Early morning.
The Duke's Manor.
Even though the Knights arrived quickly, the room where the Duchess had been was already burned to a crisp.
"..."
A Cardinal Archbishop dressed in monastic robes dipped his index finger into the ash, putting it into his mouth to taste it carefully. "This woman... not only did she spend a fortune buying the Church's crosses, she bought the Elixir of Immortality too. Pity, she couldn't live two days longer."
"...Archbishop, please give me two days."
Beside him, a noble man bowed low, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.
"No need. The Church only gave this woman some benefits out of respect for the Duke. We have no use for nobles who can't get anything done. Whether some other dog couldn't stand her arrogance and killed her doesn't matter."
"Right now, the other Cardinals have finished their respective tasks. The Holy City is surrounded. It will only take a little more time before we begin the siege."
"Your job isn't to investigate who killed the Duchess. You only need to eradicate everyone who refuses to cooperate with the Church. Mmm... anyway, the killer is inside."
The Cardinal Archbishop patted the shoulder of the bowing noble. "Lyman, I trust you will handle this properly. Once the Holy City becomes the New Vatican, I will personally preside over your initiation ceremony. Don't worry, the low-quality Elixirs we sell to the public are completely different from what's intended for those as loyal as you."
"It's just as well the Duchess is dead. We'll announce to the public that she was contaminated by evil. Isn't that 'Succubus' quite famous lately? Let's credit this to it. Life shouldn't be too peaceful before the Holy City is taken. Since we raised the prices of the second batch of crosses and Elixirs, sales have dropped significantly."
"..."
The Cardinal Archbishop left.
After a long while, the noble named Lyman straightened up, staring at the charred room.
Who did this?
So much courage. But to resist at this stage... it only added extra work to the suspicion he already faced as a dog of the Church.
One day after leaving the Holy City.
During the day, Elisa was unable to move. It was difficult for her to act.
Silas placed her in a hole dug by a wild boar or some animal, hiding her well.
Logically, the task should have been completed, but it hadn't triggered yet.
He found an opportunity to swagger back into the Holy City. The incident at the Duke's manor seemed to have been classified as an accidental fire, as if someone was intentionally covering things up. He wasn't wanted, and neither was the Princess.
Could it be that leaving the city was like leaving a quest zone during a battle, so the game couldn't judge the outcome?
Silas returned to the hidden hole in the woods.
"..."
Elisa was still tied up. The turtle-shell bondage made her taste bitter humiliation.
"Are you sick in the head?"
It started again.
The meaningless verbal abuse.
"I can't go out during the day anyway! If you want to run, why don't you just go by yourself? Why bring me along?"
"..."
Silas ignored her, casually taking out some roasted meat he bought in the Holy City and eating it.
"Tying me up in this..."
The more Elisa struggled, the tighter the ropes snaking through her cleavage and butt crack became. To make it worse, Silas was admiring her from head to toe.
She gritted her teeth. "Fine, I would have died without you."
"I know! You look down on me!"
"I planned to go back and take down the Church members with me!"
"What's wrong with that?!"
"In your eyes, I'm overestimating myself, but what else can I do? Escape again and live like a rat in the sewers?"
"..."
"I've already run away once!"
"I absolutely don't want to go back to eating scraps, stealing treasure to bury in caves, and wearing dresses to talk to myself in a mirror pretending I'm still royalty! And I certainly don't want to be some panty-stealing Succubus!"
"Do you know how a body like mine made it all this way from so far? I just want... to die with dignity. What's wrong with that?!"
"..."
"Yes, I'm a coward. Even with my aunt lying before me, I didn't have the courage to strike her vitals with a sword. I'm not like you, who can cut off her limbs without even blinking."
"...Want some?"
Silas took a bite of meat and offered his finger.
"...I told you I don't drink male blood!"
Her face flushed deep red with anger.
"Oh. Then look around for something you can eat. Have a bite."
Silas untied the ropes binding her.
"...I'm not eating."
"..."
Whatever.
She'd be more obedient after skipping a few meals.
"Everyone looks down on me... everyone. Ugh... you bastard..."
Is she still going?
While talking to herself, she started gasping for air and dropping "little pearls" of tears.
"..."
Elisa cried until she was exhausted. She gritted her teeth and looked at Silas, who was still devouring meat. His eating habits only made her hunger sharper.
And she felt even more humiliated.
"Don't you just want my body?"
"I'll give it to you!"
She unbuttoned her clothes, acting out of total desperation. "You can despise me, think I'm a princess without dignity. Whatever. I won't beg for mercy this time!"
"Taking off just a coat in a dark cave like this? Are you that confident in your figure?"
Although the glimpse of her snowy cleavage did catch Silas's eye, he looked away casually.
"...Bastard."
He heard a faint curse. Then, within two minutes, Elisa unclipped her bra. The pure white lace slid down, and she humiliatingly tried to cover herself with her hands.
"Lie down. I don't want to be covered in mud."
"..."
Elisa had accepted her fate. She lay on the ground, tears streaming down her face.
Her thigh was touched.
The hands covering her breasts were moved away.
"Is your wish really to go back and die?"
"So what! You can look down on me, but every member of the Elisa royalty has this resolve! So do I! Only this honor and dignity... I will never allow them to be trampled."
She closed her eyes, trying her best not to feel the sensations where she was being touched. Let the tears fall; she had no dignity left in front of this man anyway.
"..."
Silas toyed with her nipples. Unlike the Sister, although hers were large, the shape was completely different.
