After the battle, Aurelia received a notification on her phone that said her money had been returned, and at the bottom was a message that read:

“Due to the large sum of cash you wagered, we are unable to give you your winnings at this time. Therefore, we, the Black Mask Guild, would like to invite you to visit one of our members so we can discuss the terms of your most recent bet. Thank you for your understanding.”

Attached to the message were directions to the room they wanted to meet her in, along with an invitation. 

Aurelia beamed and showed the message to her butler, “Let’s go get my new maid!” Then she got up and pushed a few people out of the way to head toward the meeting room. 

Bernard shook his head at her behavior, but there was one thing he was concerned about, “Young Miss, that child doesn’t look like someone who would bow down to another. In fact, from what I know about the Black Mask Guild, she wouldn’t be in her current situation if she had submitted to them.”

Aurelia tilted her head to look back at her butler, “Hmm? What do you mean?”

With a straight face, Bernard replied, “The Black Mask Guild usually doesn’t force children to participate in the Gladiatorial Battles. Instead, they are sold at an underground auction or become part of their organization. There’s no point in doing anything else with them.”

Aurelia frowned as she immediately understood what Bernard was trying to say. He was saying that Mika was too valuable to sell to someone else, yet she didn’t want to be part of the organization. So, all they can do now is hope they can wear down her mind enough that she eventually joins of her own volition.

“So, you don’t think Mika will want to be my maid?” Aurelia asked with a slight frown. 

“Hmm…” Bernard stopped to think for a minute, to organize his thoughts. As a butler, he has many jobs, one of which is understanding people based on their body language, mannerisms, and speech. From there, he can make assumptions about their character. For example, someone polite, submissive, responsible, hardworking, and clean would be a great maid. 

However, from what he knew about swordsmen, they are very prideful, disciplined, independent, and aggressive. A swordsman, or any martial artist, is more likely to resort to violence than a peaceful discussion. Such were not the qualities of a good maid or even a half-decent one.

‘Mika had all the characteristics of a swordsman, maybe more. From the look in her eyes, I could tell that she cares deeply about her path as a swordswoman.’ Bernard thought.

“I think Mika would prefer to stay here than be your maid, Young Miss,” Bernard answered truthfully, “At least here she can fight, gain honor, and acquire a reputation. If she were your maid, she’d be stuck doing menial chores instead of training or fighting.”

Aurelia tilted her head and frowned, deep in thought. Bernard didn’t say anything else, and the two walked to their destination in silence. 

A few minutes later, they navigated through the Black Market and arrived in front of the room they were supposed to meet. Aurelia put her phone under a scanner, and the door unlocked. 

Butcher, who was sitting in the room, stood up to greet the big shot who could bet so much money, but froze when he saw who it was. 

“Aurelia Von Emporvas…” He muttered in disbelief. A cold sensation ran down his body from head to toe as if he were dumped in an ice bath, and he realized he was in deeper shit than he initially thought.

Hearing her name, Aurelia raised an eyebrow, “Oh? Do you know me?” 

Butcher snapped out of his thoughts and smiled wryly, “Please don’t joke with me, Miss Emporvas. Everyone knows who the daughter of the Merchant King is.” 

Aurelia nodded but didn’t pay him any mind. She entered the room and sat at the table with her butler standing behind her, his eyes never leaving Butcher’s body.

“Well, let’s get down to business!” Aurelia said, crossing her legs and interlocking her fingers. 

Butcher nodded and said, “Very well,” then sat across from her, looking calm and collected. However, deep down, he was cursing all of Aurelia’s ancestors. ‘Dammit! It just had to be someone from the Emporvas family! If it was anyone else, we might’ve been able to weasel our way out of this, but…’

Not wanting to get too worked up before the negotiations began, he cleared his throat and started speaking, “Before we start, I’d like to inform you that we don’t have the amount we owe you in cash.”

Aurelia nodded, not surprised in the least, “That’s fine. I didn’t want cash in the first place.”

“What I want is Mika, the Sword Oni.”

“Err…Eh?” Butcher was stunned! He sat there, staring at Aurelia, his mouth opening and closing like a fish. He didn’t expect her to say that at all! 

“You want… Mika… as compensation?”

Aurelia gave a firm nod, “Yes! In fact, by my calculations, just Mika alone isn’t enough to cover the debt you owe me, but as I said before, I’m not here for the money. I just got lucky you didn’t put a limit on the amount of money I could bet.” She gave Butcher a wink.

She knew she had the upper hand in this negotiation. There was nothing Butcher could do other than listen to her in this situation. If he doesn’t listen to her demands, all she needs to do is tell her father about the bet and how they haven’t paid, and then it’s game over. Once the Emporvas family gets involved… He shivered just thinking about it.

