"Well?" Samira asked Felicia. "Why would you be kept alive?"
"While the tournament ended in disaster, I have not failed the Crown!" Felicia passionately made her case, feeling her very life on the line. "Despite the setbacks and the lives lost, I continued to fulfill every single task given to me. Inform the Crown that I have not failed, my loyalty has not wavered for a second and I continue to wait for further instructions."
"The Crown?" one of the guards asked. "You never said anything about-UAAAAH!"
One scream, then a few more, then silence. The prisoners in the Pit with Felicia rustled back to life with nervous mumblings.
"I did warn them," Samira said with a sigh then looked at Felicia again. "You could not have been serious back then. 'Waiting for further instructions'? Like what? The Forge of Champions is done. Flavna was a busy girl and a good portion of the tunnels have already been sealed. And even had she done nothing, there is no way you'd get people to go back down there for another round. Willingly that is.
"Your only future is going back to the Guild as a scout and a recruiter. Oh, that's right, that job is beyond obsolete in a closed city! You can't seriously expect for things to go back to the way they used to should you return to the Guild. The fight for your release is nothing more than a test of power and authority between the Guild and the Purple Capes. I'd wager that your current state is far better than what you could hope for upon your return to the Guild. After all, their losses were the greatest from what I gathered. I probably would do you a favor by gifting you a swift death."
Felicia listened to Samira with trembling hands. But with her fear, her anger also built. And upon a promise of death the little white hairball snapped.
"Fuck you!" Felicia screamed at Samira. "Who the hell do you think you are to come here and judge me? I went above and beyond my duty! Entertaining the sheep, organizing the tournament, somehow keeping in line eighteen powerful magicians that your family mutilated!
"Oh, and playing babysitter to every bored 'White Mask' that came my way for cheap thrills!? How about your little sister Mary running demonic experiments right in the middle of the tournament? Or entering herself into it for shits and giggles? Or how about that time I had to keep over ten thousand angry, aroused, drunk and drugged out of their minds citizens from rioting for four hours because your older sister Julia wanted to fuck the finalists before most of them died!?"
"'Demonic experiments'?" Samira asked.
"Oh? You didn't even know?" Felicia laugh. "Somehow, that Bloody Mary actually managed to turn two humans into a monster that would fit right in among the demons!
"How about some of you lazy bastards take a little responsibility!? I would have kept things under control had your sister not gotten so bored that she inserted herself into the tournament only to get beaten and humiliated and require protection! Oh, and that was after she killed her own guards! The eunuchs you provided were just waiting for a chance to turn on me, and the Purple Capes stationed in the mines were useless, horny drunks caught with their pants down at the first sign of real trouble! And in spite of all that I fulfilled the tournament's purpose with nobody the wiser!"
A heavy silence hung in the air. Felicia breathed hard after her tirade, but she had enough of getting all the blame and all the responsibility without any real support. She stared right back into Samira's red and black eyes in an outright challenge.
"Okui is still alive then?" Samira asked.
"Of course," Felicia answered. "But it will need more feed because of all those wounds."
"I see," Samira said and turned away from the barred hole that separated her and Felicia.
"Y-you're just going to leave me?" Felicia asked.
"I need to check up on my little sister," Samira answered as she walked further away. "I'll think a little more about your situation. For now, keep up whatever it is you're doing. The crown is grateful for your service, bless the King, etc., etc. Oh, and give my regards to your new guards!"
_____________________________________
It is the start of the new month! The best time to become a patron and reap the benefits!
Read 60 chapters ahead on p@treon.com/YuujiEveryleaf
Also, don't forget to give this novel a rating and vote with your power stones! <3
Special thanks for supporting my writing goes out to my generous S-ranked Patrons: Torasque, Mega, VanDerWaalz, Aaron Keeler, Strngbrw, Tentai lover, and Havenafuntime!