The Oath of Silence

Morning at the Detached Palace.

The air in the reception room lay thick and heavy.

Cold sweat prickled along my spine as I stole a cautious glance at Seria, standing at my back.

…Is she still pissed?

Last night had been one maddening, endless loop. To claw her way out of that swamp of pleasure, Seria had stayed awake until dawn, brainwashing herself through the dark hours, and now she was pouring off a killing aura cold as a northern blizzard. The slightest flare of temper would trip the penalty, so she had frozen her emotions solid.

Yeah. I can't even meet her eyes.

I was in the middle of an awkward little cough when the woman at the head of the eleven maids lined up at attention bowed her head.

"Your Highness. You called for me?"

Head Maid Hilda.

I fanned eleven sheets of mana-stone paper across the table with a crisp flutter. The clauses differed slightly from the ones Seria had signed the night before.

Through Article III, it was identical to Seria's. Then came the clause that mattered most, and the revision of the penalty itself.

I had considered setting it to Heat, the way I had with Seria. But the thought of that turncoat bitch writhing around and getting off on it turned my stomach. I didn't want to watch. So I swapped it, cleanly, for agony at its utmost extreme.

"Nothing complicated. I called you in so we could each fill out one form before the work starts."

"This is… mana stone, isn't it?"

"Yeah. A confidentiality oath. For the security of the Detached Palace."

Hilda's eyes went sharp.

"When you say confidentiality…?"

"It means don't smuggle what you see and hear in here out to anyone else."

"……."

"It's a formality. Aside from Article Four, the term runs until the day you quit working here. Simple, right?"

I flashed her the bright, guileless smile of a pure little prince.

Hilda stared down at the oath. She was snorting to herself; I could tell without looking.

Confidentiality, from an empty can with no ability at all? Scribble something on this scrap of an oath and report every last word to His Highness the First Prince. That'll be the end of it.

That thin little sneer was written plain across her face.

"Go on. Prick your thumb with the needle and stamp it once. Then we're done."

At my urging, Hilda lifted the needle in an elegant hand. Without a shred of suspicion she pricked her thumb and pressed the print down hard. The ten ordinary maids followed, signing with careful hands.

Ziiing—!!

Pink authority burst from all eleven sheets and rushed into their chests. In that instant, the soul-slavery contracts disguised as false oaths took hold.

The ordinary maids blinked and looked themselves over, bewildered.

"Huh? Something just went into my body…"

"Am I imagining it?"

They bore me no grudge, so nothing happened to them.

One person was different.

Hilda.

Flash—!!

"Ghhk—!!"

An especially deep pink convulsed in the cleft of her chest. She vomited a rush of blood and crumpled.

"M-Maid Hilda?!"

"Why is she suddenly—?!"

Article III. The price of harboring treason—hostility—in her heart. The Agony penalty I had rewritten triggered on the spot.

"Gyaaaaaah! S-save me…! Kk, ghhk!"

Under the pain of bones being crushed, Hilda clawed at the carpet and screamed like an animal. The icy dignity of a noble young lady shattered in an instant, and what was left was pitiful.

"Aaaagh! My body, my body…!"

I looked down at her rolling in a smear of blood and let out a soft little laugh. Then I glanced back at Seria and whispered, wicked and low.

"Seria. Your direct subordinate doesn't look so well."

"……."

Seria stared down at Hilda with a blank face. The penalties were different—Heat for one, Agony for the other—but watching a spy suffer the same hell she had endured last night seemed to stir in her a strange sense of kinship, and a cold superiority along with it.

I leaned back comfortably against the chair and offered the ten frozen maids a pleasant smile.

"Don't be alarmed. Break the oath, and this happens now and then."

"H-hiik…!"

"Listen to me from now on, and life in the Detached Palace can be quite a happy one. Understood?"

Me, wearing a devil's smile. Hilda, bloodshot eyes raking the carpet. Before the terrified maids, I opened my mouth at my leisure.

"So. Whose spy are you?"

"Ghk! A s-spy?! I serve by His Majesty's command— gyaaaaaah!!"

The moment the lie left her mouth, the pattern in her cleavage flared as if it meant to explode. Hilda wept blood and beat her head against the floor.

"Easy. Keep that up and you really will die. All you have to do is not lie. Oh, and keeping your mouth shut counts as a lie too, so bear that in mind."

"Haa, hk… Wh-what is this…!"

Gasping as if her breath might fail her, Hilda glared up at me and demanded an answer. I shrugged and replied lightly.

"Oh, that? A mana stone I made with my unique ability."

"What…?"

Hilda's mouth fell open. So did the mouths of the ten maids standing behind her.

"But the report said… the Tablet of Revelation showed no reaction at all, that you were Abilityless— kkh!"

"That's what I said. I told them I had an ability. Nobody believed me, so this is how it ended up."

I propped my chin on one hand and grinned.

"All right. Enough nonsense. Tell me the truth. Whose spy are you?"

