“Underhanded methods often give undesirable results in the end. Reputation, honesty, and fairness are my policy when conducting business.”
Madam Lexene serenely sipped the tea in her hands. Her lips lightly smacked in satisfaction.
“I must say, very impressive. What is your goal? Creating this merchant empire on the first floor. Just what are you getting out of it? Who taught you all of this?”
Grandpa Lian’s gaze was full of thought.
“Well… if I must say, my name is Lexene Alkast, maybe you’ve heard of the Alkasts.”
Grandpa Lian nearly choked on his tea after hearing the name Alkast. After a series of coughs he replied.
“Of course I’ve heard of the Alkasts, the most prominent merchanting guild within the entire tower. The guild head, old man Alkast, is a true visionary.”
“Yes he is. That man is my grandfather. Although, I was disowned many years ago, so I don’t use the Alkast name. Perhaps in public he might come off as kind, but privately—he’s as ruthless as it gets.”
Grandpa Lian leaned back in his chair. His eyes flashed with a certain level of understanding.
“I see. Everyone has their secrets, and their darker side. What caused the falling out?”
“Marriage is used as a tool within the Alkast family. I was not able to be married, mostly for my own reasons. After this was confirmed, that was the end of it. If I wasn’t able to follow the Alkast way, then I was dismissed to find my own way.”
“I’m sorry, it must have been a difficult time for you.”
Grandpa Lian’s eyes sparkled full of wisdom. He could sense there was more to the story, but it was unlikely he would be able to pry further.
“Don’t mention it. Although, that girl of yours is quite lucky to have such an understanding grandfather.”
“Ho-ho, indeed!”
“If anything catches her eye, I would be happy to part with any of my objects should she fancy it. A token of goodwill.”
Madam Lexene’s normally passive face gave a light smile. If there was one thing she enjoyed other than tormenting her subjects, it was establishing good business connections.
“I will be sure to let her know. Speaking of which, where has my little angel run off—”
A massive pressure descended onto the room, cutting Grandpa Lian’s sentence short. Grandpa Lian, Elder Bai, and Madam Lexene all bore shocked expressions and widened eyes.
The air became thick and heavy, even tangible, like a torrential waterfall descending from the heavens. Just as quickly as it came, the impossible aura disappeared.
Grandpa Lian and Elder Bai sat still with solemn expressions. Their eyes locked onto each other, both sharing the same thought.
“She’s angry.”
Elder Bai muttered.
“W-What? Who?!”
Madam Lexene frantically stood up after regaining her freedom. Her heart raced with a deep fear that the other’s couldn’t comprehend.
During that brief moment of pressure, Madam Lexene witnessed a vision.
Cast into the depths of an endless chasm, only a pale light illuminated her immediate vicinity. She stared off into the distance, into the darkness, alone and terrified.
Just as her anxiety reached its peak, two massive blood red eyes shone within the depths of the abyss. She stared at them in horror, and they disdainfully stared back.
The nefarious eyes blinked, and Madam Lexene found herself back in her chair!
The insurmountable presence was no longer there, but the seed of fear was already nestled deep in her heart.
“Madam Lexene, is there anything we should know about?”
Grandpa Lian narrowed his eyes, while Elder Bai crossed his arms. They gave her a strange look. After all, she previously gave them both a favorable impression.
“I… no, I don’t have. I mean, I-I have…”
The scene of a particular servant in chains flashed across her mind.
“N-No! I-I have done nothing wrong!”
Before the two aged men could speak, the floor shook beneath them. Shouts of alarm could be heard all throughout the mansion as the guards and servants panicked.
“A strange fire! Everyone evacuate!”
“The west wing is in flames!”
“Where’s the Madam!?”
Guards and servants alike poured into the room, spreading chaos and panic. Grandpa Lian and Elder Bai calmly observed the scene as if it had nothing to do with them.
