Year 2: The First Conflicts - Chapter 7

Once the sorting process had concluded, Lisa and the other women were escorted by a senior maid and several armed guards through the long hallways to their new home. The dorms, a recent construction ordered by the Demon Emperor himself, were divided by gender and capable of holding a thousand people in total across two-hundred large bedrooms.

Each housed between four and eight people, but had the capacity for about ten. One by one, the women were assigned bedrooms until only Lisa remained.

“And here is yours.” The maid knocked on the closed bedroom door twice and called, “Ivy, your new roommate’s here.”

“Right, coming!”

A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal a strawberry blonde maid with a bright smile.

“Ivy, this is Lisa, a maid-to-be. Lisa, this is Ivy, one of the oldest maids at the Dread Keep.”

“Oi.”

“Apologies. One of the more experienced maids at the Dread Keep.”

“Thank you-”

“Because she’s so old.”

“Barbara!”

As the two maids joked happily together, Lisa wasn’t quite sure how to react. It was obvious that the two were close friends, but why were they so jolly around such monsters, in such a heavy, oppressive atmosphere?

…Aren’t they like us?

“Well, I’ll leave you in Ivy’s care. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask her. Then, I’ll see you later, Ivy.”

With a small curtsey, the maid walked away with her guards, leaving Ivy and Lisa alone in the corridor.

“Welcome, Lisa!” Ivy grabbed her wrist and pulled the young woman inside. “It’s nice to meet you. I know Barbara just introduced us, but I’m Ivy.” The red-head held out her hand to Lisa. “Where are you from?”

“I’m from-”

“Lisa?”

“…Eh?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Lisa caught a glimpse of one person she never thought she’d see again.

Monika - her best friend from Monk’s Wood.

Before Lisa had blinked, Monika had run over to and tightly hugged her. Tears started falling from her eyes before Lisa could even hug her back.

Together, they wept and held each other warmly.

“Monika! Monika!”

“Lisa…I, I never thought-”

“Ah, you’re the one Monika writes all those letters to?”

“Letters?”

“Don’t tell her, Ivy!”

“Why not?”

“It’s embarrassing!”

“…I didn’t get any-”

“Well, that’s because-”

“Don’t!” Monika tried to cover Ivy’s mouth, but Ivy skilfully dodged her.

“It’s because she got too embarrassed by them to send them.”

“Why?”

“Eh?”

“Why?”

“W-w-well, that’s because…um, you see-”

“Every night, I think about you, Lisa.”

“Ivy!”

Ivy ran around the room to avoid the frantic, and mortified, Monika’s tackle.

“I think about you just as much as I do Bill, maybe a bit more than him.” Ivy giggled and dodged Monika again. “How lonely you must be without me to-”

Monika finally managed to tackle Ivy onto the bed, pinning the older girl beneath her, lightly hitting her on the head with closed fists.

“I told you not to say anything!”

Through giggles, Ivy blocked Monika’s attacks and begged for mercy.

“…I missed you too, Monika.”

***

“They took half?!” Monika cried.

“…Yeah.”

Ivy let out a quiet whistle. “What did you guys do to piss Lady Mania off so much?”

“…There were a few girls, who…were hiding and-”

“Did they kill the girl’s families?”

“Ivy?”

“N-no.”

“Then, you’re lucky.” Ivy smiled a little. “His majesty’s retainers often have less patience and mercy than he does, especially if it means that they’ll look bad in front of him.”

“What do you mean?” Monika asked.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learnt since the Kelseys were toppled, it’s that the Demon Emperor’s inner circle are constantly in a battle amongst themselves to prove that they’re his greatest and most loyal follower. Of course, not everyone joins in on that. Lady Rebecca doesn’t, Jorōgumo doesn’t seem to care that much, but-”

“Ivy, why do you know all of this?”

“Hmm?”

Confused, Lisa asked her again. “Why do you know so much about the Demon Emperor and his followers?”

“Oh, right, I forgot to say earlier,” Ivy said. “I’ve been a maid at this castle long before the Demon Emperor took it over.”

“…Huh?”

With a gentle smile, Ivy said, “I’m one of the maids that was forced to serve the Kelseys before the Demon Emperor took the keep.”

Words couldn’t describe the complicated feelings Lisa felt in that moment.

A mixture of shock, horror and confusion.

Ivy wasn’t like us…she’s-!

“Here, see.” She pulled down her uniform to reveal her breast tissue that had been branded with a slave mark. “The Sons of Tartarus kidnapped me about ten years ago, then they sold me to the Kelseys and I’ve been here ever since.” Ivy pulled back up her uniform. “When Barbara said that I was one of the oldest maids here, she wasn’t joking. The only maid whose been here longer than me is Eva.”

“B-but then, why are you-?”

“Lisa.” Monika put her hand over her friend’s. “Ivy has been through…a lot, and most of it wasn’t when the Demon Emperor was here, so I don’t think-”

“Beaten, tortured, starved, taken against my will, then thrown to a pack of wolves dressed as guards, among other things,” Ivy casually revealed. “Of course, I managed to avoid a lot of that by pleasing Lord and Lady Kelsey, but it still happened a few times a year. Not all at once, mind you.” Ivy laughed a little, smiling sadly. “But, to me, the Demon Emperor is my saviour.”

“…He’s not ours.”

“I know, Mon, but that’s just how I feel. Besides.” Ivy stared into their eyes. “There are far worse fates than what you’ve found yourselves in. Especially you, Lisa.”

“M-me?”

