The Elf Rides a Wooden Horse (3)

Was this what it felt like to have your foot struck by the very ax you trusted?

I'd put my faith in Marhan, and in the principles of the Blue Banner Knights who served Count Pelgaroin. Now that faith was about to make a ruin of me.

Of course, Marhan hadn't actually done anything wrong.

I was the regent, standing in for her lord. From her point of view, following my instructions was only natural.

But still.

Why did you have to make things worse?!

The problem was that Marhan had taken my request far too seriously.

If she'd merely pretended to agree, or even offered a vague response, I might have found some way to end the punishment.

Instead, she'd pointed out the exact location of a set of shackles weighted with iron balls.

And she'd done it right in front of the listening elf.

Have some sense, Marhan!

Unfortunately, no amount of silent screaming was likely to reach a knight as literal-minded as her.

My retreat was blocked.

I had only myself to blame. My own clever scheme had turned around and swallowed me whole.

But perhaps there was still one way out.

I drew a long breath and tried to reignite my hope.

“Marhan. You were born a woman, yet you joined the knights and earned your place among them. The road to becoming a knight couldn't have been easy.”

Marhan looked puzzled, but nodded.

“That's true, Your Excellency.”

“Then tell me something. Why did you become a knight?”

“To protect the weak, and to defend the Empire and House Pelgaroin against threats from the Demon Realm and its Seven Hells.”

She answered without the slightest hesitation.

There was no mistaking the pride she took in her duties, or the sincerity with which she held to her convictions.

That's it.

I could use that.

“I see. Then this is rather unfortunate. You've stood by and watched me punish a helpless slave. One might even say you've become my accomplice.”

I laid particular emphasis on accomplice.

Surely her conscience would stir. Surely she'd insist that we put an end to this.

I had laid all my cards on the table.

Marhan stood in thought for a moment, then opened her mouth.

“You're right. To stand by while the regent punishes a slave goes against my convictions.”

“Oh! Then perhaps you feel you ought to stop—”

“However.”

Marhan placed a hand against her chest.

“I have sworn loyalty to His Excellency the Count. I owe the same obedience to Viscount Theorad, to whom the Count has entrusted the regency. A knight's beliefs should be strong, but they must not take precedence over the orders of her lord. That is what chivalry means to me.”

Her conviction was unmistakable.

At any other time, I would have praised her as the very model of a loyal knight.

Not now.

The last small flame of hope inside me went out.

I raised the corners of my mouth in a miserable imitation of a smile.

“An excellent judgment. Quite right. Go and get the shackles.”

“Yes, Your Excellency.”

Marhan bowed and walked toward the corner where the restraints were stored.

I watched her go, absently touching the brooch at my throat.

This is driving me mad.

My entire body prickled with tension.

I had never intended to make this punishment any more severe. Now I had no idea how the elf would respond to the new arrangement.

For the moment, don't look at her.

Meeting her eyes could only invite trouble.

I clasped my hands behind my back and waited until Marhan returned.

“Here they are. They're rather heavy. It appears they were fastened to prisoners' ankles, with the weight used to increase or reduce the strain.”

She held them up for inspection.

They looked heavy enough without even touching them. The iron ball was nearly the size of Marhan's palm—and her hands were larger than mine.

Those go around someone's ankles?

Just looking at them made me uneasy.

As I hesitated, Marhan turned toward the elf. Sympathy softened her eyes.

“This will be difficult for the slave. She's looking at us as though she's terrified. I'm not sure she'll be able to bear it.”

“…Terrified?”

“Yes. Can't you see? She's hiccupping as though she's about to cry.”

Thank goodness.

If she seemed frightened, perhaps this really would satisfy her.

Some of the anxiety left me.

I turned toward the elf. Just as Marhan had said, she looked as though she was barely holding back tears.

I jerked my chin in her direction.

“Put the shackles around her ankles.”

“Your Excellency? But—”

Just do it! Don't start trying to stop me now!

“I intend to punish her properly.”

“…As you wish.”

Marhan approached the elf and knelt beside the wooden horse.

As the knight reached for one slender ankle, the elf looked at me and pleaded.

“M-Master, please… I hate this. Forgive me. I really might die…”

Even knowing how much she enjoyed pretending to suffer, I couldn't help feeling guilty.

It was hard to look at someone so beautiful weeping and begging for mercy.

But for the sake of survival I had to play a cold-blooded monster—the kind who might even throw away a bite of food carefully prepared by his own chef. I could barely imagine such wickedness, yet here I was.

I gave a contemptuous smile.

“Stop making such a fuss. This won't kill you.”

“M-Master…”

“I'm tired of your whining. Marhan, have you finished fastening them?”

“Almost, Your Excellency…”

Clack.

