Chapter 37: The northern lion. (2)

"Our inheritance… Hm…"

Arioch was leaned back in his chair, the finger that was resting against his temple tapping it rhythmically as he looked deep in thought.

"That’s a tough one, honestly. It’s not something we share with the outside world. To suddenly give one to you… I’m not sure if that deal is fair, quite frankly."

He came to a decision eventually, his finger continuing to tap his temple as he flashed Alice a thin and somewhat apologetic smile. But she simply looked at him, matching his expression with a bright smile of her own.

"Really? Because from what I hear you share it quite frequently with the Woodime family. When was the last exchange… six usages two months ago?"

It was a bit of an open secret actually, the Barong family shared their inheritance with the Woodime family of the east so that they could better resist the Dead Lands. In return, the Woodime family supplied the Barong with some things that could only be found in the Dead Lands. Well, it was an open secret among the leaders of the larger families at least, most others would never know about it.

"…You know your things. I wasn’t expecting the Duke to share that with you, that’s a miscalculation on my part."

The thin smile on Arioch’s face vanished as if it had never been there, his finger leaving his temple as he leaned forward, clasping his hands as he looked straight at Alice.

"I was taught that information wins wars, so I like to stay up to date on important things. But I will not have you believe that the duke gave me that information, I detest that misconception."

Arioch could swear that he saw a sneer in Alice’s eyes as she uttered the word duke, but the expression vanished as quickly as it appeared so he couldn’t be entirely sure.

"Right, I’ll apologise for that then. So, what’s the price if I want you to tell me how you learned of it?"

He imagined that it would be a bit of a fruitless endeavour, but he had to at least try to sound out where Alice heard about their secret if it wasn’t from the duke. Naturally, he didn’t throw away the possibility that she was in fact lying to him about her relationship with the duke.

"I’d say four or five Glacial Lions could convince me. What do you say, shall we update the contract?"

Alice’s smile remained the same as she spoke, but Arioch could only click his tongue after hearing the price, leaning back in the chair again.

"No chance I see, that’s a shame. Alright, we’ve played enough, let’s return to the actual deal."

Glacial Lion, they were the offspring of the beast from which the Barong family drew their family insignia. They were the undisputed lords of the frozen lands, and at the moment, the Baron family only actually had two. One was tamed by Arioch’s grandmother and the second was tamed by Arioch himself, and those two lions made up a third of the Glacial Lions that the family had tamed since its forming. Alice was ready for the change, pulling a scroll out of a pocket hidden within her coat.

"Three spies from Francis’ side and one from Marion’s side. I’ll help you get rid of all four. Freedom from the Vritara eyes, and all you need to do is provide one usage of your inheritance."

The contract was already finished in advance, Alice had even signed her name on it already. All Arioch would need to do was sign his own name and their deal would be finalised. But naturally, he took the contract and read it over first, playing with a pen as he questioned Alice without raising his gaze.

"So you’re willing to remove the Vritara’s eyes in the north for a single measly contract, which may I remind you, can only be used by a single person? I must say, doesn’t seem very fair, much less beneficial, for the Vritara family."

Each of the larger families had spies within the other families, that was just the nature of a large family. To cut out those eyes… even if you could get new ones in place after a few years it would still be a massive loss of information. Spies were expensive and hard to get into the large families, they would normally be protected and hidden as best you could. And yet here Alice was, offering their heads on a silver platter.

"Why must everything I do be beneficial for the Vritara family? The Vritara family is not my home, they’re just a stepping stone to reach that home. So, do you agree?"

Arioch raised his head slightly, but the smile on Alice’s face had yet to change from that bright one she showed when she caught him lying. The corners of his lips twitched slightly as that expression slowly seared itself into his mind. Now that, that was unbound confidence and arrogance, enough to make his stomach itch.

"I’m starting to like you, Alice. If you weren’t taken then I wouldn’t mind trying to court you."

His lips spread apart into a wide smile as he slapped the contract down on the table. The pen still spun between his fingers as he leaned forward, resting his elbow on the table.

"How will you do it? I’d prefer it if your actions didn’t end up spreading rumours that we like to torture and murder our own servants."

Noble families, in some cases literally, lived and died on their reputation. No one wanted to work for a family known for abusing and murdering their servants, and losing all your workers was generally the start of a family’s decay. Naturally, Alice had a better plan. Her family was a bunch of bastards, each one in their own different way, but she was a greater bastard than all of them combined.

"Two of the people in my procession work for Francis, they’re here to keep an eye on and sabotage me whenever possible. I’ll have them kill the spies, exactly how will remain a secret."

It was inevitable that Francis would tack men onto her. Her position was slowly growing thanks to her spirits and future titles, if he left her unchecked then she could end up threatening his position. After all, the duke had yet to name a formal successor so he had to be wary of everyone.

Marion had probably also sent at least one person to keep an eye on her, but Marion’s style was only to keep watch. That was all she ever did, she watched on without interfering. Only when it would benefit or harm the family did she step in, nothing else held meaning to her.

"It’s a nice picture, don’t you think? Servants of Francis De Vritara made a mess in the Barong family and even killed their servants. You get rid of the spies and can slander Francis as much as you want, you can even demand reparations, which he will have no choice but to hand over. So, will you help me slap him?"

Arioch felt the pit of his stomach itch again as Alice smiled. Her mouth didn’t move, but the light in her eyes was like fire. The Barong family had always argued with the Vritara family over taxes and import, they were always looking for a chance to take them down a peg. If they worked together with her… Hell, they may be able to take them down three or more pegs in one go.

