Sorcerer’s Handbook

Lise had a vague idea of what Igor was thinking.

It was like the story they had seen in the picture book “Orc Slaves and the Elven Empress,” where the orc slave discovered the Empress’s secret but did not report it to the Emperor. Instead, he used it to blackmail the Elven Empress—proud, beautiful, and seemingly untouchable like a deity, she was forced to submit to the despicable orc slave. Stripped of her dignified royal robes, she came under the control of the orc slave and became—

The iron-blooded Empress who executed treacherous officials, eliminated princes, reformed the bureaucracy, and liberated slaves.

It goes to show that once you have leverage over someone, you can really make them do outrageous things.

If Lise were to catch Igor in a similar situation, she certainly wouldn’t report this bewitching man. They were right in the middle of starting their own venture. Aside from Lise, the team leader, and Ashe, the nanny, there were no other subordinates. They urgently needed someone with Igor’s talent to fill the vacancies in diplomacy, finance, and the military.

In Igor’s view, Lise might not have had any special talents, but let’s not forget, Lise was now bound to Ashe. Although Ashe might not have had any talents either, let’s not forget, the two of them together represented half the power of the “Blasphemous Gods Squad.”

As long as Igor could control Lise, Ashe would naturally be in the palm of his hand. Then, this Con Artist could try to persuade Harvey, and their little squad would be completely united—ready to hang Annan from a lamppost or grab a bucket and make a run for it.

However, Igor’s plans were exactly what Lise had in mind.

After the last question, Lise already knew that she couldn’t monopolize Ashe. Such a naive slave, even if not particularly useful, was worth keeping as a spare. Since she couldn’t form an unbreakable father-daughter alliance with Ashe, she had to consider a secondary option—a beneficial alliance.

Lise even thought it would be good if Igor discovered her secret; it would save her the trouble of having to persuade him. Perhaps if the Little Witch had called Igor “mother,” this day might have come sooner.

“Name your price, Mr. Bukin,” Lise said, not one to easily comply. “And just so you know, don’t be too outrageous. This secret is important to me, but its real value isn’t that high—Annan wouldn’t abandon Ashe, and Ashe can’t abandon me. She won’t kick us out just because my mood swings faster than a kitten’s.”

“You were calling Ashe directly just now, and now you refer to him as your father?” Igor suddenly interjected. “Do you… or should I say, do you think that kinship is the easiest collar to enslave Ashe with?”

Lise fell silent for a moment, then shook her head: “No.”

“Mr. Bukin, you misunderstand. We rarely interfere with Lise’s choices, nor do we force her to do anything in the name of sisterhood… At least, when Lise chooses to act spoiled with Ashe, we never gave her any instructions.”

“The Lise you usually deal with is just a six or seven-year-old girl who doesn’t know the world. She might be as bad as you imagine, but she’s definitely not as bad as us.”

“You may not like her, Mr. Bukin, but don’t hate her because of us,” Lise said earnestly. “This is a sister’s request.”

Igor paused for a moment, “Those words are useless coming from you. You should know, we come from a Kingdom where everyone is an orphan, without fathers or mothers, brothers or sisters. Kinship was removed along with the umbilical cord the moment we were born. I can’t understand your request that involves kinship.”

“But?” Lise probed tentatively.

“There is no ‘but,’” Igor said, his face darkening. “I want control over you and Ashe.”

“Impossible!”

“Then you have no other chips to play with besides yourself and Ashe. If you won’t give this or that, then I might just have to share with others the ghost stories about Lise who loves looking in the mirror at midnight.”

“I can’t give you control over myself,” Lise asserted seriously. “I’ve only just managed to escape Annan’s direct control and reached a deterrent agreement with Ashe, barely maintaining my autonomy. I can’t give in on this… At most, I can share a bit of Ashe with you.”

Igor looked troubled. “Even without you, I could sway him on my own… Fine then, give me all of Ashe’s control.”

“Impossible!” Lise shook her head. “I may have control over Ashe, but he also has control over me. During these 101 days, I must maintain my own control to counterbalance that of Ashe, otherwise I’ll really become his obedient girl… What I can do is give you control over Ashe after the 101 days.”

