Wait. What? That’s what he meant by “Looks like you chased him off”?! And the guy watching me was Craig, of all people... Oh... Shit. I didn’t think he’d get back so fast, but forget that—Eberhart’s totally right. Craig thinks I’m an absolute psychopath now, doesn’t he? Wait, no, he already did. But oh god, this is so awkward! It’s just awkward, for me, personally! How the hell am I even supposed to act the next time I see him?!
My mind was in a state of total chaos, but I managed to pull myself together enough to keep playing my role as Heinreid.
“An enjoyable diversion, was it not, my liege?”
“Indeed, although it’s rather canceled out by subjecting me to the sight of your filth as well. In any case, that’s enough on that matter.” Suddenly, his tone grew serious. “Heinreid.”
I had a bad feeling about this. My body tensed slightly.
“I’m told that you returned Elmer Kisch to his family. Explain yourself.”
My heart leaped into my throat. So that was what he’d come to talk about. He’d said he’d been in the middle of urgent business, after all—he definitely hadn’t come just to pay me a get-well visit.
Thankfully, Eberhart couldn’t see my face right now. I closed my eyes for a moment, composing myself as I mentally opened the Heinreid Phrasebook.
It’s all right. I’m just saying the things I want to say in Heinreid’s words, the same as usual.
“A thought has troubled me of late, my liege,” I said quietly. I listened to my own voice, making sure that it wasn’t shaking, and then continued. “We have already ground this country beneath our heels, completely and utterly. The people have grown inured to suffering and indignity. Whether we drag them to the torture chamber or march them to the executioner’s block, there are many now who submissively accept it all. It’s so...boring. I am bored, my liege. And so, a plan occurred to me. If we were to hold out a carrot alongside the stick, we might yet find new amusement.”
“Oh?”
“Allow the people a faint ray of hope, and then plunge them back into the depths of despair once again. Show them a sweet-faced angel with a demon of hell lurking behind it. At present, they are exhausted in body and spirit. If even the smallest scrap of salvation is placed before them, they will cluster to it like flies. I wish to witness what becomes of them when their hope crumbles away beneath their feet.”
It was all a bullshit excuse, but it just needed to sound plausible, here and now. I’d actually gotten the inspiration for this story from Craig, believe it or not. When I’d released Elmer from the Second Dungeon, he’d asked me whether I was really going to free him, and he’d wondered whether it was “some new form of punishment.” I was just running with that idea and rephrasing it in Heinreid’s voice, in the most vile and despicable terms I could find. Between the lines, I filled my words with the expectation that His Majesty would gladly join me in this new villainy.
“Let us do it all again, my liege. Let us hear fresh new screams of fear and agony. I promise that it shall be a pleasure beyond compare.”
“Heinreid...”
The foot resting on my head finally lifted—only to immediately slip beneath my chin. He tipped my jaw up with the toe of his boot, and I helplessly raised my head to look at him. When I saw his face, I nearly let out a shriek.
“Ah, how wonderful you are... How utterly, how irreparably broken! And even that putrid mud that flows through your heart is as beautiful as a mountain spring. You, and no other, are truly the Venom of the Nation... The venom I love so dearly.”
He was enraptured—there was no other word for the bliss in his smile. His mismatched eyes glittered and shone like polished gems. That magnificently beautiful man was smiling down at me, but I felt a cold shudder of dread race through my body. It was nothing like the arousal I’d felt at Craig’s hatred—Heinreid’s memories had nothing to do with it. This pure terror was all my own.
Unable to say a word, I quietly gulped. Eberhart let out a short breath and stood back up.
“Well, you’ve said your piece, and now I should be going. See me off.”
He tossed his cigar down to the floor and ground it out with the sole of his boot.
Hey, you’re burning the carpet! No, who cares about that—if he’s leaving, I’m definitely not going to complain.
I was absolutely exhausted, but I managed to get my feet under me. I brushed off my knees and gave a relieved bow.
“Of course, my liege.”
“What, will you not bid me stay longer? Do you not have even a parting gift for me? One of those bottles there would do quite nicely.”
He pointed to a glass case filled with bottles of alcohol.
Huh? Those?
“All of those are poisoned, my liege, but I will gladly part with them if you wish.”
That was Heinreid’s personal collection of poisoned liquors. From wines that would kill you instantly to whiskeys that would paralyze your entire body, the duke’s bar was fully stocked. It was creepy as all hell, and I’d been wanting to get rid of them—if the king would take some off my hands, that’d be just perfect.
But Eberhart didn’t seem interested. He furrowed his brow and told me never mind, actually. Oh, well.
“Your love for me is pitifully lacking,” he said with a sigh. “But all the same, I’ll soon have you chained to me once and for all.”
Huh? Is it just me, or did I hear something really menacing just now?
I must have let my confusion show on my face. Eberhart looked at me and immediately burst out laughing.
Hey, rude.
“Have you forgotten already? I speak of your marriage to my dear cousin. Ah, I recall your reluctance...” He chuckled. “But there’s no escape for you. When the new year begins, you shall be truly and utterly mine.”
Oh.
The word “marriage” made me recall something Craig had said to me.
“Even your betrothal to Lady Angelica would likely be taken over by your replacement.”
I’d been so focused on the hostages that I’d completely forgotten! Dammit!
As I lost myself in despair, Eberhart just stood there and watched me, his smirk as sinister as always.