Scarlett gently but firmly pushed Victoria away, not coldly but not too gently either.
"Would you stop calling me your master? Was the slap last time not enough?" she asked, a hint of frustration in her voice.
But Victoria merely smiled. "It was just a slap. You can torture me more if you want," she said, hugging herself as if experiencing some kind of ecstasy.
"Besides, I already told you—everything that happens to me is for my greater good. I ended up finding such a wonderful, worthy master like you," she added.
"Wonderful? Worthy? Ahem... I'm not someone to be swayed by praises, even if they come from beautiful womens," Scarlett cleared her throat, her cheeks turning slightly pinkish.
With a loud exhale, she regained her composure, her expression turning serious.
"Forget it. Let's get to the main topic. I came to talk to you about the current situation," Scarlett said solemnly.
"Oh, yes, please speak... No—wait... Let's sit first," Victoria said, turning her gaze around to find a chair, but there was nothing except the yoga carpet.
She immediately dropped to her hands and knees with a happy expression. "Here, sit on me," she offered, already imagining the pleasure of Scarlett sitting on her back. Her breathing grew hot and ragged.
Unfazed by her ridiculous suggestion, Scarlett replied, "How am I supposed to talk to you face to face if you'll be below me?" Her tone was flat and unimpressed.
Victoria froze for a moment and quickly stood up. "Oh my bad... my bad," she said, looking around the room again. This time, instead of a chair, she took two small tables that had decorative items on them.
She immediately removed the items and tossed them to the back of the room, clearing the tables before offering one to Scarlett and keeping one for herself.
Scarlett and Victoria sat down, facing each other for a moment. It was difficult to discern Scarlett's facial expression behind her purple blindfold, so Victoria could only wait patiently.
"You already know about the upcoming war. I have some information regarding it that might help you, but before that, I have a question," Scarlett said.
Before Victoria could ask what it was, Scarlett continued. "Are you serious about this war? I mean, are you ready to go all out and put your life and your people's lives on the line, using every ounce of resolve to win? Or is this just a distraction? If your side wins, that's fine, but if you start losing, will you flee and never return?" she questioned.
She wanted to gauge how determined and dedicated Victoria truly was to this upcoming war. She also wanted to use fewer words for her question, but it was difficult to convey her intentions with brevity.
Hearing her question, Victoria immediately shook her head. "Of course not! I'm completely dedicated. Besides, this is my master's war. I'm ready to face any opponent, even if it's the holy knights."
"Your master's war? When did this become my war? If I wasn't saving you and Richard, I might not have been dragged into this mess," Scarlett sighed to herself.
For a moment, she considered her decision to make DreadHaven a human-friendly nation as a potentially fatal mistake.
She had thought that once DreadHaven gained recognition as a human-friendly kingdom, they could trade with other kingdoms, bring professionals from other lands to work for her, and develop DreadHaven even further.
But before that level of trust could develop, she had been dragged into one conflict after another. Who knew how many years it would take to rebuild trust even after this war ended.
If only, instead of all this, she had spent her time learning from Miss Lilith how to create a portal connecting this world to her home world.
If she had achieved that, with her high reputation back on Earth, she could have obtained high-level technology and support for DreadHaven.
"If only I hadn't read so many isekai novels and webtoons," she sighed to herself in regret.
Scarlett subconsciously glanced at Victoria, who was looking at her with wide eyes, waiting for her to say something.
Scarlett immediately snapped back to reality, realizing she had been talking to herself and forgotten Victoria was there.
"Well, it's good that you're determined," she said.
"From the information I gathered, Almeida is planning to attack you tomorrow night, to be precise," she added.
Victoria nodded. "Yes, I know that as well. Our scouts already informed us that they're marching, and we also received their letter regarding the upcoming war and the set of terms and rules of how it should be conducted."
"Wait, there are terms and rules for war?" Scarlett asked, feeling genuinely confused.
Why would there be terms and conditions for war? Weren't wars supposed to be barbaric, where people tear each other apart?
"It seems because you're an ancient creature, you're not aware of current warfare," Victoria said calmly.
"Ancient creature?" Scarlett thought to herself, not knowing whether to feel good about it or offended, considering she had just recently turned eighteen years old.
"There are established rules for warfare so we aren't considered barbaric and heretical. Such as prohibiting the killing of women, children, and the elderly—in short, do not target normal civilians. Those who surrender can be imprisoned but not killed. A designated time will be set for meals when neither party is allowed to fight or launch sneak attacks," she explained.
"There are a few more, but these are the common ones. Of course, at some point in a war, these rules are bound to be broken, but for starters, we'll have to follow them," she added.
"Oh, that's a lot to take in," Scarlett said. "Will Mystveil send me a letter as well?"
Victoria shook her head. "You're already considered a heretic, so there's no need for them to follow the rules with you."
"Fuck holy knights and Mystveil," Scarlett cursed.
She immediately regained her composure. "Ahem... Well, it's good that you know. About the other matter, Almeida's army will be backed by a few holy knight members, but all of them will be from the sub-branch."
Victoria's eyes lit up with interest immediately. "Oh, that's quite good news. I was thinking we would have to fight against a real holy knight member, or maybe two."
"They're still from the holy knights, you know. Did you forget those sub-branch holy knights almost killed you?" Scarlett added.
