Ventorino Kingdom—Ruin or Fall
"Humming, humming~."
"You seem happy."
At Irena’s question, Rachel chirped back brightly, still humming to herself.
"Of course I am! Today’s finally the day, isn’t it? The end of my revenge! How could I not be in a good mood~?"
"……."
"I’ve been so sick and tired of waiting all this time… Ah! I’m not complaining about Valdes or Irena, of course. If anything, I should be thanking the both of you. You gave me this chance to get my revenge!"
As always, Irena was personally helping Rachel get dressed and made up.
And yet, as she did, she found herself with a strange feeling.
As a demon—and a succubus at that—she had never felt much of anything toward humans. She didn’t harbor the hostility or negativity that many other demons did, either. To Irena, humans were simply beings whose fate didn’t concern her. The only things that mattered were the two people she served: the Demon Queen and Valdes.
Still, she never refused personal attachments.
Take Vilma or Yueli, for instance.
They were both human, and their first meetings hadn’t exactly gone well, but after spending time together with Valdes absent, she had grown a little attached to them. There were things she disliked about each of them, things that didn’t suit her, but even so, she had some degree of affection for them.
Rachel was the same.
At first, she had thought of her as nothing more than a means—a tool to help Valdes take revenge. But after spending days and nights taking care of her personally, she had developed a little fondness for the girl. And given the current situation, there was also the possibility that Rachel would be included in Valdes’s harem, which naturally played a part in Irena’s feelings.
Objectively speaking, Rachel was a bright, cheerful, and intelligent girl, aside from one thing. She was easy to talk to, quick to understand things when taught, and even better at putting them to use. In particular, the way she looked up to Irena and followed her around made her seem like the perfect candidate to become one of Valdes’s harem members—and a subordinate secretary besides.
So Irena had opened up to her as well, but there was still one thing she didn’t understand.
Rachel’s thirst for revenge.
Resentment. Rage. Hatred. Vengeance.
That one thing was far too abnormal.
Of course, Irena understood the circumstances well. She had played a part in investigating them through the intelligence unit. Even so, it still couldn’t be called normal. Rachel hadn’t been the direct victim of the incident. All she’d heard was what had been passed down to her by her mother, who had actually suffered the harm herself.
Moreover, until Valdes had come for her, she hadn’t even properly known the face of her target, Marc. As a member of the slums who had to worry about surviving each day, she would have spent every waking hour working rather than even stepping out into the square for any sort of event.
And yet Rachel hated Marc, hated him, and hated him again.
And she was ready to give everything for it.
Her life—and even her virginity.
Irena couldn’t understand it, and at the same time, she found it a little frightening.
She wondered just what kind of education Rachel’s mother, Isabel Ventorino, had given her. No matter how long you raised someone from birth—more than ten years, in this case—could you really brainwash a person this completely? If Rachel was like this, then just how deep must Isabel’s own grudge have been?
Irena couldn’t even imagine it, and that only made Rachel seem stranger.
"Irena-sama?"
"Ah, hmm. I was just lost in thought for a moment. You’re all ready."
"Yes, thank you!"
At her words, Rachel turned toward Irena and smiled brightly. It was a face that didn’t seem to belong to someone who was about to place the final punctuation mark on her revenge. What was more, she was about to lose her virginity for it, wasn’t she? Any girl would want her first time to be with someone she loved, in a romantic, almost sacred atmosphere.
But Rachel showed no trace of regret or sorrow.
Only exhilaration.
The sheer delight of being able to exact revenge on the man she had spent days facing and speaking with—her own biological father.
Looking at that expression, Irena thought to herself that humans really were strange and fascinating creatures.
"Where are you going?"
"Huh? Well, I was going to go to that human…."
"That man still hasn’t arrived yet."
"Ah… i-is that so? Hehe. I got carried away and made a mistake."
Rachel gave a cute laugh at Irena’s correction and sat back down beside her. Even then, she kept showing signs of restlessness, tapping her leg and twitching here and there. Her expression looked almost like that of a girl waiting for the person she loved to arrive, but the truth beneath it was nothing but cruelty.
