Content warning: This chapter contains scenes of violence and unhealthy behavior that may be unpleasant to some readers. Read with caution!
Hmm, interesting, who did I meet just half an hour after I suffered such a crushing failure?
Of course, it was Erica!
I couldn't believe my eyes when, coming to the dining hall during dinner, I saw the girl sitting in her usual place. Completely at ease, she was eating vegetable stew, not even suspecting that today she had become the main source of my headache.
"...Erica!" I exhaled indignantly and walked up to her. "Where were you?!"
Nevertheless, the girl raised her eyes and looked at me completely impassively.
"What is it? Were you looking for me?"
Honestly, at that moment it was really hard for me to hold back my emotions.
"Just answer the question, where were you today!"
When I sat down next to her at the table, demanding an answer, Erica sighed briefly and said:
"I was in the garden."
What? I didn't believe my own ears.
"That's impossible!" I protested. "I looked for you in the garden, but you were nowhere to be found!"
That was true. During the time I was giving the tour to the marquis's assistant, I tried to find Erica everywhere. Among other places, I also searched every corner of the garden. I was sure I had looked under every bush, but that girl really was nowhere there!
Erica, however, sighed again and shook her head.
"...Maybe you didn't find me because you didn't notice me," she said slowly. "I was sleeping in a tree."
What? In a tree?
Is she a cat or something?
"Erica, why were you sleeping in a tree? Why today of all days?!"
Nevertheless, the girl's only reaction to my questions was a slight frown.
"And why are you asking?" she inquired. "What were you looking for me for?"
"I..." I hesitated for a moment. "I wanted to introduce you to someone..."
Erica raised an eyebrow.
"And who would that be?"
I hesitated before saying anything.
"The thing is, today a guest came to our orphanage..."
I wanted to tell Erica about the arrival of Marquis Blackwell's assistant at the orphanage, but then she interrupted me.
"Yes, I heard. Some aristocrat came here again. So what? Did you want me to meet yet another count's daughter?"
"What? No!"
In fact, the situation was completely different.
"Then why?"
When Erica asked me this directly, I faltered.
Honestly, it was even hard for me to explain this situation... And really, what could I say? For what reason did I want to introduce Erica to this person? Because he was connected to her father? A father who was not only an aristocrat but also a great villain of the empire? I myself understood how absurd that sounded, so I couldn't say it aloud.
In any case, it was too late to regret it. After all, the opportunity had already been missed.
"...Nothing like that," I finally said reluctantly. "It just seemed to me that you might be interested in meeting this person, that's all."
"Hm?"
Erica seemed not to understand the meaning of my words at all. But I wasn't going to explain anything further.
Instead, I reluctantly started on my portion of vegetable stew. For a week now we had had the same dinner every day. Well, never mind. In this situation it didn't matter at all.
"Hazel, you're acting a little strange."
In response to Erica's remark, I only snorted and shrugged.
"Look who's talking."
Well, in any case I hoped that this was not yet the last chance...
After all, Erica was one of the central characters of the novel. So I was sure that everything couldn't end just like that. Surely Erica would have another opportunity to reunite with her family in the future.
I glanced at the girl, who was focused on poking her fork at her plate. Her dark hair fell over her face, hiding her red eyes.
"...Erica," I called again.
"Hm?"
"Have you ever thought about finding your family?"
She froze. The fork stopped in midair.
"...Why such a question all of a sudden?"
"Just curious."
Erica slowly put the fork down on the table. She looked at me. Something complex flashed in her red eyes. Something I couldn't read.
"I have no family," she said. "And there won't be. I'm an orphan, just like you."
"But..."
"No buts." She picked up the fork again. "Eat. The stew is getting cold."
I opened my mouth to say something else, but changed my mind.
"All right. Not now. Maybe later..."
Sighing, I picked up my fork again, and we finished eating in silence.
***
The air was filled with the scent of fragrant roses.
For some time in the hot and dim room, only the sound of a whip cracking and muffled groans could be heard.
Finally, when he reached the climax, he let out a long groan through his teeth.
It was a groan full of satisfaction.
"Ah... that really was good."
When he finished, he pulled away from the body that lay beneath him and smiled contentedly.
"You endure pain beautifully."
He chuckled and, feeling a slight fatigue from the intense physical exertion, fell down beside him on the large bed that smelled of perfume. Resting for a while, he smiled and again shifted his gaze to the body that lay together with him.
"Good boy. You behaved so obediently. I think you've earned a reward."
He slightly raised himself and reached for the bedside table, on which stood a bowl of grapes. He took one grape into his mouth and was about to feed it to the one lying on the same bed with him.
"Here, open your mouth wider. It's very sweet, isn't it?"
He passed the sweet grape from his mouth to his.
"Tasty? You're probably trying something like this for the first time in your life."
He chuckled quietly, watching his reaction. The small body that was next to him in the same bed swallowed the grape rather reflexively. Despite the fact that he was still alive, his eyes looked dead.
Although he was still alive, he did not react to what was happening in any way and did not make a sound, as if he were a vegetable. It was unknown whether it was because of everything he had been through, or whether it was the effect of the intoxicating herb whose aroma enveloped the room.
The small body was covered with numerous marks from the whip and abrasions. But for the one who admired it from the side, it seemed a beautiful sight.
He, meanwhile, chuckled and raised himself on the pillows.
"You endure pain really well. Maybe we'll do this again?"
He was about to do it again, especially since he became aroused instantly just looking at the body beneath him. But it was precisely at that moment that there was a quiet knock at the door.
"My lord."
After his words there was a short pause.
"The meeting is about to begin. The ministers in the assembly hall are waiting only for you."
Hearing this, he let out a short, irritated sigh.
"I see..."
He had to get up and, on the way to the bathroom, throw a terry robe over himself. It was precisely at that moment that the servant entered the room. Seeing the scene that presented itself before him, he did not look surprised in the least. Before his lord left for the bathroom, he shifted his gaze to the body that remained lying in the bed and asked briefly:
"My lord, what do you command to do with him? Should we wash him and leave him in your room? Or..."
His lord's voice came already from the bathroom, under the sound of water.
"No need. I'm already tired of him," he laughed. "Instead, bring me someone else."
The servant nodded briefly.
He knew perfectly well what exactly his lord's words meant.