Arthur for coming to Astria today, the first was to show Josef the truth and try to figure out about the chip. The second is simple but necessary to do his vengeance the way he wants it to be.

Anastassia, who was away for a short while to take care of a few things related to the sect, came back with Robin, who greeted him and hurried over to Lucy.

He motioned for the Vice-leader to come and said with a low voice that only the two of them could hear

"I wanted to inquire you about something?"

Anastassia frowned and answered

"Yes, what do you want to know?"

Without beating around the bush, Arthur bluntly asked

"Do you know any expert torturer?"

The woman's frown deepened and after pondering for a few seconds, she replied

"We have a few of them in our sect but they aren't exactly torturer. They are just proficient at extracting information from their victims."

Hearing this, Arthur shook his head and added:

"No, I'm searching for a good one. Of course, I need him to be blind and deaf when needed to, he just needs to obey Arthur and ask no questions."

Arthur wasn't going to let off his target off easy, most of the main ones will, without a doubt, receive inhuman torture. He didn't care if it's an evil act or not, it's something that needs to be done and having a veteran torturer will make things more...pleasurable.

"If I'm not mistaken, that boy is good at things like that, or at least, used to be."

She glanced at Rey, who was accompanying Robin and silently munching on the delicious food. He was part of an evil black mage cult that experimented on humans and from what Anastassia had investigated, she found out that he did such things in the past when ordered to.

"Is that so~~~"

Akin to a hunter finding his prey, Arthur gazed at the little boy with an interested gaze. Having one of his own do the job is better than finding an outsider. Rey, the person in question, felt Arthur's strange gaze and turned his head to stare back at him only to feel uncomfortable and shift his eyes away, acting as if he noticed nothing.

Unfortunately, Arthur wasn't going to do the same and ignore him. He thanked Anastassia and called for Rey, who's back shuddered when he heard Arthur calling him by his name.

He did his best to delay his response, however, he knew that sooner or later, he'll have to face this man. In all honesty, he didn't hold any favorable impression of Arthur, the person who captured him.

He even feared him, the man seemed like a real demon, his mere gaze caused him to feel the chills.

'Tch! How come a woman like her married such a devil!'

Rey inwardly cursed Arthur and walked up to the latter while trying to keep up a tough front as to not feel intimidated.

Arthur was softly smiling as he watched the boy's figure stroll toward him. He signaled for the youth to sit next to him then handed him some of the delicious white cake near him.

Such actions can only be considered as friendly, however, Rey was inexplicably feeling uneasiness as if this is a bad omen that cannot be avoided.

"You enjoying your time here?"

Arthur nonchalantly asked as he munched on an apple.

"Yes."

The boy didn't try to lengthen his reply and gave a short but quick answer. He knew that this is only the appetizer for what's about to come.

"I see that you became a bit stronger but at this pace, everyone will surpass you. You're still young and it's the perfect time to build a solid foundation for yourself, don't you agree?"

"...."

Rey gave no response and merely stared back at Arthur, who had a sly grin hanging on his face. As he heard no response, Arthur continued his speech

"I can give you an opportunity to become much stronger but grasping it is up to you."

Rey maintained his silence for a bit more before speaking

"What's the catch?"

Arthur laughed and stated

"Obviously, nothing is free in this life. I heard you had quite the amazing 'job' before I found you, I want you to use your skills in that field."

Rey furrowed his brows and tilted his head in confusion, unable to understand the meaning behind his words.

"What do you mean?"

"Simple, I want you to torture a few people for me. Quite easy, right? The simplicity of the task doesn't match the reward I'll give you but I'm still willing to hire you."

The boy's eyes narrowed for a second before they returned to normal. He had tried his best to forget about his dark past and aim for a brighter path which is why he had such a reaction.

Arthur patted the youth's shoulder and calmed him down by saying

"Of course, this will be a secret between us. Nobody needs to know."

As he uttered those words, Arthur glanced at Robin, who was busy chatting with the other girls. She begged him to spare the boy in the past and did her best to raise him into a rightful young man.

Unfortunately, it's not that easy when Rey passed most of his childhood near the lunatic black mages, who only care about their magic and experiments.

"I refuse."

Rey flatly rejected without batting an eye. Sure, he was promised a good reward but he wanted to forget about his past and move forward. Bringing back past memories and torturing people will only bring back his old nature, which he worked hard to contain.

Arthur wasn't dejected when hearing such a reply. He tapped his finger on the table and added:

"Are you sure? This is a one-time offer."

"Yes."

A long sigh came out of Arthur's mouth.

"You know, I'm just curious. What were your contributions to Robin since the time I captured you?"

Due to the sudden question and his inability to answer it even when he was given a few seconds to think, Rey could only give a long silence as his answer.

"What? Nothing, seriously?"

Arthur feigned a dumbfounded look as he looked at Rey.

"I protect her from any danger."

Rey finally gave a resolute answer but was immediately retorted by Arthur

"Really now? Protect? From what danger? To be honest, I can't see you protecting her. Will you perhaps use your Blood Magic or your superior physique? In my eyes, your power is inferior to an ant's. Believe it or not, my daughter, who's younger than you, is ten times stronger than you, if not more."

Rey became triggered as his face became red from anger and embarrassment but he still remained calm and didn't throw a ruckus. However, his glare became savage as it was pointed toward Arthur, the cause of his anger.

"S, Shut up!"

Arthur ignored him and resumed

"What are you stuttering for? I say it's because you know that my words are true. Heck! you won't be able to protect yourself, much less a person you hold dear. Stop kidding yourself and open your eyes."

Arthur paused for a second and then continued:

"Basically, you're not worthy to protect her yet. I know you want to change and forget about your sins and that is understandable. However, forgetting isn't the right way to go. You must overcome it, I'm not asking you to feel proud about you did nor am I forcing you to torture people when you don't want, I just want you to understand that power comes at a cost. You claim to protect but you're simply blinded, trying to avoid your retribution by doing some good deeds and playing the nice little kid to appeal to others. Perhaps Robin is a fool to think there's hope for you... but she does."

Arthur spared the boy no more glances, he finished the apple and left after saying the lost final words

"Think on that, boy."