The Malice Within Dorothy
".. I think I'll sleep a little longer."
"Yeah, go ahead."
Having grown tired while drying her long hair, Nero emerged with a towel wrapped around her still-damp locks. She called out to me, her eyes blinking sleepily.
"... Master."
"Hm?"
When I answered, she wordlessly pursed her lips. I hesitated for a moment before noticing her glance upward to meet my eyes, and only then did I understand. I stepped closer and gave her the light kiss she wanted. Only after that did she speak.
"What am I supposed to do if you get that worked up with other women while I'm right here beside you."
'I get that there was something wrong with the medicine you fed Master last night... but still, still...'
Her words were reproachful, yet she clearly didn't want to admit she'd been swept up in the heat herself. The sight of her scolding me so cutely made me feel guilty all over again. Lately she'd been competing with Scarlet, and it must have been exhausting, but she'd still gone out of her way to order a maid outfit and wait for me at the entrance. Before I could even properly receive the service she'd prepared, I'd lost control and pounced on her... By the time morning came, everything had already spiraled into this situation.
"Were you jealous?"
"... Yeah. I got completely pushed aside by that tiny kid. She keeps hogging my Master all to herself."
She must have been talking about Dorothy.
"This is supposed to be my spot.."
With a soft poof, Nero burrowed into my arms—the same arms Dorothy had refused to let go of earlier that morning—and began lightly headbutting my chest in protest. This was... adorable.
"... Hnnngh.."
"Then go back to sleep."
After petting her head for a while, I pressed a light kiss to her cheek. It seemed to ease her sulking. I watched as she transformed into her cat form and slipped beneath the fresh blanket I'd laid out, a small smile tugging at my lips.
When I returned to the living room, Alchemist was still standing there, serving her punishment. The heavy-looking handcuffs around her slender wrists must have been weighing her down; her arms hung lower than when I'd last seen her. I was glad Nero had decided to stay in bed—I didn't want her to see her former master's pitiful state. Sweat beaded on Alchemist's forehead as she groaned in discomfort, her arms trembling like they might fall off at any moment.
"Alchemist, while Ung-ssi makes coffee, could you explain what kind of side effects we're dealing with here?"
"Kkhh, all because of one little mistake... You're a cruel one."
I was curious about last night's chaos too. None of the three side effects she'd mentioned earlier matched what had happened.
"The side effects of the vitality tonic I gave you yesterday include penile enlargement, excessive increase in ejaculate volume, and falling into such an intense state of arousal that it causes memory confusion. From the looks of it, you've experienced them firsthand."
The first two might not even count as side effects to most people, but the third had been dangerous. Even after regaining some clarity, I'd still been pinned down by Dorothy while trying to suppress the heat in my body. Something had definitely been wrong with all of us.
"Above all, the most significant effect was the special scent released through bodily fluids that induces a hypnotic state, making one honest about their emotions and desires."
"Hypnosis... You mean aphrodisiac, right?"
I'd already sensed something was off with the tonic, but this revelation made me turn around in surprise.
"Aphrodisiac? Don't be ridiculous. The only reason things got so depraved is because you lot are a bunch of perverts. This is not the result of anything I created."
Even as her arms trembled like they were about to fall off, she continued speaking in her usual composed tone.
"Since the fluids remained in direct contact, the heat never had a chance to subside... We had no choice but to wait until the effects wore off."
"Ah..."
So we'd simply had to wait. From her words, I realized Team Leader and Alchemist had been watching over us all night.
"The silver lining is that there happened to be several women nearby who already had their eyes on you. If it had only been one, you would have definitely broken her."
".. Nero."
I see. If Scarlet hadn't kicked the door open and made that loud noise while Nero was exhausted, I might have carried her off and kept going until I was satisfied, even if she'd passed out. Making me honest about my emotions... and desires. Ah. So even in that dazed state, I'd stripped Nero out of her maid outfit and... done that to Scarlet. It had all been because I wanted to. Another chance to shed my pervert label had slipped away.
"Well, if it had really gotten out of hand, I was planning to step in myself."
"H-Huh...?"
I nearly dropped the cups I was carrying—one with ice, as requested—while heading over. Team Leader's sudden remark made me flinch, though it wasn't what I'd expected.
"It's simple. I'd just drag you up into the sky, flip you upside down, and shake you a few times. That would quickly turn your desires into something more... survival-oriented."
"... Ah."
"Did you perhaps imagine I would offer some sort of lewd service? How disappointing."
".. That's not what I thought."
Even as a joke, hearing such mismatched words come from that pretty face was something else. It might have fit the image of Team Leader I knew, but still... that face saying something like that didn't seem very angelic.
"That's enough, Alchemist. You can lower your hands and come over here now."
"Finally...! Ahem, well... I've lost face."
Her legs trembled just as pitifully as her arms as she walked over, likely from kneeling for so long. Yet she still tried to maintain a dignified expression. It was impressive.
"Hmm, I suppose I'll have to keep asking Ung-ssi to make the coffee from now on."
"..."
Team Leader accepted the fresh cup I'd made, gave it a little shake to hear the ice clink, inserted a straw, and took a sip. She nodded in satisfaction—whether because she liked the taste or simply to praise me, I wasn't sure. Honestly, it didn't make me feel particularly happy.
"Now, getting to the main point. At first, we detected loud noises and vibrations through the hallway surveillance camera."
"Ah, that was Scarlet.."
Those distinct footprints were probably still clearly visible on the front door. Right after that, I'd walked out carrying Nero while enthusiastically thrusting my hips, then dragged Scarlet inside. Of course that would raise alarms.
"Thinking something was wrong, we traced Ung-ssi's movements backward to investigate the cause. That's when we noticed the brown glass bottle you'd received from Alchemist's containment room."
"... Kkhh.."
"After that, we questioned her, she confessed immediately, and we brought her here to stand punishment."
.. So that's what happened. Field Team Leader had come and gone during all of it too.
"The most interesting part is still Dorothy. Did you notice her change, Ung-ssi?"
"The horns... Yes. Horns grew on her head, and she felt like a completely different person."
The dangerous look in Dorothy's eyes from last night flashed through my mind, sending a shiver down my arms. The fact that my lower body reacted too was... troubling, to say the least.
"Based on what Alchemist confirmed, we believe the phenomenon occurred because the malice Dorothy had been suppressing deep inside finally leaked out and took physical form."
Malice. When I'd been locked in that underground prison as Prisoner 13, I'd clearly felt that sticky mass of malice forming in my heart as demon blood was injected into me. Founder had removed all traces of the demon from my body, but the darkness in Dorothy's heart had remained. Perhaps the malice had stayed buried there with it all along.
"We may need to help her release it periodically from now on as well."
"Release it.."
The words "periodically" and "release" made me wonder if she meant spending time with Dorothy like last night, but I didn't dare ask. I knew I'd just get called a pervert again. I couldn't forget the way Dorothy had clung to me, begging me to break her, to ruin her.
"Her desperate pleas to be broken and ruined were likely driven by self-loathing—her awareness of the evil inside her heart."
"..."
The fact that they knew about Dorothy's dangerous words and the horns sprouting from her head made it almost certain they'd been watching the bedroom. My face grew hot. I resented myself for not noticing sooner... but right now, Dorothy's condition was what mattered most. Even though she'd woken up acting extremely apologetic and embarrassed like usual, that night's other side was still visible in her dark purple eyes.
"Counseling for Prisoner 13 may be over, but it seems counseling for Dorothy is far from finished."