I was so long in Seclusion that everyone forgot about me

They said it was in the blood of succubi to desire, to lust after another; but that couldn't have been further from the truth. Sure, we took great pleasure in it, and yes, it might have been part of our nature, yet it didn't define us. We could have been so much more, if only others had let us. But the teachings of the older generations were stuck, forcing us to repeat their mistakes. Every time someone tried to break free, they were shoved back into place—like the mismatched garn they had always been made out to be.

I was one of those—a rebel, a novelty who reveled in the ability to charm, entice, and seduce others into partaking in every little machination my mind dreamed up. But I never truly wanted it. I didn't want any of that. I dreamt of being a caretaker, a teacher—someone who would nurture the future generations. The kind so often talked about in the novels I read alone in the cold, dust-covered library.

But they did me dirty. Reality was far different; far more perverted than it ever should have been. There were so many ways for a succubus to retain energy and gather more. Some were more effective than others, yes, but only because no one ever bothered to explore new paths. No; the road one walked was already etched deep into stone long before birth.

So when they noticed that my way was unheard of (not worthy of a succubus, not fitting for high nobility), they forced their thinking onto me. Punishment. Manipulation. Being shunned. Sexuality was all that mattered; thinking beyond it was heresy. But—and let me be painfully clear here, because 'energy-vampires' were what we truly were—leeching off emotions outside the realm of carnal pleasure was considered an affront to our ancestors. Even if no proof was ever offered. Only old texts, third-hand testimonies from zealots who claimed to have heard the word from someone else, who claimed to carry the voice of yet another.

Sure, we might be demons and grow faster, but we weren't even allowed to explore ourselves. No room to be children, to be awkward teenagers, to be uncertain young adults. Like a cult, they infested our minds, exorcised every disbelief that didn't fit their ideal. Our classes were chosen and locked.

But what they didn't expect was that my spark never truly died. And when I became queen, I became a thorn in their side—one that made them bleed, that poisoned generations with the radical belief in free choice. I cared for the ones they deemed lesser. I helped those in need. And yet, when the lies spread, when my own sister and those closest to me began whispering of betrayal, they turned. So easily trust became a weapon.

The kid I helped only a day ago was already wishing for my death. The mother, whose children I saved from drowning, pointed a knife at me. And for what? Because they were made to believe my teachings were heretical; twisted manipulations that defied the goddess's words.

They bend the gospel to suit their bidding, wield coins to carry out their deeds, and sow their sermons with rotting greed.

And they got me. And they still lost. How could they ever have thought that this brute was the better choice? I should laugh at my people's demise—but it wouldn't make me feel any better. It would only leave behind the hollow ache of having never been enough to make a true change. How pitiful of me. How naive, that even now, I still wished for them to break free of their chains.

Still, in the same breath, I wanted revenge. I wanted reckoning. I wanted the blissful moment when the light left their eyes, to drink the flavor of their terror, to suck dry every emotion they would ever feel again and grow stronger from it. The sheer delight of knowing that what they once deemed lesser would become the source of my power—right before their ugly, gasping faces—was arousing on a different level. They made me. They failed to extinguish my rebel flame. They missed their chance to erase me from this world's visage.

And now, now I could only smile at what the guard's death had brought me; a new title, a new path, and a hidden evolution I never imagined was possible. I really should thank her—for giving me this bracelet. And once we're out of here, I'll savor a new, glorious evolution.

But for now, I'll have to hope he had something useful on him. A key, perhaps. Or anything to unlock these damned collars.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Anything useful on him?" asked the dark elf who looked over my shoulder.

I shook my head. "Nothing of use, I'm afraid."

"Damn, I was sure he had a key with him last time. Maybe another guard has it now…"

"Albeit, maybe something from those broken crates could help us? Even if most of those look like rather useless junk," I said while rummaging through the scattered pieces.

"I guess your appraisal only works on living things?" the elf said, more stating than asking.

"Yeah. The skill is already rare as it is; having one that gives you universal understanding is probably something demi-gods would have," I answered, standing up.

