The Duke's Mark
Eden's Angel. 19
Whether she had received word in advance or not, the tattoo machine and chair were already prepared. Kate unnie wore a frown as she sat down, then relaxed her expression and spoke.
"Well, since I've been commissioned, I suppose I have to do it. Whew. So, where and what kind of tattoo are we getting?"
"Elisha, take off your clothes."
"Yes."
Ed had already grown comfortable issuing commands. Even with Kate unnie and the maid present, I removed my clothes without hesitation, drawing a suspicious glance from her.
"Honestly... Sit here for now. And young master? Where exactly are we putting this?"
"Show her the crest."
"Yes."
Once I was seated naked in the chair, the maid produced a square metal plate from her bosom and handed it to Kate unnie. She examined the plate and muttered that the design looked familiar.
"Engrave that crest on her lower abdomen."
"Lower abdomen? You mean her belly?"
"Yes. Precisely around here?"
Ed pointed with his finger directly at the spot where the womb lay. Kate unnie frowned as she looked at it.
"Why there, of all places? Can't it be somewhere else?"
"No. It has to be here."
"How blunt. What exactly is your relationship with Elisha?"
"I haven't made her completely mine yet, but Elisha is my property."
"What, are you her master or something?"
"Something like that."
At those words, Kate unnie turned to look at me again. Her gaze seemed to ask, This guy is that master? I quietly shook my head in denial. With a thoroughly displeased expression, she confirmed the design and began setting up the tattoo machine. She was clearly sulking and angry. I wondered how I would smooth things over later.
Using the machine, she scanned and refined the crest from the metal plate. Then she positioned the design precisely on my lower abdomen and activated the device. For a while, a hot sensation warmed my lower belly. When the heat faded, she removed the machine.
"It's done. Satisfied?"
"It's good. Worth every penny."
Left on my lower abdomen where the machine had been was an intricate crest composed of flowers and their calyxes. Ed seemed pleased as he traced the fresh tattoo with his fingers.
"Now no one from Tarykin will lay a hand on you. I'm still worried about others, but if it's Elisha, you'll keep your chastity, won't you?"
"I have no intention of losing my virginity."
"Good. Keep it safe until I come to claim you later."
"Young master, it's time. We must go."
"Understood. I'll be on my way, then. See you next time."
"Goodbye."
Ed and the maid paid and left in a hurry. Once only Kate unnie and I remained in the shop, cold sweat ran down my back under her furious glare.
"Explain."
"Ed isn't my master. He's just a customer."
"Just a customer, yet you got that kind of tattoo?"
"My master wanted it."
"Your master wanted a tattoo on your lower belly?"
The message had gotten twisted, and her anger only grew.
"No, that's not it. He wanted me to receive the noble's crest. I didn't know it would be on my lower abdomen."
"That young master was really a noble? What kind of noble is he?"
"His real name is Edward Duke Dreculle. He's the son of a ducal house in Tarykin."
At my words, she looked utterly shocked.
"The House of Duke Dreculle? Really? That family ranked fifth in world wealth, with royal Tarykin blood?"
"Yes."
"Good heavens."
She seemed so stunned that she lost her words and collapsed into the chair. The House of Duke Dreculle—fifth in global wealth and of royal lineage. It really was impressive. I wondered why the son of such a family had taken an interest in someone who was merely an angel.
"A man from such an incredible family is after my partner. It's complicated—I'm both glad and angry. Elisha, what are you going to do?"
"I have no intention of serving another master."
We talked for a long time. From her inability to understand the master's actions, to explanations of future play and the android manufacturing process, I listened patiently to calm her down. Eventually, noticing the time had reached nearly midnight, I asked,
"Kate unnie, is it all right for you to work at night like this?"
"As you know, the managers don't enforce curfew. I use that to do occasional night shifts. At this hour, I'm the only one doing tattoos, so I charge a premium and actually make decent money."
She said she might as well sleep at the shop since it was already past midnight. I needed to return, so I called an unmanned taxi and headed back to Angels' Haven. The shop was already winding down for the night. The regulars had left, and only a few customers remained at the tables, trying to engage the angels. Stella unnie was finishing up the closing tasks when she spotted me.
"You're back? Did everything go well with the customer?"
"Yes, it was resolved nicely."
"That's a relief."
