158 – Scene 158# Suffering
*
Knock-knock-knock-
a few days later
I took Helga to Albert’s workshop in the basement of the Ruelberta mansion.
I heard something rubbing, so I wonder if it’s working.
It was Albert’s granddaughter, Vanessa, who first discovered me when I appeared in the studio.
“ah… . count. I’m glad you look healthy… .”
“… Are you really okay?”
“no. I think I’m going to die.”
She hadn’t seen her in a long time and said in a low-spirited voice.
“Is anything going on?”
“Please do something with that crazy woman. I can’t concentrate from grinding my teeth all day… .”
As if Vanessa was bored, she pointed to a bed in the corner of the workshop. A skinny woman was restrained on the same bed that Helga had previously used for eye surgery.
It was Ryan.
Even when it was handed over to the workshop, it was a miserable appearance with only the head and upper body remaining, but it seems that it has succeeded in completely recovering.
Hard-! Just-!
The thick cloth was gagged, but Lian’s teeth chatted with a ghastly sound. It is no different from a ferocious beast.
Considering that he was like that every day, I fully understood Vanessa’s feelings.
Even though Rian was in a state of restraint, he must have been a threat to Albert and Vanessa, who had no fighting ability.
“Wasn’t it dangerous?”
“hahahaha. No way! It wasn’t dangerous at all thanks to the Count leaving behind an escort knight.”
“Hmmm… ! I didn’t do anything. Well, if you’re going to give me a compliment, I won’t stop you!”
Contrary to what she said, Helga looked like she really wanted my compliments.
Albert also helped out by the side, as if he had noticed her feelings.
“yes. she was impressive The skill of coming to the workshop every day and breaking the vampire’s limb bones was excellent. It was the first time I knew that bones could break so easily.”
yes… ?
“no no!? Albert! If you say that, I’m like a crazy b*tch!”
Helga was startled and explained to me.
“No! Count! Misunderstanding! I am… ! that is… . I just gave a massage to a lying patient because he said it was good… .”
“Ugh???”
Hearing those words, the restrained Lian glared at Helga with an expression of astonishment.
Was that gaze stinging?
Helga asked as she patted Lian’s head with a benevolent smile.
“Right? Wasn’t it a massage?”
“Ugh!!! Whoa!!!”
“look. You say yes.”
Ryan shook his head desperately.
If a vampire is like that, it’s worth knowing. How long have you been suffering from Helga? .
Albert cleared his throat and opened his mouth.
“Kuhm… . Anyway, I fixed it pretty much as you asked. Actually, since he’s a vampire, he would have regenerated himself if left alone… .”
What Albert showed was a spell drawn on the nape of Lian’s neck.
“I wrote it while it was playing just in case you didn’t know. It is a spell of subjugation often engraved on slaves. If only the master’s blood is injected into the ceremony, this person will become a slave.”
“… Whoa!? Whoops!”
Hearing those words, Lian began to rampage in a restrained state.
Realizing the fate that befell her, she desperately expressed her dislike.
But… .
thud-.
Something fell under Helga’s coat with a dull sound.
“Oh~. This massager is gone.”
“… Oops?!”
What Helga picked up was a sledgehammer bigger than a fist.
The moment he saw that vicious hammer, Lian’s face turned white and calm. It looks like you’ve been really struggling.
‘A slave… .’
I thought for a moment.
Lian is a villainous character who becomes the third demon lord’s henchman in the future.
If he fully awakens, he will be on a level comparable to Helga.
It was clear that it would be of great help to me in terms of power.
Also, it was a reasonable choice for Albert to engrave the subjugation ceremony on Lian.
A vampire is a monster that eats people.
Although they have intelligence like humans, the roots of vampires are monsters.
As long as she woke up to cannibalism, it would be difficult to suppress her appetite. It was a vampire’s instinct and strong impulse.
Therefore, there was no reason to refuse Albert’s will to suppress the boy’s appetite with a subjugation spell.
but… … .
yes. It was a matter of my mood.
The repulsion given by the word slave.
And the displeasure of being enslaved and subjugated.
It will take some time and effort, but… . I wanted to move Ryan’s heart.
Because I know her guilt, despair, and remorse that could not be completely erased even if she later became a murderer.
I wanted to help her.
It doesn’t matter even if I end up hating her in the process. Because I’m already used to being hated.
Albert pulled out the needle.
“Of course, it would be right for the count to be the owner of this chair. Then I’ll draw your blood, so your finger-.”
“no. don’t hesitate.”
“Well?”
“This man will not be made a slave.”
I winked at her, and Helga removed the gag from Lian’s mouth.
“Puha… . big… .”
“Did you say Lian?”
