The Punishment of Impalement

“Oh my goodness…”

Standing before Seraphina and Fulkarn, Levian’s gaze naturally fell upon the pink glow emanating from Seraphina’s abdomen.

“Could that possibly be the English magic I’ve been yearning to learn?”

‘Oh, absolutely, of course.’

Watching Levian from afar, her face alight with envy, Seraphina felt a wave of speechlessness.

‘But before you voice your darker thoughts… could you perhaps come save me first?’

‘If no one rescues me, I’ll be driven mad by a high heel…’

“Wait, no, why would you imprint English magic on Lady Seraphina’s stomach?”

Fortunately, Levian quickly realized Seraphina’s predicament.

“Could it be… you’re trying to steal Seraphina from Lady Iqiyah? How courageous of you…”

Alas, she was clearly operating under a slight misunderstanding.

‘That’s not right, is it? What’s gotten into you, you blockhead maid? What kind of couple carves English magic by kicking someone onto the floor to do it?’

“Oh?” Fulkarn’s face registered a flicker of surprise upon hearing Levian’s words. “Could it be… Lady Iqiyah is quite fond of you?”

“Well, what else would it be? Do you think I’m just some accessory?”

Bracing her body, Seraphina fought with all her might to suppress the burgeoning desire within, battling the fiery sensation in her abdomen, as she squeezed out her retort.

“Heh, something like that.”

With her arms crossed over her chest, Fulkarn looked down at Seraphina, who lay at her feet.

“Looking at your filthy black hair… only your face and body are halfway decent. I thought Lady Iqiyah brought you here specifically for pleasure.”

‘Uh… actually, in a way, she’s not wrong…’

“So… in my opinion…”

Without warning, Fulkarn suddenly delivered a powerful kick, striking Seraphina directly in the abdomen, precisely on the area where the English magic was carved.

“Gah!”

If one were to describe that attack with an idiom, it would be — a bullseye.

Her body instantly arched, and Seraphina’s limbs began to twitch as if by reflex.

Yet, a strange phenomenon swiftly occurred. The impact on her abdomen didn’t bring the intense agony she’d expected, but rather… a peculiar, potent sensation of pleasure.

‘My word… is this the legendary [Pain Conversion]?’

As a seasoned shut-in who had consumed countless films in her previous life, Seraphina knew this was a unique property of English magic: it could transform all pain she endured into pleasure.

However, she also understood that this pleasure was no sweet nectar, but rather, pure arsenic!

“Levian, Levian… I can’t take it anymore, please help me…”

In her desperation, Seraphina urgently called out to Levian for help.

“Fulkarn! What are you doing?! Why are you kicking Lady Seraphina?!”

Simultaneously, Levian noticed something amiss. In normal ‘play,’ the abdomen was rarely chosen as a target, much less with such a brutal kick.

“Why? Isn’t it obvious?”

Lowering her head, Fulkarn prodded the writhing Seraphina on the ground with the tip of her shoe, much like one might torment a dying cat.

“Though merely a familiar, she dared to disrespect her master’s name by omitting honorifics…”

“As the head maid of Scarlett Manor, I naturally have a duty to discipline such a deplorable familiar!”

With that, Fulkarn raised her foot again, poised to stomp down hard on Seraphina.

In that critical moment, Levian exploited her speed, lunging forward like an arrow. She intercepted Fulkarn’s descending high heel, placing herself squarely in front of Seraphina.

“!?”

Realizing something was wrong, Fulkarn hastily checked her momentum.

However, an arrow released from the string has no way of returning.

“Ugh!”

With a muffled groan, Levian proved utterly incapable of withstanding Fulkarn’s heavy high heel strike. Her hands went slack, and she collapsed onto Seraphina.

“Tsk!” Fulkarn instantly panicked. “Levian, what is the meaning of this?!”

“Why go to such desperate lengths for a mere familiar?”

“Fulkarn… you don’t understand…” Struggling, Levian painfully lifted her head. “Lady Seraphina… is Lady Iqiyah’s beloved, and also my benefactor…”

“Even if it costs me my life, I will protect her…”

‘Such devotion?’

Upon hearing those words, Seraphina’s nose stung, and tears welled up uncontrollably in the corners of her eyes.

