“Not today, my lady. You are not going out.”

I continued washing her frock without turning around despite my lady’s incessant warning. She was standing in the common laundry area surrounded by the aroma of the fresh blooms. The elevated cobblestones were seldom vacant closer to the afternoons, but the winters had other maids give up sun drying. Trimmed ornamental outgrowths that were taller than me offered shade, the lawn overrun with shrubs and mosses owing to the run-off water. The flowers should have withered in the cold ambiance, but they stood erect, facing the chill with unseen ferociousness. Were they mocking this undead?

“I’ve been cramped in my room for the past two days, mongrel!” My lady wasn’t ready to budge, but I was undead for a reason. Even my villainess was not a match.

“Until the commotion in the city dies down, you are going nowhere,” I wriggled out the water and flapped the cloth couple of times before glancing at her. “The Rynak soldiers are patrolling the capital, my lady, but the abductors are mages, so I doubt you would be able to fend them off.”

“Who is them, Rudolf?!” she snarled and pulled her bluish kirtle from my hands in anger. “If you know it already, then why aren’t you letting me go out?”

“It’s a hassle, my lady,” I sighed and patted her head. “If I save you, then I would have to save other kids too. I’d rather watch the kingdom in ruins today.”

“What are you talking about?” she pouted as my hand reached for the washed cloth.

“Something interesting is brewing underneath the city, my lady,” I smiled. “Some patience, and we might get to see a good show.”

“Is that why you asked Beth and Casey to lock themselves in their manors?!”

“Well, partly yes, because Beth has undoubtedly attracted their attention,” I said as I carried our washed clothes to our own courtyard along within the basket of natural fibers. Kurul, they called it. My lady followed me with a pout, which was somewhat different from her usual glare, so I decided to keep her in the dark.

“Why have you become disobedient, mongrel? You used to obey me without fail before,” She hurried after me, her short legs not letting her match up to my pace. “Slow down!”

“You can only blame yourself, my lady,” I smiled at her before glancing at the spiders that had resumed their cobweb construction. Their diligence was really commendable. “If you weren’t so blatant about riling my manhood, I would have gone easy on you.”

“Oh,” a smile replaced her affronted expression. “My advances are crumbling you from within.”

“I didn’t say that, my lady. You–“

She patted my shoulder condescendingly and traipsed back to my room.

Was that pity? At undead, at that? Letitia had started belittling me more after knowing that I was undead. Maybe I should show her why people are terrified of my smile.

With a sigh, I hung the clothes in our yard and walked back to my abode. My lady had monopolized my cot with her magic transcripts that she was obstinate about updating every day. She was looking for sealing magic, or so she had said, but the reasons she hadn’t divulged yet. Was she trying to trap me beside her? Well, only holy mages ever learned sealing magic, but everything was useless against my [Cardina Garch], or [Unbind] spell. Both undead spells; the former protected me from curses and holy bounds, while the latter just made sealing spells useless. The prerequisite was [Undead] and mastery over external casting as usual.

Am I too unfair? Just try living for a millennium to see how overpowered you would become with boredom. It is the irony of time but the absolute truth.

“Can I go out tonight, my lady?” I asked as I took a seat on the cot and sniffed her hair. “I will wash your hair before that.”

She recoiled with a startle and glared at me. Her ears had turned red, which meant embarrassment, though the reason went above my head as always. “What was that, mongrel?!”

“What’s wrong with you, my lady?” I raised my eyes. “That’s how we decided when to wash your hair all along. Your reactions are often beyond the understanding of common undead these days.”

She didn’t reply and just watched me intently. “Where are you going?” she changed the topic immediately, and I stared at her aghast. I would have earned a smack for changing my mannerism so abruptly.

“Somewhere interesting,” I replied but couldn’t keep the smile off my face. Watching mortals boiling in the cauldrons was my new fascination.

I half expected her to stop me, but she just nodded. Though, I didn’t miss the faint disappointment on her face. That didn’t mean I was going to give up on my chance to spy at the summoning ritual. My lady had tested my limits enough past few weeks, so it was time for undead’s day out.

