AN: The "Mistress" has been revealed!

Thank you, folks, for reading the story thus far. If you've any questions, comments, or concerns, let me know down below.

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A few of you seem curious as to why I hadn't killed off the bear-kin sooner. The reason for that was because I had a slight change of heart. You see, her terror and sorrow was like milk and honey to one such as I, and I wanted to keep on drinking it in until she could give no more. Oh, she will die, but only after she hears about her family being butchered, their meat devoured, and all of her female friends raped then slaughtered. This thought alone was what kept her alive. However, I would not hesitate to end her life quickly, if something unforeseeable were to occur. Such as an attempt to rescue her, as that would put a stop to all of my plans.

Anyways, the party itself was themed, and all had to wear dark, foreboding clothing. It all reminded me of an old tradition back upon my first world. The tradition was also a holiday, in which people of all ages would dress up as creatures of both light and darkness. Those of a young age would go from house to house and receive a treat from those whose houses were occupied by willing participants. Unfortunately, there always seemed to be tricksters hidden amongst the participants, and would do their best to scare everyone who wished for a treat.

Everyone was dressed oddly, but not as my first world's. No, the males all had dark clothing, while the females seemed to wear tattered, black dresses that covered up everything, and yet not. Whoever designed their clothing was remarkable, and should be commended for it.

The gathering place itself was a standard ballroom, but it was dimly lit with candles lining the area. Black and red curtains hung from wrought iron studs that blackened out the evening sun from the windows. Statues, grotesque in feature, stood in front of these curtains, as though to keep others from seeking out the dying light of the sun. A marble staircase was seen at one end of the ballroom, which led to a pair of gold laced, black ironed double doors. It was here everyone invited was pouring out, as a herald was reading off their names to the populace down below.

On either side of the staircase were long tables covered in blood red linen. Upon them were silver platters of food and drink, and many were seen sampling cheeses, meats, and wines. An odd, portly male human was seen taking a samples of the foods and wines, then consuming them slowly. This human was the queen's Food Taster, and was charged with making sure nothing edible was poisoned throughout the night. Once the queen was present, however, he would be at her side tasting everything before she, herself, would eat the offered foods or drink the wine. Although why anyone would let a child such as her drink was beyond me.

However, all eyes turned towards the double doors when the herald, who was sweating profusely, announced the arrival of myself and the feline girl-child. She was given a real name around the time I had left her room, and many of you seem to be wondering what it was that I called her. I had called her as I described her to you, "Girl-Child" or "Feline Girl-Child". Yes, yes, yes. My naming sense for others has never been that great. No, but the name she was given was "Puella Dei", which literally translated to "Girl-Child of God". If my naming sense was off, then what does it say about theirs?

'What was the name you were given?', is what some of you are probably wondering. It was "Veni Deus Venenum", which roughly translated to "Dying God of Poison". Why they called me a "Dying God" was beyond me, but I guess not giving them a name would open doors to being called something else. Ah, but the herald wasn't allowed to call me that, seeing as I was in my kobold illusion. No, but the name I was given for this form was "Canis Dei", or "Hound of God".

"Canis and Puella Dei," announced the herald near the opened double doors, and the pair of us felt the entire room full of nobles and prominent merchants turn to set their gazes upon up. 'Puella' had become frightened by this, and hid behind my legs. This caused many to chuckle at her actions, and most turned their gazes towards each other once more.

I had chosen to wear a simple scarlet vest and a pair of black trousers, while 'Puella' was wearing a black one piece dress over a frilly white dress. It was certainly interesting to see, and her fluffy black hair, ears, and tail seemed to accentuate her adorableness. Her eyes, on the other hand, turned her from adorable to stunning, as they had somehow become an emerald green. Even now, I do not believe I had seen them this colour before.

Shortly after starting our decent, a pair of female four-armed Undying followed us. They were trailed by a dark crimson-black cloud, who was, by the by, 'Puella's' bonded Shadow's Reaper. This caught everyone's attention once more, and I could even hear the mutterings and whispers of the gathered humans once we had fully descended the stairs. A few were even openly staring at us as though we were slaves being auctioned off, until they noticed our lack of collars, that is. This set off more whisperings, and a few covertly pointed at our necks. These actions were infuriating, and I was sorely tempted to have them all beaten within an inch of their life.

However, they had to wait, as the herald announced someone I had been hoping would arrive. "Sir Stormhelm of Stone Bear Tribe, and company." This announcement, followed by the arrival of a black bear beastman with streaks of silver in its fur had me giggling maddeningly internally. Once the beastman began his descent, I sent off one of the Undying to inform half of the castle guard to set off towards the beastman's tribe. The guard being sent would take most of the Shadow's Reaper, as well as the Alpha, leaving only a handful behind. This handful would be managed by those they had bonded with, so they don't start fighting each other for an Alpha position.

