Chapter 9: Lady Lucile

I started feeling terrible for Faye, kind of, who was back there shivering from fear and the bitter cold. I would have given her my bloody hooded cloak, but I knew with that high class attitude she had on her that she would have refused. Luckily for her, we made it to the castle, where we didn’t go unnoticed. There were a couple of girls in the front courtyard tending to late field work, whispers and gossip circling the crowd, and they had all their eyes on me.

Well, if these girls had a predisposition for the deadly sin, I could be fucked…literally.

I tried making my interest to them unknown, glancing at them from the corner of my eyes. They were monstrous, but attractively so. Some orcs, some beastkins, some demi-humans and succubi. The possibilities seemed endless, and given what Nayla had mentioned, it may have been a long while since they’d last seen a human, or maybe even a man for that matter.

They took their woven baskets to their hips, lining up to make a path for Nayla, Faye and I. As we got close, the whispers faded, but all of that shameless staring increased. The grand double doors opened at Nayla’s presence, and waiting for her inside was this elegant strawberry red haired woman in a silk nightgown.

“Did you find us any survivors, Peaceke—” she stopped short, her honey gold eyes growing once she noticed me. Looked like I had taken her breath away, and I had to admit, she wasn’t bad looking herself. She had a pair of brown fox ears and a thick bushy fox tail perched over her round bottom. The balcony matched the basement, and she wasn’t afraid to flaunt her curves in that shapely semi-see-through gown.  

“Lady Lucile, I’d love to introduce you to Knives Arlyan and his companion, Faye Belmauer.”

She was speechless, and all of that lingering had our kind Peacekeeper pivoting her head back and forth between me and Lucile. She snorted, taking her finger to her chin and looking over to Lucile mischievously. “Well, I know he’s handsome, but staring can be rude, Luci!”

She gasped, the red on her face spreading up her cheeks. “My apologies. I was just taken aback by you two travelers. Humans, to be exact, who had most likely fallen through one of our dangerous portals?”

“A dangerous portal I don’t mind finding myself falling back in,” Faye shuttered.

“I am sorry for this unfortunate event. My name is Lady Lucile Gothell, overseer and right arm to our Goddess of Lust, Onessa. And while we never had the pleasure of housing human guests, I would love to extend the castle of Lust to you. Please, allow me to accompany you on a quick tour of our estate. Then you can make yourselves at home. Nayla, please fix a bedroom in the west wing upstairs for our guests. Have Bridget and Othena help you. Quickly.”

Nayla bowed respectively. “Will do!”

“Wait a minute, a bedroom?” Faye retorted, looking over to Lucile confused. “Madame, while I appreciate the kind gesture, but, this man and I aren’t a couple.”

“Don’t worry, Faye. I’ll find the two of you separate rooms!” Nayla beamed.

“Splendid. When you come back, find me for the debrief. I’d love to hear your report.” Lucile requested.

“I was actually planning on going back out there tonight, so I will finish up in a couple hours and then report in,” she said to Lucile before turning back to us. “But first, your bedrooms! I’ll ask Maelise to start making a light meal for the both of you as well. She will bring it up to your rooms when she’s ready.”

“I appreciate that, Nayla,” I thanked, watching her clack away before I turned to Lucile. “And I also appreciate you Lady Lucile, for inviting us into your home.”

“It’s an absolute honor, Knives,” she said sweetly. “Please, come this way.”

The tour wasn’t long, only because Lucile noticed how filthy I was. It was customary to give a light tour to the survivors who these Peacekeepers had salvaged here, and we were no different. I took a few minutes to fully appreciate the glory of Lust’s castle. The vast interior space had slight modern day tech with Victorian era undertones. I was impressed, finding myself engrossed with features I don’t often see back at home; the beiges, golds, and reds accentuating luxury and a fine regal flair.

“Seems like your technology is up to par with our world,” Faya said, making an observation.

“That’s because Lucifer has been taking notes. Bringing your worldly advances into our home. Did you expect us to live in the middle ages?” Lucile teased.

“Well, yes?” Faye said sheepishly. “Judging by where we’d dropped, I’d say so.”

“Litheenia hasn’t always look so pale and unfruitful.”

“While you have some streamline technology of the new age, I noticed you’re missing devices for communication, such as phones or televisions. How do you communicate with the other villages?”

“We don’t have a method for communicating in that fashion, and I believe no one in Relo-Hell really does. While we are limited, we still do have natural methods of transportation to expedite our message and send them across.”

“What methods of transportation are you referring to?” I asked her.

“We monster girls are very resourceful, Knives! Some of us have sustainable ground mobility, we can fly, rip portals—”

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“Portals?!” Faye jumped.