He chuckled. "I doubt we're finding one of those down here—or at least I hope so. Demi-gods tend to be rather terrifying."

I turned to him and raised a brow. "You've met one?"

"Met Numa. That sadistic bastard. We were on a mission back then, trying to protect a town against a horde of mana-beasts. He was also there, but once he killed all of the beasts, he didn't stop. Instead, he continued and razed the city. After nearly killing all of my comrades, he decided he got bored and left," he explained, his eyes darkening.

"He's the reason why you broke your creed?" I pushed further.

The dark elf laughed. "No, he was merely a pebble in a sea of rocks. Maybe I'll tell you more after a good ale and a pleasant night~"

I rolled my eyes and ignored his wiggling brows. "First, you should start getting useful—like you said you would."

He dramatically raised a flat hand to his forehead. "Woe me, rejected on the spot. But oh well, you are right."

Then, without much trouble, he placed his hand over the collar and—simply ripped it off.

I stared at him. A shit-eating smile spread across his face, and he didn't even need to speak; I knew exactly what he was telling me.

My teeth clenched. "You could have helped me the whole time, you asshole. You were literally watching."

"To my defense, it still weakened me, and it'll take me quite a while to gather my full strength. So I played it safe—especially since I can't really trust a demoness now, can I?" He shrugged, and I couldn't really stay mad. His assessment was right. I would've done the same.

I took a deep breath and walked past him to the moon elves. Kila still looked fearful; I guessed she didn't have many pleasant memories of demons. The kids, on the other hand, seemed far more excited. Their gazes practically gleamed—especially Nelua's.

I smiled softly and then asked out loud, "Can you also remove their collars?"

"I sure can try," came the reply as the voice walked past me. "You can also call me Drask, by the way. I prefer that over just being called 'you'."

He crouched down to inspect Nelua's collar. "Mhrm. Theirs are much more powerful than mine. Either they gave them better ones, or mine simply lost its power and eroded over time. I didn't exactly check, because I knew I could just rip it off after a while—even if it weakened me. But to remove theirs? Maybe in a day or so."

"Too bad, but also not the worst thing. I rather doubt they'll have to wear them that long with her around. So we should just get moving and meet up with my accomplice," I said.

"Right, and that… uuh, esteemed guest, was it? Who is that anyway?" asked Drask.

"She is our savior! And, and is really, really powerful and also an honored witch! A-Also, she is a de—" yipped Fîr, but Nelua slapped a hand over her mouth before she could say more.

"Hush," Nelua whispered sternly.

Drask looked at me, clearly surprised. "Your employer is an honored witch?"

I sighed. "I wish that was all. She's also a Jaeger Matriarch."

That made his mouth drop open. "You're kidding me! In what world is a Jaeger Matriarch working together with a demoness?"

I laughed. "One raised by the witches' High Council. And her familiar? Freaking fae royalty."

"So, why is that place still standing? That sounds like a combination as bad as a demi-god," Drask muttered.

I shrugged. "I honestly have no idea. They're eerily approachable and nice—for what they are. She's also kind of the patron of the moon elves and came here for them. But then she decided to free every slave. Creepy, isn't it?"

"It is indeed creepy. She mus—"

"Stop insulting our honored guest!" snapped Kila, her voice sharp with anger.

Drask raised his hands in defeat. "Alright, alright—no need to glare at me like that."

"We ssshould get going and meet up with your partner," said Lena, who had finally regained her composure.

"I agree. But let's try to take a different way back so we won't run directly into new guards."

╭══◞ Asche POV ◟══╮

As I made my way to the backstage area where the slaves were probably held, I ran straight into a group of guards the moment I turned the corner. A few had already collapsed, while others were just beginning to stand back up. Her aura must've spread farther than I expected. Some of them looked at me warily, but didn't really care. Probably because I still looked like my former adult self.

Poor Jeff looked all shaken up.

As I walked past, I heard him muttering something about quitting the job and going back to being a normal guard. Good choice, Jeff, good choice.

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The left-side hall beside the auction hall mirrored the one Deidre and I used earlier to access the back. Only this time, I chose the corridor that led towards the stage.

