Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

That was how thorough their plan was. It even reached the innermost circle that the king trusted. No wonder the Kingdom of Ellesmere fell into ruins. Simon could only offer words of consolation; however, he couldn't show any empathy.

"Princess…"

"I'm alright"

After regaining her composure, she gestured towards Alvara that she was fine before placing her gaze towards Simon.

"Master Simon…" This was the very same words of address she used when meeting Simon for the very first time. However, the meaning behind these very same words has changed completely now.

"You told me that you would help me take the kingdom back. However, can I ask you why you are doing so? What motive do you have behind helping us? What do you want in exchange? Surely you don't want me to believe that you are doing all this out of the goodness of your heart right?".

The smile on Simon's lips grew wider, things proceeded really faster when the other party was a clever person. Should he say as expected of the woman who even while being on her own, built the kingdom's biggest merchant guild all on her own?

Well, the more talented she was, it was a good thing for Simon. After all, he wouldn't want an incompetent person to lead his plans.

"My motive huh, before I answer that question, let me put a few things straight first. From what I came to understand from your words, your kingdom is destined for doom. All the major factions are either supporting the first prince or the second prince. As for the third prince, he already left the kingdom to achieve greater martial power"

"As for your own forces, it has either been ceased or forced to bow to the other princes. In a situation like this, it would not be an exaggeration to say that I am your only backing. Without my aid, you would only be meeting a miserable fate if you go back out there. Given all of that, it is clear that I am doing most of the work for a kingdom and its people that are not my own. Don't you think it's a little or to say not fair at all?"

"Now, to answer your question, why am I helping you? What are my motives… the answer is simple, I want everything" Simon declared in a low and distinct manner.

Hearing his words, Cynthia slowly closed her eyes. She did not show much emotion and simply stood there motionless as if she had already expected to hear something like this.

As for Alvara, she looked puzzled for a while, before the meaning meaning behind those words quickly dawned on her. She wanted to argue back; however, even she knew that anything that she could say at this point was meaningless.

Everything that Simon said was true, at this point he was their sole backing and if he did not help them, then they would simply be marching towards their end if they went out now. However, to give him everything, how was it any different than what the second price was trying to do?

"You… Simon… can't you be a little more flexible? Princess has gone through a lot, if you help her at this point, I'm sure she will definitely repay you in the future"…

Simon only spared Alvara a glance, his eyes continued to stare at Cynthia from starting to end.

"My condition will not change. Of course, it is for Her Highness to decide whether she wants my help or not".

What a joke, what he wanted was not a collaboration but complete control. What's more, he held an overwhelmingly superior ground in this negotiation. So why would he willingly discard his advantage and settle for anything less?

At this moment, Cynthia's delicate eyebrows were tightly locked in a frown. Her palms were pressed against each other as she contemplated something intensely. After a while, she opened her eyes and stared straight at the demon.

"Master Simon… your condition… before I accept it, can I ask you about something?"..

"Go ahead"

He shrugged his shoulders. He was not trying to force her into accepting or anything, it depended entirely on her. Just that based on her answer, his decision would change.

"By everything do you mean also mean that the people and the kingdom…"

"That's right, everything that you own, your life, soul, possession will become mine. That also includes the kingdom and the people living in it" Simon answered with a smile.

"Is there any other question you want to ask me?".

He thought that she would ask him a few more questions and try to gauge his intentions. However, to his surprise, she shook her head and immediately accepted his condition.

"Hoh, since you have accepted my condition, I believe you have no problem with it. Then shall we move forward with our plan".

Now that Cynthia was onboard, Simon offered her his complete support. They started making their strategy and how they should move from this point onwards. Needless to say, their meeting took a long time.

During this whole time, Alvara did not say anything, only offering suggestions when needed.

After a while, Simon got up from his seat and started making some complex signs and symbols using his blood as the ink. The symbols formed an eerie looking circle that floated in the air.

"This is?" Cynthia looked at the circle and asked.

"This is the thing that will make sure everything goes as planned, the Soul Contract that binds you to me. Once you form this Soul Contract with me, you will never be able to betray me nor will you be able to break free from my influence. Moreover, your life and death will be under my control from that point on" He explained while pushing the contract towards Cynthia.

"This… how can you…"

No longer able to calm herself down, Alvara finally spoke up. However, before she could say anything further Cynthia agreed to form the contract.

"What do I need to do?"…

"It's simple, just put a droplet of your blood at the centre of the circle and everything's done". Nodding her head, she used her fingernails to cut her palm and let a few droplets of blood drop into the circle.

The next second, the contract glowed an eerie crimson before disappearing. At the same moment, Cynthia felt some kind of connection form deep into her soul, a mark that would forever be branded into her soul.

"You can go back now, my subordinates will come and inform you when everything is ready".

With that, Cynthia and Alvara were escorted back to the Training Floor they were kept in. Once back inside the residential area, Alvara who kept to herself all this while, finally spoke up.

"Princess although I know this was the only choice available to you, but why did you accept his condition? Not to mention that Soul Contract?".

Her voice attracted the other members.

"You two are back? What is going on?"..

"Why did the demon call you? What was the meeting all about?".

Facing their questions Cynthia remained calm as she answered them one by one.

"What you accepted his conditions? Princess, what are you thinking?"…

"Even though he is someone who helped us, he is in the end still a demon. What happens if he decides to kill all the people of the kingdom after he manages to conquer it. What do we do at that time?".

The atmosphere inside the house was dire with everybody making all kinds of grim faces. Although it was a good thing that the princess that they were supporting was getting aid to reclaim her kingdom back. However, this was literally a deal with the demon.

Cynthia looked at her comrades, their reaction was not a surprise for her as she had already expected this. That said, even after making a deal with the demon there was no obvious change in her expression.

She recalled the conversation she had with Leo moments before she accepted the conditions of the demon.

"Leo, will I be able to save my kingdom if I accept the demon's aid?"…

The soul of the guardian beast Leo who was residing inside her ring answered.

"I have no answer for that. However, what I can tell you is that this demon isn't ordinary, Cynthia. I remember the first time I saw him a few years ago, at that time he wasn't even worth noticing. However, now in just a couple years, he has shown growth that is incomprehensible"

"He has grown so fast that it's beyond scary. What's more, it's not only his strength, the things and resources he has piled up inside his dungeon are something that's not inferior to those old Demon Dukes. So to answer your question if he has the means to help you reclaim your kingdom, then—Yes. The level of power he has amassed is more than enough to take back your kingdom"…

"I see… thank you as always Leo"…

"Don't fret about it, I chose to protect you with my title as the Sacred Beast after all"…

If there was anyone she respected and trusted the most, it would be Leo who had guarded her loyally all this time.

As such, she glanced at her subordinates and spoke with conviction.

"My father died because of them and my country was plunged into despair. The capital is flowing with the blood of the innocent every day. At this point, it does not matter if it's a god or a demon I make a deal with".