Chapter 68: Chapter: 66

"Tell me what you really want"

Hearing nothing as an answer, Grizel speaks once again as she is getting up from her seat to get closer to the young man, her tone was as cold as her domineering aura, advising him to confess the true motive behind his greed.

Standing behind the manager who is lowering his head, Grizel touched his shaky shoulder and leans towards him to whisper.

"Say it and I will grant your deepest greed"

The whisper that full of confidence, alluring others to believe in this terrifying little girl as if everything will certainly be granted as long as you give your loyalty to her.

"I..."

He finally opened his mouth as he lifted his face, strangely enough, his trembling stopped when the Princess touched him as if giving him courage.

"I once naively believe that happiness is not about money..."

"But I lost my only happiness because I don't have it"

For him, money wasn't essential to obtain happiness, his family was enough to fill the void in his poor life, he wishes for nothing but this little peace to remain unchanged.

But his naivety washed away when he learned that the world revolves around money, to stay alive, everyone needs money, including him.

The fact that he is powerless without the thing that had killed his family.

He despised it.

Flop!

Grizel back to her seat in front of him, now she can clearly see his eyes that reflect the burning desire, her gazes met his as she asked him once again with the same question, he needs to be honest to pursue his real desire.

"Tell me what you want"

"I am sick of being controlled by money..."

He replied bluntly abandoning his polite demeanor earlier as he looks into the Princess's blue eyes, collecting his courage to declare what he really wants.

"I want to have absolute control over that damn thing"

He declared firmly, this young man wishes to reverse the situation, rather than being controlled by money, he wants to control it instead.

He wants to overcome this weakness.

Grizel's nodded as she heard his desire, his trauma of losing his loved ones because of money made him bears this complicated feeling toward it, the hopelessness of watching his family to die one by one and couldn't do anything.

When the little poor boy realized this non-living thing has the power to controls the lives of the livings, money becomes both his biggest enemy and his goal.

Hearing his ridiculous answer, it's not strange for everyone in this world to laugh at his dream, to control money is like to catch the air with bare hands, it's impossible...

But not for Grizel.

If the bare hand isn't enough, she just needs to create another way to make the impossible to be possible.

Even though she couldn't control money, but in her previous life, she discreetly had control over the value of money through some major currencies and trade flows in the world, her every choice of investment affects the chain of economic fluctuations globally.

It's time to pass the knowledge, Grizel thought inwardly as a voice of a young man echoed through the room.

"What a great resolution, as expected of the one chosen by my fiance"

The madman, no, the blondie boy barged into the room after having fun with a certain pitiful counselor.

"Greetings the future sun of the Az-"

"No need to be formal to me here, she is the boss"

Rex cuts the young man's formal greeting as he sits warping his hand on his fiance's back shoulders while smoothly kissing her hand.

"My Prince, you reek blood"

Grizel said nonchalantly as always not bothering the shocked face of the manager.

Sniff! Sniff!

Rex sniffed his body and find nothing, he had cleaned his body even changed his clothes after having fun with the counselor, it just Grizel's noose is overly sensitive as a rogue class awakener.

"Then why don't you clean me up, Wife"

Cough cough!

The manager coughed in surprise because of the bad words chosen by the Prince, these two youngsters here are acting like newlyweds in front of others as if nothing, he can't believe someone who was known with his dignified attitude of royalty can fall head over heels over the Princess this blindly.

"Are you purposely causing a misunderstanding, Your Highness?"

Grizel said as she strokes his reddened cheeks, a faint light appears on her hand when she activated the lowest level of her purification skill, the light covered the prince as if cleaning him.

Rex knew Grizel is experimenting her skills with her lab rat, no, her former personal maid Emma in the prison next to Judas, and her new discovery of her purification skill is it can be used to clean as well, it's just his way of saying it is quite problematic.

"Thank you, love"

Rex said with his alluring smile, holding her hand that caresses him, there is a weird tingling sensation on the tip of Grizel's fingers when he did it, but as always she just shoves that feeling away, ever since their engagement party, the physical contact between them significantly increased, it's not like she hates it but sometimes that kind of weird sensation suddenly appears.

Swoosh...

The manager is startled as he sees a black thing that looks like a moving shadow creeps from the window into the room and slowly turned into a beautiful woman with a maid attire.

"You don't need to pay respect for this Prince, he is not even a part of our mighty Tartarus, he just comes and goes as he wishes to have fun or to flirt with our great Lor- ouch!"