On the other hand, Madam Lexene’s thoughts were a complete mess! Before she had time to digest the vision, she now had to settle this chaotic situation!
“Ugh… Lupeng!”
She yelled for the guard captain. A man quickly came forward and saluted.
“Get this under control, right now! I want all of my servants safe and accounted for!”
“Yes ma’am! Er… also… him?”
An uneasy feeling suddenly descended upon the guard captain. He looked up to find Madam Lexene’s eyes glowing dangerously.
He could sense it. Should he speak another word—he would die.
“Right away ma’am! Guards, take care of the fire! Sonne! Tianli! Marcel!”
“Here!”
“I’m here too…”
Sonne came forward, followed by Tianli, who was unraveling a cooking apron tied around his waist.
“Great… where’s Marcel?”
“Here! Here! I’m here!”
A young man burst through the door in a panic. A hint of drowsiness could be seen in his eyes. Sleeping on the job! Who knew what untold punishment awaited him should it be found out!
“Let’s go—”
“Wait.”
Madam Lexene stood between Lupeng and Marcel and turned to the servant.
“Where is that girl?”
“I… what girl?”
Marcel gave a nervous response. He even tried recalling who the two older men were, but he couldn’t remember anything!
----------------------------------------
“Humm, hum, hummm…”
The young girl clutched onto the broken body within her arms. A wreath of flames expanded outward from her feet with every step and threads of fire wisped in and out of existence in the air around her.
She pushed the boy’s head closer to her chest and hummed quietly. It was a soothing tune, one that she dreamed of fondly.
The walls and overarching bannisters caught fire as she passed by. Paintings swiftly melted, along with the other various decorations on display.
Lamps, and other light fixtures, shattered under the heat. The destroyed lighting was replaced by the chaotic white flames blossoming in the dark.
A crown of gold-white flames floated above the girl’s head, while the faint outline of wings flapped behind her restlessly. Her eyes crackled with lightning and burned with calm fury, but her voice still hummed the same soothing tune.
In the distance, she heard the shouts and cries of panic, but she didn’t care.
She preferred it that way, even wishing to set loose the fires of destruction and see the whole manor burn to the ground with everyone inside it. However, wanton killing would not ease her pain.
She closed in on her destination. Voices sounded off in the room ahead.
“Where is that girl?”
“I… what girl?”
She could hear the fear in the servant’s voice, a detail she missed earlier in the day. The fires around her body disappeared, and as calmly as ever, she opened the door.
“I’m here.”
At this moment, she looked just the same as when she first arrived. However, behind her was a hallway set ablaze!
The firelight reflected in the crowd’s shocked eyes. She nonchalantly closed the door behind her.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“E-Evacuate!”
Lupeng roared and ushered the guards and servants out of the room. He almost looked like a cricket with how fast he jumped around.
Soon, only Madam Lexene remained with three guests and her unconscious servant.
“Elder Bai, would you say that’s the boy?”
Grandpa Lian elbowed the man next to him.
“I couldn’t tell you. I didn’t get a good look at him before. Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t.”
“Useless.”
Grandpa Lian snorted, but they both understood that he didn’t mean it.
“T-That’s my servant. Thank you for saving him from the fire.”
Madam Lexene stood tall and extended her arms forward. She hid her fear of the torrential inferno, despite the licks of fire that invaded the room through the cracks of the doorway.
“Oh?”
The girl responded in amusement.
“Here I was thinking how I should kill you. Yet, you have the audacity to ask for what’s mine?”
Although she didn’t speak loudly, everyone in the room could hear her clearly.
“Kill me? Yours?”
Madam Lexene laughed lightly.
“Little girl, you may have some backing, but don’t assume you can steal freely without consequences.”
“Steal?”
Madam Lexene deftly withdrew a piece of parchment. An ancient aura radiated outward.
“A soul contract. I see now…”
“That’s right. This is my soul contract with that boy there. The contract is sanctioned by the tower itself. He signed it willingly.”
