The Perfect Plan (2)

[Warning: this chapter contains disturbing descriptions of gore and emotional suffering that can not be suited for a sensitive audience.]

~~~~

As I walked down the hallway on the third floor, I crossed paths with Miss Dit Corbier, who was exiting her apartments. I saw from her swollen, reddened eyes that she had been crying. There was no need to seek the reason for her state. There were far too many.

"I've made my choice. Take me to your leader."

I nodded, but I didn’t agree with that. The mission wasn’t going to end this way. She wouldn’t escape without paying for her crimes.

Why am I tasked with protecting this filthy noble? Usually, we’re charged with executing them. How could Justine have been fooled by those tears?

I led the noblewoman to the room she had assigned to my mentor in a silence that made her shiver. At this hour, the servants were finishing clearing away dinner, and Justine had probably followed them to the kitchens to help with the clean-up.

As a consequence, we were the only ones on this floor of the Dit Corbier manor. The door opened into an empty room shrouded in darkness.

“Wait here; she will be back soon.”

The woman in the satin robe hesitated to enter. Seeing that I was encouraging her with a gesture, she looked at me anxiously before stepping inside. The transfiguration mask that erased the surface of my face made her particularly uneasy, which was understandable.

Beyond that detail, it was evident that she didn’t trust my abilities. Nor my young age. I had protected her from individuals three times my size, yet she continued to see me as a vulnerable teenager.

I quietly closed the door behind me. Madame Dit Corbier clapped her hands, illuminating the chandelier above us. For a guest room, it was far too luxurious. Why waste so much money on decorations no one cared about?

I pondered how she had acquired the fortune that built this enormous manor. Women like her married solely to collect an inheritance upon their husband’s untimely death. It went without saying that the husband himself had extracted this money from other nobles by selling them trinkets they didn’t need.

The food chain is sometimes surprising…

“Where is she?” the noble insisted as she sank onto the pearly sofa.

I approached to confide in her. Miss Dit Corbier leaned in, but to her surprise, a hand was brutally slapped over her face. My glove barely brushed her before she collapsed into a deep sleep.

As she lay asleep, the darkness of her skin appeared even more sublime. She had subtle coppery undertones, and her softness far surpassed that of her robe. A fine layer of purple makeup adorned her eyelids and cheeks, perfectly matching the pink hue of her hair.

It was the first time I had seen an expatriate from Stardunk up close, and I fully understood why people said her kind was the most beautiful on the Continent.

Beautiful on the outside, hideous on the inside…

I turned away from the noblewoman to open the window that led to the balcony. With a flick of my finger, her body began to levitate. I summoned her to me, and she continued to follow as I jumped into the void.

From the third floor, I felt the two broken legs and a few tingles in my spine. As usual, I activated an instant healing spell to restore my body to its original consistency, and that was that. I then checked that my client was still behind me before setting off into the countryside.

Reaching the Carveil quarantine camp took less time than expected. While Miss Dit Corbier floated peacefully a meter above the ground, her golden robe fluttered in the wind.

To walk like this in the dark was the privilege of predators. They had nothing to fear, being the biggest threat in their territory. However, there was a greater threat than me in the area. A threat sleeping under a magical dome the size of a castle.

Miss Dit Corbier had purchased this vacant land and had several dormitories built, stretching long and narrow. How many people lived here? If I remembered correctly, at least a third of the city of Carveil had been deported here piece by piece.

The authorities claimed it was a rabies epidemic, but rabies could be treated with a vaccine, unlike chronic poisoning with a love potion.

At first, Miss Dit Corbier used it only on her enemies so they would put their grievances aside in her presence. Witnessing the miracles the new perfume created by her team of magicologists could perform, she decided to double production.

Quickly, what was meant to be a temporary solution became an automatic response. She wasn’t at fault; she was only defending herself. The relations of her late husband made her life unbearable…

She constantly repeated that they had chosen the wrong scapegoat and that she had no choice but to calm their anger with magic. Thus was born the idea of poisoned gifts.

Séphira Dit Corbier only wanted to be loved for who she was. During our first meeting, she explained that her husband had never shown interest in her. He was always distracted by business.

Upon his death, she took over the alchemy lab, and instead of selling things to repel invasive birds or whatever fertilizer, she launched a line of high-end perfumes. The nobles adored her scents, and after a few compliments from the servants, she decided, in all her kindness, to share them with the residents of Carveil.

She quickly became accustomed to the gratitude, and whenever she returned to her manor, the absence of admiring gazes was felt more than ever.

The Séphira perfume was a terrible idea; she was fully aware of it, but… the more she suffered from loneliness, the more reasonable this idea seemed to her. The moment she gave in, Carveil became her kingdom.

The love potion began to circulate through the streets, and when she walked there, the residents had eyes only for her. She was their queen, the highlight of their day, the model for all the little girls.

How could anyone resist the passion in their sparkling eyes?

Strolls transformed into parades, and small perfume bottle gifts turned into torrents for the crowd. The noblewoman had abused it so much that the effects became permanent for the most exposed.

The problem was that Séphira acted as the trigger for the potion, and her mere presence caused excessive reactions in some. The excesses repeated themselves until they threatened Miss Dit Corbier’s life.

They loved her to the point of losing their minds. After a rather traumatic episode, the fairy tale came to an end. When she reopened her eyes to reality, the queen fell from her throne: She didn’t have admirers but slaves stripped of free will.

Unlike the other scum of her kind, Dit Corbier did not take pleasure in making innocents suffer. Gripped by regret, she had begged us to help heal the people of Carveil.

The Killer Wind was particularly wary of requests coming from nobles—there was no way to work for a wrongdoer. However, with the lives of hundreds of innocents at stake, Justine had reluctantly given in to the urgency of the situation.

Thus, we had ended up staying in the Dit Corbier family's manor.

Damn mission.

Becoming the bodyguard of this whiny narcissist while waiting for Justine to find a solution made me sick. All I wanted was for it to end. But here we were, the mission dragging on for two weeks with no progress whatsoever.

After various attempts, the boss concluded that nothing could heal the infected.

She had then confronted the noblewoman with an ultimatum: abandon her life in Carveil or condemn the infected to spend their days in quarantine.

That evening, the new aristocrat had requested to see Justine because she had finally made her choice. But I had grown tired of waiting, so I took matters into my own hands.