“Inner realm portals, of course,” Lucile corrected before Faye got too excited.

“So, you girls don’t have cars, trains, maybe buses or—”

“No,” Lucile interjected me. “The advanced engineering is mostly architectural. And even then, we mixed modern tech with our alchemy, making it work for us in how we see fit. But I am sure other districts have dabbled, making work out of magic to invent such things. Litheenia hasn’t gotten to that stage yet. We are preoccupied with protecting what we have, rather than incentivizing for the future.”

I had to admit, I admired the work she and her monster girls were doing here. They found a method of preserving their nation, by bringing the people to the capital in an unorthodox fashion. That as it may be, it worked, the moving capital leaving their enemies constantly guessing. Lucile mentioned that ultimately her goal was to create a mid-realm of their own, where they can hide in until the war blows over. I couldn’t say much to that, because even the concept of being here in Relo-Hell was still mind-blowing to me.

Despite being bound to earthly concepts, I was open-minded. The idea of magic and beasts inhibiting the entirety of Relo sounded dangerous, but I wasn’t planning on dying before my mission here was done. In fact, I was interested in seeing how I’d fare here, Lucile going on to say that certain districts had their specialized method of wielding dark arts and enhanced weaponry. They pertained to both the mind and body, making these seven deadly sins truly malicious.

Physical combat was one thing, but mental warfare was another. As we continued to talk and tour, she spilled moments of the past, a history of her people. For years, they had been struggling to protect their land, the likes of Greed and Pride demolishing their once flourishing land. It was prosperous and vegetative, and they’d reduced it to a barren wasteland not worth fighting for. But Litheenia had to continue fighting for something they’d long lost interest in rebuilding, because if they didn’t, then the other nations would get stronger. It was how the pillars of sin worked. And it was also what was keeping them from being completely crushed under all of this oppression.

I gauged from Lucile her own internal war of wanting to start over somewhere else, in this mid-realm. But she was just Lust’s sidearm, and she had no final say for the grander scheme of things. Besides, removing themselves from Relo-Hell would disrupt the balance of the seven deadly sins, so naturally, she doubted her goddess would agree to it. Didn’t stop her from dreaming, though. She hinted that she lost not only her people in the war but her immediate family as well. And now they had these resource bringers who routinely went out with some Peacekeepers to salvage food in farms that her family had once raised.

It was depressing, and I sympathized. This hell was not too different from the one back at home.

“While Onessa is pressed on conquering, the rest of us value our lives more. We are safe in this castle. But my goddess has a warrior mindset, just like her siblings,” Lucile said solemnly. “Every day I tried my very best in convincing her to let them have these forsaken lands! But she refused to bend and allow them that privilege. So we are out there, struggling, fighting for the cause, so that she may reign, a possibility that seems more and more imaginary the longer we remain in this war.”

“I have to agree with Lust, and it’s not because I am her chosen blood squire,” I replied, but it seemed like Lucile already had a clue about who I was, giving me a confident smile. “Allowing them to take over does more damage in the long run. You have to see it like that. Litheenia will become inhabited by your enemies, and little by little, you will lose not only your land, but your culture and your stronghold, both of which are important. Especially if you don’t want to see the other six on that throne. Besides, you don’t want to come off as weak and breakable. No matter how tempting it is to flee instead of fight.”

“Spoken like a true defender with a fighter’s spirit,” Lucile complimented. “You are truly a guardian of our people, Knives. But, you are also human, and I must assume that this service doesn’t come for free.”

“Well, now that you mention it, I did propose a contract to Nayla.”

“I am allowed to make minor decisions for Lady Lust at her absence. What are the details of this contract you wish to put into effect?”

“Partial immunity from these seven deadly sins, by means of reverting to Lucifer’s previous pact.”

“Hmm, I see Nayla had told you quite a lot already.”

“We let free-will take its course. That way, my town can finally heal. The second condition is to help find a way to open a portal back, so Faye and I may return when this war is over.”

“And the war is over when Lady Lust is sitting on the throne, correct?”

“If that’s your solid definition, then I will abide by it.”

“All right, then. On her behalf, I happily accept your contract, which is in effect immediately.”

“Do you really think you can bring us back home, Lady Lucile?” Faye asked, Lust’s substitute turning around to face her.

“The key word here is in fact help,” she reiterated. “While I cannot guarantee anything, I will try my very best. I am sure Nayla had told you we were on a mission to seal those disturbing gates permanently.”

“We are well aware,” I replied. “But we don’t belong here.”

“Maybe Faye isn’t, but Knives, this is your home. It must be hard to accept that fact now, but I do hope in the future, you would see this as your truth, honorable blood squire.”

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