Or so I thought.

Apparently, this one sloped gently downward in a curved spiral. Not steep, just low enough to make it easy to roll goods on a cart. At the end of the narrow path stood a massive iron door—it wasn't locked.

As I stepped through, countless eyes fell on me. Most of them were slaves, but a few were guards—probably mages too.

"Who're you?" asked one of the robed men. White masks covered their faces but did little to hide their hostility.

I had no time for this. Without hesitation, I sent wind blades flying across the room, targeting everyone who looked like they were guarding the slaves. They didn't even have time to react. Those who tried—who raised swords or threw up magic barriers—wore disbelief in their eyes as their headless bodies dropped to the floor.

A few members of the regular staff started to scream as blood spilled across the stones.

"Quiet!" I snapped.

Surprisingly, they listened.

As I approached a group of very beautiful beast-kin, I noticed one staff member trying to slither away behind a crate.

"Nuh-uh," I said, locking eyes with him. I used wind magic to shove him in my direction.

"Mind telling me how I can remove these ugly collars?"

He started to shake and pointed at someone hiding behind two other employees.

"Ah, I see," I murmured.

The one he pointed at? The same bastard I'd seen onstage at the start of this whole mess—the auctioneer.

A grin slid across my face as I floated closer, hovering just above the growing pool of blood without stepping in it.

"Care to help me unlock those terrible, terrible collars?" I asked sweetly, tilting my head.

Without much resistance, he fumbled into his jacket and pulled out a polished, yellow-tinged crystal. "Y-You only have t-to hold it and look in the direction of the p-person, then think of removing the collar for it t-to w-work."

I stepped forwards and snatched it from his hand as he flinched away. What a fucking coward. All high and mighty on stage, and now, the moment he's losing, he can't even hold his spine straight. Not even worth killing.

Instead, I did what he said. I faced the silent slaves standing like puppets across the room and focused on each one, imagining their freedom. One by one, their collars snapped open and fell to the ground—replaced by a whirlwind of emotion in their eyes.

I gave them a moment before raising my voice, "You're free—but not out of danger yet. So listen to me if you want to leave and live."

Someone I assumed to be an arachne was the first to recover her composure. She stepped forwards, offering a graceful bow with both her spider and human body.

"I will thank you forever for freeing us," she said.

I waved a hand dismissively. "I only followed my orders."

Then I turned back to the auctioneer.

"Is there a way to get down from here?"

He gestured to another heavy door. "T-This leads directly below the stage. There's a magivator that brings you d-down into the warehouse and b-back up."

"Perfect," I said, then raised my voice. "You'll all stay here until someone named Deidre arrives from the direction I'm leaving through. Barricade the doors until then and wait. Understood?"

The arachne nodded and hurried deeper into the room.

╭══◞ Deidre POV ◟══╮

It didn't take long until we encountered our first guard, but Drask managed to grab him from behind before he could even make a sound. The young man fell unconscious quickly in the headlock. This dark elf was strong, even in his weakened state.

We moved deeper, step by step, until we reached the same place Aska had pushed me down earlier. Grr, I am so getting her back for that.

To the left, beneath the side catwalk, stood the magivator that would bring us back up.

"Anyone see any guards?" I asked.

They all shook their heads.

I motioned for them to follow, and we hurried towards the magivator. But just moments after we left our cover, more guards emerged from theirs.

They'd been waiting for us. Shit.

"Who do we have here? Some filthy slaves trying to escape with the help of anoth—"

Before he could finish, his head fell from his shoulders—followed by the rest of his squad.

Baffled, I caught sight of someone who looked like an older version of the matriarch stepping through a wide door near the dwarven machinery. I hadn't even seen her spell until it hit.

The others reacted the same way, everyone except Drask, who eyed her with a grim expression.

"Is that the Matriarch?" he asked.

"No," answered the older version. Then, before our eyes, she shifted back into her smaller wolf-kin form.

"Askaaa!" Fîr and Nelua cried out joyfully, rushing towards her.