He can’t even do anything physically, as the butler behind her is more than capable of bringing her to safety. 

However, on the other hand, he was lucky she didn’t ask for anything else. Mika cost them nothing, but they earned a fortune from her. Now, she’s getting ‘sold’ because of a bet, but it’s not like they lost anything.

Butcher gritted his teeth since he knew all this as well. If he didn’t relent and give Aurelia what she wanted, then the Black Market, the Black Mask Guild, everything would go down the drain. 

“...Fine. You can have Mika.” He then took out a contract, “Is there anything else you want, or do you just want Mika?”

“Just Mika is fine,” Aurelia replied. 

Butcher nodded, took out his phone, and called someone, “Bring Mika to room 401.” 

“Yes, sir!” A voice came out from the other end.

Afterward, Butcher began writing up the contract. 

A few minutes later, a person wearing a black mask walked into the room with a red-haired child in chains. Even though she was chained up, the girl still held her head high and walked as if she owned the place. She didn’t look like a slave at all. 

She glanced at Aurelia, then Bernard, and finally Butcher, then looked away, not saying a word. 

Aurelia’s eyes burned into Mika like a tiger that had found its prey. The young merchant stood up, smiled, and stretched out her hand to greet her, “Hello, Mika. My name is Aurelia Von Emporvas, and starting today, I’ll be your new Master!”

Mika’s lazy expression sharpened, and she turned to face Aurelia. She looked her up and down before landing on her hand, which she noticed was soft and smooth like a baby’s bottom. She was going to ignore the girl again, but then Mika heard the System’s voice, and her expression changed. Disdain appeared in her eyes, and her lips morphed into a sneer.

“You? Who the hell even are you? What Master? You think you can own me just because you have a bit of money?” Veins bulged in Mika’s head, and she pointed at Butcher, “Even this muscle-brained asshole can’t own me, much less a child like you.” 

“...”

The room fell into silence as everyone stared at Mika, flabbergasted! In just a few sentences, she provoked and made an enemy out of everyone in the room! Well, except for Butcher, who was now used to this kind of talk. However, he let it slide since she was making him rich, but the same couldn’t be said for the other two. 

Aurelia just stood there, mouth wide open, speechless. Not once in her entire life has someone ever spoken to her like that! 

Bernard was equally as stunned, but he regained his calm quickly. Still, he kept quiet as it wasn’t his place to speak. He was just a butler, after all. 

‘This is the Young Miss’s decision. I tried to warn her, but she didn’t listen. However, maybe having someone like Mika around will help fix some of her behaviors.’ He thought with slight amusement. 

Aurelia, on the other hand, wasn’t having it as easy. Her entire face turned red, and her body trembled in anger. She slowly raised a hand and pointed at Mika, “You… You… You… How dare you say that to me?!”

The disdain in Mika’s eyes increased, but she kept quiet. There was no need for her to say anything anyways, as her silence spoke more than words could. 

Aurelia noticed this as well, which only made her angrier. However, she at least had enough self-control to calm herself down and not get so agitated in a place like this. 

She grabbed Mika’s chains with a huff and said, “Since I’ve already signed the contract and the goods have just arrived, we’ll take our leave now. Goodbye, Mr. Butcher.” 

With that, she walked out of the room with Mika and the butler in tow. 

Butcher watched his cash cow leave the room while in someone else’s possession with a slight frown. His back was hunched, and his eyes drooped with sadness, but soon a smirk appeared on his face. 

“That kid… she’s going to have a hard time dealing with that Emporvas child. Heh. I bet she’ll be dying to come back here after a week. Hahaha!” Although he knew that would never happen, he didn’t think it would be far from the truth. 

***

The trip back to the Emporvas estate was silent but for different reasons. Aurelia was still upset from earlier, and she wanted to confront Mika about it, but the latter was staring out the car's window, enraptured with the City. 

Unfortunately, she couldn’t get a great look as it only took a few minutes to the estate, but when Mika laid eyes on it, they nearly bulged out of their sockets! The place was huge! The house alone was the size of a large castle that sat on countless acres of land, and behind it was a small farm with all sorts of plants and animals.

The grass was evenly trimmed and vibrant. There were bright, colorful flowers lined neatly along the edges of the mansion. Trees were evenly spaced apart, and the bushes were all the same height and width. Lastly, from what Mika could notice, the estate was perfectly symmetrical from all sides. 

The whole place just screamed perfect!

‘Damn! Aren’t these people richer than my parents?’ Mika’s mouth went agape as she wondered, ‘What did I get myself into?’

Seeing Mika standing there looking like a country bumpkin, Aurelia puffed out her chest and said with unconcealed pride, “Welcome to the Emporvas estate, where you’ll be staying for the foreseeable future! I look forward to seeing your performance as a maid, Mika!”