Year 2: The First Conflicts - Chapter 6

The Dread Town, as it had become unofficially known, was the castle town surrounding the crown jewel of the Demon Emperor’s empire - the Dread Keep.

A project conceived by Lady Rebecca Kelsey, the Lady of Dread, the town’s construction had been progressing smoothly ever since the Demon Emperor gave his approval for its development and now it was welcoming its third wave of citizens - the survivors from the Stone-biter goblin mine.

After learning of their unlawful suffering, Lady Rebecca saw to it that they would all be given brand new homes inside the castle town where they would be given stable jobs, security and peace of mind. At first, most were reluctant to accept her offer until they saw the castle town itself.

The large modern homes along with the vast, clean stone streets and flowing rivers and aqueducts, the castle town seemed to be as grand, if not grander, than Themis itself. It was a place the humble villagers of Newman’s Way would never have ever dreamt of being able to live in before, and the temptation became too strong for them to resist.

Willat had been one of the first to agree to Lady Rebecca’s proposal for only one reason: the empress.

Empress Lilith had treated his sister, Willa, with great care and compassion, and even offered her a lucrative position as one of the empress’s personal maids, which came with an extremely generous wage.

“Of course, she doesn’t have to accept the offer if she doesn’t want to,” Empress Lilith said with a gentle smile. “This is just all that I can personally do to try and help ease the weight on the poor girl’s heart.”

Willat had been given a few jobs to choose from for himself, but he hadn’t decided on which offer to accept yet.

For now, protecting Willa comes first.

Ever since they’d been rescued, Willa had become quite reclusive and quiet. She rarely spoke to anyone but her brother, and almost never left the house. If she did, Willa always clung onto Willat though Empress Lilith had visited them a few times and Willa had relaxed a little then.

To Willa, Empress Lilith was her saviour and benefactor.

I don’t know if the empress has anything malicious planned for us, but I hope that her concern for Willa is real at least.

Their home, located towards the centre of town, close to the long road leading to the Dread Keep, was three stories tall, unlike all of their fellow villagers whom had two-story houses. Further, they even had their own private bathroom, which meant that they didn’t have to trek down to one of the five public bathhouses inside the town to bathe.

It was a luxury only they and the noble lords and ladies of the Vampire Court had in the castle town, and the vampires lived in manor houses more than twice the size of Willat’s home.

Willat had just finished unpacking the last of their newly donated belongings when someone knocked at the door.

“It’s open.”

With a small chuckle, Eva opened the door and entered, followed closely by her Dread Knight escort. “I know that it’s very safe here, but you shouldn’t forget to lock your door at night.”

“Don’t worry, milady, I do lock it then.”

“Please, Willat, you don’t have to call me milady. I’m nothing more than a commoner, same as you.”

“Forgive me, milady, but you have the honour of speaking his majesty’s first name and I wouldn’t dare dream of overstepping my bounds.”

Eva smiled. “Yet, as I understand it, your sister might be able to start calling our empress by her first name soon.”

Willat let out a nervous laugh as he quickly raced into the kitchen to fetch Eva a refreshment. “Please, milady, don’t make such jokes.”

“Oh, I wasn’t aware I was. Does Willa not want to accept her majesty’s offer?”

“I…” Willat’s hands stopped moving. “I think she does, but…I think she’s scared.”

“If it’s Lord Allaric that-”

“N-no, milady, it’s not his majesty, but just…the Dread Keep. I, uh, I’ve heard…stories, few pleasant about the castle.”

“If I told you it was far worse before the Demon Emperor made it his home, I wonder if you’d believe me.”

“…Forgive me for being rude, milady, but did you use to work for the Kelseys?”

“I did. I still do, technically, though it’s only Lady Rebecca now,” Eva said. Slowly, the maid rose from her seat and started to wander around the ground floor. “Two odd years ago, I would’ve been in a situation similar to yours in those caves. Rather than goblins praying on me and beating me, it’d be men in armour or the madam in a particularly harsh mood.

“When Lord Allaric first conquered the castle, he learned of what had happened, saved our lives and executed our jailers for their sins. After his men had finished their tasks, he treated us with nothing but kindness and respect, making sure that we were well looked after, though.” Eva laughed. “We still weren’t ever allowed to leave the castle. Even now, Lady Rebecca, I and the rest of the staff aren’t allowed to go further than the castle town for the time being for our own protection.”

“For your protection, milady?” Willat asked.

