The storage room had barrels and boxes shoved into all four corners of the room. On top of them laid heaps of pinkish-red intestines packed together like balls of spaghetti. Men and women with gray skin and black-hollow eyes viciously tore at the buffet of human meat. The squelches of ripped skin and crunching of bones made my jaw tighten, but it was nothing compared to the combined burning smell of iron and ammonia that seared the inside of my nose.

A small levitating crystal emitted a faint glow at the back of the room below a small wooden table where a single man sat. Sakiiya approached the dark-skinned man sitting with crossed legs, tapping his fingers atop the table with a composed demeanor and sharp gaze. Black short-cropped hair, hazel eyes, and a blue-sleek armored bodysuit with a jacket stopping above his upper torso with latches. A red emblem shaped like a shield with a beast’s animalistic grin in the middle ran across the middle of his chest and shoulder guard.

「You’re late.」 He said. His voice was low and harsh.

Sakiiya twiddled with her fingers, then nodded, sitting at the table with a straight back.

The man then turned to me. He didn’t look me up and down, simply staring into my eyes, making me glance at the floor.

Sakiiya squinted to the side while rubbing her arm. 「Um… Bernak instructed me to bring her here. She’s—」

「I know who she is and why she’s here.」 The man said, cutting her off.

「I told that fat fuck to leave political figures out of this. Isn’t this bitch from Inascovia? Won’t people come looking for her after her mother’s death? That could draw unwanted attention.」

Sakiiya opened her mouth to speak but bit her lip. I could tell this man carried some weight from her demeanor, but who could he be? Another crunch of bone from the side of the room made me tense, but I closed my eyes to calm down.

The doors behind us cracked open, causing a crack of light to slide past my feet. Two tall-muscular men with tan skin, body scars, and furred animal ears stepped in, holding the arms and mouth of a short woman beckoning with muffled screams.

One of the beastmen threw her to the ground. She spattered and coughed, clawing at the ground with a wheeze. The second beast-man kicked her onto her back. She punted his shin and the beast-man growled, striking her face until it was red and swollen. He then picked her up by the chin, and a bulge grew at their seams. Both of them then hunched over her face and backside, tearing her clothes to shreds and loosening their burlap pants.

I turned away. The plops and splorps were muffled by her whines and groans. A few hollow-eyed people dropped their half-eaten meals and sniffed the air, crawling toward them on all fours like strays looking for their next meal.

The man at the table stood from his seat, leaning his back against the chair. 「As you might’ve guessed, Lanier doesn’t get their revenue from merchant trades, but delivering pleasure toys and food to the Beastkin and Rer’tar. 」

A crack resonated through the air, followed by a muffled scream.

「Ahh, when you break their bones, they tighten. How delightful.」 One of the Beastkin groaned as their meat plaps quickened.

I glanced through the corner of my eye. Some of the Rer’tar, or the hollow-eyed people, I assumed, were lapping at the blood seeping from the woman’s vagina as the plops sounded like a butcher tenderizing meat.

「A beautiful symbiotic relationship, really. We humans could learn a thing or two from them.」 The dark-skinned man said.

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The lapping of blood, twisting bones, plaps of meat, and muffled cries played like a macabre symphony of the grotesque. My heart raced, and my knees stiffened. I felt my stomach churning, and I coughed to stop myself from gagging.

But then, the orchestra stopped as if the conductor wanted complete silence. Both Beastkin tilted their heads back, eyes rolled back, and lopped tongues filled with pleasure. They stepped back, dropping the unconscious woman to the ground, and then, like a sea of pirana-tasting blood, the Rer’tar collapsed onto her, ripping at her back and face.

Sakiiya slipped her hand down her waist and onto her sheath, her eyes widening as she stepped back.

「V… sir. We aren’t safe if they get a taste of fresh blood.」

The Rer’tar’s empty eye sockets dripped with blood as one of them tore a long slab of meat from the woman’s pelvis.

V nodded with a shrug. 「Alasta is near, so her children will behave. And even if they get rough, you’re here, so we’ll be fine.」

He snapped his fingers, causing the two Beastkin to pull up their pants and walk outside the room. They came back with two additional women. I turned to the side and clenched my teeth.

「Okay, I get it. If I try to leave, that’ll be me, right? I don’t need another demonstration. You’ve made your point clear.」 I said.

「… Princess Yokalen!—」

One of the Beastkin muffled Agnelov’s cries by putting a hand over her mouth. Evonika’s unconscious body laid on top of his shoulder.

「You should learn to keep track of your people, Princess Yokalen.」 V said in a low whisper beside me. 「You actually thought we’d let your sister leave the country at a time like this? That’s truly naïve of you.」

The Beastkin threw them both on the ground. Agnelov attempted to huddle over Evonika’s body, but a snarling beastkin quickly pinned her to the ground. The second-furred creature hunched over Evonika, swiped his tongue along her cheek, and led down to her chest, covering her in a long, slick trail of bubbly drool.

「B-Bernak said you wouldn’t hurt them!」 Sakiiya blurted out.

V chuckled, sitting back down at the table. 「And when did he ever start talking for me? I don’t remember making such a deal.」

A hotness coursed through my arms and into my fingertips as I gripped my hands into fists. I glanced over at Sakiiya. Her eyes widened, and she turned to stare at the floor.

「You knew about this? And you gave me a tour around your town like it was a kind gesture when you were setting me up!」

I walked over and stood in front of her. Our faces only a few inches apart.

「Look at me.」

She raised her chin, but her eyes shifted from the ceiling to the floor. I raised my hand and struck her across the face. Sakiiya stumbled back, her hand flying to her cheek, eyes wide with astonishment.

「I hate being made to look the fool. Especially by those who think they’re better than me in any capacity.」

I then turned around and glared at V.

「You’re going to release my sister and maid immediately, or—」

「Or, what?」 V interrupted with a grin. 「Bitch, you hold no leverage here. You’re in a foreign country under a judicial crisis. And the Royal Guard isn’t looking for you either. They’re too busy scheming with the major houses for power grabs. If I were you, I’d be a good little princess and practice silence.」

He then rose from his chair and crouched between Evonika and Agnelov with a smirk.

「If you had to leave out of here with only them, who would it be?」

Agnelov shook her head and nudged toward Evonika.

Of course, she’d desperately want to save her. She swore to protect us, prioritizing that pursuit over her own life.

Agnelov has proven invaluable for her unwavering loyalty and decision to stay by my side. Despite the surprisingly murderous intent during the forest fight, I shouldn’t underestimate her effectiveness as a bodyguard.

However, she doesn’t have Evonika’s resourcefulness and game sense. Evonika has excelled at problem-solving since the day I met her, on top of taking the initiative to find solutions and not having me direct her. She was proactive and intelligent. And that wasn’t two qualities just anyone could possess. But because she was clever, she wouldn’t be easily swayed into decisions like Agnelov, and possibly leading to defiance in the future.

If I had to rate them based on pros and cons, they’d sit at an even 7.5. And I needed them both alive. Agnelov may have seen something before my mother’s murder, and Evonika may have gathered some information before she got captured.

V scrunched his eyes. 「Wait, are you… seriously considering both of your options?」

I scrunched my eyes and looked down at Evonika, now wide awake.

V grinned, holding a hand to his chin.「Typically, these royal bastards would either scramble to protect themselves or grovel excessively to fulfill any demands I had, all to save their precious loved ones.」

He stepped in front of me, towering at least a head taller, forcing me to tilt back to meet his gaze.

「But, no, you’re different. Which only has one explanation. You’re out of sync with your character profile.」