Silvia's heart pounded in her chest as she rose to her feet, her usually vibrant eyes mirroring her shock. Her previously cheery demeanor was replaced by something else, something that her followers had rarely seen: trepidation.
"H-How did you find Silvia…" Silvia mumbled as she clutched the sides of her frock.
A deceptive serenity played across Sabina's face as she strolled towards Silvia. Her eyes glittered with playful anticipation, "Certain little friends on the way had spotted you, and coincidentally I happened to be near you. Given your tendency to rest and relax, it wasn't that difficult to run into you. The Devils must have known how much you need me," she admitted, her voice melodious.
The confession tightened Silvia's lips into a thin line, her red eyes flickered with regret. She was too careless, and it had cost her this.
However, it wasn't Sabina's words but her proposition that truly threw her off, "Now that we're together, we should form an alliance and continue our journey as a team. Together we will be unstoppable, don't you think?" Sabina suggested casually as if suggesting a mid-afternoon tea.
The color drained from the faces of Silvia's vassals and even more from Silvia.
Her mother wasn't here to protect her or anybody else. She knew if Sabina wanted something, she wouldn't stop until she got it.
One vassal, driven by loyalty, was about to step forward, his lips parting to object, but Sabina, as though reading his intentions, raised her hand to stop him.
She didn't even look at him as her lips curled into a menacing smile, "Tale a step forward, and you might have to worry about your little friend," she warned. The threat, though casually issued, held a deadly seriousness that froze him in his tracks.
His courage seemed to embolden Silvia, who attempted to say, "S-Silvia don't want an alli…" But her words died on her lips as Sabina abruptly closed the distance between them.
Sabina interrupted Silvia, her ghostly red eyes sparkling with a dangerous intensity, "I am afraid I still didn't catch that, dear Silvia. The heat must be getting to me," she said, her tone casual as she gently wiped the sweat that was trickling down Silvia's forehead.
Silvia swallowed hard, doing her best to maintain a veneer of calm, "Silvia…doesn't mind an alliance, not at all," she stammered, "but, you... you don't really need Silvia, do you?"
Sabina's lips curled into a smirk at her words, "Aww," she cooed in a mockingly sweet tone, wrapping an arm around Silvia's shoulders.
She squeezed Silvia closer, her ghostly red eyes sparkling with mirth, "Dear Silvia, don't sell yourself short. With your help, we could progress much faster, maybe even have a chance of stumbling upon 'him.'"
Silvia's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "How exactly can Silvia help us progress faster?" she asked, genuinely clueless since Sabina was very strong.
Sabina rolled her eyes, a small 'tsk' escaping her lips, "Silvi…" she began, reaching out to pinch Silvia's cheek with a mischievous grin, "you have something quite useful inside your head. Try using it better. It's not there just for show, you know."
Silvia felt Sabina turn her around to face the group of demons and captured Hunters that followed her, "Look at them," Sabina began, a teaching tone seeping into her voice, "Capturing Hunters only and having them perform silly tasks is such a waste of resources and time."
With that, she took a step back, releasing Silvia from her grasp, but still maintaining that intense gaze, "The rules of our little quest allow us to double the shards whenever we kill a Hunter, right?" she continued, a sly grin pulling at the corners of her mouth, "All we have to do is capture a weak group of people we don't like from our realm, give them the Deviar Shards we've collected, and then..."
Sabina's words hung in the air for a moment, adding to the suspense before she finally revealed her strategy, "We simply throw them in front of a bunch of Hunters. Once the Hunters have taken the bait, we swoop in and kill them, taking back the Deviar Shards, which now would be in multiples of what we originally had."
As Sabina's plan unfolded, Silvia's eyebrows shot up in surprise. It was simple, yet so brilliant. The thought had never crossed her mind, and it left her feeling slightly foolish.
If she had used this kind of method, then she could have gotten out of this hellish mini-dungeon and advanced to the next faster.
But this made her wonder why Sabina was still in this dungeon if she was employing this strategy.
Silvia voiced her confusion aloud, "If you already have such an effective plan, why do you need Silvia?"
