[Harris POV]
"So, can you hear them? What are they saying? Don't stay so silent, I also want to know!"
"Shut up, Harri. How am I supposed to concentrate if you keep talking?"
It's been a few minutes since the Creator left, after being summoned by the Lord of this place. Since we had nothing better to do, we decided to follow her –more or less. Technically, we're still in the courtyard. However, we moved to the other side of the mansion, where the lord's office was situated.
Standing just below the window, Yoko was leaning against the wall, her eyes closed and her arms crossed. She was focusing, eavesdropping on the conversation. I have no idea how she does that, considering how thick the exterior walls were, but I'm guessing it has something to do with her fox ears.
"Hey, say something. I'm bored."
"Shut up already."
Ah… The Creator should have given me some superior ears too. For how long am I supposed to stand still? Yoko's not even commentating anything; she's just listening, leaving me in the dark.
So I'm waiting. I just observe her, trying to guess the situation. From time to times, her eyelids would twitch and a wry smile appeared on her face. But otherwise, she stays impassible. However, the violent sways of her tail were speaking for herself: she was annoyed. Whatever she's hearing, it clearly doesn't please her.
"And this is why humans are so stupid…" Yoko eventually muttered, breaking the silence. "They never learn their place, do they?"
Yup. She's pissed. What did she hear? Biting her lips, she acted out her frustration silently for a few minutes, before her lips curled into an evil grin as her tails started to sway even more violently in her back. Wait, her tails? One, two, three, four, five…
"Yoko," I called her out. "Why are your nine tails out? Aren't you supposed to hide them?"
Turning her gaze to me, she narrowed her eyes before giving a quick glance in her back. She didn't even notice?
"Oops~! My bad, my bad!" She exclaimed as she made her tails disappear. "I got a little excited thinking about something, I forgot about self-control!"
Excited…?
"What did you hear?" I asked.
Without answering anything, a broad smile stretched on her face, slowly revealing all her teeth.
"Hey, Harri, want some action?"
I narrowed my eyes. "You know we can't fight, right?"
"Oh, come on! Not everything is about fighting!" She answered with a wry smile. "Let's have a truce! I found something much more interesting to do!"
"A truce? Of all people, to think you would be the one to call for a truce… What are you thinking of doing?"
"Just doing a little favor to the Creator!"
A wicked grin appeared on her face, stretching from one side to the other, showing every single tooth. I know this smile. It doesn't bode well for anyone. It's the same smile she always make when she's about to do one of her nasty pranks.
"Whatever you're thinking of doing, are you sure you're doing this for the Creator and not for yourself?" I asked, clearly showing my mistrust. "To me, it looks like you're quite enjoying the situation."
"Eh~! Come on, I haven't told you anything yet! How can you be judging so fast?" Her voice didn't match her expressions. There was a slight hint of concern in her tone, but the grin on her face suggested that her confidence didn't falter.
"Well, do tell. I'm listening." I said as I cross my arms. "I'm curious to hear what you deemed interesting enough to call for a truce. However, know that if you don't manage to convince me, I will not cooperate and immediately spill the beans. So, what did you hear?"
As her smile kept stretching wider and wider, she started to explain everything to me.
[Lynett POV]
One hour. It's the time it took for us to set the terms and the conditions of the deal. I knew that my uncle was probably up to something, but at least, this way, he won't be able to manipulate the terms of the agreement to his advantage.
Still, no matter how much I thought about it, I just couldn't think of any catch. I'm pretty sure there is some kind of trap, but it's still worth the risk.
I always thought that everything would be solved once brother reached the legal adult age. Even if he chose not to renounce to his legacy, as a proper adult, my uncle would no longer have absolute control over him. He would probably have found a way to protect mother too. But technically, mother is already free. However, I know that she won't leave this mansion as long as we're here. And waiting for me to also reach the age of majority is not an option. My uncle pretty much stated that he won't wait until then to carry out whatever his evil plans are. And even if I manage to break off the engagement, even if I manage to reach adulthood without any problems, to be honest, unlike brother, as a female, I'm not sure my wishes will be worth anything against the will of the head of the house.
So it's a dead-end. As long as he is still alive, according to the law, my uncle will always have some control over mother and me. And fleeing or killing him aren't an option either. I can't see how having to deal with the authorities can end up in a good way. So in the end, the only way to get rid of him without causing any commotion is to have him grant me my freedom on his own will.
Well, I'm saying 'granting freedom', but actually, it's just him disowning me. Even if I'm the previous Marquis' daughter, since father is no longer here, he does have this power. This way, he's cutting all ties with me and mother and won't be able to control our lives any longer. And to make sure he wouldn't take advantage of the future difference between our statuses, I made him swear not to use his authority against us.
I took precautions in defining all the conditions of the deal, which is why it took so long for him to complete his [Oath], but at least, now I'm sure he won't go back on his word. Since it's a sacred promise, an Oath can't be broken easily. To be honest, no one really knows what happens when an Oath is broken since there was no one to tell -anyone having broken an Oath before having either disappeared or completely lost their sanity. However, there were enough rumors to dissuade anyone to break one again.
Still, my side of the deal was so simple while his side had so many conditions. The fact that the deal seemed so one-sided only made me feel even more ill-at-ease. My uncle seemed so relax about all this that it made it clear that he was up to something.
If I could force him to talk, things would be much easier. But for some reasons, the [World System] won't let me use Mind Magic. I guess I could torture him but… Well, not only it's way too drastic, and I'm not so barbaric that I would torture someone without any substantial proof, but any confessions obtained under torture must be taken with a grain of salt. So I guess I'll just play along. For now, everything is at my advantage. If Uncle Jack tries to do something, I'll just have to deal with it… probably.
Right now, I need to inform Yoko and Harri about the situation. Thinking about it, it's been over an hour that I left them alone. I hope they didn't do anything. They were still fighting when I left, and none of them are patient enough to stay still for over an hour. I guess I can expect some mess… However, surprisingly, when I arrived, I didn't see any damages. No broken dishes, no chair upside down, nothing. They were just sitting there, under the sunshade, around a cup of tea.
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Note from Ozen_Ice: Yo Guy, I'll be updating on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays. Thanks to FuenfPfund, Lucid_, Hi81 and Akagifromjapan for the power stones.