As I hung along the outside of Lady Isabel's spire, the white stone felt rough against my skin and the wind whispered in my ear. I faced east, so the light of the setting sun shone against my back. However, I paid little attention to any of that. Instead, I kept my focus on the conversation inside. By some miracle, I gained the opportunity to eavesdrop on Lady Isabel conversing with someone and I intended to make the most of it.

"We were talking about the succubi in the city, my lady," a woman with a bright and cheerful voice said. I believed her name was Carmela.

"Ah, yes," Lady Isabel said, her voice husky and sensual. Well, maybe this wasn't Lady Isabel. However, given the context, I didn't know who else it could be. "Any progress in finding their little hideout?"

"No, my lady," Carmela said in a disappointed tone. "Our people have tried trailing them, but no matter how many we send, the succubi somehow always slip away. So far, the only ones we've discovered are the ones selling those skewers."

Lady Isabel made a disgusted sound.

"Those filthy leeches," she said, her voice dripping with contempt. "How dare they come into my city and steal my prey?"

I gritted my teeth when I heard this. As a House scion, it was Lady Isabel's duty to protect her people. She was no longer the head of House Sandstrike, but her duty remained. The Houses enjoyed many privileges. However, those privileges came with just as many responsibilities. Instead, she viewed people as prey. How disgraceful. Even if she only targeted outsiders, her actions still harmed her people.

"Look on the bright side, my lady," Carmela said. "Their arrival means we have more succubi to consume."

Those words surprised me so much that I almost let go of my hand hold. However, I regained my composure in time.

"True," Lady Isabel said in an amused voice. "However, we need to capture them first. Until then, they're a nuisance." She paused. "Succubi may be filthy demons, but they taste so delicious."

As she spoke about consuming succubi, Lady Isabel's voice took on a new quality. She sounded excited, aroused even. Bile rose up in my throat. Lady Isabel was twisted and monstrous. That much was obvious. Had something changed her? Or had she always been like this?

"Enough about the succubi," Lady Isabel said. "Tell me. Have we made any progress on finding the men who killed my thralls?"

My ears perked up at this.

"No, my lady," Carmela said, sounding frustrated. "The first one, the red-haired man, hasn't been seen since he killed your thrall. As for the plain-faced one… His appearance is too average. There are too many people who look similar to him. Even if we limit our search to outsiders, that's still hundreds of people, if not thousands. Finding him may prove time consuming and difficult."

My mind buzzed with questions. Lady Isabel knew about me? How? When I killed those two gray-cloaked figures, no one witnessed it. So how? Were there other gray-cloaked figures nearby that I missed? No, that didn't make sense. If there were, they would've found me by now.

"Why are there so many nuisances bothering me?" Lady Isabel said with a sigh. "No matter what I try, I can't seem to get rid of them."

"If it's any consolation, you said that your thrall managed to poison the plain-faced man," Carmela said. "We kept an eye out on all the healers in the city, but he hasn't visited any of them. There's a good chance he's already dead."

Lady Isabel snorted.

"Assuming he wasn't alone and didn't have his own healer," she said. "Or maybe he had the right antidote." She sighed again. "It doesn't matter. Keep searching for him, just in case."

"Very well, my lady."

"We found traces of the plain-faced man's blood, correct?" Lady Isabel asked.

"Yes, my lady."

"It's unfortunate," she said. "If I kept one of those demon worshipers alive, I could've forced them to summon a demon to track him down. Killing them all was shortsighted of me."

"Even so, you still gained many benefits, my lady."

"True."

By this point, I had heard enough. It was time for me to leave. While I wanted to stay and listen more, I had been gone for a long while already. Perhaps too long. I needed to get back to avoid drawing undue suspicion towards myself.

I started to climb down. However, when the two continued speaking, my curiosity got the better of me and I stopped climbing.

"Oh, my lady," Carmela said. "I almost forgot. Lord Sandstrike-"

"Silvio," Lady Isabel interrupted. "I already told you. When we're alone, call him Lord Silvio." She clicked her tongue with displeasure. "Ungrateful brat. How dare he force me to step down? Me? His own mother?"