After helping her finish the cleanup, I went up to my room. While changing clothes, I caught my reflection in the mirror. My skeletal structure and figure looked good, but the piercings on my nipples and clitoris, along with the tattoo on my lower abdomen, gave off an unmistakably lewd atmosphere. I washed my face to remove the makeup and shampooed my hair. There was a machine that automatically dried and straightened hair, making the process effortless. The scientist who developed it had reportedly said they created it simply because drying hair was bothersome. Thanks to it, things were convenient, though I thought it was the work of an eccentric who made peculiar inventions for trivial reasons.
The next morning, I took leave for the body modification and headed to my master's laboratory. Upon entering, the master greeted me warmly.
"Yesterday was quite an ordeal, wasn't it?"
"The customer was the son of a foreign noble, so it was difficult to handle."
"Still, it turned out well in the end. You obtained a high-value crest. Let me see it."
"Yes."
I removed my clothes without hesitation and stood naked before the master. Their gaze immediately went to my lower abdomen. Bending down to trace the tattoo, the master spoke.
"The ancient noble house of Tarykin, the House of Duke Dreculle. It's a mark worth coveting."
"He wanted to make me his."
"If your usefulness runs out, that would be acceptable too."
"I have only one master."
At my words, the master gave a brief, bitter smile before replying.
"Right. You're my property. You just need to do as I wish."
"Yes, Master."
"By the way, why the nipples? I didn't know you had such tastes."
"My partner said she wanted to give me a matching mark as proof."
"Hmm."
The master examined my nipples as if appraising them, then said casually,
"Not bad."
"Is it all right for me to have done this without your permission?"
"As long as it isn't ugly. Piercings are easy to remove anyway."
As expected, the master showed little concern, knowing piercings could be removed easily. The gaze now observing my body was that of someone looking at a doll being manufactured—completely impersonal. Even while showing consideration, that look made it clear the master's inner thoughts were complicated.
The master brought up a data screen on the large wall monitor in the laboratory and began explaining today's modification.
"Sit in the capsule. Today we'll be modifying your muscles. This procedure was one of the superhuman development experiments originally created for military use. It combines the muscle cell characteristics of ogres and trolls and grants them to human muscle cells. The results were successful. Three times the strength relative to the same volume, and three times the recovery rate. It failed to see practical use because of one problem."
A video began playing on the screen. Inside a laboratory surrounded by reinforced glass stood a man in a lab coat, his entire body restrained, along with what appeared to be researchers. The tubes connected throughout his body were removed, and the man, trembling violently, began to let out a horrific scream. His veins and muscles repeatedly bulged and receded. His bloodshot eyes and the corners torn and bleeding showed the extent of his agony. Bound from head to toe, the man could only scream until his eyes rolled back and his body went limp, all movement ceasing.
"As you can see in the footage, the subject experienced pain beyond imagination. Their body and mind couldn't endure it, resulting in death by shock. The experiment itself was a success with no side effects and only positive outcomes, but the pain was so severe that subjects died before they could withstand it."
"That's terrifying."
Witnessing the man's horrific end, I felt genuine fear despite my dulled emotions. The thought of such excruciating pain made me ache just imagining it.
"That's why it was scrapped, but for you and me, it's an excellent modification."
"Will I be able to endure that pain?"
No matter how much angels' pain perception was dulled, there were limits. I wasn't confident I could withstand a modification severe enough to cause shock death.
"We have a very good method. Open the external connection port and disable the firewall and security."
Following the master's instructions, I disabled the security as well. A cable emerged from inside the capsule and plugged into the port at the back of my neck. At the same time, I felt the familiar tingling sensation and the feeling of my brain being read.
"Now, like this."
The master operated a panel on the capsule, and once again I felt something changing inside my head.
"I've blocked all the nerves that register pain. How is it? Still feel nothing?"
The master pinched my forearm, but I felt nothing. Wow, implants could do this too? With this, it really seemed possible to create berserkers who knew neither fear nor pain.
"I really don't feel any pain. It's amazing."
"Just in case, I'll take full control of your body. Until the modification is complete."
At the master's words, all sensation in my body vanished. It was a truly strange feeling. A body that wouldn't move according to my will—not just my limbs, but even my eyeballs—felt exactly like becoming a doll. My body, seated inside the capsule, moved on its own under the master's control and lay down. I could see with my eyes, but since I couldn't move of my own volition, it felt like watching a first-person movie. It was eerie, but surprisingly enjoyable. Surrendering control of my body to the master and having it used against my will brought me pleasure. I wondered why my sexual preferences were like this; even I found it perplexing.