Madam Lexene smugly pushed the contract in front of the girl’s face.
“You can read it yourself. The conditions say that he is my slave until the age of 23. Therefore, despite what you may have seen, anything I do to him can’t be considered illegal because he is my property.”
The girl silently stared back with an impassive face.
“What? Too embarrassed to say anything? Again, I thank you for saving him, but can you hand me my property now?”
“No. I’m still thinking of the most satisfying way to kill you.”
“W-What?”
“Ahem!”
Grandpa Lian came between them. Although Madam Lexene only saw her as a mere girl, Grandpa Lian knew just how terrifying this granddaughter of his could be.
“My little flower, you understand the tower is a cruel place. You must also understand that she’s not wrong, that young man is indeed her property, signed mutually. How was she to know what’s yours? Killing is not always the answer.”
Madam Lexene nervously looked between the girl and the old man. From her perspective, it was the old man’s decision whether she lived or died… because he was a tenth-floor monster!
If the Grandpa Lian wished, he could snap her out of existence without breaking a sweat!
At this moment, she could only pray that her good impression was enough to save her life.
“Hmpf.”
The girl rolled her eyes and jerked her head to the side. She extended her hand toward Madam Lexene.
“Contract.”
Seeing that his granddaughter wasn’t about to annihilate the poor woman, Grandpa Lian took a step to the side and gave an internal sigh of relief. He had done what he could, but this wasn’t his problem to intervene in.
“Contract?”
“Yes, transfer the contract to me.”
A moment of silence passed by, before Madam Lexene broke out into laughter!
“Hah! Just why would I do that, little girl?”
“I’ve never met someone so eager to die.”
Just as she said that, the door blocking the hallway burst apart in flames. Suddenly, everyone was able to witness the sea of fire that had taken control of the entire manor.
“Please give me back my servant! At least let us escape this place and let the fire pass!”
Madam Lexene urgently asked the strange girl once again. Her knees quaked in fear, but she refused to leave without her prized possession.
“Lady, you have it wrong.”
The crown of gold-white flames once again materialized over the girl’s head. Wisps of white sparked into existence like deadly fireflies.
Before Madam Lexene could process what was happening, the girl waved her hand—mysteriously snatching the soul contract!
“Give that back!”
Madam Lexene lurched forward but halted just before running into a blistering wall of fire!
“Lady, just what do you know of soul contracts? What is their origin? Is it some delicate formation created in an age long passed?”
The girl opened her palm, and the soul contract floated into the air.
“Sanctioned by the tower you say? Then why are they called soul contracts, and not tower contracts?”
The parchment glowed, and an ethereal aura poured into the contract!
“W-Wait, what are you doing?!”
Madam Lexene’s eyes flashed with shock. She could feel her connection to the contract disappearing! At the same time, a searing pain branded itself onto her core.
“No! This is impossible! Give it back! No, no, no!”
She cried out and desperately stabbed her fingers into the wall of fire. Her fingertips were instantly incinerated before she could even retract her hand!
“Aahh! This can’t be happening, please stop this!”
She kneeled on the floor and clutched her hand. Tears endlessly streamed down her face, but it wasn’t pain in her hand that she was concerned about.
Madam Lexene felt her soul forcefully ripped apart by some intangible energy. A surreal agony stunned her entire body, leaving her gasping on the floor.
“Now, according to the contract. Let’s see. Yes, I’m the owner, and he’s the slave. That makes him my property.”
The girl removed the barrier of fire and presented the modified contract to Madam Lexene.
“Sir Lian, is that possible?”
Elder Bai frowned and nudged the man next to him.
“Apparently so. Who would have thought that you could directly manipulate a soul contract. Thousands and thousands of years, and no one has been able to do such a thing.”
“Yet, the young miss did just that.”
“…Apparently so.”
Madam Lexene fearfully read the contract before her. Everything was the same, except one detail.
