In the room, Gerhart and Hope patiently waited while looking at Havre peacefully asleep on the bed, her body sounding popping sounds from time to time. Gerhart dumped most of the leftover energy into Havre's body, a total of 1,680 points, all to level her up, leaving 100 for emergencies.

"Do you think this will make her situation better?" Gerhart asked, feeling concerned.

"It should help, but it is curing the symptoms, not the cause." Hope had a complicated look. "I am not a doctor, and I only read about it, but to solve her problem, you would likely need to solve the disassociation in her mind, meaning you need to either mend her underdeveloped talent or raise her innate stats and talents to a sufficiently high level. Otherwise, except when facing you, she would eventually flare up again."

The reason why Havre behaved well after becoming a Thrall was because of Gerhart's presence. Her status as a Thrall forcefully calmed her down, but it was only a safety mechanism to protect Gerhart. Once he wasn't near her, she would revert to her earlier madness.

"Still. You say Havre was supposed to be a Sword Saint? Those are legendary figures. To suffer the Incompleteness Sickness of a Sword Saint until now without breaking— What unbelievable willpower. If I didn't say anything, she might have lasted even longer. She is a monster, through and through." Hope said with a grimace.

"Can you stop calling her a monster? She is as much of a person as we are." Gerhart helplessly said.

"Master, she could kill us by using her hands like swords. One wrong move, and she could behead us. Incomplete talent or not, she is a bloody monster." Hope shuddered.

Even now, she didn't get over her trauma of nearly getting her hand cut off.

"Okay, she is a monster. But stop saying it out loud..." Gerhart inwardly thought.

"Do you think giving her energy would help fix her talent?" Gerhart asked.

"I am unsure since it isn't in my knowledge, but at minimum, you would need tens of thousands of points, if not millions," Hope said, uncertain. "It is worth a try, however."

"Hm." Gerhart nodded.

"By the way, there is a method we can use to have more freedom. But I am unsure if you would do it." Hope said, her expression was a bit heavy.

"What?" Gerhart curiously asked.

"It is to convert the entire village into Thralls," Hope said with a calculative look. "If you do that, the villagers will cover for you, lying to the Kingdom and allowing you much freedom of movement. It would be simple since we have Havre on our side. With her, we can isolate villagers, knock them out, or drug them, and gradually convert the entire village by force, turning it into your first base of operations. You can also use reverse blessing to get all their talents."

"Hope, that's evil." Gerhart grimaced. "I made you and Havre my Thralls out of necessity and goodwill, not to gain minions for world domination. And you said it yourself. If I die, all my Thralls die with me."

"Hah... Yeah, I figured as much. Your kindness is what I admire about you and also your biggest weakness." Hope sighed. "Any other method I can think of is waiting until eight months pass or taking an unnecessary risk."

"Well, unless I am in a corner, I wouldn't use such a—"

Creak*

"Havre? Are you here?" A feminine voice called out from the living room.

"SHIT!" Gerhart and Hope panicked.

They forgot Havre stayed here for close to two hours. Missing for that long must have worried her family, so they sent someone to check. And now, Havre was in the middle of being Blessed. If they find her like this, Gerhart would be in deep shit.

"Hope, can I stop the blessing?" Gerhart whispered.

"Impossible. It will continue until the energy runs out." Hope whispered back.

Tap* Tap* Tap* Tap*

"Havre? Are you in the rooms?" Unfortunately, the voice was fast approaching their room.

"Can we lie to her?" Gerhart whispered, feeling nervous.

"We can't. It's a village. Everything is transparent here." Hope whispered back, her mind wheels turning.

.

.

.

A minute ago, Annabelle, Harve's elder sister, came over to check on her since she hadn't returned yet, and it was getting close to dinner time. She asked around and confirmed Havre was still in the guesthouse, so she was sure she was there.

"Jeez, that girl. She promised to help me with dinner." Annabelle muttered and opened the door to the guesthouse.

In their village, they only sometimes knocked on each other's doors, and they had no qualms with entering without permission. It was because they viewed everyone as a family, a community. There was no fear of stealing since they didn't have anything valuable to steal, and if someone stole something, everyone would know.

As Annabelle entered the house, she looked around the living room/ kitchen and found it empty.

"Havre? Are you here?" Annabelle called out, but there was no answer.

"Weird. Havre usually answers immediately. Is she preoccupied with something? Maybe she didn't hear me?" Annabelle thought and walked to the rooms.

"Havre? Are you in the rooms?" Annabelle called out again.

Still no answer. Annabelle couldn't help but turn suspicious that Havre left together with Gerhart and Hope somewhere.

"But I still need to make sure." She told herself and was about to open the master bedroom,

Creak* Clap* Creak* Clap* Creak* Clap* Creak* 

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Oh! Ah!"

Annabelle paused as she heard noises that sounded like sex on a bed.

"Oh, my~. Atta girl! Already hooked him in." Annabelle stifled a giggle, genuinely happy for her sister. "I should probably leave and let them go at it. I'll make Esme help me instead."

She thought and was about to go back. However, a naughty thought crossed her mind, a blush on her cheeks.

"Originally, I was supposed to seduce him since I am the oldest, but Father wanted Havre to do it first because of her unknown broken talent. I want to see what I am missing, especially since he is my type. A peek. Just an innocent little peek wouldn't hurt." Annabelle thought like a curious cat.

But sometimes, curiosity killed the cat.

Clack*

Creak* Clap* Creak* Clap* Creak* Clap* Creak* 

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Oh! Ah— Oh..."

