Chapter 47 – 4. At the Mouth of Despair (7)
Luneburg.
It’s a place you can reach by driving for a few hours on the autobahn south from Brullin. A provincial town with little to do with the exception of the Führer’s villa, Draken House, and the alpine where it is located.
The Dragon’s Nest, built on top of a mountain 2,000 meters above sea level, was quiet. There was a bit of dust here and there, but other than that, it was clean, and after unpacking, it was soon cleaned without a single grain left behind by several hired men.
“Jeong Woo-gong, this is a call from Brulin Express General Hospital.”
“Go ahead.”
“Miss Mittemeyer has just been admitted to the intensive care unit.”
Draken House, the Dragon’s Nest, which was as wide as the official residence, had a luxurious bath like an Arab. While soaking in the hot tub, I relieved myself of travel poisoning while responding to Adele’s voice coming from outside.
“Did I tell you to contact me immediately if there is a problem?”
“Yes, what you said has been said many times. Don’t worry too much, as the attending physician is someone wanted by General Moritz himself.”
“Good work. Go and rest.”
I washed my sweaty, sticky hair with warm water. I made a lather using shampoo scented with fruit juice. The hot water gushing from the shower replenished the warmth of the exhausted mind and body.
“I’ll leave my towel and gown here. Can I see you in my room for a while after I wash up?”
“…… Okay.”
Adele’s presence outside the door disappeared. After sweeping off the foam and drying myself, I was lost in thought for a moment. Shortly after Elisabeth was sent to the hospital, Beatrix sent me an order with her own seal and exiled me here to Luneburg.
At first, my anger rose to the top of my head. She even thought of going up to her room and arguing. But at that time, Adele, who was standing by my side, advised that he would do well to follow orders, and he cited three reasons for that.
– One. If the ball rebels, Miss Mittemeyer’s treatment may be disrupted.
– Two. The one who came with the order is the SS annihilation country. If you refuse, you will be taken by force.
– Three. I have a plan. So believe and follow.
I don’t know what Adele’s plan is. But when you give faith, there is only faith that you have to give it definitely. So, even while wiping her with her towel outside her door, even while covering her body with her robe, he tried to dispel her doubts about her.
“…….”
The desire to play the piano rose rapidly in my distraught heart. I moved to the room at the end of the villa. There is a decent piano here in the restaurant, but it has been out of tune for a while, so the tone is very muddy.
So it’s a bandoneon. It is a glockenspiel.
Returning to my room, I unpacked and took out my instrument. The villa wasn’t as well soundproofed as the official residence, but that didn’t matter. Because no one would notice me here. Inside, there are only Adele and Helga and other employees, and outside, only a few demons from the SS Extermination Kingdom guard the villa.
Smart.
It was around the time I was about to start playing. Someone knocked on the door I thought I knew who it was because I was thinking about the previous conversation. I carefully pulled the doorknob.
“Excuse me.”
Standing in the hallway was, of course, Adele. She was the one in her neat hire outfit, carrying a paraffin-sealed flask.
“Let’s look around the room for a moment.”
Immediately after Adele entered the room, she stirred up the still unorganized space. She seemed to confirm that perhaps she had in mind the possibility that there was an eavesdropping.
“It is safe.”
“So, what is it?”
“I brought you a reagent.”
A pink liquid dripped from the flask. Adele said it was the result of my own transformation. Through this, he said that he would be able to carry out the plan he had talked about during the day, and he said only vague words.
“Prince Jungwoo, the reason I advised you to tolerate being exiled here to Luneburg is that you and your employees are the only ones staying here.”
“It would be nice if you could explain it in a more understandable way.”
“His Excellency Adler cannot be away from Brullin for a long time because he is taking care of state affairs. Naturally, you expected that you would be staying here with only us.”
I understood that far. But what I’m curious about is what comes next. Why does that lead to the plan you said?
“What is the reason for His Excellency, who was at the front, to return to the official residence at such an exquisite moment? As I said before, all of our employees have a means of communication directly connected to him.”
“You mean there is an informer in the official residence. But how do you get hold of it?”
“You don’t have to think about it.”
Adele declared, bringing his hands together in front of him politely.
“Please take me away. I will be your bookkeeper.”
“…….”
I made a pretty stupid face, but I couldn’t help but do it. She added again.
“I want to thank you for saving my life. If you take me with you, I will help you with what you are doing next to me.”
