I Was Just Enjoying the Discipline - Chapter 9

The most trusted of Lord Eligos’s retainers, Yudel had once been infamous as an interrogator.

Though calling it “interrogation” was being generous. What he practiced was torture.

He flogged people until their skin split open and blood streamed down their backs. He beat them without mercy. He pressed red-hot branding irons against their flesh. Every method he employed had a single purpose: to inflict pain until the other person gave him what he wanted.

There was no pleasure in it. No excitement. He didn’t so much as touch the body’s sensitive places. Nor did he care whether his victims survived. He never bothered moderating his methods to suit the condition of the human body.

‘Surely he isn’t going to torture me just because I helped a few people escape?’

According to the original novel, demons were forbidden from directly harming the humans who served as Lord Eligos’s prey and principal source of life essence.

Of course, they were permitted to use somewhat forceful, even brutal, methods when extracting that life essence.

Please, anything but torture. If you’re going to punish me, let it be the coercive, ruthless, agonizing “training” instead… Sophia prayed desperately to herself.

Then Yudel spoke.

“I’ve heard that you’re the one who released those little rats from their cells.”

“…”

“Is that true?”

Sophia knew it wasn’t a genuine question. There was no need to ask about something he already knew. He was simply testing her.

Even so, hearing that low, icy voice quietly steeped in restrained fury left her unable to speak.

When Sophia continued to stare at the floor in silence, the last of the man’s patience snapped.

“You’d do well to answer me. My mood is less than pleasant at the moment.”

“…”

“In all the centuries I’ve served as warden of this prison, this is the first time anything like this has happened.”

“…”

“So answer me properly. Did you let those little rats out?”

Each syllable fell with chilling precision.

Even knowing he couldn’t simply kill her, the naked fury in his voice was enough to make Sophia’s knees feel weak.

Her lips parted once… then again. Finally, she answered.

“…Yes.”

“Where did they run?”

“…I don’t know.”

“I find that hard to believe. You were all taken from the same region and locked in the same cell.”

“…”

The casual way he spoke made him sound like he was talking about pebbles he’d picked up from the side of the road instead of living people.

It was unmistakably demonic.

So too was the subtle cunning woven into his voice, as though he were probing the cracks in her resolve rather than merely questioning her.

When Sophia stubbornly refused to answer again, the man changed tactics. A faint smile touched his lips. His deep violet eyes, however, remained utterly devoid of warmth.

“Tell me the truth. If you tell me where those little rats you released have gone, I’ll let you leave. I swear it in the name of the great Lord Eligos.”

“…”

To an ordinary person, it would have been an enticing offer. Everyone Sophia knew had escaped. She alone had been left behind in this dreadful place, facing whatever punishment awaited her. Anyone would want to flee as quickly as possible.

And he had invoked Eligos’s name. That meant his promise wasn’t an outright lie.

Even if they intended to capture her again later, he would almost certainly release her from the prison at least once.

But Sophia wasn’t fooled.

“…I don’t know.”

One of his dark brows twitched.

“You do.”

“I really don’t.”

“So you choose to lie.”

The man rose from his chair and strode toward her.

Sophia couldn’t move. Bound tightly to the chair from head to toe, she was utterly helpless as he seized her chin in one hand and forced her head upward.

Pain shot through her neck, as though it might be torn from its socket. Her face twisted involuntarily. He looked down at her with quiet contempt.

“You think playing the hero will earn someone’s gratitude? No, you’ll never leave this place. You’ll spend the rest of your life without seeing so much as a single ray of light. You’ll be driven mad by pleasures you’ve never even imagined, until the day comes when you can no longer recognize your own family. Your friends. Your lover. Anyone at all.”

“…”

“Even after your body is torn apart by pleasure so agonizing you’ll beg for death, will you still protect them?”

Her jaw throbbed where he gripped it, as though the bone might crack beneath his fingers. Even so, Sophia said nothing. His fury crashed over her like a raging torrent, making her entire body tremble, but she couldn’t afford to yield.

She had to remain here. At the same time, the villagers couldn’t. Only then could she enjoy the demons’ “training,” make off with the fortress’s treasures, and secure the comfortable future she had planned.

That was why she’d helped them escape. Why she’d chosen to stay behind in Lavina’s place. No matter how Yudel threatened her, she couldn’t back down now.

Oblivious to her true motives, the man before her slowly narrowed his eyes.

“…It seems you have no intention of talking. An admirable spirit of self-sacrifice. I’m sure the gods themselves would be moved.”

His voice dripped with mockery. Releasing Sophia’s jaw, Yudel took a step back.

“We’ll see how long that noble resolve lasts.”

The words sounded less like a threat than a curse. He tipped his chin toward the demons standing at either side of the room.

“I’ll oversee this one personally. Knock her unconscious and lock her in my quarters.”

“Yes, sir.”

The demons answered in booming unison. Their voices were the last thing Sophia heard before darkness swallowed her once more.

Life from this point on would undoubtedly be difficult. Still, at least she had succeeded in avoiding torture and taken one more step toward the peaceful, comfortable future she envisioned.

Entirely satisfied with that thought, Sophia slipped into unconsciousness.