"I know, those twins... But that's where my confidence comes from. Those two were the strongest from the sub-branch, and their incredible luck was what held me off. The others might not be a match for me," she answered. It wasn't blind belief but genuine self-confidence.
"Still, Fully underestimating an opponent is never a good thing," Scarlett replied.
Scarlett had something close to a trauma related to fully underestimating her opponents.
The first time, she underestimated Aoto, who eventually grew to beat her in fights consistently.
The second time, she underestimated a nasty-looking old man, which eventually led to her being kidnapped, tortured, becoming a woman, and still craving revenge.
The third time, she underestimated the third demon king. Instead of using nuclear magic or her unnatural eyes that defied all logic, she went to punch him physically.
She ended up getting punched instead and literally thrown outside the galaxy.
Meanwhile, hearing Scarlett's response, Victoria only smiled. "Oww... you're worried about me?" she said, leaning closer to hug her again.
But Scarlett immediately pushed her away. "Don't get too clingy."
Victoria pulled back to her seat with a disappointed expression. "What's wrong with being clingy? I want your scent on me."
"Hmph... Today you're being clingy, and tomorrow you'll ask to marry me. I already have enough of this marriage bullshit," Scarlett muttered to herself, feeling frustrated.
But her murmuring was too loud to keep her words to herself.
Victoria immediately showed a firm expression, using her hands to make a cross gesture.
"Of course not. Marriage makes two people equal terms. A slave shouldn't dare to show itself as equal to its master. Never."
"Again with the slave thing... Well, I guess that's a good thing," Scarlett sighed to herself and decided not to dwell on the matter further.
"Back to the topic, actually this doesn't really have anything to do with you, but I think you at least deserve to know," Scarlett added.
With that, she explained to Victoria the hidden motive behind the reason the holy knights and Mystveil were waging war.
After hearing Scarlett's words, Victoria's face darkened slightly. She looked quite angry herself.
"Those bastards! So the human disappearances in my kingdom were actually because of them? People were blaming me, saying I was trying to reform this kingdom into beast-kin only," she said.
Somehow, the expression was quite familiar to Scarlett, because she herself had felt the same way when she was framed by the holy knights and Mystveil as well.
Victoria takes a deep breath, slowly calming herself down. "If I had known this before, but this clearly indicates that I have far more traitors than I assumed. Just let me get through this war once, I'll kill every hidden traitor," she says, clenching her fist tightly.
"Good luck with your goal. I'll be going now. Mystveil is planning to attack DreadHaven, and I need to oversee the situation there as well," Scarlett says, standing up from her seat.
Victoria stands as well, hesitating for a moment before speaking.
"Actually, I need to give you some information as well," she says.
"What is it?" Scarlett asks.
"Well, it's a secret between rulers. The Holy Knights don't actually worship a goddess but a true dragon instead. Although I don't know which one, they only fool the whole world by claiming to be the goddess's envoys and saviors of humanity. There's no one more selfish than them."
"Yes, I know," Scarlett nods.
Aoto had told her about this, and she had already pieced together that the true dragon they worship is most likely Sylvania Yogsothoth.
Scarlett turns around, waving her hand. "Also, if you need any assistance, you can contact Kroenen or directly send someone to DreadHaven," she says, ready to open her wings to depart.
"W-wait," Victoria stops her again.
"Now what?"
"Umm..." Victoria hesitates again, looking back and forth before kneeling on the ground, her head low, not making eye contact at all. She takes out something from behind her back and presents it with both hands.
She was holding a slave collar with a long chain attached to it.
"You can slap me as many times as you want. I'll be a good queen too, just like you told me to, but... but please put this on me, Master!" she says, her tone desperate.
Scarlett freezes for a second, forgetting whether to be angry or to sigh in boredom.
A few moments pass by, with Victoria still kneeling, her hands tight but shaking slightly.
"Tch..." Scarlett finally takes a step forward and grabs the slave collar, then swiftly puts it around Victoria's neck.
"Yes—" Victoria blurts out happily, but then realization dawns on her.
It wasn't the slave collar she expected, but a fancy choker with an intricate design and a chain hanging down from the front, similar to the slave collar, but much shorter than the long chain of a real one.
Actually, Scarlett had already anticipated this situation in case Victoria insisted on being a slave. She had seen Victoria's madness at the banquet and knew one slap wouldn't be enough to deter her. So she had bought this choker before coming here, to fulfill the minimum requirement while maintaining some boundaries.
Victoria looks up at Scarlett with confusion.
"You've already degraded yourself into a slave, so there's no need for a real slave collar, but—" Scarlett stops, the room suddenly growing colder. It becomes harder for Victoria to breathe.
Scarlett's gaze, despite the blindfold, feels incredibly heavy.
"Now that we are allies, don't ever think of betraying me," she warns.
With that, Scarlett opens her magnificent wings, flying into the air through the balcony without looking back.
After flying for a few seconds, she directly teleports to DreadHaven to assess the situation there.
Meanwhile, Victoria remains kneeling on the floor, her eyes not blinking at all.
This is the first time she's actually seen Scarlett use her wings—six magnificent wings with a purple shade, with the sunlight reflecting Scarlett's figure.
It was just too holy.
"A... a goddess!"