The Weight of Forgiveness

Deep within the Krieg Estate’s castle, a perpetual twilight reigned. No light, no day, no night.

Fourierina had no concept of how long she had been confined to this subterranean chamber.

Her hands, unchained, stretched upwards, intertwining like vines.

Her knees were curled and bowed, a posture of humiliated subjugation, as if she were a s*ave prostrating herself.

Her head hung low, her eyes reflecting only a desolate gray.

No one had coerced her into this; everything she endured was of her own volition.

For the first half of her life, her entire existence had revolved around a singular purpose: avenging her parents.

To become enslaved, to relinquish freedom… to live frugally, to pour out her heart and soul…

Even if it meant replacing the very meaning of her life, even if she had to survive in this world utterly alone, she would not hesitate.

Until today, that is…

“Don’t fault me for being blunt, but adventurers can’t even purchase accident insurance…”

Claire’s words had, for the first time in Fourierina’s life, cast a shadow of doubt upon the righteousness of her mission.

Truth be told, others had attempted to reason with her before. Yet, she had always dismissed them as mere garbage, keeping them at arm’s length.

But Miss Claire was different.

She was her mistress, the third daughter of the Krieg Group, and she had genuinely lived the life of an adventurer, truly experiencing the loss of comrades.

She had even been meticulously carved into pieces by a vampire herself…

Beyond that, another factor contributing to her burgeoning doubt was Miss Seraphina.

Despite being a vampire, this individual had consistently presented an image of utter meekness from the very beginning.

Even when confronted by a mob, she had only pleaded for mercy, never once retaliating.

Observing Seraphina’s aggrieved, pitiful demeanor, Fourierina had been utterly convinced that this cunning vampire was merely biding her time, enduring hardship to await their complacency before striking, intent on annihilating them all.

Clinging to this conviction, Fourierina had gripped her silver dagger, lying awake in bed throughout the night.

She had endured until dawn, and upon seeing the faint sunlight filtering through the curtain’s gap, Fourierina’s shame had erupted into fury.

She refused to believe that after such a brutal group assault, that accursed rat could still be so forbearing.

Thus, while the other maids were still asleep, she had stealthily made her way to Seraphina’s attic room…

There, she had witnessed Seraphina, who had just escaped Claire’s clutches, scrambling back to her room in disarray to catch up on sleep.

To Fourierina, who was unaware of the true circumstances, Seraphina showed no anger despite her actions.

What Seraphina had done, and what Fourierina herself had done for over two years, were essentially the same thing—

Suppression and endurance.

Fourierina could distinctly feel her facial muscles twitching.

Confronted with such a peaceful and serene sight, her heart burned with even greater rage.

She simply could not comprehend it.

Therefore, when she was forced to lead the person she detested under the scorching sun this morning, sweating profusely, she finally could no longer contain her inner fury, unleashing it all upon Seraphina.

Yet, even after being treated so poorly, Seraphina displayed not a hint of anger. She hadn’t even stirred up trouble or fanned the flames while being trained by Claire.

These myriad factors intertwined within her, ultimately coalescing into an ancient Eastern proverb—

‘To measure the heart of a gentleman with the thoughts of a petty person.’

“…Damn it all…”

Her head bowed, Fourierina’s nose stung, and her face flushed crimson.

Just as her mind was awash with these tumultuous thoughts—

Clang—

The iron door of the confinement cell, directly before where she knelt, suddenly swung open.

In an instant, the dim, stifling cell was flooded with an abundance of light.

Dust motes danced within the sunbeams, the light converging upon Fourierina, who knelt and gazed upwards.

And there, standing before her, was Seraphina—the vampire she had once despised above all others.

“…Fourierina.”

Slowly descending the steps of the confinement cell, Seraphina approached Fourierina. She came so close that Fourierina could even feel the warm exhalation of her breath.

“…What are you doing?”

‘Is this vampire finally going to make her move against me?’

‘Hmph, I suppose I’ve fallen into your hands. Do what you will, kill or torture, just get it over with…’

Then, something entirely unexpected by Fourierina transpired.

At that remarkably close distance, Seraphina lowered her head, bent her knees, and slowly touched the ground.

“I’m sorry, Fourierina.”

Wrapping her arms around Fourierina’s shoulders, Seraphina held the bewildered woman tightly.

“I apologize for everything my people have done.”