~~~~

I watched Miss Dit Corbier slowly wake up. She lifted her torso from the ground, confused, "Where are we? What happened? Did I get attacked?"

I wasn’t paid to answer her. Besides, she only had to turn her head to recognize the place. Spotting the brick dormitories lined up like dominoes, the woman was seized by spasms.

Fear. Danger. Her survival instinct kicked in, urging her to flee, but she discovered with horror that her legs refused to obey her, "What are you waiting for? Help me get up, we have no business here. I’m not allowed to approach them, you know that…"

Her voice filled with distress had no effect on me. Her lips trembled, her hands dug into the soft earth, but I didn't budge an inch. By some miracle, she managed to lift herself onto her two legs despite my gravity spell.

The noblewoman raised the hem of her nightgown and set off with determination toward her residence. She was abruptly stopped by the magical barrier. "What... Why have you locked me in?"

You took your time to understand.

"Did you seriously think that money would fix your mess?" I finally respond.

Feeling the invisible wall in the darkness, her body lost all substance, and she returned to square one. I crouched to her height and crossed my arms calmly.

Unable to reach me, her hands frantically banged and clawed at the magical barrier. Without the remote that controlled the spell, it was a lost cause.

I saw a nail break. Her eyes searched for mine beneath my transfiguration mask. However, there was nothing on my face but a disconcerting flat beige surface.

Not finding a trace of humanity in me, she began to cry, "Please, I know I made mistakes, that nothing can fix them... I never wanted it to come to this, you know that," she murmured. "I will leave the country, everyone will be better off, so let me out..."

We faced each other in the unfathomable calm of the night. Not a single insect chirped, not a single bird croaked.

"Let me out, that’s an order! I demand to see your superior! React, damn it, I’m paying you to protect me!"

Despair darkened her eyes when she felt my attention shift behind her. Someone had just emerged from one of the dormitories, awakened by her screams of rage.

"What the hell is wrong with you? I haven’t done anything to you! Why are you doing this to me? Am I not paying you enough? Hey, I'm talking to you!"

More and more curious onlookers gathered in the central courtyard. There was not a tree, not a blade of grass within an eight-hundred-meter radius. No one would want to be forced to live in this inhospitable place, which even nature had deserted.

The moment the camp residents heard her voice, the moment they saw her silhouette, their eyes charged with magical energy. By the dozens, they rushed toward Séphira, as if plunged into a collective trance. Attempting to climb over one another to make their way, the infected stumbled miserably and were then trampled by the rest of the group.

More determined than ever, they got up immediately and resumed their frantic run in our direction. Miss Dit Corbier couldn’t help but cast a horrified glance at all those yellow pupils.

