Chapter 56

The child was always lonely.

To hide the traces of abuse, the mother confined the child indoors, and the child, who loved the mother, didn’t know the option of resistance.

In a world filled with the smell of alcohol and faint light, without a single ray of sunlight, the child grew up only looking at the mirror.

The face in the mirror resembled the mother, who was more beautiful than anyone in the world. Every time the child saw it, they fell into the illusion of seeing the mother.

Whenever the face in the mirror smiled, the child was captivated by the vision of the mother smiling gently. At some point, the child began to talk to the mirror.

“Today… Mom hit me with a golf club… I wish she had hit me with her hand… Then I could have touched her more…”

In a reality where no answer would come, the child continued to talk to themselves.

But one day, a sound broke the silence.

[Hello?]

In the dark dawn, before the sunlight touched the ground.

The child made their first friend.

*

Lying on the bed, I stared at the ceiling. The darkness, thicker than yesterday, pressed down on my heart. It was unbearably hard, but I could endure it this time. After all, I wasn’t alone anymore.

Slowly getting up, I called for the maid. Today’s morning shift was Luna’s. She was a simple and naive girl. Normally, her dullness was uncomfortable, but today, it was rather endearing.

“Luna, I feel like eating some meat… is that possible?”

I spoke to Luna with a pitiful gaze, as usual. At my earnest expression, Luna flinched and immediately nodded in response. Her innocent reaction felt even more adorable today.

The meat Luna brought looked quite appetizing. The large plate of meat glistened, and the soup beside it looked warm.

I picked up the knife and fork and cut into the meat. The thick, juicy meat sliced smoothly, and the savory aroma tickled my nose. As I took the first bite, the crispy yet tender texture of the meat naturally brought a smile to my face.

I picked up a piece of meat with the fork and offered it to Luna.

“Luna, have a bite too. Say ‘ahh~'”

Luna visibly flinched and took a step back. She probably hadn’t had much experience eating such high-quality meat. Eventually, unable to resist my persistent urging and the fragrant aroma of the meat, Luna leaned forward.

I bent forward to feed her the meat. At that moment, my knee hit the table, causing it to tip forward, and the steaming soup spilled all over Luna.

“Ahhh!”

A sharp scream escaped Luna’s lips. The maid’s uniform was thick, so there was no worry of burns, but the sudden situation startled her, and she fell backward.

“I’m sorry, Luna!”

I hurriedly took out a handkerchief and handed it to her. Luna, seemingly worried about burn marks, frantically wiped the soup off her clothes.

While she was still panicking.

I quietly hid the knife I was holding under the pillow.

*

“Fuck. No.”

A curse burst from Iris’s twisted face. Her black eyes were filled with disgust, contempt, and deep shame.

“…Is that the right attitude to speak to a superior?”

At Viviana’s cold voice, Iris flinched but didn’t back down, instead raising her voice in protest.

“My lord, you should order what needs to be ordered. Do I look like someone who would say such pleasant words?”

“No.”

“Absolutely not. It goes against my nature. Just kill me, my lord.”

“Then try dying once and decide.”

“…”

At the murderous tone in Viviana’s voice, Iris was speechless. She remembered the time she had accidentally called the pet girl a whore and was summoned by the princess, who beat her until there was no spot left unbruised.

[I told you to hurt her, not call her a whore!]

Viviana had never been so angry before.

Eventually, Iris sighed and accepted her situation.

When a superior says jump, you jump. She wanted to quit on the spot, but the current compensation was too good.

Besides, the contract she had signed made it impossible to leave even if she wanted to…

“Remember. The moment Tina sheds tears, from then on, you must make her the happiest person in the world.”

“…Ugh, what a mess.”

Iris clutched her head in agony, looking as if she were dying.

“Stop complaining and do it. I’ll exempt you from training.”

“…Yes.”

Finally accepting reality, Iris looked at the clock. It was almost time to attend to the pet girl. But perhaps because of the harsh criticism she had previously uttered, her heart wasn’t at ease.

“…Since it’s my turn, I’ll take my leave now.”

“Alright, if you see anything unusual with Tina, report it immediately.”

Viviana turned her gaze away from the retreating Iris and thought of her pet in her mind.

That lovely face, the blush of embarrassment, and the shy smile were more feminine than any woman she had ever seen.

And she was tired of that ass?

“Bullshit.”

What kind of nonsense was that.

Viviana clenched and unclenched her hand, recalling the addictive sensation like a drug. Even if she touched that plump, snow-white ass millions, tens of millions of times, she would never tire of that feeling.

That plump ass she touched every night. The grip that fit perfectly in her hand. It had only been a day since she last touched it, but she already felt withdrawal symptoms.

Yet, she had said she was tired of it, just to forcibly break the mask Tina was wearing.

Asking to touch her chest was in the same vein. It was to hurt Tina with words that seemed to demand only her body, to strip away the mask she was wearing.

…Of course, there was a bit of personal desire mixed in.

“Just a little more.”

