Eloise's Confession
“It’s been a while since someone barged all the way into my room to throw a tantrum.”
I watched as she stood there in a daze after I’d shaken off Eloise’s hand. Come to think of it, I could cast hypnosis with just my gaze now, but it seemed I’d already developed the habit of doing it this way. “Good thing the hypnosis took properly. And it looks like she doesn’t carry any artifacts around?”
I’d assumed a girl from a wealthy family would at least have some defensive artifact, but apparently not. I hadn’t originally planned to start things like this. I was already irritated from being woken up, and getting slapped across the face had made me act on pure impulse.
“Well, whatever. I was going to do it today or tomorrow anyway.”
I’d been busy raising my hypnosis level over the past few days, so I’d planned to sleep in on the weekend. I never expected to be dragged out of bed like this. I scratched my messy hair and took a quick look at Eloise. Unlike me, who wasn’t used to neatly styled hair and makeup, she had dolled herself up beautifully even on her own. I clicked my tongue in mild annoyance.
“Tsk. Since it’s come to this, let’s get started.”
The reason I’d put off hypnotizing Eloise was largely because of Chloe standing behind her. Even though we were at the academy, Chloe wasn’t someone a commoner like me could easily approach. That was why I’d planned to take things slowly, starting with Eloise. Who would’ve thought it would turn out like this?
“Eloise, from this moment on, you cannot lie to me.”
Since the situation had already escalated, I decided to ask the questions that had been nagging at me. I cast a simple hypnosis and let out a small sigh before voicing the question that had been swirling in my head.
“Hey, Eloise. Did I really steal Chloe’s underwear?”
For a brief moment, a flicker of disturbance passed through Eloise’s vacant eyes at my question. Is she breaking out of the hypnosis? I wondered, but she soon paused, then slowly shook her head.
“No. It was a scheme that Chloe and I devised together.”
Even after hearing Eloise’s answer, I kept her under hypnosis and learned the full story of everything that had happened. After listening to her responses, a flood of thoughts rushed through my mind in an instant.
“So in the end, my entire academy life got twisted because of that crazy yuri-obsessed freak?”
At my frustrated outburst, Eloise nodded with that same vacant look in her eyes. I’d suspected as much, but hearing it confirmed left me utterly speechless.
“Ha. This goddamn eroge world.”
To think I’d suffered for an entire year just because I’d caught the eye of a genuine lesbian pervert—it was absurd, but not impossible to accept. If this had been me two weeks ago, I would’ve helplessly gone crawling to Chloe. But now, I didn’t need to.
“Hey. Then all those times other kids subtly got on my nerves or disrupted class—was that you pulling the strings?”
“Yes. I took the lead in carrying out Chloe’s orders.”
“And making sure they never crossed the line was your doing too?”
“Yes. Since she would eventually claim you as hers, I intervened to prevent anyone from going too far.”
So my suspicion that someone was keeping me fenced in and watching from outside wasn’t just paranoia. More than that, the fact that crossing the line was forbidden so they could claim me in my complete, untouched state only proved how far removed this world was from common sense.
“Then did all the students who tormented me over the past year know about this?”
“No. Most of them were either bystanders or people who got swept up in the mob mentality. Of course, that doesn’t excuse them.”
“In short, they just needed someone to vent their stress on, right?”
Eloise nodded once more at my question.
‘Ha. What should I do with these bitches?’
After gaining the power of hypnosis, I had made the bullying against me disappear. Of course, I hadn’t solved the root problem—I’d simply hypnotized the perpetrators and planted the perception that they had “already tormented me enough.” And one of the main causes of that bullying was now standing right in front of me.
“First… you have plans today, don’t you?”
“Yes. We’re scheduled to visit the black market with Chloe starting from lunch.”
The fact that she was already preparing for a lunch appointment showed she was a capable subordinate. Not that it mattered much to me right now.
“Sigh. Hey, so has Chloe messed with a lot of other people before? Or am I the first?”
“It’s not uncommon for her to scout talent, but this is the first time she’s expressed a direct desire like this.”
“Then am I also the first one she wants to sleep with?”
“…”
Even while under hypnosis, Eloise frowned as if the question displeased her.