It was no longer a contract between her and the boy!
Her name wasn’t mentioned anywhere, and even her blood imprint mysteriously disappeared!
“H-How… no… what have you done…”
Madam Lexene’s heart began to beat erratically. She could no longer feel the connection between herself and the boy. It was as if her reality was crumbling around her.
“I can see it, that grey mist.”
The girl knelt onto one knee and peered into Madam Lexene’s eyes. Over the past year, the cloudiness in her eyes became more prolific.
“You’ve been charmed by him for quite some time.”
The girl smirked.
“That boy probably doesn’t understand the concept of charm, but I do. Here, let me show you.
Her eyes glittered a myriad of colors like a sea of sparkling gemstones. At the same time, Madam Lexene’s fearful eyes grew vacant.
“After I leave, you will destroy all soul contracts in your possession, and you will never form another one in your life. Nod for me.”
Madam Lexene listlessly nodded in response.
“You will never understand, but I could have done this from the start. I only wanted you to feel the pain of your soul being ripped asunder.”
The girl snorted before kicking Madam Lexene to the floor, whom of which remained unresponsive, staring at the fiery ceiling.
“We’re leaving.”
The girl turned heel and walked away.
“Ah! Wait, my little angel! At least stop this fire from spreading!”
Grandpa Lian rushed after her with Elder Bai following closely behind. Before exiting the room, Elder Bai glanced back at the collapsed woman on the floor.
Like a thorny rose, lying gracefully in a coffin of white fire, Madam Lexene remained still.
Elder Bai debated rescuing the woman. However, before he could make the decision, a pair of delicate fingers snapped in the air. The once raging flames evaporated as if they had never existed!
With a sigh of relief, he left scene as well.
----------------------------------------
Morning light filtered through the roof of Rose Manor, or what was left it. The aroma of burnt wood and reforged metal was stagnant in the air. The smoke was only barely dissipating.
No singular room of Rose Manor remained unscathed. However, within one such room sat a distraught woman. Her gentle weeps could be heard by the eavesdropping crowd crouched by a broken wall.
The woman was Madam Lexene, and before her were three soul contracts. Each contract was ripped apart, a feat that was only possible for the contract holder.
“Sonne, does this mean we’re free?”
Tianli glanced at the person beside to him.
“Y-Yea… I guess so.”
“I never thought this day would come…”
Tianli and Sonne were in awe at the scene before them. Never once had they witnessed their mistress shed tears, and never did they think they would ever taste freedom again.
As much as they respected Madam Lexene for everything she had done for them, they didn’t truly wish to die for nothing.
“The guards have all left. Let’s get out of here too. Before she changes her mind!”
Sonne whispered and pulled on Tianli’s shirt.
“Yea. Hey Marcel, let’s go.”
Tianli then pulled on Marcel’s shirt, who didn’t budge.
“You guys go on ahead.”
“You’re not coming?”
Sonne and Tianli stared at Marcel in shock.
“I mean, I’ll catch up. Look, I don’t know. I’m just going to confirm some things and stuff. Don’t worry about it. We have our freedom, so let’s celebrate that.”
Marcel then gave the both of them a hug.
“Go on, live your lives to the fullest—I know I’m going to.”
Sonne placed his hand on Marcel’s shoulder.
“Alright, be safe little man.”
Without another word, Sonne and Tianli left Marcel alone beside the ruined wall.
“What am I doing…”
Marcel muttered under his breath as he stalked his former master.
“I’ll just thank her for everything and leave. I can at least do that.”
He got up and inched closer to her, eventually he heard the soft muttering that was inaudible before.
“Gone… he’s… gone…”
Marcel quietly swallowed the lump in his throat and listened carefully.
“Jun… where are you… they took him. Jun… they stole him from me. Get him… back… gone… he’s gone… where are you… they stole him…”
Marcel frowned as he got closer. His magnificent master had been reduced to a mumbling idiot. Like a broken record she continued to repeat the same phrases.
