The Elf I Want to Be in a Relationship With (3)

In a long life, even the most experienced being encounters something unexpected.

Lerazie understood that better than most. The past held countless grotesque possibilities, and she had lived long enough to see many of them return.

But this was different.

She would have sworn that nothing she had ever witnessed could have prepared her for the sight before her now.

“Heehee.”

Seredi was smiling vacantly.

Lerazie stared at her, stunned.

How many creatures dared laugh in the presence of the Grand Duchess who ruled the Hell of Sexual Love, the Queen of Dreams?

Apart from the other Grand Dukes and Baal, sovereign of the demon realm, almost no one could have done so without trembling.

Yet here stood Seredi, an ordinary dream mare, grinning straight at her queen.

It wasn't impudence.

It wasn't a joke.

To Lerazie, it was clear: Seredi had lost her mind.

Who could do something this cruel?

Lerazie ground her teeth.

The horns rising on either side of her short, blood-red hair trembled. Blood crept across the whites of her dark eyes, and sharp fangs showed between her lips.

“Which bastard did this to you?”

She reached out and smoothed Seredi's disheveled hair.

The longer she examined her subordinate, the more convinced Lerazie became that the damage had been deliberately inflicted.

Her hand tightened in Seredi's hair.

“What bastard!”

Rumble—

The grand ducal residence shuddered as though caught in an earthquake.

The eunuchs standing nearby dropped to their knees.

“Your Highness!”

“Please compose yourself!”

“Your Highness, restrain your power!”

Only after their panicked appeals did Lerazie rein in the demonic energy spilling from her body.

“Hee… hee.”

Seredi went on smiling.

She had stood immediately before the overwhelming power of a ruler of Hell without showing the slightest fear.

Lerazie rubbed her aching head.

Damn it. Someone has broken her completely.

Lerazie didn't know what Seredi had endured during her assignment, but the dream mare's mind had been shut away from reality.

It might take years to restore her. It might never be possible.

Someone who could reduce a creature to that state could just as easily keep her as a helpless slave.

But whoever had done it had let her return to the demon realm.

This is a warning. It has to be.

The message was plain: try another trick and Lerazie herself might be next.

It made her clench her teeth.

But who did it?

Until now, she'd suspected Eligos, the Grand Duke of another hell.

The evidence no longer fit quite so well.

Demons weren't known for affection toward one another, but even among Grand Dukes it was unusual to destroy a subordinate's mind to this extent. Eligos in particular was conscious of his rank and dignity.

So who was lending power to Theorad?

Even after turning the problem over and over, Lerazie couldn't name a likely culprit.

Just as with that parish bishop, someone has ruined Seredi in a single night.

Her curiosity only grew.

But she had no time to pursue it now.

Baal, supreme among demons, had recently summoned the Grand Dukes of Hell. The meeting was today. Private investigations would have to wait.

Lerazie sighed, moved Seredi gently aside, and checked her own appearance.

Her red dress complemented the color of her hair.

It has been a while since the last summons.

Baal usually called them together when humans began making particularly troublesome moves.

This time, Lerazie suspected the Esteban Empire was responsible.

The Empire's recent behavior had been unsettling. Its ruler seemed intent on gathering the scattered military powers under one authority. There were even reports of dealings with a religious faction.

Rumors of war had spread through both the human lands and the demon realm.

The Grand Dukes would have to consider how to respond.

I hate war.

She enjoyed the smell of semen, but she couldn't bear the smell of blood and burning flesh.

Surely the Emperor wouldn't begin a real war unless he'd lost his mind. Perhaps he merely wanted the threat of one to strengthen his power.

Even so, leaders couldn't afford to plan only for the best outcome.

The meeting would be long and tedious. That was part of holding authority.

“Take good care of the residence while I'm gone.”

She cast a hard look over her eunuchs, then walked outside and sprang into the air.

Whoosh!

Great leathery wings opened from her back, driving her into the sky.

Against the red moon, Lerazie flew away at tremendous speed.

---

Two days later.

Deharem Mansion, the elf's room.

“Today…”

The elf lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

Moonlight was the only illumination. Her eyes, accustomed to the dark, wandered over the patterns above her as though their arrangement mattered greatly.