The first shackle closed around the elf's ankle.

The hanging ball pulled that leg downward.

“Hic…!”

Startled, she pulled against the rope holding her wrists, trying to lift herself and escape the increased pressure.

Marhan moved to her other side and fastened the second shackle.

With a weight on each ankle, the elf's body settled into a more even balance.

But the distribution did not make the strain disappear.

Both iron balls still pulled her downward toward the padded ridge.

“It hurts… It hurts…!”

The weights pressed her groin more heavily against the padded ridge. She hauled on the rope to lift herself, breathing hard, then slipped back down as pressure and friction increased.

The same movement seemed to cause both pain and an involuntary physical response; the fabric beneath her was already damp. Trying to make sense of it only made me more uncomfortable.

“Ah… Master… Something's going to break down there…”

She hauled on the rope with all her strength. The strain tightened her abdomen, yet her effort brought the same sensitive area back against the padded ridge.

Watching her struggle was enough to make my face burn.

“M-Master, please take care of me… Please forgive me now! Ah… I think I'm going to pee…!”

Was the urge caused by the strain of trying to hold up her weight?

Or was she deliberately holding back because she enjoyed being watched?

I couldn't tell.

I could have stopped her. But I was convinced she wouldn't want me to.

“What nonsense. If you need to relieve yourself, then do it.”

“N-no… Not like this, with Master watching…”

She continued to sob, then shuddered.

Urine ran down the ridge of the wooden horse.

Naturally, it also soaked straight into my overcoat.

My expensive coat.

You wretched bitch…

I wanted to shout at her for ruining it.

But that would only lead us into another round of insults, and at some point I had to bring this bizarre arrangement to an end.

Knowing when to withdraw was essential if I was to survive our relationship.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and frowned.

“The stench reaches all the way over here. You've thoroughly spoiled my mood. We're leaving.”

Marhan brightened in obvious relief.

“Ah, of course. I'll take off the shackles—”

“Don't.”

“Your Excellency? If we leave her like that, won't she suffer terribly?”

An ordinary slave certainly would.

But with this elf, I suspected that being left behind in such a state might make her happier.

How was I supposed to explain that to Marhan?

I gave her a cold glare instead.

“I believe I told you not to make me repeat myself.”

Marhan's expression darkened, but she bowed her head.

At least she didn't argue.

“We're going.”

I left the chamber as aloofly as I could manage.

Marhan hesitated, then followed me out.

Behind us, I heard a faint plea.

“Please don't go, Master…”

I ignored it.

“Your Excellency the Regent?”

We were walking along the corridor when Marhan called to me.

I answered without turning.

“Speak.”

“You seem to have left your coat behind. Shall I fetch it?”

“No need.”

“But I was told you treasured that coat.”

“I did. Thanks to you, I no longer have any use for it.”

“Pardon?”

If you hadn't suggested those shackles, she wouldn't have urinated on it!

I ground my teeth and kept walking.

Marhan scratched the back of her neck as she followed.

“Still, Your Excellency seems to care for your slave in your own way. You prepared the rope and padded the horse with your coat. Your manner is rough, certainly, but perhaps you're rather fond of her after all…”

“Marhan.”

I turned to her with the most benevolent smile I could summon.

“One more word, and I'll have you executed.”

---

“Hmm.”

Left alone in the torture chamber, the elf gazed at the open doorway.

Theorad's footsteps had long since faded. He seemed to have left the basement.

That was a little disappointing.

But there was nothing to be done about it.

She murmured softly.

The rope securing her wrists burned away, and the shackles around her ankles shattered.

She stepped carefully down from the wooden horse and onto the floor. A little urine still trickled down her groin, but she paid it no mind.

Instead, she lifted the coat from the wooden ridge.

The Deharem family's emblem had been embroidered across its chest in gold thread. Even at a glance, it was an expensive garment.

Was he being considerate?

She could see why Theorad had put it over the horse.

It's filthy now.

Urine stained the cloth. She used magic to clean it.

Now what?

After considering it for a moment, she gathered the coat into her arms and drew a long breath.

A faint trace of sweat met her nose.

Hmm.

It seemed a little wasteful simply to discard it.

Perhaps it would prove useful one day.

She snapped her fingers.

The air split apart, opening a purple rift that seemed to contain an entire universe within it.

As the crack widened, she tossed Theorad's coat into it.

Another snap of her fingers, and the opening vanished. The air returned to normal.

That taken care of, she prepared to leave.

She summoned a biting wind to wash herself clean.

Then she remembered Theorad standing before her, trying so desperately to insult her.

What a fool.

His clumsy, almost comically earnest performance came back to her, and a smile crept onto her lips.

Today's toy…

He had been rather cute.