Fremd Torturchen - Volume 8 - Chapter 3

3

Those Who Loved

The room was red.

It was dyed all over with the color of fresh blood, and it was the kind of room that burrowed its way into your eyeballs and chipped away at your brain.

A chessboard sat atop its plain desk.

Of its pieces, several were wriggling and squirming in a most peculiar way.

Not only was the horrible process of death and birth from before continuing to take place, several groups of pawns were also beginning to march. In the remote corners of the board, some of them were even rioting. However, there were also two pieces holding the board in check.

Each belonged to a different side, and the two were standing face-to-face.

Both were women. One’s head was human; the other had the head of a lizard.

Kaito and Hina watched the two pieces intently. However, neither of the women moved. They merely began having a conversation. However, the pieces’ voices weren’t audible from down on the board. And Kaito and Hina both knew that.

The pieces appeared close to them, but they were actually farther away than the World’s End.

Trying to hear them was a fool’s errand.

Yet even so, Kaito and Hina continued straining their ears.

The two of them were silent. And the room was silent as well.

Totally

utterly

silent.

“You say that I’m suffering, but…the term suits you better than it does me, don’t you think?”

Aguina’s wife’s voice was gentle. Elisabeth narrowed her gaze.

It was difficult to tell a demi-human’s age at a glance, but even so, the woman was clearly no spring chicken. Each and every one of her vermilion scales gleamed in the light, but several of them had grown much harder than they normally should have. It resembled the change that the Sand Queen’s corpse had undergone.

That was proof that her blood was exceptionally pure, even among the highest-grade pureblood demi-humans.

After committing his betrayal, Aguina had left her completely in the dark. But despite her lack of involvement, she still refused to be questioned. However, forcing her to testify wasn’t exactly an option.

The thing was, her pedigree and status were even higher than her husband’s.

In short, she was a blue blood the likes of which were rare even for demi-human nobility.

Despite the woman’s position, though, Elisabeth made no efforts this time to hold her sarcasm in check.

“Nay, I relinquish it to you without reservations. Your husband betrayed the beastfolk and humans and sided with the mixed-race people. Now he is an enemy of the world. All for the sake of a reckless, ill-conceived gamble. His obsession with blood purity blinded him to the idiocy of his own plan.”

“Insolent words coming from a lowly human like yourself.”

The lizard-headed woman’s voice was gentle and calm.

So much so, in fact, it took a moment for Elisabeth to register what she’d said.

Such was the depth of the soft dignity her words exuded.

Aguina’s wife then continued, never once losing the characteristic elegance of one who stood above others.

“For surely you’re aware, Torture Princess—weapon of the Church, pitiful sinner, and consort of the Mad King that you are.”

“…Hmm? I’ve some objections I’d like to voice. But go on.”

“How humanity is a group of exclusionary elitists unable to see just how deeply human-centric their worldviews are. And what’s more, you’re as numerous as rats. In time, you will eradicate the other races, whether they took part in the rebellion or not. Knowing that, he chose to save the hostages. To prioritize blood purity so that our race might be saved. For a human, of all people, to deride that decision as ‘idiocy’ is an act worthy of contempt.”

The demi-human woman smiled. Her tone was as warm as a hand gently stroking one’s head and as biting as a knife to the gut. She narrowed her golden eyes and spoke with her head held high.

“That’s right—I take great pride in what my husband did.”

And with that description of her husband, the enemy of the world, she brought her speech to a close.

That was all she had to say.

That and nothing more.

She turned away from Elisabeth once more. Elisabeth shook her head, her expression quietly changing.

Suddenly, the Torture Princess spoke.

“See, I can scarce think of anything further beneath my interest.”

“—!”

Elisabeth was well aware how careless her statement was. It was the height of impropriety.

Aguina’s wife turned back toward her.

When she did, Elisabeth reached out, grabbing the woman by her scaly throat before she had so much as a chance to scream.

It was only a light pressure. She didn’t squeeze down.

Instead, though, she deployed a wave of flower petals in a circle around them. Aguina’s wife’s eyes went wide.

The demi-humans were no experts in magic, but even she knew.

She knew that the Torture Princess was a sinner clad in flower petals, a wielder of blood and chains.

To her, severing an artery or lopping off a head would be child’s play.

Still pressing on the demi-human woman’s vitals, Elisabeth nodded.

“Your fear and concern are valid. The end of days and the rebellion both had their roots in human religious fanaticism. But your people were just as exclusionary toward those of mixed race. You refused to shelter them. Everyone believed that justice lay solely on their side, and the mess we’re now in is the result of that.”