I knew that he had a personality that valued loyalty. So, once she won her heart, she intended to seek some simple help. But are you a bookseller? Isn’t that a sweet suggestion? Even though he would grant her light request, I never thought that she would actively lend her hand.
More than anything, I already had a history of being rejected once.
“Did you say that even though you knew what I was going to do?”
“Yes, I am not an ungrateful woman. You have lost a lot because of me, so now it’s my turn to make amends.”
The reward Adele said was the flask in her hand. To put it more precisely, she said the result of the pink fusion contained in it.
“If you take me away, I will at least set you free from Your Excellency’s eyes.”
“How?”
She replied as if she had been waiting for that.
“A tamed beast, no matter how ferocious, cannot defeat its keeper. Please take the initiative in the place where you live first.”
“Am I a beast?”
“Yes that’s right. To put it presumptuously, the ball is a beast. All of my daily life is nothing more than a pet controlled by your Excellency.”
It was as it was said. Because Beatrix was aware of my every move. Didn’t it start when she came back after seeing my condition? After all, all these woes stemmed from her male prostitute, who could not get away from her queen.
“Whether it’s a government residence or a villa, a house is a law that should be able to rest comfortably, but there are too many eyes around the ball. However, it is not possible to circumvent all the employees who report separately to His Excellency every day.”
“That direct line.”
Adele slightly bowed her head, as if she was ashamed of my astringent expression.
“So, how would you like me to respond?”
Beatrix’s punishment was persistent and cowardly. I never wanted to go through that again. In that context, I could do anything as long as I could escape this surveillance.
“Please imprint who the owner of this official residence is.”
But by what means? Yes, the employees of the official residence are those who were hired for me. As such, claiming that their employer is me would not be entirely far-fetched. However, the claim and imprint are completely different, and I do not have the ability to imprint that fact.
“You should know that I am a powerless scarecrow.”
“That’s right. But you have a weapon called sincerity. That is a virtue that even I, His Excellency, did not possess. So tie up other employees as you did to me. It is, of course, His Excellency Adler who hired us, but it is not necessary to challenge his authority in order to imprint who the owner is.”
“The fact that Miss Schneider listened to my sincerity was possible because you have such an honest personality.”
“No, it is not.”
“You have a very different opinion from me.”
“I am not as good a person as you think. She is as dirty and worn as the past she confessed in Saxony. And you don’t have to use sincerity as a tool to tie it down. That’s because it’s only good if you use it to break your guard.”
“Then? What are you going to do with me?”
“First, bring the women out there under your feet. Make them unable to live without the ball. Make them slaves who can kneel down and serve anytime, anywhere, and teach them to get wet even if they are slapped on the cheek for no reason. Then, of course, it will help you find freedom, as well as what you do.”
I stopped breathing for a moment. It was hard to even imagine what would come out of the mouth of a woman like them.
“Miss Schneider always jokes. A pretty bad joke, too.”
I carefully watched Adele’s eyes. Her expression was infinitely serious. And since I wasn’t the type to throw jokes like this in the first place, it was foolish to suspect that this wasn’t serious.
“I am not kidding.”
“…….”
“The social scene in this country is not so laid-back. Needless to say, Sir Adler, the pinnacle. If I compare it to my experience of living a fierce life, the gong is too noble.”
Virtuous? I had never thought of it like that.
“If you want to get out of the sight of His Excellency the Führer, you will have to do so and do whatever you want to do.”
“Why?”
“Because he will too.”
Certainly there is a point. But how could I make the ladies of the official residence so obsessed with it? Just because Beatrix favors me doesn’t mean the other girls fret not to have me either.
“Let’s say I do as Miss Schneider says. How can I tame them?”
In fact, if you look closely, that crazy bitch and Elisabeth are unique cases. There were a lot of guys with smooth looks, and the piano wasn’t enough to be a genius.
What on earth did these two like about me so much?
“If that’s the case, this will help.”
Having said that, Adele took out something of hers from the skirt of my maid’s uniform. It was a very small vial. It was magical to look at the liquid that glowed pink in a transparent container.
“I’m a vicious girl who’s done anything to live, so I’m also knowledgeable about the technology of turning people into livestock.”
“…… Trainer.”
Human trafficking organizations that exist illegally to provide sexual entertainment. A teaching assistant is an important part of such an organization. In terms of a zoo, it’s kind of like an animal trainer. In the end, there is no difference between training people and training animals.
“You learn little by little. If it gets there, I’ll pass it on. I have written books for younger students, so it won’t take long.”
“So, what are the contents of that flask?”
