The CEO's Seductive Doll-Chapter 159: Clear as Mud

The Maestra was silent for a few moments before giving a small nod. The three of them stood frozen, finally exhaling the breath they didn’t realize they were holding.

"She’s the most important thing in your life, isn’t she?" The Maestra smiled softly, as though asking for Eternity in exchange for Evan’s life wasn’t the devastating request it clearly was.

"You said you’d save both of us!" Evan wanted to shout, but his voice came out as a desperate rasp. "My life isn’t worth living if you take Eternity away from me!"

Out of nowhere, and without any reason to, the Maestra laughed.

"Do you see?" she said gleefully, her light tone at odds with the tension filling the room. "Can you hear your desperation? That’s exactly what I need in exchange for my help."

"Why are you doing this?" Freiheit whispered, his face mirroring Evan’s confusion and frustration. "This doesn’t sound like an alternative at all."

The Maestra shot him a sidelong glance.

"This is the best alternative," she said firmly. "But to be clear, I’m not taking Eternity from you. I want something else."

"What do you mean by that?" Eternity asked, her brow furrowed. "Maestra, you’re confusing all of us."

The Maestra chuckled, clearly enjoying their bewilderment.

"I want something from the two of you."

"That didn’t make things any clearer," Freiheit muttered, placing a hand on his hip as if weary of the situation. "Can you just be direct?"

The Maestra’s expression darkened, and she shot Freiheit a stern look. "That’s not a tone you should use with the person who can save your brother."

He lowered his head, clenching his jaw in frustration.

Turning her attention back to Evan and Eternity, the Maestra smiled cryptically.

"I want... your bond."

"Bond?" they echoed in unison.

The Maestra nodded, her smile growing.

"Yes. I can see that your relationship isn’t typical for a master and doll. You could say," she hesitated, as if reluctant to admit it herself, "I’m envious."

"Envious?" Evan’s voice dripped with disgust. "You won’t accept the company’s offer, but you want to take our bond—whatever that means—because you’re envious?"

The Maestra’s eyes sparkled with amusement as if their disbelief was exactly what she had anticipated.

"Why not?" the Maestra replied casually. "You could say, I’m a jealous mistress to my dolls. Their devotion should be solely to me, not to the masters they’re slowly draining. But then again," she added with a dismissive wave, "I don’t have much to compare it to. You’re the first one to reach me alive."

The three visitors remained silent, their minds racing to comprehend how the conversation had spiraled so wildly.

"So how," Eternity began, her voice tight as she swallowed hard, "How can you take the bond Evan and I share? It’s an abstract thing, so how—"

The Maestra scoffed, turning her back on them. She continued assembling the various parts of Eternity Women scattered throughout the clay hut. The trio had discovered earlier that the dolls were made of simple clay, though no doubt imbued with some kind of magic.

"I created life from clay," the Maestra said, her voice muffled by the sounds of her work. "Why would you think I couldn’t take something as intangible as the bond between my creation and her master?"

"This is still as clear as mud!" Freiheit barked in frustration.

Eternity would’ve laughed at the pun Freiheit made if only the situation would allow it.

The Maestra sighed, her patience clearly wearing thin.

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence as they watched her work with an almost mesmerizing ease, assembling doll parts with the deftness of a master craftsman. Evan, however, shook his head, refusing to let himself get distracted by the spectacle.

Finally, the Maestra spoke again, breaking the tense quiet but still not bothering to face them.

"So," she said flatly, "Are you willing to pay the price?"

Evan and Eternity exchanged a long, unreadable look before turning back to the Maestra, speaking together.

"We need more clarification first."

At last, she turned around, one hand resting on the workbench. She raised an eyebrow. "What more is there to clarify? I want your bond. Simple as that."

Evan’s voice was calm now as he spoke.

"How can you take it in the first place? Like Eternity said, it’s not something tangible that we can just give to you, even if we want to. Assuming we wanted to," he added pointedly.

The Maestra exhaled deeply, this time clearly irritated.

"There is a lake hidden in these mountains," she began at last. "A lake said to be both magical and cursed."

"Is this the same lake where they found you when you disappeared when you were younger?" Eternity asked, her curiosity piqued. "The lake that gave you your powers?"

The Maestra gave her a nod, her gaze softening slightly.

"The very same," she confirmed. "All you need to do is submerge yourselves together in that lake. The gods will take care of the rest."

"How can you be sure that simply swimming in a lake will solve this?" Freiheit asked, his tone sharp with skepticism. "Didn’t you just say you have no basis for comparison, since Evan is the first to make it this far?"

"I just do," she replied slyly, a smirk playing on her lips. "Do you think I’m wasting your time with mystical nonsense? What would I gain from that?"

Freiheit lowered his head, rubbing his chin thoughtfully but saying nothing.

"Now that it’s all clear," the Maestra said, her tone returning to businesslike and asking the same thing she said earlier. "Are you willing to pay the price?"

"No, it’s not clear!" Evan objected. "You still haven’t explained to us what exactly you mean by ’bond!’"

Freiheit nodded in agreement. "It’s like you’re making me give my signature to a document that you didn’t even let me read!"

The Maestra gave the two men an extreme death stare. Her expression softened when she looked at Eternity though.

"This is the exact reason why I made my Eternity Women." She sighed animatedly, winking at Eternity.

Before the Doll could respond, the Maestra finally answered them.

"You’ll find out when you come with me to the lake."