The Death of the Foolish Sheep (3)
The Death of the Foolish Sheep (3)
#35
"Please follow me this way."
The head maid led me to the drawing room, where a blonde girl who seemed to have finished all the experiment preparations already sat demurely on the sofa.
Just as I was looking at the white sofa where she sat, Estelle spoke to me.
"It seems you've signed the form. Shall we proceed with today's practical exercise, then?"
I followed Estelle out into a garden filled with green grass. A vast garden befitting a Count House, came into view.
"Now, as I mentioned yesterday, today we'll be stimulating the Preconsciousness. Since the censorship of desires is being removed, you might show a slightly embarrassing side, but since it's just the two of us experimenting, it should be fine."
"But, Ms. Elysia, what exactly do you mean by 'embarrassing state'?"
"Well, it's because the suppressed desires will be released without censorship. For instance, if someone stimulates an orphan who misses their mother, they'll keep crying and searching for their mother; if they stimulate someone who needs money, they'll beg for money or act cute. I learned from books that the magic is roughly like that."
What the hell, was that aimed at me?
It stung a little, but I figured I could withstand that level of humiliation. And since she'd said from the start she'd take such behavior into account, there wouldn't be any lingering hard feelings even if I acted out somewhat.
"First, the spell I'll be contracting Do-yun with will be the same Flight Magic from yesterday. Partly because it's more familiar to me, but mostly because you seemed to enjoy it."
"Yes, I think I'd prefer you use that spell too."
"Please hold out your hands."
The same finger-lacing as yesterday.
I felt a warm heat passing and flowing between Estelle's and my interlocked fingers.
『—Petamus Altiora—』
A pair of golden wings sprouted from my back as the girl chanted, and a feeling that I could no longer control my impulses gradually crept in. Soon, I would lose my reason and soar into the sky.
That was when it happened.
Whoosh—BOOM!
The wings, imbued with an overwhelming life force, fluttered fiercely. At some point, instead of the blue sky, I found a golden-haired girl crushed into the grass beneath me, staring up at me with wide eyes, utterly bewildered. She seemed to be saying something, but unfortunately, I couldn't hear her words.
Eventually, my vision blurred into a pinkish hue. Something seemed to rob me of my reason and banish me beyond a cold window, where the present could no longer touch me.
My sense of self grew distant, like a stranger's, until finally, all that remained in my place was a slack puppet. And then, that puppet slowly began to move with clear intent.
#36
I believed it would probably succeed that time.
Still, I hadn't expected to end up stimulating the Preconsciousness. What sort of face would this man show me?
Whatever desire he displayed toward me, I would endure it for the sake of that great magical achievement. Only then could I become a mage truly worthy of the Count House.
Now, soar. Fly high for me and become the first step of my Unique Magic—
***
Huh?
I couldn't see ahead.
Ah—So this was the Golden Wings... Why was this man on top of me?
He was so heavy I couldn't get up. The blades of grass pricking my skin were quite painful. I had to say something.
"Um, Do-yun... move aside—"
Jet-black eyes... Was this Do-yun's desire?
To pin me to the ground, what exactly did he intend to do? Maybe it was a manifestation of his desire to drag someone of the elite class like me down. In any case, the experiment was a failure again: the desire had manifested and taken precedence over the flight contract. Removing reason through suppressed desire was all well and good, but this was a classic case of the tail wagging the dog.
But how long was I supposed to be like this? He hadn't budged at all. My back was starting to hurt...
"If you don't get up soon, I'm really going to get angry."
In that instant, a rough hand ensnared Estelle's wrist. Like a wild beast, the man roughly pressed down on it, groping her body.
"St—Stop..."
Along with the words that never formed a sentence, Estelle felt the mana draining from her body.
Ah, this was undoubtedly the price of the contract.
Estelle's Unique Magic was 『Contract』. It was a transcendent Unique Magic that granted the contracted party the desired spell and made them pay mana as the price. With its usefulness, the Eurasia family had built a legendary position among Arcanum's Count Houses.
And so, Estelle realized instantly. This beast wasn't satisfied with merely demanding all of her mana as the price; it was coveting even more than that.
