The Rose's Fragile Resistance (5)
The warmth of living flesh met my fingertips. I kept my palm pressed there as though savoring that body heat, and soon a labored breath burst from between her faintly crimson lips. The red-haired girl lay on the bed in a thoroughly disheveled state.
“Haah… haah…”
Her unsteady gaze glared in my direction. We had not even begun the proper treatment, yet she already looked exhausted from her fierce resistance. Murderous intent dripped from her leaf-like eyes.
“You… how dare you… do this kind of thing again…!”
Her tightly clenched fist looked ready to unleash violence at any moment. Hidden behind her chillingly seething voice lay shame and horror at the situation she now faced. Perhaps she had realized too late that resistance was futile. Elise had gone limp in her limbs, simply staring with wide eyes.
I answered with a smile.
“It is the same as last time. It will not hurt, so please rest easy.”
“I clearly… told you to get lost!”
“I had no intention of going this far either, but after seeing Your Highness’s condition, I decided to take a somewhat harsher approach.”
“Don’t… ugh, I told you not to touch my body…!”
“I’m afraid that is one request I cannot accommodate.”
I shook my head firmly. The rose in her current state would clearly listen to nothing I said. Even if it meant adopting somewhat coercive methods, I believed her broken condition had to be restored.
Still holding that soft sensation, I spoke.
“Then… I will begin the treatment.”
At the same time, shadows flickered at my fingertips. The thin coating enveloping my finger joints soon began to seep into the skin it touched. A wriggling texture. Elise’s pupils trembled in surprise. She released the breath she had been holding, and a faint moan followed. Her breathing was violently agitated.
“Hng…?!”
The sound rang out with unusual clarity. Her frail body shivered as if frightened, but the snake that had already coiled around her had no intention of releasing its prey. It simply ran its flicking tongue along her nape.
“You will feel better soon.”
This could truly be called the beginning of the treatment. If yesterday had been a light sampling phase, today was the time to unravel the root cause.
I expended a small amount of output.
Srrrk—.
The thinly spreading darkness seeped into her abdomen and, before long, triggered invisible changes within.
“……?!”
Elise’s shoulders twitched. Was it the unfamiliar sensation? Her body’s sensitivity was now nearly doubled. By fixing the stimuli the patient received at the maximum, I could easily sense the flow of mana spreading throughout her entire body. Thanks to that, the girl was more sensitive than ever before.
“W-wait, wait, ugh, don’t tou… what are you doing to my body…?”
The sensations she actually felt were probably even stronger. The stimuli entering her body had suddenly jumped from 100 to 200. I had regulated dangerous sensations such as pain, but because the other nerves remained fully alive, it must have been overwhelming. Smell, hearing, touch… or even pleasure, for instance. Therefore, the patient’s intense reaction was only natural.
“Ugh, ugh… it’s strange, why suddenly…!”
I stroked the girl’s head as if to soothe her. Perhaps even that felt alien. She whipped her head away, forcing me to withdraw my hand.
She looks like she’s struggling more than I expected.
I decided to set stray thoughts aside for later. I stopped hesitating and focused my output on the fingertips in contact with her. Then, as though exploring warm flesh, I pressed my palm firmly against her pure white belly. Precisely on the dantian.
“Euhak?!”
A breath exploded out in response. Perhaps because of the high-intensity stimulation, her waist arched lightly, only to be pinned down by my pressing hand. Her pitiful frame could only tremble.
“You mustn’t move.”
As expected, the beginning was difficult. Having anticipated this level of reaction, I calmly waited for the girl to settle. With my other hand, I continued stroking the rose’s head.
“Ah, agh… what are you, haa, trying to do?”
“As I told you, it is treatment. Since it is a delicate procedure, please refrain from violent movements.”
The method was simple: repairing the heavily contaminated mana channels one by one. I injected mana into the central dantian, guided it through the fine passages, and pushed out the corrupted energy with pure power. Though I described it easily, in practice it was nearly impossible. I had to manipulate the mana individually, handling it at a granular level while ensuring the pathways never deviated. Applying this process sequentially across numerous channels made the procedure not only extremely difficult but also very time-consuming. It was a task ordinary physicians could not even attempt.
