Those of the 'Pine Household' knew of their ordinary nature. The lack of 'Talent' in their Gift.
After all, most other families had Attributes.
Able to at least become a 1st Circle Magic Fighter on their own. Without the need of rare resources.
Not everyone could be like Adam, who was able to produce a Sword Circle via luck and coincidence.
There was definitely a lie about the timing of when her family's benefactors arrived, but that didn't matter. The most important aspect she took note of what that 'Adam Graham' was tethered to her.
Both their fates would either be good or bad.
If they couldn't overcome the obstacles set before them, then it was only natural people would die.
That was the nature of life itself.
At least, for a swordsman who knew nothing but to constantly take risks, this was all she could see.
Their goals had aligned.
And since this was so, she wasn't going to hold back in making heavy requests of her 'partner'.
Even if those requests would sully his honour.
After all, Clarissa herself was also the type to test the resolve of those she had a 'partnership' with.
With that thought in mind, she looked down on the unconscious body of the ally arriving out of thin air.
She lifted him carefully.
Putting him down on a sofa in the corner of the room, then thinking about the changes within her.
Thanks to the Succubus physiology, she had gained the wicked traits of the 'Evil Attribute'.
Or to be more precise, the 'Sin Attribute' that was exclusive to Lust Demons and their incarnations.
It was similar to the 'Yang Attribute' she had seen attained by Martial Adepts with reinforcing Gifts.
But this one seemed more erotic and amoral.
Focusing more on pleasure centres and private areas than the muscle needed for close combat.
'Cosmetic Polymorph' also didn't seem that amazing compared to Dragon Hearts or Scales.
But everything depended on how you used them.
Her understanding of her own mind, body, heart, and soul had reached an unfathomable peak.
Able to instantly use her 'self' far too cunningly.
Even though she too was a virgin like Adam, there was a darkness in her heart that had been freed.
Now unrestrained thanks to her new abilities.
Clarissa looked around to first measure the level everyone was currently at. Where to move first.
And who in Blade Security was most vulnerable.
Something that was normally useless,
Sophia Hildegard had carefully carried out her plans and stripped the mercenaries of agency.
Becoming slaves to her will.
After having their naive hearts stolen by Sidmund Tailor, they were bewitched by her Enslavement.
Unable to resist the dominating restriction that had been placed within. It made them tragic heroines.
But this would work no more.
Clarissa's first prey was the vice leader of Blade Security. The one acting as her 'Manager'.
Unlike others, this woman wasn't affected by any attachment to Sidmund. She was, in fact, family.
The cousin of Sidmund Tailor.
And the weakest member of Blade Security.
But this didn't mean she wasn't an annoying woman to deal with. Especially for a mercenary.
"What are you here for?" Anne Tailor looked at the woman with a face full of suspicion and arrogance.
A servile woman for Hildegard, but a vile and cruel woman that oversaw what happened to the others.
She was one of the people who put on fake smiles and assisted Sidmund in captivating her own lil' sis.
Clarissa's precious baby sister.
Normally, such a person would fear someone as dangerous as the head of the Pune Household.
However, Anne seemed completely fine.
Even if she let loose her 'Dominator Presence', the willpower of this ordinary maid would suppress it.
This was how loyal she was to the Hildegard Household, who her family were the servants of.
"Nothing much, but should you be treating your superiors like this? Not even serving a nice cup of tea?" Clarissa's bold words and releasing of Dominator Presence had infuriated the maid.
"You've avoided my eyes for so long, but start talking nonsense the moment you stop? Oh my, it must be a condition shared by sisters." Anne made a cruel sneer, but her opponent's reaction was tiny.
Merely shivering before recovering herself.
The woman wearing a modified maid uniform of the Tailor Family didn't become suspicious of Clarissa.
It was obvious that the fate of Abigail Pine was in the hands of this maid. Who reported to Sophia.
Especially any movements this manly mercenary woman made. Everything would be reported.
Although Anne spoke harshly, she was still a dutiful maid at heart. Professionally serving her guest.
Not even bothering to sabotage the tea leaves.
Although she looked down on Clarissa Pine, she wasn't going to go out of her way to demean her.
Otherwise, this woman may just go all crazy.
She wasn't sure why the obedient puppet leader of Blade Security sought her, so she calmed herself.
