The Devil’s Cage

Bang!

After the door was slammed, Starbeck came back to his senses.

He saw the lady looking at him and was at a loss for what to do next. Then, out of habit, he quickly followed his survival instincts and hid behind a place where he thought was the safest: Kieran’s back.

“You are really kind to your servant!”

Starbeck’s interruption stopped the thief from continuing what she intending to do.

Maybe she didn’t mind trading her body for some help but it didn’t mean she didn’t mind being watched while she did it, especially by a lower ranked servant.

In her eyes, Starbeck was that kind of low rank servant.

However, after being interrupted by this kind of servant, Kieran’s face didn’t even change which caused the thief to had a sense of doubt in her heart.

Kieran who was paying attention to the thief sharply picked up the new doubts she had and he immediately laughed it out.

“Of course! Because he is worth my kindness, his cooking is the best that I’ve ever tasted, second to none!”

Kieran didn’t even hesitate to admit it and directly stated why he was so kind to Starbeck.

The thief though didn’t refute Kieran’s reason because as a normal person with a common sense of smell, when she picked up the flavourful cooking just now, she already acknowledged Starbeck’s cooking.

It was also at that time the thief started to suspect Kieran’s identity.

A common traveling merchant staying in an inconspicuous inn yet how could he have a servant with such extraordinary cooking skills?

Even some of the cooks that served the couple of archpriests in the temples didn’t possess such skills.

While pondering Kieran’s identity, the thief said without showing extra expressions, “You are really a utilitarian.”

“Yup, I am a merchant that upholds utilitarianism, so I hope that you have some things that are worth my kindness as well.” Kieran then looked at the thief again.

“Am I not enough?”

The thief showed an alluring smile and together with her jaded eyes, it was really tempting.

“Not enough! You are not too shabby but still a little lackluster. In fact, even if you offered the Holy Thorn Grail, it’s still not enough. I’m debating whether I should take you out to save myself the trouble.”

As Kieran spoke, his eyes turned cold and when the thief caught Kieran’s gaze, her body couldn’t help but shiver.

Killing intent!

She knew Kieran wasn’t kidding since it wasn’t the first time she came across such a gaze.

Kieran didn’t only have the heart to kill her but the strength as well.

“Y-You didn’t do it which means there is still grounds to turn around, am I right?” The thief asked with a smile but it seemed forced.

“Yes, because your appearance can fool my opponents and to me, it’s quite a bargain. After all, all I have to do is pay a slight cost and… the prize that I might get would be greater than I can imagine.” Kieran nodded.

Kieran’s words were obviously lies but for the thief, Atrina, his lies were extremely believable.

The mysteriousness, power, and the ability to devise strategies at will that Kieran displayed already made Atrina treat him as the great schemer with a grand plot.

If it was possible, she would definitely not want to have any relationship with the person before her eyes because she knew if she stuck her foot in too deep, any further misstep would end in dire consequences. It was something she couldn’t accept.

After all, her initial plan was just to secure the position of a priest but now…

She felt that things had gotten more and more out of hand. Atrina couldn’t help but start to regret her actions.

If she wasn’t greedy, she might have been a deacon with a certain level of authority and not moving forward towards a priest’s position in a nerve-wrecking manner.

But what use would it be to have regrets now?

Atrina took a deep breath and returned to her normal self.

“My dear lord, what do you need of me then?” Atrina asked.

“Sign this.” Kieran waved his hand and Starbeck behind him answered the signal by producing a contract in his hand.

“No, no! You can’t do this! If I sign the contract, Lady Vanessa will burn me with divine flames!”

Atrina shook her head repeatedly when she saw the contents of the contract.

“I am not asking you to betray your beliefs and it won’t restrict your soul either. The reason for the contract is only to increase the trust between us.”

Kieran smiled as he took the contract to Atrina’s face.

Pro level [Mystical Knowledge] was enough to inform Kieran that when facing against a person with beliefs while the God they believed in hadn’t gone into slumber or disspeared completely, it would be best for him to not touch matters related to the soul unless he wanted to attract the attention of a God. Especially those believers with severe beliefs, anything that happened to them would surely attract their God’s attention.

And if one directly struck down a God’s Child or the descendant of a God?

Well congratulations, a divine war has been successfully initiated.

If that wasn’t the case, [Mesly Ring] would be the best option, not the contract but Atrina had no idea what was Kieran plotting.

When she saw the contract in front of her, the regrets she suppressed a while ago started to come afloat again.

She knew it was a devil’s contract and once she signed, she would never be free but if she didn’t…

She would not be suffering forever but she would die on the spot.

Although Kieran had put on a smile, his look with his killing intent earlier had branded itself into Atrina’s mind, how could she forget about that?”

After thinking for almost a full minute, Atrina clenched her teeth.

“I’ll sign!”

“Believe me, Ms… Atrina, you will never regret your decision today but will only feel grateful because you signed this contract.”

Kieran glanced over her name on the contract and smirked even brighter.

Compared to Kieran’s bright smile, Atrina was looking sour and troubled.

She felt like she was a puppet bound by all sorts of different powers, forcing her forward against her will.

“Now what should I do?”

A signed contract could not be changed but Atrina wanted to lighten the power that was binding her now.

“We wait! You can proceed with your plan and after that, wait patiently. As for the other matters, I’ll settle it for you! Just like the contract stated, whether is it the mastermind who plotted all of this or the sudden attackers, I will settle all of it on your behalf.”

“But of course, just like you agreed, you need to give me the Holy Thorn Grail.” Kieran said.

“Please follow me then.” Atrina said.