Chapter 173: Pray I do not alter it any further
But most of all, fear would let her shake him down for even more than this deal was supposed to give her. He was a tree full of golden apples, and she was hungry. So it was time to start shaking!
"Had you done that to begin with, I might have been more accepting. Instead you send such a lovely gem to debase herself in your stead. Perhaps you are unworthy of our deal after all..."
"I.. I am worthy. I will offer my armies to you in your times of need, I will serve your clan, I will offer my power to the Matriarch.
Belladonna could see his desperation, to the point that it was a little sad. She also made sure to take mental notes of certain names or phrases he was mentioning, coming closer to understanding some of the deal in question. However there was still something she was missing about it all. One piece of the puzzle.
"If the master wishes," The maid interjected, speaking up softly, "we still have the beasts corpse in storage. Even if the Madam Emissary’s hunt was spoiled, there is not need for her to miss out on the spoils."
"Yes, Yes! Emissary, I would be most honoured to give you spoils of the hunt. Whilst I have rite of blood, I would not hesitate to share it with you. It is only fair as apologies for spoiling your hunt and taking the rite from you."
Even if it was some from a Lesser Dragon. But that was nothing compared to what he would gain, so it was an acceptable loss.
It was just a shame she didn’t have a chance to practice their most common mannerism, bitchy gossip. She would probably be a pro at that.
Still unsure of what she was talking about, Belladonna intentionally left it vague enough to allow for wiggle room, but thankfully the Duke seemed to understand her as he nodded quickly.
’Vessel? Process? I thought this was just going to be a letter or something. Maybe a nice sack of gold to change hands. Actually... if he is giving his army, wouldn’t I be the one giving him gold in that scenario? Maybe this option is better... Whatever it is.’
At the same time, a soft ping in the back of Belladonna’s mind sounded, and the crystal on the back of her hand glowed ever so slightly as it protected a screen that only she could see.
[Secret Quest - New Blood
Continue to play the part of the Emissary of Blood, and complete the ritual.
A secret quest? That made sense, considering all the secrecy around it and how difficult it was to discover in the first place. But not only did it offer very little details, other than a vague mention of a ritual, the quest description refused to even imply that there would be any rewards. Only offering her a punishment if she failed.
By the time Belladonna had finished analysing the vague, unhelpful quest alert and returned her attention back to the matter at hand, a staircase had been formed in the ground. More accurately, it had been formed out of the ground, literally.
The Elf maid bowed her head to the pair of them before the Duke stepped forwards and began to descend the staircase first, as a way of showing Belladonna that it was perfectly safe. A moment later, Belladonna descended herself, followed closely by the maid.
Belladonna was fine in the darkness, her vision shifting to the greyscale world of her dark vision, allowing her to watch the nervous tics of the Duke as he descended in front of her.
Stepping through it, Belladonna found that she had been led to what seemed like an abandoned dungeon, with countless little beasts skittering between the shadows.