Revenge Heroine and the Poisoned Chalice, The Point of No Return... (3)
That was Melrn Count. No doubt about it. That man. That man. That man――was right in front of her.
“Ha… ah…!”
“Haa… haa… haa… haa… haaaaa…!”
Crouched in hiding, spying on him, Emilia hadn't even realized her breathing had grown so ragged.
I need to act more calmly.
I need to be more prudent.
Sneaking in here right after getting the information was a bad move.
I was too hasty.
Foolish.
That was what she'd been thinking just moments ago. If she encountered Melrn Count, she'd talk to him first and decide her next move. That's what she'd told herself.
But after seeing his back, Emilia couldn't stop the world from flipping upside down, her brain boiling over in an instant, her body trembling uncontrollably.
Th-that bastard…!!
M-my… f-fath… ah, Father's… Mother's… enemy…!!
The Edenberts'… enemy… aaah….
A, ah, a, a, a, a, a, a, a.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!
Her eyes bloodshot, mana surged within her just like it had at the Adventurer Guild. If the last thread of her reason hadn't held her back, barely suppressing the mana rampage, she would have been discovered already.
Inside her mind, Emilia was screaming, thrashing wildly. Sticky, razor-sharp hatred erupted, bubbling up and staining her heart pitch black.
I hate him. I hate him. I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I hate him…!!
No need… to talk… or anything….
Yeah… yeah… that's the bastard… that… fucking prick… for sure…!
My――enemy!
The man moved further down the corridor. He didn't seem to have noticed her. With her skill, she could hurl her sword from this distance and hit him. Pierce his heart in one strike, end him instantly. It was possible.
But Emilia didn't. She took deep breaths, suppressing the passion that threatened to propel her body forward.
Ha… ah… haa… haa… haa… haa…
Suuuuuuh… foooooh… suuuuuuh… foooooh….
Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm.
Killing him outright would be easy. But that wouldn't do.
Make him suffer.
The utmost suffering.
Honestly, any thought of conversation had vanished. Now that she was utterly convinced this man was the enemy from that day, talking was pointless. But killing him in a surprise attack, severing his breath in one go――that would be nothing but mercy.
――For an unforgivable foe.
――This moment demanded even deeper calm.
“……”
Emilia gripped the hilt of the holy sword at her waist tightly once, then stepped out from her hiding spot with a deep breath.
In the dim corridor, lit only by the faint glow of magical lamps, Emilia followed the path Melrn Count had taken moments ago, holding her breath, her footsteps silent.
Screeeeech――thud…
Compared to how it looked from outside, the mansion was bizarrely vast, its labyrinthine corridors twisting repeatedly. Following Melrn Count, she finally arrived at an ornate door he opened and entered.
It was obviously his bedroom.
Emilia stood before it, suppressing her presence. No escape routes. No servants nearby.
For emergencies… I prepared a magical tool.
Emilia clutched the small orb from her pouch. A special magical device――infuse it with mana, and it created a barrier blocking a few meters around it. No sound, no people could pass. Until the mana ran out, nothing got in or out.
Expensive and one-use, but no time to regret it. With this, Melrn Count couldn't call for help.
And in that time――
No conversation.
I'll kill him.
Horribly… chop off his limbs, gouge out his eyes, rip out his tongue by the root.
Leave one eye… make him watch as I crush his throbbing heart right in front of him… then carve that eye out too.
Pull out his guts, slice them word by word, make him scream in agony….
I'll kill him… kill him… in the most painful way the world has ever known… make him regret ever being born…!!
Regaining her composure with a grip on the holy sword's hilt that made it creak, Emilia made her final resolve and opened Melrn Count's bedroom door.
Clunk! Screeeeech…!!
She burst in without hesitation. No time for him to prepare. Subdue him the instant she entered――!
“Melrn Count…!!”
Emilia drew her sword in a flash, charging forward with its sharp tip aimed ahead. In her other hand, she tossed the magical orb into the air and activated the spell.