The Butler tweaked the puerile maid's ear as he bows in front of the Princess to apologize for his sister's ill manner, yet the maid seems not sorry at all while flailing to him.

"Ouch! Youngest, you need to learn how to respect your elder"

"Seemingly your brain melted into the shadow and doesn't return"

The manager couldn't utter a single word as he watched the bickering Butler and Maid in their sibling quarrel, but that's not the problem.

This is the second time for the manager to witness the power of a blessing today because he doesn't feel any mana from the maid when she uses her power, it's supposed to be a legendary item but for some reason, it looks like an ordinary thing here.

His shock was too much for him to notice a charming red-haired man is leaning towards his face closely observing him.

"Hhmm, you have quite a good face though not as beautiful as mine, but you have my approval, okay, you're in"

The manager backed off in surprise while the narcissistic red-haired man nodded satisfied with his own decision.

Smack!

Smack!

2 smacks wonderfully landed on his head from both the Butler and the maid who were bickering on each other earlier.

"Urgh, this is domestic violence, I am an inventor, my head is as valuable as my handsome face"

The red-haired man who seems to be the inventor of those magnificent magic items groaned in pain as he is being dragged by both the Butler and the maid to stand behind their Lord.

'Master, this place looks like the lair of troublemakers'

The annoying blessing added another fuel to Grizel's fatigue face.

'Ha, look who's talking'

Grizel facepalmed, she looks like a tired mother surrounded by her troublesome children and flirty husband, somehow the manager feeling pity for this little girl, her life seems harder than his.

"Alright"

The Princess said clapping her hand to gain the attention, everyone went back to their position, the Butler, Maid, and the Inventor are standing behind the Prince and the Princess who sit on the couch.

In the eyes of others, they might look like servants who guard their master, however, he had witnessed their warm interaction, rather than servants, he couldn't help but see them as a family with 3 children stands behind their parents, it was quite funny because the parents are the youngest here, but he can see the same happiness like when he was with his family.

"You want a power to control money, don't you?"

The Princess asked the young manager as he nodded firmly, there are no more doubts on his face, he doesn't want money like the others think he is, instead, he despised it, but he wants an absolute power to reign over money, controlling the value of it however he wishes, his real desire is to feel superior to that hateful thing that ruined his happiness.

"Now, tell me what you see?"

When the Princess asked, the young man observed his surroundings once again, there sit the future rulers of Azure, the existence of an enormous secret organization, legendary blessings that treated like ordinary, dangerous inventions, advanced knowledge, talented manpower, unlimited resources, and...

The fearsome manipulative Lord.

"I see nothing but power"

He replied confidently, satisfied with his answer, Grizel lures him with this bait.

"Then..."

"How about being a part of it?"

The young man smiles getting up from the couch and kneels in front of Grizel as if been waiting for these words of invitation to come.

"It is my honor to serve you, My Lord"

Pat!

Grizel pats his head as she gets up from her seat, in the original novel he did the same, betraying Baron Goldway and choose to join in the newly created raising merchant because he sees potential in them, unfortunately, both the merchant and this talented manager ended up in tragedy as they don't know the terrifying allies behind Baron Goldway.

But Grizel won't let that happen, as her child and the core member of Tartarus, she will never let anyone harm her people.

"I will grant you a name and you will be reborn as a child of Tartarus, do you accept this new life of yours?"

"I humbly accept the generosity of my Lord"

Grizel smiled as another vacant slot of her 7 sins will be filled, she only needs 3 more to complete her elite force.

"I bestowed upon you the name of Mammon, use your greed to lead us on the path of prosperity"

A sudden light appears on Mammon's hand when a symbol similar to the emblem of the Tartarus organization is engraved onto it, now he can feel the connection to his new family.

"Thank you for blessing me another happiness, My Lord"

"I promise to cherish this new family of mine and protect them, I will never repeat my failure"

Mammon replied with a smile as he was so touched by this long lost warm feeling, he lifted his head to see his new siblings but what was shown is not their warm welcoming smile, instead, all the 3 of them have the same sinister smile and look very wicked, somehow their face ring a death bell on his ears.

Tap!

The 3 of them tapped his shoulder as they point out at the corner of the room, there is a stack of documents, no, it's more likely a little mountain of papers.

"Don't tell me..."

He was feeling touched a moment ago yet now his face turned horrified by the fact that what awaits him is not a warm family but a nightmare instead.