"My apologies, Lady Sandstrike," Carmela said in a contrite tone. "Lord Silvio sent a message asking if you wanted to join everyone for dinner. He said that some important guests arrived, including a scion from House Thorne. Lord César is keeping them company."

"Oh?" Lady Isabel said. "From a collateral family, I assume? I doubt a scion from House Thorne's main family would stoop low enough to accept an invitation from us."

Carmela paused before answering.

"Yes, my lady."

"Interesting. Tell my son that yes, I will join everyone for dinner. Enthralling a scion from House Thorne, even one from a collateral family, could prove useful."

Rage burned inside my heart. Enthralling was a form of demonic magic. It was a powerful version of mind control, where the caster shackled a person's soul and erased their personality, turning them into a puppet.

How dare Lady Isabel even think of laying a hand on Anna? I wanted to climb through the window and snap her neck with my bare hands. However, I held back.

As much as I wanted to kill this bitch, and I did, I didn't know how powerful she was. At a minimum, she was a Fourth Circle wizard like her son. That alone proved challenging. However, there was also Carmela to consider.

Faced with two enemies of unknown strength, it was safer to leave and fight another day. Even so, I found this difficult to swallow. Once more, I lamented my weakness. If I were still a S-rank hunter, I'd be able to kill Lady Isabel and Carmela with ease. Hell, I could even kill them as a Third Star martial artist. It would be challenging, but I could do it.

I took a moment to regain my composure, before I resumed climbing down. However, I was by no means calm. Not by a long shot. Rather, I kept my rage in check and saved it for later. I'd unleash it at the right time.

Lady Isabel and Carmela continued talking, but I paid them no mind. A few minutes later, I returned to the restroom where I left Amando. To my relief, he was still there with a calm expression on his face. It looked like no one had come looking for me yet. Perfect.

I deactivated the invisibility bracelet, appearing close to Amando. He reacted right away and prepared to cast a spell, but stopped when he saw it was me.

"By the gods!" Amando said, putting a hand on his chest. "You almost frightened me to death!"

"Apologies," I said in a clipped tone.

Amando gave me an odd look.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "You look like you want to kill someone."

I gave him a grim smile.

"That's because I do," I said.

Amando studied me for a moment.

"You found something, didn't you?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Lady Isabel… Lady Isabel is a monster," I said. "That's all I'll say for now. My companion and I are in danger. We need to leave right away."

Amando frowned.

"That's going to be difficult," he said. "If you try to leave right now, they'll become suspicious of you. They may even think you're swindlers and lock you up."

True. However, I already took that into account.

"Don't worry," I said. "I have an idea. Go fetch my companion. Tell him that something is wrong with Lady Gabrielle."

I pulled out the vial of mild poison, the one that Marcio helped me acquire. Amando's eyes widened. He let out a whistle.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"That will do it," he said. "I'll be right back."

With that, he headed off. I entered the restroom.

After taking a deep breath, I uncorked the vial and downed the poison within. It took effect right away. My stomach started burning and a wave of weakness washed over my body. I felt dizzy. Perhaps this wasn't the best idea. However, I couldn't think of any other way to get out of Sandstrike Castle without arousing suspicion.

I went to the rest room sink and turned on the faucet-I mean activated the Water elemental crystal. That way, it would seem as if something happened while I was using the restroom. I also hid the vial, so no one would see through my ruse. Afterwards, I pretended to slump to the ground. Well, there wasn't much pretending.

The poison that Marcio helped me acquire was meant to incapacitate rather than kill. However, it proved more potent than I expected. It affected me to this degree even though I was a martial artist and had more endurance than regular humans. If it affected me this much, how much worse would it be for someone weaker? I shuddered to think of it.

No. Nevermind. That wasn't shuddering. I was shivering.

I laid there on the restroom floor for what felt like hours. When Amando returned with Anna, I was close to passing out. Even so, I was still conscious enough to take in my surroundings.

"Gabrielle!" Anna shouted in a panicked tone.

She rushed over to me and pulled me into an embrace, a frantic expression on her face. Even now, despite her disguise, she still smelled like vanilla. I found it reassuring.

"What's wrong?" Anna asked. "What happened to you?"

