* * *
"Here, try this too."
"Miss. Have another glass!"
"Good-!"
She was truly savoring freedom after a long time.
Alcohol, meat, and both handsome men and beautiful women smiling at her.
And even the desires sparkling in the minds of such humans.
All kinds of pleasures she couldn't obtain during the 5 years imprisoned in the demon realm poured towards her.
"This is life...!"
The Archduke of the demon realm tried to eat her, and monsters tried to subdue her.
But she didn't submit and waited for an opportunity.
[Female. You have a job to do.]
At the end of it, a certain demon offered her a contract.
A black skeleton knight.
He was trash who dared to treat her like an animal, but the power that demon possessed was real.
To the extent that she could immediately feel it wasn't much different from the Archduke who had captured her.
Anyway, she maintained her pride.
Even while afraid, she succeeded in coolly establishing a deal with the demon.
[...What is it?]
Although she suffered the humiliation of using honorifics to the demon.
[Find this Dungeon Lord. And do what you do best.]
[You mean... take their power...]
[Yes. That's it. Try everything you can do.]
What the demon presented was a certain photograph.
Moreover, it was a photograph of someone with a beautiful and noble atmosphere that made her lick her lips.
[A Dungeon Lord...? This?]
She asked back as it looked like nothing but a human no matter how she looked at it, but no proper explanation came from the ignorant demon.
[Shut up, human female! You just need to do as I tell you!]
[Y-Yes...]
[This is that Dungeon Lord's personal information. Read it as you go.]
It was fortunate that the demon's subordinate gave her information.
Otherwise, she would have suffered damage from 'contract violation' without even seeing who the target was.
No matter how strong her power was, it was obvious that violating a contract made with a demon of that level would return with a burdensome price.
'It doesn't matter, does it?'
She's already in a situation where she made a contract with a demon anyway.
She believed she could cancel this contract with a secret method, but now she knows that's impossible.
Then.
"Huhuhu. Everyone come here!"
"Kyaak!"
Until she fulfills the contract, she should be able to enjoy the pleasures she couldn't enjoy until now, right?
"Fill the glasses! They're empty!"
'I should play to my heart's content!'
She was done for anyway.
Even if she was called the 'Witch of Dreams', the strongest assassin and witch on the continent.
Because she could never escape from them.
* * *
"Isn't that enough now?"
"Just a little... more..."
Ran's voice seemed to melt sweetly, like swallowing sugar.
Her usual neatly dressed appearance was nowhere to be seen, and she was cuddling up like a child throwing a tantrum.
From her like this, the scent of magic power influenced by sweet emotions rose up.
Her three lush black tails swayed here and there as if feeling good, fully revealing her happiness.
"Ha..."
Xue was watching from the side with her brow slightly furrowed, but she didn't stop Ran.
Her attitude was as if this much 'reward' was natural for what Ran was doing.
"Thank you, my lord."
As I carefully stroked her head and back, Ran finally separated after rubbing her body and face against me one last time and deeply inhaling my scent.
Her face that separated was dyed red like a rose.
"Whew..."
Excitement and regret.
Her shoulders trembled minutely due to these two conflicting emotions.
It looked pitiful how she repeatedly took deep breaths to calm her trembling shoulders and rough breathing.
"Is it very hard?"
"Some might say it's just a few days, but for me, one day felt like ten days."
The longing contained in her voice stabbed straight into my chest.
It was truly a heartfelt resonance.
"I see. It looks that way."
Ran had been on a business trip for a certain mission for the past few days.
To create opportunities to raise Elena's influence by her side.
The domain war happening in the southwestern region this time is the basis of that opportunity.
Originally, I was going to send another suitable person to help, but Ran insisted on going herself. Even though she suffers so much being apart from me like this.
And she came back for an interim report, which led to the situation just now.
"You've had a hard time emotionally. Come back and embrace me anytime."
"Thank you... my lord...!"
I nodded a couple of times and smiled to soothe her.
Ran, who straightened her posture and tidied her clothes, knelt down on the spot and bowed politely once, then sat up straight and opened her mouth.
It was about the original business.
"First, Elena has received the title of baroness from the Marquis."
"Is that so...? That's unexpected. She hasn't achieved any particular merit yet."
At the surprise and joy in my voice, Ran also responded with a subtle smile.
"The Marquis was quite pleased after seeing Elena's changed strength."
"That could be the case."
Monsters inherently have stronger bodies than humans from birth.
The structure and density of muscles are different, and the speed of development in training is also faster.
'This is the same even for races not specialized in close combat.'
She was already a banshee with the magic of seduction, so she just didn't specifically train close combat abilities.
When she seriously trained combat abilities, it didn't take long to gain abilities on the level of wearbeasts or greenskins.
As she was given even more enhanced talent on top of Elena's original considerable talent, her growth speed would have been even faster.
Moreover, as banshees are magical creatures, they have good affinity and manipulation ability for magic power, so she would have shown remarkable progress in magic training as well.
An ordinary human might misunderstand it as talent blooming late.
"But they wouldn't have given a title just for future potential. Elena must have accomplished something?"
"That's right. I will report."
Ran, who smiled, soon began to explain about what happened with Elena and around her.
I naturally paid attention to it.
Because an interesting story followed, more than expected.
* * *
"This is an opportunity, Lord."
"..."
In a private audience with the head of a family.
Elena looked straight into the eyes of Marquis Frederick Ironfield, who was looking down at her from the family heads throne.
Those copper-colored eyes with a sunken depth that didn't reflect any light.
Those eyes she had never been able to face since childhood.
'Why is that?'
While facing those eyes, Elena wondered.
Surely her father's power must have grown stronger than when she last saw him.
