After what Mog said, everyone already stopped eating. After a small pause, Mazoga asked Erno, "So, what's the plan?"

Everyone turned to Erno. He was the unofficial leader of this group since he was an old scholar and 5th circle mage.

Erno didn't reply immediately. He turned to Mog and asked, "Do you remember where you were kidnapped, exactly?"

Mog nodded and replied, "In my house. I was sleeping at the time. Oh, right, I need to go and take my father's ashes from there! The mistress promised me that I could take his ashes back."

Erno nodded and said, "Then it's settled. After breakfast, I will go with Mog to the young mistress and tell her what happened. In the meantime, Faevyre, Borso, you two wash up and gear up. Oh, and bring Jackson with you."

Faevyre understood what he meant and nodded, "Alright."

Everyone except for Mog nodded. Mog couldn't help but ask, "Whose Jackson?"

Cispia turned to him and said, "Our Cinder hound."

Mog had thought for a bit, and then his eyes lit up, "Oh, I get it! It's to track my kidnappers, right?"

Faevyre nodded with a ferocious grin, "That's the gist of it! Although...now that I think about it, our mansion's poor cinder hound, Jackson, broke his chew toy last week. How about we give him a live present... Nhehehe..."

Borso nodded, "Jackson cute."

Faevyre leaned on him and purred, "I know, right~."

Mog sweated - Live chew toy?! That doesn't sound cute at all!

Livia suddenly asked Faevyre cutely, "Can I come too? Pleaseee~..."

Faevyre considered it for a moment and said, "Yeah, sure. You could use the live example. As long as Cispia covers for you, it's fine."

Livia then turned to Cispia and gave her a puppy-eyed look. Cispia let out an exasperated sigh and said, "Fine... I will cover for you. You owe me one."

Livia smiled brightly and hugged Cispia, "Thanks, Cispia! That's why you're my bestie!" 

The rest of the breakfast went peacefully. After they finished eating, Faevyre, Borso, and Livia went to wash up and gear up. Mazoga went back to her work, while Mog, Cispia, and Erno went to Consentia.

Consentia just exited the dining room when she saw her Cispia and Mog coming to her along with her teacher.

She asked in surprise, "Teacher, why did you come? Is there something wrong?"

Erno usually kept to himself in the study. It was rare for him to seek the Fidelis siblings himself. In the rare case that he needed anything from her, he would usually contact her through a servant.

Erno calmly said, "Well, you see, it's about Mog."

Consentia frowned slightly and asked, "Yes? What about him?"

Erno asked, "Does the young mistress know about the circumstances of how Mog got enslaved?"

Consentia's frown deepened, "I was told by the auction house that he was caught stealing and that he was sold as a convicted slave. Why? Did I receive incorrect information?"

Erno nodded, "It's a bit complicated. Let me explain it in the study room..."

After walking for a bit, they arrived in a large study filled with precious papyrus scrolls and books. Mog marveled at it since the study perhaps contained over a thousand scrolls and books, all filled with precious knowledge.

Before he could enter the room, Erno stopped him, "You stay outside together with Livia. Some things are better left unheard."

Mog was a little reluctant since he wanted to look inside the study, but he nodded and stayed outside together with Livia.

 

 

 

 

 

After closing the door to the study, with soundproofing runes shining on it, Erno turned to Consentia and started to explain.

After a few minutes of explaining, Consentia's perfect face went from surprise to disgust and warped from disgust to sheer anger.

With gritted teeth, clenched fists, and wide eyes, she asked while keeping her anger in check, "So you're telling me that officials of this city had the gall to not only kidnap a citizen of this city but also replace his identity with someone else and then sell him into slavery? To my pet?"

After Erno heard her say the word pet, his eyelid twitched, but he maintained his composure and said, "Yes. At least, that is what we conjecture."

Consentia took a deep breath to calm her nerves before uttering, "Good."

She then started pacing in the room before she said, "We need to catch the culprits alive to provide enough evidence. Once we have the evidence in hand, we can do a joint excursion with the imperial family and the other seven noble families to do a mass culling."

She then had a smirk on her face, "That old fart from the Senecio family would probably be doing a happy dance when he hears about this."

Erno hesitated before he nodded, "That... is an apt metaphor, young mistress. I have already prepared to send Faevyre, Borso, Livia, and Mog, along with Jackson, the cinder hound, to the crime scene. Once they find some leads, they will bring them back to you... Preferably alive."

Consentia frowned for a bit and then relaxed her brows and nodded, "Little Livia could use the experience. Alright then, you have my permission."

Erno bowed slightly while placing his fist on his chest, "Thank you, young mistress."

He then hesitated a bit before asking, "Should we inform the young master...?"

Consentia frowned for a bit before shaking her head, "Don't inform him until we have the evidence in hand. The idiot has a big mouth on him and might leak the information."

She then rubbed her nose bridge and sighed, "Ironically though, he is my biggest shield right now. With the turbulent waters that are the Fidelis family, making him my scapegoat is the only way to safety. Even my ex-fiance Cossus backstabbed me after all."

Erno remained silent at this. He was one of the few who knew of the horrors she went through on that fateful and horrid night she visited the prince. The same horrors that allegedly drove her insane, making her an orc-loving slut, and tarnishing her reputation. Since then, the originally trusting and kind young mistress learned to be manipulative and cunning to achieve what she wants, and no longer strived for the seat of power of the Fidelis family, preferring manipulating her talented yet gullible brother in the shadows. Only Erno knew that one of the sharpest and most dangerous minds in the entire empire was none other than the young and beautiful woman standing before him. That was why he swore an oath of absolute allegiance to her secretly all those years ago.