"Hhhkk… His Highness the First Prince… Prince Leonhardt planted me… gyaaah!"

At last Hilda spilled the truth through tears and snot. The moment the lie stopped, the penalty of Article I vanished—but her pain showed no sign of ending.

"Mm. I see. So it was my elder brother, the First Prince."

"Aaaagh! P-please, spare me… haak!"

"But what can you do? Under Article III, so long as you harbor hostility or treason toward me, that pain isn't going to stop. You're First Faction to the marrow. You couldn't sincerely serve me if you tried, could you?"

At the mockery threaded through my words, Hilda's eyes darted. Something I had let slip earlier came rushing back through her mind.

"I-I'll quit…! I'll resign as head maid this instant, haak!"

Astonishingly, the moment those words left her, the pain binding Hilda began to ebb like a tide going out. The rules of the contract had recognized a resignation and were preparing to loosen the shackles.

Watching her gulp for air and grope toward relief, I scratched my chin.

"Mm. Now that I think about it, quitting right this moment won't do."

"…What?"

"If the head maid vanishes today, who manages the Detached Palace? Once I find another head maid worth using—someone other than you, Hilda—then you can quit."

"……!!"

My one-sided rejection of her resignation.

In that instant the fading pink pattern roared back to a furious blaze.

Flash—!!

"Gyaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

Once more the pain of crushing bone clamped down on every inch of Hilda without mercy.

"Well then, Hilda. You're still on the clock, so why don't we start with the mopping? Put your back into it."

Her hideous screams, rolling across the floor, cheerfully woke the morning of the Detached Palace.

"Gyaaaah! P-please! Kk, spare me…!"

Hilda's screams filled the reception room as she thrashed on the floor. I strolled over at my ease and seized a fistful of her sweat-soaked hair.

"Want to live?"

"Hk, haak! Yes, yes! Anything…!"

"Then it's simple. That shallow loyalty you feel toward my brother, the First Prince—shove it in the trash. Right now."

"……!"

"And swear it from the bone. That you'll be my dog. Mean it. Do that, and the pain stops immediately."

Hilda had no room left to hesitate. Before bones being ground to powder, a noble's pride and her loyalty to the First Prince were worth less than a scrap of tissue.

I want to live, I want to live! Even if I have to submit to this devil…!

The moment she raised the white flag completely, in her heart—

Flash—!

The light of the pattern sank, and the horrific pain vanished as if it had been washed away.

"Haak, hk…! Haa, haa…!"

And into the place the pain had left, the buff of Article II came rushing in.

I tapped the chin of the woman prostrated on the floor with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the toe of my shoe and smiled.

"Well? How does it feel, being my dog?"

"Your High… no. Master…."

Hilda pushed her trembling body upright and pressed her lips to the toe of my shoe.

"I offer all of my soul, and I will serve only you, Master."

"Good. Then here's your first task."

I looked down at Hilda and whispered, cool as frost.

"Send a report up to Brother Leonhardt."

"What… sort of report, Master?"

"The Sixth Prince is irredeemable trash, beyond saving. A cripple who does nothing but breathe and sleep. There is no need ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to be wary of him at all. Something like that."

Hilda's eyes widened. He had sent her to watch me without rest, and I meant to use that spy to leak false intelligence—a double agent.

"I will remember. The First Prince will be deceived completely."

I turned my back on Hilda.

The ten maids, still rigid with fear, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠met my eyes and dropped to their knees as one, pressing their heads to the floor.

Last night I had turned Ella, the Second Prince's spy, into a suicide vanguard. This morning I had remade Hilda, the First Prince's spy, into a perfect double agent. Both of the brothers who split the imperial house between them now sat in the palm of my hand.

Once the situation was neatly settled, I returned to my room. Seria, who had followed me in, opened her mouth with care.

"That unique ability of yours, Your Highness… it resembles the blessing bestowed by the Twelve Goddesses."

"A blessing?"

"Yes. That sacred miracle by which an Abilityless one who receives it gains a new power, and one who already possesses a unique ability has that ability evolve."

As if recalling what had just happened in the reception room, Seria added the facts in a flat voice.

"But it seems far crueler than a goddess's blessing. A very low-grade unique ability."

At the blunt appraisal I let out a short laugh and perched on the edge of the bed.

"You still sulking over yesterday?"

"……."

"The Imprint doesn't come off for a lifetime, so it can't be helped. I'm sorry, so let me make it up to you some other way. If there's something you want, say so."

At my slick tone, Seria's eyes tightened by the barest fraction. She was furious.

In that instant—

Slide—!

The pattern engraved in the cleft of her chest tried to bloom with a sultry light.

"Kkh…!"

Seria hastily pinched her own thigh, hard, and dragged herself back under control. Lose her temper here, and that shameful heat would erupt again. Forcing the corners of her mouth upward, she answered like a machine.

"I am n-not sulking. I wear Your Highness's shackles, and I am exceedingly, nnh… happy."