A strange sensation enveloped the space. The bedroom was instantly sealed off from the outside world.
…Good, the tool worked perfectly. Mana flowing normally. Body in peak condition. Sword drawn, ready to cleave any foe, ever reliable in her hand.
No problems. No problems. No problems.
“Melrn Count――”
Now I'll kill him. Kill him outright. Thrusting her trusted holy sword forward with that thought――
“…………Huh?”
But the sight before her left Emilia frozen, as if cursed by petrification, utterly at a loss.
It had definitely been Melrn Count she'd chased moments ago. A sturdy back, tall frame, dark skin.
Yet inside this room, Melrn Count was nowhere. The man she'd seen was gone.
For starters, this wasn't even a bedroom. It was some eerie space filled with jumbled clutter and a suspicious altar-like setup deeper in.
A weird burnt smell mixed with sickly sweet fragrance hung in the air. The sticky atmosphere clung to her skin, utterly repulsive.
What… is this place? No, what… who is that…?
“Welcomeee, Hero Emiliaaa~. Sorry to disappoint, but this isn't the lord's bedroom~♪”
As Emilia faltered, a woman standing ahead, waiting as if to greet her, spoke up.
At a glance, just a plain girl with brown braided hair. Freckles on her face, round glasses――she looked like she belonged in some rural village far from a lord's castle.
Her chest was prominently large and alluring, a bit unbalanced, but still, she seemed utterly ordinary.
Yet bizarrely, this plain, village-girl type was wearing the same clothes Melrn Count had on moments ago. Loose on her slender frame, sagging off her shoulders, exposing them fully.
“Who are you?”
“Ufufu, I'm Mona~ Nice to meet youuu~ I wanted to be friends with you, Hero~ Let's get along~♪”
“……Where's Melrn Count?”
“Nuh-uh~ Can't tell you thaaat~!”
More than that, let's play here togetherrr~, said Mona with a giggle, as if oblivious to the tension. How could such a plain face pull off an expression so mocking? It was astounding.
Faced with this playful attitude head-on in such a situation, Emilia could only sigh in exasperation.
“If you're not talking, fine.”
“Huh…? Y-yes…?”
――I'll make you want to talk.
She hesitated for a split second, hadn't fully grasped the situation, but her task hadn't changed much. From the moment she'd infiltrated this mansion, Emilia could rely only on her own strength and violence.
So her actions held no hesitation.
Shiiiik――
“…Hweh?”
It was over in an instant too quick to call a blink. Mona, who'd been taunting her so leisurely, suddenly felt something cold against her throat.
Viiiiiiing―
She couldn't even tell when Emilia had closed the distance. The holy sword's razor edge at her throat had already nicked her skin with its mere pressure and wind.
“……Almost made a mistake… almost killed you right there.”
Emilia muttered, sword still at Mona's throat. She continued, telling Mona this was a threat. Stay still, or she'd sever her arms one by one. If that wasn't enough, scars on her face, and if still not, her legs too.
“If you don't like that, answer. …Where's Melrn Count's bedroom?”
Emilia's voice was low and menacing, laced with killing intent and sincerity. Intense enough to make any village girl faint on the spot. Even a grown man would cower, mind reeling.
Yet facing this pressure, sword at her throat, Mona remained calm.
“Hero… you might regret that?”
Her eyes gleamed with a strange pattern, a smile unlike her prior cheeky mockery――as she slowly opened her mouth.
And the next instant,
“……………………………………Huh?”
Clang!
Thud…!
Emilia dropped her sword and collapsed to the floor.
Suddenly clutching her lower abdomen with both arms and hands, she knelt, knees buckling.
Her belly burned hot. Her womb clenched. Her whole body's temperature skyrocketed, scorching.
“………Wha…?”
She couldn't comprehend what was happening. But she felt it.
Her there, her shameful place. Her secret parts throbbing thump-thump, frantic as if about to burst.
Through her underwear, juices trickled down, soaking her….
Huh… what is this…?