The pressure of authority still pressing on her skin, even though she had become stronger herself. That proved his growth.
'I'm not afraid.'
However, she was no longer crushed by that pressure.
She was still nervous, but this level of pressure was nothing to her now.
'Compared to the pressure I felt from Master, this is nothing.'
This was clearly a contradictory situation.
Because the level of the one she currently serves couldn't possibly be higher than Frederick in front of her.
'No, it must be lower.'
The level Frederick possesses is high rank.
It's a level that's a few steps away from the supreme level that all living beings can reach.
Logically, the pressure felt from him should have been stronger.
'This is the difference in capacity.'
She quickly realized the reason.
With that brilliant mind that Libertas mainly cited when evaluating her.
The difference between the head of the Ironfield family, who can't rise above the marquis of a country no matter how strong he becomes and gains power, and the master who can ultimately make everything her own even if she destroys the whole world.
The difference between the two.
'That is truly of one who will become the absolute.'
That intense yet gentle presence that becomes the greatest pressure to enemies, while approaching allies more inclusively than anything else.
Recalling that, she could face her father's eyes without wavering at all.
It was a change that would inevitably cause misunderstanding in those who saw her.
"You've become much stronger. Eli... no, Elena."
"Thank you, Lord."
The praise from her father that she had longed for for so long.
However, her heart no longer wavered.
It was because that had already lost its special value in her heart long ago.
What occupied the space that had become empty through long disappointment and betrayal was her new master.
"Yes. An opportunity... You said the war that will break out in the south could add to our family's prestige."
"Yes. That's right."
Elena recalled the opportunity her master had told her about.
The small-scale war that would break out between two count families south of the Ironfield Marquisate, and the two countries that would be drawn into that war 'if lucky'.
And the position of this Ironfield above that.
"You must know well what you're saying. That matter will drop the diplomacy between our country and the United Kingdom of Xenota to the bottom."
"Wouldn't that not matter?"
"It doesn't matter?"
At Elena's words, the lord's eyebrows twitched and disappointment appeared in his eyes.
Because what she was saying seemed at a glance to ignore all international relations, an unrealistic and tyrannical thing.
However, she didn't care about that at all and smiled leisurely.
"The United Kingdom doesn't like our country anyway. They say they like stabbing us in the back along with the Grand Duchy of Arilit."
"But that's a far cry from putting us in a full-fledged state of war."
"That's true. So we will be attacked by them first."
"Oh...?"
Frederick, who swept up his lion's mane-like hair once, finally half-raised his body from his seat and looked at her with interest.
Beyond his eyes, the smile hanging on Elena's lips looked quite cruel.
As she intended.
'As expected, he's showing interest.'
She knew.
How cold her father Frederick could be, and how insidious and cruel he could become.
Those who only saw one side of him tended to praise him as honorable or strong, but in her view, her father Frederick's real strength was that.
"Explain in detail."
"Yes. Soon, from the Damamollon side..."
…
'It's done.'
She, who bowed her head once, showed Frederick just a very small part of the opportunity her true master would provide.
And with just that, she was able to obtain the title of baroness, dominion over three villages, and funds to hire three mercenary groups from Ironfield.
'This is enough to become independent right away.'
Coming out of the lord's office, Elena thought so.
What she had obtained now was a force large enough to buy time against the northern part of Damamollon County and the forces of surrounding domains that would send support troops to protect that northern part.
If that combined with her 'private army', it wouldn't be too difficult for her to obtain land to become independent from Ironfield.
She just wouldn't do it because this wasn't being done to obtain such a 'small thing'.
"Elena."
"...Brother."
At the appearance of a young man who had approached at some point, Elena tensed her body and paid her respects.
Blonde hair exactly like the Marquis's first wife, and copper-colored eyes resembling Marquis Ironfield.
It was Reinhardt, her older brother and the Marquis's second child and eldest son.
A clean and youthful appearance that didn't match his early 30s age.
With that face, Reinhardt spoke to her with a calm smile.
"I still can't believe you've really become a woman."
"I've been hearing that a lot lately."
Reinhardt's face that approached was very clean, not matching his early 30s age, and his attitude was very polite, but.
'This appearance is just the surface...'
Elena wasn't someone to be fooled by such a surface of his.
She knew well how actively he was acting to become the Marquis's strongest successor.
'The Iron-Blooded Knight, was it?'
He was famous as a knight more cruel than his father Frederick on the battlefield, and at the same time was considered the second-in-command of the Marquis's domain.
He was also a person who had drawn in more younger siblings than Adelaide, the eldest daughter, even within the domain, and held more than half of the military power of the Marquis's domain in his hands.
Of course, it was authority that would crumble futilely if there was an order from the real master, the Marquis, but that was just in terms of the succession struggle.
As such, there was a need to be careful with the attitude taken in front of him.
Especially since Elena herself was his potential enemy.
"I heard you came out after a private audience with Father. Are you alright?"
"Of course. I was quite nervous, but nothing special happened."
"I see. I was worried. You were weak since childhood."
"That's excessive worry."
The corners of Reinhardt's handsome face's eyes held light and gently folded.
A magical eye smile that made many women's hearts flutter.
'How disgusting.'
As it was directed at her, Elena felt her stomach turn.
His face much more handsome than when she was a man, and the muscles representing his martial prowess, were always objects of her jealousy.
If only I had been born a little earlier. If only I had been a little more handsome and strong.
Could I have competed with that guy?
'But now, I can surpass him. At least in individual ability.'
It was ironic that now that she had become a woman, she had the possibility of surpassing his appearance and martial prowess.
And based on that ability, she intended to truly win a position above his.
By any means necessary.