"Oh, you can actually tell who I am?" she asked, her voice suddenly sweeter, much younger than before.

"Of course! You played with us in the carriage and helped prank Zary with us!"

Kila ran after the children, completely ignoring the corpses—as if Aska's arrival had erased all danger. Even the children didn't flinch. Goddess, just what kind of things were they used to?

Drask, on the other hand, seemed even more concerned.

"Everything okay?"

"Tell me, what do you get when you try to appraise her?" he asked.

I cringed.

"I see…" he muttered after catching my reaction. "Every passive skill and instinct I have is telling me to run. To leave this city and never come back. Even the demi-god didn't trigger a reaction like this—what kind of beings are fae royalty?"

That caught my attention. For someone who had supposedly encountered the elven demi-god Numa to react like this—what kind of monsters were those two truly? I should definitely not tell him that trying to appraise her breaks the System outright.

As I walked up to Aska, she looked me over. "You look exhausted."

"I am," I admitted. "My energy's nearly gone. I don't even know how we would've handled this without you. So please tell me you have good news."

"Weeeeeell. Kind of, I guess? The auction's over. I took down most of the dwarven machinery and freed the slaves that were directly sold during the event. The remaining guards… shouldn't bother us for now. It's a mess up there, and I think the nobles will flee without making much noise. Our totally-not-a-vampire caused a rather unique kind of chaos, so—yeah."

"Huh… do I want to know what happened?" I asked slowly.

She shook her head. "You really don't. And our goal of being somewhat sneaky? That's gone too. But we're still freeing the slaves. I'll take care of the rest down here. So—what complexes still have people?"

"Everyone but the second. That one's empty," I lied. "Killed a young guard there."

"Mhm. Alright. What's the estimated number?"

"Around thirty-five."

Aska nodded. "Okay. Then go. Take the door I came through. There's another magivator inside that leads directly to the area beneath the stage. Once you're up, turn right. There's a waiting room where the goods were held for buyers. I told them to barricade themselves, so knock and tell them your name. They should let you in then. After that, wait for me and further instructions. We'll also need to let the guests leave first."

She turned as if to go, then paused.

"Oh—before I forget."

She pulled out a yellowish crystal and turned to the moon elves. One by one, their collars fell away. Then she glanced at Drask and noticed his was already gone. Finally, her eyes settled on me, narrowing slightly.

"Where is Lena?"

Huh?

I turned around.

She was gone.

"Drask?"

He looked just as confused as I felt. "I didn't notice she was missing. Just how little presence does that snake even have?"

Aska sighed. "It's fine. I'll look for her. Please—go now."

I nodded. "Okay. Let's go."

Without another word, she transformed into a bird and flew towards the first complex. I led the others the way she'd told us.

This whole mission had turned out very differently than I expected.

╭══◞ MC POV ◟══╮

In the old man's office, who apparently indulged in other activities besides being a butler, I was presented with some basic floor plans of the mansions. Unfortunately, most of them were too small for me, didn't have enough different rooms for their size, or simply didn't appeal to me. Though one floor plan sparked my interest.

"What about this one?"

The old man looked at the plan and its associated documents.

"Well, it is free. Albeit, this mansion is close to the academy. And since many of the students from the noble houses commute daily between their homes and the academy, they also pass by this property. So there might be some encounters that might disturb you, especially since a student society from the academy wanted to use the mansion as their housing."

I considered it for a moment. It actually sounded a bit annoying. Since I would be moving in as a Jaeger Matriarch and a teacher, there was a good chance they would not respect me and would quickly get on my nerves. Unless I fabricated a reason to make myself entirely unavailable, which should not be difficult. Either way, according to the documents, this house was the only one with an extensive and well-equipped library that contained a myriad of rare books and historical records. It also had a small workshop and hidden areas beneath the estate that fit perfectly with my plans for founding a certain gardening club. Not to mention the large cellar vaults, which were perfect for storing ingots and other goods. It even included secret passages and two smaller outer houses for staff and knights.

"No, I'll take this one. Please prepare the required documents and a carriage to take us directly there, we—"

The Vetala, who still was carrying the Teade, tugged at my dress. "You do realize you forgot something?"