"You have our deep condolences, brother"

Levi said as the other nodded feeling sorry for him, or not, because they are trying hard to suppress their laughter.

Unlike the other field, business is Angela Samael's main career in her previous life, even though she learned many things, her bachelor degree was in Business Management, it's obvious compared to the other divisions, the commerce division which is Fortuna would have the heaviest work.

Grizel tugged Mammon's hand and asked him to kneel once again.

"I will lift your seal"

Without any more talk, Grizel activated her gluttony's power from the artifact ring as the seal tattoo on his chest started to fade before completely disappeared.

"Huh?"

Mammon was left dumbfounded, he has to retire from his job as a professional thief because of the seal, and asking the slave trader who sealed his ability to free him is like asking to be caught once more, but like a dream come true the seal just lifted that easily, his new Lord is obviously not a mere Holy-Class awakener like the rumors said.

Grizel's blue eyes turned into gold as she uses her appraisal blessing on Mammon.

'Athena, what is this Warp ability?'

'It's an ability to create a temporary distortion of dimension, it means he can make a temporary hole-like warp to pass into anything and after a certain amount of time, it will disappear as nothing happened'

Athena explained proving her usefulness, if only she didn't say unnecessary comments every time to worsen her mood, Grizel might have a little bit of a small fraction of respect for this talking blessing.

'Hhmm, making a temporary hole that can pass through anything without leaving a trace? no wonder he became a thief, anyone would do the same'

Grizel thought this skill would be very useful in modern times to break the safe-deposit box of the riches or emptied the bank vaults without a single trace, her mind once again filled with evil thoughts, no, her mind is always filled with it.

'How about the human body?'

Grizel thought if he can he make a temporary hole on it without damaging the skin, it would certainly be useful, though there may be a problem with the blood loss.

'I knew it, my despicable master is thinking about a new assassination method using his skill, aren't you? Haha, your mind has never absence with any of wicked thoughts'

Athena uses the fact of not having a physical body to the fullest as she throws another annoying remark on Grizel.

'Tch! of course, crushing the target's internal organs without leaving any wounds on the surface, isn't the best way to cover the assassination as natural death? No poison nor violence detected means no extra work to hold a fake investigation, moreover, the coroners in this era have limited knowledge to perform an autopsy'

Grizel replied in spiteful, she is wondering about another way to use his ability besides theft and assassination because she believed it all depends on how she uses it.

'Extra work? Master, all of those works were done by the Prince and his miserable Aide cleaning up your mess here and there, haaaaa... you speak as if you did it by yourself'

Acting like a concerned 3rd party, Athena speaks as though she stands for the mistreated Dion.

'Don't you know? Deep down in my heart, I feel sorry for Dion, at least it will lessen his work'

'Master..., You don't have a heart and it obvious that you want him to carry other new works'

'Tch'

Grizel tried to hide her soured face thanks to the mood-killer Athena as she heard her Butler, Maid, and Inventor are chuckling.

"Lucifer, Leviathan, Asmodeus"

Grizel called the startled siblings who were enjoying mammon's warm welcome with their full names.

"Y-yes, My Lord?"

Rex just sighed shaking his head, it was hilarious for them to laugh at the new member's load of work when they served the very same master, and it seems like she is in a bad mood, they need to worry about their own selves first before laughing at the other.

Though, he is not safe either.

"Deus, tell me the progress about that thing?"

"Yes, I have crafted 400 units of it, My Lord"

"It won't suffice, put the production of magic pendant on hold because these items are more crucial for us right now, make it 1000 units in a week"

Like a tyrant who won't hear any excuse, Grizel ordered Deus, the laugh on his face earlier vanished like never happened as he collapsed on the ground with his teary eyes.

Because the Westerners are changing their scheming plan and become more aggressive, Grizel changes her priority as well, and this newly invented item is the key for her counterattack against their plan to lit a civil war on this land.

"Levi"

"Y-yes, My Lord"

Seemingly, the tyranny of a fake angel didn't stop here.

"How about the recruitment of your division?"

"I have selected some potential people, but the numbers aren't enough to inaugurate the division yet"

"Then make it enough as soon as possible"

Thus far, the only established division of the Tartarus organization is the Intelligence Department which is the Lunar squad leads by Lucifer.

Because Grizel wants each of her elite member to lead their each one division, they are establishing the other divisions before being named and inaugurated by her, like the day of the Lunar squad being formed.

"Mammon"

"...Yes, My Lord"

Mammon replied in a dispirited tone, he already has a load of work equal to a whole year in his first 5 minutes as a member of this organization, and it seems like there is more.

