The Dogeza of Atonement
Silence returned to the underground prison once more. It wasn't that the situation had truly calmed down or anything—it was just that Leoness's voice had given out after yelling for the first time in ages. "Grraaahhh...!"
Serves her right for screaming her lungs out. Everyone except the princess, who was still muttering something, fell quiet...
"..."
Lilliana stared at me silently through the iron bars.
"..."
I pondered what had brought her down here. Thanks to the lantern she'd brought, her face was perfectly visible. I'd seen that face thousands of times on the game screen, but confronting the real thing up close like this felt strangely surreal. A living, breathing, real Lilliana.
Whoa, her cheeks look so soft and squishy, I wanna knead them... and that sweet scent wafting from her body... just bury my nose in her nape and...
"Milady?"
Lilliana frowned slightly, looking at me with concern as I went quiet.
Ah.
My mind had wandered elsewhere for a moment. Thinking about anything but her when she was right in front of me? Unforgivable.
"Lilliana."
"...Yes. What is it?"
Lilliana's Current Favorability: -100
I recalled her favorability popping up after clearing that mission. -100 was right on the border between hatred and wariness. Not exactly amicable enough to be face-to-face like this, but...
Maybe she just came to gloat at someone who's about to die.
If that was the case, it made perfect sense for her to visit the prison. Not some twisted revenge thing, but still. In this situation, I had only one play.
I took a deep breath. The metallic tang still lingered deep in my lungs, not fully coughed up yet.
"I've committed a mortal sin, Lady Lilliana!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Fuck it.
I slammed my forehead down first.
"Wha—uh—eh—yes?"
"If you just spare my life, I swear my eternal loyalty!!!!"
A flawless dogeza pose—no one could find fault with it. They say the human brain shuts down under unimaginable shock. Judging by Lilliana's creaking reaction, it wasn't wrong.
"Eh? Mi-Milady?"
"Don't let this body's usefulness go to waste—if you spare me, I'll devote my entire life to you!!!!"
"Pl-Please stand up quickly! What if people see... Oh, right, it's a prison. No, even if no one's here...!"
Her face crumpled in distress as she reached through the bars to grab my shoulders and pull me up. But the gaps were too narrow—her hand could only brush my clothes.
"If you want me to bark like a dog, I will!!!! Woof! Woof! Arf! Grrr! Woof! Woof!"
"Stand up, please!"
"Ah, do you prefer cats? Meow! Nya! Hiss!"
"Oh, come on!"
Lilliana finally snapped, letting out a squeak. Looked like she was more of a dog person.
///
Now the underground prison was truly calm.
"Haa... haa..."
Lilliana panted heavily, as if she'd poured all her energy into yelling. The subtle eroticism in her heaving breaths hit like gap moe, making her even cuter.
Ah, I was still on my knees. Dogeza made conversation impossible, so we'd compromised on kneeling. I even got her to drop the formal speech.
Her gaze swept over my face, my bloodstained clothes, and the dark red puddle on the prison floor.
After a long silence, she spoke.
"...Why are you doing this all of a sudden?"
"What do you mean?"
"I know it's partly my fault too, but you've always looked at me like I was a bug. So why apologize now?"
She trailed off, as if realizing you really don't want to die, do you? would cross a line.
Her confusion was natural. Like waking up to your abusive drunk husband—who'd only ever done domestic violence—suddenly making breakfast. Terrifying.
To convey my sincerity, I stared straight into her eyes.
"Yeah. The old me always looked down on you. If we'd met in this situation back then, I might've even told you to just kill me—or hell, I definitely would've. But after using black magic on you, I realized it. Everything I've done was dead wrong. Yeah, I'm scared of dying. But what's even scarier is dying without your forgiveness."
"Th-That... I want to ask for forgiveness too..."
"Hear me out first, Lilliana. In that month at the academy, I left you scars that won't wash away. So I don't want to escape through death—I want to spend my life reflecting and atoning to you. That dogeza earlier was half-joking, but this is my true heart."
"Your whole life... true heart..."
Lilliana's expression grew hazy, like she was about to say something.
