The Obsession of a Leader

The coachman cursed, yanking at the reins, as three carriages, jostling and swaying, threaded their way through the throng of revelers. Finally, having navigated the bustling square, they drew to a halt before the Redwater Tavern.A stir outside caught their attention, and a dozen burly figures, members of the Redwater Gang, spilled from the tavern’s doors. Spotting the unfamiliar carriages, they immediately grew agitated, drawing their weapons and assuming a defensive stance. However, the moment Saranya’s form was recognized atop the lead carriage, their wary tension dissolved into a chorus of joyous shouts:

“Lady Haia is back!”

“What is this? Leather, so much leather?! And money… there’s so much money in the carriage!!!”

“Woohoo~ Haha!”

“Haia! Haia! Haia!”

In the nearly a month since Kaelan had vanished from public sight, Saranya had fully assumed control of the Redwater Gang. Wielding such undeniable authority, she was naturally regarded as the gang’s leader.

Though whispers of her scandalous affair with Kaelan had been running rampant through the streets, across every rendition of the tale, ‘Ranger Haia’ was invariably depicted as a subservient ‘bottom’ kneeling at the lady’s feet.

Yet, in an age defined by its boundless liberties, within Vero City—the most unbridled metropolis across the continent—and amidst the upper echelons of nobility where freedom verged on wanton revelry, those of elevated status and immense power commanded an ‘absolute freedom’ that knew no bounds. This boundless liberty had even spawned a proverb of profound wickedness:

“My servant’s servant is not my servant, but my daughter’s daughter is still my daughter.”

In stark contrast, for a high-ranking syndicate boss like Saranya, to harbor certain peculiar predilections, to seek a powerful ‘top’ as her master, and to partake in certain private amusements, was considered entirely normal—even a refreshing deviation from the norm.

Furthermore, rumors remained mere rumors. When the populace witnessed Haia spearheading the Redwater Gang’s swift expansion across the West District, the discourse surrounding her private life naturally faded into insignificance.

****

Presently, Saranya cared for little else. Her master’s voice, a constant echo in her mind, had become her sole obsession. She needed to return to the tavern immediately and reunite with them.

With no patience for idle pleasantries at the entrance, she offered a few vacant nods to her gang members. Then, abandoning the three carriages in her wake, she shoved through the throng and plunged into the tavern’s gaping maw.

She sought her master. She yearned to see them, now, instantly, without a moment’s delay.

****

‘Kaelan…’

Her master was not on the first floor.

‘Where, then, could her master be…?’

****

Saranya shoved aside several impeding patrons and collided with a tavern maid, sending her sprawling. Her leather boots crunched over the scattered debris on the floor as she ascended the stairs to the second floor.

She moved forward in a daze, as though an invisible thread tugged her onward. People clamored around her; some roared their displeasure at her, some called her name. Yet, all these sounds were muffled, as if separated by a translucent film, merely a dull hum in her ears. She neither heard clearly nor wished to acknowledge them.

****

“Mother!”

At that instant, an arm reached over the heads of the crowd, seizing Saranya’s shoulder. She halted, turning to face Vireta, who stood behind her.

“What’s wrong with you? Aren’t you going to oversee the unloading of the carriages first?”

Vireta, still panting heavily, lifted a hand to wipe the beads of sweat from her forehead. Evidently, the unloading had demanded considerable exertion.

“Come on, Mother! Let’s get the cargo sorted first!”

“Kaelan… my master is back…”

“Oh? Is—is that so? Sister Cecilia has been in the shop. In that case, I’ll accompany you to her for a check-up, and we can ask about Aunt Kaelan then—”

“No… I don’t want to… Go away…”

Saranya wrenched her daughter’s hand from her, intent on ascending the stairs alone. Vireta, however, seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation, her expression turning somber. She clamped her hand back onto Saranya’s shoulder:

“No! Mother, what ails you? Had we not agreed to visit Cecilia together for your examination?!”

At that precise moment, the hazy Saranya once more perceived that familiar voice echoing within her mind:

[Saranya, come find me on the second floor. I’m in the room at the end of the right corridor, and the door is unlocked.]

It was her master’s command.

“Leave me be!”

“Ah!”

Saranya abruptly shoved Vireta away. Before the girl could react, she lost her footing instantly, and with a shriek, plummeted headlong down the staircase.

“Ugh—”

“Vireta?”

Cecilia, who had just been about to ascend the stairs with a bewildered Aquilis trailing behind her, caught Vireta, steadying her.

