From that day on, the torture continued.
Was it because she was a complete amateur? Minister of War Laura de Farnese's torture was difficult to endure — but for an entirely different reason.
"Confess! Did you really think I wouldn't notice that you intended to harm your master?"
She hit, she smashed, she lashed. She had absolutely no concept of modulating her strength. Every time the whip tore into my skin, screams burst from my mouth — but truthfully, all I wanted to do was mock her to my heart's content.
Besides, the basics of torture meant keeping the subject alive just enough not to die — but the Minister of War didn't even provide food or water. The only reprieve was the Goblin butler sneaking in a bit of soup and drinking water from time to time. Perhaps on orders from Minister of State Lapis Lazuli.
I understood.
Minister of State Lapis Lazuli was scheming to use this opportunity to tighten discipline within the Palace. Someday, when Father came to his senses, he would learn of the Minister of War's atrocities. And Laura de Farnese, who had been acting as brazen as a queen up until then, would surely receive her comeuppance.
If that was the case, then calmly enduring this torture was also for Father's sake.
If I sacrificed just a little, Laura de Farnese's authority would plummet off a cliff. Power within the inner court would consolidate under Minister of State Lapis Lazuli. I could trust the Minister of State. She was the one person who understood Father just as well as I did — or perhaps just slightly less, but still enough……
"Hah."
A wry laugh escaped me without thinking. The Minister of War really was a stupid woman.
Noticing that I had been mocking her, the Minister of War's expression turned vicious. Ah, that was exactly the face suited for you. I hoped you'd keep wearing that wretched, demon-like grimace forever.
"Ha. You — were you just laughing at me?"
"Come to think of it... the Minister of War is getting pretty old, isn't she..."
I slowly raised my head and looked at the Minister of War. I had lost so much blood that my entire body felt drained. But seeing the Minister of War's expression crumple in real time right before my eyes — it was worth the effort of lifting my chin.
"Twenty-three... no, you're already twenty-four, aren't you? Just a few more years and your life as a woman will be reaching its twilight. By then, even Father won't come looking for you anymore. When I imagine you, the Minister of War, all alone in a cold and empty bed, comforting yourself with your own hand every night — I can't help but feel a touch of sympathy…"
The whip cracked across my chest. This was why old women were such a pain. They couldn't take a joke. Probably because my jokes sounded like sincere statements of fact. I understood.
Two days, three days, four days, five days, six days……
The Minister of War's torture never stopped. But if I were to be honest about my true feelings — every time I saw the Minister of War enter the dungeon, I let out a sigh of relief.
Because if something had happened to my father, the Minister of War would not have been able to come here.
The Minister of War leisurely visiting the prison — that meant, in other words, that Father was safe and sound.
It was a relief. A genuine relief. Every time the Minister of War opened the iron door of the dungeon and stepped inside, I felt a deep sense of relief wash over me, and a faint smile crept across my face. The Minister of War mistook that smile for mockery and whipped me even harder, but I couldn't have cared less.
——And then the promised ending arrived.
"How dare you, how dare the head of the military apparatus personally punish a member of the Imperial Consort's household!"
Father looked at my shredded body and flew into a rage unlike anything he had ever shown before.
"Summon the Retinue of Nobles here at once!"
I passed out midway so I didn't witness it myself, but apparently Father personally wielded the whip against the Minister of War. Not only that — he punished the Minister of State as well. In other words — it was clear that I was, above all else, the most precious person to Father.
Not Laura de Farnese.
Not Lapis Lazuli.
I was the person most dear to Father.
……I hadn't expected Father to take on the punishment himself, though. That was simply the kind of man Father was. He always took responsibility for his own actions in one way or another.
For a while, I couldn't bring myself to meet Father's gaze properly, for fear that my acting might slip. It wasn't because of any deficiency on my part. The problem was that Father was far too noble. When you saw someone like that, wasn't it actually harder to keep your composure? Yes. Unconsciously, seven times over…….
What shameless thing was I even saying.
In any case, the Minister of War's authority — Laura de Farnese's — had utterly collapsed.
Now that it was blatantly obvious that Father valued me more than the Minister of War, the balance of power between us had completely reversed. The Minister of War, unlike before, couldn't even bring herself to say a word to me when we crossed paths in the corridors of the Demon Lord's Castle. She tried to walk right past me as though she hadn't even seen me.
Before she disappeared, I tossed out a casual remark.
"You've gained another wrinkle, Minister of War."
"……."
"No, I suppose you're no longer the Minister of War while serving as a common soldier. Miss Laura de Farnese."
The War Minister turned his head and looked at me. A fearsome glare was there. But what good would glaring from someone like him do? I met his gaze with my usual impassive expression.
"You should really start getting proper skincare treatments, don't you think? I can introduce you to a very skilled masseuse."
"…That's an unnecessary, kindness, Head Maid."
Laura de Farnese gave a stilted reply, cutting her words short, and walked down the corridor. At least she recognized her current status as a soldier serving in the ranks — she used polite language with me. Splendid. From now on, whenever we crossed paths in the corridor, I would make sure to strike up a conversation.
In the inner court's battle of nerves, I had achieved a flawless victory.
One win, zero losses.
That was simply how I saw it. And then half a year passed.
How did it come to this?
At Walpurgis Night, Father's proposal was rejected. This had never happened before. Out of seven votes, a full four votes shot down the slavery abolition plan, and Father's ambitiously prepared agenda was derailed in the most absurd way.
