Chapter 2721: As you command, my Liege!

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, TSR Guild Headquarters

"Hahaha!" I laughed in rage. First Sansa Baylor, and now Catherine M. Margaret. What a fun day.

My eyes settled on Catherine, who kneeled before me with an indifferent expression, as though she were prepared to accept whatever fate awaited her.

"Good, good," I repeated, a sadistic smile forming on my face. "Let us play it your way."

"As your lord, my first command to you is to kill your previous lord, Pax W. Godson."

Everyone present was taken aback by my order. However, once they considered who was receiving it, their surprise shifted into intrigue. They all understood why Catherine had offered her loyalty to me in the first place: it was so Pax would not have to. Rejecting her sacrifice outright would tarnish my image. Even if I didn’t care about my image, Pax wouldn’t want his teacher’s sacrifice to be in vain. In truth, regardless of what I chose, she achieved her objective.

For that very reason, it was obvious to everyone that someone who had acted out of such resolve would not easily carry out the command I had just given. Even so, they remained curious, watching closely to see how Catherine would respond.

To everyone’s astonishment, Catherine simply nodded, accepting the order without hesitation, saying indifferently, "As you command, my Liege."

Catherine rose to her feet and summoned her grimoire into her right hand. Extending her left hand to the side, she grasped the radiance that had been gathering there, condensing it into a long claymore forged entirely of light. In the blink of an eye, she vanished from sight. A loud groan echoed through the air.

When everyone turned toward the sound, their thoughts stalled. Catherine stood before Pax, her light-forged claymore driven cleanly through his heart. Pax had not even attempted to defend himself. He had not believed his teacher would carry out her new liege’s command.

But she had.

Gripping the crossguard, Pax slowly lowered his gaze to the blade of light piercing his chest before lifting his eyes to meet his teacher’s. Disbelief clouded his expression. Even with an energy blade lodged in his heart, he struggled to accept that she had truly gone through with it.

Before anyone could react, I recalled my Limitless Celestial Domain covering the campus and unleashed my Celestial Blood Fate Domain, uttering, "Heal."

At my command, the blood within Pax’s body stirred to life. It surged against Catherine’s blade, forcing the light sword outward inch by inch. Catherine responded instantly, pushing it deeper and twisting it with brutal intent, as though determined to grind his heart into nothing until I ordered her, "Stand down."

She obeyed at once, pulling the blade free from Pax’s chest in a single, merciless motion. With the aid of my blood plague, Pax’s own blood closed the wound, knitting his heart together and sealing the gaping hole in his chest as though it had never been opened.

"Son!" Jack rushed forward in panic, arriving at Pax’s side. I, however, turned toward Catherine and said in amusement, "A ruthless gambler, huh? I’m beginning to see some value in you. But if you think this alone is enough to earn my trust or change my mind, you are sorely mistaken."

Catherine knew that I needed Pax alive tohelp me obtain the coordinates of the New Age Merchant Guild’s headquarters in the physical plane. That meant she must have understood I would intervene before she would have killed Pax.

If that had truly been her calculation, then it was no reckless impulse. It was a measured gamble executed with perfect coldness. And if that was the case, then I had to admit it. She had earned a measure of my respect.

In the face of my skepticism, Catherine remained impassive before speaking. "My lord, I need your trust to better serve."

I chuckled softly and produced a meatball in my palm. Within one of its cells rested my Primordial Calamity Soul Gem. I extended it toward her, saying, "This is how you earn my trust,

As Catherine reached for it, I explained, "If you are truly subservient to me by your own free will and not merely because of your circumstances, you will survive after eating this. If you are lying, you will die, and your body will be refined into a puppet. The choice is yours."

I paused briefly before continuing, "If you come clean now, I will relieve you of your oath. But if you insist on persisting in deceit, then do as you please. Just remember, your previous lord will end up paying for your foolishness."

Catherine met my gaze steadily and confirmed, "If I come out alive after eating this, will I earn your trust?"

Seeing me nod, she ate the meatball without hesitation, and swallowed it whole.

[Your cursed primordial bloodline has deemed the ’Catherine M. Margaret’ primordial calamity daughter gem worthy to inherit it.]

[Your ’Catherine M. Margaret’ primordial calamity daughter gem has inherited your cursed primordial bloodline.

Bloodline Purity: 96%]

[Your ’Catherine M. Margaret’ primordial calamity daughter gem’s authority tier has increased.

Partner-Tier >>> Bloodkin-Tier.]

[Catherine M. Margaret, primordial calamity daughter gem, has inherited your soul trait ’Dual Existence.’ As a result, her soul trait ’Causality Culling,’ has evolved, gaining a new effect, ’Causality Counter.’]

As I read through the series of prompts from my grimoire, I stared at Catherine in subtle shock, wondering since when did the cursed bloodline had begun accepting just anyone. After thinking it through, I arrived at only one possible conclusion: Saintess Catherine had truly been prepared to exchange her life for Pax.

"My Lord, now do you trust me?" Catherine asked after checking herself. Her expression was no longer indifferent or impassive. Instead, it carried an unfathomable devotion that could even be heard in her voice when she addressed me.

"Yeah. And don’t call me ’My Lord.’ I have no intention of starting a cult," I replied with a nod. Since my cursed bloodline had accepted her, I had nothing left to say.

I turned to Pax, informing, "She has paid the price. The rest is up to you. When you’re ready, come to me. I have a way to help you take Henricks to the guild’s headquarters undetected and proceed as we discussed."

Before Pax could respond, Catherine asked eagerly, "My liege, then what would you like me to call you?"

"Huh?" I glanced at her in irritation. "Aurelia and others call me ’boss.’ You can do the same."

"Aye, aye, boss," Catherine said cheerfully, completely ignoring my irritation. Her devotion felt almost too bright and sunny for my taste.

Pax was shocked to see this side of his teacher. She was acting like a bubbly girl in love, nothing like the composed mentor he had known. Deciding it was for the best, he shook his head and agreed, "I will contact you when the time comes. Master Wyatt, thank you for everything."

Taking one last look at his teacher, who now treated him like a stranger, he turned and left with his father. He had no idea what was truly happening, but if this was what his teacher genuinely wanted, then he would accept it. He was happy for her in his own way, and he would forever remember what she had sacrificed for him today and make the New Age Merchant Guild pay for their sins.

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