Theorad Dreams (4)
Seredi stared at the elf in the mirror, her eyes wide and her skin slick with cold sweat.
It felt as though thousands of ants were crawling over her. Her hands and feet trembled beyond her control, like those of an animal with a noose tightening around its neck.
She knows?
That made no sense.
Seredi had never let her demonic energy leak from her body. Her wings and tail were thoroughly concealed. Nothing about the woman reflected in the mirror should have revealed that she was a demon.
How could she know?
Yet the elf had spoken as though she knew everything. Those brilliant red eyes seemed to look straight through Seredi: not merely at what she was, but at why she'd come to this mansion.
If she remained like this, she might give everything away simply from fear.
Seredi clenched her teeth and made a decision.
Brainwashing.
It was one of the personality spells within dream magic. But she wasn't going to cast it on the elf. She doubted she could brainwash that creature at all.
Instead, she turned the spell upon herself, implanting one simple command: remain calm.
Thump.
Her heart gave one violent beat, then began to slow.
Seredi drew a long breath and released it gradually. The spell settled into her mind, steadying it enough for her to raise her eyes to the mirror again.
The elf's red gaze still seemed to demand the truth.
Seredi managed to resist.
“…I have no idea what you're talking about.”
“Is that so?”
The answer was almost indifferent.
The elf straightened and removed her hand from Seredi's shoulder.
“I'll leave your towel and change of clothes here. When you've dressed, please come to the dining room. A meal will be ready for you.”
“All right…”
The elf set down the things she'd brought and left.
Seredi kept her back straight until the door closed behind her.
Then she expelled a breath as though she were about to be sick.
Even with her own mind magically forced into calm, the elf's presence had nearly overwhelmed her.
What in the world is she?
She hadn't cast a spell that Seredi could sense. Not one drop of mana had been used. It had been nothing more than a look and the weight of her presence.
Yet it had pinned Seredi in place.
Without her self-directed brainwashing, she might already have blurted out the truth.
Dangerous…
Whatever the elf was, she wasn't an opponent to take lightly.
If I released all my demonic energy, perhaps we could fight on equal terms.
It was hard to say which of them would win. The contest might be close enough that even succeeding would cost far too much.
That settled it. Seredi would complete her assignment while provoking the elf as little as possible.
She needed to remain here only one day.
No unnecessary fights.
Having made up her mind, she finished drying her hair and examined the clothes the elf had brought.
There was a simple dress and a thick gray undergarment. The undergarment covered so much skin that wearing it would make any revealing outfit impossible.
Does she think I'm going to wag my tail at Theorad?
The intent seemed obvious.
Being told what she could wear was insulting, but there was no point refusing. She had come to uncover secrets in Theorad's unconscious, not to seduce him.
“…”
Still, this was hardly clothing worthy of a succubus.
Seredi pulled on the cumbersome undergarment, her eyes stinging with frustrated tears.
The dining room greeted her with the rich smell of dinner.
Rich, at least, by human standards.
To Seredi, the pervasive scent of garlic was almost unbearable.
She wrinkled her nose.
“Ah, you're here!”
Theorad, seated at the table, greeted her with a bright smile.
“We just finished preparing the meal. Come, sit down.”
“Ah. Thank you…”
Refusing dinner after accepting his hospitality would only make him suspicious. Seredi approached with a strained smile.
Then she saw the food.
Garlic? All of it?
Garlic bread. Whole bulbs of roasted garlic. Steak dusted with garlic powder. Garlic in the soup and mixed among the vegetables.
Every dish had been prepared with the one thing she'd just asked them to leave out.
That damned elf!
Seredi swallowed her nausea and sat.
Across from her, Theorad was cutting his steak with impeccable manners. He gave her a kindly smile.
“My slave told me how much you love garlic, so I asked the cook to make dishes especially for you. I hope you enjoy them.”
“Ah… ahaha. Thank you very much.”
She raised her knife, but had to force herself to begin eating.
If she pushed the meal away, Theorad might begin asking questions. This was the man connected to the parish bishop's downfall; Seredi couldn't risk giving him a reason to examine her too closely.
Did the elf tell him what I am?
She stole a glance at his face while cutting the steak.
Seredi had lived by entering men's dreams and dealing with countless men. Reading expressions was as natural to her as breathing.
She studied Theorad carefully.
There wasn't a trace of suspicion in his expression.
So she hasn't told him.
Perhaps the elf wasn't certain of Seredi's identity. Whatever the reason, Theorad clearly didn't suspect her. That was a relief.
But where is the elf?
Seredi looked around as she lifted a piece of steak toward her mouth.
And stopped.
The same elf who had nearly frightened her senseless was kneeling on the floor beside the table, eating from a dog bowl.
“What…?”
The elf was actually shedding tears.
As Seredi watched in disbelief, Theorad clicked his tongue and tossed a piece of meat into the bowl.
Splat!
