The Pagemasters Vol 2 Chapter 13
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Author: Literataku
Chapter 13:
Is To Change Everything
It was surprising to see the gate still standing open this late at night, but then again this was home to something the monsters outside the castle either served or feared. A chill had started crawling up and down my back the moment I had set foot on the drawbridge. This wasn’t a place a guy like me went to without training more levels and coming with a full party of adventurers.
I left my hands free from weapons for the time being. When you can instantly summon one it wasn’t that big a deal to try and look slightly less like you were trying to kill the castle inhabitants. Looking around while I stepped into the courtyard carefully. There didn’t seem to be anyone nearby, that’d be rather embarrassing if I came all this way and they went out on vacation.
There was the appearance of a dead garden off to one side. It looked like it’d only been a died in the past couple of weeks, some dried flowers still loosely hanging off some of the withered stems. A rotting smell was also starting to permeate through the air, fighting back to urge to gag I quickly moved past looking at the rather large doorway to which I assumed was to the grand entrance.
I think my sense of scale is off at the moment, this entire place felt really small compared to the one back in the capital. This one must have been built ages before that, or who knows, maybe more cheaply? Maybe this was a “Summer home” for the king before the Dark Queen took over. Though I recall something about other fairies living here. But why did it look so decrepit already?
The entrance was still a good size compared to anything else I knew of, at least five meters tall, with a pair of door knockers hanging in the front. The knockers were rather plain in twisted iron meta-circle style, what is that called? It certainly fits with the rest of the motif this place had going for it. At least it wasn’t some lion head or gargoyles, I’d be worried about them coming to life right now.
The door was stained with weathering age from the elements and…. yep that is all. I’m not going to think about those dark patches that look like blood splatters at all. Nope, it’s just like an aged wooden fence. Nothing more to see here. Let’s just brush off this crusty dark red buildup on the door knocker and not think about what that might be.
I slowly lift up the large door knocker, grunting a little at the unexpected weight. Damn this thing was heavy! Or I’m feeling a bit sore from goblin slaying. Either way, I’m uttering a slight prayer under my breath, wishing that the mountains only bring forth a mouse. [1 Note: Japanese idiom meaning nothing bad happens.] Letting go of the knocker and listening as the metal collides against the wood door with a loud bang.
Ready to dive behind cover any second now just in case some giant monster charged out through those doors. With my luck, it’d be some giant demon with a dead tree stump for a club that’d smash down from above. And no bonfires anywhere to be found. Sigh. Though I don’t think that ability work like that even if I had access to it.
“-h-m –re- -is–u-b -y c—b–s-”
What was that? Peering around the courtyard I thought I heard something, but it was really faint to my ears. Was it coming from behind the door?
“W-o- d-r-s d-s-u-b m- cha—r-!”
I still can’t really make it out, though it sounds like a young woman’s voice. I press my ear against the door trying to hear better hoping I wasn’t about to get slammed by a wood door into the wall like some cartoon character. That’d be a highlight of my life.
“Merde, animaux stupides. Come in already! Chaque putain de temps… If those fairies don’t kill me these stupide goblins will.”
I push on the door, hoping I don’t look like one of those guys who tries to open doors the wrong way. Oh good, I’m going the right direction… Wait. Why the hell would a castle door swing outwards anyways? Is this panicking?
Slowly pushing into the door I notice the rather small entryway before anything else. It was maybe a tenth the size of the one at the capital, if not smaller. A lone staircase that splits itself at the back wall going to opposite sides of the wall stands proudly in its half-decayed state. Standing atop these stairs on the right side was the half unexpected form of a beautiful woman.
She was lithe and slender, perhaps just a little taller than average, her form quite on display from the fact that she wore only a long flowing green cape over her shoulders, which was trailing behind her up several stairs, and was only clasped over her modest sized breasts with her hand and laced panties that seemed to just fade away if you gazed up from her hips. And nothing else that I could see.
The two of us stared at each other for a moment in stunned silence. I’m not really going to complain about this, but for answering a door she’s kind of brave, though I guess maybe there aren’t any males around here brave or stupid enough to stare at her. Granted she isn’t showing anything more than a bikini would but somehow with how covered most people seem to be in this particular time setting, she’s quite scandalous.
