After meeting with the Elders, Dara realized that it was still dark. If she returned to the house now, she would just be interfering in the horizontal calisthenics Jaejoong and the succubus was currently performing.

She decided to find a place where she could sit and wait for dawn. She headed to woodland to find herself a tree. A blooming Fire tree caught her attention. She settled on the highest branch of the Fire tree that could accommodate her weight. She suspected Hyuna would be leaving the house before the first light of day appeared in the horizon. No succubus had ever died from sun exposure, but their white delicate skins easily burn upon exposure to the sun. Too much sun also resulted in the appearance of dozens of pimples on their faces. For a succubus whose main weapon was her beauty, a blemished skin was a big no-no. Human males often found women with smooth white skin much more attractive than those with darker complexion. A succubus with sun-damaged skin would be forced to take a vacation leave rather than show their targets their bad skin.

Imagining Hyuna burnt and pimpled made Dara giggle. It was petty, but she couldn't help it. She was not angry at women like Hyuna. She understood their nature, but she wouldn't mind if this lovely seductress learned a lesson or two.

The flutter of wings near her interrupted her flow of thoughts. She turned to her side and saw Yabu in his pigeon form. He was trying to perch himself on the end of the branch she was sitting on.

"Morning, Yabu!" she acknowledged the Finder. "Did someone send you to find me?"

"No, Mistress Andaryad. It's my day off today. And when you passed by me a moment ago, I decided to greet you," he said in a voice full of respect.

"Mistress? During the middle ages, that word denotes respect to the lord's wife. But nowadays, that word has taken a new meaning. Mistress now means the other woman, the woman a husband is having an illicit affair with. Is that how you see me, Yabu?" she teased the Finder.

"Forgive me!" The Finder became flustered. "I forgot what that word meant today. I did not call you mistress to disrespect you, Lady Andaryad!" His wings began flapping in embarrassment.

Dara laughed.

"Just call me Dara."

"But-but," he stammered, "according to some of my older friends, you used to insist before that everyone should call you in your full name."

"Times have changed. And I must change with it in order to survive and live in this new world, Yabu. If we don't learn how to adapt with the new rules of this changing world, we would not survive. Our race would really become extinct."

"Everyone was glad you have returned, Dara," he quipped. "And now that you are back, you could now-"

"Ssshh!" she quickly motioned Yabu to stop talking.

"What's happening?" he asked.

"Someone is watching us," she said in a low voice.

Yabu became very quiet, his eyes glanced from left to right. He began to look worried.

"We should leave now, Dara, you could be in danger," he whispered.

"I can take care of myself, Yabu," she said before standing up and balancing herself on the branch. Her eyes scanned the area around them. Her jaws clenched when she felt the nature of their silent observer. It was a demon!

She raised her left hand and positioned her palm toward the direction where she felt the demon's presence. Cold streams of water rushed out of her palm and headed straight to the demon hiding among the vegetations below. The water quickly froze around the demon, revealing his shape.

The ice enclosure soon shattered, but the demon had now become visible.

"Are you looking for a fight, demon?" she put her hands on her hips.

The male demon smiled and lightly brushed his blonde locks with his fingers.

"You must forgive me, Andaryad. I just didn't want to intrude in the discussion you are having with your friend. I was only waiting for the right time to reveal and introduce myself."

She put her arms across her chest and gave him a dark look.

"I am not interested in making friends with anyone from Midnight," she said firmly. "Your kinds have turned many of my people into dark Siesmyres, making them your slaves and minions! And those of my race that became part of your workforce could never go back to what they used to be because you have corrupted their minds and bodies! You demons took advantage of the dark Siesmyres, sending them to fight Lightside to be slaughtered without mercy!" she harshly reminded him.

The demon cleared his throat and tried to smile.

"I hope you don't mind. I want to correct your wrong impressions of our kind. We never sacrificed the dark Siesmyres. It just so happened that they were the first one's hunted by the Archangels because they are easier to kill than a true demon. The dark Siesmyres are the weakest of all Midnight's employees, and they were often assigned to do the simplest jobs. We never sent them to fight, they just happened to get killed while doing some errands for us."

She raised an eyebrow at the demon.

"I do admit that the Siesmyres working for us had slightly changed their appearances but not so much," he said, lowering his voice. "But they still look like Siesmyres with the exception of the color of their eyes and blood. As for their personalities, they sort of just became more troublesome and though some humans did die because of that, it was purely unintentional on their part. The angels just went overboard by trying to exterminate them like vermin. And because Lightside began hunting the dark Siesmyres, the normal Siesmyres became collateral damage and also became their prey. You can't blame those deaths on us, Andaryad, it was Lightside's fault!

