Chapter 97 – Natasha’s Day (1) [Illustration]
“You don’t look very good, do you?”
At Royer’s question, Natasha turned her head.
There was anger and regret on his face.
“Would it be better if I were like you?”
It was a complex emotion, a mixture of anger and shame bursting out from within.
“Why are you doing that? You didn’t do what you promised. There’s no reason to feel bad at all.”
Natasha’s expression crumpled at the insinuation she made as if she didn’t know everything even though she knew everything.
I wanted to rebel, but I couldn’t rebel properly.
The sense of loss was that great. It felt like something huge had been cut off from within her chest.
But even though she knew that, she didn’t just listen.
Slap.
Natasha’s head turned with a clear noise.
“It’s noisy. Where did you sell your courtesy as a courtesan prostitute?”
Natasha touched her cheek at the vivid pain.
It was quite swollen.
Is it a pity? Or is it because of the pain?
Tears flowed.
She wanted to cry freely, but she couldn’t.
It just made her heart hurt.
“I believed that at least they wouldn’t make me do something embarrassing…”
“I believed it!”
Royer listened silently to the cry mixed with anger.
Thanks to his silence, Natasha was able to say everything she wanted to say.
“······So what do you want to say?”
“······Huh?”
Natasha looked uncomfortable, with all her tears and snot mixed together, but Royer seemed to have no emotions.
“Are you saying you don’t like all of this? Then you don’t have to force it. All you have to do is give up everything and leave. Abandoning your husband, who is not doing anything right, and the elves you care about. Isn’t it a simple choice?”
“······.”
“As a princess, if you want to abandon the elves, choose. We will withdraw our troops at any time. An all-out war with the orcs would have been quite embarrassing for us.”
“······That’s it.”
I tried to quickly put in words, but Royer’s attitude was stubborn.
“If you want, tell me right away. I will exchange the lives of the elves for your shame. I will probably become a princess that will go down in history.”
“Oh, no.”
“What do you mean? Didn’t you just say it with your own mouth?”
“That wasn’t my intention.”
“You can’t take back what you said. I think I’ve said it several times, but I still don’t seem to remember.”
“······Please, give me one more chance. Please.”
“It’s an opportunity. We can give as many opportunities as we want.”
“······Really? Thank you.”
“But you have to pay the price. Didn’t you give in to me naked before?”
“······What do you want?”
“Hmm, I have a lot to worry about. Threatening the emperor, wouldn’t that be treason?”
“······Reverse Mora? What do you mean?”
“Look at your actions again. Didn’t you threaten the emperor? The world is turning against you just by wearing a sword in front of me. But what about my actions?”
It was unreasonable.
But now Natasha did not have the strength to refute such unreasonable demands.
Originally, everything followed the logic of the strong.
“If you are a traitor, are you going to execute me?”
In general, it was common for the instigator of a treason plot to be executed, and for all those involved to have their heads cut off.
This wasn’t much different for the elves either.
In the case of elves, the treatment of traitors was similar.
“Do you want to die? Well, if you die like this, I can’t guarantee what will happen to your species.”
“······!”
“Well, even if it’s treason, I’m willing to show mercy at least once to someone who doesn’t know much about human customs.”
Royer paused for a moment.
Just from this alone, I could tell that there was something hidden.
“What do you want? Is it my virginity like you said at first?”
In the current situation, that was the only condition Natasha could put forward.
It was because from the beginning, it seemed like Royer wanted chastity.
But that wasn’t it.
“Chastity? That’s something I can take at any time. Don’t think it’s yours if I haven’t already taken it as a favor.”
“What?”
“Isn’t that right? The chastity of a courtesan prostitute is absurd.”
“······.”
“Since ancient times, there has been a punishment for sinners in Aman. If you survive just one day, all your sins will be forgiven.”
“······What is it?”
“It’s simple. Endure the holy scourging.”
“······.”
No matter how much I thought about it, I was absolutely afraid of being whipped. But I had to endure it.
If there was a tiger with its mouth open in front of me and a snake with its tongue lashing out, I had no choice but to choose the snake.