Then, as if something had suddenly occurred to her, she jerked her head around to look at the secretary sitting beside her.
"Irena-sama."
"Yes."
"Valdes-sama is going to return in two days, right? Then are you leaving with him too?"
Irena slowly shook her head.
"No. I’ll be staying here a little longer before heading somewhere else than the young master."
"Somewhere else?"
"To a mage’s dungeon—well, not alone, since there are two of us now. In any case, I’m going to meet one of the young master’s subordinates. We received word from them a little while ago."
"Hee."
The dungeon she mentioned, and the subordinate she referred to, obviously meant the Great Mage’s Dungeon and Vilma.
Irena had heard that the Great Mage’s mind had successfully settled into the female homunculus body they had prepared. Unfortunately, they couldn’t depart immediately because they still had matters to finish here in the Ventorino Kingdom. Still, the day they would leave for there was not far off.
Even if a dangerous figure had been revived, there was no need to worry. Vilma was clumsy at times, but she wasn’t incompetent, nor was she the type to change her mind. Besides, the Great Mage’s new body was unfamiliar, female, and had no mana in it at all, not to mention that the body itself was crude beyond belief.
No matter how great the Great Mage was, Irena didn’t think he had prepared for that sort of situation.
"Um… could I go with you too?"
"With me?"
"Yes!"
"Is that really necessary? You’ll be having three new family members soon enough…."
"But… two of them will have that man’s blood in them, won’t they? Of course, I’m the same, but…."
"Still, if you can, try to stay here."
"U-um, okay…."
"Rachel will probably have more to do here. There’s still a lot for you to learn, and there’s also plenty you can do to help the young master."
"Help… help… yes, I understand."
Rachel nodded with a face of firm resolve.
The word learning had tempted her, but what drew her even more was being of use to Valdes. There was nothing she valued more than repaying the benefactor who would cover the debt of a lifetime. Not even saying goodbye to the three people and one spirit she had grown attached to could outweigh that.
"Come to think of it, I just remembered—what happened to those… witch ladies? Did they contact you? I thought I heard they were coming here."
"That part’s taking a little longer in conference. With the schedule being what it is, I imagine the young master will meet them alone in the Ulsro Kingdom instead of here."
"Ah… that’s a little disappointing. I got pretty close with Ruri."
"As long as the witches don’t make the wrong choice, you’ll be able to meet them soon enough."
The wrong choice.
To side with the continent instead of the demons, or to remain neutral.
But Irena didn’t think that was likely.
What the witches were probably discussing right now was how to squeeze as much benefit as possible out of the demons. Since they were betraying the whole continent and choosing the demon side, there were surely some among them who would not be satisfied with merely a witch autonomous district.
For their part, that wasn’t a bad thing. It was all within expectations anyway. The greater the witches’ vested interests became, the closer their relationship would grow—and the harder it would be for them to betray him. So as long as it didn’t become too much of a burden, Irena was planning to accept their demands to a certain extent.
"Hmm, I see…. Ah, I’m nervous! It’s the day I’ve dreamed of for so long… I don’t know why I’m so nervous."
"Fufu, the way you keep asking questions about everything and chattering more than usual does make you look nervous."
"Hehe, it was that obvious?"
"Even so, Rachel’s acting skills are quite excellent, so it should be fine. Half of this will be handled by me anyway, so don’t worry."
"Ah… r-right."
Rachel gave an awkward smile. Perhaps she was so embarrassed by such a foolish mistake born of nerves that even her cheeks had turned slightly red. Irena looked at her and smiled faintly.
Truthfully, she was disappointed too. Disappointed that she couldn’t go with Rachel. On a purely personal level, she would have preferred to stay with this obedient, affectionate girl rather than with Vilma or Yueli, but Rachel, as a descendant of the old royal bloodline, was simply most useful here in the Ventorino Kingdom.
"Right now, there’s only one thing Rachel needs to think about."
The girl blankly mouthed a single word.
"…Revenge…."