Swoosh...

A piece of paper appears on Grizel's hand from her artifact ring as she handed it over to Mammon.

"I want these Merchants, get them through acquisition, I allow you to choose the methods"

In business, an acquisition means when one company purchases most or all of another company's shares to gain control of that company, but there is no concept of a company's shares in this era yet, that is why the only legal action to gain control of another merchant guild is to buy it entirely.

That is if they want to proceed with the legal way, but she is not a typical someone who obeys the law anyway, when Grizel said she allowed Mammon to choose the methods, it means he can do whatever he wants, he can legally purchase them, if they refuse, he can get them through fraudulent, or trying some extreme method like threaten the owners and kidnapping their families, she believed in his judgment as a businessman.

Mammon read the list of the merchants, if possible, he wants to choose the most effective yet cheapest method to approach them, and violence might be his last option, not because he is a righteous person but violence is the most troublesome way to acquire those merchant guilds, it will only increase his mount of paperwork.

"Hhmm? Aren't all these merchants the ones blacklisted by the Goldway Merchant?"

Mammon asked, Goldway Merchant has something called blacklist, it filled with the name of merchants who have potential in business, but Baron Goldway regards them as a threat and uses his power to suppress their development by ruining their business discreetly, as the result, all of these merchants in the list are poor or mostly in the brink of bankruptcy.

"Yes, aren't they perfect to be your subordinates as the branches of Fortuna merchant?"

Mammon's face beaming, he recalled the ancient proverb saying that The enemy of my enemy is my friend, the acquisition project may be smooth sailing, he doesn't need anything but to use the Fortuna name and a little bit of his persuasion ability as the bait because everyone in this land knows that Fortuna Merchant is protected by the Emperor.

"I will proceed immediately, My Lord"

Unlike Deus who got bad news, Mammon's sluggish face turned into a huge grin because the faster he did it, the faster he gains subordinates to lessen his works.

"One more thing, I forgot to ask you this important question"

Grizel's tyrannical tone changes, somehow she looks more serious, seems like there's another important question to be asked, and it only makes the people in the room feeling anxious especially Mammon.

Gulped!

"I will do my best to provide a satisfying answer, My Lord"

Mammon replied tensed up a bit by the heavy atmosphere.

"The report..."

"It said you looted the temples, how much did you gain?"

Grizel asked with a very serious face as if talking about the life sustainability of the empire against the Westerners.

"Huh?"

Mammon spontaneously replied, it seems like even the future Empress couldn't hold the temptation of money as well.

"..."

Rex, Deus, Levi, and Lucy sighed as they facepalmed, this little Miss of Belial never changes, unlike Mammon who just met Grizel today, these people should've realized how the talk of money would affect her.

"It's 10 times of the amount I get from looting a Viscount, My Lord"

"That much?"

"Yes My Lord, and temples tend to keep valuable items like ancient weapons or magic scrolls in their treasury"

This time, Grizel's face is the one beaming as Mammon nodded confirming her, these two thieves are leisurely talking about looting temples in front of the Prince of this land.

Rex just looks at them while shaking his head, what does he expect? she even robbed his ancestor's tomb, it won't be surprised if the news of the temple branches being robbed spread by tomorrow early in the morning, seems like he needs to warn Dion for another extra work with the fake investigation of the unknown thieves.

Grizel is looking at the hanging map to confirm the nearest temple's branch as she smirks marking her targets, but unfortunately, this night tour can be discussed next time as there is a more pressing matter to be heard.

"Lucy..."

The air suddenly becomes heavy as Grizel called the head of the intelligence division whose main duty is espionage and assassination.

"I want to hear the report about the Westerner's representative you've followed"

The mysterious masked man who met with the traitors before she kidnapped Judas.

To be continued...

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Author's Corner:

I'm sorry for the late update and thank you for answering my question in the previous chapter, it's scary that some of the answers are almost the same to how Lily will use her wish later even though I don't ask that part lmao

Having smart readers is quite challenging, really, I can't ask something so carelessly anymore...

_( :⁍ 」 )__( :⁍ 」 )_

Btw, I found an image that resembles Asmodeus in my mind, and I tried to recolor the hair, and...

I present you, a sexy red-haired man with an alluring voice.

I was trying to search for an image that fit Lucy on Pinterest, but the search engine is trying to distract my attention that I got this sexy man instead.

(￣∀￣)

I am ashamed.