Chapter 11 - I - Kuro's castle defense
***Sekhtem***
“So, Mister Kuro, care to explain this demon weapon with you?”
The head of Sekhtem’s militia, Sir Dane, interrogated the black-haired man brought before him. His identity papers showed his name was Kuro—a human being, and his stated goal was to pass by Sekhtem to Hagena. However, what alarmed the city guards was the matchlock ‘demon weapon’ gun with him.
“Err…it’s a weapon for self-defense, Sir.” Kuro explained, “As you can see, I’m a human.”
“Hmm…indeed you are, according to our magicians.” Sir Dane agreed but continued with his questions, “But what about your goal? You said that you’re heading to Hagena?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Then why did you have to pass this place? Don’t you know that there are shorter, and easier paths to that place than coming here?”
Kuro answered honestly, “No sir, I’m new to this place.”
“Where did you come from?”
“Ea—” Kuro was about to say ‘earth’, but then quickly changed it to, “The Holy Palatial Gardens, Sir.”
“Ha? The Holy Palatial Gardens?” Sir Dane got even more suspicious, “Isn’t it that only females may live there? Don’t joke with me, boy; answer me honestly, and I might reconsider arresting you.”
Kuro, upon sensing that the knight before him was getting pissed, panicked. He tried to think of more alibis to hide the fact that he from another world, but nothing else came to mind. The poor guy just grabbed the nearest set of words he could think of, “Uh…I, uh, I was a guest!”
“And now you’re telling me you’re Her Holiness’ guest! Haven’t you had enough of lies? I already can see through you! Teresa!”
The female squire who was with them, took a position behind Kuro’s chair, ready to fling her sword to cut his neck at a moment’s notice.
“Uhmm…uh, i-it’s true!” desperate to prove himself, Kuro rummaged through his belongings, including the pockets of his coat. And then, he landed his hand on that medallion that Ruro had given to him before his departure, “Here! Look at this! The Beastman Saint gave this to me!”
Sir Dane and the squire took it from Kuro’s hand and examined the worn-out item carefully. And then…
“Teresa! Quick, remove the ropes on Mister Kuro’s hands!” Sir Dane slapped several orders for her, “Tell the boys to fetch us the best quality tea and cookies available! Don’t delay, damn it!”
Kuro was clueless about what was happening, even as Sir Dane kowtowed before him, asking for his forgiveness, “My apologies, Mister Kuro, I and my men didn’t know. Please, I implore you to forgive us for the rough treatment.”
“Err…uh, I guess it’s fine? You’re just doing your job, anyway. Please stand up, Sir!”
The embarrassed knight did as he was told. He then returned the gun to Kuro.
However, Kuro had a glaring question in his mind. It happened two times already, back in Colveente, and now, here at Sekhtem…
“Err…Sir Dane? Just want to ask, you and the librarian back in Colveente’s library did the same thing when you saw the medallion of the Beastman Saint she entrusted to me. I wonder what this medallion could mean…”
“Ha? You don’t know?”
Kuro only shook his head.
“That medallion is Ruro of the Wolf’s badge for asking favors, particularly, demanding their finest tea and cookies from strangers! We couldn’t possibly refuse such a request from someone important as her, or she’ll send calamity upon calamity after us!”
“So, for short…” Kuro was scratching his head, “That item is one that is used for extorting from hapless people?”
The knight nodded.
Great.
Turning his eyes upward to the sky outside the window, Kuro imagined Ruro’s puffed-up face winking at him.
“…”
Kuro thought he’d put up a word with his holy pug once he returns to the Holy Palatial Gardens.
When her consciousness came back, Lily was enveloped with darkness.
“…”
She tried to feel her surroundings since her eyes were practically useless in the sheer blackness. But it was then that she noticed her hands were chained to the wall and her feet were tied to a rack.
Lily tried to remember what happened before she lost her senses. After Sir Gray recognized her, Lily was arrested by the guards, led by Roland’s superior. She would’ve come with them peacefully, but Mariya, who was scared out of her wits, panicked and ran. The lord, who was also in shock, ordered her arrest and that of Grandma Margie.
“!!!”
Lily attempted to exonerate her companions to Lord Gray, but he wouldn’t listen. In a fit of rage, she tried to attack him, and the guards quickly subdued her…
…and ended here, in this dark place. Must be the dungeon, Lily surmised.
“!!!”
Lily’s ears were quick to pick sounds of footsteps heading towards her location. A little later, she saw a light coming from a candlestick, as well as voices whispering in the dark.
“…”
And then the candles stopped a few distances away from her. It was then that Lily saw she was practically naked.
“!!!”
“Happy now, you witch?” the voice of Lord Gray echoed in the room, “You do not know how long I dreamed of this to happen!”
“…” Lily, though embarrassed and humiliated, knew that she could do nothing. And so she kept her mouth shut.
“You murdered my family, made me drink their blood while you squeezed their necks you slit!” the liege narrated, “For seasons, I always dreamed of doing the same to you! But Her Holiness then ‘killed’ you, and I lost my opportunity to avenge their deaths!”