What's more, among the Demon Lords who opposed the motion was Barbatos. I couldn't make sense of it. Could it be that Demon Lord Barbatos had some scheme to oppose Father? How presumptuous of him. He had overstepped his bounds.
"…."
I waited calmly in Father's bedroom. He was probably having a private meeting with Barbatos right now. That was fine. Whatever whim Barbatos was acting on, there was no way Father couldn't handle the situation.
Sure enough, Father returned to the bedroom after just one hour.
It was too dark in the corridor to make out his figure, but the footsteps were unmistakably his. Father had a habit of slightly favoring his left foot, so his gait had a distinctive rhythm. I recognized it immediately. I bowed mechanically.
"Father. Please come back—?"
I was about to say "Please come back" when my words caught in my throat. I straightened up and looked at Father's face. Then my entire body went rigid with shock.
Father was crying.
"…."
That was the first time I ever witnessed Father in a state of wild, unrestrained wailing. Father passed right by me and vanished into the bedroom in an instant, then proceeded to smash every object he could get his hands on. My mind went blank, and I could do nothing but watch Father's figure.
Father.
The one who, no matter what happened, would never show a weak face in front of others.
He was scattering tears in every direction, screaming as though he were being torn apart inside.
What a woman who deserved nothing less than being ripped to shreds.
How dare she lay a hand on my father's heart.
My mind suddenly went cold.
I had a habit of becoming all the more composed when my anger reached its peak. From the circumstances, Barbatos had clearly refused Father's request. And not only refused—she had definitely destroyed something precious of his.
First, I calmed Father down. I never wanted to hear Father scream like that again.
I pieced together what had happened, step by step. Sure enough, Barbatos had betrayed Father. She had cornered him into choosing between her and Paimon—an ultimatum.
Tch.
I clicked my tongue softly.
I knew that little brat, with a brain as tiny as her stature, would cause trouble eventually. If Laura de Farnese was the woman who acted like a queen inside the palace, then Barbatos was the woman who, outside the palace, didn't know her place and held her nose high as though she were Father's wife. What made it even more laughable was that the two of them were also lovers.
It seemed that wretched women must have some kind of magnetic pull toward one another. The two of them were ganging up on Father quite harmoniously. I wished they would have the decency to commit a murder-suicide together when the time came.
......No, wait a moment.
Why had Barbatos betrayed Father at this particular juncture? More precisely, why had she forced him to choose between her and Paimon?
Barbatos was an arrogant brat, but she still had a side to her that valued Father more than herself. The likelihood that she had caused this mess solely out of a desire to monopolize Father was slim.
If Father continued his close relationship with Paimon as things stood, he would be in danger...... She must have reached that conclusion and resorted to making a scene. In other words, Paimon had recently shown behavior threatening enough to Father to warrant that......
"Recently......"
I muttered to myself. What was the most recent instance of Paimon threatening Father?
I couldn't quite figure it out. The only thing I could think of was the incident over half a year ago when Paimon had tried to oppose Father at the Republic's representative council. Besides, Barbatos hadn't even known at the time that Paimon had been pulling strings behind the scenes. But what if someone had fed Barbatos information about Paimon......
"......!"
Then a name flashed through my mind.
Laura de Farnese.
There was a possibility. No, a very strong one. Laura de Farnese believed that Paimon was involved in the poisoning incident — even though no such incident had ever actually existed. Although Father had ended the matter by siding with me, it was hard to say that Laura de Farnese had sincerely accepted the outcome.
In other words, Laura de Farnese may have judged Paimon to be extremely dangerous and warned her lover, Barbatos, to "beware of Paimon"!
The story holds together. It all makes sense now. This would explain why Barbatos was more wary of Paimon than necessary, why he went so far as to betray Father during this Walpurgis Night by casting a dissenting vote. It explained everything.
And she had to go and meddle where she wasn't needed...!
I headed straight for the Demon Lord's Castle to verify my hypothesis. Teleportation was impossible within the Habsburg Imperial Palace, so I had to run outside the palace grounds first. I presented my identification, then teleported immediately from the teleportation hub to the Demon Lord's Castle.
The target was the tenth basement floor of the Demon Lord's Castle. Laura de Farnese's bedroom.
I twisted the doorknob and sent the entire door flying off its hinges. A loud boom echoed through the room. Laura de Farnese, who happened to be lying in bed, jolted upright at the sudden noise. I lunged forward in an instant and seized her by the collar of her clothes.
"Minister of Military Affairs. From this point on, you will only answer the questions I ask."
"Hah."
Even in this situation, Laura de Farnese let out a scoff. She was one gutsy woman, at least. But I wondered if she would still have that courage once my hand pierced through her heart.
I grabbed her body and hurled her onto the floor. Laura de Farnese groaned. Normally, it was impossible to harm Father's lovers, but this was a different case. Even if they were lovers, the moment I judged them to be a threat to Father, I could break free of the command's binding at any time and eliminate the target.
And right now, Laura de Farnese was clearly harboring the potential to harm Father.
I climbed on top of her and lightly tightened my right hand around her throat. The two of us stared coldly at each other.
"So, you've finally shown your true colors."
"What did you say to the Demon Lord Barbatos? You must have warned him about something regarding the Demon Lord Paimon. Confess it all to me honestly. Right now."
I asked icily.
"Did you or did you not warn Barbatos about Paimon?"
"Oh, seeing how frantic you are now, it seems I really did hit a nerve. Despicable traitor."
Laura de Farnese spat on my face. The spit hit just below my eye and trickled down.
Her answer gave me certainty.
— This woman.
This woman had disrupted everything.