"What kind of promise do you want from me? I can't promise anything you know. If you were to make me promise to get you a sun or something impossible, I can't do it for you," said Daniel, warily.
"Please be at ease, I wouldn't ask for anything unreasonable or impossible," said the girl, who looked like Koyuki.
"Let's hear what you want me to promise first," countered Daniel.
"I'm afraid that's not how it works. Our deal is that we help you, and in return, you promise us something that you can easily do without any questions asked," interrupted Klause.
"Well... Klause, if you want him to promise to rob a bank, wouldn't that be a little bit too much?" Ragnar tried to persuade Klause, but Klause only let out a sarcastic smile.
"Lord Stenmark, in that case, I think he would gladly do it and go to the nearest Tessia Kingdom Commercial Bank!" Klause sarcastically replied.
It was an open secret that the Tessia Kingdom Commercial Bank was the bank in that Victor held a majority share in, and robbing this bank would definitely hurt Victor and the Tessia Royal family.
"Wait, you want me to rob Tessia Commercial Bank? May I suggest robbing the HQ? That place has a huge vault under it, and I would even blow up their building too, free of charge," said Daniel, half-jokingly, with a wicked smile on his face.
Hearing that, Klause clutched his forehead and turned toward the girl who looked like Koyuki.
"See? He hates Victor to the bone. He wouldn't promise us," Klause pointed toward Daniel, who still had a wicked smile on his face.
"Mr. Hoffmann," the girl said, looking Klause in the eyes. "Do we have another choice? Mr. Magitek is the only one who dares to go against Lucien, The Willow, and The Alchemont, and has the ability to succeed."
After some persuasion from the girl who resembled Koyuki, Klause finally relented and walked over to where Daniel's group was sitting in the common room. However, he kept a good distance away in case of any sudden attack, leaving enough room for defense.
The girl sat down on the nearby sofa, leaving some space for retreat, while Klause stood behind her as her guard.
Upon seeing the girl's eyes more clearly, Ragnar realized what she really was.
"Are you...a homunculus!? You seem to be really well-made," Ragnar blurted out her true identity.
The girl smiled and nodded.
"Yes, I'm an S Grade hybrid homunculus built with Miss Wrath's genetic material. My name is Yuki," she introduced herself.
Upon hearing this, Daniel's eyes suddenly grew sharp, while Klause prepared himself to deal with any sudden attack from Daniel by positioning himself beside the homunculus.
"It's okay, Mr. Hoffmann. I completely understand why he is angry. I'm not Miss Wrath but still wear the same face as her. He must have felt....very complicated," Yuki said with an understanding smile, her expression sincere. Even Daniel, who had initially been prejudiced against her, had calmed down a little upon seeing her smile.
"Miss Yuki, for all my years, I have wondered what it would feel like to see the cloned body of the one I love. And now I can only say that 'complicated' is an understatement when describing my feelings," Daniel said, managing to maintain his composure.
Yuki didn't say anything in response, instead smiling thinly and waiting for Daniel to calm down. After mulling through his emotional storm inside his mind for a while, Daniel spoke.
"You can tell me what you want me to promise. If I find it a little bit too much, I'll try to negotiate with you and make you sweeten the deal for me," he said.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Magitek," Yuki's smile grew wider as she looked at Klause.
Klause let out a sigh and reached into his inner coat pocket, pulling out a transparent glass jar and placing it in the hand of the homunculus, who held it like it was a precious item.
Inside the jar was a black, slime-like creature that moved up and down like it was breathing, slowly moving around like a snail, indicating that it was a living creature.
"Let me introduce you. This is Victor Justius. Former Tessia Kingdom king or...what's left of him," the homunculus said with sadness reflected in her eyes.
Daniel's eyes turned cold as he glared at the black slime in the jar with seething hatred, but he remained seated calmly, showing no sign of aggression other than his eyes.
"That's impossible," Ragnar spoke up. "His soul was destroyed along with his life. There's no way that this slime could hold Victor's soul," he said skeptically.
"That's the point, Lord Stenmark. The one Miss Wrath killed was not Victor, but his body double," explained Klause, shedding light on the matter.
After Klause's revelation, everything started to fall into place. If the king who appeared that day was a body double, then it would make sense why he dared to appear without Klause to guard him and only with a meager amount of protection. It also explained why he didn't react to Wrath and Ragnar's presence and dared to enter Wrath's attack range.
"Oh... Then it all makes sense why he ignored me and dared to come near Wrath. Because as a body double, he doesn't know us," Ragnar said, understanding everything now.
Daniel turned to Michaela, who stood beside him, and asked, "Did that man speak the truth?"
Michaela nodded and replied, "Yes, my lord. He spoke the truth. I didn't detect any falsehood from his soul."
Intrigued by Michaela's ability, Klause couldn't help but express interest.
"That girl can read my soul!? You really have some connection with the Vatican, Magitek. I wonder who you really are? A shadow pope perhaps?" Klause tried to probe Daniel, but Daniel didn't react to any of Klause's words, making the latter feel a little bit disappointed that he couldn't get anything out of Daniel.
Klause's thoughts raced in his mind as he grumbled to himself, [Tch! This guy is way more troublesome than Wrath. He didn't even have any reaction toward my probing!] He felt as if he had met a rival.
However, Daniel was completely oblivious to Klause's thoughts. He couldn't make sense of what the man was talking about. [What the hell is this guy talking about?] Daniel thought to himself, slightly confused.
Daniel pushed Klause's words to the back of his mind and turned to Yuki, waiting for her request.
"What do you want me to promise?" he asked.
Yuki looked at him with sincerity in her eyes, pleading for a chance at life.
"I want you to give us a chance at life. That's all I ask. Victor has already lost everything," she said.
As Daniel gazed at the black slime in the jar, he pondered Yuki's words. Had Victor really lost everything as she claimed? He had lost his throne, his wealth, his power, and even his body. His soul was now trapped in that hideous black slime, and his fate might be worse than death.
Initially, Daniel had thought of letting it go after Ragnar informed him that Wrath had already killed Victor. But now, knowing that Victor still lived, albeit in his current state, made him rethink his decision. He didn't harbor much hatred for Victor anymore, but he couldn't let it go entirely.
"I need some time alone," he said abruptly, standing up and leaving the common room. Michaela followed him, but gave him space as he had requested.
Daniel walked towards the estate garden and sat down, watching the mini artificial waterfall and the fishes swimming in the pond. He allowed his mind to wander as he contemplated his next move.
Logically, he knew what he should do. Victor had lost everything, even his body and his soul had been trapped in the black slime. Knowing that Victor had suffered brought Daniel some satisfaction, and he shouldn't have too much trouble letting go of his hatred towards him, especially if it means getting the evidence and the help of the two to prove Wrath innocent. It was the rational choice.
But emotionally, it was harder to let it go entirely, especially since he now knew that Victor was still alive, albeit trapped in a horrific form. Daniel felt conflicted within himself.
"Sigh…..." Daniel let out a sigh as he stood up and stretched his limbs. He glanced at the tranquil garden once more before heading back to the common room, his thoughts returning to Wrath and her predicament. He wondered what fate awaited her since it had already been five days since she was arrested.
Daniel realized that harboring hatred towards Victor was futile and only distracted him from the more pressing matter at hand - helping Wrath out of her imprisonment as quickly as possible. He needed to focus on that now.
As he walked towards the common room, he spotted Michaela standing guard not far from him, watching him closely. She nodded at him with a smile, seeming to know exactly what he had decided.
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