The brat wiped away his tears and sniffled as he stepped out of the outhouse.
"Ugh… What is this…?"
Just moments ago, one of the noblewomen had stormed off toward the quarters, huffing angrily.
She was the fifth one.
"Why is everyone suddenly…? It hurts…"
He wouldn't understand.
No, I had no intention of making him understand.
'Aside from Patricia, the others only hit him lightly.'
[I think it's because Patricia inherently had sadistic tendencies.]
Even when she first had sex with me and had her chastity belt locked, Patricia had no qualms about flicking the brat's forehead.
It was highly likely she had done worse during her noble days.
'Well, it's only the first day, but will she restrain herself later? Hmm, but Melia isn't here.'
[Suho, she's coming now.]
Speak of the devil—Melia was walking toward the outhouse.
The moment he saw her, the brat scrambled toward her.
Berius, his face bruised, gave her a bitter smile.
"Where were you yesterday? I was worried when you didn't come."
"Haha… I was called away for something important."
Melia's expression wasn't exactly bright as she looked at him.
The brat lived next to the outhouse, and the mop Patricia had used to hit him was the one for cleaning the outhouse.
He might have gotten used to the stench, but for Melia, it was hard to endure.
Melia forced a smile and stroked Berius' face.
"Why are you hurt so badly…?"
"W-Well…."
The brat sniffled and began explaining what had happened in detail.
'Wow… He has no pride as a man.'
Most men would be too ashamed to talk about something like that.
But the brat seemed desperate for sympathy, so he kept rambling.
Melia looked at him with pity and spoke.
"That's… You must've been in pain."
"I don't get why they're all acting like this…"
He might dismiss Patricia's beating as a sudden outburst, but he'd probably never understand the others' actions.
Melia began stroking his head.
Relieved, Berius smiled weakly.
"Melia… I'm so glad you're here. You'll stay by my side until Lady Lena returns, right?"
"Haha… O-Of course."
I noticed Melia's lips trembling slightly before leaving the outhouse.
***
[With that vow and the order you gave, Melia likely won't cause any problems.]
======
[Melia (Subjugation Stage 1)]
Vow: The longer she is separated from Seong Suho, the stronger her submissive tendencies become.
======
I had inscribed that vow onto Melia and given her an order that was more like a desperate plea.
"If that brat keeps doing his job, comfort him. When I return, if he's still doing well, I'll take you with me without fail."
"R-Really?!"
"Yes."
Pushing the memory aside, I spoke plainly through our mental link.
'Yeah, that was a lie.'
[I've learned not to judge people by appearances.]
Melia's character seemed quiet, passive, and kind on the surface, but she wasn't truly good.
When I had Armonia call Lena, who was resting, she explained that Melia was one of the worst kinds of people.
She often faked illness to skip work and habitually pinned her mistakes on Lena.
Still, unlike the other nobles, she had enough sense to apologize quickly.
Her [Guilt] trait seemed to stem from her strong avoidance of responsibility combined with a personality prone to regret.
'So her kindness to that brat was just self-satisfaction.'
[I'll prepare the warp now.]
'Okay~ Then let's find Beatrice, say goodbye to the Demon King, and head back.'
I searched all over the Demon King's Castle for Beatrice.
I asked the occasional patrolling guards for directions as I wandered around.
'Their expressions are something else…'
[They don't seem malicious, but that almost makes it worse.]
Just mentioning Beatrice's name made the guards twitch.
In the military, the scariest seniors aren't the bad ones or the kind ones—it's the oblivious ones.
That seemed to hold true here as well.
After about 30 minutes of searching, I finally found her.
Beatrice was standing on the castle wall, staring intently at the pitch-black horizon.
"Admiring the Demon King's Castle's scenery one last time?"
"Ah! You done with your business, nya?"
"Yeah."
Beatrice ignored my question and went back to staring into the darkness.
Without much thought, I turned my head to follow her gaze.
…I saw nothing.
But Beatrice, as if seeing something, stared for a long time before speaking.
"If you ride that way for about 20 days, you'll reach the house I used to live in, nya."
"Your old home?"
"Yes, nya. It's completely burned down now, nya."
After pointing out the location, Beatrice began recounting stories of her time living there with her parents.
Her parents had been drafted during the war between humans and demons, but when the succubus and catfolk armies were annihilated, they were declared dead.
She had tried hard to find their remains, but too much time had passed since the war ended.
Watching her, I murmured softly.
"…Let's visit your home someday."
"Huh? It's burned down, nya."
"It's still your home. Let's go."
"…Thank you, nya."
Beatrice smiled faintly, still staring into the darkness.
As I watched her, a question popped into my head.
"Beatrice, you said you don't sleep, right?"
"That's right, nya. Even if I want to, I can't, nya."
"…What about sleep spells?"
If I used a sleep spell, would Beatrice finally fall asleep?
I was just curious.
"Won't work, nya."
"Why?"
"My mom tried putting me to sleep with spells, but it didn't work, nya. Succubi and catfolk definitely sleep, but I'm the weird one who can't, nya."
"What? Succubi sleep?"
"My mom always slept well, nya."
I had assumed Beatrice's sleeplessness was due to her succubus or catfolk genes.
Catfolk are nocturnal, but succubi seemed like they wouldn't sleep at all.
But Beatrice explained that succubi do sleep—her problem was entirely her own.
