Chapter 19
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Chapter 19
Standing upon the Chessboard, Count Rudin gazed about in bewilderment.
"Is this a dream...?"
Even accounting for the dream's nature, it was profoundly strange.
Chess pieces drifting aimlessly through the void.
A decapitated bear doll waddling about with ungainly steps.
Broken toy soldiers marched in formation, while mutilated dolls with stuffing spilling from torn limbs floundered across scattered sweets and candies.
Within this chaotic pandemonium, butterflies of ethereal hues fluttered with serene grace.
Entranced by the butterflies, I took a step forward.
Squelch—something gave way beneath my foot.
Glancing down, Count Rudin realized he had stepped upon an overturned cake.
From the sticky cake oozed an unidentifiable crimson liquid.
"Ugh."
An inexplicable revulsion welled up, and I clamped my mouth shut—when suddenly, the sound of a music box pierced the air.
From the music box hovering mockingly about my head, a fairy figurine pirouetted in endless dance.
The broken-winged fairy doll bore a face fashioned into a flower shape, grotesque beyond measure.
The music box played a discordant, grating melody that stabbed mercilessly at my eardrums.
The more I listened, the more my head throbbed as though it might split asunder.
Count Rudin's breathing became ragged and labored.
I desperately wanted to awaken from this dream.
Yet the nightmare had only just begun.
"Hello."
At that crystalline voice, my eyes snapped open.
Flowers began sprouting from the Chessboard's surface.
Thorny brambles tangled chaotically as blossoms of every variety burst into full bloom.
And from the swirling petals, a woman emerged as though flowering herself.
Dazzling golden hair rippled in the wind, while crimson eyes gleamed like roses kissed by dawn's dew.
With her appearance, the fragrance of flowers permeated all directions.
The intoxicating floral perfume stole my breath away.
Count Rudin stood transfixed, utterly captivated by the woman.
No language he knew possessed words to describe her beauty.
Though my gaze had been wholly consumed by her, I belatedly noticed something amiss.
She wielded an axe.
An axe that ill-suited her pale, delicate hands—its blade gleaming with an ominous, sickly blue.
In that instant, Count Rudin comprehended her identity.
Cold sweat cascaded down my spine.
My heart thundered with violent intensity.
Count Rudin stammered hesitantly.
"A, a demon...?"
With a smile as lovely as a flower, the demoness Lichesia offered her greeting.
"Welcome to my Illusion Realm."
Then she caressed the axe and whispered.
"Shall we start by cutting off one of your fingers?"
***
Perched atop a mound of flowers, Chesa gazed down with arrogant superiority.
The sight of Count Rudin scrambling frantically across the Chessboard filled her with laughter.
As she laughed aloud, Count Rudin's desperate flight accelerated further.
Yet it was all for naught.
This place Chesa had created was the Illusion Realm.
A special illusory domain exclusive to fairies.
The Illusion Realm manifested differently for each fairy, though most took the form of natural landscapes—forests, meadows, or lakes.
But Chesa's Illusion Realm was peculiar.
Perhaps it was because she was the daughter of a deranged fairy.
Chesa's Illusion Realm, warped by her twisted power, was filled entirely with grotesque things befitting her reputation as a demon woman.
In particular, there were many toys and treats that children would love, yet all of them were broken.
Still, Chesa was pleased with her Illusion Realm.
A domain that moved solely by Chesa's will.
Thus, here she could freely alter her appearance.
'It feels good to be an adult again after so long, doesn't it?'
Instead of stubby limbs, moving long, slender arms and legs felt absolutely exhilarating.
Her tongue, no longer constrained and now free, was equally magnificent.
Savoring the sensation of returning as the demon woman Lichesia, Chesa flicked her fingers.
The chess pieces floating in midair descended onto the Chessboard with thunderous crashes.
Count Rudin found himself surrounded by chess pieces as tall as his own body, completely immobilized.
Encircled by the chess pieces, he was dragged helplessly before Chesa.
Count Rudin immediately threw himself prostrate on the ground.
"P-please spare me! I have children like rabbits and a wife like a fox!"
At his pleading while striking his head against the floor, Chesa tilted her head.
"I have a brother like a snake and a father too, you know?"
"Pardon?"
Count Rudin was bewildered, then suddenly comprehended and asked.
"But why did you... seek me out...?"
It was a perfectly reasonable question.
Recently, the demon woman had vanished completely without a trace.
All contact had ceased, and everyone debated whether she was dead or alive.
Then suddenly, without warning, she appeared and confined Count Rudin—someone entirely unrelated—in her Illusion Realm.
He had every right to be confused.
Looking down at the bewildered Count Rudin, Chesa caressed the axe handle.
"Count."
"Huh...?"
"When the Count accidentally crushes an ant that bit his finger, what does he think?"
"I think nothing at all."
"Exactly. That's how I feel about killing the Count."
Chesa giggled as she spoke.
"No reason needed."
She swung the axe lightly.
The blade struck with a dull thud into the pile of flowers she sat upon.
Then something like pink paint began to drip downward.
"Aaaahhhhh!"
Count Rudin screamed as though the axe had struck him instead.
Tears now streamed down his face.
His trembling was so violent he looked ready to soil himself at any moment.
"Please! Please spare me! I'll do anything! I'll give you everything—money, whatever you want!"
Chesa paused, observing Count Rudin's frantic pleas.
She deliberated whether to kill him quickly or slowly.
Each approach had its merits and drawbacks, making the decision difficult.
Among the flower petals, a thorny vine writhed and revealed itself.
All the flowers in the Illusion Realm were illusions, but the thorny vine hidden among them was a pet plant Chesa had carefully cultivated.
The vine tapped gently against the back of Chesa's hand.
It had been bored for so long that it seemed to want something to eat.
"Hmm... So it prefers flower food?"
As she murmured casually, Count Rudin began wailing and wringing his hands, begging for his life.
He was so loud that she thought she should cut out his tongue first, not just his fingers.
Since he had spoken harshly to the three Basilian brothers before, she particularly wanted to sever his tongue.
She was just raising the axe high.
Chesa froze mid-motion.
A wave of power emanating from beyond the Illusion Realm.
It was a force she had felt once before.
Chesa immediately leaped down from the flower pile and swung her axe.
The moment the blade cut through empty air.
The Illusion Realm shattered like glass, scattering into flower petals that vanished.
Chesa, now transformed back into a small child, landed on the floor.
As the Illusion Realm dissolved, the revealed space was Count Rudin's Study.
Count Rudin, still not fully conscious, writhed on the sofa, whimpering pleas for mercy.
"Gasp, please... if you spare me... ugh..."
Chesa hastily pressed a butterfly to her forehead.
Then she scurried on her short legs and hid her body behind another sofa in the Study.
She had just peeked her head out.
The sound of a lock clicking open echoed.
The door creaked open moments later.
The sound of shoe heels striking the marble floor of the Study echoed leisurely through the space.
The unhurried footsteps came to a halt before Count Rudin, who sat crackling on the sofa.
'Oh no!'
Chesa let out a silent scream.
She had suspected as much from the moment she sensed the surge of power within the Illusion Realm....
'It's Kieran?'
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