The servants in Count Lyranâs house were living perpetually in fear. Hyatoi, one of the temporary servants here, was one of the prime examples.
The catalyst that jump-start all of the masters in this house to become crazy was when the young girl, who was treated as a slave in this house, was sent as a bride to the âCursed Dukeâ. Hyatoi was hired not long before the girl was sent off to the dukeâŠÂ Hyatoi was coming in as the girlâs replacement so he was quite close with her so even if they kept on saying that girl was the root of this problem, Hyatoi still felt that accusation was not quite right on the mark.
That girl, she was obedient, hard working and she was rather quiet⊠Frankly speaking, the girl appeared to be harmless, she didnât leave any strong impression for Hyatoi.
Because they cut her hair short before they kicked her out, Hyatoi first thought the girl had made some big mistake and was fired from her job because of it. Who wouldâve thought the girl was actually being sent as a bride to that infamous monstrous duke. Hyatoi was flabbergasted when he first heard this news.
However, not long after the girl left, a gentleman who was said to be the âCursed Dukeâ himself came to Count Lyranâs house. This young noble was the most handsome person Hyatoi had ever seen.
âŠâŠ Ever since then, the Lordâs order kept on getting stranger, more ominous and more repulsive. Therefore, in Hyatoiâs mind, that gentleman was the real catalyst.
One particular order stood out amongst the rest. Suddenly the Lord ordered the two soldiers to be executed even though the two of them hadnât made any great mistake.
Since then, questions like âwhoâ, âfor what reasonâ, âwhat kind of punishmentââŠ. Those kind of questions remained a mystery for everyone here.
Of course, the Lord didnât only stop there.
âŠ. Not only did they execute the soldiers, they also ordered Hyatoi to gouge the soldierâs heart out and to stuff some weird, ominous slime into it. In addition, there was also the corpse of a mysterious man in a robe. Hyatoi was also ordered to gouge that manâs heart out and to stuff the same weird slime into it.
After that, they ordered Hyatoi to bury all those three hearts in different places in Duke Lönnrotâs estate. To say those orders were unusual and enigmatic was an understatement.
Feeling everything was just getting creepier and creepier, Hyatoi tried to run away but then, they captured his one and only daughter. Hyatoiâs daughter was kept as a hostage, making Hyatoi unable to resign from his position.
Had he known things would end up this way, wouldnât come to work in Count Lyranâs house. Heâd rather keep on working at a restaurant in the outskirts of town. Albeit he was poor, his life back then was so much better than now.
He had come with a plan to escape along with his daughter several times already but unfortunately, all of the surrounding area near the prison was monitored by Sistana herself. Itâd be impossible to sneak his daughter, who was still very young, out of the house without the help of magic.
Iâm glad I can see for myself that my daughter is safe and sound but⊠How long do I have to live a life like this?
Hyatoi bit his lips, his mind was filled with despair.
It was then, suddenly, all of his masters, the three of them began to writhe in pain as sludge-like substance poured out of their mouth and nose like a water fountain. The rumour said the person who they cast the curse on, had returned the curse back to them.
All of the masters here were not good people to say the least so⊠It wouldnât be strange for them to incur someoneâs wrath.
He hoped those three wouldnât be able to bear the curse and ended up crossing to the other side⊠If that happened, heâd promptly pick his daughter and leave this place for good. But⊠Of course life wasnât that simple.
Being forced by the other servant to clean the masterâs room, he was on his way when he heard the sound of his masterâs grudge echoing inside the house.
âBRBRBRBRBRBRRRRRâŠ. Cough! UGH!! GHAAAAAA!!! Phew, phew!! âŠâŠâŠâŠ HaahâŠ. HaahhâŠ. W-Why⊠We have to⊠Face this⊠OEEEGHHHHHHH!! AAAAHHHH!! MY POOR SISTANAâŠ.!!â
It seemed, up until now, they were still vomiting the same black-sludge. Sometimes, theyâd get hit by waves of nausea and as they were accompanied by the stench of something rotting and their bloodshot eyes, they would hurl foul words all the time.
