Are you sure?

As they returned to the mine with their empty sacks, Aurora continued eavesdropping on the two vampires. She wanted to use their words to her advantage, and so she did! Listening to them, she figured out a few new things that she could easily take advantage of.

One was Malik. He was a rebellious and simple-minded man who only desired pleasure and the dominion of women. He considered himself above them, and he never wanted to bow down to one. As he was forced to, he would naturally hold a grudge against her and wait for the right time for his revenge.

The other was what came after.

"Now, Malik! I'll be leaving for the capital for a few days. Since you're my slave now, I'll need to report the progress I've made to my father and inform him of your ineptitude and impulsiveness to attack an innocent little princess such as me! I'll ensure that I explain everything to him about you. However, I might change my mind and not tell him if you behave." Lethia outright mocked Malik without any signs of fear or hesitation. He was her slave, and he couldn't even lift an arm without her consent; how could he attack her?

Lethia continued, "As I'm gone, you will remain here as a loyal slave, ensuring the zombies continue their work without obstruction. If there's a problem, you will naturally fix it without hesitation, unless you want to experience the wrath of the collar. It's your decision—either you follow my advice or not. As long as you're an obedient playboy, I'll let you do anything."

She lifted Malik's chin so she could look straight into his furious eyes. "Does a man as simple-minded as yourself understand? Do you agree that you're a simple-minded playboy with nothing ahead of him in life?"

Malik couldn't even open his mouth. His hatred for her was burning with fury, as she lacked the ability to stop insulting him. If he could avoid it, he wouldn't even be here, nor would he talk with her. He hated her, even before now, for not knowing her place.

All the stories he heard about her made her out to be a sadistic demon who killed and mocked others without giving them a second glance! It was also said that she single-handedly exterminated an entire army of humans! These humans were not ordinary humans; they were nobles of their own kingdoms, close to his own level.

"Am I right?" She asked with a cold voice that brought shivers down Malik's spine.

Malik hesitantly responded. "Y-yes!"

"Good! I'm glad the slave is being obedient, but you truly need to work on speaking clearly. You could be punished for it." She smirked. "Now, as my slave, you will be controlling and managing the zombies. You don't mind my relaxing while you do all the work, do you? A beautiful girl needs a break from all the duties of a princess, right?"

"Yes! A w-woman with beauty such as yourself deserves a break from the stress of being the princess! I'll happily fulfill your duties in your stead!"

As Malik spoke, his eyes became bloodshot, and his fury grew. The humiliation he felt within this hour alone was enough for a human to go mad, but a vampire had superior endurance, and he was even beginning to go mad. She was a true demon who didn't care about offending anyone.

Either it was fortunate or not, his only reason for not going insane was his desire to enslave her and take his revenge. He would humiliate her and enjoy the pleasure of being in bed with her. Once he was satisfied, he would kill her in the most painful way he possibly could. He would torture and kill her after seizing her power.

With her power, he would rule the entire world and have any woman he desired without having to care about who or where they came from—a human, a vampire, anyone. However, this belief was only a fantasy. Unfortunately, he was at the mercy of Lethia and had to obey her every order. He could only dream about killing her one day.

"Thank you! You're so kind; now get to work. I'll go rest!" Lethia smiled. If Malik didn't know her as a sadistic demon, he would have considered this smile a genuine and cute one, but that was if! He knew this smile mocked him, and the burning fury he felt inside couldn't help but intensify.

****

Inside the cave, the zombies relentlessly mined and carried sacks of ore back and forth without any breaks. Lethia rested in a lawn chair as she was bathed by the darkness, and Milik took over her duties in controlling the zombies to efficiently carry out orders.

At the moment, a day had passed since he was enslaved and forced to do her bidding. Though his burning rage wasn't as hot as before, he still raged inside! Fortunately, with Lethia's departure and him being alone, he was free from the mockery of the sadistic demon.

"Damnit! That bitch!" In a fit of fury, he threw the glass of blood in his hands, crashing into a wall. The glass shattered as blood splattered all over, but he didn't care. "If only I were stronger, I wouldn't have to bow my head to anyone, not even the princess! I would've never been in this situation to begin with. If only…"

"Do you truly desire revenge?" A melodious and alluring voice fell into his ears. It appeared as if the voice had come from around him, but there was no one! Not a soul was present! Could it be his imagination? No, he knew he wasn't in the right state to imagine, so what could it be?

"Who are you?" He exclaimed, turning around as if on guard. He looked around in search of where the voice came from.

However, even with all his efforts, he couldn't locate anyone other than the mindless zombies inside the cave. He didn't believe a measly zombie could not only speak to him, but do it where even he couldn't sense them. Zombies were too weak and unintelligent for that.

"That's none of your concern. Do you desire to kill her? Do you want revenge on the princess? You do know what she has done to you in these last few days, don't you?"

"What can a slave like me do? This collar keeps me from being free. It forces me to be loyal and obedient to that bitch!" Malik clenched his nails tightly into his fist, and blood trickled down from his palm.

"Do you truly want her life to end in your hands? I can assist you. As long as you accept my assistance, you will be free from this collar and have your revenge. Do you accept? Think of the future; you will have your revenge and all the power she had. You will rule this world and have all the beautiful women to yourself!"

As the woman spoke, he started to imagine his future after taking his revenge. He would rule the world with all the beautiful women he could ever want. It felt like a miracle that he got this chance! He finally saw the light at the end of the dark tunnel that he desired to see—a way out!

"What do you want? There is nothing free in this world, so what do you want?" Malik asked. His eyes were filled with a brightness he hadn't felt for a while.

"The horde. It's needed for my growth. You can take everything else." The women responded, leaving Malik stunned.

"What? The horde is all you want? The horde…" He smiled and didn't finish his sentence. Since the woman was foolish to the point where she chose the horde, he wasn't going to persuade her to rethink. He would rather reap the benefits all to himself, after all. "Are you sure you don't want anything other than the zombie horde?"

"I didn't say I wouldn't ask for more in return once she's dead. I just don't know what there is that I want at this moment. Once she's dead, I'll decide if there is anything else, but you will still receive most of her items and power in the end."

"I accept! I'll help you, and we will end the life of that b*tch. The dreams that could never before become reality will! And we will rule this world, turning it into our own creation." He felt a fire burning brighter in his chest, but he kept his cool. It wasn't the time to celebrate or feel happy. They needed to first get rid of his collar.

"So when are we going to begin? That bitch will return in a few days' time."

"Now… We'll begin now!" She exclaimed!

As soon as she spoke, he felt the collar had lost all its dark energy, as if the energy had just disappeared out of thin air, vanishing into the abyss! With the collar's energy gone, the collar wasn't a magic collar any longer. He pulled the collar apart, and it split into two pieces without obstruction.

He was free, and he could now kill Lethia before she could even realize it. He grinned, unaware of the woman's true intentions.