A small brownish object that looks like a pebble appeared on his palm. "Swallow this thing...this will ensure that you will come back to me no matter what," he said.

Ivy looked at the brown pebble-like object hesitating to accept it or not...

"Common...why are you hesitating to take this thing? Have you change your mind?" Maxwell asked.

"Tell me what is this thing and how it works on my body?" Ivy demanded wanting to know the effects of the pebble in her body.

Maxwell's eyes gleamed instantly. "Alright, I'll tell you the truth. The moment you change your mind and no longer want to come back to me then you will die a painful death, this object will poison your body internally, I have full control of it. Ingest this thing and you will see your sister, then everything will be alright. I want you to know that if you can bring your sister Kate to me, then I promise you that the moment Ella walks on the door of the castle. I will send her right into your room. So that you and your sisters can be reunited safely..."

Ivy was listening attentively to Maxwell's enticing offers. Right now, he was the only one who can help her and her sister Kate. "C-can you guarantee the safety of my sisters out of this castle?"

"Yes, of course! Once my powerful father will be resurrected from death, he can bring us out of this cursed castle. When that happens, I will give you and your sister freedom. That is why I need your cooperation, we will work together so that we can get out of this castle alive! Let's do it, Ivy, let's work together for the common goal!" he said convincingly.

Ivy looked at the poison, no longer hesitating, she picked it up and dropped it in her mouth. The object tasted bitter but tolerable.

A few seconds later...Ivy passed out in the bed.

Maxwell grinned triumphantly and vacated the room. He went back to his brothers to tell them his decision.

He appeared on their midst and lowered himself on the couch facing his brothers with a smiling face. "Guys...let's have Ivy and Kate reunited at last!" he announced.

Lothaire and Xenon looked at each other and directed their gaze to their older brother.

"Tell us your plan, brother..." Xenon inquired.

"It better be good!" Lothaire stared at his brother's face curiously.

Maxwell released a deep sigh. "We both know by now that we can't defeat Esmeralda. Kate will never come back to us willingly unless we will send her sister as a pawn. Let's use Ivy to get her sister back without angering Esmeralda in the process. If Ivy can convince Kate to come with her peacefully I think Esmeralda will have no say in the matter..."

"B-but what is Kate will be the one who can convince Ivy to stay with her under Esmeralda's care? It's possible to happen, right? The table can turn to us anytime. Sometimes a plan can backfire," Lothaire was thinking of the possible negative outcome of his brother's scheme.

Xenon agreed with Lothaire. "Brother, I think your plan is not going to work. It will ultimately fail. If I'm the one on Ivy's shoes, I would rather stay in Esmeralda's care rather than going back to the bloodthirsty vampires' place which is feeding on my blood on daily basis," he voiced out his honest opinion.

Maxwell's eyes grow dangerously dark. "You guys think—I'm that stupid? You haven't let me finish yet...you already judge my plan as a complete failure without listening to the rest of my plan!" he snapped at them angrily.

Lothaire and Xenon went silent fearing the wrath of their older brother.

Silence took over the atmosphere.

After awhile Maxwell's anger dissipated.

"By all means...tell us everything about your plan brother," Xenon coaxed him.

Maxwell grinned. "I let Ivy swallowed the brown poisonous pebble that I've been experimenting with nowadays..."

"Huh!?" Both Xenon and Lothaire exclaimed in horror.

"Ivy will surely die!" Xenon's horrified voice echoed in the air.

"Exactly!" Maxwell replied humorously.

Lothaire looked at his brother in disbelief. "Have you gone crazy, brother? We only got Ivy, now you are going to kill her? How can we resurrect our father if we no longer have any of the sisters under our clutches?"

Maxwell erupted into peals of laughter. "You guys are really stupid! I made the poison myself, of course, I have the antidote! I will give Ivy a few days to finish her mission, if she fails to bring her sister back to us then she will die a painful death. Before she will die, Kate and Esmeralda will witness Ivy's suffering painfully daily. Just imagine it...Kate and Esmeralda will be able to hear and see Ivy groaning in pain all day and all night long. Kate will not be able to bear seeing her sister suffer greatly...therefore she will convince Esmeralda to let her go and accompany her sister back to us," he finished his explanation with a smirk.

Finally...the plan is now clear in the brothers doubting minds. They smiled at each other fully convinced that their older brother's plan will work.

Xenon chuckled in glee. "Wow, I can see your plan working perfectly, brother," he said feeling proud of his older sibling.

"I will no longer be surprised if Esmeralda will be the one who will surrender the two sisters back here in our place just to save their lives," Lothaire guffawed amused with his thoughts.

The brothers shared a burst of amused laughter that echoed in the entire room.

Then after the laughter died down...

Xenon suddenly spoke. "W-what if Ivy will reveal to Esmeralda that we are planning to resurrect our father? That old hag will know our plan and will destroy everything before we can even begin the first step..." he asked apprehensively.

"Yes, it's possible..." Lothaire agreed.

Maxwell grinned. "Guys, you don't have to worry about a thing. Before I made the poison I already think of that possibility. Believe me, the poison that Ivy swallowed is not your ordinary poison. It has a lot of uses...trust me...I'm the one who created it. I know how it will work inside Ivy's body and mind..." he said wearing a smug look in his eyes.

Xenon and Lothaire looked at each other and smiled. "You're the best, brother!" they said in unison.

Maxwell's lips curved into a satisfied grin. He was thankful for the black book containing the manuals on how to make deadly poison and their antidotes. That book was given to him as a parting gift by his old mentor who passed away at the ripe age. At first, he wasn't interested in the poison black book manual when his father was still alive. But later on, when his father died and they were trapped inside the castle for centuries with no way out, he began studying the book and making experiments with poison, just to relieve his boredom.

He becomes good at it through the years, experimenting on Orcs and other creatures on the pit and even on human captives from time to time without anyone's knowledge.

Who would think that it will become handy to him one day?