Chapter 11: Why do you treat me like this?
This was nothing short of a prolonged mental torture.
“What’s the point of staring?”
Seraphina casually toyed with her nails, her voice light and airy, brushing against Mili’s tense nerves like bristles:
“Not getting up?”
Mili remained rigidly curled up, clutching the blanket to her chest, her heart pounding like a caged rabbit.
How could she possibly get up and change in front of this terrifying woman?
She’d been so exhausted last night that she hadn’t had the energy to do anything…
The bath towel, originally tied securely, had loosened during her frantic scrambling…
“I… I…” Her voice trembled with unease. “C-could you… step out for a moment?”
Seraphina tilted her head, a spark of amusement flickering in her heterochromatic eyes.
She leaned closer, the metal clasps on her military uniform glinting even in the shadows.
“Are you bargaining with me?”
Her voice pierced Mili’s ears like an icicle, each word laced with murderous intent.
Silver hair cascaded like a waterfall, a few strands brushing Mili’s cheek, their cold touch sending shivers through her.
She clutched the blanket tighter, her face as white as paper, fear and anxiety surging like a tide in her blue eyes.
“N-no… I just…”
“Just what?” Seraphina cut her off, her right hand slowly rising, slender fingers grazing Mili’s trembling chin.
Mili tried to shrink back, but the cold, hard wall behind her offered no escape, her head thudding painfully against it.
“Ah—?!”
Seraphina’s grip clamped onto her shoulders, fingers digging in with terrifying force, as if burrowing into her bones, making Mili cry out in pain.
“Do you think you have any choice?”
“I told you, from today onward, every move you make is under my watch…”
Mili’s eyes reddened instantly, tears welling up in a misty haze.
She bit her lower lip, trying to stifle her sobs, but the pain in her body betrayed her fear and terror.
Humiliation, shame… emotions crashed against her heart’s defenses like a flood breaking a dam.
She gripped the blanket’s edge so tightly her knuckles turned ashen.
“You…! Why… why are you doing this to me…” Mili’s voice was faint as a mosquito’s buzz, tinged with a sob. “I… I didn’t do anything wrong…”
Seraphina watched the tears brimming in Mili’s eyes, stubbornly refusing to fall, and her lips curved into a satisfied arc.
The sensation of completely dominating another life, crushing their will, sent her blood racing, even surpassing the thrill of reaping lives on the battlefield…
To her—
The power of life and death was the ultimate good.
“Because you’re my property.”
She withdrew her nails from Mili’s delicate shoulder, blood-tinged, and gently stroked the girl’s tear-dampened cheek with her trembling hand, her touch tender as if caressing a precious treasure.
“Property must be used to its fullest.”
“Now, get up and change.” Seraphina’s tone hardened with command.
“Move quickly. My time is valuable.”
Mili shrank away from her hand, shakily climbing off the bed, her bare feet touching the cold floor.
She clutched the bath towel tightly, terrified it might slip, Seraphina’s searing gaze following her every move, sending chills down her spine…
Even with her back to the woman, Mili could still feel the inescapable, bone-chilling surveillance…
Her trembling hands opened the wardrobe, revealing several plain dresses and simple tops neatly hung inside.
She grabbed a set and moved to rush to the bathroom to change.
“Stop.” Seraphina’s voice cracked like a whip. “Change here.”
Mili froze, as if struck by lightning, her mind going blank.
“Here…?” she murmured in disbelief, trying to protest. “I… I…”
No…
She couldn’t…
She’d rather huddle in a ruin’s corner, battered by cold winds, than strip away her last shred of cover under this woman’s gaze…
“I don’t like repeating myself.” Seraphina leaned back against the headboard, arms crossed leisurely:
“Or would you prefer I do it for you?”
Her chilling tone doused Mili’s spark of resistance like ice water.
She knew, with this woman’s temperament, she’d do exactly what she said…
Mili turned, her blue eyes brimming with fear and pleading.
“Please… please…” her voice choked, “let me go to… the bathroom… okay?”
Seraphina’s lips fell, her face darkening, and she made to rise from the bed, making Mili’s hair stand on end.
“I’ll change! I… I’ll change…”
“Turn around,” she ordered coldly.
“…”
Mili turned slowly, agonizingly, to face Seraphina.
“Strip.”
The towel’s knot was already loose.
With the girl’s faint movements, the fabric’s edge slipped, revealing a small patch of pale, delicate shoulder, marred by glaring bloody nail marks…
Mili’s movements were clumsy and slow, each second stretching into eternity, as if she were being roasted on a searing iron plate…
Shivering, she first fumbled to cover herself with the clean undergarments, then pulled on the loose cotton dress.
The fabric brushed her skin, offering slight comfort but failing to dispel the chill and indignation in her heart.
Throughout, she kept her eyes tightly shut, unwilling to look or think.
She just wanted it to be over…
When Mili finally managed to dress, the dress hanging crookedly on her shoulders, she cautiously peeked at Seraphina—who, at some point, had activated a portable light-screen on her arm.
Her fingers tapped the screen, freezing on an image of Mili’s stunned expression…
Though Mili didn’t understand the technology, the sight of her own reflection on the screen made it clear what Seraphina was doing…
—That monster!
“You… you… that’s too much!!” Mili’s voice rose with agitation, cracking with a sob.
It was the first time she’d so clearly expressed her anger.
Tears finally spilled over, streaming down her gaunt cheeks.
She clenched her teeth, hugging the balled-up towel, her nose stinging painfully.
Seraphina seemed unfazed by her tear-streaked face, even finding the scene rather pleasing.
The room fell into a deathly silence, broken only by Mili’s stifled sobs echoing nearby.
“Done crying?” She aimed the camera at the girl, her voice cold.
“Time to get to work.”
“Go wash up. Now.”