Even in the face of Dominator Presence.
Anne's face didn't change a shade throughout the dead silence that started enveloping the room.
Ominously trying to suffocate her.
Trying to get under her skin over time.
But if this was the battle Clarissa chose, then she was in for nothing but disappointment in the end.
The maid stood unmoved.
Her hands elegantly pouring in her own cup of the tea from the teapot, then drinking it herself.
An informal act unbefitting of a maid.
They were measuring each other silently.
It was only after a while did Anne Tailor start to feel lethargic, which was paired by a feeling of 'hunger'.
"I have a proposition." Before she could think too deep about it, Clarissa's voice had interrupted her.
"Go on. I'll listen." Anne rolled her eyes.
"You know about 'Adam Graham', right?" These words from Clarissa made the remember the man.
"The guy who owns the building we live in?" It was obvious Anne's knowledge was only skin deep.
"Yeah, he came to me earlier." (Clarissa)
"What did he say?" (Anne)
"He's a pervert that had been eyeing your mistress for a long time. He was offering me a large sum to make an opportunity for him to… 'push her onto a bed'." Clarissa spoke these words unblinkingly.
As if all of what she said was true.
Normally, Anne was smart enough to have doubts of what she was told so easily. It could be a scheme to drive a wedge between Sophia and the son of the richest people currently in the country.
One who could become an heir to their fortune.
But unusually, a purple light arose in her pupils.
She suddenly imagined such a scene before her.
The wickedness and perverse display he'd make.
"HOW DARE THIS PEASANT." Anne's eyes widened in fury. There seemed to be fire in those deep eyes.
"He mustn't be killed." Clarissa 'tried to calm her'.
"Show me where he is…!" The maid's chin rose while arrogantly striding to where Adam laid.
Clarissa smiled, then lead the way 'obediently'.
After getting herself there, it seemed her brain finally started functioning enough to regain sanity.
'What am I doing here?' She couldn't exactly kill him, and it was better to report this to Sophia.
Then a decision would be made promptly.
Whether it would be to kill or maim.
"Do you want to let him off?" Clarissa's voice rang behind her like that of a devil. Softly in her head.
Tugging at her heartstrings.
She wanted to punish the fool who dared eye her mistress, but couldn't do it without permission.
"I… have to go back." The maid was telling herself.
"Is that what you want?" Clarissa didn't stop Anne from turning to leave, but these words stopped her.
"What do you want?" Anne's eyes were sharp.
"There are other ways to control a man other than threatening him, you know?" Clarissa pointed at the maid's bountiful chest. Even though it was covered up, the size was big enough to be noticed.
"…Screw off." Anne wasn't falling for this.
"Aha… Right. I wouldn't let you anyway. My job is protect him, after all. That was the duty that was given to me by Lady Sophia herself. It's a showing of trust." The mercenary woman acted innocent.
But her words struck the weakness in Anne's heart.
For some odd reason, she wasn't able to leave after hearing such nonsense spoke so easily.
Trust?
Someone like Clarissa Pine, a barbarian with no class or etiquette, dares to talk about the lady?
Talk about getting her trust?
These emotions started easily appearing on Anne's face, which made her knowing of her next action.
"What are you looking at?" Seeing those blazing eyes, Clarissa didn't hesitate to scold the woman.
Acting like a guard dog.
Since Anne wasn't able to refute such a rational reaction from Clarissa, she merely stood there.
Silently looking into her eyes.
It was after a while did the handsome mercenary woman turn off Dominator Presence immediately.
Lifting the weight off her.
The release of tension momentarily confused Anne and put the woman in a daze. It was an opportunity.
What Clarissa aimed for since the very beginning!
"But I'll let you off this time." The woman opened the door, then spoke: "But under one condition."
Clarissa leaned herself down near Anne's ear and whispered: "Only leave when you're satisfied."
The maid didn't sense the contractual powers of binding in those words. Only hearing a mean joke.
They were words not meant to be taken seriously, and it wasn't like she needed to respond either.
"Hmph." Anne snorted, which was enough of an acknowledgment to bind her to such a promise.
Clarissa closed the door afterwards.
"One down." She had to move fast.
Although the walls were soundproof, it wasn't a perfect countermeasure to hide their actions.