“You—”

“Standing by and watching is a sin in and of itself. However, I shall admit that mankind is entirely unworthy of trust.”

“Oh, then we are in agreement there. So why not—?”

“But that, too, is of little import.”

Elisabeth smiled amiably, and for the first time, Aguina’s wife’s expression froze. It was hard to say if her intuition was sharp or dull, but in either case, she’d finally realized something.

She had realized just how utterly furious the Torture Princess was.

Her expression still as mild as could be, Elisabeth spoke with firm conviction.

“I take great pride in what Kaito Sena did.”

Aguina’s wife gave her a confused look. His was a name that was completely unrelated to what they were talking about. To Elisabeth, however, nothing could possibly have been more important. After all, the basis for her sense of justice had long since transcended such pedestrian concepts as morality and logic.

“I mean, has it ever even crossed your mind?”

“Has…what?”

“Who was it that fought for this world? Who was it that rescued all the stupid sheep? Who was it that sacrificed himself to make all that possible? Was it your husband? No. Of course not. You and all the others…you’re full of it, you know that?”

Elisabeth’s rage caused her fingertips to tremble ever so slightly. However, she didn’t squeeze down with the hand itself.

Taking great care not to wound Aguina’s wife, the Torture Princess went on.

“You, your husband, your people’s obsession with blood purity, the mixed-race people’s lament, the three races’ various designs…to me, such things are worth less than nothing. I have but one intention—to save this world, and as many of the mindless fools who live in it as possible, by whatever methods I can muster.”

“…That’s a very contradictory ideology, is it not?”

“Oh, it is—make no mistake. But you see, there was once a person who saw the world’s hideous face and accepted it for what it was. And so I must do the same—for I take great pride in that fool, and I love him from the bottom of my heart.”

The words cascaded from her mouth, one after another.

Elisabeth cocked her head to the side. Hmm? She pondered for a moment, ruminating on what she had just said. And in the end, she arrived at a quiet realization.

It was true.

It was as one would their confidante, or their brother, or their savior.

As one would a kind, incorrigible fool—

As one would any whom they ought to love—

“I, Elisabeth Le Fanu, love Kaito Sena.”

In that moment, a warm tear slid down Elisabeth’s cheek. However, she ignored it.

For such a thing

was completely and utterly unbefitting the Torture Princess.

“Now, speak.”

Elisabeth gave her order as though nothing had happened.

The noblewoman looked at her with her golden eyes.

Of all the demi-humans who’d remained, she was the sole one who’d persisted in refusing to testify. The Torture Princess spoke dispassionately as she faced her.

“Wife of Aguina Elephabred. If your love compels you to remain silent, then so be it. For the sake of my love, I shall flay the truth out of you.”

“…You would threaten me, knowing who I am?”

“Aye, ’twould be inexcusable, torturing a pureblood demi-human noble from a distinguished family. But do you really think your status will save you? Knowing who I am? Shouldering such sins is precisely the role the Torture Princess plays.”

As promised, she wasn’t going to kill her. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to break her.

A malevolent smile spread across the Torture Princess’s lips. As the crimson petals whirled around the two women, Elisabeth presented Aguina with the sole means of escape.

“But if you’ve anything you wish to tell me before that, then by all means, be my guest.”

“Such insolence.”

A hard, flat sound rang out. Aguina’s wife had swatted Elisabeth’s hand aside.

When she did, the petals sliced shallow cuts into her fingers, but the Torture Princess intentionally yielded to her weak resistance. She dismissed the remainder of the petals, then withdrew her hand from the noblewoman’s scaly throat and silently stood by.

After steadying her breathing, Aguina’s wife did an impressive job swallowing her fear.

“There is one thing I would like to tell you.”

“You have my attention.”

“I am fully confident that a single broken pinkie would be enough to get me to talk.”

“I’m…not sure why you sound so proud of that.”

Elisabeth squinted at the woman. Half the things she said seemed to be practically begging for pithy rebuttals. For some reason, though, Aguina’s wife was the one who sighed. She then straightened her posture, elegantly pressing her fingertips together to stop the bleeding.

Now facing the Torture Princess head-on, the demi-human noblewoman spoke.

“Elisabeth Le Fanu… You claimed to be one who knows love, did you not?”

Elisabeth tilted her head, not sure what to make of the question. In an instant, the golden eyes of the wife and mother standing before her took on a newly serious glint. She faced the Torture Princess, brazen and bold.

“Those who boast of knowing love cannot well make light of the love of others. Such is the oath I demand of you. I am well aware that my husband’s crimes are beyond pardon. But when you find my son and his wife, I ask that you vow not to forsake them.”

