Badge in Azure Chapter 359

Chapter 359: Nailisi’s Bewitchment (Part 1)
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Master, kill me." Piac used to dream of having a hundred soldiers under him, however, he was not of a high enough position and he did not have that much money. Now that Saleen was giving him a hundred soldiers, it was to send him to Deep Forest Town for his death.
"What are you crying for?" Saleen scolded in a stern voice, he simply did not have any patience for this shameless wealthy any longer.
"Master, I do not want to die…"
"Hm, if I wanted you dead, I wouldn't need to do all this, giving you one-hundred soldiers. Do you think I'm crazy?"
"Truly Master?" Piac came back to his senses, he agreed with Saleen. In Saleen's eyes, he was not worth one-hundred soldiers. Since he had let him bring the soldiers back to Deep Forest Town, Saleen must not be sending him to his death.
"Piac, I think you should know this saying; to gain wealth, one needs to risk his life. I see you do have some gift for acting, that is why I'm giving you this opportunity."
Piac scrunched his face and thought to himself, "I would rather not have this opportunity."
Saleen could not care less if Piac was willing or not, he started talking about his own plans. The camp returned to its silence, only his barrack was still lighted. On the outside of the two rows of buildings, the magic lights that were inlaid were not in use. In the shadows, the spirits roamed around, surveying the empty city.
Two miles away, North-East of the temple, there was a six-story building. It had taken up the length of half a street and there were many backyards behind it. That allowed for the horses and carriages to be parked. It was close to the port and when it was built it was meant to be an inn. Irene's men had arranged quarters there and once Irene had decided on where she would stay, they would move out.
When Nailisi accompanied Irene back there, the two mages from the Williams family were almost dying from anxiety. Seeing Saleen's maidservant bring Irene back, they almost blew their tops. Irene showed some authority and stopped their actions gesturing for Nailisi to sit. Upon seeing the mages faces, Nailisi was smart enough to know what was happening and did not reject.
The two of them came to the room that Irene had prepared. She commanded them to take a break as she took out a necklace from her pocket and said to Nailisi, "This is for you."
It was a necklace strung together with black pearls. All of them were round and shiny and gave off a blinding glow under the light. Nailisi was shocked as she said, "Miss Irene, what are you doing? My master will not allow me to accept any gifts."
"Don't worry, I will talk to Mage Saleen about this. Nailisi, are you taking me as an outsider?"
Nailisi thought, "You are an outsider, I can't eat this necklace and it can't be a weapon, why are you giving this to me?" She gave off a pained look as she took the necklace unwillingly, holding it in her hands. She did not want to keep it.
"Nailisi, sit here and let's talk." Irene dragged Nailisi to the bedroom and had her sit on the bed.
"Miss Irene…"
"Call me Irene, I will not treat you as a maidservant. You seem very close to Mage Saleen."
Nailisi lowered her head, showing off an embarrassed look. In her head however, she was thinking; "If only Master was close to me, whenever I climb into his bed, he kicks me out. This Irene seems to want to find out about Saleen's habits. Let me play with her, she won't even know if what I'm saying is true or not."
Nailisi had the blood of the demons and even though she had evolved and was incredibly similar to humans, her thought process had not changed. She smoothed out the necklace that Irene had given her and said, "Master is a mage, there are many women that like him, what am but I a maidservant to him?"
"Oh? Mage Saleen is that promiscuous?"
"That can't be helped, he is handsome and is a grand mage. He attracts attention wherever he goes."Nailisi started spouting nonsense. Before Saleen had become a grand mage, he had spent all his time on his magic, he was not close to any women at all.
"Mage Saleen was from a big family too?" Irene was getting curious about Saleen.
"He started out by himself, but do not ask him, he will get angry." Nailisi paused, showing off a nervous look.
"Nailisi, tell me, what women are there around Mage Saleen?"
"Too many, how would I remember?" Nailisi inwardly suppressed the urge to laugh maniacally. Humans were boring, she had managed to get Irene's curiosity just by spouting nonsense.
"Is there someone special?" Irene had feelings towards Saleen, so she was listening intently. If Saleen did not have anyone he was interested in, she was about to pounce onto him.
"Oh, Viscountess Lex has a pretty good relationship with Master."
"Really?" Irene's demeanor changed in an instant. She was but a descendant from an earl family, with her status, how could she compare with a viscountess?
"Even the viscountess wants to marry Mage Saleen?" Irene calmed herself down and thought, "If that is the case, I need to be careful. Being love rivals with a viscountess isn't the wisest thing."