Mmh... like bamboo shoots? Conical. And the color of the areolas was a beautiful pink, becoming engorged with blood at the tips. They looked perfect for sucking.
"..."
The little virgin was quite good at pretending. Her body was shaking like a leaf, yet she didn't make a sound.
Silas's hand moved down to the crest on her navel. Was it because she hadn't eaten for two days? The color seemed much dimmer.
He reached further down. Her ass was clad in black lace panties. The gap between her legs was obvious... but there was no moisture. Her breasts were heavily engorged, but she felt nothing down there.
However, as Silas's hand touched the critical areas, her body shook even harder. Her face began to turn pale.
[You discovered her emotions have reached a breaking point.]
[Even if she thinks you won't let her go and she'll become your plaything, she still refuses to submit.]
[You decided to...]
[Important Choice Triggered]
[Option 1: Toy with her and turn her into a human doll.]
[Option 2: Give up. Perhaps instead of fleeing, you should indeed go back.]
[Proceeding with Free Simulation]
A similar prompt appeared yesterday.
Today, there was just an added option to toy with her.
The task still hadn't triggered as complete, which meant he really had strayed from the "main quest."
[You chose Option 1]
Silas suddenly felt that the way he interacted with the Princess from the start was wrong.
He shouldn't have explained. It was a game; why waste breath?
"You think you can just get through this by closing your eyes and lying on the ground?"
"..."
Elisa opened her tearful eyes. She saw Silas sitting beside her, lowering his pants.
"I'm a kind person. Considering your lack of experience, I'll give you a choice. Pick one: your ass, your hands, your breasts, or your mouth. Which will you use to serve me?"
"...What?"
"Pick one to help me get back to normal."
"..."
Perhaps three or four minutes passed before she sat up. Gritting her teeth, she reached out her slender fingers and touched him with utter loathing.
"Relax."
"..."
"I didn't tell you to relax so much that you don't move. Move rhythmically, understand? Use both hands."
"..."
The lubricating fluids coated Elisa's palms. She felt only disgust. The sound of the up-and-down motion gradually took on a wet, erotic squelch.
Silas didn't try to hold back.
Caught off guard, white fluid splattered across the corner of her mouth.
"Totally failing grade."
Silas casually wiped himself with her bra and pulled up his pants.
"I don't have experience with such disgusting things! Besides, I did what you said!!!"
This was likely the greatest humiliation Elisa had ever endured in her life.
"Fine. I'll slowly teach you later."
"..."
Elisa had indeed vented through her desperation.
But after it was over, the more she looked at her stained bra, the more the reality sank in. This disgusting behavior would continue until she died. She truly had no freedom left. At that thought, tears welled up in her eyes again.
"I plan to go back to the Holy City. Get dressed. Let's go."
"?"
Elisa's chin was still wet with tears, but her face froze instantly.
Was she hallucinating?
"Don't want to go back?"
"..."
The development was completely different from what Elisa's small brain had imagined. In her mind, she would have become Silas's plaything kept in a dark room, like the stories she'd heard when she was still royalty.
"Hurry up before I change my mind."
"How can I wear this after you got that disgusting stuff on it?!"
"Do you plan to go back without a bra? That works too."
"..."
Meeting Silas's calm gaze, Elisa retreated again. She silently put on her bra and coat. The sticky feeling on her breasts made her very uncomfortable.
"I went back to the city during the day."
"No one knows we appeared at the Duke's manor. I can go back and continue being a sword instructor, but you can't. I need to find you a plausible identity."
"..."
Elisa barely managed to stop sobbing.
What was going on?
Until just now, he refused to let her leave at any cost. Now they were going back together?
"Let's do this: we'll tell the public you're my niece. I'll tuck you into St. Flower Academy. Most people in there are my acquaintances."
"..."
Though she hated to admit it.
Elisa knew clearly that Silas had saved her twice. If not for the thing she did with her hands... she had actually started thinking of him as a good person when she offered all her treasure.
But what reason did he have to not only let her return but also help her re-enter the Holy City?
"You choose. Follow my arrangement, or go on your own."
"I... I don't need your help!"
Elisa didn't want to think too much. Since she could leave, she certainly wanted her freedom.
"Wrong choice. You don't have a choice."
"..."
Bastard!
"After all, we're acquaintances. My conscience would bother me if I watched someone go to their death. Drink."
Silas held out his hand.
"I said I don't drink male blood!!!"
"Do you still think you found an opportunity to run and I just happened to save you?"
"..."
Elisa gritted her teeth and didn't resist anymore. She bit down on Silas's index finger.
"You really were that hungry? You're even licking now."
"..."
Elisa didn't mean to lick.
But gradually, she felt the blood entering her mouth was mixed with something else... like the stuff she had worked out with her hands just now. That substance seemed to have a fatal attraction to her, driving her to stick out her tongue instinctively.
"From now on, you are a student of St. Flower Royal Maiden Academy, my niece. Other than 'Teacher,' what should you call me?"
"..."
"...Gulp. Uncle."
Compared to provoking Silas further and enduring more humiliation, she compromised and submitted. As long as she could return to the Holy City. There would always be a chance to escape.
She would remember this shame! One day, she would wait for this man to be careless—maybe when he was naked in the bath, where he couldn't hide a cross. She would definitely make Silas taste the same humiliation.
What "conscience would bother me"?
She had already accepted her fate as a ruined woman, and now he says they're going back. What the hell? Weirdo!