It was a habit she fell into when she was nervous: give the mind something meaningless to do and pretend she was perfectly at ease.

Her thoughts turned to Theorad's behavior over the last two days.

He called Dremes here.

She still didn't understand how he and the witch had come to know one another.

Seeing Dremes again had surprised her.

Witches didn't age in the ordinary human way. Twenty years had passed, yet Dremes still looked just as she remembered.

For a moment, the elf had been tempted to greet her.

She would have ignored most witches without a thought, but Dremes had always been a decent person.

Then she'd reconsidered.

If Dremes realized who the elf had once been—the Black Flame Witch—trouble would follow. She wanted to continue her quiet life as a slave at the Deharem mansion.

Better to remain unknown.

The elf sighed and turned onto her side, silver hair sliding across the pillow.

Ever since Dremes left…

Theorad had scarcely emerged from his study.

Curious about what he was doing, the elf had slipped in to look after he fell asleep.

His desk was covered in pornography he'd collected.

Of course. The kindhearted fool was studying desperately because he believed he had to satisfy her.

He wasn't the sort of person who enjoyed such material. Spending his days forcing himself through it must have been torture.

What an idiot.

And yet it was difficult not to find him rather endearing.

Knowing that he was trying so hard for her, the elf had spent those two days in an unfamiliar state of mind.

Excitement.

And fear.

She had lived long enough to see an ordinary human lifetime pass several times over. Still, she had never had sex.

She wasn't entirely sure why.

It wasn't because she lacked desire. Human erotic books and illustrations sometimes stirred an interest in her. Even the sexual punishments Theorad had imposed in the past, strange as they had initially felt, had sometimes brought her pleasure.

Yet she'd never wanted to seek out another partner or satisfy herself alone.

Was it because she had spent so many years absorbed in study?

Or because of everything that had happened to make her despise humanity?

Perhaps she could no longer look at anyone as a potential lover.

I don't know.

With Theorad, however, the idea of a first experience didn't seem altogether unwelcome.

She knew he did not approach the prospect out of lust for her. He was preparing because he'd been cornered by her threats and felt compelled to obey.

That knowledge was strangely reassuring to her.

Whatever happened between them, she could believe that he wasn't merely trying to satisfy a base appetite at her expense.

Knock, knock.

The sound cut through her thoughts.

She sat up as the door opened and Havid stepped inside.

The elderly chamberlain looked her over with unusual care.

“Have you washed properly?”

“Yes. I haven't done anything since bathing. Master wouldn't like me to smell of sweat.”

“I see.” Havid hesitated. “If you don't want to do this, tell me at any point. I've already spoken to my lord, and—”

“No. It's all right. I was sold as a sex slave in the first place.”

Havid was silent a moment. Then he nodded.

“Very well. Follow me. I'll take you to the head of the household.”

“Yes, Chief Chamberlain.”

She rose and went after him.

The mansion corridor was chilly in the night air. Even the candles fixed along the walls, normally so warm and familiar, looked strangely out of place.

She rubbed one shoulder and followed Havid down the stairs.

Soon they stood before Theorad's room.

Havid knocked.

“My lord, I've brought her.”

He opened the door with practiced politeness.

Theorad stood near the window, looking out into the night.

“Come in.”

The elf stepped inside.

Havid closed the door behind her.

Theorad turned, moonlight at his back. His face was unusually cold.

Something about him was different.

She lowered her gaze and spotted two empty bottles near his feet.

What has he taken?

An uneasy feeling settled in her stomach.

“You.”

His voice was flat.

“Didn't the chamberlain tell you what to expect?”

The elf shook her head.

“And you're still standing there. Are you trying to anger me?”

“…No.”

“Then…”

Tap. Tap.

Theorad crossed the room with careful steps and stopped before her.

His face wore an authority unlike anything she usually saw in him.

For a moment she couldn't tell whether he was acting or had become a different man.

“You know what you're supposed to do.”

The elf raised her head and met his gaze.

He only curved his mouth into a faintly contemptuous smile.

It ought to have infuriated her.

For some reason, it didn't.