"That’s right. That’s it. A sweet fruit you’ll soon have in your hands."
"……Fufu, yes. That’s right…. It’s both my end and my beginning."
The last remaining royal’s eyes glittered wildly.
It felt as if the tension pressing hard on her chest had vanished all at once.
What Irena had said was right.
She didn’t need any other complicated thoughts right now.
Only revenge.
The exhilarating, sweet thrill she would gain from it. What else could she possibly need? There was no reason to worry about anything else, and no point in worrying about anything else. She only needed to complete the revenge laid out before her. Then, without a doubt, a new world would open up.
Knock, knock.
"Your guest has arrived."
At that moment, a prostitute knocked on the door to announce Marc’s arrival. The instant she heard it, Rachel’s eyes began to sparkle. It was the perfect timing, as though she had been waiting for her tension to break.
"Did you guide him properly?"
"Yes, I escorted him to the room you specified."
"Good. ...Rachel."
At Irena’s call, the girl sprang to her feet.
"I’m ready."
"Good. Then let’s go."
And so the two of them headed for the newly built basement beneath the brothel.
A secret private room made for this very day alone.
The place where the work in the Ventorino Kingdom would come to an end.
Marc looked around the room with mild curiosity.
"Was there a place like this…?"
Being guided somewhere different than usual had made him a little tense. He had wondered if the brothel’s owner had betrayed him. Since they were by no means on friendly terms, it was a perfectly reasonable suspicion.
But the place he arrived at was unexpectedly spacious and comfortable. There was a basement in the brothel, of course, but this was the lowest level of all. It was the first time he had ever been here. And from a quick glance around, there was only a single room on this floor, with soundproofing that seemed well done.
The interior was the same.
There was everything one could want: a bed, table, chairs, a sofa, even a shower room. It was better equipped than most noble mansions. The room’s design was excellent too. Judging by the strange sense of familiarity it gave him, it looked like an actual noble’s room had been copied.
"They must have spent some money on this."
Having made such a place without telling him, Marc couldn’t decide whether he should praise the owner or beat him senseless. The whole room gave off the feeling of being brand new, which made him think he was probably the first guest. He had no idea what kind of scheme they were plotting.
No, maybe he had a rough idea. The scent slowly spreading through this large room was one he had been smelling over and over lately. The same scent that came from Rachel, the girl he met every night. The scent of the private room.
"Could it be…."
"Hehe. That could it is."
"!!"
Startled by the voice behind him, Marc whirled around.
There stood Rachel, grinning broadly.
He was surprised that she had appeared behind him without even a hint of presence, but more than that, he seemed delighted and relieved to see her face. Marc laughed heartily and pulled her into a tight embrace.
"Ah, Rachel! I missed you!"
Rachel hugged him back.
"Yes, I missed you too."
"Like I said last time, every day feels longer than ever…. As I thought, I really do need to bring you into the royal castle."
"Hmm… I’d like that."
"Yes, you always answer that way—what?"
Marc pulled back from the girl in his arms and asked again, eyes wide with surprise.
"I said I’d like that."
"Uh…."
He was thrown off balance. Not because this was some insincere answer. Marc had made this offer to her many times before—whether as a maid, as some other kind of servant, or even as a queen. However it happened, he would bring Rachel into the royal castle. That way, he could see her face every day.
But Rachel had always refused. So he had assumed, without fail, that she would reject him again this time too. Yet for some reason, her answer had changed.
She had said yes.
"Ha… hah! Good!! You made the right decision!!"
"I think you’re celebrating a little too early."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"Today is going to be a very… happy day."
"A happy… day? What do you mean by… huh?"
The king’s eyes flew open wide.
Until now, Rachel had rejected two things. One was what he had just mentioned: being taken into the royal castle. The other was physical intimacy. The more intense sort, too. They had already progressed to the point where light contact was normal—holding hands, or embracing each other.
But the girl had never allowed anything beyond that.
"D-don’t tell me…."
"Fufu. You’ll be very surprised. I’ve prepared a very big gift. Today… I’m going to give you my virginity… ♥"