Drip.

Fourierina knew she was crying, yet she felt absolutely nothing.

She couldn’t feel the wetness around her eyes, nor the heat on her cheeks.

All she could perceive was Seraphina’s comforting warmth and the ceaseless tremor of her own heart.

“Do you want to cry? It’s alright,” Seraphina murmured, gently stroking Fourierina’s hair. “Just cry it out on my shoulder.”

“After all these years… you’ve endured so much.”

Her nose stung with an explosive ache, and Fourierina bit her lip tightly, lifting her head in an attempt to stem her tears.

However, the moment she felt the cool sensation of tears streaming down her face, Fourierina could no longer suppress her emotions and burst into heart-wrenching sobs.

“Waaah… waaaah…”

****

Every thread of hatred is difficult to release.

Yet, every conflict must eventually be resolved.

Contrary to Seraphina’s expectations, Claire had summoned her not for Fourierina’s sake, but to satisfy her own desires.

“C-Claire… it’s still daytime…”

As the Third Miss attacked from behind, Seraphina arched her back, attempting to evade Claire’s playful assault.

“What’s wrong with daytime? Can’t we be happy during the day?”

“N-no, it’s not that. I thought you called me to discuss Miss Fourierina’s matter…”

“Fourierina?”

Circling Seraphina’s waist, Claire gently pinched the scant bit of excess flesh on Seraphina’s stomach, kneading it up and down.

“Why talk about her? She bullied you so much; you’re not still thinking of her, are you?”

“I suppose I am.”

Seraphina understood the bitter taste of hatred.

She had hated many: her parents in this life, her teammates in this life… and a certain unspeakable noble she kept hidden in a box.

With the exception of her parents, she had, in her own unique fashion, made all the others ‘answer’ for their transgressions, ensuring they paid their due.

However, unlike Seraphina’s own one-sided hatred, the conflict between adventurers and dungeon monsters was a debt that could never truly be repaid, an inextricable whirlpool.

Once such a whirlpool formed, unless both sides found satisfaction, it would inevitably drag both into a mire of destruction.

Hence, Seraphina’s conclusion was—

“I should still go and apologize to her.”

“? What? Why would you apologize?”

“It’s nothing,” Seraphina replied, tilting her head slightly and stroking her dark, long hair—the last testament to her former humanity.

“Perhaps I never mentioned it, but I was once human too, and I was also once consumed by hatred and injustice. I can understand Fourierina’s feelings.”

No matter the type of demon, their reputation among humans was always poor. As someone who had grown up human, Seraphina naturally understood this.

“Therefore, even if I’m not directly involved, I am willing to make my own effort to end this conflict.”

“Is that so?”

Leaning her head over the vampire’s shoulder, Claire glanced sideways at Seraphina’s vibrant red eyes.

“Seraphina… if you’re too kind, it might backfire on you one day, you know~”

“? Backfire how?”

“Backfire… by having too many people around you who like you, so much that they’d love to tear you apart and devour you whole, leaving nothing behind.”

“Eek!?”

Suddenly, Claire raised a hand, tracing the elegant curve of Seraphina’s toned abdomen all the way up to her chest.

“Before that… I’m going to stake my claim on your heart right now.”

“Hey! What’s with this ‘Black Tiger Stealing Heart’?! Even vampires aren’t as vampiric as you!”

In truth… Claire had originally intended to make an example of Fourierina in front of all the servants, punishing her to deter others.

However… seeing Seraphina’s gentle nature, she couldn’t help but devise another method—one that would allow Seraphina to integrate better into the circle of servants.

‘Hey, hey, hey… Claire, oh Claire, weren’t you supposed to use the servants to tame Seraphina? How did you end up helping Seraphina tame the servants instead?’

There was nothing for it. This was something she had promised last night. As the Third Miss of the Krieg family, she couldn’t allow her credibility in Seraphina’s eyes to be completely eroded.

Merely confining Fourierina in isolation, rather than publicly making her ‘pay the price,’ honestly left Claire with a touch of unease.

Still… well, the initiative was in her hands now, anyway.

“Hey, hey, hey… don’t squeeze… what if it lights up?”

“Lights up? Well, there’s naturally a way to deal with it lighting up, isn’t there~”

As long as that English magic mark remained carved on Seraphina’s body… taming Seraphina was only a matter of time.