"Hmmm... it's kind of hard to do this just by looking at books..." I murmur while using the tools I have to create an extremely detailed gold bracelet with some of the monster materials left over from Faye's creation.

"I guess I should have paid more attention during lessons with Kjori to ask about new things..." I murmur, looking at the bracelet. It was supposed to be able to generate large quantities of potable water, but it failed.

'Did I use too much magic? Or was it a lack of adequate materials?' I wonder, staring intently at the bracelet. I'm genuinely striving to learn relic creation since it's the best thing I can do to help my puppets in combat.

But trying so hard hasn't yielded the results I expected. I can even create generally basic and weak relics, but any strong relic automatically fails.

'Maybe it's my fault... Esther said that my magic, while precise, is too brute...' I draw lines using magic to see; I can't perceive whether it's brute or not.

It is indeed very precise. Because of the type of power I possess, all my spells require incredible, surgical precision. But precision isn't the same as being perfect or efficient.

"Well, it can't be my fault! I'm sure the blame lies with the low-quality materials! If they were better materials, I know I could do it!" I say to myself, shifting the blame onto something else.

I grab the bracelet and toss it into a box along with other bracelets, necklaces, rings, and other little things I've been trying to create. Some worked, others failed, but nothing is very useful.

Normally I would never toss things around like this; everything is made of gold and monster materials with some jewels. But since it's all material that Esther is providing me, I simply don't care about spending as much as possible for quality.

Besides, by throwing everything into this box, later some servant can collect it, destroy it all, and send it back to me as raw material for me to try using again. After all, materials like gold can still be reused by me.

"Hmmm, I think it's time to go to sleep..." I rub my eyes, feeling a bit tired. I've been spending hours using magic on this. It's actually quite fun, and since I've already had dinner, brushed my teeth, and taken a bath, I'm ready to go to bed.

"...Hmm, hmmm, uhmmm" I hum calmly while closing the window curtains. My life in this mansion has been quite peaceful so far, and it's given me time to learn new things.

"Time for bed! Tomorrow I have to..."

"..." I hear a sound at the door that makes me stop. I look at the door and see it opening, and I know the only person who opens the door like that is Esther, since Eve always asks for permission. Syl'Vyr, even though he opens without asking, starts talking immediately.

Esther's servants also knock on the door, and Faye knocks too, calling me Lyn.

"Esther, I already...!!!"

"W-What happened to you!!" I say, alarmed, running to her. She's covered in blood, and it's not some enemy's blood, because I see wounds on her body, numerous cuts.

Seeing her wounds like this gives me a bad feeling. The metallic smell of blood invades my nose, and the sound of blood droplets hitting the floor floods my senses.

"I had a fight today. I got a little hurt, but it's nothing too serious..." She speaks as if the torn clothes, her entirely wounded body, and blood streaming everywhere were normal.

"N-No!! You're hurt badly! A-And I know how to do bandages! Come here." I pull her hand, my hand almost slipping because of the blood. I place her on our bed without thinking about how we'll sleep later.

Quickly, I start taking bandages out of the storage ring, along with various cloths and also alcohol to clean the wounds. My mind isn't thinking of the more rational solution of just calling for help from the servants.

"..." I soak the cloths in alcohol and start applying them to the wounds on her arms. It feels so strange to care for someone I know doesn't need it. My mind can't think logically seeing someone injured like this.

Even though Esther knows healing magic, even though Esther has personal physicians, even though she can pay someone to heal her, I still try to care for her nervously.

While cleaning her arms, the cloth quickly becomes soaked with blood. I'm surprised she seems so calm with so much blood flowing.

"D-Does this hurt?" I ask, bandaging her arms and looking for more wounds. Her face looks fine, aside from a few blood spatters.

"No, it doesn't hurt... You seem... very worried. I thought you hated our marriage. Wouldn't it be good if I died? If I die, everything I have goes to you. My territories, my wealth, even my servants." She speaks as if power were all that mattered.

"I-I don't want that! Why would I want to profit from someone's death?!... A-And I know I seem to dislike the marriage... b-but I still worry... w-why..."

"...Why?" she asks coldly.

"...B-Because... b-because..."

"Say it, Evelyn. Why would you care? I'm not 'nice' to you. Our marriage is merely a business transaction, and our agreements are purely practical. So why would you care if I'm dead or alive?" she asks with seriousness.

I see in her gaze that she doesn't even consider feelings, and that seems quite sad to me.

"It's... b-b-because... I l-like you..." I say, looking down in embarrassment. I can't say I love Esther. I don't love her like someone I would love romantically, but I've always liked her since I first started playing the game.

And now that she's real here in front of me, even though she's cold, even though she hurts me with her words, I still like her. The same liking as before.

"..." Everything falls into a strange silence. I look up, meeting her gaze, which is indecipherable.

"..."

"I-I'll finish the b-bandages." I grab another cloth to continue cleaning the blood and search for more wounds.