“I’m sure you know that the Demon Empire is filled with rebels, many of whom would like nothing more than to slit my throat, and that of my lady’s. Do you know what they call us? Traitors. Or worse. For all you know, Willat, they’ll start to call you that soon too.”

“Traitors?” Willat huffed. “Just for being saved?”

Eva nodded. “Lady Rebecca and I knew what we were getting ourselves into when we agreed to join his majesty. Lord Allaric might earn his title of the Demon Emperor, but that does not mean he isn’t without mercy or gratitude.

“If you obey, nothing bad will befall you. If you serve, you will be rewarded. If you rebel, then you will curse yourself until your last breath.”

“Milady?”

“Those were the words that Lady Mania told us shortly after his majesty took the castle,” Eva explained. “He means them, every single word. Please, consider that before deciding how you want to live your life from here on.”

As Eva moved to leave, Willat called, “Wait, milady, can I ask one more thing?!”

“Yes?”

“Newman’s Way.”

“What about it?”

“W-well, um…what happened to it?”

“I don’t know, I’m afraid.”

“But-!”

“Forget the past. Accept your new lives; it’s easier that way,” the Dread Knight spoke up. “Lady Eva.” She gestured for the head maid to leave first.

Eva nodded, then waved goodbye to Willat before they shut the door behind them, leaving Willat alone, with Eva’s words repeating inside his head.

“If you obey, nothing bad will befall you. If you serve, you will be rewarded. If you rebel, then you will curse yourself until your last breath.”

Willat ascended the stairs to his sister’s bedroom where she was sound asleep, a peaceful smile on her face. He sat down beside her and brushed her hair off her eyes, before gently stroking her head.

“Perhaps Willa would benefit from working in an all-female environment for the time being,” Empress Lilith had suggested. “My maids are all women that live in women’s-only dorms inside the Dread Keep, with little to no contact with men outside of my husband. Of course.” The empress chuckled. “That doesn’t mean my husband would lay a hand on any of them.

“The pay is far higher than any other position she could work in the Dread Keep, and there are few safer places to be than beside the empress herself.”

“…Willa.” She didn’t stir as he called her name.

…Right now, all that matters is Willa.

Everything else can wait.

***

The Decree of Loyalty served two main purposes for the Demon Empire.

The first was to ensure the absolute submission of the outlying villages and hamlets that were often under minimum surveillance and security. The second was to fill in for the labour shortages at the Dread Keep and to aid the construction of the castle town.

Almost every week, new carriages arrived in the castle courtyard with the latest tributes from the villages where they were greeted by Jessica, Cain and Lucy. Their job, until further notice, was to welcome the new arrivals, explain to them the rules of the Dread Keep, and then finally sort them into their role at the castle.

Normally, the process was quite quick, but Lady Mania had returned from Monk’s Wood with more than fifty people at once.

“Get it done with quickly,” Mania ordered. “If you spot any pretty girls, put them to one side and see if they’d be to his majesty’s taste.”

“Of course, Lady Mania,” Jessica happily replied. Once Mania was gone, Jessica sighed a little and looked at the newest frightened lambs, surrounded by Machai, Hysminai, skeletons and Gørviligr. “Even though Lady Mania says that, we haven’t found even one girl who suits the Demon Emperor’s tastes.”

“Well, it can’t be helped. When you have the most beautiful woman in the world as your wife and Lady Mania as your mistress, can any other person in the Holy Empire even compete?”

“What of Lady Scylla and Charybdis? Or Fenrir?”

“I meant outside of his majesty’s council, Lucy.” Cain lightly bumped her shoulder. Then, he turned his attention to the crowd of men and sighed. “I can already see a few who need to be broken in. You don’t mind, do you, Jess?”

“Don’t go too far this time, Cain. Remember what happened last time?” She smirked at him, then directed her gaze up towards the ramparts where three corpses were hanging.

Before, when Cain had been trying to force some rebellious builders, he had beaten a man within an inch of his life.

“If you don’t want to die, then shut up and keep your head down,” Cain had said in quite a powerful voice.

However, when the man was healed up, he and two of his friends tried to stage a worker’s uprising. Of course, Jorōgumo’s brood, who had been secretly monitoring them, found out and then Cain executed them all.

He had been scolded by Lady Mania for failing to properly control the slave labour.

“If I find out that this has happened again on your watch, perhaps I shall start reconsidering whom I choose to keep as my personal retainers,” Mania warned.

