Chapter 574: Second Progenitor, And The Queen Of Witches. 2
"What deal did you make with Diablo?"
Victor had to applaud himself internally; everything he'd done so far, absolutely everything, was because of that question, his friendly attitude, the neutral conversation, even covering the entire place with the Power of Ice so that he had the reflection of Witch everywhere he looked.
Everything was for that moment, and the Witch didn't even blink at the sudden question.
'She sure is a tough nut to crack.'
Victor looked back at Evie, and all he read in her body language was confusion.
"What are you talking about?"
Victor didn't answer; he just flashed a gentle, seductive smile that sent shivers down Evie's spine; those eyes were as if they could pierce her entire existence and know all her secrets.
It was very troublesome to deal with such a being.
She felt like everything she learned in acting, and as a Faction Leader for years, was being put to the test now; not even Vlad could make her feel this way.
"I must admit, you did better than I expected."
"Huh?"
"Even Vlad would have shown some reaction, be it his body language, fluctuations in his energy, his heartbeat, or even his expression."
"But you? You remained completely calm as if what I asked was not known to you."
"As expected of the woman who has been playing with the Gods for years."
"...Are you delusional, Alucard?" Evie narrowed his eyes:
"If you called me to talk just to accuse me of something meaningless, I'd rather withdraw; I don't have time to waste on this nonsense." Her eyes grew in intensity.
"I have a Kingdom to rule and a daughter to look after."
'Whoa, just... Whoa, I almost believed her act; she is really very good.' Victor thought inwardly.
"Emily Moriarty gave me everything I needed to know, even if I didn't get to talk to her for very long."
Evie felt immense annoyance now because she could fully imagine the situation where the man could ask simple, kind questions that had double or even triple meanings for the girl. Yet, the girl would answer honestly without knowing she was being lied to, all because she fell for his Charm from the start.
A mistake her daughter wouldn't have made before. Even if the Victor she'd seen at the meeting met her daughter, she would still have confidence that the teachings she taught her daughter would prevail. But Fate and luck seemed to be against them here.
In a matter of days, the man had changed entirely; his presence had utterly changed.
It may seem that she made a rash decision in allowing Emily to meet with Victor, but someone had to give her credit that she was unaware of Victor's capabilities.
She didn't know he was so observant; she didn't know he had this new 'look'; it was all just bad luck!
"Are you done thinking?"
Her thoughts cleared, and she saw that man's hateful smile.
"Again, I don't know what-."
"Your control over your body language slipped, Queen." Victor pointed his finger.
Evie stopped talking and looked to where his finger was pointing, and she saw herself gripping her throne much tighter than usual.
'When did I do this?' Evie turned her gaze to Victor and saw him smiling at her as if he understood everything.
It was at this moment that she understood:
'This man is dangerous! In more ways than one!' Evie felt she was dealing with someone of the same type as herself, and a sense of incongruity went through her heart.
She knew this feeling. When she was younger and her Mother taught her Magic, she remembered that she could never hide anything from her Mother. By Holy Magic, even today, as Queen, she couldn't hide anything from her Mother.
And the worst part of it? Her Mother simply found out everything she wanted from Evie. She didn't intrude on her reign with spies and traitors to gather information; she merely needed to speak to Evie herself to find out all she needed.
'He's like my mother.' When that thought came to fruition in her mind,
A cold feeling seeped into her entire existence.
"Huuuu, you are exhausting to deal with." She visibly sighed. She had a bit of a headache from using her brain too much.
"Hmm? But I did not do anything." He flashed an innocent smile:
"I just pointed out the obvious."
"Whatever." She snorted.
"And? What deal did you make with Diablo?"
"Nothing."
"Oh?"
"The last deal I made with Diablo was a request from the Demons to place 'barriers' in some places on the planet; these barriers only keep away those unaware of Supernatural Beings. After that, I had no further contact with him."
[Lies!!!] Roxanne practically screamed.
[Press 'X' to doubt.] Eve followed.
The Maids started shouting similar things as they watched Evie from the giant screen.
[...That woman is impressive...] Kaguya couldn't help but mutter in disbelief, completely ignoring the noisy Maids.
