---Nadir's POV---

There was a certain satisfaction, watching your plans slowly unfurl. Gently, delicately, reminding you of all the hours of planning, the bitter hours deep in the night, where ideas failed and new plans formed.

As I watched Delilah taking several dainty sips from the tea, pinky raised into the air as if she was nobility, my chest warmed and at the same time, froze.

In a way, it saddened me to kill her. Delilah was an extremely intelligent woman and , if she had taken different choices in her life, she could've done so much good in her life.

She could've rescued so many slaves from bad owners, could've given them all a second chance at life. Could've used her immense fortune to aid those who were out of luck, who had been beaten down by fate over and over again.

Instead, she had chosen to give people false hope, to reach out a helping hand, only to have her claws sink deeply into her victim's skin.

After all, she hadn't bought me from the good from her heart. She had been curious to see a young boy, barely a child amongst the sheik's test subjects.

It had tickled her curiosity. How could a child survive the sheiks tests? She was one of the few who knew, who helped the twisted man by providing him with lore and information of plants and toxins, venomous reptiles and other dangerous critters.

She hadn't cared for the sniveling child that had shivered in pain from the numerous toxins still coursing through its body. No, she had seen an oddity, something rare.

And she had to have it.

My fingers dug into my own arm as I quickly averted my gaze, hiding from view. Delilah was already dead. She just didn't know it yet.

I knew the poison that Serafina had demanded to use. It was a poison I had seen the effects of up close and personal. A cold shiver ran over my spine, as I had remembered the sheik had been walking past cells to select a test candidate.

When he had opened my cell, my heart had jumped in my throat, but there was this sick, twisted form of relief when instead of me, he had grabbed the woman that had shared the cell with me.

Six slaves in total had been dragged out, told to take place at a table with food and drink readily available. All of them shared the same look of surprise and then suspicion when the sheik had smiled and told them to eat.

All of them had hesitated, startling when a whip had cracked down on the floor behind them. We all knew they didn't have a choice. So they ate, and drank.

I didn't know if it was in the food, but I suspected it had been in the drink. One of the three males had stopped halfway through his glass, gagging and trembling as the toxins took effect.

He died screaming, rambling on and on about fire that was burning him, that he was being eaten alive. The poor man had clawed at his own skin, not caring he was dragging bloody grooves all over.

All he had wanted was for the internal pain to stop. And it did... permanently.

The sadistic sheik had been pleased. It was a test case after all and in his eyes, it was a great success. All six slaves were poisoned with different doses.

All of them died. Slowly, agonizingly, even the woman of my cell, who had but a fragment of the poison in her body.

She had been in agony for days, paranoid, convinced that her cell was filled with bugs. I had spent days watching her scream and wail, swatting at the air and her legs, pulling at her own hair and begging the sheik to please save her.

The bastard had only smirked and made notes of the hallucinating side effects.

It was after three weeks that the woman died, three weeks of screaming and crying, putting everyone else on edge. And then Delilah appeared. To us, she had been a god-send.

Anything to get away from this hellhole.

But I had seen the pleased glint in her eyes when she had looked at the corpse of the female slave. Had heard the satisfaction in her tone as the Sheik had informed her of the results.

And then he had thanked her, for pointing out the mixture of toxins and poisons he hadn't thought of before.

She had been the one to give the Sheik more monstrous weapons to use. All in the name of science and knowledge, that she so cherished.

And then she had bought me, amongst a few other slaves. A few oddities, saved from slavery. A rightful payment for her actions that led to countless of people dying.

I assume that was what she kept telling herself every night, during her evening prayers. That it was all for the sake of the greater good.

What was the meaning of a few lost lives of mere slaves, if they could help the rich benefit?

A sigh escaped me as I averted my gaze and nodded at Serafina's pointed glare. Delilah's days were numbered and she would spend those days just like the poor slaves that had suffered due to her knowledge.

Serafina had nothing left to lose. All she wanted was to see this woman burn, slowly and painfully. She had even informed me that, when Delilah would start ailing and fall sick, that Serafina herself would stay at her side.

Like a doting, nurturing mother.

But she'd look on with glee and inform Delilah just what had happened. Serafina was already drawing up the plans to have all Delilah's slaves freed.

All Delilah's properties and money would be diverted, going back to the slaves as retribution for her actions. During her last moments on this world, she'd have a sudden change of heart and devout all her worldly possessions to make her house a safe-haven for all those that were weak and poor.

That was at least what Serafina would tell the guards and doctors. I had already provided her with a letter, signed by Delilah herself.

I've seen her handwriting often enough to copy it. We even had a test a few days earlier, buying resources with a letter that was signed with the forged autograph.

Even the store she owned was none the wiser and had read the letter without blinking, accepting it as truth.

To be fair, I was happy that Serafina had interjected. I would've killed Delilah, sure, but I wouldn't have been able to push events this far.

I had planned to leave a note in her possessions which spoke of her grief of her actions and her wish for the slaves in her care to be freed and paid for their years of servitude.

Serafina made sure to double down on that, using all Delilah's resources to go to the further aid of any slave, pauper and street urchin she could find.

And I was quite certain that she had no qualms informing Delilah of that fact. Undoubtedly the woman would be in mental anguish, imagining all her rare fabrics and materials, her gold, resources, anything she possessed, to become property of slaves.

A fate well deserved, in my opinion. Though, I almost felt unneeded. But thanks to Serafina, I now had extra free time on my hands.

Time I could spend traveling to my next target on the list, a visit I had been looking forward to ever since I had been freed.

A smile curled on my lips as I rushed ahead, eager to get changed and get myself out of this city and away from the living memory that was Delilah.

I knew that I'd get a letter from Serafina when the deed was done.

"Where are you going?"

My eyes flitted to the side, where Mord'U was standing in the shadows, eyebrow tilted with curiosity. I chuckled slightly, spotting Carson a few steps to my right.

"Don't you know? For being mercenaries that have trailed me for weeks, you guys are failing your job horribly."

Carson smirked widely while Mord'u nearly choked on his laugh, shaking his head. "It's done then?" Carson asked, eyes glancing over my shoulder.

I followed his gaze, smirking with delight as Delilah emptied her cup with a loud smack of her lips, demanding a refill. And even from here, I could see the satisfied grin curling the edges of Serafina's own lips before she sipped from her own cup.

"Of course. My lady Serafina's tastes are impeccable as always, adding her own herbal blend to her teas to benefit her health. She doesn't want her age to be catching up to her." I replied, making sure to give nothing away to the guard that walked past, eying both of us curiously.

Carson nodded, eyes glinting playfully as he added for the guards' benefit, "Well, then what are you waiting for, you brat? Get out of here and do your masters' bidding!"

I quickly bowed as the guard huffed and sneered something under his breath about lazy servants. Carson smirked slightly as I passed him, hissing under his breath as my elbow accidentally crashed into his side.

"You little shit-"

A chuckle escaped me before I was around the corner, feet gaining speed with each step. None of the guards would stop me, guessing that I was performing an urgent task for my master.

And I was. My masters just didn't know that I was rushing to their sides to dutifully repay them for all the years I had been under their care.