"Before I answer you, let me ask you this…. Do you think it's wise to ask that question when you are hiding yourself?" Aron spoke in a serious tone, and Pethra immediately began channeling her magic as she could see the hidden meaning of Aron's question.
Kasumi opened her eyes in shock.
"H-How?" That's the only thing she said, as her mind stopped working. Aron's question shook her completely; she was absolutely sure that no one would discover her.
Aron tapped slightly on his eye. "I can see you."
Kasumi broke into a cold sweat. "I-Imposib-"
"A black aura around you, a strange drawing on your right shoulder, wolf-like ears, and... Is that a tail? Or two?"
"!!!" Kasumi gazed at Aron in disbelief.
'He wasn't lying. He could see me, but HOW?'
Usually, normal eyes could not see Kasumi's hidden form. 'Normal' is the key word, but Aron isn't normal; he's a Dragon. Yes, his powers are sealed by thousands of chains, but even with minimal power, he's different.
Aron can sense things differently from everyone else if he focuses his attention on one sense for a long time, and that includes his eyes. 'The Dragon Eyes'. And everyone knows that nothing is hidden from the eyes of the dragon.
But Aron never tried to focus on one sense; he did that subconsciously during fights. He only reacted emotionally for a moment when he saw Kasumi's violet eyes, and when he focused on them enough, he saw Kasumi's true form.
"Put yourself in my place. Would you trust someone who is using some kind of magic to hide themselves? I won't."
"Now I understand that you had to do that since you were a slave a moment ago. If not for my understanding, you'd be dead the moment I saw through your magi–" Aron stopped speaking when he saw tears falling on Kasumi's cheeks.
"Aron! You made the woman cry." Pethra was angry at Aron for some reason. Is the little witch becoming too comfortable with Aron or what?
Hearing Pethra's words, Kasumi realized that tears were falling on her cheek, and she wiped them off quickly.
"Aaah!,....Sorry I guess?" Aron apologized. The situation was awkward for him.
"You guess?" Pethra spoke, then she looked at Kasumi. "I'm sorry; despite him being so handsome, he's dumb as a brick."
Aron's eyebrow twitched a little. "Hoo! You are looking for punishment, are you, little witch?"
Pethra flashed an innocent smile. "Is your gentle heart going to allow you to punish an innocent young girl?"
Aron sighed as he shook his head. "It's been less than a day, and I am already regretting choosing you."
"I like you too." Pethra chuckled lightly.
'Yes! YES! I said it. Kyaaaa!... Step one complete; now step two... hmm? Or should I just jump to step nine?'
Kasumi rose to her feet. She wiped away her tears as she spoke. "It's nothing, Pethra-dono. It's just... I never thought this day would come." She mumbled her last words. then…
Shadows: Kasumi's Shadow started moving unnaturally as if it had a will of its own. Like a snake, the shadow began crawling through Kasumi's legs, moving upward. Soon, Kasumi's entire body was covered by a layer of shadow.
After that, a violet energy was seen by Aron, Pethra, and the other women, who had at some point stopped crying and were now paying attention to Aron.
Seconds later, the shadows started to disappear, revealing one of the most beautiful women in the world, 'The Flower Of The East.'
Her hair was darker than before, and two animal-like ears were now visible, along with two big, fluffy, dark-colored tails. Kasumi's body hadn't changed much, but her figure became more defined, making her even more beautiful than before.
With sharp and wild violet eyes, a cute little nose, small pink lips, and flawless smooth skin, Kasumi was a beauty that could cause wars just by existing, since men are dumb and women are jealous.
"Fox race?" Pethra spoke in a low voice, but Kasumi heard her.
"No, Pethra-dono, I'm a Yokai, a fox Yokai, not just a race."
'Woman! Explain more! I don't see the difference!' Pethra wanted to scream, but she held back.
As if she could read Pethra's mind, Kasumi explained, "The Fox race is just a race of beast-men. The difference between them and us, the Yokai, is that we have a connection to the spirit realm. Our first ancestor made a pact with a spirit, giving him the power of the shadows, thus creating Clan Kage."
Pethra could see that Kasumi was slightly offended by being called Fox Race. She was about to apologize, but Pethra suddenly froze when she noticed that Kasumi wasn't covering her private parts.
'Why is she not covering those... those huge things? This is unfair! Oh, no, don't tell me...' Pethra took a quick glance at Aron and saw the man paralyzed as he gazed at Kasumi.
'... She's trying to seduce him! BITCH! Cover yourself before I blow up your things!'
"Is it safe to expose yourself like this? To me and...," Aron said, then he glanced at the women behind Kasumi who were gazing at her in awe.
".... The rest." Feeling his gaze, the women visibly shivered, but they couldn't stop looking.
Kasumi smiled at Aron's question, then she turned to the slave women.
"The women will keep their mouths shut, and if they speak about it, I'll know. After all, I'm shadow, and shadows are everywhere, right girls?"
The women nodded fiercely when they saw her 'gentle' smile.
Then Kasumi faced Aron. "But with you, it's different. You are my Master, and showing my true form to you is my greatest honor," joy and excitement in her tone.