"If I get out of this prison, first thing—I want to be friends with you. Go to famous restaurants in the empire together, chat nonstop on school trips, gather in pajamas at the dorm for dumb girl talk. Friends who give each other nicknames. Lily. Belly. Like that."
"Lily... Belly..."
Her gaze drifted past me, as if recalling a memory that never existed.
I stood slowly and reached through the bars. Like the north and south poles of magnets drawing together, her hand slowly reached for mine.
"Lilliana—no, Lily. That's why I have something I really need to tell you."
"Yes..."
I gripped our touching hands tightly.
Ah, Lily's hands are so soft. Wanna rub them on my cheeks.
I shook off the fleeting thought. During the brief silence, a faint blush colored her cheeks. Was she feeling unwell?
"Could you maybe ask for leniency at the trial?"
"...Pardon?"
"Even a petition would work. I don't mind being a criminal. Just... not the death penalty."
"Y-Yes?"
I slammed my forehead down again.
"I've committed a mortal sin, Lady Lilliana!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"Kyaa! Not the headbutting again...!"
"Please, just spare my life!!!!!!!!!!"
"I-I think I'll head out nowwww!"
With that, Lilliana bolted from the prison, leaving me behind. She was in such a rush she even forgot her basket.
"...Phew. She's gone."
As the frantic footsteps faded, I lifted my head. Her reaction suggested I'd won her over halfway.
First strategy to avoid execution: Maximize Lilliana's sympathy votes.
With her plea, even the crown prince—who adores her—couldn't object easily. Strike the general by shooting the horse first.
Watching the scene from the opposite cell, Leoness—barely recovering her voice—muttered hoarsely.
"Ha... You're even more terrifying than the rumors, aren't you..."
"Huh? What was that, Princess?"
"'Tis nothing... Stay away from this lady, you monstrous wench..."
I ignored Leoness's weird outburst and inspected the basket left by the bars.
"Mana potions... Skip those. Whoa! HP potion!"
Inside were several high-end potions. The design—with screw-on lids for drinking—meant top-tier quality. Low-grade ones were just smashed on the skin for instant absorption.
"No way she could afford these right now. Did the crown prince gift them?"
How much did the prince in '02.sav' simp for Lilliana?
"Under the potions... Oh, bread?"
"Bread? Did you say bread?"
A response flew from across the way at my mutter.
"Milady, might you toss a bit of that food this way? I haven't had a proper meal lately..."
Makes sense—the prison grub looked abysmal.
I considered just giving it, but for fun prison pastimes, I added a condition.
"Sure. In exchange, I'll give you some every time you beat me at a game."
"A game? What might that be?"
"I'll teach you the rules—just follow them. First game's called shiritori..."
As I said that and reached for an HP potion—clang. The bottle caught on the bars.
"Ow."
My status window, which had been watching, suddenly flashed.
HP: 5/50
HP critically low. HP reaching 0 results in 'Instant Death'.
Emergency!!!!!
///
"Ughhh...!"
Lilliana stumbled up the stairs. Her heart pounded wildly—a different thrum from the terrified trembling on her way down.
She's insane, insane, insane, insane, insane...!
Even as she fled outside, the soft voice of Lady Bellaph—spouting such shameless words without hesitation—echoed in her ears.
Obsidian-black hair. Amethyst eyes. Warm hands. And those huge, huge, huge breasts filling her vision.
Outwardly, she looked the same as always. But...
'I want to spend my life atoning to you.'
'First, I want to be friends with you.'
Her inner self was no longer the lady she knew. Just as her mind had cleared after taking black magic, something must've broken in the lady after using it.
Otherwise, why would she say such things to a commoner like me? Our relationship wasn't like that. I'd provoked her, and she'd blasted me with magic. Forgiving each other would take time. Her heart still screamed that she hated the lady.
She hated her. She was cold... but
'Lily.'
"Uwoooo!"
Her heart thumped harder. She'd failed to say what she came for, and only now remembered the basket—she needed to grab it, but facing Lady Bellaph again right now was too embarrassing.