The Maids stopped screaming and looked at Kaguya in confusion, and the Chief Maid soon continued:
[She made such an elaborate and meticulous plan that if anyone doubted her involvement in this war, she would say this line, and if anyone accused her further, she would use the victim card, something like that.]
[My daughter was kidnapped. Do you think I will work with someone who kidnapped my daughter?!"] She perfectly imitated the Witch's voice and attitude, leaving her companion-Maids impressed.
[... In this way, not only does she profit from the war, but she also maintains her 'neutrality' status with all Factions.]
When Kaguya finished explaining, the shadow world fell into pure silence.
[Her plan doesn't end there, my Maid.] Finally, Victor spoke, catching the girls' attention.
[The Divine Artifacts that even 'Mortals' can use. When I heard that description when I learned what Vlad wanted, I couldn't get it out of my head... A whole Pantheon destroyed, thousands of Divine Artifacts lost, who else will profit from owning those kinds of Artifacts?]
[Who would be so daring to steal from the Gods?]
[The Witches] Everyone spoke simultaneously, feeling even more disbelieving.
[Indeed, they would never miss this chance, and the funny part is that no one can accuse her of doing this because there is literally no proof of her involvement, and she has the perfect alibi and the 'victim letter'. ]
Victor's smile grew wider; he didn't respond or comment on anything Evie said.
"Hahaha...haha...haha... HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
His laugh started out slow and fleeting, but soon he was laughing like a madman who understood a joke no one else understood.
Honestly, only Evie knew how scary Alucard's laughter was right now. She didn't know why. It was not like he was letting out strong killing intent or showing off his power, he was just sitting there laughing like crazy, but she couldn't help finding this man scary.
Victor put his hand on his face and brushed his hair back:
"Seriously, Evie..."
The Witch Queen visibly squirmed at the man's loving tone.
"You are splendid."
"Eh?"
"You are amazing. Seriously, I have no words to describe how pleased and amused I am with everything." Victor's smile grew even wider, and his eyes glowed blood red.
The man's arousal was visible through his eyes.
It was noteworthy that Evie looked like a deer caught in headlights.
'He found out...? How? When?' Question marks appeared in her head; she was completely confused.
"Haaah," He sighed emotionally: "Just how many steps did you think into the future? Did Diablo think about this with you? Or did you think for yourself?" Victor's head was racing now, and several theories were being created and dismissed simultaneously.
Hearing his words, Evie got chills now. 'Yes, he knows, this is no joke anymore, he knows, he definitely knows! In some fucked up way, he knows!'
Unconsciously, she squeezed the Staff tighter.
"Evie Moriarty."
Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard the man's voice.
Blood-red eyes met magically patterned eyes.
"As a reward for saving Emily Moriarty, I want you to train me in the ways of Magic." Victor's eyes gleamed with anticipation, desire, and amusement.
Evie tried, she really tried to find an excuse to refuse, but every attempt led to failure.
She was not stupid; she knew the scheme Victor played on her with those words; she knew that if this man found out about her involvement with Diablo, she would be in grave danger, her position would be in danger, and Arcane would be in danger.
Even if she had everything thoroughly planned out, even if she had the perfect alibi, the perfect excuse, she understood that in the Supernatural World, sometimes that just wasn't enough.
If a God stole from a human, and the human had evidence against him, would anything happen? Of course not; the God would win.
Why?
Because the God was strong.
The Law of The Fittest. That was how the Supernatural World operated.
Even if she had proof and perfect excuses, she knew that if Victor opened his mouth to groups that hated the Witches with all their might.
Those forces would take advantage of this mess caused by Diablo to try to do something against Arcane.
Victor understood that, and so did Evie.
Evie had to shut Victor up; she had to keep him in check until this whole Diablo mess stabilized.
Gritting her teeth in frustration, she tried to smile as she answered his demand:
"... Okay... I'll train you."
Victor's smile grew, different than usual; it was a sadistic smile; his whole body had an existential orgasm; he loved the expression the woman was wearing now.
"Thank you for this opportunity, Master~."
"Y-Yeah, it's a pleasure…." She almost spat out the following words in disgust and frustration, to the existential satisfaction of Victor:
"Disciple."
'Haah~, I'm hard.'
....