Realizing that fleeing would change nothing, she intensified her struggle against the barrier, "Damn it, I’m going to rip you apart, you little bastard!"

"I’m doing you a favour," I cut her off sharply.

"Excuse me?!"

"As long as you breathe, these people will live in constant fear of losing control. Stop running, take responsibility for your mess, and free them once and for all."

Outraged, the woman gave me one of the most intense expressions imaginable. Every crease of her skin tightened and relaxed as another emotion was added to her palette. I observed her closely, trying to imagine the intense sensations coursing through her.

I had no idea what it felt like to be on the verge of experiencing one’s worst nightmare, but I continued to relish this vision, as the unpredictable was a most entertaining thing.

If she loved Carveil as she claimed, Séphira had no reason to be afraid. She should have accepted my sentence as redemption. Instead, the noblewoman abruptly pushed away the first infected person who dared to touch her.

If you truly love the people of Carveil, why do they disgust you so much? Why is your life more important than theirs?

I was treated to a lovely bouquet of insults while my client struggled among the infected. There was no doubt she would have hit me if she could. Miss Dit Corbier valiantly continued her resistance until they were too numerous for her to compete with.

"Séphira! S-séphira!" With mouths dripping with drool, they called her name and showered her with kisses. Some caressed her coppery face, others tugged at her pink curls to undo her braided bun and claim it for themselves. I couldn’t determine which of her cries were those of disgust and which were those of pain.

This scene reminded me of a fish caught in a net. Her admirers surrounded her to the point of crushing her bones. The makeup quickly began to run with her tears, small beads of salt that they eagerly licked until the last drop. It only took one infected person to have the idea of biting her for them all to indulge in it.

Their hands tore away pieces of her clothing and their mouths, chunks of her flesh. They swallowed, then resumed with continuous moans. Every cell they assimilated from their queen seemed to bring them true pleasure.

If that wasn’t proof of love... I mocked inwardly.

Unable to distinguish her in that grotesque mass, I turned on my heels and returned to the manor, hands in pockets.

The next day, I was jolted awake by hurried footsteps coming from the hallway.

Someone unlocked the door without any delicacy, "Dit Corbier is gone! You were supposed to keep an eye on her, by the black swan!"

I pulled myself out of bed, rubbing my eyes, "And when am I supposed to sleep, huh? At some point, you have to decide, I do bodyguard duty during the day or at night, but not both!"

Barely listening to me, the boss set off to target the rest of the servants she hadn’t yet assaulted so early in the morning. Half an hour later, the rider she had sent to inspect the quarantine camp returned with a ghastly expression. I was unwittingly dragged onto the crime scene, not even having been able to touch my breakfast.

You can't wait for me to eat? She's already dead, nothing worse can happen to her...

In a grumpy mood, I watched Justine rummage through the corpse like an investigator would. If the government had gotten involved, a third of the city would have been executed on the spot, women and children included.

This decision was far from unanimous, but maybe they were beginning to regret choosing involuntary cannibalism over public execution. All the witnesses were horrified, covering their mouths. When the more sated infected realized where the blood on their clothes and faces came from, they turned to vomit.

Since the magical barrier had been lifted thanks to a spare remote control, the camp's caregivers were taking care of the infected in shock. Fortunately, the most remote dormitories had not participated in the massacre. Everyone understood what had happened during the night, but no one had the courage to speak it out loud.

I listened with curious ears to the murmurs that were flying around, "Do you remember going outside, my dear?" asked a mother who was gripping her child a bit too tightly.

"No, I was sleeping. What's all this mud on my clothes? Why can't I look?"

The boy was taken to get washed shortly after. Adult hands covered his eyes, and all his intrusive questions were ignored. Recognizing my mercenary uniform, the woman shot me a dark look before disappearing into one of the buildings.

I then refocused on the other victims to keep my mind occupied. Among this ungrateful crowd that carefully avoided me, I discerned a range of emotions: tears, confusion, denial... What stood out the most was the unacknowledged relief at finally being free.

With the death of Miss Dit Corbier, they would no longer be a danger to anyone. Justine signalled me to come closer with her hand. In a torn pocket of the deceased's nightgown, she had just found the first remote control for the magical barrier.

From the beginning, Séphira had had the key to free herself, but she had been too focused on my betrayal to realize it.

"Goodness, I've never seen anything like it. This poor woman's life, it's really tragic that it ended this way. What was she thinking?"

