Book 14 Chapter 14
Absolute commands
"Greetings, my lord."
The example they gave of the Great Duke was not an ordinary example. It's no ordinary example to bow down and touch your forehead to the ground. It was the kind of behavior that only exists between the rulers and the people.
Yet their eyes were not filled with shame or cowardice, but with reverence for the being before them. Apparently, the bravado they had displayed earlier outside was an act of self-preservation.
"Wake up!"
At his command, they rose in unison. The Grand Duke searched their faces and said.
"Good job."
He seemed to be talking about Bi Ryuyeon. He wasn't angry that the seven's attacks had all come to nothing. He was neither annoyed nor angry, even though it was a humiliating defeat for the seven he had trusted. Of course, he had no intention of punishing them.
They already knew what was going on.
"It is not authorized for us to break the seals without the permission of our lord."
A man with a body built like steel, the leader of the Thousand and Seven, Magical Swordsman Chu Ming, replied in an uneven voice. If what he said was true, it would be surprising. They had not yet shown their true colors. They were saying that they hadn't used their full strength.
Satisfied with that answer, Rain nodded.
"It is not yet time to reveal your true power. Wait a little longer, it will come."
He said in a firm, determined voice.
"We'll be waiting for that."
The seven bowed in unison and answered.
"Ready?"
The Grand Duke asked offhandedly. But the answer came immediately.
"Everything is fine."
Qilianchang Zhongliqiu replied.
"You're not going to have your plans disrupted."
"Well done!"
The Grand Duke was honored.
"You're too kind."
"Start?"
"Starting the day after tomorrow."
The answer was immediate.
"Right on schedule!"
He was pleased that the schedule was not disrupted. There had been a couple of setbacks along the way, which had been nagging at him.
"Be careful what you wish for!"
"I'll keep that in mind."
Chilgul replied simultaneously.
"Gyo-ok!"
The Grand Duke has called for one.
"Yes, my lord, do as I say."
The woman in the crimson silk, the only blush among the seven, answered in a somewhat distant voice. A gorgeous silk robe that looked as if it were in full bloom, her lustrous black hair framed to emphasize her slender shoulders, her voluptuous, provocative figure, and her damp, deer-in-the-headlights eyes that held the power to capture a man's soul in their silent descent. Everything about her exuded the kind of sensuality that could trap a man beneath the width of her skirt, so much so that she was given the fearsome moniker of Bloodsucker Lan, a scent that could only be purchased by selling one's soul.
"What do you think of a man named Bi Ryuyeon?"
"Do you mean the minesweeper that stood in the way of your lordship?"
He nodded.
Her voice, which was imbued with the cult of blood and absolute submission, also had a strange color that made his heart beat faster. Despite its short duration, it contained a mixture of tenderness that tugged at the heartstrings of a man's heart and a kind of magic that made him feel conquered. It is impossible to produce a voice like that naturally. Only through rigorous, calculated training could she speak in such a sing-song voice (she was already beyond the point of consciously doing so), and only then could she seduce men out of necessity, whether consciously or unconsciously. That was the way she had been taught in Tian Qilian. Unlike Na Yerin, she was not an artificially cultivated demonic voice, but a demonic voice itself.
"Capture him!"
The Grand Duke gave his orders in a very simple sentence.
She did not need to be told, nor did she need to hear, what she should use to do it. There is no weapon more powerful than her flesh when it comes to dealing with men.
The Grand Duchess was not one of those fluffy, fuzzy minds who could see any means to an end. If she had harbored such a fluffy, mushy mind, she would not have been able to ascend to this position.
"Is he someone you should care that much about?"
Jiaoxing was genuinely surprised. To her knowledge, the scrawny young man was the first person who had ever bothered his master so much. She wasn't the only one who was surprised. Everyone else was equally stunned by the unexpected demeanor of the Grand Duke.
"Should I entrust you with such judgment?"
The Archduke's silent rebuke made her face pale.
"The girl was rude! Please forgive her rudeness."
Her parishioners were trembling thinly; it was the shadow of fear hidden behind blind loyalty and obedience.
"Even though he claims to have sealed his power, he has escaped all seven of your seven transmutation attacks, and yet you ignore him?"
"I was just as nimble as a loach."
Samgul exclaimed, and the Grand Duke's eyes turned cold.
"I sincerely hope you didn't think that."
It was abstract.
"Anything that has the potential to be a surprise variable must be eliminated in advance. Kyo-ok!"
"Yes, my lord!"
"I leave it to you to lead him!"
It was the goal and mission of her training, to seduce and lead them down the path of corruption by any means necessary. But honestly, she wasn't too keen on this one. Unlike her previous opponents, this one was too…….
"Is that a complaint?"
A silent retort, but a chill ran down her spine. Her complexion turning pale as the blood that had been swirling inside her for a moment ebbed away, she knew what she had to do.
"No, I'll take your order."
Defiance? Denial? It was not a word that entered her mind, a forbidden word that could only be associated with the most horrific of deaths.
Don't break the taboo!
A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek and dripped to the floor.
"Capture his soul and find out all that is in it."
She had no veto power over his orders; he was her true master, in control of both her body and her mind. Her mission is absolute obedience…….
"On my life's blood!"
That was the only answer she was allowed to give.
"For a new play!"
The Grand Duke spoke a word, and everyone recited it.
"For a new play!"
As if it were a prayer or a spell.