Torture Princess: Fremd Torturchen, Vol. 1

by Keishi Ayasato

  “If that is the case…then perhaps, have you come to hate me? Can you no longer bear the sight of my face? Do you no longer wish to have someone like me by your side? If that is what the problem is, then I will take my face and, with Lady Elisabeth’s aid, reconstruct it so as to better meet your—”

  “You’re wrong, Hina. There’s nothing wrong with you, nothing at all. I just chose to follow this guy.”

  “Master Kaito… You mean…Vlad?”

  Hina looked at the person Kaito was pointing to in bewilderment. Kaito nodded.

  “I can’t say it’s my first choice. But even if I have to stand on the side that hurts others, there’s something I need to do. And he’s the only one who can make it happen for me.”

  Kaito tried to explain himself. Hina’s expression made her seem like an abandoned puppy, and he had to turn away.

  There wasn’t a single thing wrong with her. Although he was betraying her, he didn’t want to be the reason she wore such a pained expression. But he didn’t have the luxury of being able to keep her by his side.

  Right now, she was unfit for combat. If she would just give up on him, Vlad would probably let her go.

  After all, their relationship was the result of him accidentally starting her up. If she could just forget about him and find a new master, she should at least be able to spend her days happily and peacefully.

  If nothing else, that’s what he wanted to believe.

  “Just forget about your configured lover, and after you get back, you can live your life freely. I’ll have Elisabeth…or, rather, Vlad set it up so you can forget me and arrange a new config—”

  “Please don’t make light of me, Master Kaito.”

  “Huh?”

  She interrupted Kaito, her voice cold and pointed. She’d never shown such anger toward him before. She took a short breath, exhaled, and straightened herself up in a dignified manner.

  “I may have the preconfigured heart of an automaton, but it is still mine and mine alone. The moment I chose you as my master, and you chose me, I decided to dedicate my life and my love to you and no one else. I live because I wish to live for your sake, and I break because I wish to be broken. I have no intention of serving another master. Even if my noble master was to order it, I cannot allow you to deny that fact.”

  “…Hina…”

  “Why do you choose to serve a man such as him?”

  “Sorry. I’m gonna follow him. Even if I have to give Vlad everything I hold dear, I’m going to kill my father!”

  Before he realized it, Kaito was yelling. As if in response to his unstable thoughts, anger and bloodlust welled up within his heart, and the suffering he’d once felt returned to him. He clenched his teeth, panting like an animal.

  The harshness immediately faded from Hina’s face and was replaced, in an instant, by understanding. She should have had no way of knowing his past, but she seemed to have sensed something, as she gently asked him a question.

  “Will that… Will that bring you happiness?”

  “Huh? …Happiness?”

  “Will it?”

  “Uh, well, probably.”

  Overwhelmed by Hina’s earnest tone, Kaito nodded. But he had no idea if the act would bring him happiness. To the contrary, homicide was about as far removed as an act could be from something as idyllic as “happiness.” But all he had to do was kill his father, and the torrent of muddy hatred flowing through his heart should vanish.

  Hearing his response, Hina beamed.

  “Thank goodness.”

  “Huh?”

  Kaito was surprised, once again, by her response. For some reason, Hina was nodding in relief. She laid her hands on her chest with a satisfied expression, like a mother understanding her child’s happiness.

  “Even back at the castle, you never once smiled from the heart, Master Kaito… I was so very worried for you. If this choice will grant you happiness, then there is nothing more for me to say. With a heart full of joy, I shall support you on your path.”

  “Wait, Hina, you were worried about me all this time?”

  “Your happiness is my happiness, Master Kaito. A single, supreme happiness… I understand. As per your wishes, I will now suspend all functions.”

  “Wh—?!”

  Her unexpected proclamation caused Kaito’s eyes to widen. That wasn’t what he wanted at all. Hell, the whole reason for this farewell was because he wanted Hina to live a long life.

  Kaito grabbed her shoulders. She calmly returned his gaze.