"There is a possibility, if not why would Master have so much money to build a city? The viscountess has left Saleen in charge of this place, I think this is the dowry." Nailisi continued antagonizing Irene.
"A city as a dowry?" Irene could not help but sigh. With the amount of money she had, she thought Saleen would be attracted to her.
"Miss Irene, you like Master, don't you?" Nailisi suddenly asked. Irene jumped in shock, she felt like her thoughts had been overheard by Nailisi.
"What nonsense is that, we have just met."
"But you were saved by Master Saleen. I have read in a book that his could lead to a feelings in your heart, causing you to develop admiration for him. When a woman admires a man, it could lead to love."
Nailisi was talking rubbish at first but she had guessed it right this time. Irene had an easy life since youth until she met Saleen. Saleen's power had left a lasting impression on her heart and when she returned home, she had always thought of returning. She had not realized that and had thought that this was a business instinct and that if she returned here, it would benefit her greatly.
"Sister Irene, you stand a chance too." Seeing Irene's confused look, Nailisi got even bolder. Irene would not tell Saleen about what she said anyway, so she started spouting greater nonsense.
"How can I fight against a viscountess?" Irene sighed.
"A viscountess is also a mage, she needs to control the country's politics too. How would she have any time for Master? Even if Master were to date other women, the viscountess would pretend to not notice."
"Oh? There is such a chance?"
"Of course, when Master was in Bitter Water Prefecture, he was very close with a female mage that was under the viscountess. Master did all of this in front of me."
Hearing Nailisi's words, Irene was overjoyed. She did not think Saleen was promiscuous, she did not even think he did anything wrong. Her mother was from Cloudflow and the men from Cloudflow could marry multiple wives. In Irene's eyes, it was normal for a man to have many lovers, it was better than bringing them home.
When a lover was brought home, it would be something big and they would need to split their wealth.
"But, Mage Saleen doesn't seem to be interested in me." Irene was not embarrassed, at the end of the day, she just wanted a solution to this deadlock.
"That is because you both have spent so little time together, Sister Irene. Believe me, I can give you an idea."
"What advice can you give me?"
"Master is in need of magic nuclei now and he needs a lot of them. Why don't you take Master out to sea and go for a hunt at the Oceanic Ice Block? That will give you two at least two to three months together, there would be many opportunities."
"Out to the sea? In this season, all the sea routes are blocked." Irene furrowed her brows and replied. Her sea routes were used as shares and naturally, she was not afraid of Saleen knowing. However the Oceanic Ice Block was only accessible for six months every year, this was something she could not resolve.
"So long as you can ensure that you can get your hands on a large number of magic nuclei, Master has his ways."
"Nailisi, the Oceanic Ice Block in this season has ice mountains floating all around it. Even if a combat vessel were to strike them, it would be crushed. I do not want to play with my life."
"Sister Irene, Master has an incredibly tough ship, even if it was hit directly by magic it would be fine. If the rewards are enough, Master would definitely follow you out to sea."
"Really?"
"Of course, if not why would we build a port here." Nailisi was getting enthusiastic. She was not used to settling down in one place and she felt incredibly suffocated staying in this city. Demons trained very little every day and she was a demon that did not know magic, so she did not need any special training. She wanted to go out to the sea and travel with Saleen, it seemed like a good idea.
Irene started thinking. She was someone who took initiative, incredibly similar to her mother. She knew that it is unlikely for her to replace Viscountess Lex and to marry Saleen, however, it seemed like a good choice to get Saleen on her side. With this relationship, Saleen would be less strict with any businesses in the future. She could manage her finances herself and not rely on her family too.
What was crucial was Viscountess Lex's attitude. If she did not mind, it would be alright. If she were to get jealous, she could not withstand the wrath of the royal family.
"Sister Irene, I will help you." Nailisi continued inciting. As she said this, she tucked the necklace into her pocket, this did not escape Irene.
"Nailisi, my gift is too trivial." Irene put on a genuine smile, she was glad that she was prepared. When she saw Nailisi the last time, she had noticed her snow-white skin. With the black necklace, it did not require any special accessories for it to be the perfect match. What woman did not like jewelry?
"Sister Irene, I like it a lot, the point is you do not treat me as just a maidservant." Nailisi complimented, she was overjoyed. Saleen did need a large number of magic nuclei, the number of magic nuclei he had would not be considered little if it was only for him. Now he was building a city, the magic arrays from the various defences required magic nuclei to power them. It might not be enough even if he bought a great number of magic nuclei.
"There was still a few months before Lex returns, Master would be moved, wouldn't he?"