I washed her hair soon, followed by letting her practice channelizing mana as I ambled to the kitchen to fish out some meal for my lady. Maybe I shouldn’t have killed the marquis, after all. At least it would have saved me some walking and abhorrent stares of the maids. Not that I minded the latter, but when I am down, they feel terrible.

Obviously, even I feel down when I don’t get my bread. What else did you expect?

The silent day ended with me dozing off on my table. The faint light felt great on my face in the chilly winters and only forced me into a more profound slumber. Only when my body eased up did I realize that [Refluengence] was pulling me to the void of my memories. Buried and deep and deadly.

I dreamed for the first time in almost a few centuries.

 The thatched house was a familiar abode that I hadn’t entirely forgotten since I had lived there most of my undead life. But this time, it wasn’t the usual ramshackle place. Decked with ornaments on the fresh brownish wallpaper, a sturdy door, the foyer spanning to the great room, everything was fresh and new. It contained signs of life, and I realized the damned spell had broken through the barrier of my human memories.

I saw a woman and a boy of early teenage years in her bosom, a man with a broken bottle of ale in his hands, some blood sprawled on the door, and an abandoned piece of bread. They were just another typical family, but their faces were blurred. I was standing on the entryway to the room, watching the carnage scene with a smile.

I ambled to the abandoned bread loaf on the floor. When I picked it up, the child glanced at me strangely, and I smiled, eating the bread leisurely, and watched the man land a few clouts across the woman’s face, followed by the child. More blood tainted the dingy room as the man stumbled on his legs and fell on his butt. Blood on his clothes, his face, and on the floor only displeased him more.

“How dare you give birth to this demon child?!” he pointed his hand at the woman. The blurred face wasn’t great for ascertaining the emotions. “I got cast away from the officialdom because of this bastard, I lost my status because of this arse, and now I am to lose my life because of this fucking child!”

“Please,” the woman touched the man’s legs, dragging her bleeding across. “Spare us. He’s too young to take care of himself–“

Another slap forced her away from his legs. “Young?! He didn’t die when they burned him at stake! He didn’t die when they poisoned him to death! How the hell is he too young?! He sacrificed the baby prince for his fucking ritual, you abhorrent whore!”

“H-he was fulfilling the wishes of the King,” the woman cried. “T-They f-forced him to perform his magic on the prince. A-asked us to save him, for he didn’t have days to live. All he did was fail, and they made us liable for killing the prince. How could you blame this on me?! He’s your son too and not only mine!”

Well, I hadn’t failed the ritual, and it had resulted in my first cursed creation. Nevertheless, for the ordinary folks, the prince was equivalent to dead since my spell had made him a demon.

“Son?” the man’s voice held contempt. “Look at how the blood on his face is healing. Fucking take a good look at the monster! And you call him my son? I’d rather watch him charred at stake, but he doesn’t even appease me that way!”

I nibbled on the bread, watching the farce with a smile. The boy had locked his gaze with mine, voicing something, but I was the least inclined to hear him.

The man took his knife and stabbed it on the boy’s neck. Once, twice, thrice, abdomen followed, legs, groin, and the woman watched the fatal wounds recovering with horror.

“See?” the man snarled again as the boy sat back up after multiple lethal wounds. “If I fucking don’t kill this demon, the emperor would take my head! Why the hell should I die for this monster?!”

The man strangled the boy, stabbed him, broke the boy’s arm, and more blood filled the room.

“Die!” the knife slithered the abdomen, guts rolled out, scars mangled the boy’s body, but nothing worked. The stoic expression on the kid’s face only added to the fury of the blurred man, and he thrust the knife into the eyes devoid of tears. “Fucking die, monster.”

A white light glowed around the boy, [Heal] working its way to fix the broken hands, churned gut, and gouged out eyes. The man kicked the boy and walked out of the house with loud cries that resembled a frenzied wolf. The boy never wailed, not once, and didn’t even beg. Maybe begging would have saved him a few clouts.