"Just in case, want to try?"
"Ooh…! Go ahead, nya!"
Beatrice puffed up proudly, as if daring me to try.
'I'll definitely make you sleep!'
[…Your original goal of seducing her seems to have drifted, doesn't it?]
My messed-up libido control made it hard to figure out how to approach her.
Plus, she was immune to pheromones.
'Well, if her mom's pheromones didn't work on her, she's way beyond just immune.'
[Beatrice is your ally now. The opportunity will come eventually.]
'Still, I should at least test it.'
I hugged Beatrice, who was wearing a gothic lolita dress, and gently stroked her large cat ears.
"Nyaa…!"
"Oh… Weird."
They were definitely cat ears, but the texture felt like human hair.
I had expected the softness of cat fur, but it was just like touching someone's hair.
As I petted her head, I formed a sleep circle on her abdomen.
The moment the circle activated, I felt my mana draining rapidly.
***
When I opened my eyes, I was in a very familiar place.
"…? Huh? Why am I in my office? Ugh… My head…"
I clutched my throbbing head and looked around the office.
No matter how many times I saw it, the lavishly decorated room never felt familiar.
When I was on the ship, I always slept with Viola or Lena, so I had no reason to sleep here.
In all my time here, I had never once slept in this office.
The sight of it now felt incredibly awkward.
As I sat on the bed, enduring the headache, someone entered.
"You're awake?"
"Uh… Armonia. What happened? I was just at the Demon King's Castle…"
Armonia answered immediately.
"You attempted to put Beatrice to sleep and suffered mana exhaustion. I apologize for failing to respond quickly."
"Wow…"
She really isn't normal.
Libido control, pheromone immunity, sleep immunity.
There's no weak point to exploit.
"But there was a meaningful effect."
"…?"
"When you collapsed from mana exhaustion, Beatrice said she felt drowsy for the first time."
"Oh… Mana… I need mana…"
I muttered the word like a dying dark mage whose soul was fading.
Armonia, watching me, explained everything with her usual blank expression.
"A day has passed since we returned from the Demon King's Castle. I've already restored your mana."
I had planned to say goodbye to the Demon King, but passing out ruined that.
The Demon King had asked Beatrice to bring me back for a visit once I woke up.
'I don't need to see the brat or the nobles again, but maybe I'll drop by secretly later.'
I didn't have much to say to Gardia, but since he had done me a favor, I figured I should visit in case he changed his mind later.
I jumped out of bed and looked at Armonia.
"Alright, let's go! To Yggdrasil!"
"Understood. Preparing now."
Armonia and I left the office and headed to the warp room.
***
[Disclaimer: The scenes below might be uncomfortable for some people. If you don't want to read ahead skip to next chapter.]
***
Seven years had passed since Lena left the Demon King's Castle.
On one quiet night, the sound of a whip cutting through the air echoed loudly.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
"Ngh! Ack!"
"Just looking at you pisses me off!"
"Aah! P-Please forgive me… Hic!"
"You got piss on my clothes!"
A woman, whose youth was fading, relentlessly whipped a grown man.
Though not an actual torture whip, the scars on the man's body proved its effectiveness.
The middle-aged-looking man covered his face with his arms, sobbing and begging her to stop.
His clothes were like a beggar's, and the stench of filth clung to him.
Though he appeared to be in his forties, the woman, who looked to be in her thirties, kept whipping him without mercy.
After several dozen minutes, the whipping finally stopped, and the woman smiled with madness in her eyes.
"Haa… Haa… I'll forgive you for today. You know I do this because I love you, right?"
"Ugh… Haa… Th-Thank you… Lady Patricia."
Patricia exhaled in satisfaction, her lips curling into a twisted smile.
"Haa… Whew… Thanks to you, I had a good time today, Berius."
"…"
The man who looked like he was in his forties was Berius.
Once, he had been called a prince.
Though he appeared middle-aged, he had just entered his twenties.
For seven years, he had lived in this outhouse, enduring beatings while removing chastity belts.
Patricia left, and Berius staggered out, trembling.
Just as she walked away, another woman approached the outhouse.
Her pupils were dilated, and she muttered to herself like someone suffering from mental illness.
When Berius saw her, he wiped away his fearful expression and forced a smile.
"M-Melia…"
"Master… I'll keep waiting… You'll come back, right…? I can wait forever…"
"…"
After wearing the chastity belt for years, Melia had begun muttering to herself one day.
But despite her condition, Berius still liked her.
"I have to take care of him… I have to protect him…"
"Melia…"
Berius didn't understand her words.
But it didn't matter.
Melia was the only one who never scolded him.
Every time she came to the outhouse, she would stroke his head and mutter like a madwoman, but her words were always about caring for him.
Melia comforted Berius for several dozen minutes before stumbling back to the quarters, still mumbling.
"Master… I completed the task you gave me today… Hee… Heehee…"
"…"
The disheveled Berius watched her leave and muttered to himself.
"Lady Lena… Please come back."
The only reason Berius could endure this treatment was because of Lena.
He clung to the childish belief that she would save him—that she would rebuild their kingdom.
The once-rebellious Berius now groveled before the nobles, using honorifics to avoid being beaten.
"She'll come back someday… Lady Lena wouldn't abandon me…"
Berius mumbled as he retreated into his shack.
***
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