The meat struck the heap of feed and scattered bits of it.
“Stop whining. I'm letting you have meat as a special treat. Understand?”
“M-Master…!”
The elf gazed up at him as though he had bestowed some tremendous kindness. Then she bowed so low that she could take the steak into her mouth without using her hands.
The steak's seasoning melted on her tongue, and she chewed with an expression of pure happiness.
Why would anyone eat like that?
She had hands. There was no shortage of ways to pick up a piece of meat.
She's behaving exactly like a dog.
Even for a slave, the treatment seemed appallingly inhuman. Seredi almost intervened.
Theorad, however, looked perfectly at ease.
“What a hopeless little wretch.”
He even mocked the elf as she ate.
Stranger still, she offered no protest. She whimpered over her bowl and went on eating.
What is going on?
The creature before her bore no resemblance to the terrifying elf in the dressing room.
Could I have misjudged her?
Perhaps she wasn't terribly powerful after all. Someone with real strength wouldn't ordinarily allow herself to be captured and treated as a human's slave.
Maybe that frightening presence had been nothing more than a trick.
Seredi smiled to herself and put another piece of garlic steak into her mouth.
Ugh.
The smell and taste made her stomach churn, but she could endure them.
She disliked garlic. It wasn't as though eating it would kill her.
When the meal was finally over, Havid, who had been waiting nearby, came over and bowed.
“Was the food to your liking?”
Seredi wanted to vomit. She hid it behind a polite smile.
“Yes. It was very good.”
“I'm pleased to hear it. There is, however, something I must apologize for.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“The goods delivered by the imperial family haven't yet been moved into the family storehouse, so the vacant rooms are taken up with them. I'm afraid we have no guest chamber available. Would you be willing to spend the night in the elf's room?”
Seredi was taken aback.
She was an unexpected visitor. Even so, she had been treated generously until now, and there was little reason to demand more.
Besides, the elf looked too harmless to worry about at the moment.
Seredi nodded with a pleasant smile.
“Of course. I don't mind.”
“Thank you for your understanding. If possible, we'll make another room available tomorrow.”
“That's very kind.”
She glanced back at the elf, who was still sniffling into her dog bowl.
A great and terrible being? Hardly.
After dinner and a brief conversation with Theorad, Seredi followed Havid's arrangements to the elf's room.
It was spacious enough for a slave's quarters. There were two beds, a chest of drawers, and a desk.
The room had been made from an attic, and its windows were set at a slant. That was rather shabby, but Seredi only needed a place to sleep for one night.
“Hmm. So this is where a slave sleeps. It's not much.”
She deliberately emphasized slave as she sat on one of the beds.
The elf came in a little later carrying a candlestick and the dog bowl. She closed the door behind her.
“I have no complaints about this room,” she said.
“I suppose you wouldn't. But what's with that bowl?”
“It's a gift from Master.”
A dog bowl? As a gift?
Seredi almost laughed.
What sort of life does she lead in this house?
She clicked her tongue openly. The elf showed no sign of caring and set the candlestick on the desk.
The small flame spread a reddish glow through the room.
“By the way,” Seredi said, “don't you ever get tired of living like that? If I were forced to live as a slave, I'd sooner kill myself.”
“It's all right. I enjoy what I do.”
The elf's voice was calm. She opened a drawer, placed the dog bowl carefully inside, and closed it.
That composure irritated Seredi more than an argument would have.
She still wanted revenge for the humiliation she'd suffered in the dressing room.
“Who could possibly enjoy kneeling on the floor and eating dog food? Admit it. You're living a miserable, filthy life. Viscount Theorad treats you like a toy, and—”
“How strange.”
The elf interrupted without looking at her.
She raised her head toward the dark sky outside the slanted window. In the candlelight and moonlight, her profile looked strangely noble, far removed from the obedient slave Seredi had watched at dinner.
“I thought I'd already warned you.”
The elf sighed and turned toward her.
“And yet you, a creature from the demon realm…”
The air shifted.
A sudden wind rushed through the sealed room and extinguished the candle.
Darkness fell. Only moonlight through the window touched the upper half of the elf's body.
Seredi opened her mouth to retort.
Something cold and sharp pressed against her cheek.
She froze.
It felt like the point of a sword.
She could sense its hard weight, but she couldn't see the weapon itself.
And there were more of them.
Invisible edges surrounded her on every side, leaving her unable to move.
The elf had used neither wand nor incantation. The weapons had formed from an image in her mind, their points and shafts enclosing Seredi as firmly as iron bars.
“I suppose you want to die.”
The elf's eyes held no warmth. She regarded Seredi from an impossible height, as though the demon were something beneath notice.
Only now did Seredi understand.
The groveling, tearful slave at dinner had been a performance.
The being before her possessed a power Seredi couldn't hope to defeat.
I have to beg her to spare me…
But the elf looked at her like an insect about to be crushed.
Seredi couldn't force a single word past her lips.