I looked down at her with a ‘pride’ childish gaze. Even in front of a guy with superior physical abilities among demons, I didn’t have any fear.
Rather, it was laughable.
“I am Tristan, the head of the Ruelbert family. He is the person you should have.”
“… … under?”
“You are originally a death row inmate who should have died in prison or in a chess game. It is thanks to me that you survived. So pay off that debt by serving me.”
The dark-eyed Lian doesn’t know about me or the Ruelberta family’s notoriety.
So she spoke to me as if she couldn’t understand.
“… Why do I have to listen to ‘prey’?”
“I am not prey.”
“It’s food. The blood tasted so delicious, so why not prey? Strange.”
Is it then
A drop of my blood that I left for Lian, who was imprisoned behind bars. She remembered the taste of my blood.
“Just because blood is delicious doesn’t mean you can eat it.”
“Resolve this. After I eat you, I’ll regain my strength and chew on that woman’s head first.”
Words don’t work.
Helga, who was next to her, also shook her head.
“You see? It is impossible to edify the demon. It’s no different than a beast. Whether forced into submission as a slave, or as a monster… .”
“no. This guy is human.”
“Yes?”
Rian is also a character who knows pain and joy.
I want to treat her as a human being, not a monster.
I asked her one last time.
“Rian. Do you remember how you lived before you went to prison?”
“In jail… before going?”
Lian thought blankly and tilted her head.
“mole… la? does that matter now? I’m more hungry than that.”
As expected, the memory was being eaten by instinct.
If left as it is, she will gradually forget her past as a human before awakening. When that happens, there is no turning back.
Finally I made up my mind.
“Do you want to eat me?”
“yes!”
“Do you want to kill people?”
“yes! I’ll kill you until I’m full!”
“i get it.”
Taking off my coat, I muttered something I had read in a book the other day.
“Rian. do you know They say hardships to the point of death change people.”
I put the coat I took off on the chair.
and notified her.
“I am your affliction.”
“… what?”
“Hello. will you help me?”
“Whoops… . Sure. Count.”
Helga, who seemed to understand my words, approached Lian with a sly smile.
“I am always ready. If the Count is white, isn’t it my job to make the crow white too? If the Count said you were human, then you are human too.”
“you… ! If I solve this, I will die!”
“Quiz here! A total of 206 human bones are astonishing! Then, do you know how many bones a vampire has in total?!”
“… … yes?”
Lian was speechless at the sudden quiz.
“Is it difficult? Hint if so! Vampire bones have the same number as human bones!”
“Then it’s 206… ?”
“Ding!”
Quick-!
“-!!”
“Now there are 207!”
The hammer that cut through the wind shattered Lian’s leg bones.
Lian let out a scream with the terrible sound of bones breaking.
No, I was trying to scream.
If my heart hadn’t been crushed by my ‘rage’, I would have screamed loudly.
“-?!!”
“We already know about the regenerative power of vampires. You won’t die from just breaking a bone.”
“mi… friend… .”
Ryan glared at me with hateful eyes.
It was a little surprising that ‘Rage’ had such spirit. It was too bad. To make a villain.
“you… … . kill. kill I will kill you… .”
“Then anesthetize first!”
“Chehehehe?!”
Helga’s blade hit Lian’s neck.
With the sound of bones breaking, Lian’s neck snapped.
“Come on, patient. Can you feel it?”
“?!?”
Helga’s hand was stroking Lian’s hair.
Lian’s face is that he doesn’t understand.
Not even that. Her limbs are probably paralyzed. However, it will feel as vivid as the senses.
It was Helga’s organ used during Aslan’s time to interrogate prisoners.
“This patient’s body is hardened! Relax.”
Helga climbed onto Lian’s irresistible body and raised the sledgehammer over his head again.
“Then let’s start the massage. Full course this time!”
“Hey, hey… !”
Lian’s eyes flashed despair for a moment.
Then, I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten.
“for a moment… . Two people. Were you still there?”
“Hmm?”
“uh? uh…”
Albert and Vanessa, who had been unable to move at the brutal scene unfolding in front of their eyes, finally came to their senses.
I decided to have mercy on them.
“Get off work today.”
“I, really? Can go?”
“yes. scram. If you don’t want to look bad.”
“Yes… .”
Vanessa had a dumbfounded face, but soon she took off her apron and finished getting ready to go home.
Right before leaving the studio, Albert put his hand on my shoulder and said meaningfully.
“… Thank you.”
I don’t know what to be thankful for… .
As the two closed the door, only the muffled sound of breaking bones resounded in the room.
I just calmly watch the process.
Maybe if those two saw me, I might have looked like a vicious devil… I thought.