‘I never imagined you’d go to such lengths for me… but could you please get off me first? You’re quite heavy…’

“Tsk…” Seeing Levian’s profound regard for Seraphina, Fulkarn’s expression shifted. “A miscalculation… it seems this one has quite the background…”

“Indeed, quite the background.”

Just then, an unfamiliar voice cut through the tension between the three.

“But surely, your background is even grander, isn’t it? To dare discipline my familiar without so much as a greeting?”

At the end of the corridor, Iqiyah Scarlett stood, her eyes glowing crimson as she glared fiercely at Fulkarn.

A low hum—

Accompanying the magical hum, the space behind Iqiyah warped into an inky blackness, like an abyss, ready at any moment to drag the true offender before her into hell.

“Fulkarn Wright, you had better provide me with a reasonable explanation.”

****

Some time later, inside Iqiyah’s room.

For the first time in her life, Seraphina experienced what it felt like to be surrounded on a bed.

“Examination complete. Aside from the English magic, Miss Seraphina’s body shows no other abnormalities.”

Although the doctor declared her perfectly fine, seeing the crowd gathered around her bedside, Seraphina couldn’t shake the feeling that she ought to be making her last will and testament.

“What about this English magic, then?”

Taking the diagnostic report from the doctor, Iqiyah furrowed her brows.

“That’s simple,” the doctor replied. “While Miss Seraphina’s constitution is unique, and purification magic won’t affect her… generally speaking, the English magic will naturally dissipate within a week.”

“During this period, she merely needs to regularly relieve the physiological reactions. Normal life should largely be unaffected.”

“…Thank you, Doctor.”

The moment the doctor exited the room, Iqiyah eagerly leaned towards Seraphina, her face filled with apology.

“I’m truly sorry, Seraphina. Someone from the company was particularly troublesome, and it delayed me a bit…”

“It’s alright… it’s just a little bit of English magic…”

While enduring the fiery desire was a touch tormenting, for now, everything remained within tolerable limits.

“Then… do you need me to help you ‘relieve’ it?❤”

“Oh, absolutely not, that’s beyond my tolerance.”

For Seraphina, Iqiyah’s forceful affection was ten, no, nine times more terrifying than an English magic flare-up!

“Alright, alright, I won’t tease you anymore.”

Turning, Iqiyah pouted in dissatisfaction, facing Levian, who stood with her head bowed in silence.

“Now, it’s time to settle accounts.”

“Levian, I was only gone for a moment. How could you fail to keep things under control?”

“I’m sorry…”

Facing the reprimand from her mistress and secret crush, Levian resembled a pitiful little rabbit, daring not to utter a single word of protest.

“And then, there’s you.”

Turning once more, this time Iqiyah looked behind her.

More precisely… at the floor behind her.

“Miss Fulkarn Wright… I don’t even know what to say to you.”

Following Iqiyah’s gaze, Seraphina looked down at the floor.

Only then did Seraphina realize that Fulkarn was also in the room.

There, on the spotless floor of Iqiyah’s room, a figure knelt, curled up like a frog.

For a moment, Seraphina felt as though she had returned to the very moment she first arrived at Blood Manor.

Back then, Levian had also assumed the exact same posture before her—

Dogeza!

“Abusing your authority, taking matters into your own hands… if you had inflicted this on other maids who had erred, I wouldn’t utter a single word.”

“But, as fate would have it… you chose to inflict your private punishment upon my familiar!”

“Who gave you such audacity?!”

Lifting her foot, Iqiyah pressed the heel of her high shoe onto Fulkarn’s head.

At that moment, with just a slight exertion of force, her immense power could pierce Fulkarn’s skull, ending her life.

“She, Seraphina Scarlett, is… someone who has saved my life twice!”

Stumbling over her words, Iqiyah still hesitated to openly express her affection for Seraphina in front of everyone.

“Do you realize that the Scarlett surname alone dictates the entirety of your life?!”

“Oh, right… I heard you even changed your surname without permission… you have quite some nerve!”

“Are you aware… what a grave crime it is to impersonate nobility under the laws of the Blood Clan?”

Controlling her formidable power with the precision of operating a delicate instrument, Iqiyah rubbed her heel, applying gentle pressure to Fulkarn’s forehead.

“The Punishment of Impalement!”