She started aiming for the Logistics Manager and those who could set a barrier with Magic Circles.
Uncaring if they were already under bewitchment,
After she had transformed, Clarissa's 'Dominator Presence' gained a mental contamination effect.
A type of radiation that poisoned the mind.
Gradually leading to a self-destruction of the mind.
Although Anne was powerful mentally, even she couldn't resist a power she was fully unaware of.
That maid hadn't realised she'd been poisoned.
The same went for the 'Contract' on her.
Clarissa was certain someone as formal as that maid would've responded to anything she spoke of.
Thus, initiating the binding vow.
No… It was much more than just a 'Restraint'.
After this ability combined with her first Defiance Star: 'Companion Sword', to become more thicker.
Now the 'Restraint' fused with the will of the user and made them more inclined to follow the vow.
Empowering their initial conviction.
Now was the time to boost their fighting power. So long as she could get them together, it would work.
The rest was all up to Adam's capabilities.
…..
….
…
..
.
Adam awoke to the sound of a sleeve ripping. The maid, Anne Tailor, seemed to be up to something.
It took an instant for him to derive information.
Only a fool would confront him or do anything to harm him. If he was the servant of a woman like Sophia Hildegard, what would he do? The answer to that didn't even need much thinking anymore.
After all, he had 'experienced' it already.
The reckless devotion and obsession towards the individual in question. Leaving out his well-being.
Pride, honour, self-respects, and shame…
All of it meant nothing if it was for HER.
There was only one thing he could do. He had to speak before she alerted the people out the door.
Only the central room was soundproof. This office didn't have a reason to be cut off from the world.
"Anne Tailor…" He spoke her name, and immediately floored the woman in question.
Her eyes wide in his direction without a sound.
Perhaps she'd even forgot to breath at this point.
It was a natural response. After all, the Tailor Family were both secretive and loyal only to their master.
Thus, their names were hushed.
Anne would never believe that Clarissa would be bold enough to risk everything to speak about her.
That meant he'd found this through his own source of information. How he did so was a mystery to her.
"H-how do you know-?"
"Your name?" Adam smiled while not letting Anne adapt to the pace. Taking initiative to suppress her.
He got off the sofa and headed towards her, then obviously shifted his gaze towards her shoulder.
There was a rip she'd purposefully torn out of her uniform. A hasty action telling of her current state.
She was on the verge of losing her sanity.
Perhaps this recklessness would be unlike her usual self, as it was far too 'honest' of a scheme.
He could think of so many ways she could've tried to screw his unconscious self over, but it looked like she was okay with things only ending with assault charges. Changing the dynamics a little.
If he was caught doing ANYTHING to a maid of Sophia Hildegard, the equilibrium would've broke.
Perhaps he'd have no choice but to give up his land if he wanted to survive. Escape that girl's grasp.
But now such fears went up in smoke.
Perhaps it was thanks to 'Insightful Savant', but his mind and heart were serene. Completely still.
Despite being an entity that survived off of lust and had a different brain structure than a human, he was able to keep his sanity despite being in front of a cute girl like Anne. A captivating person at heart.
It was hard to see such loyalty these days.
Even if that was filled with reckless abandonment.
A sword at heart, and a maid in mind. She would go beyond the realm of servitude to protect another.
He admired her for that.
It made the cleanly tied black hair and standard European maid outfit stand out that much more.
Such a sentiment wasn't shared.
It wasn't that she rejected his approach, but rather… the opposite was what happened.
Even though she was trying to 'reject' him.
The transformation he went through made him seem much more handsome than he was at first.
But this wasn't all.
Thanks to her contaminated mind, she was unable to stop looking at him the same way a teenager would look at a pornstar. Her eyes sizing up every nook and cranny of his captivating existence.
Through sheer force of will, she was able to stop herself was assaulting him right then and there.
*Kchk…*
Only for this wall to break when he used his Toxic Blade to nick her thigh. An evil genome infiltrated.
Reconstructing her body almost instantly.
Horns grew out of her head, and a tail similar to the one he had hidden appeared out of her tailbone.
The only difference was that she wasn't an expert that could grasp her condition using only instinct.
Her mind suddenly blanked.
Adam watched in interest to see what would happen to a normal person influenced by him.
His eyes watched closely at her every reaction.