Saranya paid no heed to the unfolding scene behind her. Ascending several more steps, she reached the tavern’s second floor. In her dazed state, she vaguely registered Vireta attempting to explain something to Cecilia, her voice laced with panic and a nascent sob.

‘Nevertheless, Vireta held no importance for her. She knew that her master was all that mattered…’

Turning right, she hastened towards the final room visible down the corridor.

“Master… Master!!!”

“Saranya, wait!”

Just behind her, Cecilia, accompanied by the other two, had caught up. The doctor’s brow furrowed slightly as she swiftly stepped past Saranya, blocking her path.

“You need rest; you are clearly exhausted, Saranya. Come with me, please. Regardless, I’ll have Aquilis administer a dose of laudanum to you first…”

“…”

‘Annoying.’

‘Everyone is so annoying…’

Saranya’s face was clouded with a dark gloom, her gaze fixed expressionlessly on Cecilia. Beneath her outwardly subdued and repressed demeanor, a surge of savage malevolence began to churn within her heart.

‘Kill them. Killing them all would be enough, wouldn’t it…?’

She began to rehearse the scenario within her mind. If she were to raise her left hand at this very instant, firing a sleeve-arrow at Cecilia, who obstructed her path, then swiftly draw the armed sword from Vireta’s waist, using its momentum to slit Cecilia’s throat, and finally, turn and sever Aquilis’s head from her shoulders…

‘Then, no annoying person would ever stop her from being with her master again.’

‘Indeed… these three were completely unprepared. With her abilities, the success rate for such an act would be incredibly high.’

‘The first target would be Cecilia.’

‘Firing the sleeve-arrow into Cecilia’s throat, severing her carotid artery, would ensure her death.’

Before her, Cecilia’s expression was gentle and serene, her words murmured softly. Her message seemed, broadly, to be one of comfort.

Yet, in her dazed state, Saranya perceived an entirely different set of words emanating from Cecilia’s lips:

[Do it…]

[Do it, Saranya… do it…]

[Kill me… then kill them… and then you can be with your master forever…]

Saranya rubbed her eyes, her gaze fixed on Cecilia’s lips, which still moved in a silent hum. Then, in a voice trembling with a nascent madness, she asked:

“Truly… is it permitted?”

[Of course it is… Kill us… Saranya…]

Within her crimson-tinged vision, the gentle Cecilia’s cheeks were stained with blood, and she spoke, curving her lips into a serene, blood-splattered smile.

‘Saranya knew she would surely regret it, but at the mere thought of seeing her master, her body began to pulse with an uncontrollable, feverish excitement.’

“Huu… hu hu… ngh…”

“What’s wrong with you?”

Directly before her, Cecilia seemed to perceive her movements. The bloodstains on her cheeks gradually receded, her lips parting slightly, a flicker of astonishment crossing her eyes.

!

‘No no no no no no… No, she couldn’t do this…’

Reason, with a jolt, asserted its dominion. Saranya abruptly lowered her arm, mentally chastising herself for her momentary madness.

“I’m fine…”

‘Impossible to be fine. She knew she was truly insane.’

Turning once more, she offered an apology to Vireta:

“Ah, Vireta, I’m sorry about that; I didn’t mean to push you…”

‘That wasn’t true at all; she had just wanted to kill Vireta. Had the girl fatally struck her head on the stairs, it could even have been disguised as an accident… Hehe…’

Saranya’s expression was utterly vacant as she bared her teeth at her companions, forcing a grotesque smile that sent a shiver of cold sweat down Vireta’s spine:

“I’ll leave the tavern to you for now… alright?”

“Are you really fine?”

“Fine, I’m perfectly fine.”

‘She was anything but fine. Her head throbbed, two diametrically opposed thoughts tearing savagely at her mind. She felt her sanity being pushed to its absolute limit.’

‘Fortunately, she had her master. Once she saw them, everything would be alright.’

“Are you sure? You just want to go in and look, just look… right?”

“I need to go in, to find my master…”

Cecilia’s delicate brows knitted together, and she finally sighed, stepping aside to make way for Saranya.

“Go on, then.”

Saranya, a surge of excitement propelling her, rushed past Cecilia.

‘Once she saw her master, everything would mend!’

Thus, under the worried gazes of her companions, the distraught sword maiden pushed open the door to the room she had so desperately yearned for—

The room was empty.

“…”

“Impossible… No one…”

“Come, Saranya, we’ll take you to get some sleep.”

“No, that’s impossible… Hahahaahhh…”

“Saranya, you’re too tired; you haven’t recovered yet—”

“Impossible!!! Impossible, impossible, impossible, ahhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH—”