At night, the cold study is hazy and quiet. The heavy curtains were tightly obscured, and the only light came from the miserable white butter candle in the center of the table.

Sitting in a chair with dark red brocade cushions, Count Guise looked indifferently at the candle in front of him, and slowly stretched out the palm of his right hand and placed it on the flame.

The flames were bent by the palms of his hands, darkening the study and distorting the Count's shadow cast on the wall.

The shadow swayed and struggled with the swaying of the flames, dancing wildly as if it were self-conscious. Immediately after, a pair of long, curved horns slowly grew from the shadow's skull, and let out a somewhat piercing shrill laugh.

"Are you satisfied, noble Earl?" whispered in the earl's ear, "this is only a small and insignificant part of our promise. You will gain greater power, power above all others. ”

"Is there a mage?" asked the Count softly. He removed his palm from the flame of the candle and grabbed it behind him, trying to catch the owner of the voice.

The horns on the wall dodged out of the shadows of the count's body and hovered in the air. It was a small humanoid creature with bat wings and a spiky tail, and its skin was dark red, similar to the color of the Earl's cushions.

The humanoid flew in front of the Count, gathered its wings and fell. A little devil, a whisperer of evil words, a seducer of the fallen heart, countless souls have fallen into hell in their whispers, tormented in the fire of blasphemy.

"Mage? The little devil laughed in his characteristic shrill voice, "though the power of the mage is great, but that power belongs only to them......," said the little devil as he lifted the Count's left hand, which he had placed on the table, with his two little paws. It placed its palm on top of the candle's flame and pressed it down slightly.

The room was dark again, and the figures of the Count and the little devil were extremely blurred, except for the sharp fangs of the little devil's mouth, which shone white in the claustrophobic darkness.

"They can't give you the power of magic, Lord Count. It doesn't make you stand apart from ordinary mortals. However, we can. The white light stretched to the sides, smiling cheerfully in the dimness, "Not only that, but your life will even become longer than that of the elves, and wealth and power will be at your disposal." ”

"Without power, those are just bubbles," the Count looked at his palm above the flames, the faint light of the candle reflected in the depths of his eyes.

"Yes, yes, you're right!" the white light crawled down his arm, and it climbed onto Count Guise's shoulder again, and spat out its long, forked tongue like a snake, "Everything is just an illusory bubble, as fragile as a sharta. Even a plain piece of parchment stamped with the purple crown insignia (the king's seal) will instantly put you back in the dust. ”

It whispered in the earl's ear, "Only its own strength is eternal." Not only can we help you get a knighthood, but we can also help you gain more power, and we can even make you immortal......"

The Earl of Guise suddenly remembered his father, his two elder brothers, and his sister, who loved him most when he was young, but was imprisoned in the dungeon by himself.

He removed his palm from the flame and placed it in front of him.

The skin of the palm of his hand was fair and delicate, and there was not the slightest scar under the long baking of the flames, but the Count felt that it was faintly red in his eyes, a scarlet as bright as blood.

But what if even Scarlet? The palm was once too weak to lift a bucket, but Count Guise knew it had the power to break steel. And now, not even the flames can hurt it in the slightest.

The firelight illuminated the figure of the little devil again, and it crouched on the Count's shoulder, and its low murmur became shrill and piercing again, "Only, you know, everything has a price. ”

"Soul ......," the Count closed his eyes.

"Souls!" the little devil jumped from shoulder to shoulder, "how much is a soul worth?" I don't think any creature can tell. To you humans, it may be worthless, and a beggar may sell it for a cup of hot milk, but to us devils, it is extremely precious and can be exchanged for many unimaginable things. For example, 300 souls will be able to obtain 'Fire Immunity', and if the 'Original Protocol' is modified, this price will have to be increased by at least one more zero. And more souls means more power. ”

Three hundred, or three thousand, how much? Count Guise found that his mind did not fluctuate in the slightest with such a number.

He still remembered that at first it was just one soul, two souls, he was terrified and heartbroken, then five, ten, he trembled and cautious, then fifty, hundreds, even hundreds, then hundreds, and even hundreds, and he was indifferent and calm, and this time, it was probably tens of thousands, even tens of thousands......

"Don't worry, I'll get the contract done. Count Guise said coldly.

"You may need to be quicker, noble Earl. The little devil jumped back on the table, licked the flame of the candle with his tongue, and recounted in a shrill voice, "You may have heard that Baron Richard had an accident a few days ago, and he felt that the atmosphere in the city was not quite right, so he contacted Bishop Salom to put the plan on hold. ”

That smuggler not only smuggled spices, but also souls. Count Guise only found out about this guy through this plan on the contract. It turns out that 'quokkas' also have a cannibalistic side.

There is a devil living in everyone's heart. For some reason, the Count suddenly thought of this.

However, the bishop believes that it should be done sooner, not later. After all, it's all in the final stages, and it won't be long before the gates of hell will open. "Finish your part, noble Earl, and assist Bishop Salom in successfully opening the gates of Hell, after which your names will be remembered by the Devil's Grand Dukes, and even the Supreme Lord of Hell will know you and reward you......"

Just then, there was a knock on the door of the study. The little devil turned his head to look at the doorway and disappeared into thin air. After the Count waited for the little devil to disappear, he said in a deep voice, "Come in." ”

A woman in a dressing gown pushed open the door, strolled up to the earl, and said with a smile, "Honey, aren't you sleeping yet?"

"It's almost there. The Count touched the woman's face, "You go to sleep first, don't wait for me." ”

"But it's a little cold on the bed. The woman said coquettishly.

The Count smiled and kissed the woman, "I hope this warms you up." He gently patted the woman's buttocks, "Go back, don't catch a cold, I'll accompany you in a while." ”

"Hurry up. The woman reluctantly walked out of the room.

With the sound of the door shut, the count's face turned cold again. The little devil reappeared from the air, "Are you going to the dungeon again, Lord Count?"

Count Guise glanced at the little devil and said nothing.

Then the little devil flew to the bookcase, stretched out his claws and moved a switch at the bottom of the bookcase, and the whole bookcase was silently sunken inward, revealing a staircase that spiraled down beside it.

"Have fun!" said the little devil, stooping like a servant.

......