A Reckless Plan

A week had passed since Lyla's unsuccessful attempt to catch Raymond's attention, and the toll it had taken on her was evident. Her once cold and calculating eyes were now hollow, with dark bags under them. Her hair was dishevelled, and her overall appearance was more haggard than ever before.

She felt worse than she had when she was locked up in a cell. The repeated rejection and failure to impress Raymond had left her pride wounded. Every time she tried to get closer to him, he seemed to move further away. It was a constant reminder of her inability to capture his interest and left her feeling miserable.

[You suck at seduction!]

Lyla's face twisted into fury upon hearing Heartsbane's voice. Why did she even think it was a good idea to listen to a little girl?

[I AM NOT LITTLE!]

"Arghh! I feel so stupid for listening to you."

Lyla clutched her head in pain and rolled on her bed. Currently, she was just lying on her bed after another sleepless night.

She didn't want to go down to have breakfast, she had lost all her motivation to do anything.

[Hmph! I can't be blamed here. He is a numbskull that can't take a hint! I wonder how that booby monster managed to get in his bed…]

"Don't call her that, she is a good girl."

Lyla felt like she had to defend Jasmine in front of Heartsbane. Compared to this menace, Jasmine was a million times better person.

She was the one who came often to check up on her. Just the thought that she would have to kill her if things went wrong only made her more guiltier.

Heartsbane shrugged. [I didn't mean it as an insult. She's got quite the… assets, doesn't she?]

Lyla groaned, feeling a headache coming on. "I'm not having this conversation with you."

[Suit yourself. But you know I'm right.]

Lyla didn't respond, just lay back down and closed her eyes. She didn't know if she could do it anymore.

Lyla rolled over onto her stomach, burying her face in the pillow. "I don't even know if I want to keep trying," she said. "What's the point? He's obviously not interested."

Heartsbane snorted. [As if that matters. You're not doing this for him, you're doing this for us. And we need him. Don't you want to take reve—]

"Urghh! Stop it!"

Lyla, who was in the middle of her outburst, didn't notice the faint light flickering inside the rubies and emeralds studded in her choker.

-Bzzt!

"Aack—!"

-Bzzt!

"Nooo!"

Horrified at seeing her choker springing into action Lyla quickly tried to sit up only to fall back on her bed when a jolt of current ran through her body.

-Bzzzzt! -Bzzzzt!

With each passing second the intensity of that shock kept increasing causing her to bite her tongue hard and squirm on the bed.

-Thud!

Lyla fell onto the floor with ropes of drool coming out of her mouth and her body twitching in agony.

"Please stop…"

Lyla groaned in pain, unable to endure the torturous current running through her body and mind.

[...]

Heartsbane kept quiet, simmering in rage. Every one of her previous hosts was a great figure in history who could topple a mere empire like this with a flick of their wrist. But looking at her current host she was at a loss.

[I will fucking kill those cunts who put a slave collar on my host!]

If not for her being in a half-awakened state when this girl was enslaved, she would have burnt a hole through their skull. How dare a mere aristocrat from a backwater empire put her host on a leash?

[Keke~]

But soon a cruel smile appeared on her face. No matter what it cost she was going to kill Lyla's father. If not then her name wasn't Heartsbane.

-Bzzzzzt!

"Arghhh!"

With one last scream, Lyla's eyes became lifeless devoid of any intelligence in them. Her body moved on its own like a puppet and opened the window to her room.

Jumping down from the window, her body moved through shadows cast by the trees and buildings and disappeared from view.

Not long after, she again resurfaced from the shadows in front of a large manor that was isolated from the rest of the city.

Walking behind the manor she was soon met with one of the people she wanted to kill. Standing in front of her in the back garden with a furious scowl on his face was Felix.

"Why haven't you reported back from your mission till now?"

Felix asked as he took out a red metallic disk from his pocket which was of a two-inch radius. Smoke emanated from its surface as he injected his mana into it.

-Bzzt!

"Urghh!"

Immediately with a buzz around her neck Lyla fell onto the grassy floor of the garden, groaning in pain.

Felix felt a strange sense of satisfaction seeing her squirming on the ground.

"Don't tell me that the most skilled assassin of our family failed to kill someone in the Martial Minor realm?" Felix mocked as he squatted by her side and stopped injecting his mana into the disk.

"The information regarding his location was wrong. He was not staying in the Clover manor, I am still looking for him."

Lyla managed to say in between her pain as she regained some control over her body.

Felix furrowed his brows in thought after hearing her reply. He gnashed his teeth in frustration, his spy was not doing his work properly.

"I don't care what excuses you have for being tardy in completing your mission. I will give you two days, if you don't bring me his head by then, don't blame me for being cruel!"

"You can't expect me to find him in two days in this vast Capital city!" Lyla tried to reason with him.

"Give me more time. If the information was correct then I would have finished my job by now."

"Oh! You dare talk back to me now? Looks like you haven't had enough of that torture."

-Bzzzt!

"Arrghhhh!"

"Hahahaha!"

Felix laughed looking at the miserable state of Lyla. "You know how good it feels to have a Martial King like you at my mercy? Hahaha! I can't put it into words."

"You.."

Lyla tried to grab him by the hands feeling incensed by his words.

"Ahh! Not today! Can't you see how I am behaving myself well even though I want to touch you so badly?" Felix let out a chuckle. "Don't worry, there will come a day when I will be able to get my hands on you! You should not rush these things."

-Bzzt!

"Aack!"

[Kill that bastard! Just jump on him. I will take care of the rest!]

Heartsbane spoke with pure hatred in her voice. If she had a real body her whole body would be shaking in rage by now.

'I-I can't. My body is not listening to me…'

Lyla bowed her head with a defeated sigh. Looking at her dispirited face, Felix nodded in satisfaction.

"Good! Know your place. I want his head brought to me in two days. Is that understood?"

Lyla silently nodded against the ground.

"Don't disappoint me and my father like last time. We raised you because you were useful, so remain useful and you will have my family's protection."

Felix stood up having said his piece. It was now within her hands if she still wanted to remain an asset to his family rather than becoming a liability.

"Hehe, I have some bigger fish to catch while you take care of that trash!" Felix went back to his manor as he muttered under his breath.

He was well prepared to ambush the third prince and abduct him. He and his men were doing some last minute preparation before they were heading out of the Capital.

Watching the departing figure of her half brother Lyla gritted her teeth in anger. She was a Martial King, she even had the authority to challenge the Imperial Order if she wanted to.

And yet to be humiliated like this by this weakling in the Martial Sage realm made her devastated.

[Argghh! Fuck seducing that guy! I tell you, just get on with your mission and try to kill him!]

Heartsbane rambled furiously. Insulting her host like that was equal to insulting her. She didn't care about the consequences anymore as she thought of a reckless plan.

'What? You are the one who said I am not strong enough to kill Raymond and now you want me to kill him?'

Lyla asked as she got up from the ground and dusted herself off before heading back towards the direction of the inn.

[Keke, when did I tell you to kill him? You just have to 'try' and that guy will take care of the rest!]

Hearing the sinister laugh from Heartsbane Lyla had an ominous feeling.

'What do you mean? What do you want me to do?'

[Just act as if you were being controlled by that choker and attack him. You must act brilliantly, everything depends on it. Whether we both live or die depends on your performance!]

Lyla slowly nodded as her eyes widened in realisation. Why didn't she think of this before, if she did she could have saved herself from the embarrassment of failed seduction.

No matter, even if she sucked at those skills she was a master of putting on an act. Lyla mentally prepared herself for the performance of her life.