Lust, like Vengeance, Demands Red 41 Cat and Mouse Game

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Gray screamed at the Last carriage, the head of the convoy.

Hilda Ran and stood in front of the carriage, the driver was startled and barely stopped the animals.

"Everyone get out!" Gray was anxious the chances of Zhi Rui being in this last carriage was minimal but he couldn't let go of the hope, letting go would mean they were played, and she got away.

Only a middle-aged man with a young teen girl came out. Izaya snorted in anger.

Hilda calmly looked at the middle-aged man

"Was there any more carriages with you, did someone went ahead perhaps?"

The man saw Gray and bowed, he pointed to the forest with his chin, and spoke: "One went ahead before everyone else and entered the woods, we do not know more."

Gray growled and kicked a stone, it hit a tree and fell down, the teen girl went behind the middle-aged man in fear.

Gray looked at Hilda "let's go" They jumped right inside the forest to hunt

"When I get that little thing. I'll have fun crushing her."

gray spoke under his breath, they had to look for a carriage in this woods, his annoyance for wasting more than fours hours on a simple job was already too much.

One more hour in the woods when the sun was setting they saw a trail of smoke

They reached the place, a carriage was stationed in a clearing with a person roasting a wild boar. Gray jumped right in the clearing sending dirt and dead leaves all around.

Hilda calmly looks from above the tree.

"Whoa whoa there, you startled me, Steward Gray"

Gray and Hilda saw a young woman with black hair, she was with a hand in her chest as if scared

Gray narrowed his eyes he started walking close to her

"Hey hey you should really pay attention to toy our actions now, they'll influence your fate tonight." Azula, the head of the slaves said, with a cynical smile.

'After while as the leader she becomes twisted' Hilda thought.

Gray stopped, seeing the smile on the girl's face. He clenched his teeth.

He jumped and smashed his knee in her face, she flew directly at the carriage behind her.

"Another nutjob who thinks that little girl is invincible," he spoke

As the dust settled Azula got up holding her broken nose

"Motherfucker it isn't strange that the noblewoman's family you married into. keep you away from her daughter. " Azula said cleaning her blood.

Hilda managed to hold down her laugh.

The veins above Gray's eyes were pulsating "H-How did you?!"

He walked to her again, but Hilda jumped in front of him.

"We're are already late enough, and Zhi Rui obviously put a lot of thought in this. Isn't it better if we go along with it?

Gray barely managed to not shove her out of the way. he looked at her eyes. "You better not hold anymore feeling for that thing, cause I'll mess her up."

Hilda nodded, and turned to Azula, and threw a healing pill, making Gray breath shorten

Azula laughed, "follow me then, I'll drive the carriage to bring you to her."

"No need, just tell me where she is," Gray spoke.

Azula looked at him as if he was an idiot.

"I'm a slave, either I follow her order or I die, and frankly I prefer to be tortured by you then to betray her order.

Gray closed his eyes and slowly nodded.

Hilda barely managed to hold in her laughter this time, she entered the carriage and Gray followed after her.

Azula cleaned the blood on her face and went to the coachman's seat and slowly, tread through the forest.

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They went all the way back to the city Gray went rigid when they reached the place. This whole time Zhi Rui was in the community center, she never left the city. Azula stopped and got off the carriage.

Hilda and Azula looked at his somber expression.

Azula laughed out loud and led the way, Gray calmed his rage and followed with Hilda.

They entered an empty classroom and Azula opened a big entrance in the ground they went down a ramp that led underground. Gray noticed carriages tracks in it but did not comment.

They walked a long tunnel until finally reaching the end.

A Dome shaped space, it looked like a manor without walls.

there was nothing but dirt and torches

In the middle, there was a circular pond, around a meter in diameter and one meter deep it was halfway filled with blood with two people dangling above it they were held up with a rope. But rather than the pain, they had expressions of pleasure in their faces.

There were around five to six corpses piled up to the side.

But gray was looking at a group of people who were laughing merrily to themselves they were naked with feet and hands bounded.

His eyes stayed on the woman and the kid beside her

Zhi Rui stood with a white dress beside the pond she turned around and stood facing him. She saw where his vision went and smiled

"Steward Gray, do you know where the information is at?"

Zhi Rui looked at him.

"With the people, for example, The maids and servants the work on the manor know everything happening in that place. they do have a life of their own, and what do you think they talk about when they practically work the whole day? Yes, they talk about work."

Zhi Rui walked around the blood pond.

"Three days after the community center was opened, I managed to gather knowledge about every noble in this city. Of course nothing much deep. But when a servant hears the beginning of the story, another might have the end of it." all you need is patience, to gather and select all trash information and you might just form something important like. The crown prince's valuable Steward gives money to a family in the slums.

"You're playing with fire girl," Gray spoke sternly

"You're offending the crown prince, the second most powerful person on this empire, and I'm his steward, if you think I will jeopardize my relationship with the crown prince over these two, you're wrong."

Gray put on a benefactor's smile.

"But if you do release them then I might relieve your punishment a little."

Zhi Rui stopped walking than stood on the other side of the pond face to face with Steward Gray she smiled ignoring his words.

"I know you will sacrifice these two if needed. after all, you did leave them to rot, you only started to give money because you found out about your child's talent in cultivation. But o well, I only brought them here to stall for time, in case you reached here too fast. but there's no need for that anymore.

Gray felt a chill on his back, he jumped backward, his arms in front of his face. Clung the sound of metal hitting metal resounded.

He looked at Hilda who was still in front of him, Holding a dagger.

he tore down his sleeves showing his bracelets

He opened his eyes wide "You should have thought better." He pulled back his hands to attack, but Hilda sheathed her dagger.

He felt cold on his neck, he fell to the grounds dizzily he could barely make out the blurry faces. he felt his body moving. After what it felt like a few seconds he woke up.

He could smell blood. He was looking directly inside the pool, he looked down he was on his knees hands bound behind him he looked ahead and saw prince Julius in the same ways as him except he was gagged.

Despair was over his young face.

Gray looked at the distance, Shizu was standing with her sword beside a kneeling Hilda and Zhi Rui stood in front of them.

The truth hit him. 'This girl played us for a fool since the beginning, she was not seducing the prince, but his rank three knight Shizu.

Gray closed his eyes 'We're done.'

Chapter end