"And you shouldn't believe Lightside's reason that they didn't go on a killing spree and the death of the normal Siesmyres were simply caused by mistaken identity. May I remind you that they soon changed their reason and began saying that by killing the normal Siesmyres, they were in a way saving them from becoming contaminated by us!" He became indignant before letting out a deep breath.

"Thankfully, you managed to stop the senseless killings. You were able to forge a treaty with the Lightside that forced them to stop killing all the Siesmyre folks that don't work for us. And for the record, Midnight Corp. treated all of our employees fairly. Everyone has a chance to get promoted. We also give a lot of bonuses and-"

"Who are you?" Dara interrupted his long speech.

"Ah, pardon me," he laughed. "I forgot to introduce myself. I am Lee Junki, the Ambassador of Midnight Corp. You might say we are equals because you are also like an ambassador for the Siesmyres. Speaking of negotiations, how did you manage to get an appointment with Bae Yong Jun before? That old man is a stickler for rules! He is like an immovable object. Once he put his mind into doing something, you can't change it. Every time I negotiate with him, I almost always end up empty-handed, but he still would push to get more and more from me!" Junki complained.

"I have heard of you, Lee Junki. So, cut the act. Stop pretending to be stupid. Rumors say you are one of the most intelligent and cunning officer of Midnight Corp. Part of your act in getting information from your enemies is to make your target at ease by pretending to be stupid and inefficient." Dara sat back on her branch, she noticed Yabu shivering slightly. It was clear Yabu had also recognized the Midnight Ambassador. She gently patted Yabu's shoulders, calming him. Assuring him that the bad demon wouldn't hurt him.

Junki smiled.

"You really are quite impressive, Andarayad."

"Call me Dara." She could handle guys like him. "So, why do you really want to see and talk to me? Do you want to prove to yourself that the rumors that I am beautiful and y are true?"

Junki burst into laughter.

"When Bae Yong Jun warned me to expect the unexpected, I never understood what he meant. But I am now starting to." He floated up and positioned himself at eye level with her. "I simply came here to introduce myself. That's common courtesy to your position as the ambassador for your race."

"I don't see any reason why the two of us should meet and talk, Junki. Your kind never negotiated with us. You simply take whoever and whatever you want from my people."

"Another misunderstanding that I must correct. All Siesmyres who are now working for us were never forcibly recruited. We talked to them. Offered them a better life. We made them see the benefits they could get from us if they agreed to be branded and become the minions of Midnight Corp. And I assure you, they are happy and contented working for us."

"Are you trying to recruit me?" She looked at him suspiciously.

"A woman as sharp as you can see through me. So, I will stop talking nonsense. And the answer is yes. If you would agree to work for us, you need not start at the bottom. You will be given a rank equivalent to your current position. You could even become a countess!"

Dara studied the Midnight Rep. She could sense a hidden agenda. Junki was not stupid to think that she would just leave her people and work for Midnight. He was trying to get information from her. What kind of information, she wasn't sure. But it's time she turned the tables on him.

"Junki, Jaejoong works for you, right?"

"Yes. I am his immediate superior. You could even say I am his master!" he boasted.

"How come you have to personally talk to me and offer me a job? You could have simply asked Jaejoong to do that."

"With your caliber and position among the Siesmyres, it would be like an insult to you if I send a low-ranking demon to offer you a job."

"I like him. I don't like you. Between the two of you, he is the one who could influence me more."

Junki stopped talking for a moment.

"You do come straight to the point," he grinned.

"If you really want me to become part of Midnight Corp., use Jaejoong. Make it his assignment. Don't you think it's about time he starts earning his keep? He is after all an official employee of Midnight and like any other employee, he receives compensation. But based on the information I have gathered, ever since he became an official employee, he has yet to do a job for Midnight. It is not like you, Junki, to simply waste the skills and abilities of your employees. Or is Jaejoong secretly doing a job for you but you just don't want the Dark Council to know?"

The grin immediately left Junki's face.

"Whatever you are thinking about Jaejoong 's position in Midnight, it would be best that you just keep it to yourself, my lady." He spread out his large wings. It was clear, their talk was over.

But Dara wasn't finished yet.

"Junki, there is something I think you need to know."

"What?" There was suspicion on his eyes.

"Jaejoong is being seduced by his first lover, Hyuna."

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter