The figure on top of the bed was turned away from us, lying on her left side from the silhouette that we can see. However, from her hair color, length, and style alone, it was obvious that she was Queen Thalia, the First Queen of Cleaver Kingdom.

This must be a stroke of good luck, as she’s definitely one of the best hostages to take. I sent a telepathic command to Fang, making her move towards Queen Thalia’s side and restrain her movements.

I also moved closer to the bed, making sure that it was inside the sound-sealing barrier, before signaling to Fang to begin. Fang’s figure jumped out from the shadow of the bed’s ceiling, landing on top of the sleeping queen and surprising her.

“Who’s there?! What! Argh!”

Although she was shocked right after waking up, Fang quickly bound her arms and legs to the poles of the bed using ropes made out of dark energy. I’m not really fond of this skill, as it resembles Noir’s favorite Shadow Tentacles, but it’s definitely useful for binding someone in seconds.

I pulled the curtain down, which ended up getting torn. As I did, Queen Thalia’s figure, covered in nothing but a thin negligee, was exposed to its full glory.

“Hmph!”

With a grunt, Fang pulled the bedcover and threw it over her, covering the important parts. It’s a bit of a pity, and I don’t know why Fang did that, but we’re short on time.

“Good evening, Queen Thalia. Sorry for the rude night visit.”

I smiled and bowed lightly, like a performer about to act on stage.

“For now, I ask of you to please accept being placed in a Servant Contract with me.”

This is one of the real disadvantages of the servant contract. As it requires the “acknowledgment” and “acceptance” of the other party before it will register its effects.

“Who are you?! Name yourself, you imbecile!”

However, Queen Thalia just shouted angrily, not really accommodating my request of her. It was as if she didn’t even hear my voice.

“Me? I’m the one whom your spies were aiming to kill earlier today, Will.”

Since nothing would change much, I decided to humor her question and reply. As soon as she heard my name, however, her expression changed.

“Will? You? I don’t know what you want, but I’ll never succumb to your threats! Kill me if you dare!”

“… Alright.”

She’s definitely the type who is strong-willed and willing to sacrifice herself. She must be thinking that I wouldn’t dare try and kill her, who was an important figure in the Cleaver Kingdom.

“There are still the princes and princesses after all. I’ll just go and use them instead.”

As I tried to poke at her again, her expression remained firm and didn’t show as much as a sliver of worry or fear. It was as if she didn’t fear for her children’s lives at all.

I drew my backup weapon, a small throwing knife, and tossed it toward her face. Even after the blade cut through her cheeks as it passed, she didn’t even flinch. What strong willpower she had! I can’t help but sigh.

“I guess normal torture would be the same: ineffective.”

She seemed to be accustomed to pain and fear, probably trained for whatever reason for counterintelligence. However, such training often lacks two points. And using either of those, I can definitely make her do my bidding.

One of the easiest ways to do it was through pleasure. Although I’m tempted to use this one, doing so would take too much time, which we essentially don’t have currently.

I entered the bed while pulling out the weapon I was about to use for torturing her. But then Fang raised her voice.

“Leader! I’ll do the torturing! Give me the tool!”

She extended her hands toward me, waiting for me to pass the “weapon” I just took out. I was about to refuse her offer, but seeing her firm gaze, I decided to step back. Doing it might be fun, but watching from the sidelines would be a different type of fun altogether.

As Fang took hold of the “weapon”, she tilted her head in doubt.

“Leader, did you pass this feather duster by mistake?”

“Nope, that’s the right one. We’re not torturing with pain but with asphyxiation.” ｎ𝚘𝚟ｌ.ｃｏ𝚖

If her training for counterintelligence was focusing on pain and fear, all we need to do is make her give up through other means. There are many other ways other than the two I mentioned above, but they’re the easiest to implement, as far as I know.

Fang tilted her head, full of doubt.

“Will that even work? I haven’t heard of torturing others with a feather duster…”

She moved, about to stick the feather duster up Queen Thalia’s nostrils, making me grab her arm in panic.

“No, no, no. Not physically. I mean, through tickle-torture.”

I had a cold sweat watching Fang about to stick the long feather duster into someone’s nose. I mean, that would definitely suffocate them, but that’s not what I was referring to.

“You mean to tickle her…?”

Fang seemed confused, as if she didn’t realize how that could be considered torture. Either way, she moved her ropes made of darkness, moving Queen Thalia to a kneeling position with both hands extended to the sides, tied to opposite corners of the bed’s tall canopy.

Fang approached her, inching closer across the bed. Then, as she was right before the Queen, she took a deep breath and slowly moved the feather duster toward her exposed, dainty neck.

“Kuh!”

Queen Thalia tried to fight back, bending her head to where the feather duster was. However, the tips still touched her skin, making her jump a little in response.

“Mmmph!”

She didn’t laugh, and forcefully held it in. However, doing that would still end up being the same. She’ll surely end up losing her breath from trying not to giggle or laugh.

“Oooh!”

Fang, as if fascinated by her sensitive response, had her ears perk up as her tail wagged around. She then slowly tried to move the duster around the queen’s body, trying to find the spot that had the most effect.

The top two spots were the back of her neck and her armpits. Fang decided to attack those areas alternatingly, changing up the strength and rhythm every time. She even went as far as using her own tail to attack both spots simultaneously.

Queen Thalia seemed to be suffering, her face turning red and blue. However, she still forcefully held back her laughter. She was tougher than she looked! Well, she looks seductive with how she was covered with just a thin negligee and her panties… Her twin mountains were perked up, with the tips almost visible through the semi-permeable material.

Every now and then, I try asking her the same question: “Are you willing to accept the Servant Contract now?”

However, she was still stubbornly holding up… Until she reached the breaking point.

Like a dam that burst, a giggle escaped her mouth before turning into a manic laughter. As she did, it didn’t even take ten seconds before she started wheezing, short of air. Fang was smiling too, having fun ticking the hell out of her little prisoner.

“P-please stop…! hahah! I-, I can’t bre- hahahah!”

She finally started begging us, just as planned. It took us under three minutes to reach this stage; I guess that’s a long time considering that we’re in a rush.

“Then, I’ll ask one last time. Are you willing to—”

“YES! Hahaha! Ah, yes, please! Make it, hahaha stop!”

As soon as she gave permission, she was covered by a bright flash of light. In a panic, I checked the barriers and sighed in relief after finding that the optical blocking one was still active.

The flash didn’t last for long—only about two or three seconds. As soon as it faded, Queen Thalia’s appearance greatly changed.

On top of her head, two lopsided and fluffy ears appeared. Furthermore, behind her, right above her bum, a cute, round, and short tail popped out.

Queen Thalia panted as a faint smile, a remnant of her wild laughter before, was plastered on her face. As soon as I heard the announcement, I nodded toward Fang, signaling for her to stop.

“First order: Do not make a noise or move out of the barrier without my permission.”

“…”

The order I gave seemed to do nothing now, but I guess it was already in effect. I can’t confirm it, though… The system said that she’s a descendant of a Moon Rabbit bloodline, but I’m not sure if they possess similar properties to Ying Yue’s Sea Serpent that block out control skills.

Well, there’s one easy command to see the effects, though.

“Strangle yourself.”

As I muttered the words, her hands moved without hesitation and she tried to strangle herself; however, she was still held back by Fang’s ropes. Her wrist, where the rope was wrapped, had its skin torn off slowly, bleeding towards the bed drop by drop.

I signaled Fang to release the ropes, and the instant she did, Queen Thalia’s both hands squeezed her neck tight, almost as if she were breaking it rather than choking.

“STOP!”

Before all our efforts became wasted, I prevented her from committing suicide as an additional order. Seeing that my orders were working, I turned to her once more and asked.

“Lead us to the underground room.”