“You… Rather than submitting to torture, you would choose to negotiate? What—is this your pride as a pureblood speaking?”

“No, my love as a mother. I cannot…will not allow harm to come to them.”

The woman murmured, “Surely you understand.” Elisabeth gave the matter some consideration. It was no small demand. In fact, depending on how things were unfolding in the pureblood settlement, protecting the woman’s family might well prove impossible. Aguina’s wife went on.

“The whereabouts of the pureblood settlement in the Dragons’ Graveyard—the one found by the rebels, where my firstborn and his wife live—were hidden even from me. And the merchants the rebels used to track it down, as well as their supply routes, have doubtless been wiped out. Their lives and records lost to the rebels… As such, finding the settlement amid the vast desert will be challenging at best, to say nothing of the short time frame you’re working under. And given how difficult it would be to hold the settlement otherwise, I think it’s safe to assume that you’ll find large numbers of mixed-race people lying there in wait. Well? Wouldn’t you agree?”

“…Aye, true enough. ’Tis imperative we get eyes on it posthaste. Still, though… Here I had thought you a dullard, but you’re a sharp one indeed. Why, I would hardly take you for a noble at all.”

“You know, my husband said that was what made him fall for me. Speaking of which, he told me something when he left for the palace. Not the location but something akin to it.”

Aguina’s wife calmly looked up at Elisabeth. Her gaze was downright enticing. Her insinuation was clear, and her hook was cast. She laid her palm atop her chest.

“What will it be, Elisabeth Le Fanu? Will you accept my offer, or will you torture me until my blood and secrets run freely from my mouth?”

Her voice was calm and dignified, and it rang thick with determination. Even now, she was still searching for a respectable option. Either way, her path would be a thorny one, but she had steeled her resolve and, if need be, was prepared to commit a betrayal of her own.

Elisabeth gave a brief nod. Even as the Torture Princess, she knew.

When one option carried the danger of sparking interracial tensions, the other was obviously sounder.

“I cannot offer you any firm promises, as protection is hardly my forte. But if our assumption does end up holding true…then I shall devote whatever resources I can to ensuring their survival. Will that do?”

“That is acceptable. Given my current position, negotiating better terms than that is beyond me. But know this—you shall hear this information from my lips but once. For your sake, I hope you can glean meaning from it.”

The pride possessed by pureblood demi-humans was difficult to overstate.

In one sense, it was insipid, and in another, regal.

Steadfastly maintaining her dignity to the bitter end, Aguina’s wife spoke.

“The way things are going, war may be inevitable. I have no intention of letting the calamity affect you or our people, but if you feel that you’re in danger, gather the rest of the purest bloods and turn to the Sand Queen. She will lead you to us and our son.’ That is the totality of what my husband told me.”

“‘Turn to the Sand Queen’… Meaning her corpse?”

“Such irreverence. In our land, you would be executed for a comment like that.”

Elisabeth ignored Aguina’s wife’s admonishment. The Torture Princess frowned. Aguina may have been obsessed with blood purity, but he was also a pragmatist through and through.

Whatever he was getting at, it must have been something that would actually work.

Are the settlement’s coordinates recorded on the Sand Queen’s corpse somehow? No…just telling the purebloods where it is would be insufficient, given that they’d still need to cross the desert afterward. Some sort of teleportation mechanism installed in the corpse, then? Nothing happened when we blew it up, though…

As Elisabeth sank into thought, she looked up. Aguina’s wife was staring at her, almost as though trying to figure her out. Their negotiations were complete. Elisabeth gave her a wave to set her mind at ease.

“…That concludes my boorish task, so I shall be out of your hair now. Forgive the intrusion, wife of Aguina.”

“Satisbarina.”

“Hmm?”

Elisabeth cocked her head. From her human perspective, the word sounded almost like a tongue twister. Aguina’s wife laid her wounded fingers atop her mouth and let out a sigh.

“I see you’re a little slow. It’s my name—Satisbarina Elephabred. I am not ‘Suffering Woman,’ nor am I ‘wife of Aguina.’ We have made an oath, you and I, and as such, I expect you to remember that.”

“Ah, I see… Then, Satisbarina, I have something I would tell you in turn.”

“By all means, speak your piece.”

Satisbarina gracefully offered Elisabeth the floor. Elisabeth crossed her arms. She hadn’t minded most of the accusations Satisbarina leveled her way, but there was one thing she couldn’t let stand uncorrected.

“’Tis as you said—I am the Torture Princess, a weapon of the Church, and a sinner. But I’ve no need of your pity, and moreover, I am no consort of the Mad King’s. He is a married man and a devoted one at that.”