“Monika told me - you have a husband-to-be waiting for you back home, right?”

“…Yeah.”

“Well, he’s alive, right? He’s healthy, he’s free and he’s waiting to see you again. Every few months, you guys get to meet your loved ones down in the castle town for the whole weekend, doing whatever you want as long as you don’t leave the town. You also get to sleep on soft mattresses, take baths and eat cooked meals every day. If you’re complaining about that, then I think there’s something wrong with you.”

“Ivy…”

“Ah, sorry, sorry.” Ivy let out an awkward laugh and scratched the back of her head. “I didn’t mean to come across like that. It’s just, honestly, you would think some of you that have been chosen as part of the Decree of Loyalty hadn’t lived a single hard day in your life before.”

“…Ivy.”

“Sorry!”

“It’s…okay, Monika,” Lisa reassured the two women. “I…I can’t imagine what you must’ve gone through, but…I’ve never had-”

“Ah, ah, stop right there.” Ivy covered her ears. “I don’t want your sympathy or your pity, so let’s just leave it right there and be happy we’re all friends.”

“We are?”

“We’re not?!”

“…I’m happy to be.”

“Ah, Lisa, you’re so much nicer than Monika!”

“Well, it’s not all bad,” Monika said.

“No?” Lisa asked.

“No, sometimes you get to see and experience things you never would’ve back at home, like a proper bath, have clean clothes each and every day, and see giants casually walk past your bedroom window.”

“Giants?!” Lisa exclaimed. Realising how loud she’d been, she covered her mouth in embarrassment. “…There are giants here?”

“Occasionally,” Ivy said. “They come down every so often to help the construction crews in the Dread Town.”

“Is it really named-?”

“Oh no, that’s just what everyone calls it.” Ivy laughed. “The Demon Emperor and Lady Rebecca have never called it that, but it’s just easier to say that.”

“Lady Rebecca?”

Monika narrowed her eyes. “Lady Dread herself.”

“Hey, I told you not to call her that.”

“That’s what she is though.”

“You can only say that because you weren’t there.”

“I-eh, um-Monika!”

“W-what?”

“You-you were just doing what Ivy did.”

“…Sorry.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Ivy said dismissively. “If I had a gold coin for every time I had to yell at someone for insulting Lady Rebecca, I’d probably be wealthier than the emperor. Ah, if only that happened!”

“Um, Ivy?”

“What, Lisa?”

“How many…others are there like you at the castle?”

“Hmm, about a thousand or so, I think? Something like that. Might be higher after Lord Mímir and Lady Rebecca started tracking down the other Sons of Tartarus bases across the Holy Empire. After that, some chose to stay and work at the Dread Keep, others moved into the castle town and a few just left to try and find their old homes. I heard a few killed themselves, but Eva said those were just rumours.”

…I see.

So…not everyone’s like us.

Some people, really do want to be here.

Slowly, Lisa’s heavy eyes turned towards the window as the evening sun started to set.

What’s going to happen from now on?

I wonder if mum and Gwen are doing okay…I hope Curtis still goes by every other day. I wonder if he’s gone a bit more since I left?

…I miss you, all of you.

***

Two weary knocks sounded at the door.

With a thin smile, Curtis waited for Lisa’s mother to open the door. When she finally did, he could tell that she hadn’t been able to get much sleep again, though Gwen seemed to be somewhat back to her old self.

At least, on the surface.

“Curtis!” Gwen excitedly called, running up and jumping at him.

Curtis caught her in his arms and hugged her gently. “Someone’s full of energy today.”

“I’m always full of energy!”

You used to be. Curtis forced a laugh and then walked into the house properly. “Sorry I’m later than normal, Evylin; had to pull a few extra hours to help out down at the farm.”

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” the lethargic woman said. “Our home is your home, my boy. Always has been, always we’ll be. We’re family after all.”

Curtis tried to keep his smile on his lips, but he couldn’t manage it. “…Yeah, we’re family.”

For the next hour, Curtis played happily with Gwen in the back garden until finally she was too tired to keep her eyes open. He placed her in her bed, then went to see Evylin, only to see her weeping over the wedding dress she’d made for Lisa.

…If she’s not careful, she’ll worry herself into an early grave.

With a heavy sigh, he went outside to chop some firewood for the two.

Curtis was just as pained as they were over losing Lisa, but it wasn’t as if she was dead.

Per the Decree of Loyalty’s rules, they could visit her in the Dread Keep’s castle town once every two months and they’d been assured of her safety. However, rumours had started circulating through passing travellers and merchants about the cruel treatment of the staff at the Dread Keep.

A merchant spoke at great detail about thirteen hanging bodies he saw above the Dread Keep’s gates; worse, he could tell that two of the unfortunate victims were still alive.

They’d been left to hang there until they died.

If something like that ever happened to Lisa, I-

“Curtis.”

He turned around and saw Bill, Monika’s husband, there, leaning on his crutches but, strangely, he was sober.

“Bill? What happened-?”

“Doesn’t it frustrate you?”

“…What?”

“You hate it too, right, not knowing what’s happening to our misses while they’re being held in bondage at that accursed place.”

“…Of course, it does.”

Bill shot Curtis a toothy grin and stepped two paces towards him. “We’re not the only ones who feel that way.” He took one more pace forward and handed Curtis a small brown note.

“What’s this?”

“…An invitation, to a resistance group.”

“A res-?! Are you mad?”

“Curtis.” Bill firmly gripped Curtis’s shoulder. “Don’t you want to get Lisa back?”