Primordial Villain with a Slave Harem

Chapter 1086: Boring Auntie

Royal Guard squad leader Cassandra’s body lay limp on the cot, barely tethered to life. Her breath was shallow, her skin clammy, and her wounds too many to count.

Numerous bruises and scars marred her flesh, evidence of her brutal captivity. Or rather, the brutal way she became a captive. Being ganged up on by a dozen plus women of such strange classes...

After becoming a captive, no one raised a finger against the woman, for there was no reason to. She has already lost her free will; there was no need to torture her in order to glean information.

The only reason Cassandra’s eyes were even open was not her own strength; no, it was Quinlan’s absolute command that had forced her back into a cruel consciousness, just long enough to give him what he needed.

But now, with his departure, her survival rested in gentler hands.

Liora, the ex slave of the Mithril-ranked adventurer Kai, who has sworn fealty to Quinlan alongside her fellow miserable sex slaves and was now serving as a member of Kaelira’s group of combatants.

She stayed behind the departing group after being asked to by Quinlan. Cassandra needed immediate medical attention; he refused to let such an important pawn bleed out.

Thus, the priest knelt beside the wounded guard. Soft golden light spread from the staff resting in her palms, weaving through broken veins and shattered bone. She murmured prayer spells under her breath, words that stitched spirit and flesh together with care.

Perched happily on her shoulders was Rosie, her leafy hair bobbing as she leaned from side to side with wide, sparkling eyes. ”Auntie Liora is sooo cool! Rosie wishes she could do that! Then Rosie could heal Daddy whenever he came home all hurt! All she can do is watch with tears in her eyes!”

The priestess smiled tenderly without pausing her work. ”Your father already has Seraphiel by his side. She makes sure he is cared for.”

Rosie nodded with all the seriousness a dryad child could muster. ”Mhm! My Sera Mommy is way too badass!... But she’s kinda strict with Rosie.”

Liora’s lips curved into a soft chuckle. ”That’s because Seraphiel is a mischievous woman hiding under a gentle mother’s heart. When it comes to important responsibilities, such as ensuring her daughter grows up well, she knows to keep her free-spirited attitude to herself and be serious. She has her head firmly on her shoulders... unlike a certain queen...” Her tone soured as her thoughts brushed against Queen Morgana, but she quickly smoothed her expression again.

”Mhm. Sera Mommy can be strict, but Rosie loves her! She wants to be like Sera Mommy when she grows up!”

But then Rosie tilted her head and suddenly leaned closer to whisper loudly, ”Auntie Liora, are you a better healer than Sera Mommy?”

Liora blinked once out of surprise, then let out a gentle laugh as she instantly deflected, ”Such comparisons are meaningless, little one. Healing isn’t about being better. It’s about giving what you can.”

Rosie puffed out her cheeks dramatically. ”Hpmh! Auntie Liora is not fun!”

As golden light flared once again across her palms, Liora laughed softly. ”Then forgive me for being boring little old me, my fair princess.”

The title made Rosie’s eyes sparkle instantly. Her pout vanished, and she puffed her little chest out proudly, grinning from ear to ear. ”Ehehe! Auntie Liora is forgiven!”

Meanwhile, as the two kept going on, Cassandra barely heard the playful back-and-forth of the human woman and whatever that green thing on her shoulder was.

Instead, her blank eyes stared in the direction where her captors had departed through the same ominous doorway spell that was the architect of her own undoing.

But they only did so after extracting all the information they needed from her. They even had the gall to ask what she thought would be the most efficient way of succeeding in retrieving their target while killing as many of her subordinates as possible.

Cassandra’s throat tightened at the memory.

The subjugator’s command had been absolute, a decree pressed deep into her very soul. Her body betrayed her with every word she uttered. Her voice, though trembling, carried no hesitation once the order was given, because it couldn’t.

She was forced to analyze the abilities they described to her, and then forced to dredge up tactical insights she would rather have taken to her grave. Every plan she outlined, every weak point she highlighted, was like cutting into her own flesh with a dull blade. řАꞐỘʙƐṦ

Tears had blurred her vision as she spoke, each sob swallowed back by the same unnatural compulsion that drove her lips to form words she would never have chosen. A Royal Guard’s sworn duty was to protect, to shield the kingdom with her very life, but instead she had been made to betray it.

For the first time in her life, Cassandra had wished for death. She had never thought of suicide before. Not when she was beaten during training, not when enemies struck her down in the field, not even when her body had broken under the weight of endless campaigns. But now... now she hated herself so deeply that she wanted nothing more than to disappear.

Because of this disaster, this gaping wound that was soon to open in the heart of the kingdom was the result of her fault.

It had started because she had been taken.

Because she had failed.

And the guilt pressed heavier than any chain.

But alas, suicide was not an option. Her life was no longer hers; she could not dictate how it ended. A cruel man with incomprehensible abilities held invisible chains around her very soul that had bound her fate to his.

...But perhaps... maybe... hopefully... they would still fail.

That single thought flared in Cassandra’s mind like a dying ember refusing to go out. Her captors were powerful, yes, but power did not guarantee success. Maybe her comrades would still find a way to resist. Maybe her betrayal would not cut as deeply as she feared. Maybe...

Her breath hitched. No. ”Maybe” wasn’t enough.

There had to be something she could do, even in her miserable position. Something.

The subjugator’s orders chained her tightly, but he had given them in utmost haste, racing against time. They only had a couple of seconds to come up with a strategy and execute it.

He had demanded obedience and forced her to betray her people, but perhaps... perhaps he hadn’t thought everything through. Perhaps, in his rush, he had left a sliver of space between the links of her invisible chains.

Her hands trembled as she closed her eyes.

[Master’s Link].

A spell meant to connect the minds of Quinlan’s slaves, to share commands and information swiftly on the battlefield. Cassandra had heard the women of Devil use this spell to communicate during the strategization. When someone was already speaking using their vocal cords, instead of interrupting the speaker and speaking over one another, they would speak using this, and sometimes Cassandra was involved as they wanted to ask questions from her using this mental magic.

If she could just... scream through it, maybe... just maybe, it would be enough of a distraction. Even a single second of disruption could tilt the battlefield in favor of the kingdom.