Ventorino Kingdom - Toward the Second Revenge (6)
Valdes called Irena and Yueli in from the adjoining room.
"Looks like you wrapped things up nicely."
"Yeah. It feels like things are going to go better than I expected."
"That's a relief."
At the sight of the two women, Rachel shrank back.
She had talked with Valdes and felt a little more at ease, but the other two were still hard to relax around. The fact that they were both women didn’t help much. Her distrust had nothing to do with gender.
When Rachel subtly sidled closer to Valdes’s seat, Irena’s brow twitched. Even if she was still just a child, it was better not to take her lightly.
"Are those two... demons too?"
"No. Irena is a demon, but Yueli is human."
"Ah...."
Rachel stared at Yueli with clear curiosity.
Yueli, in turn, looked Rachel over from head to toe and tossed out a remark.
"Hmm. So you were Marc’s child... You really do look like him, don’t you?"
"!!"
Startled by her words, the girl ducked behind Valdes’s back. He wasn’t exactly broad-shouldered either, but Rachel was so thin that his body hid most of her.
"Yueli."
"Ah, Master, I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop or anything, it just carried over, so..."
"You’re far too inconsiderate."
"I’m sorry..."
"Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to Rachel."
"...S-sorry..."
"Ah, no. It’s okay."
Only after Valdes warned her did Yueli finally apologize to Rachel.
He understood Yueli’s nature well enough, and because she always put him first, it was manageable. Still, she clashed with the others often enough. She lacked consideration, and she never really made an effort to get along.
"Be careful from now on. I’m not telling you to change your personality outright, but I won’t forgive troublemaking. You understand?"
"...Yes."
He wasn’t angry only because of this one incident.
He had already thoroughly broken her spirit with the lower half of her body in the last dungeon, but he never expected Yueli to stay obedient because of that alone. Her personality was different to begin with, so even when she didn’t mean to, the odds of her making a mistake were high.
That was why he needed to keep warning her every time she slipped up, so that she’d start thinking more carefully on her own. He didn’t want to keep correcting her endlessly; he wanted Yueli herself to learn to reflect before she acted.
"Good. Then..."
Valdes glanced from Rachel to the table.
They hadn’t even finished half the soup yet. The conversation had been about such heavy matters that everyone had naturally slowed down.
"Let’s rest for a bit first, then talk about our plans going forward."
"Understood."
"Yes!"
Even after he suggested resting, neither Irena nor Yueli went anywhere; instead, they stayed seated across from the table. Rachel hesitated for a moment, then carefully returned to the seat beside Valdes and went back to her soup.
"Eat some bread too."
"T-thank you..."
"Yeah. If you stay this thin, even Marc won’t recognize you. You can’t suddenly grow overnight, but you need to start putting on some weight now."
"R-right... yes."
Valdes placed the bread in Rachel’s hand, then turned his head to look at the two women sitting opposite him.
They were watching Rachel with obvious envy. He gave a faint snort, tore off two pieces of bread, and held one out in each hand. Irena had bought more than enough, so feeding Rachel that much was no problem at all.
The two women stared blankly at the pieces of bread he offered, then smiled brightly and leaned forward to take a bite.
"Honestly, you two are such children."
"Eep... I’m sorry..."
"Yes! I want to have Master’s baby!"
"......"
At Valdes’s teasing, Irena lowered her head in embarrassment, but Yueli, for reasons known only to her, blurted out that she wanted his baby.
Naturally, Irena shot her a sharp glare, while Rachel found herself thinking that humans were actually more dangerous than demons. From the very first time she’d met Yueli, all she had done was grin cheerfully and introduce herself in bizarre ways—slave, meat toilet, and all the rest. She had seemed capable enough when she talked about spirits, but it didn’t really strike home.
She’s the kind of person I don’t want to get close to. Compared to her...
Rachel dipped the bread Valdes had given her into the soup.
That one looks capable at a glance.
The person her eyes landed on was Irena.
Smart-looking glasses, a disciplined posture, and a voice that seemed cool at first but was actually full of warmth. It was exactly the sort of person Rachel had always dreamed of becoming. Unlike the strange woman beside her, Irena had introduced herself properly.
