Episode 267
"Master? Master!"
"Mmm..."
"Wake up...!"
Opening my eyes at the voice calling me, I see a familiar face.
"Lulu."
"Hehe..."
Lulu, who had been sitting on my lap and quietly looking down at me, smiles with her eyes.
"Where are the Saint and Serena?"
"Someone was following us, so they got off to keep watch! We've arrived at our destination!"
At her words, I look out the window and see scenery as familiar as Lulu's face.
Tall and long buildings stretching upward, nobles walking past with haughty airs, and as always, people with cowed spirits.
The imperial city was today just the same as ever.
*Lick, lick...*
As I rest my chin on my hand and quietly observe the scene, Lulu closes her eyes halfway and begins licking my cheek.
"Hmm..."
Why does Lulu always lick my cheek?
Is it a gesture of submission and loyalty as a pet? Or is her rather high affection drive unconsciously leaking out?
Or perhaps... my cheek tastes sweet?
If so, wouldn't her cheek be sweet too?
There's no law saying only my cheek would be sweet, is there?
*Lick.*
"...Hiek!?"
At that thought, I close my eyes halfway and lick Lulu's cheek while she was licking mine, and she flinches in surprise.
"......???"
Then, Lulu stares at me with a blank expression.
*Lick...*
*Lick, lick...*
"Euh, uuaah...!"
When she cautiously licks my cheek while watching my reaction, I lick her neck in return, and Lulu hurriedly pulls away from me and speaks.
"M-Master...! You mustn't do this...!"
"Why not."
"Th-this act is... a gesture of submission to Master...!"
"Is that so?"
"Y-yes! Master mustn't submit to me!! Such insolence, just imagining it..."
Watching her trail off and begin fidgeting her fingers, I quietly mutter to myself.
'I want to torment her more...'
I want to see her crying face. I want to see her flustered expression. I want her to never forget for even a second that she is my possession.
Such impulses run wildly through my mind, taking control.
I want to put anyone under my control and torment them to my heart's content.
"Haahp..."
"......!!!"
Unable to overcome the impulse this time as well, I disregard Lulu's earnest plea and gently bite her neck.
*Nibble, nibble...*
"Hieek...!"
Then, laying Lulu down in the carriage, I nibble at her bare skin.
"I said I would punish you, Lulu."
Looking down at her trembling form, I whisper coldly.
*Squeeze...!*
"How dare a mere pet... so presumptuously remove the collar I bound you with..."
Tightening the loose collar around her neck firmly, I continue whispering quietly.
"Soon, I'll have an even stronger collar specially made for you. A collar just for you that you can never remove without my permission."
"J-just for me..."
"Wear it always and consider it an honor. Never forget the feeling of the collar around your neck for even a moment, and always remember that the one dominating you is me."
"Yes, yesh..."
I imagine the finest magical collar, made using all my wealth, being fastened around her neck.
And I imagine Lulu quietly caressing the collar the moment it's placed on her, trembling with joy.
I imagine her looking only at me whenever I tighten the collar. I imagine Lulu wearing the collar, recognizing only me as her master, and growling at strangers.
Tightening the collar until Lulu suffers, tears welling in her eyes as she whimpers, her looking up at me with trembling eyes—all of it is good.
This desire I've never felt once in my life is simply too...
"Hmhm~♪"
""........!!""
Just as I was putting more force into the collar and leaving new teeth marks on her neck, I heard Serena's humming and my eyes went wide.
*Whoosh...*
At the same time, a refreshing sensation in my head.
"...Ah."
And then, guilt and fear.
"Huu..."
"Hehe... hehe..."
Hurriedly pulling away from Lulu and sighing, I hear her blissful laughter from below.
'I'm going crazy...'
The unidentified 'Villainization' curse seems to be getting more and more serious.
In the morning when I spent a sweet day with Serena, I could somehow control it, but now my mind is being consumed by 'Villainization' again.
This curse that makes me want to 'torment' whoever is in front of me seems to ignore my mental strength to some extent.
In the first place, with my current mental strength, ordinary mental-type curses shouldn't work on me at all... Just what kind of curse is this?
If it's a curse, I'll need to get help from someone who knows a thing or two about them.
.
"........."
"I love you... Master... really..."
Lulu wears a melted expression, rubbing her cheek against Frey's chest.
"I really, really love Master..."
She sat straddling one of Frey's knees, body twitching and trembling as she looked up at him with shaking eyes.
"Sorry, Lulu... I was wrong..."
"......?"
Thinking her behavior was due to fear from his actions, Frey wears a glum expression and strokes her hair.
"...Hm?"
Then, Frey tilts his head in confusion.
"What is this...?"
"...Ughit!"
"Lulu?"
When he caresses something small on Lulu's head, she, who had been rubbing her body against him while sitting on his knee, bends at the waist.
"W-why suddenly...!"
Surprised, Frey grabs her waist.
*Rattle...!*
"Frey, I found something quite interesting..."
The carriage door opens, and Serena, having finished scouting, along with the Sun God possessing the Saint, witnesses the scene.
"".........""
A strange silence begins to flow.
"F-Frey...? What are you doing?"
Serena, wearing a shocked expression, asks in a low voice.
