Even though this was all for the sake of the mission and Ophis was ready to go to any length to make sure she didn't disappoint her lord, she wasn't willing to give her body to that fucking bastard just for the mission. She would rather kill herself than do something like that!
Priscilla watched Ophis closely and she tried her best to tell if Ophis was lying or not. If there was one thing that Priscilla was good at, it was reading people and figuring out what was really on their minds. People usually say that it takes one to know one. In order for you to figure out if someone is a bad person, then you must also be a bad person, and in order for you to figure out if someone is a liar, then you must also be a liar. And Priscilla was one of the damn best liars out there! There is no one that can lie better than her in this entire kingdom!
Priscilla lied her way up the political ladder of Uta and into the throne without anyone ever figuring out her true intentions! Her siblings were exiled by her and her father was killed, and no one ever suspected Priscilla even once. In fact, people would always pity her because they think she is shouldering too many responsibilities since her siblings abandoned her! Priscilla laughs anytime she hears something like that. Humans are really fools.
But because of how good Priscilla was at lying, Priscilla was sure that if Ophis was lying, then she would know! But from what Priscilla could see, Ophis was not lying.
Ophis didn't have any of the usual unconscious actions that would show Priscilla that someone was lying. The dilating pupils and the unconscious movements that most liars make were completely absent from Ophis and Priscilla couldn't help but believe that Ophis was telling the truth. It seems that the Grand Commander and Head Priest also fell for Ophis' beauty and started to bother her.
The reason why Ophis didn't have the usual signs that she was lying was that the things she said about the Grand Commander and the head priest were actually true! The head priest was a very touchy person and he would always try to touch Ophis no matter when or where they meet, meanwhile the Grand Commander was a heavy drinker that didn't know how to hold his impulses back whenever he is drunk. It was now a common habit for him to come to Ophis' house after drinking too much and trying to enter her room without her permission. There are always a lot of witnesses that will see the Grand commander trying to enter her room, but none of them bother to do anything because they don't want to end up on the bad side of the Grand Commander.
Ophis would never understand how humans think sometimes. They only act friendly when it is beneficial to them, but once they see that they will be affected negatively by helping someone, they will rather watch that person suffer alone. The fact that humans will feel guilty about not helping only makes the matter worse! They make it seem like it wasn't their fault that they abandoned you and left you to suffer.
You should forgive us because there was nothing we could do at that moment. The humans will say something like this and they think you will just let everything go. Such madness.
Ophis watched Priscilla closely and she made sure that there was no suspicion on Priscilla's face. Ophis said the truth about these two things, and so her lies were covered up by the truths and Priscilla wasn't able to figure out that Ophis was also lying.
This was a method that Ophis learned from a member of her father's household a long time ago. If you want to fool someone, then don't just lie. Only a fool would think that no one can figure out you are lying.
Instead of just lying, it is smarter to mix in some semblance of the truth with your lies and allow your truth to be heavy enough so that the truth can cover up your lies and also carry your lies across the finish line. That way, people will not be able to tell if you are truly lying and they will think that everything you say is true! Only someone that is very perceptive will be able to tell that there are some lies in your words, but it is very rare to meet someone like that, so this method would work more than 90% of the time.
Ophis watched Priscilla as Priscilla stood up and walked to the window at the side of the office. Ophis could see the stress lines that were beginning to show on Priscilla's forehead and Ophis knew that Priscilla was thinking deeply. After some time, Priscilla asked a question.
"What family did you hail from in Trad, Ophis?"
Ophis blinked in surprise. She was shocked by the sudden tangent, but she didn't allow that to stop her from giving an immediate answer. Ophis just don't expect the sudden question. She thought that Priscilla would ask something about the Grand Commander or the head priest, but instead, Priscilla was asking about Trad.
"I come from the family under Raven. He is the owner of a chain of hotels in Trad,"
Priscilla's eyes lit up on recognition of the name. That was a name she hasn't heard in a long time. Raven, the hotel mogul. There was once a time when she was considering marrying Raven. He was a very handsome man and she needed someone that could help her grow without holding her back. Raven was a smart business owner and she knew that he would be a good candidate for a king consort because he had no ambition for politics and he only cared about his businesses. He would never try to take the throne from her, so she trusted him.
But things never worked out because he refused her for some reason. Priscilla wasn't angry about the refusal because she wasn't petty, but she was confused when he told her that he already had someone he loved. From what Priscilla learned from her spies, Raven was not engaged and he didn't have anyone he met regularly in Trad. So why did he say he had someone he loved?
Did he lie to her about that just to get out of the engagement? Perhaps he thinks I am not beautiful enough for him? No, that is impossible. There isn't anyone more beautiful than me. Priscilla turned and looked at Ophis for a moment and she scowled a little as she corrected herself. There isn't anyone other than this woman that is more beautiful than me.
Priscilla sighed. She has been trying to find the reason for Raven's refusal for a long time and she was never able to. For some reason, the fact that she was refused by Raven only made her want him more. Priscilla already planned to go to Trad after this lockdown was over and meet with Raven to try and get an answer from him. Priscilla immediately asked Ophis a question.
"And how is Raven? I haven't seen him in a long time,"
Priscilla unconsciously touched her hair while asking this and Ophis rose a brow. Ophis immediately knew that this wasn't just a regular question. Was Priscilla in love with Raven? Hah! If only Priscilla knew what the demon lord already did to Trad. Raven might still be alive right now, but he is nothing but a puppet for the demon lord.