“Just how long as she been like this?”
Marcel whispered to himself.
“Alright, it’s now or never, just thank her and leave.”
He took a deep breath and walked in front of her. Before him, he could clearly see the three soul contracts that had bound their lives to her.
Each contract was cleanly ripped in half!
“Madam Lexene… thank you for everything you’ve done for me.”
Marcel gave her a deep bow and paused.
At this moment, his life was back in her hands. Should she wish to slap him to death, it would be impossible to resist. He held his breath and braced himself for the afterlife, but nothing came.
Instead…
“Jun… get him back… Jun… where…”
Her incoherent mumblings continued. All the courage that Marcel mustered, none of it mattered.
That’s when Marcel realized something crucial—he never mattered.
Marcel stood up straight and looked down at the pathetic woman before him. His fingers twitched, and a certain restlessness traversed his spine.
“But what about me…?”
He muttered back to her.
“What about everything you did to me?”
An unknown emotion filled his heart and soul, but he couldn’t label it yet.
“I gave you everything. You made me into what I am!”
Madam Lexene continued to mumble back the same phrases.
“How can you just ignore me like this?!”
Marcel’s voice grew louder and before he knew it, tears collected at the corners of his eyes.
“I’m talking to you!”
“Hey!”
“Hey!!”
Soon, his body began to quake. The hidden emotion finally revealed itself.
“You… fucking… bitch!”
A slap suddenly resonated throughout the manor!
Marcel’s hand stung with pain. He didn’t expect her face to be so hard!
“I’m talking to you! So you listen!”
His cheeks turned red as he yelled down at her. Another slap echoed throughout the manor!
“You took everything from me! And now! This is all I have left!”
High on adrenaline, Marcel delivered another slap!
“No more will you just ignore me! This time you listen to me!”
Marcel screamed down at her, without ever noticing that her mumbling had long stopped.
“I’m still here! And I’m not leaving! I’m never leaving! Even when I die!”
He lashed out at her again. Just as his hand connected with her face, her eyes flashed open! Marcel panicked upon seeing this, but it was too late to withdrawal his hand!
A final slap resonated throughout the manor! Marcel shrunk back in fear now that reality dumped a bucket of cold water on his head.
Just as he was about to apologize, Madam Lexene tackled him to the floor.
Pinning him by his shoulders, she stared at him with a crazed expression. The previous cloudiness in her eyes had all but disappeared!
Before he could say a word, she slammed her lips against his into a deep kiss!
At this point, Marcel’s mind was muddled with shock, fear, and confusion. He was expecting a swift death, but instead received depraved affection.
Madam Lexene finally pulled her mouth away. A string of saliva briefly formed a bridge between them.
“Do you mean it?”
She whispered down to the young man beneath her and licked her lips.
“Y-Yes?”
In his confusion and fear of death, Marcel could only agree. Apparently, whatever he said or did had worked, but now he had a different problem to deal with.
Everything he said was out of anger, and he had already forgotten most of it!
“Mm, then it’s settled!”
Madam Lexene stood up and helped Marcel off the floor.
“W-What is?”
Marcel nervously asked. Was his death settled? What was settled?!
Madam Lexene gave a cute laugh almost like a giddy schoolgirl, which shocked Marcel to no end. However, no matter how surprised Marcel was, it paled in comparison to her next words.
“Our future, silly. We’ll be together forever now. Right?”
She tucked her hair behind one ear. A gentle blush graced her cheeks as she whispered her next word.
“…Husband?”
Marcel’s heart dropped, but at the same time a certain warmth grew within his chest as if an emotional knot had finally unraveled itself.
He gave her a soft smile and extended his hand forward.
“Anything for you, my love.”
Her hand intertwined with his. Just as it did, an intangible aura enveloped Madam Lexene. It was as if her presence ascended to another level.
Madam Lexene completed her sixth-floor trial.