"Oh yes, Alice, I’m really starting to like you. If that knight ever turns you down, you know where to find me."

Arioch finally lowered the pen and put the tip to the paper, his signature quickly flowing out on the paper. Once he pulled back the pen, the contract tore itself apart and disintegrated into motes of light. Some of the light entered Alice and some entered Arioch, forming a scroll-like mark that only they could see on the back of their hands. Should either of them break the terms in the contract then the mark would activate and extract the agreed upon price. In this case, it would be their right arm and leg.

"Take it."

Arioch dug his hand into his shirt and pulled out a pendant that looked like a crooked fang, tossing it across the table. Alice caught it with an almost snide look at Arioch. He had acted so surprised and against it when she first brought it up, but he still carried it around just in case. He already had a bond with one beast so there was no way he could use this pendant.

"Have the demon in question drop some blood on the left side of the pendant and the controller on the right. The pendant will then merge with you and form the bond, a mark symbolising the controller appearing on the subject. Generally, the controller is the only one who can draw on the power contained within the others’ blood, but if the bond becomes large enough then the demon can draw some power from the controller’s blood. You have the Vritara bloodline so I’d recommend getting a demon that doesn’t already have the water element, that way it has more room to grow down the line. Just make sure to remind the demon that it too will die if the controller does, makes it less likely for them to rebel."

Arioch explained how to use the pendant, which Alice quickly learned could open, much like locket. The inside of the locket, the tooth, was dug out, holding just enough space for a bit of blood on each side.

"Good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I want to clean myself."

She had gotten what she came for so she wasted no time in standing up, coiling the locket around her hand as she turned.

"Ah, just so you know, there’s a bathroom connecting your two rooms. Feel free to use it."

Arioch’s voice reached her as she put her hand on the door. She turned her head slightly to look at him, a proper smile finally dawning on her face.

"Now you’re finally saying some good things."

She opened the door and left Arioch behind, who quickly spat out a long breath as he looked at the closed door, something akin to a smirk hanging on his face as he shook his head.

There weren’t a lot of VIP rooms in this inn so Alice already knew which one belonged to her. As she headed for her room, she opened the locket and drew a bit of her own blood, slotting it into the locket. The blood was absorbed by her half of the necklace so she shut it again, humming to herself as she entered her room.

Some of her things from the carriage were already placed in the room, probably by Teresa, so she had a change of clothes available. She picked out something she could wear for the night and then stepped through the other door in the room, arriving in a large and already warm bathroom. Steaming water was constantly flowing from a cat-like head sculptured from a stone that looked like marble, the pool that filled the centre of the room constantly warm as a result.

There was another door at the other end of the bath, one which Alice simply opened, holding out the change of clothes she had prepared.

"I feel dirty after riding the carriage all day, help me clean up."

Gabriel was in the middle of reading a book about the northern territory when Alice barged in and, in no uncertain terms, told him to join her in the bath. He had already gotten used to this over the years so he wasn’t even shocked anymore, simply closing his book as he stood up.

"Of course, my Lady."

He put aside the book and walked over, joining Alice in the bathroom as he accepted the nightgown she had picked out.

"Red again today, good choice."

The nightgown was light and airy, a stark red colour adorned by cute frills. It wasn’t transparent enough to be considered a negligee, but it still fell a bit outside the realm of normal nightgowns.

"Good, compliment me more."

Alice wasn’t shy about wanting more as she stretched out her arms, Gabriel helping her slip out of the dress she had worn all day. She slipped into the warm water while Gabriel sat down in the groove that had been dug in the floor so that you could sit behind the bathing person to tend to them.

Gabriel started to work on Alice’s hair in a natural manner, gently massaging in the soap while using a soft comb to tend to it. Alice enjoyed the heat and sensation for a while before she spoke up, uncoiling the locket from her hand and holding it towards him.

"Take it. Drop some of your blood on the right side of the locket, I’ve spent quite some time preparing it just for you."

Gabriel accepted the locket, observing it for a moment before he opened it. He dug through his memories but couldn’t recall anything like it, be it from the books he read after coming here or from the time he watched the original show. As for where she had bought it, or gotten it, he had no idea. She had spent some time with Arioch so it wasn’t entirely impossible that he gifted it to her.

"Alright."

But well, it wasn’t like it mattered where it came from. Alice wanted to give it to him, and had prepared it for him, so he would accept it. In this world, just as he was the first one to reach out to her, she was the first one to reach out to him. And in both his lives, she was the second one to do so without asking anything in return. His sister had tried to do the same, but by the time they actually met things were already too late, for both of them. So this dear Lady of his, who asked only for his company, he would trust whatever she gave him.

He was still clothed so he drew out one of the three daggers he always hid on his person and used it to make a quick cut on his index finger, which was generally the finger humans needed the least. The blood that flowed from the wound dripped onto the right side of the locket, momentarily pooling in the groove that had been carved there.

The locket seemed to absorb the blood after a short moment, vibrating quietly for a moment before it burst into two motes of light. One flew directly into Gabriel before he could react while the other sank into Alice. The light gathered in her chest and settled a centimetre or two above her heart, forming a mark that at first glance looked like a spinning octopus. But on a closer look, the octopus was covered in cracks, the pieces sliding apart, but not yet so far apart that what laid behind them could be seen.

It was a strange, and somewhat macabre, mark, but Alice still looked at it tenderly, stroking it with a hand before she leaned her head back and rested it in Gabriel’s hands.