As the young master’s secretary.
The fact that someone could be called a young master, and that there was such a thing as a secretary, struck Rachel straight in the heart.
So cool.
The girl’s eyes sparkled.
Most of Rachel’s short life had been spent in the pleasure district.
Everything around her had been lowlifes—prostitutes, thugs, and bottom-feeders of every sort. But even those people had been frightening rulers in their own right: high-class courtesans, pimps, fists-for-hire, corrupt merchants. To a girl like her, they were all distant beings she was never meant to touch.
And then there were the nobles.
To her, nobles had been so high above her that she couldn’t even bear to look straight at them.
So she looked a little lower and saw the servants who attended them. They were commoners too, but by leaning on noble power, they became people the ones in the pleasure district couldn’t easily touch. And yet even then, there was still a glimmer of hope that maybe she could become something like that herself.
I never even dared to dream about it before, but if Valdes is here... maybe it’s possible.
If he was with her, then after revenge was over, maybe she could even think about what came next. She wouldn’t need to burn everything down just to the ground.
"...Hehe."
Lost in that pleasant thought, Rachel smiled without realizing it.
After resting for a while and confirming that Rachel had finished eating, they finally began talking seriously about the road ahead. Most of the preparations had already been handled by Valdes, but it was still necessary to review the plan and make a few adjustments.
"After we stay here for the night, we’ll head for the Witch’s Forest tomorrow."
"Witches? ...Ah, sorry."
The unfamiliar name made Rachel ask back, but she quickly apologized when she noticed all the attention turning to her.
"It’s fine. If there’s something you don’t know, ask right away. You’re on the same boat as us now."
"U-uh... yes..."
The girl, who had spent so long believing she was completely alone after her mother died, felt strangely moved by that one line. She had sworn she would never trust anyone else, but Rachel was still young. Even such a small kindness from him made her heart waver easily.
"Same boat... ahn...♡"
"...?"
"...You can ignore things like that."
"Ah, yes..."
Ignoring Yueli, who was writhing strangely as she repeated the words same boat to herself, Valdes continued.
"Witches are a somewhat special kind of mage."
"Ah..."
"In practice, they’re close to demi-humans. Their original races vary—human, elf, dwarf, and so on—but through a special process called the Witch’s Ritual, they become completely different beings. The downside is that their numbers are small, so they usually live in hiding."
"Then is the Witch’s Forest where witches live together?"
"No."
Rachel tilted her head at that. The idea that the Witch’s Forest wasn’t actually where witches lived didn’t make much sense to her, and Valdes found her puzzled look rather cute, so he smiled faintly.
"Witches don’t like living in groups. Unless they’re related by blood or in a master-disciple relationship, they usually scatter and live separately."
"Then..."
"The place we’re going to isn’t even originally called the Witch’s Forest. I just call it that. The forest’s real name is... Irena, what was it again?"
"It’s called Kkodeulnamu Forest... at least that’s what the nearby villages call it."
"That’s right."
"Mm... so we’re going to meet the witch who lives in that forest?"
"Exactly. The witch who lives there is the Great Witch who controls all the other witches."
Even if witches tended to live apart, they still shared the same name. They had a leader, and they had systems for regular meetings and communication. If Valdes wanted all of their support at once, seeking out the Great Witch was the most efficient route.
Rachel suddenly had a question.
"Um, there’s something I want to ask."
"What is it?"
"Uh... is going to see the witch... necessary for revenge?"
Valdes hesitated for a moment before answering. It was a sharp question.
"...No."
"Then...?"
"It’s not exactly a personal errand. More like something I need to do as a demon. Of course, having the Great Witch on our side would help with revenge, but even if she isn’t, it won’t be a problem."
"Mm..."
"But as a demon, I do need to meet the Great Witch. And... while I’m at it, I’d like you to help me."
"Help?"
The girl didn’t understand. What kind of help could someone like her, just a child raised in the slums, possibly give? Then a thought struck her—the final blood of the Ventorino royal line.
"You mean my blood?"
"That’s right. The previous dynasty had an agreement with the witches. They can call in their help once, on a single occasion. Eighteen years ago, the royal family that fled after losing the capital also headed for the Witch’s Forest."