“…Look at this bitch.”
That expression triggered a strange intuition in me.
“Eloise. Do you like Chloe?”
“…”
“Answer me. Not as her servant, but sexually. In other words, do you want to have raw, intense sex with her? Answer quickly.”
Eloise’s face twisted as if her reason was fighting against the hypnosis. Eventually, she nodded.
“These insane lesbian perverts are seriously making my head spin. So the reason you’ve been bullying me all this time is because your master took a liking to me? You tormented me under the excuse of breaking my spirit, didn’t you?”
Eloise looked like she was stubbornly refusing to answer any more, but I already had enough.
The more I learned, the more ridiculous the whole situation seemed. I let out a dry laugh and continued.
“Then does Chloe know how you feel about her?”
“No. My master understands these feelings of mine and rewards and punishes me accordingly.”
“Rewards and punishments?”
Just hearing the words sounded obscene. Or maybe my brain had been soaked in sex over the past few days. But seeing the blush rise on Eloise’s cheeks, it didn’t seem like my imagination.
“Then have you had sex with Chloe?”
“Of course not…! She is the one who will become the master of a ducal house. I am content to be nothing more than a temporary toy for her.”
“So what? Are you telling me to live like you, licking Chloe’s feet?”
I sighed as I watched Eloise’s face return to its usual blank expression.
“Sex with Chloe…”
If she had told me from the beginning to be her foot-wiping rag, I might have accepted it before I gained the hypnosis ability. After all, Chloe was a famous beauty even within the academy. But the idea of me willingly crawling to her and lowering myself… Chloe’s tastes were just as twisted as mine.
“Of course, I don’t need to do that anymore.”
The image of Chloe becoming my foot-wiping rag instead of the other way around was a delightful one to imagine. After staring at Eloise for a moment, I decided to ask her a few more things I was curious about.
“By the way, why did you suddenly barge in today? And you even woke up a sleeping person and started making demands.”
“You used to live so pathetically, but lately you’ve been visiting the library often. I came to warn you in case you’d made new friends.”
My academy life had certainly changed after learning hypnosis, but I hadn’t realized it was that obvious. After sleeping with Maila, my stress had decreased significantly.
“Then today’s black market? You said you were going there, right? Wait, does the academy even have a black market?”
“It’s a place that everyone who needs to know about knows and uses. Legally speaking, it’s illegal, but because it offers rare items that are hard to obtain elsewhere—even if they’re expensive—nobles frequent it. The academy’s headmaster turns a blind eye to it as long as no major incidents occur.”
Yet another piece of information I alone had been ignorant of. Well, even if I went there as a commoner, I probably wouldn’t be able to buy anything anyway. Still, a black market? How very eroge-like.
“So what are you two planning to buy at the black market?”
“Elixir pills. They’re quite effective, so I took extra care in selecting them.”
“Then Chloe might give you a reward today, huh?”
At my words, a fresh blush colored Eloise’s face as if she were imagining it. Then a fun idea suddenly crossed my mind.
Simply turning Eloise or Chloe into obedient dolls wouldn’t be entirely unamusing, but I’d probably get bored of that too quickly. Tormenting such dolls was something nameless students could suffice for. After experiencing a case like Maila, I no longer wanted to use them as mere experience points for leveling up.
“Besides, I have to get my revenge somehow.”
After thinking it over, I began casting several layers of hypnosis on Eloise.
“Hypnosis release.”
I immediately dispelled the suggestion.
“Hmm? What just…?”
“I-I’m sorry!”
The moment the hypnosis lifted, Eloise’s mind returned and she seemed unable to grasp the situation. I seized the momentum and bowed my head in apology. She looked around, trying to piece together her memories, but couldn’t find a clear answer. Most people under hypnosis reacted this way.
But seeing me apologize, she clicked her tongue, then glanced at the clock in the room and flinched in surprise.
“How is the time already… Tsk! Anyway, commoner, if I catch you in my sight again, I’ll make sure you regret it.”
I smiled as I watched her slam the door shut and leave.
“Go ahead and enjoy yourself to the fullest. I wonder if you’ll feel it properly.”
I hoped she would come to like her newly changed body.