Almost no one ever came to the basement of Rodriguez Manor. Not even Merkel was allowed inside. Only Schiller—or rather, only one of Schiller's personalities—ever came here.
Master Andrew's corpse had been casually discarded on the cold floor. The moment Pamela walked in, she caught a strange odor.
But that was hardly surprising. The day's high had nearly reached forty degrees Celsius. Even the usually cool cellar was around twenty-seven or twenty-eight degrees, and human bodies decomposed faster than those of most animals.
"The ingredients don't look very fresh," Pamela said with a frown. "Are you sure that's still edible?"
Schiller glanced at the corpse on the floor and said coldly, "No, Miss. That isn't our ingredient. The instant he died, he became inedible. At most, he can serve as bait."
Pamela looked at Schiller, feeling puzzled. She did not know what he meant, but she certainly had no interest in approaching a corpse steadily advancing toward severe decomposition.
Suddenly, a faint sound came from beyond the corridor door outside the cellar room. Pamela spun around and saw a cloaked figure in the shadows of the hallway.
"You killed Andrew?" A sharp, raspy voice rang out, carrying the mysterious air unique to mages, but Pamela's gaze upon her held a trace of sympathy.
The figure stepped out of the darkness and pulled back her hood with pale hands. Goat horns stood out clearly amid her black hair. She was a woman with succubus blood, and Pamela swore she saw the most displeased expression she had ever seen on Schiller's face.
"You're a hybrid? Not fully human?" Schiller turned to look at the half-succubus at the door, his gaze lingering for a moment on the tail swaying behind her. The succubus approaching them did not notice. "Andrew may have been stupid,