A Mad Night Walk

The night air was cool. Crickets chirped softly in the courtyard, one of my favorite places in the mansion.

Flower beds brightened the grounds, and a stone statue of my late father stood at their center. Pillars surrounding the courtyard gave the place an almost solemn air. My ancestors had tended this estate for generations, ever since our family first built the mansion.

And what was I doing in this venerable place, with my family's history watching over me?

Walking an elf on a leash.

“M-Master… Please forgive me…”

She was crawling on all fours without a stitch of clothing, a leather collar fastened around her neck. I held the leash.

Fuck.

I wasn't enjoying myself. Was there a perverse thrill in defiling an ancestral courtyard like this? None whatsoever. All I felt was guilt. For some reason, the stone statue of my father seemed to be staring straight at me. My shoulders sagged.

“My hands and knees hurt so much… Please, Master…”

But I'd already announced that we were going for a naked walk. I couldn't very well take it back.

This elf, who insisted on calling herself a slave, could probably crush hundreds of strong men in an instant. If I wanted to survive, I had to indulge her tastes as best I could.

I'm sorry, Father. It looks as though I'm the one who's going to disgrace our family name.

I'd always imagined that some future descendant would bring the family to ruin. I hadn't expected that descendant to be me.

Tears spilled down my cheeks.

I'd chosen the courtyard because taking her through the nearby woods risked running into someone I knew. Now, with my father's statue looming over us, I was beginning to regret even that decision.

“Ah… It hurts…!”

The shameless elf kept pretending to suffer. She was protecting herself with mana; she couldn't possibly be hurt by crawling a little. Her performance would have put a courtesan from a brothel to shame.

I couldn't ignore her forever, though. If I failed to react the way she wanted, tonight might well become the anniversary of my death.

“Filth. Stop whining.”

I gave the leash a sharp tug.

“Kgh!”

She dropped to her knees, back bent, hands flying to the collar at her throat as though she were desperate to pull it free.

All an act, of course.

“Khh… I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!”

“Didn't I tell you? While you're on this walk, forget that you're a thinking creature. What is it? Are you still under the impression that you're some noble elf from the Great Forest?”

“N-No…!”

“You insect. Did you think I'd believe you just because you said so?”

I pulled the leash taut again and shoved her forward at the waist with my foot. The collar tightened.

“Khh…!”

Her eyes fluttered half-closed as if she were about to faint. Saliva slipped from the corner of her mouth.

I broke into a cold sweat.

How long am I supposed to keep this up? This is what you want, isn't it?

There was no backing out now.

“Remember this. You're nothing but a toy for my amusement. If you break, I can replace you. That's all a creature like you is worth. I've worked so many slaves to death that their bodies could fill this courtyard. Do you understand?”

It was an outrageous lie.

There were a few other slaves on the estate, but most worked in the workshops. This elf was the only one I'd brought in to be treated this way.

Still, my bluff seemed to have some effect. Between ragged breaths, she nodded enthusiastically.

“Hmph. See that you behave yourself next time.”

I loosened the leash. She collapsed onto the grass, panting.

“Hah… Hah…”

Guilt twisted in my stomach as I watched her lying there, cheek pressed to the ground.

You actually enjoy this? Why would anyone want to be treated like this?

I didn't understand. But I couldn't afford to judge her by ordinary standards. This was a woman who had abandoned a perfectly good life in the Great Forest and willingly become a slave. If I assumed she thought like a normal person, the consequences would be mine alone.

Surely this much would satisfy even her.

“Hah… Hah…”

What?

Why was she still looking at me?

I've done enough! What else could you possibly want?

She raised her head. Despite her heavy breathing, her gaze met mine without the slightest hesitation.

A frightened slave wouldn't even dare to look her master in the eye. Yet she stared straight at me, as though waiting for something more.

Did I forget something?

I'd paraded her around naked, insulted her, and even choked her with the leash. I'd done everything I could think of, and she still didn't seem satisfied.

Come to think of it, she'd worn that same weary-looking expression from time to time over the past ten days. I'd taken it for childish resentment over her circumstances. Was it possible that she'd simply disliked the way I punished her?

“……”

Her breathing steadied.

Mine nearly stopped.

I was doing something wrong. I was certain of that. But what?

The words she'd spoken alone in her room returned to me.

He can't even play his part properly. The insolent bastard. Should I kill him?

