"A deal?" Leo growled, his grip on his blade tightening until his knuckles turned white. "You think you can just walk back into the village you almost destroyed, insult the woman you tried to kill, and ask for clothes?"
The surrounding beastmen started to close in, their eyes narrowed. It felt like the air was continuously getting thicker and trying to suffocate me but I didn't flinch. I didn't even shift my stance. I just looked at my fingernails, bored.
"Technically, I didn't 'almost' destroy the village. The invaders did that. If anything, I'm the one who should be complaining about the lack of hospitality," I said, my voice dripping with that signature toxic sweetness. I looked up, catching Leo's eyes. "And let's be realistic, Leo. You can try to kill me again, but we both know how that went last time. Do you really want to risk what's left of this place on a second attempt? I'm feeling much... stronger today, so I definitely won't take whatever you throw at me lying down. As they say, a cornered beast is a dangerous beast."
I let a hint of that predatory amber glow flicker in my eyes and it caused them to feel a little uneasy.
Something about me had changed, and they could very much feel it.
Leo hesitated. He looked at the wreckage of the village, then at the terrified Linna, and finally back at me.
"Leo, please..." Linna whimpered, clutching his arm and he looked down at her again. "Just... let her take what she wants and go. I can't... I can't handle any more blood."
She looked at me, her eyes brimming with tears, waiting for me to be touched by her mercy but I just laughed.
"See? Even the Saintess has more brains than you, Leo. She knows when she's outclassed and outmatched."
I stepped past them, my shoulder brushing Leo's thick muscles as if he were nothing more than a fence post. I headed straight for the largest longhouse—the one where the tribe stored their finest woven fabrics and traded goods.
"Lyssa, that's the communal store!" someone shouted.
"Consider it a tax for the mental trauma of being roasted," I called back without turning.
I pushed open the heavy wooden doors.
Inside, it smelled of cedar and dried herbs but none of that was of my concern.
I bypassed the rough furs and went straight for a pile of deep emerald silk—likely a tribute from a traveling merchant or Linna's future dowry. The material was soft, durable, and matched the force gold in my eyes perfectly.
I stripped right there in the middle of the room, letting my tattered rags fall to the floor. I didn't care who was watching or who followed me in.
They could get a feast of my body and perhaps the marks I got from the delicious buffet the previous night. But even then, what could they do about it?
It would only trouble their mind more and I'd give to see that happen.
I wrapped the silk around my body, tying it with a leather cord I scavenged from a nearby shelf.
I looked at my reflection in a polished bronze shield leaning against the wall.
Dark raven hair? Check.
Cold, elegant smirk? Check.
Looking like I own the world? Double check.
Now, all that's left is to walk out like I won tomorrow.
I grabbed a sturdy leather satchel and began filling it with dried meat, a waterskin, and a small, sharp bone-dagger. I wasn't leaving with just a dress; that would be the dumbest thing I could do.
But then, I looked around but didn't find any pair of shoes.
That was when I realized that not even the Saintess was wearing shoes.
These people... Were they too poor or did they not find any need to wear shoes?
Leo wore shoes. I could just snatch it from him but it wouldn't be my size. Ugh.
As I walked back out into the square, the crowd parted for me like the Red Sea. I looked at Leo, who was still standing there, fuming, and then at Linna, who looked like she was about to faint.
"It's been a pleasure," I lied, adjusting the strap of my new bag. "Try not to get invaded again while I'm gone. It's quite embarrassing for a 'warrior' tribe, don't you think?" I laughed loudly,y mocking them.
I didn't wait for a reply and started walking toward the main gates that led to the road to the Capital. My feet still stung, but with every step, the distance between me and this pathetic village grew.
"Wait!"
I stopped and turned my head slightly. It was one of the younger beastmen, a wolf-boy who had always looked at the original Lyssa with a mix of fear and crush.
"Where are you going?" he asked, his voice cracking.
I looked at him for a while, wondering what he ever stood to gain from following someone he liked and feared at the same time.
Well, not my business.
I flashed him a smile that was all teeth and no warmth.
"To a place where the wine is better and the men are... more talented," I said, my mind briefly flashing to the slit blue eyes in the forest. "I'm telling you, the Capital won't know what hit it."
And with that, I walked out of the Iron-Claw tribe for good with their eyes glaring and their fists clenching.
They could break their bones hating me, but the fact that they could not stop me and only watched me leave despite how much they hated me was proof that I had won, both physically and psychologically.