6 A Devilish Deal part 2

After I exchanged the raw materials for currency I begin to head towards my next destination.

I had tasked Vimme procuring me an adequate amount of land and building me a manor. After hashing out the fine details in regards to the blueprints and payment plan I headed out. Now, I once again find myself in dire need of a place to rest. If I were an ordinary man I would just head towards the nearest inn but that doesn't accommodate any of my current needs.

What I need right now is dependable followers, information and connections.

The only problem being that reliably establishing any of those things myself would require alot of time. Time I can't be bothered to put into such a task. Luckily for me the problem in question establishes it's own solution. Why waste time establishing any of those things when I can just take it off the hands of someone who already has and merely improve upon it?

To begin with I need somewhere that grants easy access to high society and their connections/information.

So I plan to acquire the passiflora or more specifically it's owner Marquise Serenity. The establishment itself is inconspicuous enough while having a steady influx of gentry and nobility.

It's the only place in Novigrad one could truly consider neutral. It has no direct ties to the syndicate or any other crime lord in the city. An entity currently outside of the power struggle currently gripping Novigrad. Yet it's still nonetheless able to retain it's ties with every major organization. It wouldn't be able to continue operating peacefully otherwise.

Truly the definition of remaining seen but unseen.

Marquise Serenity is crucial for this plan unless I plan to warp everyone in that establishment into mindless slaves. As I require her to run the business and am abject to micromanaging once again I won't be doing that for obvious reasons.

'Though I want to test it out on someone so badly. I've always dreamed of performing a jedi mind trick on someone.'

The only question left is what could I offer her in turn for her loyalty and services.

Luckily for me it's early in the day and the madam alongside the working ladies should currently be resting. It'll make it easier for me to break in and accomplish my goal without having to wait for nightfall. I won't need to ponder over this any longer.

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I gotta say, even though I didn't expect for there to be any security here it's still a tad underwhelming.

I easily picked the individual lock set on the main entrance and barged in completely uninterrupted. I can hear various heartbeats throughout the building accompanied by soft and steady breathing. Seeing them through the walls with aura whisper it's clear they are laying on their beds resting. So I begin to silently make my way towards the madam's room.

It doesn't take long before I'm standing over her as she rests. Though I gotta say, creepily breaking and entering into a defenseless womans room wasn't in my bingo card for the year. Though I guess I'm not avoiding dubious situations like this from now in the future. I don't plan on developing/growing a sense of shame or virtue that would prevent me from doing such. So you win some, you lose some.

I slowly extend my hand toward her and It begins to glow with blue arcane energies.

I'm casting a spell to find out any desires she may have. All in an effort to know what to offer her in exchange of her services. I can see all of her deepest and darkest desires laid completely bare. What I find is completely unsurprising to the point that a simple guess at the moment of negotiating would've sufficed instead of this brash approach.

It seems that even an accomplished and influential lady such as her cannot escape from the woes of mortality. She has started to feel the effects of her age and it bothers her to no limits. Though I guess that much is no surprise. A woman as talented as this who poured the entirety of her mind, body and intellect to get where she currently is would not appreciate time dulling the sole weapon she's wielded her entire life.

'To be completely honest I feel a bit foolish.' I think to myself while holding my face and releasing a small groan.

A small sound that apparently didn't escape the woman sleeping before me.

She woke up with a start and with ample speed and precision proceeded to pull out a dagger from underneath her pillow and stab me in the chest right in the heart. To be honest I could've moved out of the way. But a little bit of theatrics are going to be necessary to get the most favorable outcome in this conundrum I just put myself in.

Her eye's as wide as saucers as she looks at me remain completely unbothered by the dagger protruding from my chest. But just as quickly as the shock was there it was replaced by a cool demeanor.

"It seems no one ever taught you to not disturb a ladies beauty sleep you uneducated foul beast." She says with steel lacing her voice.

Gotta say that although I somewhat knew about her being one one of the few women in the continent that can actually claim to have held an official high ranking position in a nation's army; her attitude still managed to surprise me quite a bit. It's not every day that a disgraced soldier turned strumpet turned affluent magnate manages to stare at death in the face so casually.

"Foul beast?" I say while pulling the knife out of my chest and proceeding to kindly offer it back to her blood and all.

"Although I may not be a witcher I know enough to realize that what is standing before me is no mere man but a filthy monster." she says calmly walking to a bottle of wine near her bed and uncorking it serving herself a glass.