I shook my head. Rather, I tried to. However, by this point, the poison had left me as helpless as a newborn kitten. Thankfully, I could still speak.

"I don't know," I said, speaking in a higher pitched voice again. "I was using the restroom, when I started to feel sick."

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Lord César standing at the entrance to the restroom. He wore a grim expression on his face. Amando stood behind him.

"Lord Andrew-" Lord César started to say, but Anna interrupted him.

"Lord Cesar," she said, her voice full of menace. "What is the meaning of this?"

Anna looked at him, her eyes full of fury. So much so that Lord César took a step back.

"Pardon?" Lord César asked.

"Gabrielle was fine earlier today," Anna said, her voice controlled despite her apparent fury. "However, almost as soon as we arrived here, something happened to her. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was poisoned. Care to explain?"

Lord César's expression hardened.

"You believe we had a hand in this?" he asked.

Anna nodded in his direction.

"Well?" she asked. "Did you?"

Lord César shook his head.

"We did not," he said. "I swear it on my House's name."

That was the highest oath a House scion could swear. For them, the House was everything. They wouldn't swear on it lightly.

"Very well," Anna said, somewhat mollified. "I believe you."

Lord César relaxed at that.

"However, I need to bring Gabrielle to a healer. So, if you'll excuse me, we're leaving now."

Lord César's expression faltered.

"I assure you, that isn't necessary," he said. "House Sandstrike has its own healer. I can-"

Anna shook her head.

"After what happened, I'd rather not," she said, her implication clear.

Anna gathered me in her arms and picked me up. Under normal circumstances, I would've been embarrassed. However, in my current condition, I didn't care.

"Now," Anna said. "If you'll excuse me."

Lord César wore a reluctant expression. It was clear that he didn't want us to leave. On the other hand, he also seemed concerned about my condition. He kept glancing at me. Try to keep us here, or let us leave. The two desires warred with one another.

"Very well," he said after several moments. "I'll see you out. It's the least I can do."

Anna nodded.

"Thank you, Lord César," she said. "As for what we discussed earlier, I'll send a message to my cousin and see what she thinks of your proposal."

Lord César sighed with relief, though he schooled his expression a moment later.

"Thank you, Lord Andrew," he said. "On behalf of House Sandstrike, I apologize for this incident." He bowed. "I will investigate this matter and get to the bottom of it as soon as possible. You have my word."

"I'll hold you to that, Lord César," Anna said, before leaving the restroom. "Otherwise, I'll hold House Sandstrike accountable."

Lord César blanched, before nodding. I felt a little bad now since I was the one at fault. However, the circumstances forced my hand. Meeting Lady Isabel and letting her enthrall Anna would lead to disaster.

True to his word, Lord César escorted us out of Sandstrike Castle. He offered us a carriage ride back to our inn, which Anna accepted. We would've looked suspicious otherwise.

By some miracle, we made it out without issue. We attracted some attention on our way out, but no one tried to stop us. However, I remained vigilant just in case. Not that there was much else I could do. The mild poison incapacitated me, but left me conscious. I mean, I was dizzy, but still capable of thinking.

Anna and I remained silent during the carriage ride back to our inn. Anna still looked angry, even though we were the only ones in the carriage. Either she was keeping up the act for anyone following us, or she was genuinely angry. I suspected the latter.

Soon, we arrived at our destination. To my surprise, we arrived at the other inn, the one we set up for our trap, instead of the Southside Inn. However, now that I thought about it, this wasn't surprising after all. If someone from House Sandstrike, or one of Lady Isabel's thralls, was following us, we didn't want them to find out about the Southside Inn.

Anna thanked the carriage driver, before carrying me inside the inn. By this point, it was almost evening. The inn should've been bustling. However, since we rented the whole place out, there was no one else here. Even the innkeeper was gone, since we didn't want him to entangle him in our fight. Of course, that never happened since Lord César derailed our earlier plans.

"Are you angry with me?" I asked as soon as we entered the inn. I spoke in a weak voice.

Anna headed towards the stairwell leading to the second floor.

"Of course I'm angry," she said in a heated tone. "You were poisoned a few days ago. Almost as soon as you recovered from that, you ended up poisoned again. At this point, I'm tempted to lock you up so stuff like this stops happening."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I poisoned myself this time."

