Chapter 8 I'm not a Hero, but also not a Villain
Author: M_W Cancer
Grammar Checker: M_W Nomral
Madam Silva just nodded her head after listening to Leo's explanation. She was amused by this young Noble's boldness in executing his plan, even despite having a nearly 90% chance of getting him in a dangerous situation.
Leo's plan may have been described as a 50-50 chance, but based on the mere fact that over 90% of merchant caravans are owned by large businesses such as the Sword and Magic in Silver City, his plan was only a 90-10. A 90% chance to fail, which is exactly what had happened at this moment, and a 10% chance to succeed.
Besides, who would even think of betting in such a plan with a huge chance of picking the wrong card, especially towards a stranger...
There might be some since it's a devilishly beautiful princess stranger. But Madam Silva's mind was telling her that Leo wasn't that type of guy. She was even thinking that maybe he had no other choice but to help the princess or that there was an ulterior motive he was hiding.
"Okay, I believe you." Madam Silva replied as her face returned to normal.
Madam Silva was naturally aware that no sane one would ever dare to bring the Princess of the Blood Race inside the Silver City, the main city of the Silver Kingdom. Even if it was someone else within the Royal family of the Silver Kingdom, they wouldn't do such a foolish thing.
The Fourth Prince before didn't even bring the princess of the Mermaid Race to Silver City due to the fear of getting discovered by the princess's fellow race.
The people who would dare kidnap the princess of the Crimson Rose Kingdom, even the stupidest of them all, would probably take the unconscious princess somewhere else far away from the mess before enjoying the feast. That was the best plan that everyone would think. They would just enjoy the princess in their home while the whole Silver Kingdom would be in a mess.
No one out there would even consider the plan that 'the dangerous place is the safest' because inside the Silver Kingdom were thousands of people from the Blood Race who could practically smell each other through the unique fragrance that only they could sense. Bringing the princess would sooner or later lead to her identity being discovered.
However, except for Leo...
Madam Silva doesn't know why, but with how Leo can think of such a genius plan just a while ago, she's leaning more toward the possibility that Leo has some kind of intention deep in his mind.
But before that, Madam Silva turned to look at Princess Cassandra as she said, "Tell us what happened so that we can immediately fix this mess."
Princess Cassandra's eyes suddenly turned teary as she couldn't hold back her tears anymore, "They aren't looking for me so that they can save me, but to force me to marry Zaynit!"
Hearing her words, Leo, Madam Silva, Butler Xiao, and Fatty Ben quickly turned serious.
"After my parents died due to the War of Races, the member of the Crimson Rose Blood Kingdom who holds great power over the kingdom after the King and Queen immediately started eyeing the position of the next ruler,"
"Obviously, I should not be worrying anything about it since it was already natural that the throne would fall to me after my parents died. I'm the only Heir to the throne, after all, right?"
"Well, I was wrong..."
"Due to the culture of the Crimson Rose Kingdom where a man would always be on top of the woman in the hierarchy. The people who held great power immediately didn't agree with me becoming the next ruler. Instead, they started a competition secretly, and the winner was to marry me and become the next King of the Crimson Rose Kingdom,"
"The winner of that secret competition was Zaynit Vrayn, the only son of General Ciper Vrayn, who is now in control of 70% of the army of the Crimson Rose Kingdom after my parents' death!"
"I naturally didn't agree with such senseless stuff! The culture that the Crimson Rose Kingdom believed was just something that they had created for themselves. Every Blood Race knew that the most powerful member of all the Blood Races was the woman. Simply because only the woman of the Blood Race can become Mages!"
"Although I'm a Mage, I'm nothing but an infant compared to other Mages. I can't even summon the very basic Magic, the Mana Sword, so how could I even battle 70% of the soldiers of our Kingdom? Even if I had control of the remaining 30%, it would still be a futile effort! So, I escaped with the people loyal to my family,"
"Unexpectedly, though, I didn't realize that one of the people who I thought was loyal to my family turned out to be a man of General Ciper Vrayn. That person reported our whereabouts in the middle of the night, which then led us to an ambush the very next day."
"Only I managed to escape since all of the loyal people with my family had sacrificed themselves..."
"Please don't return me to them. I'll offer you my life, I'll give you everything, my body, you can have it! I'll do everything for you! Just please don't give me back to them..." Princess Cassandra said as she kneeled on the ground desperately while tears flowed down her beautiful face, begging Leo and Madam Silva not to return her.
"If you don't care about becoming nothing but a mere slave, then why didn't you just stay in your Kingdom?" Madam Silva suddenly asked. If Princess Cassandra didn't care about her life, then why did she escape, right?
"If I stayed, do you think they would give me a chance to become strong? I will not be able to make them pay!" Princess Cassandra answered immediately, as if she already rehearsed such an answer many times.
What Princess Cassandra had said was obviously right! If a man has a woman with him, specifically a woman with the potential to become a Mage, who always thinks of killing him if any chance arises, would he even try to make her strong or even give her a bit of resource?
Even the stupidest person wouldn't do such a thing. No one would cultivate a person that will potentially bite them back! Even if that person was a devilishly beautiful woman.
"But do you also think that the people that will help you would also give you a chance to become strong?" Madam Silva argued back quite quickly, too.
Princess Cassandra gritted her teeth and replied with a strong determination, "It's still much better than having no chance at all!"
If Princess Cassandra had stayed at the Crimson Rose Kingdom, then obviously, no one would give her a chance. Zaynit Vrayn, her supposedly future husband, wouldn't; Ciper Vrayn wouldn't; and the 30% remaining neutral party wouldn't, either. No one would give her any chance. There was even a huge chance that Zaynit Vrayn would just make her a sex toy or something of the like.