"So what are you waiting for? Just so you know I have lived my entire life being played with according to men's every whim and I'm not planning to die by them. So If you expect me to grovel and beg for my life you're sorely mistaken," she continues with a chuckle, "These knees of mine haven't touched the ground in front of any man in many a year and you won't be the one to change that."

"While any other day I wouldn't mind a sexy cougar such as you on her knees infront of me... that is sadly not what I'm currently here for." I say taking a seat in one of the chairs near where she stands, taking the bottle off of the table and taking a swig of it.

"I come to offer you a deal. The type that ordinary mortals get only once in their lifetime-" I say before suddenly being cut short.

"I refuse." She immediately says cutting me off.

"Now, now, no need to be so hasty. I haven't even given you my sales pitch yet." I say with a chuckle.

"Humph. Didn't you say that ordinary mortals only get to hear it once?" She says rolling her eyes.

"Yes, I wouldn't normally bother repeating myself twice to any ordinary man or woman. You on the other hand I desire and value enough to make such an exception as you are anything but ordinary." I say putting on a flattering smile.

Unsurprisingly the flattery works like a charm and she relaxes her body posture up quite a bit. I don't mean to brag(deception) but I'm supernaturally good looking. A casual stroll of mine through Novigrad had human, dwarves and elve alike enthralled with but a passing glance. In other words I currently have SSR tier maxed out charm stats.

"To put it bluntly I want you, your services and everything you possess for the rest of eternity."

"Do you think you have anything you could offer me that would make me want to offer up my entire life in turn." She says steeling herself again with a look of contempt.

"Well, you've said it yourself. You like every other mortal in this godsforsaken planet have lived your entire life bowing to man, country and god. Even time itself has cruelly deemed it fit to rob you of your beauty and sharpness of mind that had served as an indispensable tool to get where you currently are." I say as I stand up and slowly approach her.

I carefully start emanating magika letting it ooze out into the atmosphere.

"I'm offering you an opportunity to cast away those chains. To take ahold of destiny by it's entrails and disembowel it. To hold true and infallible power in your hands. The type of power capable of dictating your own life and that of others." As I begin to preach the day quickly starts to change from high noon to pitch dark as a red eclipse begins blotting out the sun.

"For the rest of your existence you will never have to kneel to anyone other than me. Even if the arrogant emperor of Nilfgaard, the king of the wild hunt or even the absent gods themselves were to be here of you they have no option but to grovel before you by virtue of you merely serving me. Such is the magnitude of the position I am offering you."

As I continue you can hear birds screeching in the distance melding into bone rattling thunderstorms as lightning begins to grace the soil. My energy leaking outward into the world creating never before seen spectacles. All of this done purposely and meticulously enough so as not to upset the realm too much.

"You have my word that with my divine providence it shall be so."

"But no matter, for now I merely come bearing a gift. One to let you realize my sincerity on the matter of recruiting you." I suddenly take one of her hands into mine and the other slides around her waist.

Contrary to her earlier demeanor she once again finds herself out of the sort. So much so she didn't put on even a bit of a struggle as I closely embraced her.

My hands once again begin to shine in arcane light but unlike the last blue it now glows a blinding gold.

Her visage beginning with her hands began to turn visibly younger as if rewinding the hands of a clock. Her hair went from gray to raven black and her skin regained a supple rosy hue. Excess fat began melting away from her body as she regained the fitness she one held in her youth. She had in fact began to enter a condition even better than her prime. Even the scars she had no doubt procured over serving through harsh battle fields began to fade almost as if they had never been there in the first place.

This one move of mine also serves to make sure she will have to agree even if she isn't really fully convinced on the idea of submitting.

A woman regaining her youthful appearance in the current city of Novigrad would surely suffer a cruel fate at the hands of the zealots among common populace. The only possible outcome without someone capable of handling the backlash of such a discovery is being branded a witch and burned at the stake. She would eventually come to the conclusion that it would be an impossible task to hide her new found youth without me.

Although I look down on mind control as it has no class; a little bit of scheming, plotting and manipulation is right down my alley.

She will ultimately gain way more than she could probably ever imagine in this little exchange. Im also planning to keep my word so as far as my conscience goes it feels as light as a feather. But hey, I'm the literal devil so you should expect this type of hypocrisy from me by now.

[A/N: Welcome back ladies and gentlemen who like me just remembered this fic exist. I haven't been updating this as I have been religiously playing Helldivers 2 in my time off and for that I'm not sorry. That game is fucking amazing and hella addictive. Any true GAYmer would find it hard to release the controller. Anyway though a bit delayed I hope you enjoy the chapter.]