The woman pulled herself to the boy, who appeared perfect in shape, except for the tattered clothes. “I’m sorry,” she cried, hugging him close, but she didn’t call his name. Not once.

“It’s all right,” the boy caressed her hair. “I know how to earn breakfast for myself, so I’ll be fine on my own. Bread wards the demons, so I get enough on my way through the streets. Thank you for spreading the rumor, mother. It should be enough for me, so you can leave. Go as far as you can.”

“How can I abandon you?”

“I know you are scared of me,” the boy looked into the woman’s eyes, and her eyes dropped. “So, leave while you can. Before the knights take you away. I would remember never to crave for your embrace.”

It didn’t long for the woman to disappear from the room, and the boy stared at me.

“Why didn’t you help us?” he asked, and I finished the loaf of bread in my hands.

“Why should I?” I laughed as the blood reached my legs.

“Because I am you!” the child screamed, and I smiled, suppressing his screams instantly.

“You are dead,” I patted his head and strangled his neck. “Long back, kid. Just disappear from my head already.”

He struggled for a while, wailing pitifully and kicking his legs dangling in the air, but I didn’t let him escape my grasp. Blood tainted my hands as I saw the kid’s neck snap in half. I flicked my hand leisurely before settling down in the darkness of the room, watching the boy’s blurred face. I was the only one who could kill him in this place. Well, this would do for the next ten thousand years. I would forget the memories soon because I always had.

I got up and walked out of the room, darkened skies replacing the bloody chamber. I was already awake when I realized it, and the skies weren’t from that shitty place. My lady was resting her head on the table beside me, and she jolted away when she noticed my eyes open.

“I-I was just trying to cast a spell, mongrel!” she said, ears rosy again, and I ruffled her hair before getting up. “Where are you going, mongrel?”

“I’ll be back late, Letitia,” I said, picking up my overcoat from my closet. “Go to bed early.”

“Mongrel,” she rushed toward me. “Are you­–“

“I am undead, my lady,” I laughed and patted her head again before closing the door.

I didn’t wait for her to ask more questions and sauntered out of the mansion. That damn dream had spoiled my mood again, and I needed to get that bastard demon for casting a spell on me. If it wanted to call me, there were other ways. Why use [Refluengence]?

But well, I would witness some blood along with bread to get rid of the bitter aftertaste of the spell.

The night was young, and so were the drunkards ambling through the streets. I watched the ale in their hands with disgust before walking to my familiar bakehouse. It was closed, and I continued pacing down the streets, the lambent glow of the mana lamps illuminating the pavements sprawled neatly. The smoke from the chimney of most of the houses bridled the dark sky with hazy smoke that disappeared into the distance. The lousy moon was kicked out of the sky, dark clouds replacing the murkiness until soft hail began to pelt the streets again. Though, it melted instantly.

The people rushed indoors, laughter lingering in the streets around me, while guards helped the drunkards, as usual, preventing them from freezing in the wild. It was a regular sight, and I ambled to Garlan’s usual tavern involuntarily.

After thinking for a while, I stepped away from the door and strolled through the pavements into a more desolate locality. I had been keeping track of the summoning ritual, something that was almost close to completion.

It was an exciting conspiracy, despite the dangers it posed to ordinary mortals. I didn’t really want to interrupt their ceremony, so I had locked my lady in the mansion, much to her dismay. Saving her from getting abducted meant interrupting the ceremony, which I was least interested in doing.

Now they had succeeded since [Refluengence] was a demon spell. One that was able to affect this overpowered undead.

Thoughts plagued my mind as I ambled through the rundown door, back to the room filled with worms. The hole at the entrance had been filled, probably by the cult members, and I jumped over the decaying counter. The clean carpet was no more, and the metal door that festooned the wooden flooring was stained with blood. I swiped my forehead with my pocket knife and covered my face with a blood mask that stuck close, attaching to the skin beneath, as I heard footsteps in the distance.