"A friend of mine named Commander."

"Who could that be? Or does he happens to be the master of the castle over there?" she pointed in the general direction of Abd.

Juwaira opened her mouth but couldn't utter a thing. She had never betrayed the trust of anyone that confided in her. Would she break that record now?

Laluri reached out with her knife, ready to slice at one of Bidal's thighs.

"Don't tell them a thing." Bidal cried, her mouth frothing. "Let them kill me."

Juwaira realized then that Bidal's two front teeth were missing, giving her words a lisp. A second ago, she had thought that she reached the limit of her hatred. But now, she felt a greater enmity toward this woman and the so-called Laluri.

One Laluri stabbed the older woman, making blood gush out, and splashed the tent as the woman let out a blood-curdling scream.

The uncharitable maid had targeted a vein that could cost the captive her life very quickly if she wasn't tended to.

"Wait, wait." Juwaira raised her hands in surrender. "I will talk. It is him, yeah. I don't know his real name." She lied and quickly followed it up with the truth, "He intercepted us on our way with Laluri and invited us to his castle with a promise of spiritual ki. He told me about the impending attack after I got to know him."

She realized then that she knew almost nothing about Abdin except what he had told her. It was perhaps for the best because she was going to be forced to say everything this day.

"Hmm?" Munniq arched an elegant eyebrow in confusion. "I don't understand. When did all of this happen?" She looked from Juwaira to Laluri. When had they met with this man without her knowledge?

Laluri shook her head vehemently. "I don't have any recollection of ever meeting with any man named Commander. She is lying." She raised her knife as soon as she said that, ready to have a chunk of Bidal.

"Wait, wait," Juwaira shouted out in despair. "It is true. I didn't lie."

Munniq waved at Laluri to hold on. "When have you met? Explain to me, please."

"In the previous loop," she said through clenched teeth.

Munniq sat up, blinking. "The previous loop?" She echoed the words more to see if she had heard them right. She was sure the princess wasn't lying now, but the words were still new to her.

"Commander has a skill that lets him go back in time when he dies. He found out about your planned attack that way. This is all I know."

A sly grin slowly appeared on Munniq's face. Things were getting more interesting.

She hadn't come across such a skill in her lifetime, but there was always a benefit of seeing a lot. At least, she couldn't dispute the fact of its existence. Hell, she knew someone among the Satedel who could stop time for a few seconds. So, a skill that made someone go back in time wouldn't be much of a surprise to her.

If truly the man called Commander possessed such a skill, then he could certainly fit into her schemes.

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"Let's say I believe you," She said. "Why would he tell you his secret? Don't tell me he is smitten by you."

A coy smile erupted on her face as she said that.

Juwaira sighed. The nerve of her! That she could be imagining this at such a time.

Juwaira was well aware that Munniq might not set them free even if she told her everything. But there was still a slim chance that she would. In other words, hiding the truth was a certain death, and revealing it had a sliver of hope. And hiding the truth meant that her mom would suffer even if they weren't killed on the spot.

No secret was worth more than the blood of her mother.

There was little reason to hide anything after already telling them about the time loop. Her only hope was that Abdin hadn't divulged all of his secrets to her. At least, she couldn't say what she didn't know.

"I will tell you all I know, but promise me that you won't hurt my mom ever again."

"You have my word, I will let her go and no harm shall befall her if you answer all my questions truthfully," She said to Juwaira and then turned to the Laluri pair. "Untie her."

They quickly untied the middle-aged woman and pressed the wound on her thigh that was still oozing. Munniq took a pill from her magic bag and handed it over to Laluri. The maid opened Bidal's mouth and fed the pill to her.

The pill dissolved in her mouth and was instantly absorbed. It circulated through her body within a few moments. The thigh wound knitted itself before their eyes, and her pallid appearance vanished. The blood also continued flowing through her veins.

"There. I have paid my end of the bargain. Now talk."

Bidal shook her head furiously at her daughter. "Don't say anything. I won't forgive you if you do."

Munniq appeared before her and gave her a resounding slap. Her fingers left a vivid mark on Bidal's face, making blood trickle from Bidal's mouth. She fainted a heartbeat later.

Munniq huffed and wiped out her hand with the sleeve of Laluri's dress. "Go ahead now that there isn't anyone to interrupt you," she said.

Juwaira swallowed hard. She couldn't see Munniq's cultivation, however, both of the Laluri were at the peak of the core formation stage. Her early core formation stage cultivation wouldn't help her much at the moment. And she felt woefully under-armed. The smartest thing to do at such a moment was to preserve her life long enough to find the right moment for payback.

"Commander doesn't want to face Silver Mask now," said Juwaira. "They had faced off three times before, each ending with Commander being killed. So we swapped scents with each other."

Silver Mask? Munniq laughed inwardly. She would like to hear what Barahan have to say when he caught them calling him that.

"You still haven't told me why he transferred his scent to you." She went on with her interrogation. "Is it that he couldn't have done so without you knowing?"

Juwaira paused a bit before going on to explain to Munniq how Abdin had invited her into the loop.

"Black Ayrid..." Munniq chewed over this piece of information. And for the first time, her expression changed. Gone was all her glee as she thought this over.

The Black Ayrid was so rare that only a few had ever come across it even in Origin. How had the man called Commander gotten hold of such a seed in this small world?

As for his time loop skill, it was such a dangerous skill that, with just a little touch-up, would transform into a mighty skill that would be of immense help in any situation.

She felt that this man could be of great use in her plans.

"What more do you know about him? Tell me everything you know. You aren't allowed to hide a word of whatever had transpired between you two."

Juwaira, who believed that everything important that she knew about Abdin had been revealed already, went on with her story. She told Munniq all that Abdin had said regarding the previous loops which she had no memory of. She spoke about his visit to Shurein.

"Manisa?" repeated Munniq. "Haha... Tell me about this stepsister of yours. I believe she has the same pretty eyes." She urged with obvious glee.

Juwaira frowned but went on anyway. Abdin's secret marriage was finally brought forward.

"Haha..." Munniq laughed. She had found almost everything she needed. All she had to do was prepare.

No one could tell apart the human golems she made from the original. But to imitate the likeness of Abdin and to rob his skills, she needed his bone marrow, blood, and skin. Getting these shouldn't be too difficult.

But everything would go to naught if the loop reset before she was done with her preparations. More so, she needed to be initiated into the time loop for good measure. That way, she would recall the previous loop whenever Abdin got killed. The only way to do this was to create the perfect golem...

Munniq retreated into deep contemplation.