Shun POV:
The physical abuse stopped after the first week, but Chloe still had her way with me every night. Sometimes the sessions would last all the way to sunrise, with her only leaving because she had work to do.
She welcomed my desperate attempts to push her away, to get her off of me, as it only added extra fuel to her deranged sense of pleasure. No matter what, I couldn’t stop resisting. I knew it was futile, but I didn’t want this, and I had to show that to her.
It got to the point that I started throwing up every time she left. I would pass out from the convulsions. There would be no trace or smell of the vomit I had expunged from my stomach once my eyes opened again.
Her touch alone was a cancer to me. Whenever I closed my mind, I envisioned her sadistic smile reaching out to me, and I screamed. My hair stuck to my forehead as the sweat poured down my face. Even when I was alone, I wasn’t alone; her image carved a deep imprint into both my mind and body.
Chloe also started expressing her love for me more often. She would always whisper into my ear ‘I love you’ before leaving the room. After asking whether or not I liked her dress, she would once again confess her love for me.
It messed me up.
Every time she left, I would drag my body to the corner and sit down against the wall. I held myself in my arms, rocking side to side as I began to count the time.
Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours. Hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks. The next thing I knew, one month had flashed by, and I was in an even worse condition than before.
Today was no different.
I knew that the door would open in the next couple of hours and she would drag me back down into hell once more. There was no pleasure to be found in the sex I was forced into having; when I wasn’t resisting, I laid there like a lifeless mass of flesh.
Broken.
‘...’
I stared at the door.
“System Mission.”
[Mission: Escape from Chloe Ravendawn
Difficulty: S
Chloe Ravendawn has chosen you to be her servant. Escape from her grasp as soon as possible.
Time Limit: -
Rewards: Freedom.
--------------------------
...
]
A floating blue window popped into my vision for the first time in one month. I was in such a defeated state that I turned to the system for some sort of comfort despite knowing it wasn’t on my side.
‘...’
I noticed the three dots underneath the rewards and pressed on the window. The information expanded, causing my eyes to widen with it.
[Mission: Escape from Chloe Ravendawn
Difficulty: S
Chloe Ravendawn has chosen you to be her servant. Escape from her grasp as soon as possible.
Time Limit: -
Rewards: Freedom.
----------------------------
Make contact with the following people within the Ravendawn Estate:
• Head Chef [0/1]
• Housemaids [0/2]
• Housekeeper [0/1]
• Butler [0/1]
• Gardener [0/1]
]
I stared at it for a few moments before my lips spread into a thin smile. A chuckle escaped my mouth, turning into a hysteric laugh.
‘Haha... It updates the mission, but doesn’t tell me? Haha...’
I hugged my arms, chuckling away to myself. I now had no idea when this updated information was added to the mission and that was done on purpose. The system was messing with my mind too; I bet it wanted me to curse my prior self for not checking, to wallow in despair at my inability to take action and, of course, to rely on the system’s ‘helping hand.’
“Hehe...”
I covered my face with my hand as a deep sigh escaped my mouth. I had about three hours until Chloe would force that door open. However, even if I wanted to leave, there existed another problem: this room was my sanctuary.
Despite everything that happened here, the world outside this room scared me to the point I had a panic attack just by getting close to the door.
‘6 people...’
‘Make contact’ obviously meant having some sort of meaningful conversation with each of them. Perhaps I would then be able to acquire some information to get out of this place. Maybe, just maybe, not everyone working here was on her side?
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‘...Could it be?...’
Chloe was a superhuman, so the only way to escape her was to get help from another superhuman. Then... Maybe the person who had been taking care of me all this time wasn’t Chloe, but someone else? Someone who sympathised with my current circumstances, but couldn’t make a move unless I did first?
‘...No way.’
I shot to my feet at the sudden realisation of the possibility of having an ally here. I had no worthwhile skills, so it only made sense that I would have to rely on someone else to get out of here.
‘...It’s possible, but I need confirmation first.’
I shifted my gaze to the door that towered over me as my arms started to tremble. Cold sweat ran down my back and my feet turned into jelly while I tried to take a step forward.
‘Come on, Shun... Come on!’
Each step I took increased my anxiety. My vision blurred, and I wanted to vomit everywhere. I gasped for breath as I clenched my fists before pressing on. If I wanted to get out of here, I needed to go forward, not backwards.
‘...Just... A little more...’
I extended my shaking hand towards the doorknob, unlocked it, and pushed it open. A slight breeze washed over me, followed by a bright light that lit up the red carpet lining the hallway. Dozens of chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, highlighting the intricate design that ran down the sides of the walls.
‘...’
I gulped as I took one more step forward. I stepped onto the red carpet, and the shackles tying me to the room shattered around me. The weight on my shoulders decreased; my mind feeling lighter in response as I straightened my back.
‘...To be this happy just from leaving a room...’
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I looked at my bandaged hands that trembled. I clenched my fists and narrowed my eyes. It was time to get the hell out of here.
***
“Wow! So, you’re the one Lady Chloe is always talking about. Quite the handsome young man indeed.”
I had followed the maze-like hallways of the mansion and somehow ended up in the kitchen. A large man with a potbelly spread out his black moustache while adjusting the chef hat covering a small portion of dark brown hair.
‘... S-she talks about me...’
My arm trembled as the chef narrowed his blue eyes at my condition. He cracked a wry smile before puffing out his chest.
“Didn’t expect you to be the nervous type. I’m Roland, the Head Chef here, but everyone here calls me Rollo for short, and I’m sure you can guess why.”
