: Let’s Make A Deal

While Dimitri was still thinking, Clouse was doing his own thing. Being used to being ignored by his lord, Clouse found something else to do. So he was knelt down next to Count Hanibals body, poking it with a long dagger he had like it was some interesting bug he found in the dirt.

Seeing as they were not paying any attention to her, she decided not to wait any longer for these two to decide what to do with her.

With every ounce of strength she could muster, Kayda prepared her muscles before viciously yanking the chains at her feet.

The sudden sound made both Dimitri and Clouse snap their attention to Kayda.

With that one vicious tug, she was able to break the chain holding her feet to the ground. Without missing a beat, she used that momentum to move her hands off the hook on the wall, allowing her to fall to the ground in one fell swoop.

Her hands and feet were still bound by shackles, limiting her movement, making it hard to move around completely, so once she landed on the ground, she took up a defensive position.

It would be stupid to try and a attack with her limited amount of movement. And trying to run was out of the question with the state she was in. So her last option was to just protect herself the best she could.

"Still think I need help?" She sneered.

Dimitri and Clouse were both surprised by her sudden show of strength from getting herself off the wall. It was hard to believe that such a thin and skinny creature like her had enough strength to break the chain holding her. And by her swift movements, it was obvious that this was a practiced move.

Narrowing his eyes in amusement, Dimitri looked down at her as she defensively bared her fangs at him. It was only then that they both bothered to notice the slight threat she held and, for Clouse, the height difference.

While Dimitri was larger than the average male, Kayda's size just made it more apparent, making the image of both of them standing there pretty comical.

If it wasn't for the type of situation they were in at the moment, Clouse wouldn't even bother to have second thoughts before he started laughing at the scene.

But as it was, this was no time to laugh.

Kayda didn't budge from her spot as she stared back at him.

Dimitri didn't budge as he stared back at her.

It was like a staring contest and with each passing second, the air around them got even more tense.

Clouse, not bearing to sit there and watch it continue, finally decided to put a stop to it all. Don't get him wrong, he could patiently wait all day for this to end as it was funny to watch his lord get stared down by the angry little 'kitten' but he rigged this place to blow, and even he wasn't a hundred percent sure that his lord could survive his marvelous self made spells.

"Dimitri, we need to wrap this up. We only have a few minutes left. If she doesn't want our help, then it can't be helped. You can lead a Beastkin to water but you can't make them drink."

Dimitri didn't move and continued to stare at her for a few more seconds completely ignoring Clouse until he let out an irritated sigh.

Taking a step forward, he knelt down in front Kayda, looking straight into her eyes.

"You don't want our help? Fine. Let's make a deal."

Kayda just looked at him. Her eyes narrowed. Nothing in this world comes for free. If he offered to help her for nothing in exchange, she would have been even more stubborn on getting away from them. It was only now, after what he just said, made her willing to even consider accepting their help.

"What do you want?" He head tilted to the side out of curiosity. But she didn't lower her guard by even a millimeter.

Dimitri smiled coldly, seeing that she was now listening.

"You do a simple task for me. In return," raising his hand, he pointed to the black collar tied around her neck.

"I'll get rid of this."

Kayda's eyes widened at his offer.

What was tied around her neck wasn't just a simple collar. It was a slave inhibitor.

Once someone became a slave, they were given a collar. The collar is bound with magic, preventing any sort of mana to flow through the body and allowing the owners full control of the slave. It was also a tag to show ownership over them.

And there were only two ways to remove a slave's collar.

One, the owner can burn the slave's deeds and remove the collar. And two, the auction house in which the slaves were sold can remove the collar.

So this deal that Dimitri was offering didn't just sound tempting, but sounded too good to be true.

Glaring at the man in front of her, Kayda scowled. "Do you think I'm stupid? You already killed the closest person who could take off the collar. Am I supposed to believe that you can take it off without bringing me back to the auction house? Sorry if I don't find you believable." She sneered in a hoarse voice.

With a tilt of his lips, Dimitri grinned.

"Accept the offer, and we'll take it off right here."

Dimitri watched as her eyes narrowed, processing his words and weighing the options in her head.

With a slight huff, Kayda made a sarcastic grin.

"Sure, I accept. Go ahead and take your best shot. Not like I've got much to lose anyways." She replied with heavy sarcasm lacing her voice.

She raised up her head, exposing her neck giving them a good view of the collar and her pale, thin neck.

It was obvious that she didn't believe them and was only buying time.

Dimitri smiled and stood up.

"Clouse. Take off her collar."

Clouse snapped his head in Dimitri's direction when he heard his name.

He was playing with his dagger, balancing the tip on his finger until his lord called him, breaking his concentration.

"Right now?"

Dimitri gave him a cold stare in response which resulted in a chill traveling down Clouse's spine.

"Ah, I mean. Yup. On it. Just give me a second."

Clouse quickly put his dagger away and walked forward. This time, with a bit more caution than the first time since he didn't want to lose his fingers.

Clouse approached and Kayda just stared at him with a bored expression as she wasn't expecting much from the cat-like man.

Besides. If they wanted to kill her, they had plenty of opportunities by now and if they wanted to use her, she could just try and escape all over again.

Seeing as the little beast didn't try to tear away at his fingers when he approached, he sighed in relief as he looked at her collar.

He could tell it had been worn for a long time by the chafing and blisters on her neck around the collar. After all, they were made for confinement and control. Not comfort.

Taking in a breath, Clouse raised his hand towards the collar, but didn't touch it.

Closing his eyes, he started chanting under his breath.

Runes started to slowly form around his wrist, becoming clearer the longer he chanted.

After a while, the runes moved around Kayda's neck and she suddenly became anxious.

Fidgeting, she got ready to get up and run if she started to see anything suspicious when the runes suddenly started to circle around the collar on her neck.

After a few more seconds of Clouse chanting, the runes suddenly burst into a light, blinding Kayda's vision when suddenly, she was hit by a strong force, knocking the breath out of her.