“After 101 days, the Weaving Festival will be over. What use is Ashe to me then? He’d be a waste of food,” Igor said with disdain. “Ashe’s value is only within these 101 days… How about this: we split control over Ashe evenly, sharing his control between us, what do you say?”

Lise was sharp. “And if my command conflicts with yours, whose will Ashe obey?”

“Mine, of course!”

“That’s not possible!”

After a round of intense and thrilling bargaining, the allocation of Ashe’s control was finally settled: Igor would gain full control after 101 days, and during these 101 days, Igor would have one instance of “absolute command” over Ashe. Even if it clashed with Lise’s orders, Ashe would have to prioritize the Con Artist’s demands.

Lise really didn’t want to give up even a single instance of “absolute command,” preferring to share control of Ashe with Igor at all other times. But Igor clung tightly to this point, which seemed to be his bottom line. Lise felt that if she refused, the negotiation might truly fail. Considering Igor currently had the upper hand, Lise eventually conceded.

“But do you know how to ‘transfer contract rights’? I’m no expert in Ritual Factions.”

Lise deliberately waited until the end of the negotiations to bring up this issue. Had she mentioned it at the beginning, Igor might have realized he couldn’t gain anything from her, which could have led to an abrupt end to their discussion.

Now that the negotiation had revealed a potential for collaboration and given the terms agreed upon, it would increase the sunk cost for Igor if he decided to walk away from the table.

However, Igor just smiled faintly, mysteriously producing two pieces of paper from nowhere.

“Playing with contracts is to the Con Artist what playing with mud is to a child—a fundamental skill that doesn’t require formal learning.”

Of course, it’s not that simple—if “Sign Contract” is arithmetic, then “transfer contract rights” is at least calculus.

The contract was straightforward: Igor agreed not to disclose any of Lise’s secrets to anyone in any way and to help hide her ‘sisters’ from Annan or anyone else who might become suspicious.

In return, Lise would give the latter half of Ashe’s life to Igor, along with one instance of “absolute command” over the next three months.

As the contract took effect and dissipated into points of light, ‘Lise’ suddenly said, “From the beginning, the person you wanted was not me, but Ashe.”

“Correct.” Igor nodded frankly. “I had anticipated that you would not give up your control. I could only hope to scrape off as much of Ashe from you as possible. To trade your secrets for this much of Ashe, I feel this might be the least profitable deal I’ve ever made.”

“Is that the justification you’ve prepared for yourself, Mr. Bukin?”

‘Lise’ glanced at him, “You know, Lise was quite noisy just now. She was very reluctant to sell the future of Ashe to someone like you, a bad guy. She didn’t want Ashe to suffer misfortune in the future. But since I was in charge of the negotiations, I ultimately overruled her wishes.”

Igor snorted, “Oh, are there cracks in the relationship between you sisters? As a Mind Sorcerer, I would be happy to offer my services.”

“Not at all, because I made it clear to her—selling Ashe to you is completely risk-free, in every sense.”

Igor didn’t quite understand what she meant, but ‘Lise’ quickly changed the subject: “I’ve recently acquired an ability called ‘Love Hunting,’ which allows me to keenly sense the emotions of love revealed in the details.”

“Just by looking at Annan and Banjeet, I knew that Annan’s feelings for Banjeet were more than just familial.”

“Even though Annan always commands Banjeet quite naturally, she becomes evasive or slightly stiff when Banjeet initiates physical contact. This indicates the turmoil within her heart, where ethics and genuine feelings twist her heart into a knot of confusion.”

Igor recalled the interactions between Annan and Banjeet and couldn’t help but nod. “There does seem to be something there.”

‘Lise’ continued, “When I look at Mr. Harvey, I can tell that he once had a true love, and that this love has passed away.”

“How can you tell?”

“He often falls into deep thought, which could be a side effect of the Catnip Cigarette, but his eyes are filled with tenderness while his fingers constantly tremble. Moreover, he’s been frequently looking at photos in the Gospel that bring back memories. Grief is like a stone tied to him, drowning him in the sea of his recollections.”

Igor nodded convincingly. “He did start hanging around with us after hearing about his lover’s death.”

‘Lise’ said, “Then, when I look at…”

Igor turned the record player up to full volume: “Shut it, will you.”

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