  “Hina, quit talking nonsense! Why would you have to shut down?!”

  “If you say you no longer have need of me, Master Kaito, then why should I keep on living? Lady Elisabeth does not wish to flee, and I am simply a burden. Please put your mind at ease. If you say this will bring you happiness, then I will gladly return my body to that of a mere doll.”

  “Cut it out—I’m begging you. Please. I don’t want you to die. Can’t you think this over?”

  “How kind you are… What a truly kind and compassionate man you are. Although I am unworthy of such sentiment, I will accept it nonetheless. But my life is by your side, and the moment you no longer needed me, it came to an end. You needn’t feel guilt about this. My work is complete, so instead, please send me off with a smile.”

  Hina smiled. Her voice rang with a resolute sense of pride, one that far surpassed Kaito’s ability to comprehend. No matter what he said, he doubted that her resolve would waver. When he realized that, his hands loosened. Hina took a step back and clasped the hem of her maid uniform. Her silver hair gently swayed as it glittered in the candlelight. She lowered her injured leg and gave a lovely bow.

  “And with that, Master Kaito, I take my leave. Within the hour, unless you find yourself once more in need of me, I shall enter my eternal slumber. You have my sincerest thanks. Allowing me to be by your side…and graciously permitting me to be your lover made me happier than you could possibly imagine.”

  When Hina expressed how happy she’d been in the short time they’d spent together, her voice contained no traces of falsehood, just fervent gratitude. She bowed deeply, then continued.

  “With a heart full of love and gratitude, I welcome death… Please excuse me.”

  She finished her bow, picked up her halberd, and used it to prop up her body as she walked. The maids went to lend a hand, but she shook them off and left the dining room alone. Her resolute figure soon receded into the darkness.

  Standing frozen in place, Kaito watched her leave.

  As he did, he recalled Marianne and Elisabeth’s exchange.

  “Once you’ve killed me, I imagine there will be no one left in this world who truly loves you.”

  “Yes… I will have no one. Not a single person for the rest of eternity.”

  He felt as though he had just lost something precious without having ever realized just how important it was.

  He remained motionless. But before he could process his profound sense of loss, Vlad called out from behind him.

  “I have to ask, just for the record. Did I witness a miracle a moment ago? A miracle such as your plaything’s lofty words washing away your age-old grudge, leaving you with a cleansed spirit and ready to live happily ever after?”

  “…Don’t worry about it. Just summon my fucking dad already.”

  Kaito spat out his words. Vlad nodded, then snapped his fingers.

  The maids quickly rolled in a cart designed to carry food, as if they’d been waiting impatiently for this. The top of the cart was covered in a silver lid, which the maids promptly removed.

  Upon the cart lay a doll clad in gray clothes. It had no hair, eyes, or mouth.

  The ball-jointed doll’s skin was pale, and its construction looked so plain that it was difficult to imagine it housing a soul. Vlad took a knife from the table, spun it by its hawk-insignia handle, and brought it to a sharp stop. He then forcefully plunged it more than halfway through his wrist.

  The cut severed an artery,
and blood gushed forth across the tablecloth and dripped onto the floor. The blood coalesced, seeming almost alive, and began painting a complicated design on the floor, a different design than the teleportation circle Kaito was familiar with.

  While that was happening, Vlad gave a brief scowl. His arm, hidden in his sleeve until then, shone crimson with divine glyphs. The Church’s shackles were burned into his skin. It seemed that when he used magic, they caused him even more pain. However, his expression quickly returned to neutral.

  “My words bear no lies. My words bear no falsehoods. My words bear no untruths. His soul ferries between worlds. On Earth he calls out, his body in tatters. In the ether he finds his form once more.”

  Vlad muttered something in a low voice. In concert with his chant, the summoning circle on the ground flickered.

  As the light grew stronger, the atmosphere in the room began to change.