She was the first to recover from the surprise, curse my male genes. Narrowing her eyes and continuing down the stairs much to my surprise. Striding down with liquid smooth steps that would make a model jealous. I could see as she turned and glided down the main stairway that all I had seen her in was truly all that she was wearing.
The hand that wasn’t holding her cape closed and giving the perfect underboob view of her breast lifted up and slapped me across the face. I don’t know what I did to deserve that, aside from staring at her which I guess was earned, and worth it.
“Vous avez un peu de nerf montrant votre visage ici à nouveau!”
She glared at me accusingly. I gave a blank look in return standing in the doorway while she seemed to get angrier. Why wasn’t the translation power working right now? I swallowed and tried to speak.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Really? You tell me everything will work out, he’d be begging me to come back. And what does he do? He goes and marries some Royal chienne princess. And now they have a baby. Merde! A baby!”
I have never felt more lost than I do at this moment about anything. I think it was showing on my face as she glowered and slapped me across the face again. Before turning around and stomping inside more. I was half expecting a curse to be thrown at me by now. It was actually kind of cute watching her rampage, though I was quite glad I wasn’t being attacked.
“So I heard. The Christening is in the morning for her.”
She turned to me and raised a hand for a moment. My sense of self-preservation telling me to duck and cover as I saw dark energy crackling in the palm of her hand. However, she clenched her fist and dispelled the energy collected.
“My apologies, Maitre.”
I need to go back and check what the hell I did for my Rewrite spell. Did that snag cause something more than Master and I expected? This is way beyond what I was expecting. Of course, I was also expecting a more evil and angular Dark Queen. Welp, why complain about the cards I’m dealt with. Writer’s skills activate? Please? How would I have someone handle this situation… What the hell kind of character am I in this scenario anyway?
“Apology accepted. This is really hard for you isn’t it?”
She bit her lip, I could see her holding back lashing out at me again. Taking a deep breath she turned away from me and stared off toward the wall, both her hands falling to her sides, leaving me slightly disappointed that she wasn’t looking this way.
“It’s been hard the past two years, Maitre. This… This is just the finale of my failure. A child. An Heir, Maitre! All my dark powers cannot reverse his heart now that they have such ties to each other. No kingdom, no king, no hope… A failure of Maitre’s teachings.”
I listened to her lament quietly, taking a deep breath and stepping into the room slowly, Taking my time with each step, easing myself inside. Hook said he wanted me to play the villain, and I could see a path to take in this way. I guess the Blue Warlock truly is going to cause trouble for the city proper like everyone in the capital fears. I stopped just behind her and to the right, the place movies loved having the devil stand, the demon barginner who whispers dark offers that tempt the heart.
“There is still a chance for redemption in my eyes, Dark Queen.”
She turned her head to look at me, her eyes were bleary with tears unwept as she looks at me with a puzzled expression. She looked so helpless and vulnerable at this moment. A sight that no one would ever place in fairy tales regarding her personage. She waited for me to continue in silence.
“Tear apart his kingdom and his heart. Give him suffering that will ache in his being for the rest of his life in regret that he scorned you. A pain that will hurt his very soul to its core.”
Ok let’s be careful here, my chuunibyou is wanting to show into this.
“Curse his child. Take away his hopes and when he collapses in despair take away everything else. And what better time to begin that then right there when he presents that love to the world?”
She looked at me with shock in her eyes. A shock that slowly simmered as she thought it over and began to smile in bright sadism. A small giggle escaping her lips.
“Ahh, Maitre. You have always managed to remind me to use the darkness within. I should have been more diligent on plotting instead of wallowing in my despair.”
She turned around and leaned in close to me. Looking at me with adoration in her eyes, her hands sliding across my shoulders. She started to lean in close to me, her lips getting close to mine as my brain started to misfire on comprehension. She stopped close enough that I could feel her breath, she pulled back and looked at me again. A critical look in her eyes.
“Maitre. You have barely aged a day in all these years…”
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