As Raven remained occupied with his thoughts, the demoness replied to his inquiry.
"Oh, I planned to come talk to you directly," Mistress said with a casual shrug. "But your little pet—" she glanced at Nibbles, who bristled and bared tiny teeth—"sniffs out demonic mana like a bloodhound on caffeine. If I even got near, I'd be fried."
Raven raised a brow. "You were scared of a squirrel?"
"Not really," Mistress shook her head. "If I could, I would still have preferred coming to meet you face-to-face. But you see, I'm too strong to be able to cross over to your realm."
Raven squinted his eyes. "So, you decided to... puppet someone."
"Hm~, not just someone," Mistress said with a small smile, caressing Selena's face. "I needed someone close to you. Someone emotionally tethered. But not weak either."
Her tone, strangely, softened.
"Selena was... perfect. She's smart. Strong. And most importantly, she had potential."
Jessy narrowed her eyes. "So you manipulated her."