  “La (become)— La (traverse)— La (become)— La (return)— La (become)—”

  The air grew dry and sharp, as if thousands of pieces of glass were flying through it. A formless radiance danced on the tip of Kaito’s nose, and he tracked it with his gaze. The edges of his vision were full of images that were most definitely from another world.

  Highways, cars, crowds, billboards, rivers, schools. All of them scenes from the world he’d left behind.

  They refracted with a rainbow of colors, filling the dark room with a strange light.

  “You should close your eyes for the rest. Staring at the light for too long would drive ordinary men mad. You wouldn’t want to have your soul sucked out, would you?”

  Hearing Vlad’s warning, Kaito frantically squeezed his eyes shut. Still, the rainbow light burned into his retinas. As he turned toward the darkness to ward off the light, memories of the events leading up to now flashed through his mind.

  As if fleeing from the strange light, Kaito sank into the depths of a sea of memories.

  A beautiful girl with fluttering dark hair spoke, her tone of voice often waxing between malice and pride.

  “I am the Torture Princess, Elisabeth Le Fanu.”

  “I am the proud wolf and the lowly sow.”

  “You and I—we are fated to die, forsaken by all of creation.”

  A pretty doll with fluttering silver hair gave a smile full of kindness and affection.

  “Everything is going to be okay, Master Kaito. No matter what happens, I’ll protect you.”

  “With a heart full of love and gratitude, I welcome death.”

  A red-haired boy gave a pained smile, his voice trembling in confusion as he answered.

  “I was just hoping you could find happiness in this world.”

  In the end, he hadn’t been able to fulfill Neue’s wish.

  When he realized that, his chest began pounding violently. His heart ached, and it hurt to breathe. Are you really okay with this? a calmer, more composed part of himself asked. Will this really leave you without regrets?

  Shut up, shut up… Even if it doesn’t, I still have to—

  As he tried to respond, he heard Vlad’s voice.

  “…It is done.”

  And Kaito opened his eyes.

  “…H-huh?”

  The man standing before him was unmistakably his father.

  The stern, unshaven man looked about anxiously. He tore at his unkempt black hair, and his eyes darted around the room like a chameleon’s. Kaito recognized that face. He recognized that conspicuous hooknose. Yet, still he squinted, somehow unsatisfied.

  Kaito looked over the man before him from head to toe. After a moment, he murmured quietly.

  “…Huh, is that what he was like?”

  “Wh-where the hell am I? Even the afterlife ain’t supposed to be this gloomy. And whaddaya think you’re doin’ here, Kaito? Hey. You little punk… You tryin’ to get revenge or somethin’? Listen here, you—don’t go tryin’ any dumb shit!”

  Suddenly, his father began carrying on and on. Even in death, his boiling point seemed to be as low as ever. And he’d always had a sense for when he was in danger, often to the point of paranoia.

  Spit went flying as he spoke, but his eyes lacked the shade of madness they’d once possessed.

  It was then that Kaito came to a realization. His father’s madness had largely been the product of his rampant drug use. Even now, Kaito could see that the cruel, sadistic nature hidden within him was unchanged. His brawny figure and the readiness at which he hurt others were frightening, true. But that was the extent of it.

  His father was screaming at him, but his expression was a far cry from the wicked one Elisabeth wore.

  In fact, it didn’t even compare to the gruesome images of the demons. It didn’t compare to Clueless’s dry, condescending gaze or to Marianne’s tear-stained face. And it didn’t even come close to Vlad’s cheerful smile.

  Kaito was dumbfounded.

  “…You’re not scary at all.”

  The instant he witnessed his father’s clumsy, mundane fury, the fear in his heart vanished. His anger and bloodlust turned on their heads, as well, as he wondered if this was really the man he’d hated so passionately. And then, the tension that had been wound throughout his entire body just…dissolved. Losing the composure he’d held until then, he rubbed his eyes.

  Sheesh, what’s up with this? This guy? Is this really the guy?

  “Hey, Kaito. What’re you all quiet for? Gimme some answers, you little shit!”