Many were curious as to why she left, and a few had became nervous once she returned saying, "It has been done, My Lord." I nodded at her words, and laughed softly at the humans who had begun to whisper of this new turn of events.

"She just called it 'Lord'," came several whispering nobles nearest us. All had begun to wonder who exactly we were to command the Undying while being called a "Lord". However, many of the whisperings became a bit heated, when they realised a Kobold had a high position. Which garnered more anger when some began to speculate my position was probably higher than theirs. Especially when a few began to speak of several rumours about my being seen chatting with the young queen on more than one occasion.

A few even tried to approach my person, as I was trying to feed 'Puella' some green vegetables, but were turned away, or blocked, by the Undying. Even if they were to somehow maneuver around the Undying, a low growl within the shadows would always scare them off. If they weren't frightened off by the growl, a shadowy muzzle would condense within the shadows, which was followed by a pair of smoky, crimson orbs that would float just a little behind the muzzle, and glare in their direction. This certainly set many off, calling for the guards to "slay the monster in the shadows", but were stunned when the guards simply looked towards where the disturbance was, shrug, then go about their business.

This spoke volumes as to what this shadowy monster was to them, and many in attendance were giving off waves of fear. If I had a sensory organ at the time, it probably would have smelled heavenly. Alas, I did not, and could only wonder about it.

It was at about this time I noticed a female human making her way through the crowd. She wore a thin, one piece scarlet dress that left nothing to the imagination. What I mean is, she wore nothing underneath, and every man was caught staring at her with lust. There was a slit down the side of her dress, that revealed well toned thighs and the curvature of her hind end with every movement and small gust. The face of the human was beautiful by human standards, but was heavily covered in makeup, so it made me wonder if she was an ugly crone underneath. Her hair and eyes were the same colour of freshly fallen snow, and from the distance, it looked as though her hair might have been soft to the touch. Well, it's not like I could confirm it, anyways.

What was truly odd about her was the fact that many of the males tried to call out to her with, "Mistress," and "Please notice me, Mistress." Those who uttered the last one, I wanted to strangle dead. For the words were far too close to what the Tsundere girl of the former harem continued to mutter every time she saw him from across the room. It was very annoying.

However, the female ignored them, and headed straight for myself and Puella's position near a table. I turned my head towards the girl-child, asking if the woman coming towards us was the "Mistress" the cat-kins spoke about. Her eyes were wide, and she swiveled her head in the direction of my pointed clawed finger. Her entire body began to shake with fear, as she noticed the human, and dove into the shadows where her Shadow's Reaper resides. I could hear a few distressing mews coming from within, and wanted to comfort her. Unfortunately, the female human had already approached, but was blocked by a female Undying.

"Let her through," I told her, and relented reluctantly. The female human smiled at the Undying mockingly, and almost had her head removed from her shoulders by the other Undying. I kept them calm, but they were both fuming quietly.

"I am Sierra Montoya, but you may call me Mistress," she began, extending her hand in such a way as to expect me to kiss it. Unfortunately for her, I simply glanced at it, then stared into her eyes. I had done this as a form of challenge, and she took it quite quickly.

"I do not care for you, human. State what you wish, then leave." From her eyes, I felt some sort of probe try to enter my skull, and latched onto it. Her left eye twitched slightly, then she tried to look away, as I sent a torrent of chaotic magicks straight into her skull. I could tell she had a headache, and released the probe. Once released, she gasped loudly, stumbled, and broke eye contact. To this, I smirked, then frowned as she wanted to try to look me in the eyes again.

When I would not, she pouted saying, "I was hoping to meet the hero that stopped the High General from killing the queen. Do you know where he is?" She had leaned over towards my person, trying to push up her breasts with her arms. This action only disgusted me.

"Perhaps, but he does not wish to see you just yet, little human. When he does, you will wish he did not know of your existence." She was about to speak up, when she saw someone run down the stairs, and dash straight towards the Bear beastman's group. They had begun to whisper just as the herald announced the arrival of the queen.

"Presenting her Royal Majesty, Queen Delilah of New Wair." The queen herself wore a jewel encrusted gown of flowing crimson and silver. She had a small, black velvet vest over the dress, and a smaller version of the king's Spire Crown could be seen upon her brow. From behind her came LD and RS, who both wore a solid white and red business-like suit, then came her royal guards. Three of which carried only heavy shields, while the others all had four swords sheathed about their person. Truth be told, they were quite intimidating.

However, there came a commotion from the Stone Bear party, when one of them exclaimed, "Who could have done this?!" To which I smiled behind a cup, as I laughed within my mind.