"Uhh..." I considered.

"Zary and the others?"

I struck my forehead with the palm of my hand. I'd entirely forgotten about that part of the plan. "Ah yes, that's right. Thanks for the reminder."

'Asche, would you be so kind as to lead the slaves with Deidre up to Zary and go with them? And then later come to my location with like four or five of the freed slaves? Ah, and please take the arachne with you.'

'Uh, of course… wait. Where are you going?'

'Got us a nice mansion near the academy~' I purred.

'Oooh, already? Am I supposed to bring some furniture, my dresses and plushies? What about my pet?! You should have told me sooner! Just where am I supposed to put my stone collection?'

I giggled through our mind link and smiled, 'You're silly… we can put your rock collection next to my skull collection.'

Aska snorted, 'Okay, okay. You won. Let me get the rest of the slaves and that snake that slithered away.'

'Snake?'

'Yeah, the lamia princess we found either ran away or has the same terrible sense of orientation as you. If so, you two might become best frie—'

I cut the link. That sneaky little woman became more and more like a fae. Not that I had something against that.

"Mistress?"

"Ah yes, sorry," I said and turned my attention back to the butler, "Please, prepare a carriage for us and bring us to the estate so I can inspect it before I'll give it to my friend. Oh, also don't stop whoever else is leaving after us through the entrance we came from. The scale should more than cover any damage or loss incurred tonight, am I correct?"

The butler nodded, "Yes, the scale is more than… enough."

A wolfish grin appeared on my face, "What did he say?"

The old man hesitated, "He said whatever you want is yours, even if it's all we own… or my life. But he also wishes that you never take another step inside this place."

"In those words?"

"N-No… he used a rather crude description," the butler admitted.

I laughed, "Wonderful, thank you for telling me. We can go now."

"Of course, if you please follow me. We will have to go further down through the casino to reach the magivator that goes into the Royal District. We're experiencing some… technical difficulties today, so all nobles are being directed out through this route," he said slowly and led the way.

"How unfortunate," I said smiling. Yes, really unfortunate.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

We were already sitting in a pompous carriage, which held no coat of arms yet asserted that someone high ranked was inside. Tulsi and Sophia carried my Teade the entire way, which made some people in the casino stare—but no one dared to ask. Word had apparently gotten around quickly.

Piece by piece, everything fused together. The butler had quickly prepared everything and informed the current servants maintaining the estate, via a magic crystal from his pocket, that the new owner would arrive shortly to inspect everything before gifting it to the Jaeger Matriarch 'Aska von Asche'.

Before we arrived, however, there were still two other problems to solve: my appearance and the collar.

The problem with my appearance could be fixed quickly by recasting the magic. The collar, unfortunately, was a tad trickier.

I studied the divine threads that enveloped the item. First, I had to disconnect the threads from the System. A bright light illuminated the carriage interior. A golden metallic liquid dripped onto the collar from the long, sharp nail tip of my index finger. With each drop, the collar's structure changed further until, ultimately, it was made of pure gold. Even the beginnings of the threadlike connections had turned golden.

I grinned with satisfaction. Midas's curse was just as powerful as before. The spell usurped ownership of the object it was cast upon; the side effect was complete gilding. Fortunately, this magic did not affect living beings... unless you really wanted it to. But the aspect of Greed had much easier ways to accomplish that.

Now it was possible to cut the divine threads with my soul magic—combined with Greed—without significant harm to my Teade. So, I went to work. It took me quite a while, and a void full of mana, to sever those 'fragile' cancerous threads. But with Absolute Territory paired with the Soul Blade, it wasn't too hard in the end.

Finally, I tapped the collar, and it disintegrated into fine gold dust—she was freed.

The coachman announced a few seconds later that we would arrive soon.

Just before we reached our destination, I could feel my little fox girl stirring. Sluggishly, she opened her eyes and tried to orient herself until they eventually settled on my face.

"Good morning, my dear Teade," I said lovingly and cupped her cheek with my scaly hand.