Deals under the table

There was a chilling breeze still filling the air. The capital guards that had arrived were escorting the civilians back to their homes.

Meanwhile, I was having a nice chat with our majesty, prince Nicholas.

"You can´t possibly expect us to just forget what happened here, this witch must be executed at once!"

"Yhea right! As if you dogs of the kingdom are any better! How many civilians have you killed with your loyalty and sense of duty?! Huh! How many?!"

"..."

"..."

Or at least that would have been the case if Jasmine and William weren´t trying to kill each other with their curses.

"Even if he helped us, letting go of a criminal that dangerous is impossible..."

"The nerve that irregulars have. That´s why they´ll never be good to be around"

Other knights were talking behind our backs as if we were unable to hear them at this short distance.

The nerve that some people have...

Getting late and tired of this situation, I stepped forward to Nicholas, who was sitting on the step of his cart without a door.

"So? What´s it gonna be, your majesty?"

Between offended and about to laugh, he placed his azure eyes on me.

"Please, call me Nicholas, sir Dominique. It´s quite disgusting to have you being polite after what you did to my face"

"Oh really? Well, I´ll just do that"

I leaned into the wall stained with my blood, right beside him. Nicholas rested his jaw on his palms as if he was changing his chip from killing prince to clever salesman.

"As you may already know, we can´t just let this slip. She tried to kill the royal family putting several soldiers and civilians in danger. Also, the fact that she is an irregular makes it almost impossible to be forgiven in court."

"Yhea... I figured as much..."

Of course, I already knew that. In most scenarios, the simple idea of saving Jasmien from execution would be foolish.

Thankfully for both of us, I had something that could take her place on the guillotine.

"But, what do you say after seeing this"

From one of my shadows, a man enveloped with ropes popped out hitting the ground with his already beaten face.

"HMM! HRGH!"

"And who is this?" Asked Nicholas getting a closer look at him.

"A minion with more useful information, also the one that manipulated the irregular that made this mess"

"Wait... He is that guy... The butler that told us to leave the restaurant"

"Indeed"

The reason why I took so long to reach them even with Twilight was this guy on the floor. I had to catch up to the carts filled with other employees, but I honestly didn´t expect them to be all traitors serving under the same cockroach.

Putting off the rope from his mouth, the man started yelling.

"PLEASE! I BEG YOU! I´LL TELL YOU ANYTHING BUT KEEP THAT MONSTER AWAY FROM ME! PLE- HRGHM?!"

With those words said, Nicholas returned the rope to its original place. Then he turned at me with a concerned look.

"What did you do to him?"

"The same thing I´ll do to anyone who is a thread for me or Verónica"

"... Dominique... Does Verónica knows you use these methods?"

Shrinking in my shoulders, I answered while cleaning the blood from my fists and body.

"Pretty much. Yhea"

Somehow pleased with my answer, Nicholas took a breath out and stood in front of me with a weird smile.

"I see... As expected of the Fotiadis, their reliability is just equal to their brutality"

"I hope that is a compliment"

"Oh, don´t worry, it is..."

"Then... We have a deal?"

"Hmm... Yes... If what you said is true, then we could reach an agreement..."

"State your conditions"

Crossing his arms, he ordered his knights and other soldiers to arrest the man and start packing up everything.

While Jasmine walked to my side, William did to Nicholas´s.

"First, she must never attempt something like this ever again"

"Sure, consider it done"

"Second, she can´t use her magic. It´s too dangerous, even for an irregular"

"Heh. Feeling scared prince? Maybe you should have treated us better to not feel that way"

"You!"

We both controlled our servants with stares and bloodthirst.

"I can´t do that. As irregulars, we are the target of anyone in this kingdom, we need a way to protect ourselves, and her is magic"

"Then we have a problem. You saw what she can do, how can you guarantee me that she won´t do it again"

"Because I´ll take full responsibility if that ever happens"

Jasmine wanted to say something about that, but I stopped her with my hand before she could.

"So, you´ll watch her at all times? And if your life is ever needed to obtain forgiveness, will you give it to us?"

"Yes, I will"

"Even if that means never seeing Verónica again?"

For a moment I doubted. The simple image of that possibility made my heart pain. Even so, I was determined to do what I proposed.

"Yes, I swear she´ll behave as long as she is with me"

Nicolas took a moment to process my words. He and Jasmine exchanged glances with some lethal connotations.

"Very well. We have a deal, mister Dominique. Do not disappoint me"

"My prince! You can´t be talking seriously!"

"I am, captain, and since you are a good man that owns me a favor, you will not tell father about this"

"Urgh... Roger, your majesty"

William was put at ease just like that. As expected of the living machine, he knew his way to get what he wanted.

A hand was offered to me, it was the handshake that would seal this agreement.

"Nice to hear that, prince Nicholas"

I grabbed his hand into mine, and I applied a little bit of force as a gentle reminder of what could happen to him.

"As the brilliant man you are, I assume I don´t have to explain why Verónica mustn't know about this, right?"

"Heh. Don´t worry, your secret is safe with me"

"Good"

We let go of each other, and with a final bow, each of us took a different path.

As we got on Twilight, Jasmine whispered into my ear.

"Are you sure this is fine? He and any other knight around here can betray us"

"Don´t worry, a person like him knows how to keep the discipline among his men. And if anything happens, I´m sure he won´t mind if I take the matter into my hands"

"I see, then I will trust in your words, master~"

I suddenly felt her chest pressing onto my back, her arms were hugging tightly my hip and her face was resting on my shoulder.

"R-Right. You do that, but once we are home, let me do the talking. Also, you can´t do these kinds of things in front of Verónica"

"Verónica? Who is that?"

"My goddess. The most beautiful woman on this planet, and the person I love the most"

"My oh my~. You are much more passionate than what you look. But the way you talk about her is making me a bit jealous"

The pressure got stronger, her hands began to caress and explore my body as her lips began to kiss my ear and cheeks.

"H-Hey! Cut it out! Stop! Stop!"

"Fufuf~. You are so cute, master. Please bear with it until we reach your home"

"Urgh... You have to be kidding me..."

Even though most things turned out fine, I was feeling a thorn of insecurity the closer I got to the Fotiadis mansion.

How am I gonna explain this to her?

I was placing all my remaining strength into my brain to come up with good ideas, hopefully, that would be enough to at least prevent her from hating me.