An Encounter That Should Never Have Happened (6)

The office door slammed behind the elf.

She was already wearing her maid's uniform as she left Theorad behind with that final warning.

How irritating.

Leaning against the closed door, she sighed and brushed a spill of shining silver hair behind her ear.

Her half-lidded red eyes remained fixed on the empty corridor, but she was thinking of Theorad's face.

The way he had frozen in terror was still vivid.

For a moment, she wondered whether she had pushed him too far.

Yet the thought of frightening her toy bothered her less than something she couldn't properly explain: he refused to see her as a woman.

Why?

She truly didn't understand.

Where would he ever find a woman more beautiful than me?

It wasn't vanity, at least not as she saw it. It was a judgment formed through a very long life and an immense amount of experience.

She had traveled through more countries than she could count and met more people than she could remember by name.

Once she'd heard tales of a woman so beautiful that she was said to have brought about a king's death. Out of curiosity, the elf had gone to see her.

But the comparison had proved rather one-sided.

A king had taken one look at the elf and proposed marriage on the spot. To her, that settled the comparison.

There had been countless such proposals since.

Not because she went out of her way to charm men. She had never been particularly interested in being a woman in their eyes.

She had traveled in human disguise, learning whatever knowledge the world had to offer. Men had become attracted to her of their own accord.

One had offered her knowledge of secret magic.

“You must be extraordinarily talented. But there is arcane magic I know that you don't. If you're interested, why don't we become closer? The spell has never been made public. You could learn it only from me.”

Another had offered her half a kingdom.

“Never in my life have I met a woman so beautiful and wise. If you'll stay beside me, I'll give you half my country.”

A third had spoken of a quiet life together after completing his assignment.

“When this mission ends, I'll retire to a mansion on the edge of the territory. After all these years of hard work, I've earned some peace. We've only known each other a week through the trade in magical tools, but I've grown fond of you. What do you say?”

They spoke as though their feelings were pure, even as they concealed one desire or another.

One persistent suitor had spent years trying to gather a flower from a sheer cliff simply to win her affection.

She had refused them all.

When someone was too foolish to understand a refusal, she found ways to make her position unmistakable. Once, that had even involved biting a man's fingers.

Whether their feelings had been sincere had never mattered.

She did not trust human emotion.

Love, above all, inspired nothing but contempt.

A flame so easily lit could be extinguished just as easily. To someone who might live forever, the love of short-lived humans seemed little more than a passing impulse, given a noble name to justify procreation.

And yet…

Theorad had restrained his instincts to a remarkable degree for the sake of that very love.

Through all their encounters, she had seen him suppress himself and carry out only carefully measured actions intended to satisfy her.

At first, she had assumed the calculation came entirely from his wish to survive.

Now she wasn't so sure.

His fiancée.

Ashley de Pelgaroin. Was that her name?

It was clear that Theorad genuinely loved her.

He must believe that loving Ashley meant he should not be intimate with another woman.

It was absurd.

A nobleman of the empire, the head of a distinguished house, treating his fidelity as though his life depended on it.

It should have been laughable.

For some reason, she found herself grinding her teeth instead.

Sooner or later, Theorad…

What had begun as a joke no longer felt quite like one.

She wanted to keep their present relationship, but she also wanted Theorad to recognize her as a woman.

She wanted him to stop measuring every gesture out of fear and finally act on impulse.

She wanted to see what happened when his carefully restrained desire was allowed to run wild—and imagined the day their bodies might finally meet.

She didn't know when that day would come.

But she doubted he could resist forever.

Not forever.

In the past, if he had tried to rape her, she would have killed him on the spot.

Now she found herself thinking, with an unsettling amusement, that there might be circumstances in which she would make an exception even if he tried to force himself upon her.

And if he crossed the line without even realizing it, a promise she had made long ago would no longer bind her.

Her smile turned bitter.

She remembered the past for a moment, then pushed away from the office door and continued down the corridor.

After a few steps, she tilted her head.

What was I supposed to do this afternoon?

However much of her behavior was a performance, she had undertaken to play the part of Theorad's slave. She intended to carry out the duties assigned to her.

The problem was remembering what Havid had told her to do.

Each morning the chief chamberlain gathered the servants and slaves and distributed their work. He hadn't abandoned the practice even while suffering from a cold.

The elf, however, had usually devoted more attention to the butterflies fluttering through the courtyard than to his instructions.

Naturally, she remembered very little.

Well. It doesn't matter.

The work given to slaves was seldom complicated.