"Aaah!?" She grabs my hand. It's so strong it hurts me a little, making me let out a low sound of pain. I look at her confused, meeting her gaze, which seems dangerous.

"...Evelyn, why are you so... stupid?"

"H-Huh?"

"How can you like someone who treats you poorly? How can you be so naive? This isn't new to me. First, with the castle servants, even after all the harm they did to you, you simply ignore it and don't even try to get revenge."

"If you asked, I would kill all those who mistreated you in the past. As your wife, I would torture them, make them suffer a slow and agonizing death... Remember Verena? She broke your arm in childhood."

"Why don't you ask me to kill her? A mere head maid has no value. If I kill her, our father would completely ignore it... but you just let it go... and now again."

"I treat you poorly. I treat you like an object I possess... and even knowing that, you still say you like me?" She has a scornful smile on her face, as if such a thing were a complete absurdity.

As if she couldn't comprehend what I feel, as if my actions were something so irrational she doesn't believe it exists and is happening.

"..." I say nothing. I don't know what to say. It's true I feel anger towards the people who look down on me, but I don't feel the desire to see them die or anything like that, even if they harmed me.

"...Evelyn, if I killed everything you love... would you kill me? If I tortured them in front of you, would you hate me and seek revenge?" She asks a question with such seriousness, as if she were about to leave the room right now to kill Eve, Syl'Vyr, and Faye.

"I-I..." I don't answer. I don't know how to answer, so my mind just freezes without a concrete response. I can't so blatantly say I would kill another person in a situation that's hypothetical but feels real.

"..." A few tears stream down my face. The situation makes me very uncomfortable because I'm not accustomed to this world—a world where killing is as normal as having power.

Is it too much to ask someone like me, a recluse with no social life who lived only for playing games, to kill someone? I don't have that courage. I barely had the courage to kill monsters, which are irrational beasts born largely from magic, let alone kill people.

"...Hahahaha" Esther lets out a laugh, a sweet laugh that hides a poisonous sentiment, a fake laugh from someone who finds no amusement but laughs to hide something.

"Then Evelyn, how about you show me how much you like me?" She speaks with a dangerous look on her face, a look I don't recognize and have never seen her make before.

"...?"

"Let me bite you deeply. Let me drink your blood. You must already know that my mother is a pure Ghoul, and naturally, I, as a Ghoul, possess the characteristics of that race."

"Ghouls have regeneration, but it depends on food. If I'm hurt and you're worried, then why not yield a part of yourself to help me? Give me your blood so I can heal my current wounds. Since you like me, the answer should be obvious." She asks, staring at my clavicle.

"..." She seems to be waiting. She doesn't seem to care about the exact answer; she just wants to see what my reaction and my answer will be. With trembling lips and my hands sweating coldly, I move my dress aside at the shoulder, exposing the area. The beautiful white fabric is stained by the blood on my hands.

My action is a silent response because I can't speak. I can't give a refusal, so I just silently permit her to bite me.

"..."

"My foolish little doll..." she murmurs, pulling me down with her as we lie on the bed. She approaches, and I feel her teeth touching my clavicle.

"Ghhm" I let out a pained sound with tears as I feel her teeth sinking into my flesh. Not an affectionate bite, but a deep bite that causes pain even with 95% pain reduction.

She hugs me, her arms wrapping around my back, while I feel that I gave the wrong answer. I should have refused. I shouldn't have accepted. I feel like I've just condemned my future with this response.

"..." I hear the sound of her sucking my blood, the sensation of her teeth moving in my flesh, as if they want to clamp down and tear out an entire chunk, but she restrains herself to take only blood.

I feel her tongue licking my skin, as if savoring my taste, causing involuntary shivers that are ignored.

"..." And after a moment that feels like an eternity, she releases the bite. I look to the side, seeing the marks of her teeth. They are very sharp, a bite mark humanly impossible.

They are like the teeth of a wild animal, sharp and made to tear flesh from bone, even though she only took my blood.

I look at her, seeing her wounds actually closing up with the blood, while she licks her lips, not letting a single drop of blood go to waste.

"Thank you for your answer, Evelyn. Thank you for showing how needy you are for affection. Thank you for showing how stupidly naive you are to like a being like me." Her thanks sound hollow, more like mockery than gratitude.

"Go to sleep. It's late for a little doll like you to be awake... I need to go now. Have pleasant dreams." She speaks, getting up with me, and quickly releases me, leaving me on the bed as I curl up.

My body feels fear. Even though I am a puppet, even though my body reconstructs itself regardless of physical damage, I feel I did something I shouldn't have. I let Esther know something she should never have known.

That my stupid concern for her made her realize how much she truly controls me, how stupidly naive and indecisive I am about my own choices.

'Dammit... why can't I just ignore it...' If I had ignored her, if I hadn't done anything, it would all be better. She didn't even need help, but I stupidly helped her.

All because I worried about someone who doesn't even worry about me. I feel so dumb for acting this way, but I can't be any different, and that fact makes me sad with myself.

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