“Oh, goodness me, I had no idea. My deepest apologies; I see I’ve touched on a painful subject.”

Satisbarina covered her mouth, not sure what to say. However, there was nothing that needed saying. Elisabeth got the sense that a new misunderstanding had taken the old one’s place, but she turned around after deciding to leave things at that. A thought crossed her mind.

’Tis but a tale from long, long ago.

Once upon a time, there was a boy who was brutally killed by another and a monster who brutally killed others.

Or perhaps there was a child who was abandoned by his parents and a sinner who was abandoned by the world.

By now, there was nobody left who knew how they had spent their days. But the sinner was fine with that.

The two of them used to be together.

That was enough for her.

“Fare thee well, Satisbarina Elephabred.”

“And likewise to you, Torture Princess Elisabeth Le Fanu.”

Thus spoke the Suffering Women

those who loved the enemies of the world

as though vowing never to meet in that room again.

And with that, they parted, much in the manner that friends did.

Elisabeth exited the room, passing by the gatekeeper boy as she left.

He silently stepped back and resumed his post.

As he did, Elisabeth strode down the white corridor. With each wordless step she took, her thoughts turned and turned.

…After La Christoph’s death, I sent a familiar to the demi-human palace and discovered that the rebel troops had thinned out. I retook the area Alice and Lewis vanished from, but…most of the rebels were gone, and they took the demi-humans and demon grandchildren with them.

Satisbarina’s assessment of the situation had been on the mark. They still hadn’t found the rebels’ stronghold, but even though there was no guarantee that the pureblood settlement was where they were holed up, the sheer lengths to which it had been concealed brought that to the forefront of Elisabeth’s mind.

She needed to reexamine the Sand Queen.

Right when she reached that conclusion, though, her train of thought was interrupted.

“Madam Elisabeeeeeeth!”

“Ah! Y-you surprised me… Lute, is that you? For a moment, I half thought you the Butcher, back from the dead. So what is it? For you to come all this way down… Did something happen?”

Elisabeth blinked repeatedly as she stared at the wolf-headed beastman who had just rushed up before her. It was Lute, vice-captain of the Peace Brigade and Elisabeth’s direct subordinate.

His tongue was longer than a human’s, and it hung from his mouth as he panted to catch his breath. All his coppery fur was standing on end, his tail was puffed up and sticking straight out, and to top it all off, his ears were twitching up a storm.

It was all too plain to see that something was up.

Had there been another attack? Had the masses gotten even more out of control? Both perhaps?

Elisabeth narrowed her eyes as she considered the possibilities. However, she could tell that none of them were it. Lute was shaking his head indecisively, his gaze wandering and his nose twitching. Then finally, he raised his voice.

“Ah, to hell with it! I’m the first member of the Peace Brigade, and moreover, a sworn friend of Sir Kaito Sena’s! For the greater good or not, I cannot sit by silently and watch this happen!”

“Kaito Sena? What, did something happen to Kaito?”

If so, that was a whole different story altogether, and his alarm was well warranted. Elisabeth took a step forward as she spoke.

For some reason, seeing his captain’s reaction seemed to help cool Lute’s head. He straightened his posture and gave his report.

“In the tripartite conference I was just attending as a guard, the discussion turned to the crowds protesting across the land. Things have settled down in the Capital, but the people in outlying areas are rioting. Casualties are already starting to occur, and there’s concern that the rebels will use it as an opportunity to attack. And so the conference reached a decision.”

Lute took a deep breath. Before he could finish, though, Elisabeth sensed what he was about to say.

She hoped against hope that her prediction was off the mark, but his next words served to squash that possibility.

“Handing the vessel of God and Diablo over to the rebels is off the table. Instead…”

Before the masses had a chance to become completely uncontrollable

they would destroy the crystal, with Sir Kaito Sena in it.

“I see. A prudent measure.”

Elisabeth delivered her succinct response in the quietest of murmurs. Her tepid reaction almost earned her a dismayed howl from Lute. You’re okay with this?! he seemed to be on the verge of shouting. But he took a single look at her face, and that was enough to drive him silent.

Elisabeth had no idea what her own expression looked like, and in truth, she didn’t much care. She just slowly closed her eyes.

For Elisabeth Le Fanu knew.

It was as one would their confidante, or their brother, or their savior.

As one would a kind, incorrigible fool—

As one would any whom they ought to love—

Elisabeth Le Fanu loved Kaito Sena.

And so if the world was going to betray him—

—then she had no choice but to betray the world.