Noel woke up, rubbed her eyes, and then looked at Leon, who had just woken her up. "Master... did you need something?" She asked, but then immediately spotted Reaper in the corner of the room and growled. "Who's there!?"
Beatrice heard Noel's loud cry and woke up terrified, only for Leon to calm them both down. "Both of you, keep quiet!" He then quickly shifted his gaze back to Reaper. "Brother Alex wants me dead? I didn't think he would act so quickly."
"I don't know the details, but he was worried that with your knowledge of the region, you could upset the balance of power by either manipulating the market or leaking state secrets." She threw a glance at Leon. "Have you done that?"
"No." He replied with a serious face, lying as if he were just breathing. He had just given a merchant this morning several state secrets related to the silver trade in exchange for support. His brothers are right to worry about his knowledge, but trying to kill him so soon still stung a bit.
"That doesn't matter now. I took the job so no other assassin would, but that doesn't mean some fools won't try to come and steal my prey, so getting out of the city is a must." She looked back at the night sky outside with glowing red eyes. "This city is already not worth it for me."
Leon closed his eyes and started thinking about what to do. They could get out of the inn and try to leave now, but the city's gate is closed. They would need to wait until dawn when the guards would open it up.
But his brother probably expects a report before that, so he will be sending more people right before dawn if Reaper doesn't report back.
"We can either wait until dawn, sneak into the castle and try to use the secret escape route there, or..." As he paused for a second, Reaper finished after him. "Use the sewers... but their map is locked within the castle's library. We will get lost there and killed by either the swarms of rats, slimes, or other monsters."
Leon smiled. "Well, I just happened to have memorized that map when we planned to clean the entire sewer system a few years ago. We can use that, but our only problem is that..." He threw a glance at Beatrice. "You'll be staying behind. Unlike us, you've got no reason to stick along."
Beatrice shook her head. "No! I'll go with you. I wasn't doing well here anyway, and I don't have anyone else to rely on... But I know that I'll just be a burden on you since... I can't move now."
She was still half-paralyzed, and it would take her days to be able to walk on her own again. She would just slow down their escape, and Leon would rather not get her involved.
"I would advise against leaving her. It will cause them to chase us faster." Reaper sat on the bed's side. "They already know that she is with you and Noel, and if we leave her behind, they are going to capture and torture her to find out where we went. Just her telling them that we left the city through the sewers would give them enough leads to tail us."
"Torture?!" Beatrice cried, and Noel glared at Reaper. "Why didn't you ask them to give you a few days to do it?"
"Competition, they would've sent someone else who promised to do it in one day. You and Leon aren't strong enough to make me the only one who could kill you. They did ask why I wanted to go after such a weak target, and I told them that I just wanted to kill a lord even if they were a former one. It's good for spreading infamy and getting my name known among the assassins."
Leon chuckled, "So killing me is less about money and more about clout." Reaper quickly pointed toward Noel. "And... her mother had killed many assassins before, so they want to take revenge on her. The reason her mother got her to work as a maid for the lord's family was that assassins cannot touch her there. Now that she isn't protected, I've heard tens of people fantasizing about how they would get their revenge from her."
"I've got a decent grasp on the situation. We're leaving immediately, Beatrice, you're coming with us? Right?" As she nodded, Leon looked at the door. "The sewers are too dangerous for us now. Noel and I are unarmed, and Reaper can't protect us on her own."
"My name is Roberta. It's been years since I've used it." She smiled and waved her hand. "And what? I could protect all three of you with ease... well, unless we face a swarm of monsters that I can't take all at once. Even my skill has limits."
Leon looked at her. "Your skill?" And she lifted her hand, causing Beatrice to stand with a sharp pain radiating through her body. "AAA! That hurts! What are you doing to me?! How am I standing?!"
"My skill is called Blood Master, and it allows me to control blood inside a certain range and up to a certain volume." She approached Leon and looked at his face with a smug smile. "I was told to be careful of Noel since you've got a skill that allows you to control your servants. Is that true?"
Leon backed away. "Yes, it only works on women and people that I have a contract with. But it has its own limits. It won't help us that much." As he replied, she giggled.
"Then I got a really good idea." She pulled two scrolls from her chest. "I brought them with me just in case. One is a maid contract, and the other is a slave contract. Which one do you need to use?"
Leon backed even further and gasped. "What!? Well, Noel signed a maid contract." But before Roberta could even reply, Beatrice gasped. "I want the contract as well... If it makes me stronger, then I might be able to help fight monsters. I'm scared of going into the sewers while defenseless and unable to move."
Roberta threw her the maid contract. "You use that. I'll try the slave one." She then threw a glance toward Leon. "Don't have any funny ideas. It's a temporary contract that would only last a week. If you do anything fun to me, I'll make sure to castrate you once the contract is over."
After thinking about it for a few moments, Leon agreed. "Fine, let's do it and get out of here tonight."
As Beatrice signed her contract with a regular pen, Roberta had to seal hers with blood, as it was of a higher rank and gave far more restrictions. But the moment they both became servants to Leon, his skill took effect immediately, ringing inside all of their heads at once.
[Notice: Roberta had joined the Sultan's Harem]
[Notice: Roberta's Loyalty had increased from 0% to 20%]
[Notice: Due to Roberta's slavery contract, her Loyalty had been forced to 100%]
[Notice: Roberta's skill [Blood Master] had been temporarily evolved to [Blood Lord] as long as her Loyalty stays at 100%. The skill was also copied to the Sultan.]
[Notice: All of Roberta's stats would increase by the same percentage of her Loyalty to the Sultan when fighting in his name. Current increase 100%]
[Notice: Conditions met, trying to evolve the Individual Roberta into a Vampire]
[Notice: Evolution failed. The contract isn't permanent.]
[Notice: Beatrice Saintly had joined the Sultan's Harem]
[Notice: Beatrice Saintly's Loyalty had increased from 0% to 7%]
[Notice: All of Beatrice Saintly's stats would increase by the same percentage of her Loyalty to the Sultan when fighting in his name. Current increase 7%]
[Notice: Beatrice Saintly's skill [Shockwave] had been copied to the Sultan.]
[Notice: All of the Sultan's Stats increased by the combined percentage of loyalty of his Harem. Current increase 120%]
"What..." Roberta gasped. "... the fuck was that?!" She quickly stared at Leon. "Blood Lord? a vampire? Was your skill about to turn into a monster of legends?!"
"I don't know!" Leon cried, "Even I'm just learning how this skill work."
"I feel a bit stronger..." Beatrice was busy staring at her own hands, and Roberta scratched her head frantically. "Hold up! They kicked someone with such power out? If my slavery contract was permanent, then your skill would have turned me into a monster that this entire city cannot stop! How did the lord's wizard miss such a thing?"