Anna stopped, her foot on the first step.

"Excuse me?" she asked, glaring down at me.

Maybe it was because of my current outfit, but I decided to act coy.

"Don't be mad at me," I whined. "I'm not feeling good."

Anna looked like she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Why do I feel like an overbearing husband scolding his frail wife?" she asked in a helpless tone.

"I mean, you wanted me to pretend to be soft and delicate," I said. "I'm merely playing my part.

I fluttered my eyelashes at her, though I didn't know how well it worked, considering my current condition.

"Fine," Anna said with a sigh. "I'm not angry at you."

"Promise?"

Anna rolled her eyes.

"I promise." She resumed walking up the stairs. "Now then, why did you poison yourself?"

"We needed to leave Sandstrike Castle without arousing suspicion," I said, my tone growing serious. "This was the only way I could think of."

Anna's gaze sharpened.

"You discovered something."

I gave her a faint nod.

By this point, we reached the second floor and stopped in front of one of the doors. This one led to the room where we had set our trap. Anna opened the door. Inside, we found Leroy and Cally waiting for us. I glanced up. On the ceiling was the runic circle that Cally drew, the one meant to trap a succubus.

"Gabriel!"

"My lord!"

Leroy and Cally spoke at the same time. They rushed over to us.

"What's wrong with him?" Cally asked, a serious expression on her face.

Anna snorted.

"He poisoned himself." She paused. "On purpose."

Leroy and Cally blinked at her, before giving me accusatory glares.

"Why would you do something stupid like that?" Cally demanded.

"To escape Sandstrike Castle," I said. "Don't worry. The poison I took isn't lethal. I'll be fine."

Leroy narrowed his eyes at me.

"I must be the worst bodyguard in the history of bodyguards," he said. "Not only have I failed to save my lord on several occasions, but now my lord is harming himself."

Cally frowned.

"Wait a moment," she said. "Is it the poison that you received from Marcio? Don't you have the antidote for that?"

Anna started, before glaring down at me.

"I forgot to bring it," I said.

Cally scoffed.

"No you didn't," she said. "I remember handing it to you." She snorted. "And before you claim otherwise, this was after you disguised yourself."

Anna narrowed her eyes at me and didn't say anything. I buried my face in her chest to avoid her gaze.

"Honey, she's bullying me," I whined.

I felt everyone staring at me. However, by this point, I was beyond embarrassment. Shame? What was that? Could it feed me? No? Then to hell with it.

Anna's chest rumbled as she chuckled. I felt her lean down and bring her lips near my ear. Her breathing felt ticklish.

"If you wanted me to carry you," she whispered. "You could've just asked."

I buried my face deeper into her chest and didn't respond. Cally made a disgusted sound.

"I'll never understand you two," she said.

Anna shrugged.

"You don't need to," she said. "As long as you're happy for Gabriel and I, that's all that matters."

Cally snorted, but otherwise didn't respond.

"Now," Anna continued. "That's enough playing around, Gabriel. Take the antidote and tell us what you found out."

I pulled my face away from her chest and nodded. With Anna's help I took the antidote. Like the poison, it took effect right away. I felt my strength return within a matter of minutes. Well, some of it. The rest would return after a good night's rest.

Anna put me down. The two of us pulled in chairs from other rooms, while Leroy and Cally sat on the bed. Anna took off her top, revealing a thin undershirt that left little to the imagination.

Nope. This wouldn't do.

I grabbed Anna's top and draped it over her like a cloak, covering her chest. She gave me an amused look.

"What was that for?" she asked.

"No one gets to see you undressed but me," I said.

Anna laughed.

"Really?" she asked. "It's just the four of us. Cally has seen me naked before, and I doubt Leroy is interested in someone like me."

I looked her right in the eyes.

"It doesn't matter," I said. "No one gets to see you undressed but me."

Anna smirked.

"You're cute when you're jealous," she said.

I didn't respond and just kept looking at her. After a few moments, Anna chuckled.

"Very well," she said. "I promise."

I nodded before I looked at the others.

"So," Cally said, a trace of impatience in her voice. "What did you find out?"

I took a deep breath before I began my tale.

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