  Kaito couldn’t even perceive the man standing before him as the same person who had killed him, the man he had feared, or the man who, by all rights, he should hate more than anyone else. Compared to this guy, the Earl had been a much more threatening foe.

  Ohhh… I get it.

  Thinking back on all the things he’d seen in this world, he found his answer.

  I’m already numb.

  He’d spent too much time around evils that surpassed human reason and too much time around the woman who fought them. The man who the old Kaito had been so terrified of no longer registered as someone to fear.

  He finally realized something. The despotic, tyrannical “father” he’d despised so much no longer existed. The only one here was a small man, quick to anger and unable to control himself.

  Watching his father continue to shout, Kaito spoke with quiet disappointment.

  “…What, so that’s all he was?”

  In the next moment, Kaito broke out into laughter. His father looked confused. Kaito, finding this amusing, laughed even harder. As he clutched his sides with laughter, he could practically hear the invisible chains that had bound him shattering. This time, he truly, from the bottom of his heart, found it all to be so absurd.

  Who would have guessed that the person who long held the key to Kaito’s mental prison had been someone this trivial?

  “I don’t need him.”

  “Huh? What’re you goin’ on about? And why’re you just ignorin’ me and laughin’ like a dumb-ass? You losin’ it or somethin’?”

  “I don’t need someone like him. He’s not worth the price.”

  His father was grabbing him by the collar, but Kaito just shrugged as he looked over his shoulder. Vlad frowned. The wound in his left wrist should have been deep, but it had already healed. What a monster, thought Kaito as he pointed a thumb at his father. With a clear heart, he made his declaration.

  “Killing this guy isn’t worth giving you my future.”

  Although he didn’t understand the context, Kaito’s father could tell that he was being mocked, and he raised a fist. But Vlad snapped his fingers, and Kaito’s father’s arm fell motionless. He looked at his arm in surprise. Vlad tilted his chin at Kaito, instructing him to continue. Kaito nodded and spoke.

  “After I came to this world, I saw Hell…”

  He’d seen people who crafted horrors, and he saw those who fought them. He’d seen sickening spectacles. He’d seen the weak get devoured. And amid all that, he’d somehow been able to survive. He’d had a tele
portation circle carved in his own chest. He’d stopped running away. He’d helped defeat a demon. All that had been possible only thanks to the twisted ego of one woman.

  The Torture Princess, Elisabeth Le Fanu. A woman as prideful as a wolf and as lowly as a sow.

  The woman Kaito now served was more terrifying, more beautiful, and more steeped in sin than any other.

  After all that, he couldn’t remain shackled by a man as pathetic as his father.

  He’d been killed. But so what.

  He’d made a promise that was far more important than something as trivial as that.

  “…But in that Hell, someone made a wish on my behalf. So no matter how impossible it is, I have to do everything I can to find happiness.”

  Kaito finished speaking his piece. Without a moment’s hesitation, he called off his deal with Vlad.

  Vlad crossed his arms in consideration. He gazed intently at Kaito’s face and heaved a heavy sigh. Then, with theatrical exaggeration, he buried his face in his slender fingers and shook his head.

  “It appears I approached you a hair too late.”

  “Yeah, a little. Well, maybe more than a little.”

  Kaito’s response to Vlad’s forlorn statement was lighthearted, and Vlad nodded in agreement.

  Vlad then walked with a limp, as if he was grieving this outcome from the bottom of his heart. He drew near Kaito’s father, then placed a hand on his shoulder. As he did, Kaito’s father opened his mouth and began babbling loudly.

  “Fuck’s the matter with you you screwin’ with me cut it out dammit fuckin’ with me gonna kill you gonna fuckin’ kill you—”

  Apparently, Vlad had had restraints on his speech as well. No wonder he’d been so quiet. Knitting his brows in irritation, Vlad leaned toward Kaito’s father’s ear. As if approached by a carnivorous beast with fangs bared, Kaito’s father immediately shut up. His earlobe had been warped in a fistfight, and Vlad’s voice was sweet as he spoke into it.