The end was truly near. She instinctively felt that Tina’s mask was on the verge of breaking. When that happened, just like when she was kidnapped by Mardian, her true self hidden beneath that thick mask would be revealed.

From then on, she would pour all her love into Tina.

Tina was struggling not to reveal her true self for some reason. So Viviana decided to make her realize the truth directly.

She would show Tina that she didn’t need to wear a mask. That her true self was much more attractive… no, lovable.

She didn’t want to torment Tina either.

But to allow Tina to live in the world as her true self, she had to thoroughly break her heart once.

“It’s all for you… just once, let go of everything for me, Tina.”

Imagining the pet girl’s ass, Viviana continued to knead the air with both hands.

*

“Hello, Iris.”

The girl sitting on the bed greeted her.

She still gave a warm smile to the person who had called her a whore yesterday.

But perhaps it was her mood, the smile seemed somewhat weak. Her skin, already pale, looked even more so today. Looking at that smile, an inexplicable sense of foreboding swept over her.

‘Was it because of what I said?’

Hurting her was the lord’s order, but calling her a whore was entirely her own decision.

It was true that she sold smiles and flattery for gain, but saying it like that was clearly wrong.

But words once spoken couldn’t be taken back. Iris decided to think positively.

‘I’ll apologize later.’

If she just cried once, that would be enough. After that, all she had to do was treat her well. Although Iris wasn’t a generous person, for some reason, she wanted to smile at that girl.

“Could you prepare a bath for me?”

While Iris was lost in thought, the girl smiled and made the request.

She used to show her naked body as a joke. Remembering that made her heart race.

Seeing that sensual and alluring body so casually shown to others, she thought, as the lord said, that her habits needed to be corrected.

With a faint smile, Iris nodded.

A bath was one of her rights.

Iris left the pet girl and headed to the bathroom. She filled the large tub with warm water and added fragrant candles and flower petals good for the skin.

Normally, she would have done it carelessly, but due to guilt over her previous harsh words, she put in extra effort this time.

After preparing the bath, Iris returned to the girl.

The girl silently followed her out and walked with her down the long hallway.

An awkward silence lingered today. Iris wondered if she should say something, but the pet girl was the first to speak.

“I’ve been thinking about what you said, Iris…”

“…”

“Maybe… I really could be a whore.”

The girl spoke with a faint smile.

Seeing her weak smile, Iris’s heart skipped a beat.

She wanted to say that her words yesterday were a mistake, but it was still time to be harsh, so Iris kept her mouth shut.

“Thank you for preparing the bath.”

They had arrived at the bathroom.

The girl tried to close the door as she entered the bathroom. But Iris instinctively reached out to stop the door from closing.

She felt like she had to hold her back. Her eyes looked so faint, as if she would sink into the darkness at any moment.

The girl looked at Iris with surprised eyes, then soon gave a playful smile.

“Oh, do you want to see me naked again?”

Caught off guard by the unexpected words, Iris stepped back in surprise. The girl giggled and closed the door.

Iris blinked blankly at the door, then shook her head and took a step back.

‘…Well, it should be fine.’

If she’s making jokes, she still has some energy left. It didn’t seem like a big concern.

Iris stood a few steps away from the door, keeping watch. Guarding the pet girl was one of her duties, so she had to keep watch even during her bath.

10 minutes, 20 minutes passed.

And when 30 minutes had passed, Iris felt a strange unease.

It wasn’t that long. The girl usually took about an hour for her bath, and Iris herself often took around 30 minutes.

But the bathroom was eerily quiet. The sound of splashing water was only heard at the beginning, and after that, there was no noise at all.

Normally, the girl would have said something by now, but for some reason, there was no sound.

Iris, feeling an inexplicable sense of foreboding, knocked on the door twice.

No answer came.

Thinking she might not have heard, she knocked louder this time, but still, only silence responded.

A sudden chill began to envelop her entire body.

“Are you okay, pet?”

This time, she spoke directly, but still, only ominous silence returned.

Her heart began to race.

Without a moment to think, Iris tried to open the bathroom door, but it was locked from the inside.

“…I’m coming in.”

Iris made a decision and decided to force the door open.

She broke the doorknob and kicked the door hard. With a loud noise, the firmly closed door opened, and hot steam from the bathroom spread out.

Through the mist, the interior of the bathroom slowly revealed itself. Several fragrant candles flickered, emitting a subtle scent, but amidst the sweet aroma, a thick, metallic smell of blood brushed her nose.

Iris immediately fixed her gaze on the bathtub.

And then.

“Ah, ahh…”

Her eyes widened in shock and began to tremble as if an earthquake had struck.

In the bathtub, the pet girl lay quietly with her eyes closed. From the outside, she looked peaceful, as if asleep. Her lovely appearance, asleep, was like a painting.

But Iris, filled with terror, couldn’t help but scream loudly.

“Ah, no!!!!!”

The bathtub’s water, horrifyingly red.

With a look of despair and shock, Iris, with a painful cry and deep-seated fear, rushed to the girl.

*

Thump- thump-

Her heart now pounded as if it would burst.

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