"It's obvious, boss: she decided to sacrifice herself to save everyone."

"A suicide? Anyway, there's no way to know for sure... What a chance we made her pay in advance," Justine sighed. "Can you help me clean this up with a bit of magic?"

I complied, burying six feet under the ground the remains of the noble scattered all around.

I found myself yawning more than once. Even though our departure from the Dit Corbier manor had been particularly painful, I didn’t complain once.

People will remember you as their heroine; you'll even have a statue in your likeness! Isn't that the best ending possible, Séphira?

~~~~

Love... It was often a topic during my missions. Did this client truly love the people of Carveil? Was it the same love I had for Big Brother? Was it what Justine felt for me, or Edwoyn for his mother?

No, it was definitely not the same thing.

The noblewoman had wanted to fill a void, while the others loved without expecting anything in return. Should I understand that there were multiple types of love?

Someone knocked at the door.

I finally tore my gaze away from the small garment my hands had instinctively grabbed. I was brought back to the present, immediately guessing the identity of my visitor. I approached the door without unlocking it.

"Aurora? I know you're in there, don’t ignore me. We can’t keep going like this; isolating yourself is hurting you and Justine. Grow up a little and take responsibility!"

I said nothing.

"If you don't open, I'm going to pick the lock..."

Is that a threat?

I heard clicking sounds followed by a frustrated grunt. My key was still in the lock; he wouldn’t be able to get in that way, I thought.

He then tried a different approach, "Why did you commit to a lifetime contract if with me you knew you couldn't fulfil it? What do you want from me? You want me to help you become normal again, right? Help you get your revenge? I know the prohibited weapons have hurt you a lot... But your pain won’t ease by inflicting the same on me."

The silence thickened.

"If you really want to get out of this, if you want anything from me, start by respecting me," he continued. "You don’t need to devise all sorts of twisted plans: you can just ask me, Aurora! Manipulating doesn’t solve anything! There are times when we can’t do it alone, and that’s when we need to know how to accept help! Let me help you! Please, Aurora, we need to clear things up!"

Justine talked to him about me, so now he’s playing the noble knight?

Edwoyn had it all wrong. Why would I need help? I already had everything I needed: his physical form and the formula to introduce Big Brother's soul into it.

I knew I couldn't go back. I wasn't looking for revenge... In fact, I owed a lot to those traffickers. The powers of the demonic sceptre had left me with irreversible scars, but at the same time, they had made me stronger. Since then, I had enjoyed an unparalleled freedom.

By suppressing my feelings, demonic magic had rendered me insensitive to pain. Anyway, a prince wouldn’t understand: it wasn’t a condemnation or a burden weighing on me.

It was a rebirth.

I had faced death, received a new mission, and inherited one of the cruellest legacies. Those prohibited weapons had made me a living testament to all the corruption reigning in this kingdom. And like an inevitable end, corruption always devoured those who nurtured it.

I would never taste happiness, but I would never be unhappy either. That was the perfect balance.

I indeed resented all the scum who had contributed to tearing away Big Brother and my memories of that distant past. Those who created empty, monstrous beings in my image. Those who seemed to enjoy playing with our lives. Those who established the absurd rules governing Asyria.

You know what, Edwoyn? I can't wait to have fun with them and win a crushing victory.

No matter who they were or what they coveted... I would crush them one by one and take their place. I would be Justice, Death, Hope... and I would punish all those who dared to give me dirty work after the great purge.

On that day, blood wouldn’t just flow in the sewers; it would rain down over all of Asyria. No matter how much you sweep, the filth always returns. That’s why fate had tasked me with eliminating all sources of corruption once and for all. Once this was done, a peaceful life awaited me alongside Big Brother, far from all this mess.

What more could I ask for?

With a swift turn, I twisted the key in the lock and opened the door with a violent grip.

So much unnecessary chatter! Relying on others, trusting, respecting... That was only good for wasting your time. Accomplishing things on your own was the best guarantee that the work would be done correctly. Why complicate life?

"I don’t want to be normal; I want to take back what was stolen from me. What a pity, Edwoyn, if you had accepted to submit sooner, I wouldn’t have had to kill you..."

"Wh—What?!"

He barely had time to take a step before my arm wrapped around his waist, like a root hindering his movements. Pressing my hand against his face, Edwoyn lost consciousness.

He was only likable when he was asleep, and it was largely due to his innocent little face. No doubt about it, I had made the right choice at Hiven Palace: Nathan Gasencourt would be a perfect vessel for Big Brother.