"Really? Your face looks thoroughly rotten."

"I mean it."

Watching Seria tremble, thighs quivering as she held the heat down, I couldn't help myself. I clutched my stomach and burst out laughing.

"Puhahaha!"

At my naked mockery, Seria's brow drew together, frighteningly tight.

"…What, exactly, is so funny?"

"Ah, sorry. I really am sorry, but it's too funny. What am I supposed to do?"

I wiped the tears gathered at the corners of my eyes and kept snickering.

"I thought you were the sort of guard knight who'd go your whole life without a feeling to your name. An ice sculpture who did nothing but follow Father's orders to the letter."

"……."

"And then I picture you getting angry on the inside and rubbing your thighs together, going into heat—not a knight, a woman—and I swear, it's so funny I could die."

Snap.

In that moment, the tether of reason Seria had maintained all her life came apart in her head.

"Your Highness! Please, that vicious running mouth of yours—!"

She had finally failed to endure. The instant she shouted and let her rage burst free—

Flash—!!

"Hiiiik—♡!!"

A pink flash, explosive beyond anything last night, erupted from her collarbone. The price of showing her master real anger for the first time.

"Haaah! Kkh, hnnn! A-aah!"

Seria's legs folded uselessly beneath her. She collapsed onto the carpet and bowed her whole body like a drawn bow. The white knuckles clenched in her skirt hem trembled, and the cheeks that had been cold as ice flushed a red that looked ready to burst.

"Haang! I-I'm losing my mind, nnh, Your Highness…!"

Unable even to govern her own body, she gasped, defenseless, in the grip of extreme pleasure. I swallowed my laughter and went to her where she arched off the floor. Then I hauled the panting, animal Seria in by the waist and pulled her up onto my knee.

"Aht, hik! Nnh, wh-what are you…!"

I laid my hand over the pink pattern running from the white nape of her neck down into the cleft of her chest, and whispered at her ear.

"Don't force yourself to hold it in and go into heat alone on the floor."

"Haa, haa… Your High— haat…"

"If you're truly that angry, stop grinding it down. Want me to let it out for you?"

The words were barely finished before my hand shoved, without hesitation, beneath the skirt of Seria's maid uniform. Past the white thighs, fingertips slipped inside her underwear and rubbed at the secret place already hot and soaked with pleasure.

"Hik…! A-aah! Your Highness, please… s-stop…!"

Seria shuddered and snatched at my wrist. I only laughed under my breath and gave her ear a light bite.

"Sorry. Watching you come apart like this makes me want to torment you more. My hand's moving on its own."

"Haang! Kkh, d-don't, nnh…!"

"If you hate it that much, shove me off. Resist."

Seria clenched her teeth and strained with everything she had to push my hand away. But the moment she harbored the will to resist me—

Flash—!!

"Hiiiik—♡!!"

Article III triggered once more without mercy, and a horrific pleasure slammed through her spine. Seria's head snapped back, and a sweet, beastlike cry tore out of her.

I slowly withdrew the hand that had been tormenting her secret place. Then I held it up before her face and wagged the fingers, soaked through with clear slick.

"Look. Far from resisting, you're in heat all over me. Dripping."

"Hhk, haa… Th-that's… the Imprint forcing me… nnh!"

Seria's brow drew tight again as she tried to cry out the unfairness of it. Defiance. Her collarbone was about to flash once more, so I clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Yes, yes. It's the Imprint, I'm sure. I understand, so don't get angry. Get angry and you'll lose your mind again."

I pushed the wet fingers in between Seria's parted lips. Stirring her hot tongue and the tender flesh inside, I asked, slick as oil.

"Well? How do you taste?"

"Nnh… mm… It t-tastes bad… haang!"

The sight of her answering while she licked my fingers was obscenely good. Leave her like this, and she really would pass out inside an endless cycle of heat.

"Haa. Nothing for it. First I'll properly let out that shameful heat of yours."

I drew the fingers from her mouth and pushed my hand back beneath her skirt. This time there was no mercy in the caress. I worked the most sensitive place without relent, driving her until she could reach a perfect peak.

"Aaaah! Your— haa! S-stop—♡!! Aaang!"

The bedchamber of the Detached Palace filled with cries that did not cease.

How much time passed, I couldn't say. Seria, who had been snapping her hips like a mad thing in my arms, finally convulsed, met a dizzying climax, and went limp. The pleasure she had been crushing down burst all at once, and she fainted where she lay.

"Honestly. That temper."

I carefully gathered the slack Seria into my arms and laid her on my bed. Unlike her usual ice-doll self, the flushed cheeks still marked with tears were rather cute.

I wiped her fluids off my hand in a few rough strokes against the apron of her black maid uniform.

"I'm tired too."

A yawn cracked my jaw as the fatigue of drained mana rolled over me. I flopped down beside the unconscious Seria. Sharing that warm body heat, I slipped into a peaceful afternoon nap in the Detached Palace.