When Hyatoi heard the voice of Bavalein and Sistana, his body immediately shrinked back in fear. He wished theyâd soon followed Pavadaâs steps, who was getting even worse and almost completely bedridden.
Thereâs a saying that goes âsilence is goldenâ after all.
âThis is all⊠Big sisterâs fault⊠Because my big sister sprinkled those white powder⊠She just wonât stop harassing usâŠ.â
âUuugh⊠OEEEGHHHH!!âŠ.. HaaahhhâŠ. Haahh⊠What a shameless b*tch⊠Even though Iâm the one raising her up to this point⊠So ungratefulâŠ. Uuughhhh! That girl⊠I shouldâve gotten rid of her while I still had my chance!! ⊠Haah⊠HaahhâŠ.!â
âMother! Oh, dearest mother, why does my big sister treat us so cruelly like this? âŠ. OEGGHHHâŠ.!!â
Splashing, sloshing, pouring. The sound of murky water echoed inside the room.
âIn the first place, it should be my big sisterâs job to be covered in these pus and mud!! Sheâs so cruel to us!!â
BAMMM!!
Following the loud sound of destruction, the door of this mansion was smashed open.
âUwahhh?!â
Hyatoi unconsciously let out a shriek when he saw the leg of a rotten-monster coming out from the room. Hearing Hyatoiâs audible shriek, Sistana immediately locked her muddy eyes at the poor servantâs trembling form.
The trace of Sistanaâs beautiful face was nowhere to be seen. There were tentacles growing from her face and her lips, or the place where her lips were supposed to be, were being pulled back into a crescent moon shape.
âFufufu⊠I just got a great idea⊠Hey, you. I want you to bring my sister back here.â
â?!â
Hearing the absurdity of the order that was suddenly bestowed to him, Hyatoiâs face became pale.
âIf Iâm not wrong⊠Ah, there. This is it, right?â
Sistana stretched the tentacles that were growing on her back to the prison where the hostages were being held.
âKYAAAA!!â
âHELP ME!!!â
âNOOOOOO!!â
âIâM SO SORRY, IâM SO SORRY!!!â
Suddenly, chaotic screams filled the room. It seemed while Sistana was searching for something, she went on and hit the people being held hostages with her tentacles.
âUWAHHHH!! DADDYYYY!!!â
There, Hyatoi saw a young girl screaming while being wrapped tightly by the thick tentacles. The young girlâs face was laden with fear.
â!!! Kiddie! Stop it!! No, please donât do it, Sistana-sama!!!â
The young girl was Hyatoiâs beloved daughter, Kiddie.
âI-I will do anything!! Thatâs why, my daughter⊠Please, my daughterâŠ.!â
âYes, of course. If you do your job properly, nothing will happen to her, you know? âŠ. So? My shameless sister, whoâs still staying at Lönnrot-sama place⊠Will you bring my sister, Miltia, here?â
âI-I understand!! Right away! I will bring your sister here right away so I beg of you, please! My daughter! Let my daughter go please!â
Hyatoi went down on his knees and begged at Sistanaâs feet, he had no dignity left to spare. Satisfied at the sight of Hyatoi begging on his knees, Sistana threw the crying girl away deliberately.
âKYAAA!!â
The girl screamed after Sistana threw her away. Of course, the young girl wasnât able to brace herself for the impact. Being thrown onto the prisonâs floor so hard like that, the young girl twisted her foot but even so⊠Despite the pain on her foot, she still desperately crawled away from Sistana with tears running down her face.
âHurry up and go. If you donât bring my sister back in 10 days then⊠That brat⊠Thatâs right, shall I get someone to do more âheart workâ for me?â
Hyatoi didnât really understand the implication behind Sistanaâs words. He didnât understand but⊠His back, which was being touched by Sistanaâs tentacles, was strangely wet. Was it from his own cold sweat⊠Or Sistanaâs sacrament? No one knew for sure but it was clear to seeâŠ. His back was so wet that his clothes were sticking to his skin.
It was that time, he suddenly remembered. The dark red blood that splattered on his shirt as he gutted the poor soldierâs heart outâŠ. He couldnât stop his whole body from trembling as he vividly recalled those nightmares back.