"...Eh? Master?" Aron was confused.
'Damn it! I knew it,' Pethra screamed internally.
"Ahh! Are you talking about this?" Aron raised Vincent's amulet. "I'm just going to use it to unlock Vincent's safe. When I'm done, I'll destroy it, so no need to call me Master."
Kasumi shook her head. "That's not what I meant. You saw through the magic of my ancestors, so you're my Master now."
"..."
""That doesn't make any sense,"" Aron and Pethra shouted at the same time.
Kasumi covered her fox ears. "Ugh!... It's complicated... but to put it in simple words, the first Yokai spirit blessed our clan with great powers. But that power came with a cost. We must find a master to serve to be able to use that power to its full potential. So, the Spirit placed a unique spell on every newborn in my clan. Only when someone with the potential to be a 'Master' appears, they will be able to see the shadow's true form. Master and shadow must unite." Kasumi explained.
she completely misunderstood Aron's ability to see her true form for the 'Master' thing; thus, the beautiful two-tailed fox thought that she found her 'Master'.
Aron was silent as he digested what Kasumi said. Pethra, on the other hand, was furious, thinking that this was just a cheap way for Kasumi to get close to Aron.
Kasumi then added with a bow, "It'll be my honor working with you, Mast–"
"I refuse." Aron immediately refused
"What!?..." Kasumi was shocked. "Why, Master? You have no idea how I have been waiting for this day. Please accept," she was about to burst into tears.
Aron sighed. "Look, I don't know your reasons, and frankly, I don't care. But you must know something about me," he paused. "I despise weakness, and to me, you're weak since you allowed yourself to become a slave."
Kasumi was about to deny that she wasn't weak and explain that her 'capture' was beyond her limits. But Aron wasn't done speaking.
"Now, getting captured may or may not be the result of your weakness, but again, I don't care. However, the fact remains that you got captured. Moreover, your choice of me as 'Master' didn't come from your heart."
"What do you mean by 'not from my heart'?" Kasumi was annoyed by Aron's words. "If I didn't think that you were worthy, I wouldn't pledge my loyalty to you and recognize you as my Master. After all, you saw my true form."
"Exactly!"
"Eh?.."
"Tell me, Kasumi. If I didn't see your true form, would you still pledge your loyalty to me?" Aron asked a serious question, and seeing Kasumi's silence, he got the answer he needed.
"Moreover, you followed the will of your ancestral spirit. You seem to hold their orders in high regard."
"Now answer me honestly: will you choose your Master or your ancestral spirit? And what would you do if the spirit commanded you to kill, betray, or abandon your Master? Would you do it or remain loyal to your Master?"
Kasumi lowered her head, deep in shock. Aron's logical questions were too much for her to handle.
'Why does it have to be this way? I just want a Master to serve. All the heirs of my Clan found a Master except me.'
Silence fell in the room as Kasumi contemplated deeply. Aron stood in silence, looking at her, while Pethra and the other women watched silently.
Aron took a step toward Kasumi, lowered himself to her level, and placed his hand on her head, gently stroking her hair.
"!!!" Kasumi visibly trembled. Feeling his touch, she raised her head and saw him smiling gently at her. For the first time, Kasumi noticed how handsome Aron was.
"Kasumi, I understand your desire, but it's pointless if 'You' didn't choose to serve me. Blindly following someone else's orders, even from your ancestral spirit, is not true loyalty but rather submission, and I hate that the most." He paused, then placed both hands on Kasumi's cheeks and smiled gently.
"True loyalty comes from the heart, from mutual respect and trust between two individuals, not from a magical binding or obligation. And if you truly want to serve me, then it must be your choice, not because of some ancient tradition or duty."
Kasumi was taken aback by Aron's words, but she slowly nodded in understanding. She realized that blindly following someone else's orders was not true loyalty and that she needed to make a choice for herself.
She looked up at Aron, and for the first time, she saw him in a different light. He was not just a potential master, but someone who genuinely cared about her as an individual.
"Thank you, Master," Kasumi said with a bow, "for showing me the true meaning of loyalty. I will make my own choice, and I choose to serve you with my heart. I won't ask you to form a contract with me, but please allow me to stay by your side."
Aron smiled and nodded at Kasumi's words. "On one condition, I'll test you many times to see if you're following your heart. If you pass the tests, I'll form a contract with you. How does that sound?"
Kasumi smiled brightly. "I accept your condition, Master. I'll do my best and pass every test."
Aron smiled, seeing her determination. "Good, but before that... wear some clothes, okay?"
Kasumi looked down, and as if struck by lightning, she remembered that she was naked. Embarrassed by her shameful appearance, she instantly wrapped her two tails around her.
'I can't believe I showed such a sight to my future Master,' she thought, feeling a deep sense of embarrassment.
Aron chuckled slightly when he saw her embarrassed face and her fox ears slightly lower, covering her eyes with them. He patted her head gently and walked toward the stairs that led to the second floor. But before getting too far away, Aron heard voices calling him.
"Take us with you."