“…”
Hearing those words made Lily’s heart heavy. Yes, she remembered those things she had done, though not exactly all the names of those people she killed. That’s the reason when she had the chance, she changed her ways by serving Maddie.
So that, even a little, her sins would be washed…
“But now! NOW! Her Holiness has finally granted my wish to kill you! However, I won’t do it immediately. I want to see you suffer; I want to see you cry in desperation! And when you want to die, I won’t grant it easily to you!”
“…”
“Oh?” the lord then drew nearer to Lily’s face, which he illuminated with his candles, “Playing the silent card, huh? We’ll see about that! It’s a pity that this pretty face of yours would be dirtied and bruised, but first, I’ll show you what suffering means!”
“!!!”
At the Baron’s cue, the guards brought in Mariya and Grandma Margie inside the torture chamber. They were both bounded, with the young girl unconscious, and the old lady crying helplessly.
“Look, oh you Bloody Witch! This is what suffering looks like!” Lord Gray then pressed a candle on Mariya’s skin, which rudely awakened the girl and caused her to scream in pain.
“Stooop!!!” Grandma Margie pleaded desperately, “My granddaughter has nothing to do with this! I’m the one who brought her here! Kill me! Kill me instead!”
“Shut up, old hag!” the noble slapped Grandma Margie, “If the little girl dies, it’s on your head, and that witch over there!”
“No…no! NO!” Lily cried out, panicking, “Don’t touch her! Please, I beg you! Let them go, Sir Gray!”
“Haaah…what a pleasant voice.” Lord Gray smirked, “Let out more, witch! Cry some more!” He pushed another candle on Mariya’s skin, and she shrieked desperately for help.
Lily could not keep herself from getting enraged; she tried to pull herself free from the shackles, though her efforts were in vain, “Graaaaayyyy!!! You fool, I should’ve killed you! I should’ve annihilated your entire house! You’re just an insignificant sty! Graaayyy!”
“Ah…that scream sounds so beautiful to my ears…please, let it out more!” Sir Gray heated a blade that made it glow red and pressed its flat on Mariya’s face.
“Kyaaa!!!” Mariya cried out in pain and desperation.
“Graaayyyy!!! Let go of Mariya! Damn you, let go of her!” Lily’s eyes were full of tears.
“Stop it, you whore!”
“!!!”
The furious shout didn’t come from the Baron, but from the old lady. Grandma Margie’s eyes were in tears, but she glared at Lily, enraged, “This wouldn’t happen if Mariya let you alone in Sekhtem! We regret helping you, you Bloody Whore! You should’ve died! I curse you!”
Those words were too much for Lily to take. It’s like her chest was hit repeatedly by maces, and her stomach got punched again and again ‘till it became blue. So shocked was she that she grew weak, and fell silent, as tears fell down uncontrollably from her eyes…
Will I do nothing right? Will I ever wash the blood off my hands?
“That’s it…that’s it…” the voice of Baron Gray was once again heard, “Cry in despair, witch! Feel the pain that we had to endure for seasons.”
Seeing that he broke her already, Sir Gray then signaled his men to leave the prisoners in the torture chamber. He had the candlestick intentionally left so that Lily could see what happened to Mariya.
With their supplies and other cargo secured and replenished, the Traveler read intelligence reports his agents had gathered. He particularly mentioned that he’d like to hear from the ‘Iron Princess’, whom he had his men searched for.
“…”
Skimming through the reports brought his attention to the report from the village of Hagena. A girl with the same description as he had specified was teaching in a swordsmanship school there, and that the local lord had already had the school closed as well as the founder arrested.
“!!!”
The Traveler dropped the mug of coffee he was drinking, much to the surprise of Benoit.
“Hey, boss, what happened?”
“We got a lead to the Iron Princess’ location.”
“Oh? Where?”
“At a village called Hagena.” the Traveler replied, as he fixed his clothes and bag, “Benoit, can you hand over to me that bag of coins over there?”
“Here!” Benoit obeyed, but then asked, “What are you planning to do?”
“This is an extremely rare opportunity!” the Traveler chuckled, “We could capture the Iron Princess with little resistance. I’ll just buy her from the lord of that place!”
“Oh, right!”
“Though, prepare the men. You might never know when we’ll need them. And please tell Her Holiness of what I intend to do.”
Benoit nodded and immediately set off to muster the Imperial soldiers disguised as merchants and slave-traders.
“The Imperial slave-traders are now moving!”
Kuro and Sir Dane were both alerted by the young squire named Teresa, who suddenly burst into the interrogation room where Kuro was staying. He hadn’t finished his tea and cookies just yet, but the men immediately leaped into action.
After learning that Kuro was closely affiliated to the Holy Palatial Gardens, Sir Dane asked for his help in trying to end the illicit forced slave-trade in his country, which was tacitly supported by the King of Calabria himself. Of course, Kuro agreed to it, seeing that doing something would be in line with his values—at which he was strongly against slavery, both legal or illegal.