Of course.
For me, it was the ideal method. I could take my time with the treatment, stage a convincing gradual recovery, and keep the burden on the patient relatively low. All I needed to do was leisurely ensnare the princesses within the given period. The complexity of the manipulation posed no problem for me. If I could revert even a chimera with a single gesture, failing at this would make the title of “worst” cry out in shame.
I continued the treatment with a faint smile.
“You are enduring well.”
Press—.
I pressed her abdomen once more. Her shoulders twitched. By now her disheveled breaths boiled like a mild fever. Her weak hands clutched the bedsheets tightly, and she bit her lip as if holding back sound. It was a desperate effort to endure.
“Kuhk… s-stop, I don’t need treatment, hng.”
Press—.
“Hng…!”
Elise squeezed her eyes shut. Her ragged breaths simmered like fever. Frightened by the alien sensations, moisture had gathered at the corners of her eyes. Yet the killing intent in her gaze remained unbroken. Holding her shabby thorns high to the very end, she truly resembled a single rose.
Perhaps because her resolute figure was so endearing, I stroked Elise’s head several more times.
“Good. You are becoming accustomed to it.”
“You… I’ll kill you, ugh, you fucking piece of trash…!”
“That kind of ending doesn’t sound so bad. Of course, that is a story for after Your Highness’s treatment is complete.”
“Huk, ugh…!”
Press—.
The girl shook pitifully. She seemed to be searching for someone to help her, but unfortunately there was no one else in the dark room. Only a sickly rose and a golden serpent existed. Since she had promised to obey my words completely from now on, Charlotte was waiting in the adjacent room with the maid. Even if I shouted here, the sound would not reach them; I had soundproofed the room just as I had yesterday.
“You can continue just like this.”
Press, press—.
With those repeating motions, the first treatment session finally concluded after roughly three hours. Perhaps because I had expended my power for such a long time. As I withdrew my cramped hand, the exhausted girl’s breathing brushed against my ear. Elise lay there powerlessly.
“Haah… haah…”
The girl was soaked in flowing sweat. Her damp pajamas clung transparently to her skin, and a sticky scent of flesh dyed the air in the room. Her unfocused pupils were strikingly beautiful.
“You’ve worked hard.”
I offered light praise. Elise in her disheveled state—her pajamas exposed the underside of her breasts and barely concealed the hardened peaks. Faint handprints remained on her pure white belly.
“Your body should feel much more comfortable now. With consistent treatments going forward, recovery will be possible.”
I snapped my fingers.
Snap!
Right after the light sound, the messy girl was restored to a neat appearance. It was a small consideration, thinking she might feel sticky from sweating. I also cleaned up the disheveled surroundings.
“Well then.”
“……”
“I will see you again tomorrow.”
“……Die.”
The rose muttered as if scraping the words together. Poison burned vividly in her upturned eyes. It seemed she had not yet broken. I smiled in answer and gently stroked the still-feverish girl’s cheek. Hidden at the end of that soft touch were thorns.
“You will come to realize it.”
I whispered with a sly tongue.
“That even such resistance holds no meaning whatsoever.”
My sweet breath tickled her ear. Elise could only clench her fists, her body trembling with near-exhaustion. Though she resisted for now, in the future she would not be able to defy this touch.
“After all, I can do whatever I want with Your Highness whenever I please.”
Her pale complexion looked especially fragile. As I savored the warmth at my fingertips, a voice suddenly brushed past my ear—one of the now-shattered fragments of the past.
“Oppa… it hurts.”
“I cried because I missed oppa, but I stopped when I listened to the nurse sister.”
“Hehe! So hurry up and pat my head!”
I felt that fragile warmth and made a vow. To prevent the tragedies that would come, to save Charlotte from despair, and to ensure everyone could reach a happy ending. So that your fairy tale would be different from mine.
“I will definitely save Your Highness.”
Definitely. I will keep you alive.