I'm going to die.

She was going to kill me. And if anyone in the household tried to stop her, they'd be left lying in a pool of blood. I'd seen pure mana gather in her hand. She had more than enough power.

The future of my house, and the lives of everyone in it, depended on what I did next.

Calm down. Think.

“You filthy bitch…”

I mustn't raise my voice. I fought down the trembling in my chest, unfastened the brooch at my collar, and spoke again.

“Roll over.”

“Y-Yes, Master…?”

“Show me your belly. Like a dog.”

“B-But…”

“Don't make me repeat myself.”

She turned her head away and clenched her fists. Her shoulders trembled.

Is she trying not to laugh?

Before I understood what she truly wanted, I would have assumed she was fighting back tears. Now I could only see delight.

Thank goodness. I might actually survive this.

After a moment, she turned onto her back and raised her hands like a puppy holding up its paws. Her face was flushed, and she couldn't quite meet my eyes.

The performance of embarrassment was almost insulting. I decided to play along.

Nobody's watching, are they?

If a servant was hiding behind the corridor pillars, the damage to my reputation would be irreparable. My personal dignity was already beyond saving, but ugly rumors could drag the family's standing down with it.

I looked around.

The mansion was quiet. Everyone seemed to be asleep.

All right. Time to play the part of a depraved nobleman.

“For a bitch, you've got quite an attractive body.”

I forced a cruel smile and let my eyes travel over her.

I would have liked nothing better than to throw this lunatic out of my house, but I couldn't deny that she was beautiful. Her pale skin and shapely figure had caught my attention when I first saw her in the slave market. Her breasts looked as though they'd fit perfectly in a man's hand. She had pale pink nipples, lovely hips, extraordinarily smooth thighs, and even the most intimate parts of her exposed body seemed perfectly formed.

In the moonlight, her long silver hair gleamed, and her red eyes shone with an almost unearthly beauty.

That was what had bewitched me when I'd seen her behind the bars at the market. I'd paid the trader an enormous sum to bring her home.

Looking back, it was as if I'd been possessed by a demon.

“Those damned bastards…”

I'd meant to curse the slave traders. The words slipped out aloud instead.

I caught myself and hurriedly worked them into the act.

“Looking at you now, it's hard to believe you were born an elf. You should have been born some lowly, filthy mongrel instead. Am I wrong?”

“Y-You're right…”

“Insolent creature! Who gave you permission to speak to a human?”

“Ah, I…”

“Tch. You still haven't learned your place. I'll have to punish you.”

I set my shoe against her chest, taking care not to press hard.

“Lick it.”

For the first time, she looked genuinely startled.

Shit. Have I gone too far?

Even an elf who enjoyed humiliation must have her limits. What if I'd just crossed one?

Cold crept down my spine.

“No, I was only joking—”

Her hand closed around my foot before I could pull it away.

“M-Master, I don't want to…”

Her eyes filled with tears. Then she stuck out her tongue.

You absolute lunatic.

---

“Lick it.”

From a shadowed corner of the corridor, a servant named Levera watched the courtyard in stunned silence.

Theorad, master of the mansion and head of the distinguished Viscount Deharem household, was treating an elf slave like a dog.

Why…?

The Theorad Levera knew was a good man.

He had always been kind to the household servants. He hadn't so much as raised a hand against the other slaves, people whom most nobles scarcely regarded as human.

When the elf had first arrived, she'd broken one of his prized decorative jars. It had cost as much as a modest house, yet his punishment had been remarkably light: she'd had to maintain a submissive posture and eat discarded food scraps. Even that had seemed more like an attempt to save face than genuine cruelty.

In another house, breaking such a jar could have cost a slave a limb, a public whipping, or even their life.

And yet…

Here he was, subjecting the elf to degrading treatment behind everyone's backs. He was making her crawl at his feet in the middle of the night and lick his shoes.

This wasn't the Theorad Levera knew.

The head of the family has changed.

Levera had heard of people who behaved with kindness and restraint until they inherited power, only to become tyrants once no one could challenge them.

Perhaps Theorad was such a man.

Come to think of it… wasn't the previous head of the family taken by a sudden illness?

The thought sent a chill across Levera's skin.

Slowly, the servant backed away, then hurried down the corridor toward her room.

Could Levera really keep this dreadful sight a secret?

Levera wasn't confident of it.