The price of the contract wasn't satisfied by mana alone. What else was she expected to give up before the contract dissolved?
'A mere man had the potential to demand a price this high? That was unbelievable. Something had gone wrong here.'
The beast's head moved in, as if to bite the girl's neck.
Soon, his breath brushed the nape of her neck, followed by a deep inhale.
Hoo—
Perhaps it was less about inspecting the girl and more akin to a beast's instinct to mark its property.
As someone who had always stood at the top of the food chain, this was the first time Estelle had ever faced such primal terror from a beast. Helplessness and fear were slowly encroaching upon her entire body when, over the beast's shoulder, she saw the maids rushing in to tear him away from her.
But Estelle no longer had the strength left to watch that scene to its end.
The intensely crushed fear and helplessness mixed with the belated sense of relief, and her taut mind collapsed in an instant.
Estelle squeezed her trembling eyes shut.
Soon, as if all her senses were fading away, her consciousness sank into the deep darkness.
#37
When Estelle opened her eyes again, the first thing she heard was the desperate voices of the maids calling her.
"Young Lady, are you alright?"
"We must kill that man immediately. If he has another fit, it will be dangerous."
"Even if we don't kill him, we should at least cut off his limbs. This matter can never be taken lightly."
Estelle held her throbbing head, pressing between her brows for a moment without answering. Turning her head, she saw the beast that had attacked her still breathing heavily, his face still uncomprehending. He seemed to be just coming to his senses, but he was far from a calm state.
"Just give the order. We will move him to the underground confinement room."
"Or we will report this to the Lady immediately. This is not something to be handled at the Young Lady's level."
Amid the pouring advice of the maids, Estelle closed her eyes and then slowly opened them. A disposal was certainly necessary. But if she jumped to a conclusion here and now, it felt like everything would be buried without her even confirming what exactly that event had been.
Furthermore, as long as the contract with the man persisted, Estelle couldn't regain her mana naturally. The price of the contract was causing her mana to deplete the very moment it recovered.
"... Not yet."
The maids held their breath at her low, exhausted voice.
"I will handle this myself. Mira, go and swear the other servants to secrecy, and keep everyone out of the annex today. Of course, move this man to my bedroom in the annex. Since Mother will be away on a business trip to the mortal world for a long time, I will explain myself later."
With that, the maids all left the garden.
'Haah... Things had gotten quite complicated. I just wanted to conduct a simple experiment. That was never the original goal.'
'My only plan had been to snatch the experiment subject from Rubel Valenor's hands and then leisurely watch her next moves. Why had things twisted so far? Truly, I'd been foolish.'
Giving up what you cannot obtain is also a form of courage. Estelle intuited that the time had come to accept this virtue.
But was this really a problem that could end so simply?
First, she had to fulfill the contract's price and retrieve the mana bound to her Unique Magic. And then, the disposition of this man. Experimenting on this man was far too dangerous.
The very reason Rubel Valenor coveted him was likely due to that peculiarity. The cause might lie in the half-wit mage's practical session. But since she couldn't know exactly what had happened there, she could draw no conclusion beyond speculation at this stage.
However, one thing was clear. Elysia had taken this man, hidden him away in her mansion, and conducted experiments on him. And Estelle had witnessed it.
At first, she had deemed it a merely vulgar act. To have the bloodline of a great mage and attempt to elicit a magical response through such acts—it was truly laughable and pathetic.
But after watching it through to the end, the scene refused to leave Estelle's mind. There had clearly remained a kind of interest that could not be explained by displeasure alone. If so, this man was no mere human experiment subject. It meant there was something about him dangerous enough that she could not easily let go.
And there was an even more troublesome issue. This man had attacked her in front of far too many witnesses. He had dared to lay a hand on the body of a great mage. The moment that fact slipped out, Ha Do-yun's life was over. And the worst-case scenario, of course, was if it reached her mother's ears.
If that happened, it might not just be this man who was finished. Estelle herself had no idea what kind of scrutiny she might face. Just thinking about the humiliating reproaches she'd receive for being pinned down by a mere man made her temples throb.
Therefore, Estelle could only arrive at one single conclusion.
'For now, let's get my mana back from the contract in the annex, and then think.'