"Raven is doing well, my queen. He opened a new chain of hotels and he is swarmed with work almost every day."
Priscilla smiled when she heard this. Of course, Raven would still be opening hotels. He already had more than seven hotels and he still wants more? He is just like me. He is never satisfied with just being mediocre. He would be the perfect partner.
But anyway, that isn't what I'm meant to be focusing on. Priscilla turned to look at Ophis again. Now that Priscilla knew what family Ophis was from, she was more inclined to help her. If Ophis came from a family that wasn't on good terms with Priscilla then Priscilla would have definitely sent her away.
Priscilla had no idea that everything here was already planned a long time ago by Floid. Floid asked Travy to get him all the information on Priscilla that he could find and Floid found out that Priscilla and Raven had a relationship that would make Priscilla help anyone from Raven's family just to gain his favor. That was the reason why Floid told Ophis to pretend to be from Raven's family.
Priscilla turned around and folded her hands while talking.
"I understand where you are coming from with regard to the Grand Commander and the head priest. Things have been difficult for everyone inside of Uta for a long time and I am sure it is no different for you. But you have to also understand that there is not much I can do while we are still under the eye of the demon lord. The tension in the kingdom is at an all-time high and if I punish two of the most respected people in the kingdom then the people will become even more restless."
Ophis furrowed her brow in confusion. Was Priscilla asking me to just let this go?
Priscilla could easily read the thoughts that Ophis was having and Priscilla sighed and walked back to her seat. She couldn't do anything about the head priest or the Grand Commander because, at the end of the day, both of them were more important than Ophis. Priscilla wouldn't lose anything even if Ophis was raped and killed, but she would lose a lot if the Grand Commander and Head priest were punished right now.
"Are you asking me to forget about the abuse from them and forgive it all?"
Ophis asked this with a look of genuine surprise. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. This was something she didn't plan for because she never thought it would happen.
Priscilla spoke up calmly.
"No, I wouldn't ask something like that from you. I simply want you to trust my process. I will speak to both of them personally and get them to back down,"
"you highness... That would only make things worse for me,"
Priscilla sighed in irritation once Ophis said this. Why can't this fool just understand? The head priest is the one in charge of selecting the priests that would power the barrier that covered the town while the Grand Commander was one of the strongest people in the kingdom. Both of them were very useful to Priscilla. Ophis, on the other hand, was useless to her.
Priscilla understood how Ophis was feeling, but there was nothing that Priscilla could do about it. Ophis spoke up with a little bit of anger in her voice.
"Your highness, are you telling me to simply overlook their transgressions? The Grand Commander and the head priest won't stop unless you punish them. Talking to them won't make them stop coming after me,"
Priscilla clicked her tongue silently. Why couldn't Ophis just understand her words when she says them plainly? She is acting like I'm telling her to go and die.
"I'm simply saying that this is not a simple case to solve. I know how difficult things are for you, and I'm sure your circumstances seem like the worst thing in the world to you right now, but there are far more important things to worry about and there are worse things than what you are going through. Don't try to project your pain as the most painful thing in the world. Try to understand,"
Priscilla gave Ophis a pointed stare as she said this and Ophis immediately understood the hidden message underneath what Priscilla said and she scoffed silently. To think that things would turn out like this! Ophis always thought that there was a fundamental difference between demons and humans. She always thought that humans were too soft and kind for their own good. But for the first time, Ophis was reevaluating a human. Tus woman is the worst human I have ever met. Even that fucking priestess Freya wasn't this bad! At least Freya tried to protect her people from the evil around them! Even though Freya was rotten on the inside, she was still clean outwardly! Priscilla was simply telling Ophis to bare with the cruelty regardless of her feelings! It was as though Priscilla was throwing Ophis to the wolves!
This was a situation that Ophis didn't expect, and truly, if Ophis was any other woman, then this would have been the moment when she stormed out of the office in anger.
Most women like to believe that they are their 'sisters' keepers. They always think that other women will look out for them if they are ever in a situation like this and protect them from the cruelty of men. Priscilla hoped that Ophis was one of those types of women and she wanted Ophis to become angry enough to give up now and stop bothering her.
But Ophis was not like other women and although this situation wasn't what Ophis planned at first, she could still see a way to make this work for her!
Ophis came to this office to try and find out when the barrier will be weak so that she can pass on that message to Floid, and now that Priscilla did something like this, Ophis has the upper hand in the conversation. Ophis was once a queen and also the daughter of a king. Throughout her life, she has been trained in interacting with people and how to manipulate anyone to make sure you get exactly what you want.
It is common knowledge that even the evilest people still have a conscience. Once you do something that seems wrong, there is a feeling of guilt that will grow inside you regardless of who you are.
Most demons have been able to shut off that feeling or make it quiet enough so that it seems nonexistent, but it is very hard for humans to do something like that because they are so fucking weak-willed. The moment that Priscilla told Ophis to bare with her treatment, Ophis noticed how Priscilla couldn't look her in the eye for a few moments and she unconsciously joined her hands together on the table. The moment didn't last for more than a second, but Priscilla was incapable of hiding this small amount of guilt because Priscilla knew that what she said was 'wrong'.
And once Ophis noticed this guilt, Ophis immediately went in for another interaction. she wouldn't let an opportunity like this one go!
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