The Author's POV

The room's atmosphere became oppressive, suffocating all those within.

The butler on the side and another demon present in the room brandished their weapons and pointed them toward the human seated opposite the Duchess.

Under the pressure that surrounded them, perspiration began to form on the sides of their faces. This was despite the fact that they were all within the Duke realm.

Priscilla wasn't in a much better state, and her eyes shook under the tremendous pressure.

"P-prince rank…h.how is this possible?"

There was an undisguised shock in her voice. Never did she imagine that the hooded figure would turn out to be a Prince ranked entity. An entity that stood at the very peak of existence.

'No, although it's close to Prince rank, it's still just a little bit off...'

It was still far superior to her strength.

A bone-chilling voice echoed throughout the room as his mouth parted open.

"…Your misunderstanding started from the very moment you thought I cared about such matters."

Hearing the voice, shivers ran down her back. The gaze with which he looked at her made her feel insignificant.

Just a couple of words from him, and everything changed. Originally, she was planning on using the information to have him join her side. In her eyes, he was an existence that she could make use of.

Plus, since they had already settled their debt, they owed each other nothing.

...It was a pity that she had kicked an iron plate.

He wasn't someone who could be controlled. Priscilla came to understand this the hard way.

She took a deep breath while gripping the armrest of her chair tightly. By the second breath, her gaze became calm again, and she met his eyes.

"Alright, then. Let me hear what you're here for."

She accepted the situation rather quickly. She didn't have much of a choice. With her grandfather, not present due to the matters regarding the World Decree, she had no way to get out of the situation.

She'd gain nothing from fighting against them.

"Good. It looks like you're easy to talk to."

The human smiled. The tension that had been suffocating the room dissipated almost as rapidly as it had arisen, and as soon as it did, she experienced an immediate sense of relief.

He then crossed his legs.

"I won't waste much of your time. I want to cooperate with you."

"Cooperate?"

"Yes. Cooperate."

He put further emphasis on the word 'cooperate', as if trying to show that he wasn't trying to take advantage of her.

'Tsk, let's hear this out.'

Of course, Priscilla didn't really put much thought into his words. She was a demon, and she naturally understood that there was no such thing as true 'cooperation'. One side always tended to lose out, and given what had happened before, she didn't believe for one second that he was actually going to propose a fair deal.

"The cooperation is rather simple."

The man grasped the edges of his hood, slowly lowering it to reveal his face. Jet black hair, deep blue eyes, and pale skin. In that moment, Priscilla finally managed to see what lay behind the hood.

'As expected, he's a human.'

from her shock. It was almost unheard

He continued.

helping you, I want you to help

"Helping me?

a moment to digest his words. An odd look then spread across her

are

of a Prince ranked demon, he was by no means capable of fighting against seven

worry about

It was a smile that exuded self-assurance, and for some reason that Priscilla was unable to

Somewhat.

found his confidence to be rather infectious, she was not the type of person to

her hands together in front of her and leaned forward, pressing her elbows against her thighs while

I believe you. What exactly do you need from

"Nectar."

words escaped from

'...As expected.'

of the same nectar

nectar

"…This fucking."

and she let slip her true personality. She leaned against the sofa, covering her face with her hand, and

a little

much do you

"Enough for four people."

"…Aooo."

would be capable of producing such a sound. However, at that precise moment, she let

mind, she would've been

point! Do you have any

out of her mouth at the beginning of each of her sentences, and at some point, she had stood

it was for one person,

Nectar.

precise―World Nectar―was something that was almost as rare as the

devil fruit, it still

such material was extremely valuable to demons, whose

in the room. He didn't finally open them up again until five

"Are you done?"

tone

it back again and

"Good."

formed on the man's face. His smile made Priscilla feel mildly irritated, but she somehow managed to suppress

He continued.

very well aware of how much the upcoming

eyes met, and Priscilla felt her breath

opportunity to be one step above the rest, and in exchange, you give

"That, but…"

"But, what?"

"But."

'but' her mouth promptly

then it might really be

World Nectar was indeed rare, but it wasn't as though she didn't have it. In fact, she had more than

just that she was rather afraid of what her grandfather might do if he were to learn of

kill

she found a way to protect her

was whether he had the capability of

if he failed and the

A risk.