After gently opening the door, Annabelle peeked inside and saw the Mousekin slave, Hope, bouncing on the bed while clapping her hands. And then, their eyes locked, and Hope stopped with a look of someone caught red-handed.

"What in tarnations..." Annabelle muttered in incomprehension. And then she looked at the bed and saw her sister unconscious, veins wriggling under her skin.

"Havre?!" Seeing her sister like that, Annabelle instinctively rushed forward to check her condition.

But after several steps forward, a thick and muscular arm wrapped around her neck and squeezed into a chokehold, pressed against a steel-like muscular body.

"Gue...!" Annabelle let out a stifled, throaty voice, holding the hand for dear life.

"What's going on?! Who?!" Annabelle thought in shock, scratching the hand holding her. But the skin on it was so tough she barely left a white mark. And when she kicked the legs, she felt like kicking logs.

"I must act now!" Feeling her consciousness blurring due to the lack of oxygen, Annabelle reached for the self-defense dagger on her belt, intent on using it to stab her assailant.

Just when she grabbed the handle, a furry, padded hand grabbed her hand.

"H-Hope?! Why?!" Annabelle felt betrayed as she looked at Hope, looking back at her with a guilty expression.

"Sorry..." A masculine voice whispered in her ear as her vision turned black.

.

.

.

Once Gerhart knocked her out, he gently placed her on the floor, feeling incomparably guilty.

"I... I went and did it now..." Gerhart muttered, feeling heartbroken.

"Master, there is no time. Convert her, now!" Hope urged.

"I know..." Gerhart felt pained but still did it.

He placed a hand on her head and muttered with a heavy heart. "Make her my Thrall."

The next moment, black energy seeped into the unconscious beauty. Several moments later, Annabelle began to spasm, rejecting it, but soon calmed down.

 

Annabelle Elkington has converted successfully.

 

"Done," Gerhart muttered with a heavy heart.

"Master, quickly. Heal her before someone else arrives." Hope urged.

"Wouldn't that also heal any scars she has?" Gerhart worriedly asked.

"You can specify what you want to heal. Focus on the brain and neck." Hope said.

"Okay," Gerhart muttered. "Heal her brain and neck."

Once again, energy left his body, entering Annabelle's body. The mark on her neck and her oxygen-deprived mind quickly recovered.

Annabelle soon opened her eyes, confused. And then she looked at Gerhart and shook, quickly getting on her hands and feet and lowering her head.

"I greet the Lord," Annabelle said, head on the ground, shaking in fear.

"Oh, not again..." Gerhart felt helpless.

"Change position to Personal Assistant." Gerhart didn't want any more bullshit and decided her position immediately.

Annabelle shook again and got up before respectfully speaking. "Greetings, my lord. Annabelle is at your service."

"Annabelle, this is urgent. Please pretend you heard Havre and Master having sex and returned. And also, pretend he isn't our master." Hope quickly said. "It is to protect Master."

"!!! Understood." Annabelle didn't ask questions, nodded, and left.

"Hah..." Hope sighed in relief as she saw the door close.

She then looked at Gerhart, only to see him with a despairing look, clutching his hair while kneeling.

"I... I did it. I enslaved an innocent person against their will. I crossed my bottom line..." Gerhart muttered, covered in cold sweat.

Buying a slave and treating them well is one thing. Turning a person into a Thrall to give them power or heal them after explaining things was still okay. Even killing someone who attacks you was acceptable. But what he did now was none of those.

He assaulted Annabelle, choked her unconscious, and stripped her freedom, forcefully binding her to his will in the absolute sense. In a sense, it was like perpetual rape. He never committed such an atrocious, evil act. It was his first evil deed.

"I wish I didn't get this power... What if I do it again? How will I look at Mylo and Hazel's graves? What would I confess to Mother Roysa? I— Am I becoming a monster? No, a devil?" Gerhart shook in fear. He feared himself, fearing what he would become.

"I created a precedent. In the future, it would be easier for me to do this again. Will the power corrupt me? Am I becoming evil? I—"

Hug*

Gerhart stopped talking as he felt furry hands wrapping from behind. "Sh... Everything is okay. I am here with you." Hope softly whispered in his ear. "You did this to protect me and Havre. It was self-defense. You are a good person, Gerhart, a brave, kind man. So please, don't be burdened, or I will be troubled."

"Uuu... Huhuhu..." Like a damn bursting, Gerhart began to cry. "I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry..."

He apologized to Annabelle. He apologized to her family and village. He apologized to the deceased Mylo and Hazel. He apologized to Mother Roysa. He apologized to the gods above. And, most of all, he apologized to himself for committing such a deed.

"It is okay, Gerhart. She can still lead a peaceful and happy life. There wouldn't be any difference, so don't take it hard on yourself. Okay?" Hope comforted, gently hugging him.

After a minute of crying, Gerhart finally calmed down.

"Feeling better?" Hope asked.

"Yes, thank you," Gerhart said, feeling better after pouring his emotions. "Sorry for the shameful, weak display."

"It's okay. I think you cried because you are strong and virtuous, not weak. It is not shameful at all." Hope said, cupping Gerhart's cheek, moving his head to her, showing a gentle smile, and kissing him.

"Mmm." Gerhart was surprised but accepted the kiss, closing his eyes.

The kiss lasted longer than expected as they embraced each other, letting nature take its course. Their tongue clumsily entangled, hands touched each other, and clothes rustled.

.

.

.

(More on next chap)