Currently, all four of the Awoken were Lady Mania’s personal manservants and bodyguards, including the former Divine Paladin Lawrence. However, while Lawrence was appointed to be Lady Hilda’s personal assistant as she trained new Dread Knights, the three former adventurers had been delegated to tasks relating to the Decree of Loyalty.

“The Demon Emperor is a forgiving master, but even he has his limits,” Jessica said ever-so-sweetly to Cain, giggling a little before she started to walk towards the women of Monk’s Wood.

***

After however many days on the road, finally, the carriages stopped.

Lisa, barely able to keep her heavy eyelids up, groggily looked outside of the carriage windows and saw the tall, imposing walls of the Dread Keep.

Her blood chilled just from the site of the castle.

Her heart pounded as she saw dozens of demons and skeletons around them, their eyes full of bloodlust.

Some of the women in her carriage screamed, others were stirred from their deep sleep. A few remained motionless with lifeless eyes, staring blankly into the void.

The men and women of Monk’s Wood had never experienced such hardships before.

First, they had been ripped in great numbers from their friends and family. Their hands and feet had been bound, and they were never allowed to leave the carriages even when the riders pulled over for short breaks. Their food was foul smelling and the water they were given was limited. Their bindings had eventually been cut, but the threat of being rebound lingered ever present.

Two girls, unable to take it, attempted to get themselves killed, but all they received was a beating and stern warning from Mania. One man tried to bite his tongue, but a Machai stopped him, forced his jaw open and smashed his teeth. As he writhed around in pain, the demon assured him that they’d be restored once they reached the Dread Keep and a healer was called.

Martha, one of the older women who’d been picked, tried to raise their spirits and keep them talking, but she had given up about three days ago. Instead, Martha simply tried to get some sleep, though she could never find a comfortable position to rest in.

When the carriage doors were finally opened, Machai started banging on the wooden walls.

“Everyone, get out now and line up! If you don’t come out willingly, you will be dragged out and I assure you that the Machai will not hesitate to break your bones if you resist in any way, shape or form! Move!”

Mania’s commanding voice rose them into action.

One by one, they filtered out and stared in stunned awe at their surroundings.

The Dread Keep, the Demon Emperor’s bastion of evil, certainly lived up to its name.

The dark-black walls laced with spikes, the tall, imposing towers and the sickening oppressive feeling that radiated off of every single part of the castle.

Before they’d pulled into the Dread Keep’s courtyard, Lisa had seen the castle town and had a small hope in her heart that the castle would look the same. There would’ve been something at least a little comforting in knowing that the castle looked like the cities of the Holy Empire of Themis.

Alas, it was inhuman and a castle ruled by monsters.

Ah, so…this is where I’ll die.

“Ladies, if I could have your attention, please.” Jessica’s sweet, gentle voice confused them as they anxiously stared at her. “If you could all file two lines before me and my friend, Lucy, here and we’ll quickly get you sorted and processed. Please do not try to escape or resist in any way shape or form, or else we will be forced to take more ‘unkind’ measures to ensure your cooperation.”

Without any fuss, the women lined up before the Awoken, but they were all exhausted and downtrodden. The men had fallen into line before Cain shortly after one tried to run away, but a Hysminai shoved the man back with its shield.

“If you could state your name, age and what skills you have,” Jessica said to the whole crowd. Then, she turned her attention to the woman before her. “Name?”

“Lynda.”

“Age?”

“T-twenty-one.”

“I see. And what skills or work have you done previously?”

“I, uh, I…I used to cook and clean i-in a tavern we had, back home.”

Jessica shot a quick glance at Lynda’s hands, arms, legs, chest and then finally her face. “I see. Then, for starters, we’ll assign you to the castle kitchens. The head chef, Leonard, will test your culinary abilities and skill in the kitchen in the morning and put you to work where he feels best. Until then, a senior maid shall show you to your room, where you’ll be working, and then you can get yourself refreshed in the servant’s bathhouse.

“Next.”

Lynda was led to one side by a Hysminai as the next woman stepped forward.

“Name?”

Lisa didn’t answer.

“I asked you to tell me your name.”

Still, she didn’t stir. With a small, angry sigh, Jessica roughly grabbed the women’s chin, just tightly enough that her nails dug into the skin, and forced her to make eye contact.

“Moping won’t help you. All it will do is get you into more trouble and make your situation far, far worse.” As Lisa started to well up, Jessica let go and then repeated, “Name?”

“…Lisa.”