Sabina sighed, her eyes twinkling with a mixture of frustration and excitement, "In theory, the plan sounds great," she began, her tone almost defeated, "But when put into practice, it presents a plethora of challenges." She then added, "The most troubling one is... the shards."
She paused, making sure she had Silvia's full attention before continuing, "The shards can't be transferred or taken forcibly. I wasted a lot of time experimenting with my theory by torturing, scaring them to death...but none of it worked even if they said they wanted to," Her voice became softer, the memory of the failed attempts clearly not sitting well with her, "I thought it would be as simple as coercing them into giving them up. But it turns out, they have to willingly part with the shards."
Sabina's gaze found Silvia's again, a spark of hope dancing in her red eyes, "The mind is a tricky thing that has a will of its own," she stated, her voice carrying a tinge of admiration, "And since you are so experienced playing with them, your expertise is going to make my theory come to fruition."
Silvia never expected Sabina would need her help like this. However, her face paled as she thought about something.
Her mind raced, her eyes shifting uneasily before finally, she stuttered out a question, "And what about...after? What happens to this alliance if we reach the final mini-dungeon and... collect all the shards we need?"
Sabina's smile broadened as she slowly raised her hand and began to stroke Silvia's hair, her touch gentle yet sending shivers down Silvia's spine,
"Well, at that point, dear Silvia," she murmured, her voice soft yet chilling, "I may no longer require our little alliance," Her gaze remained steady on Silvia's as she said with a smile, "You'll be free to do as you wish."
Then her tone took a subtle darker turn as she whispered a seemingly innocent statement into Silvia's ear, "Just... make sure you don't get in my way. I wouldn't want any harm to come to such a cute and lovely young lady like you."
Sabina planted a soft kiss on Silvia's cheek as she turned around with a smile, causing Silvia's nerves to shiver.
Her lips trembled as they pressed into a thin line, her face displaying a mixture of indignation and fear.
She knew all too well that crossing paths with Sabina once the alliance was no longer needed was equivalent to walking into a death trap.
The mere thought of what Sabina might do to her was enough to make her breath hitch, and a thousand horrifying possibilities flooded her mind.
Why did her luck have to be so rotten?
However, her mind suddenly clung onto a previous thread of conversation, and quickly moved to catch up with Sabina, "Silvia also wants to know…Who is this 'he' you are so eager to find?" she asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
Sabina's eyes gleamed with an intoxicating desire as she slowly drew in a breath, a seductive smile curling at the corner of her lips.
Placing her forefinger in her mouth, she sucked on it gently before responding, "Why, who else could it be but our tall and charming Royal Consort?"
Sabina's words were like a soft purr, and her eyes sparkled with anticipation, "It feels like it's been years since I last saw him. I can't wait to concoct another lovely potion with him."
At the mention of Asher, a surge of resentment filled Silvia's heart. Her thoughts raced back to the time when he had openly turned her down and rebuked her, insulting her by calling her a 'small girl'.
That insult had been a slap to her pride, the sting of which she still couldn't forget. No one had ever dared to belittle her in such a manner, and the memory of it still set her blood boiling.
If not for her mother reprimanding her to not talk to him again, she wouldn't have sat still like this. But in this quest, her mother wasn't here, nor was his protector here too.
With an almost desperate gleam in her eyes, Silvia turned to Sabina, a request burning on her tongue, "After you are done with him," she blurted out, the words spilling forth in a rush, "Can... Can Silvia have a turn to play with him?" Her face was lit up with spiteful eagerness.
Sabina's laughter, light and carefree, filled the air around them. However, her words were anything but, "In your dreams..." she said, her voice taking on a chilly tone. A smug grin spread across her face as she continued, "He is mine, and will be mine alone…soon."
With that, Sabina turned on her heel, her silver hair swaying behind her as she strode off, leaving a stunned Silvia in her wake.
Silvia stood rooted to the spot, her gaze fixed on Sabina's retreating figure.
Her hands tugged at her pigtails, her knuckles turning white from the pressure. A bitter taste filled her mouth as a mix of anger, humiliation, and resentment swirled within her, "Silvia...won't let this go..."
