Pardon me for leaving you two like that earlier. I was just preparing my collection so as not to embarrass myself. Lady Arieta. We can go and take a look now if you want?"
Then, Chelly also looked at Ilaya and said
"Do you want to join us, Lady Ilaya?"
Ilaya shook her head and said
"I'm sorry Lady Chelly, but I'll have to decline your offer. I just arrived and needed to socialize with others. I'll be sure to take your offer next time"
Ilaya was smiling, but she's getting anxious as the second passes. She couldn't help but thought
'Is this the start of the plan? Kyora, are you really going to be okay?'
Then, she glanced at Ivana and saw that she's smiling. However, Ilaya noticed her black pupils were glowing faintly red. She suddenly had an ominous premonition. Ilaya secretly gritted her teeth and said to Chelly
"But, I think it's very rude not to accept your gracious invitation. So I'll join with you"
Chelly immediately celebrates in her mind and didn't noticed Ivana who was looking at Ilaya with rage
'Why couldn't you just stick to the damn plan!?'
Ilaya ignored Ivana. She suddenly had a hunch that she couldn't let Ivana kill anyone today. Somehow, she felt that she really needed to prevent that from happening at all cost