"...*Gulp.*"
The Goddess, who had been glancing at the carriage with a flushed face, swallows dryly at the sight.
"Hggit... hgit... hhehe..."
Meanwhile, Lulu, thrashing about with her waist bent, buries her head in Frey's chest and breathes roughly.
"What... is this?"
"Hiiiik..."
Frey, tilting his head as he cautiously caresses something that appeared on Lulu's head, finally turns his gaze aside and answers in a low voice.
"I was... playing with my pet."
"T-that? Is playing... what you call it?"
Serena, momentarily at a loss for words, begins to stammer.
"Never mind, you all wait here."
"Yes?"
"We need to find a place to stay in the city."
Frey, looking at them with cold eyes, issues the command, then finally removes his hand from Lulu's head—she had been trembling to the point of convulsions in his arms—and begins caressing her collar instead.
"Frey?"
*Squeeze...!*
Frey, having become villainized again, this time ties her collar to the carriage window frame.
"I'll find suitable lodgings, so wait here quietly."
"......♡"
"Hmm."
Leaving those words for Lulu, who was still lying on the carriage seat twitching, Frey steps outside, receiving her melted gaze as he looks at Serena and the Goddess.
"The same goes for you two. Take good care of Lulu. Know that if you move even a little, I'll put collars on you like Lulu."
"...Yes."
"T-that kind of play is fine too... I-I understand!"
Leaving the three girls behind, Frey quietly walks away.
"Frey, just a moment."
"Hm?"
But suddenly, Serena grabs his arm.
"...Hmm."
Soon, Serena narrows her eyes and whispers something in his ear, and Frey quietly nods.
"Good work, Serena."
*Wiggle...!*
"Hiek...!"
With that, Frey grins mischievously and presses firmly on her lower abdomen.
"......."
"...Ah? Uua?"
Then, when Frey looks at her with narrowed eyes, Serena, who had been twitching at the wiggling in her lower abdomen, says:
"Euh, uum... the wiggling in my lower abdomen is... a natural thing... yes yes."
She looks at Frey cautiously and mutters.
"...I'm not sure if that worked."
Frey looks back and forth between her and the oath ring he was wearing, then scratches his head and walks on.
"Anyway, I'm going crazy..."
He begins muttering quietly.
"I keep wanting to torment others..."
When alone, I can control it to some degree, but if even one person is present, the 'Villainization' ability manifests wildly.
Wearing a gloomy expression due to the situation, Frey glances back at the girls who might have been hurt by his actions, then steps into a dark alleyway.
*Beep, beep...*
He takes out a communication crystal from his coat and begins sending a signal somewhere.
"If it's a curse... Kania would know best."
Muttering, Frey contacts Kania.
"Kuuu!!"
".....?"
Just as he was about to send her a signal, an owl flies from the void, and he tilts his head in confusion.
"Kuuu...!"
"Pfub..."
Spitting out feathers from his mouth thanks to the owl, which was more excited than usual and rubbing its wings against his face, he opens the letter the creature brought.
[I've ordered all messenger birds heading to your mansion to be intercepted, so I had this letter seized.]
[Serena of the Night]
"As expected of Serena..."
Looking with satisfaction at Serena's note attached to the front of the letter:
"...Ugh."
He begins to break out in a cold sweat.
[I have something to confess to you. Let's meet and talk for a bit.]
[Icy Winter Cloud]
Dated about a week ago, there was a letter from Icy.
"Why is this arriving now..."
"Kuuu!!"
"Hey, stop that... hm?"
Frey, looking at the letter with a flustered expression, was about to scold the owl that kept poking his face, then tilts his head.
"Kuuu! Kuu!"
The creature was pointing with its wings toward something in the darkness.
"Good grief..."
Looking at the owl, Frey sighs and strokes its head, then mutters quietly.
"I know."
What Frey saw as he spoke:
"...Serena told me earlier."
Alice, disguised entirely with Moonlight family techniques, was crouched on a wall like a cat.
"..........."
Staring fixedly at Frey, glaring fiercely.
.
*Scritch, scritch...*
Meanwhile, at that time.
"Huuu... huuu..."
Rosewin, who had been shedding hot tears, was writing something on a letter, unable to summon the courage to play the video again.
"I'm sorry... I was wrong... Frey..."
[The Truth About Frey Raon Starlight]
[Frey Raon Starlight was actually a hero. Born with the destiny of a counterfeit-hero to save this world, he has therefore defeated countless counterfeit-heroes...]
It was a letter about 'Frey's truth' to be sent to every news outlet in the empire.
*Crumple...!*
"Uuuu..."
But when her tears ruined the letter paper, she quietly crumples it:
"I, I have to tell..."
She takes out new paper and spreads it on her desk, picks up her pen with trembling hand, but:
"His truth... must be revealed to the whole world..."
*Pop...!*
"...Kyah!?"
When a small system window appears on the letter and pushes away her ballpoint pen, she screams and recoils.
- First Restriction -
What enters her vision is:
- You cannot disclose the hero's identity in any way.
Clear letters shining with brilliant moonlight.
*Thud...*
Kneeling before the desk, her eyes fill with despair.
*Ung...*
At that moment, the video behind her begins playing again.