The master carefully adjusted the settings and prepared. My gaze was fixed upward, so I couldn't see, but I could hear the sounds of something being operated. From the moment the master took control of my body, they worked in complete silence, without a single word, as if manipulating a doll. Through occasional blinks, I stared blankly at the ceiling until the capsule lid closed. Soon I heard the familiar sound of liquid being released, and a mask descended to cover my mouth. Unlike before, I couldn't close my eyes, so even submerged in the liquid I could see my body reflected in the mirror on the lid. Of course, since my eyeballs were fixed, I could only see up to my upper body. Mechanical arms connected to tubes pierced various points across my torso. Unlike the subject in the video, these were much thinner tubes inserted at far denser and more precise intervals, suggesting a more refined procedure. The thin tubes connected throughout my body were soon filled with a green liquid that began to be injected directly into me. As the green liquid was administered, my veins and muscles began to bulge and ripple just like the man in the video. But still, I felt nothing. No sensation, no movement, and my eyes looked dead, making me appear like a corpse. It was so boring that I grew sleepy, yet I couldn't sleep because my eyes remained open. While I was trapped in that dilemma, a white liquid began to be injected after the green one. After a long while of the white liquid being administered, the muscles that had been moving on their own began to stabilize. Soon the white liquid injection ended as well, and the tubes were withdrawn and disappeared.
Ah, so it's finally over. It had been incredibly tedious and frustrating. Next time I should ask them to simply knock me unconscious. Watching the process, I finally understood the purpose of the transparent liquid filling the capsule. The wounds where the tubes had pierced bubbled briefly before healing instantly. So it was a healing liquid. With the muscle modification complete, the capsule opened. The master observed my body from various angles while recording something. Even as they looked at me with that emotionless gaze, I felt a strange pleasure. The master spoke.
"The pain will still be severe, so I'll keep you in this state for a while longer. Stay as you are."
The master seemed to be doing something out of sight.
"This modification was said to kill subjects because of the pain, right? In reality, nine out of ten died. Even the one who survived went mad from the aftereffects and had to be shot."
Wow, no wonder it was scrapped. In the end, they all died anyway.
"Yes. They were trying to create enhanced soldiers, but only the enlisted ones ended up dying pointless deaths."
Huh? Could the master read my thoughts?
"Your thoughts are being displayed through the implant. Since I took administrator privileges to secure control, everything in your brain is being output to the computer. You can communicate through thoughts."
Wow, that's amazing. Being read even my thoughts made it even more exciting. Ah, from next time on, please knock me unconscious during the modification.
"You're really peculiar. Or is it because you're an angel? Losing control of your body and having your thoughts read, yet getting excited instead. Now you want your consciousness erased too?"
I wanted to sleep because there was nothing to do, but I couldn't, and it was so boring.
"Do you know what happens if your consciousness is erased? You'd literally become a simple doll. You want that?"
If it's what my master does, it's fine. At my thought, the master let out an exasperated sigh but granted my request.
"Understood. From next time, I'll erase your consciousness too."
After that, the information the master explained about the modification was as follows. The muscle enhancement modification, one of the experiments in the enhanced soldier project, had been scrapped due to the extreme pain caused by muscle mutation. Methods like the nerve block via implant that the master had used, as well as drug injection methods, had been researched, but the resistance and side effects were enormous, and the cost increase was too great, so they were ultimately abandoned. While it would be nice if soldiers' strength could be increased with a single administration, the more processes added and the greater the risk, the higher the cost and the lower the efficiency. Even if strength was tripled, it was judged more effective to invest in soldiers' weapons rather than enhancing the soldiers themselves to monster-like levels. Thus, aside from the sensory enhancement modification, the rest of the enhanced soldier project was scrapped, with only the experimental data preserved separately. Whether due to cost issues or not, the development of body modification had largely shifted toward the pleasures of the wealthy.
"Watching someone fight monsters on equal footing with a human body is quite the spectacle. There are even arenas for it."
There are arenas too?
"You've never been to Eden's Underground City, have you? All sorts of illegal activities and desires that are hard to bring to the surface run rampant there. You'll go there eventually."
I never imagined Eden had an underground city.
"If you follow orders, you'll naturally find out."
Yes, Master. The fact that even the angels had no information about the Underground City suggested it was an extremely secretive place. The master said they would keep me in this state for at least a day, and after laying me on the bed prepared in the laboratory, they erased my consciousness.