“Human beings are weak beings. No matter what race there is, as long as there is a body, the mind must eventually belong to it.”
Adele took out the handkerchief she had tucked under his bosom and spilled a few drops of the contents of the bottle. It was the same method commonly used to apply perfume.
“It is a type of prohibited drug. It’s more intense than the dragon’s blood you drank. It is also an object that allows you to manipulate the body at will regardless of the will of the target. Even in Saxony, the alchemist who makes this drug is no longer to be found.”
“…….”
“Please accept it.”
Maybe Giselle is right. Adele Schneider is a more dangerous woman than she thought. It’s a shame she has a conscience and is kind to me, but if she had acted not only in order to survive, but in the direction of her desires, she would have done something dreadful.
“Do I have to?”
“I don’t force it. I’m just giving you the advice I can give you. The decision is solely up to the ball.”
“Then I ask you another question, but what if you don’t?”
“Naturally, you won’t be able to escape His Excellency’s gaze. Whatever you do, you will play on his palm, and in the end you will add one more case to Miss Mittemeyer.”
This woman, Adele Schneider, is not one to spread such lies to promote herself. So if you’re like that
“It sounds like you have to make a decision in the end.”
“Yes.”
“All right. Can I wet a handkerchief and use it like that?”
“It is enough to cover the respiratory tract and allow one breath. If you abuse it from the beginning, it will be difficult to break out of addiction, so it will often break. Oral administration or intra-arterial administration is also not recommended, unless some progress has been made in the same context.”
“Are there races that do not work well?”
“It is an object that is effective regardless of race or gender. Depending on your body size, you may need a larger or smaller capacity, but in general, it will be effective if you are wet like this.”
It is something that is common regardless of race.
“Why don’t you call one in and try it out now? I will guide you to that extent.”
“No, it’s fine. I guess I just need some time.”
Having said that, I reached out from Adele and handed her a towel and medicine.
“Then let me tell you one more thing. His Excellency has hired more than a dozen people, but you can narrow down the opponents you need to get your hands on with just a few fingers.”
“I don’t think you need to hear that. Because I think I know who it is.”
“Is that so?”
“The person who watched me closest. Thanks to you, I made a decision. Now it seems clear to whom to write this.”
“If you’re referring to His Excellency Adler…….”
“Beatrix is in Brullin. And how could this work for a woman who does not work with medicine or poison? Even if it works, she won’t be able to do anything with her mental strength.”
Yes, probably so. So I unfolded the handkerchief and placed it on my palm. After spraying a few more drops of the medicine, enough to cover everywhere, I looked straight at Adele, who noticed the situation belatedly.
“…… Excuse me, but may I ask if what I’m thinking is correct?”
“That’s right, I have nothing to apologize for.”
She sighed and got up from her seat. She took a step back. I followed carefully, of course.
“Jeongwoo-gong, even if you don’t, I will help you.”
“I believe. But as you say, if I need to be immaculate, if I need to be poisonous, if I need to get all the housekeepers under my feet, then nothing could be more foolish than leaving a woman named Adele Schneider alone.”
Elizabeth almost died because of me. It’s good to keep your beliefs, but it’s difficult to be stubborn when you don’t have the ability. So roll your head. Think of what you can do for yourself.
Adele’s advice applies to her as well. I’m not stupid enough not to know that.
“…….”
Adele took one more step back. As she put it off, it seems that she never dreamed that she would be the target. Perhaps because of my nobility, as I said with my own mouth.
“It must have been a mistake.”
You must have thought that you would make a decision in the end. Otherwise, I would not have recommended this method. The misjudgment she mentioned refers to me adapting to change faster than I thought. And that was more of a compliment than a criticism.
“It will be difficult to stock up.”
“Yes.”
“It is a very addictive drug. Maybe I’ll show you a more humble side than you thought.”
“Did you recommend that other employees use those drugs?”
“Yes. Because it was indispensable.”
“I understand. You are no exception.”
One step. Another step. Adele was finally cornered. Uncharacteristic of her, her expressionless face broke out in a cold sweat, and she was taken aback when she realized that there was no way she could escape.
“With this level of determination, I’m sure you’ll be able to offer your business card to fight against Beatrix, right?”
I asked, bringing her handkerchief to Adele’s mouth. She praised me even as she shuddered at the fate that would soon befall her.
“Yes…….”
Before long, the woman who voluntarily took a deep breath in her face became excited.
“You are wonderful…….”
Looked up at me
“…… Master.”
It started with a shrewd maid.