"If I help you, Valdes, what will you do for me?"
At the girl’s bold question, Yueli flinched.
As Valdes’s slave, that was an unbearable piece of insolence. If Irena hadn’t caught on immediately and stopped her with a glance, Yueli would have grabbed Rachel by the collar on the spot.
"Hmm... is there something you want?"
"Yes. After my revenge is over, please... make me your secretary."
"Secretary? ...That’s interesting. Fine. I don’t mind granting that much."
"Th-thank you."
After that, Valdes continued explaining the rest of the plan.
From winning over the witches in the forest, to entering the royal castle through Mercedes’s help and catching Queen Katarina’s eye, to making use of the arrangements he had already prepared in order to seize several things at once. There was also a plan to spread rumors through the capital.
Rumors about a survivor of the old dynasty.
Using that, he would shake Marc and Katarina’s minds and pull everyone’s attention away, then bring down Katarina and her daughter, Clara, in the meantime.
In the Ulsro Kingdom, he had needed to establish a foothold and earn the goodwill of those around him, so he had restrained himself in many ways. But there was no need to do that here.
Ventorino could be taken quickly and cleanly by the brute force of the demon army. The only true target of revenge was King Marc, and there weren’t any other particularly important figures. Because of that, the mother and daughter of Ventorino were going to be handled a little more roughly.
"All right, I think that about covers it. Let’s rest for a bit, then go out for dinner."
Even though they had merely reviewed and finalized the already prepared plan, nearly two hours had still passed.
Unlike the other three, Rachel was starting to look a little tired as well.
"Irena, could you take Rachel to the room next door?"
"...! ...Understood."
Following her lord’s order, Irena took Rachel and left the room.
"Haa... haa..."
The moment the two of them were gone, Yueli dropped to her knees on the floor. The chair she had been sitting on, and the space beneath it, were already soaked with the liquid she had leaked. Naturally, the pants she was wearing were also damp through and through.
"Honestly, what the hell..."
"H-hngh, s-sorry...♡"
Valdes had sent Rachel off to the next room while giving Irena a subtle look, and it had all been because of Yueli. Irena had been flustered too, but she had still casually blocked Rachel’s line of sight without making a fuss.
"If your piss-ass toy is going to leak all over the place, is that okay or not?"
"Haa, hngh... n-no... it’s not... it really isn’t...♥"
He walked up to Yueli and stroked her head.
"Hngh...!"
That alone was enough to drive Yueli lightly to climax, her whole body trembling. Even more of her arousal spilled out, soaking the floor. Valdes looked down at her with a cool, dumbfounded stare, but Yueli only seemed to enjoy it more.
"You..."
"Haaah, maybe because the first time was so intense... I think I ended up getting hooked on something weird... hehehe♥"
"......"
"Please fix this broken toilet that keeps leaking everywhere... with Master’s cock♥"
"Haa, so it’s all my karma after all."
Even as he said that, Valdes moved closer and tapped the front of his trousers against her face. Needless to say, she knew exactly what that meant.
"Mmnh, uhn..."
She groped at his pants with her mouth and slowly began taking them off. In an instant, his lower half was bared, revealing the large, heavy shaft beneath. Yueli stared at it with eyes full of lust before slowly taking it into her mouth.
"Chuup... slurp, chuup, smooch─♥ Mm, haa..."
"Huh...! You, why are you so good at this?"
"Do you need a reason, hngh...? Of course, haa, because I’m Master’s meat toilet...♥"
"......"
He wasn’t suspicious of her, not after she had been with Irena and already had his mark engraved on her, but Yueli’s fellatio was more impressive than he had expected.
"Hmm, I think I’ll enjoy this at a slightly more leisurely pace..."
Knock, knock.
"Young Master? You should probably go to dinner soon..."
"...J-just wait a moment."
The two of them were reluctant, but with Rachel in the next room, they had to be careful.
"Guess the main event will have to wait until tonight."
"Aah... this is awful..."
"But that’s that. Hurry up and keep sucking."
"Yes, Master♥ ...Hup, mm, chuup, chuuub...♥"
They didn’t leave the room until ten minutes later.