However, he consented on one condition. That was to have the Sekhtem militia send some men to help him find Lily in Hagena, a condition that Sir Dane accepted as well, once Kuro provided her description.
“Where are they heading?”
“Our scouts have reported that they’re making their way towards the north.”
“The north?” Sir Dane asked a confirmatory question and then looked at Kuro.
“Hagena!” Kuro blurted it out, “They might’ve learned that Lily’s a princess, and she could be in danger!”
“Ah yes! If I remember, your girl fought one of them before, when they tried to capture her. They must’ve found out her location and were heading there to continue where they left off!”
“Well, disgraced nobles are valuable.” Sir Dane added, “While it’s true that they’re pretty much useless in manual labor, it’s of a different matter with the ‘private’ needs of the master.”
“Oh…”
The two men exchanged suspicious stares, and both decided to take action. Sir Dane, in particular, ordered Teresa, “Muster the cavalry. We ride to Hagena as soon as possible. You can ride gryphons, Mister Kuro?”
“Err…gryphon?” Hearing a fantasy word like that made Kuro interested, yet fearful at the same time. He knew what a gryphon was, but certainly not how to ride it. So, not wishing to delay the preparations, he answered, “I’ll try to, I guess?”
If possible, Lily would’ve wanted to wake up from the reality before her. Mariya’s severely injured by Lord Gray’s men; all her fingers broken to make her, the Bloody Witch, suffer. However, Lily by this time had become used to the cruel scene, and thus, rarely react to it anymore.
“…”
Grandma Margie was watching her granddaughter’s agony in silence. Never did she once look at Lily’s direction after hurling expletives on her the first time Mariya was tortured.
Lily perfectly understood the old lady’s sentiments. Not only did she cause them agony and grief once, but she also did it twice! And Lily would also have accepted Lord Gray’s actions; if he did not include Grandma and Mariya in her punishment.
For his part, the Lord Gray had made sure that his two extra prisoners were well-fed, and the injuries that could be healed fixed, for he wanted to keep them alive for as long as possible so that he could torture Lily again and again.
“…”
Mariya, though conscious, was inconsolable. She remained silent; her eyes downcast. The only sign that she’s alive was her body breathing.
“M-Mariya…G-Grandma…I-I’m sorry…” Lily would whisper from time to time, though she knew they would never hear it. Deep within her, only the terrible memories remain…
Of how her parents tried to have her killed by sending her on military expeditions and ensuring that she fights at the front…
Of how the soldiers she murdered glared and hurled curses at her before they died under her blade…
Of how her brother died trying to protect her from a poisoned needle…
Of how the people she killed cried in despair and agony as she slit their throat amidst her blood lust…
Of how she hurt Maddie, who was trying to prevent her murderous rampage, in what was dubbed as the ‘Last Battle of the Bloody Witch’…
Of the painful words she said to Kuro when she was angry at him and Maddie because of jealousy…
Lily wanted to apologize to everyone; and if she could only take her life to repay those people she had hurt, she would gladly do so…
“!!!”
Her senses came rushing back when she heard the clack and creak of the wooden torture door opening. And, just as she expected, Lord Gray appeared along with his guards.
“…”
However, this time, there was an extra character coming into the scene.
“!!!”
“Why hello there, Iron Princess!” it was the man who fought her back in Sekhtem! “I hope you remember me, for I have good plans for you, rather than let you rot here. You may refer to me as the Traveler, for I’m always on foot to observe things.”
“…”
At that point, Lily had resigned from her fate. She removed any hope that Maddie would move to rescue her; besides, it’s her sin, anyway. Why should she ask for the Saint’s help when there’s no hope of redemption anymore? And Kuro? What could he do? He’s powerless to intervene in this matter.
But she has just one request…
“M-Ma…Mariya…”
“Hmm? What are you saying?” the Traveler drew near his ear to her mouth.
“F-Free…M-Mariya…please?” she tried to convey her thoughts to him, even though she’s way too weak to speak louder than a whisper.
“Oi, Lord Gray, the Iron Princess wants the two others free!” the Traveler told the liege, “What do you say about it?”
“What? Is it true? The Bloody Witch—who murdered mercilessly—is pleading for someone’s life as if she’s human?” Lord Gray laughed obnoxiously, “I think I must be out of my mind!”
“Sorry about that, Your Highness.” the Traveler explained, “But the prisoners would also be bought into slavery.”
“!!!”
Great indignation filled Lily’s heart as she watched them walked away. However, as angry as she was, her body was weakened and injured to do anything…
“Well then, Your Highness!” the Traveler gave her a mocking bow, “Please enjoy your time left here in North Chersea, for later, you’ll be setting sail for the Empire as a slave! In the meantime, I’ll discuss your price with Lord Gray! See you!”
And with that, they were locked-in once again, uncertain of the bleak future that awaited them…