"Since you want a chance, then I'll give you one! Become the slave of Sword and Magic and we will give you the chance to make them pay!" Madam Silva said, finally revealing her real intention.
Leo just watched the scene unfold. He completely understood what Princess Cassandra meant. As a Mage, even if she offers herself in exchange, as long as she is still alive, then she will have a chance in the future for revenge. Who cares if she will become a slave, as long as she's still alive, making those people pay would be possible!
Unfortunately, Leo doesn't have any means to help Princess Cassandra. after all. He was nothing but a poor person at the moment.
So, Leo didn't speak a single word and just allowed the two to speak to their heart's content till the end. Albeit, deep inside of him, his plan was already starting to be realized.
However, contrary to everyone's expectations, Princess Cassandra shook her head in response to the offer, evidently rejecting Madam Silva. She explained "Thank you, but I want to offer my life to my benefactor instead..." she said as she turned to look at Leo.
"Me?" Leo asked before letting out a loud laugh and continuing after, "Even if I accept you, I won't be able to give you the chance that you want. My Heart City is nothing but a mere large town. It's called a city in advance to honor my parents' heroic death on the battlefield of the War of Races by the Silver Kingdom. Where do you think would I get the resources to even make you strong? Buy them? Do you see these two, they don't even have a single penny in them because they refuse to accept any from me."
"Then how will you buy things from her?" Princess Cassandra asked immediately, doubtful of Leo's claim. But suddenly she realized something.
"Through the money I earned from hunting Magical Beast! And in the first place, I wasn't even thinking of buying anything from the Sword and Magic," Leo replied without feeling embarrassed at all. Every city under the Silver Kingdom knew or maybe had heard about the circumstances of the Heart City. The only city in Silver Kingdom where its lord does hunting not for fun but to earn a living.
"Use that money on me then! Every penny you invest in me will not be wasted. You won't just get a Mage as a slave, but you can also make me your wife, or possibly even just a mere concubine," Princess Cassandra reasoned out, trying her best to convince Leo to accept her. Naturally, she wasn't really serious about becoming Leo's wife or concubine. Even if she agrees to marry Leo, she would never accept him having a concubine.
Leo can't help but laugh at her claim though. "I also have the affinity to become a Mage. So, if I support you, do you think I would still get stronger?"
"You don't need to be strong... Yes, you don't need to! I'll protect you with my life." Princess Cassandra said, putting her hand on her chest as if proclaiming to Leo that he could trust her with his pathetic... precious life.
"You see, even fools would not believe your claim. Since you said it that way, doesn't that mean your aspirations are nothing but the stupid ideals of a girl in a desperate situation?Obviously, it isn't! I know what your real intention is, you cannot claim that you will protect me with your life!" Leo laughed at her foolishness. After all, she wants revenge.
"Believe me, I will protect you with my life!" Princess Cassandra said to defend herself from his accusation. She was naturally aware that her words were nothing but lies.
"Your goal makes you value your life more than mine! Do you seriously think that you would sacrifice your life for me? Even you, yourself, don't believe in the words you just said!" Leo shook his head in disappointment.
Princess Cassandra's face can't help but wrinkle a little, but she was still desperate. She fixed her expression as she turned her head around towards Madam Silva, "Since you don't want me, then I'll offer my life to Madam Silva!"
"My deepest apology Princess Cassandra, but after hearing Leo's thoughts, we don't dare accept you anymore. Sword and Magic value loyalty more than anything else. Leo is right, your goal will make you value your life more than anything else, hence you will never hesitate to do anything to live as long as your life is being threatened." Madam Silva also shook her head in disappointment.
"Then.... then...." Princess Cassandra became panicked. She suddenly turned to look at Leo, full of hate in her eyes. She was blaming him for her situation.
"Of course, there is another way!" Leo suddenly said making Princess Cassandra relax a little, "Since you want to make them pay, then sign a Blood Contract with me!"
"What, no way..... I'd rather die than sign such a contract!" Princess Cassandra said without any hesitation.
A Blood Contract was a contract made out of the blood of both the users. Such a contract would make both people who signed the contract honor and respect what they had signed or else they would pay the consequences of death. This was also a contract that masters and slaves would use so that they wouldn't be betrayed.
"Then just go and die," Leo said as he turned around, moving towards the door. He doesn't have any business here anymore. After his proposal is rejected by Princess Cassandra, then naturally, it is time for him to leave.
"But..." Princess Cassandra said as she became even more panicked after Leo turned around and started walking away towards the door.
"You see, Princess Cassandra, to get something, you also need to pay something equivalent to what you get. It's one of the set rules of this world, the Equivalent Exchange rule." Leo said as he made a grabbing motion toward the doorknob. However, before his hand could touch the doorknob, Princess Cassandra made him stop.
"Wait, I'll sign a contract! I'll sign it with you!" Princess Cassandra hurriedly said, afraid that she wouldn't be able to stop Leo.
Leo suddenly revealed a mischievous smile on his face before slowly turning his head around. This was his intention from the very moment he found Princess Cassandra. Albeit he didn't expect things to turn this complicated. Of course, he was to be blamed for that. But what's important is that things still turned out exactly like what he wanted.
"I'm not a hero, but I'm also not a villain! I can offer her shelter, but she also needs to have something in return for my generosity. After all, nothing comes free in this world we are living in right now. Everything comes with a price, especially revenge" Leo thought in his mind.
Despite being cruel to the Princess, deep in Leo's mind, he was only doing it because he was the same as the Princess; he values his life more than anything else, too.