“I understand. I will endure.”
“Okay, good luck.”
***
“Wow, there’s not much more than I thought?”
Oberon, who placed Lia next to her, stayed close to her and looked around her.
I had high expectations because it was a festival, but it wasn’t really anything special.
The bars in the square were noisy, but there was no substance.
Most of the food was something I had already gotten sick of, and the liquor at the bar was not to my liking.
It was because the taste was just right for the cheap price.
“Then shall we go see the event?”
“Event?”
“Yes, the festival is not just about eating and drinking. There are also many fun events.”
“What is there?”
“Um… Just a moment.”
Lia immediately started asking people around her about things.
Lia returned a while later and said with a smile.
“Unfortunately, the duel is already over. However, the punishment of the criminal will soon be held in the square.”
“Punishment for criminals? You mean to see something like that at a festival?”
For a moment, Oberon thought of something like a guillotine cutting off her head.
No matter how much I thought about it, showing something like that at a festival was completely repulsive.
Leah, seeing Oberon’s expression, smiled and shook her head.
“Punishment does not necessarily mean execution.”
“Then?”
“The most common punishment is for show. If you don’t want to be punished like this, you have to swear loyalty to the imperial family.”
“Isn’t that too daunting? If it were me, I think I would actually feel repulsed.”
“Before any resistance arises, it is important to make a living. At least under the current emperor, there is no need to go hungry.”
“I see.”
In fact, Oberon did not properly understand what the feeling of starving was.
Even when she was an elf, she still lived a life that was far from starving.
“Anyway, would you like to go see it?”
“I’m curious, so let’s go take a look.”
Oberon followed Lia to the square.
When we came to the area around the square, there were quite a few people gathered.
“Is it here?”
“The prisoner will be out soon. Would you like to go a little closer to the front?”
“From here to now? It looks like it’ll be quite crowded.”
“It’s okay. We have a certificate given by His Majesty the Emperor. With the certificate, we can go to the front.”
“Really? That’s a good thing.”
Oberon followed Leah and stepped forward without any resistance.
In the center of the square, it looked like a stage where criminals were executed.
But I couldn’t find the cutlery anywhere.
‘I guess they just made it look like that.’
Oberon thought as he surveyed the atmosphere.
After a while, a loud sound was heard.
“Prisoner enters!”
Most people’s eyes turned towards the prisoner. The prisoner was virtually naked.
‘······.’
Not only was she almost naked, but her body was also pretty great.
It was a great sight to go in and come out with plenty of food.
Moreover, she was a woman who looked very good with her gorgeous blonde hair.
“I will now begin one day of corporal punishment.”
However, as the prisoner approached, Oberon could not help but become quite stern.
‘······Natasha?’
A glimpse of a face.
Eyes that look like a blue lake and pointed ears.
No matter how you look at her, she was Natasha, her wife.
Oberon couldn’t understand why Natasha, who was working as a maid, was here.
She just thought to herself that she must have been wrong.
In this uncomfortable atmosphere, the prisoner’s limbs were fixed in chains.
I could no longer see the prisoner.
“For one day from now, the prisoner will be whipped. Anyone who wants to absolve themselves of their sins should come up.”
Aman’s traditional punishment was one in which all citizens participated.
Rather, it was a corporal punishment close to social death.
Even when a beautiful woman came up like today, it was famous for numerous people to participate.
Oberon was also similar.
‘I’ll have to check for myself to see if it’s Natasha.’
It was a moment when doubts arose.
Chin.
Lia, who was next to her, snuggled into her arms and held her hands.
“Oberon, do you want to participate too?”
Although the reasons were different, she definitely intended to participate.
“······Ugh.”
“Then, follow me. You’ll have to queue. It looks like an elf is up today, so there’ll be quite a few people.”
“Okay.”
“But, this is the first time an elf has come up. Most of them are creatures that are hard to even see.”
“······”
“I’ve seen it twice, so I guess I’m very lucky?”
“I guess so.”
Oberon answered quietly.
The gaze was still fixed on the elf on the stage.
Right now I could only see the back, but I just wanted to take a look as quickly as possible.