She could clean somewhere in the house or water the flowers in the front yard. One of those would probably do.

She had taken another few steps when someone appeared around the corner.

A familiar man stood before her, dressed in pure white priestly robes with a blue ceremonial cloth around his neck.

Bishop Leviham.

“May I speak to you for a moment?”

The elf's eyes narrowed.

Speak? With me?

“Move.”

Leviham did not.

He looked at her with a peculiar confidence that was even more irritating than his presence.

“You are a slave, are you not? I'm not proud of this, but I overheard what happened in the office.”

“And?”

“I believe the head of House Deharem is threatening you. He must have some hold over you, something he can use to force your obedience. Am I right?”

What is wrong with this man?

She had warned him not to act rashly. Instead he'd spied on her and Theorad and invented an absurd explanation for what he'd heard.

Are you asking me to kill you?

Leviham appeared entirely unaware of the danger.

“We're here to help you.”

Help? Me?

Her eyes widened despite herself.

Leviham nodded solemnly.

“I am a bishop responsible for this diocese. I can bring your testimony before the Church's central authorities. Whatever hold Lord Theorad has over you, we can put an end to it.”

“You…”

“In return, I ask you to tell us about any scheme he is planning against the Church. I also want to know what ties you have to the witches. Give us that information, and I will protect you in the name of Karatias, the God of Light.”

What an intrusive fool.

For a moment, she considered dealing with him as she had dealt with the inquisitor who'd come before.

Then an idea stirred.

Wait…

Perhaps she could use this clergyman to make Theorad suffer.

She was still annoyed that he had managed to cut short the punishment after promising something severe. Using a bishop as a pawn might provide a pleasant diversion.

“Very well.”

She looked up at Leviham and smiled mischievously.

“Tell me your plan.”

---

It took me nearly five minutes to calm my breathing after the elf left the office.

Only then did I feel the strange pressure that had seemed to hold my body in place finally dissipate.

I loosened the brooch at my throat, drew a deep breath and pressed a hand to my forehead.

My back was still cold with sweat.

Her last words had been burned into my thoughts.

I could almost feel her guiding my hand to her abdomen.

This is where Master should satisfy his desires.

Thinking back, it made no sense.

She had phrased it indirectly, but hadn't she just ordered me to have intercourse with her the next time she demanded punishment?

What happens if I refuse?

I didn't want to imagine it.

Am I really going to have to sleep with that elf?

I let out a long, miserable sigh.

I'd known from the beginning that I might be defeated someday. Wasn't that why I'd tried to prepare Ashley for the worst?

Yet I had no confidence at all.

The elf wanted a master who was cold-blooded and cruel, almost deranged. Until now I'd mostly played that role through words and the occasional device.

Actually using my own body would be different.

Could I satisfy her?

I've never even done it before.

Think, Theorad.

She wanted a merciless master who took charge of everything.

What if I couldn't lead her properly? What if I blundered through my first experience and ended up being the one she had to guide?

That wouldn't be commanding or frightening.

She would surely be disappointed.

And if she was disappointed…

Cold sweat trickled down my face.

God of Light, why must you test me like this?

At that moment I envied Beynon.

The man possessed enough reckless stamina and confidence to boast about his encounter with an orc chieftain without flinching.

How could anyone possibly be like that?

“How do you do it, Beynon, you bastard?!”

Bang!

The office door burst open.

Beynon himself stood there, his rough beard bristling.

“Young master!”

“Wh-what? I wasn't shouting because I was angry with you! Don't misunderstand—”

“What are you talking about? There's no time for that!”

He was visibly agitated.

I straightened in my chair.

“Calm down and explain. Has something happened to the mansion?”

“It's the bishop…”

Beynon frowned and scratched his head.

“He's run off.”

“Run off?”

“Yes. You know that elf slave you're so fond of? A servant saw the bishop take her toward the forest near the mansion.”

“Why would he do that?”

“I don't know. There may have been some misunderstanding. Shouldn't we go after him and talk some sense into him before this becomes a serious problem?”

For once, Beynon was entirely right.

I had no idea what Leviham thought he was doing.

But if he provoked the elf in her present mood, he would die.

And because I had brought her into the mansion in the first place, I couldn't wash my hands of the consequences.

I kicked my chair back and stood.

“Give the servants torches and have them search the nearby woods! Saddle two horses! Beynon, you're coming with me!”

“Yes, young master!”

He bowed and hurried away.

I pulled on my coat.

There was no time to lose.

I rushed from the office after him.