Consentia sighed, "Oh well. I'm gonna head and start brewing some truth potions. If you want to ask anything else, ask now."

Erno hesitated for a bit before asking, "Why did you want to buy Mog? Even if he is talented or has other desirable qualities, it's not like you."

Although he knew she was a twisted slut, she also had some self-restraint and was not an actual pedophile. If she just wanted a sex slave, she could have bought an adult Orc with some of the coffers of money she secretly amassed from potions she secretly made.

Consentia made a gentle smile and said, "The first reason is that I wanted someone young and talented that I could train easily to suit my tastes. You know how hard it is to find a talented orc child slave that is also well-endowed. Although Mog is only a half-orc, he actually suites my tastes better than most orcs. Mog being a potential hottie is an unexpected but welcome bonus."

Erno had a strange expression on his face but still nodded. This was in line with her personality.

Consentia then continued, "The second reason is that I could swindle some money from my idiotic brother. He always wastes money and lives on his stupid and violent hobby. It just so happened that I could make little Mog ingratiated to me by rescuing him from his grim fate. Even if I release him in the future, even if he knows about my hidden motives, he would still feel indebted to me."

Erno firmly nodded. As an ex-slave, he knew just how grim a slave's fate could be. In this world where state-owned slaves die within months in the mines, where manpower is as cheap as dirt, a slave's good treatment is a luxury and not a given. It is indeed one way to earn a slave's unconditional loyalty.

Consentia then paused a bit before she said, "As for the third reason, I completed Project Paragon."

Erno widened his eyes until they almost popped out! "You completed it!? After all these years?!"

With a wide grin, she said, "Yes. I completed it. After countless trials and errors, and with the blessing of Ximjun, god of medicine and alchemy, I finally managed to recreate that legendary potion! Unfortunately, I lack the materials, so I only have enough for one now, and it's an incomplete lesser variant too because I had to substitute most of the ingredients. I am even missing one. Although I want to use it on myself or you, there is still a high chance of failure, and I can't afford that. I can't use it on Cispia or Livia for the same reason. As for my brother, although I don't really care if the idiot dies, I still need to use him as my shield.

That leaves Mog, my newly bought slave. Not only is he a child, but he has good talent, which would reduce the risks. And most importantly, although it pains me to say this, he is expendable. I will offer it to him as a reward in the future while warning him of the danger beforehand. If it fails or he disagrees, so be it. But if it succeeds... I could have my very own Paragon. I could finally have influence."

Erno nodded his head in approval. That was indeed well-thought-out. But then he frowned and asked, "Why go through all the hassle and warn him? You can also lie to him and say that it is beneficial for him. If it fails, then you can discard him. If it succeeds, he will think that it was meant to be, and he would be none the wiser."

Consentia sighed and said, "I hate backstabbing my own people, you know that. I can't bring myself to do it even if it is my own slave. I just can't."

Erno sighed, "If I were to name your greatest strength and weakness, it is your kindness, young mistress."

And then he smiled, "But I guess that is one of the reasons why I decided to follow you in the first place."

Consentia said with a weak smile, "Thanks, Erno. Now let's go. We have much to do."

Erno bowed and said, "Yes, young mistress. As you command."

 

 

 

 

In the meantime, outside the study, Mog was waiting together with Cispia.

Mog took the chance to ask her, "Hey, Cispia, why does sir Erno eat together with us? He is a 5th circle mage. He should be able to eat together with the young master and mistress."

Cispia glanced at him and said, "It is because of the Fidelis family's political stand."

Mog frowned, not understanding what she meant. He was a total boor when it came to politics. "What do you mean?"

Cispia sighed and said, "The empire is divided into three parties. The Human supremacist party, the non-human rights party, and the neutral party. Just like it sounds, the Human supremacist party is in favor of keeping the human race supreme in the empire by preventing other races from gaining positions of power in the empire. The non-human rights party, on the other hand, wants to allow people from other races to have more positions of power and reduce the heavy racism in the empire. The neutral party is basically made out of bench sitters. The Fidelis family is a human supremacist hardliner."

Mog frowned, "But what does it have to do with sir Erno sitting with the master and mistress?"

Cispia sighed again, "It is because, if he sat together with two of the scions of the Fidelis family, it would mean that they recognize a non-human as an equal. That could reflect on their political standing."

Mog frowned again before he asked, "But why does the Fidelis family support racism? What is the point of it?"

Cispia went silent for a moment, looking left and right, before gently whispering into Mog's ear, tickling it with her soft breath, "They are afraid."

Mog's eyes went wide and whispered back, "Afraid of what?"

She whispered back, "They are afraid that spies from outside the empire will infiltrate positions of power and crumble the empire from the inside out."

Mog's frown deepened as he whispered, "Does the mistress share this view?"

Cispia whispered back, "Only the young master believes in it, and it devolved into real racism. The young Mistress is a non-human rights supporter in secret."

Mog retracted his head and nodded, "I see. Thanks for clarifying this."

Cispia smiled and said, "No problem. We are both the mistress's people, after all. There is no point in keeping open secrets like this from you."

Just then, the door to the study opened, and Consentia and Erno stepped out of the study.

Consentia smiled at Mog and said, "Ok, Mog. I am off to work. See you later!"

She then turned to Cispia, "Cispia, follow me. I will need you to fetch me some things later."

Cispia nodded, "Yes, mistress."

Consentia and Cispia walked away while Erno turned to Mog and said with a smile, "Let's go meet with the others. They should be ready by now."

Mog nodded and followed him until they reached the manor's entrance, where the others were waiting.