He let out a hearty laugh while slapping his potbelly. Snickers erupted around the massive kitchen as Rollo gave me the thumbs up. I stared at him, forcing him to scratch the back of his head.
“A-ahem... Take a seat, take a seat.”
He beckoned me to an empty table in the corner of the kitchen and I sat down on the stool he pointed to. He sat opposite me, using his chef hat as a fan to cool him down, while a solemn expression spread over his face.
“Well, I knew this day would come at one point. Lady Chloe is an exceptionally beautiful woman, but to think she’d fall head over heels for a complete nobody; it’s somewhat surprising. Oh, no offence, by the way.”
‘...Tch...’
I recalled the system playing me on my first day here. At that time, I thought I was a noble or at least someone with a super high status, but as it turned out, I was the complete opposite of that.
“...W-what... Is s-she... Like...?”
I sounded confident in my head, but the moment I spoke, an unfamiliar voice exited my mouth. Rollo raised an eyebrow at the unexpected lack of confidence emitting from me.
“Hmm. I’m only telling you this because your lovers...”
I held in the urge to puke everywhere as Rollo continued.
“But despite her slender frame, Lady Chloe is actually a very big eater. Her dinner is about 10x the size of a normal person’s, but I guess that’s the beauty of having a fast metabolism.”
‘...Useless information...’
My gaze rested on the table, and Rollo let out a deep sigh.
“Look, it’s extremely rare for a noble of her status to fall for a commoner like you. Shouldn’t you at least be more happy? Ever since your arrival here, she enters the kitchen with a bounce in her step. Her mood has been uplifted by such a huge amount. It’s almost like she’s a different person.”
My eyebrows furrowed as the pent-up bloodlust inside of me poured out while I shot Rollo a glare that made his eyes widen.
“Ahh... Now I get it. You struggle with expressing yourself!”
He slapped his belly and let out a laugh, unaffected by my piercing gaze. I slammed my hands on the table and got to my feet.
“F-forget i-it... T-thanks...”
‘Damn it...’
I turned around and walked off. I sounded like such a loser, which made sense because that’s exactly what I was right now.
[Head Chef [1/1]]
The mission window popped up, and I saw the completion of one of the tasks. My gaze shifted to an elderly man whistling away while tending to the flowerbeds in the garden. The kitchen turned out to be based on the ground floor, meaning that right now I could exit the mansion.
‘...’
I spun around and headed towards the large doors that led to a small set of steps. I took a deep breath and opened the doors, stepping into the outside world.
I would be lying if I didn’t think of running away, but it was pointless. It was pointless because the garden extended as far as the eye could see; I had no clue just how large Chloe Ravendawn’s estate was.
“Damn...”
After heading down the steps, I walked across the smooth gravel and made my way to the man who I assumed was the gardener. He noticed my footsteps and turned to face me well before I had gotten anywhere near him.
“Careful there, youngin’.”
He pointed his finger to the ground. I followed his line of sight, only to see a vine wrapped around my foot from a nearby flowerbed. I was about to attempt to break free only for the man’s croaky voice to stop me.
“Relax, relax. ‘s a special one that. Move carelessly, and ya won’t be the same for a while.”
He walked over and crouched down. I watched him whisper to the plant as the vine around my leg loosened up. It soon let go, stroked my leg, and then shot back into the flowerbed.
“Gets a little antsy with newcomers. We call these ones Reverie. They’re part of tha Akatoxicaceae family or Akatoxicon for short. Gee... Ya alright, youngin’?”
I nodded my head as he examined my ankle. Once he confirmed I wasn’t injured, he shifted his gaze back to the plants called Reverie.
“Ya interested in Botany?”
“...A L-little...”
He scratched the fluff of hair on his chin while swivelling his eyes up towards me.
“Speak up, will ya? Can’t ya see I’m elderly?”
‘...’
“S-sorry..”
“Ha... These youngin’s have no confidence nowadays. Back in my day...”
His words speared right through my heart as he went on a little rant about his youth. I endured it for the next 10 minutes before lifting my trembling finger and pointing to the Reverie.
“Ah? So you’s is interested after all.”
I nodded my head while watching his lips spread into a bright grin that revealed his healthy white teeth. He stroked the tips of the flowers that came in an assortment of colours, looking no different from the typical flower you’d see in a park.
“Ya know, in the wild, these little fellas are carnivores. They have retractable vines that stab their prey, injecting them with fluid that knocks em’ out. At tha same time, they suck out the prey’s blood ‘cause it gives em’ tha necessary nutrients.”
His accent slipped in and out of the detailed explanation he was giving me. I guess he couldn’t help reverting back to how he spoke in his hometown. Not that it bothered me, anyway.
“But! If ya raise em’ correctly, these little ones are harmless pretty flowers~”
‘...But they attacked me though?...’
I examined the Reverie and recalled the gardener calling me a newcomer. It made me wonder if there had been others like me in the past.
“Ah, right. Their extract is frequently used in medicine once refined. It also has some pretty good gardening benefits, ya know? Like keeping away insects with a pungent smell. ‘s why I gotta order it at least twice a month to help maintain this beauty~”
He opened his short arms wide as I examined the vast greenery ahead. Tall trees blocked the horizon in the distance while several areas were split into different coloured flowers.
“Aye... One day, I’ll try ma hand at making it myself. Tha name’s Herb Moss, and you’s?”
“S-Shun...”
He shook my trembling hand and patted it with his other hand. The large farmer's hat on his head didn’t cover the piercing brown eyes that looked right through me. Herb let go, turned around and started whistling to himself as I watched his small back vanish behind the mansion.
[Gardener [1/1]]