058 SAVING THE BODY TO PAY BILLS

058 SAVING THE BODY TO PAY BILLS

"Keep them as servants or slaves or sacrifices until they've repaid what they owe, then let them go," Dassa suggested with malice.

"Who are these women?" Kasshyek came over and asked.

"Keep them as my servants for now", Leo replied.

Kasshyek and the Gullee soldiers rounded the Roses and brought them back to the mansion.

----

Dassa looked at them, her expression resolved. "Well, this is goodbye. See you around, freaks."

"Where are you going?" Leo asked.

"I'm going back to Father and the team," she replied. "I'm going to find our old friends among the unicorns and, hopefully, figure out a way to lift their fucking curse."

Leo reached into his bag and held out the Rose Scepter, its soft glow casting long shadows in the dim light.

"Take this."

She raised an eyebrow, surprised. "The Rose Scepter? What am I supposed to do with it?"

"If there's a way to heal Father, any magic capable of it would be tied to that scepter. It's the only relic of Madame la Rosa's that didn't vanish."

Dassa accepted the scepter, her fingers closing around it. "Alright, thank you."

She hesitated, then added, "We'll be leaving with Father soon. The unicorns will come with us."

"You don't have to leave," Leo said quietly.

She looked away. "That last fight with Madame la Rosa made me realize something… What I want, I can't find here with you. I need to go my own way."

Leo took in her words, understanding flickering across his face. "I get it."

"You don't need me around. You've got plenty of 'friends' to keep you company," she added with a teasing smile.

"Would you stay if I told you I needed you?" he asked, voice soft.

"No," she replied, pausing with a faint smirk. "Besides, you've got your 'friend with benefits.' Maybe I'll find something like that too. Something simpler."

Suddenly, Lillsa spoke up. "Can I come with you?"

Dassa looked over at her, surprised. "Why do you want to come?"

"Because I'm the Last Rose," Lillsa replied. "The unicorns might need me if we're to heal them. Please, let me come with you."

"Bring her," Leo said. "There's nothing left for her in the Gullee family, and I couldn't take her to the battlefront."

"Fine," Dassa agreed, then turned and walked away with Lillsa at her side.

Leo watched her leave, feeling a mix of emotions he couldn't name. It was her choice, her path, and he knew he had to respect it.

"She's jealous, you know," Yun-Yun said, stepping beside him.

"It's better this way," Leo murmured, his gaze lingering on the empty path.

"Lust is a need I can't satisfy with one person. But with you… it's different. It's not just lust. It's trust. You're my only true friend in this world. I realized that in the face of death."

"That's exactly why she left," Yun-Yun replied gently. "When she was near death, she realized you weren't there in her mind. She's embarrassed to keep traveling with you with that guilt in her mind."

"She almost killed me there", Leo said before adding, "But I can't really blame her for that."

"True love is hard to find", she murmured.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing." Yun-Yun nodded ignoring his question. "So… shall we head to the battlefronts of the Eastern Kun Empire?"

Leo turned to her, resolve in his eyes. "Let's go."

-----

[At the Halls of Gullee]

"Young master, the representatives from the Black Market have arrived," General Kasshyek reported as he entered the hall.

A group of men cloaked in black robes followed him and filed into the grand hall of the Gullee mansion, each with a solemn demeanor.

"Young Master Leo," one of them addressed him.

"I'm sure you understand our visit. We have a contract for services rendered, and payment is due. Furthermore, all the mercenary mages we provided were lost. How do you plan to settle our account?"

"Are you planning to skip the bill again, young master?" Kasshyek muttered under his breath, though his words held a hint of admiration at the master's bargaining ability.

Leo scoffed. "Your mercenaries were fucking useless. Their deaths are not on me. The rules are clear: life and death aren't guaranteed in a contract."

The leader of the cloaked men eyed him coldly. "Then what of our payment? You promised us the body of a peak tiered Svad- demon."

Leo raised his hand, signaling to the servants, who then wheeled inside a large coffin. "There it is," he said, nodding toward it.

The cloaked men opened the coffin eagerly, inspecting the lifeless form of Madame la Rosa inside.

"It's a Svad- peak tier demoness, as you promised. But it's not alive and her blood is drained. The value is reduced. How will you make up for the difference?"

"Did you expect those bloody useless mercenaries of yours could take down this fucking demon?" Leo asked, his voice cutting. "You have the demoness' fucking body. It is a gain on your part. Consider the deal done."

After a silent exchange of glances, the men closed the coffin and withdrew with their prize.

Kasshyek looked at Leo, bewildered. "Are they really satisfied with just that corpse as payment?"

"The corpse of a peak Svad-tier demoness is more than enough to cover their fucking bill," Leo replied calmly.

Kasshyek frowned in thought. "But if we didn't need the mercenaries to defeat the Rose Demon, why hire them at all?"

Yun-Yun stepped forward, a knowing look in her eye. "Your young master needed them as sacrifices to help him kill the demon."

Kasshyek's eyes widened in shock. "Ah.. sacrificial fodders !!! You planned all of this?"

Leo smirked. "Nothing escapes you, Yun-Yun."

Yun-Yun turned to Leo, "Are you really giving the dead body of the Rose demon to the mercenary mages?"

Leo met her eyes. "What do you think? Is there a problem?"

She shrugged. "Even I can be resurrected. So can demons. You should have burned her body."

"Unfortunately, I have bills to pay."

-----