The Well with the Frog (1)

<Side : Anidiat Silverlight>

Even if you think you’re clever, you’re just stuck in a well.

A frog ignorant of the world outside the well croaks, knowing nothing.

Just like you, chasing after a foolish dream.

Annie♥

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『Martyr’s Moon – Day 7 (Morning)』

“Ugh, ugh…”

At some point, my eyes fluttered open.

My disheveled hair hung limply, and my tightly closed eyelids opened, gradually brightening my vision.

“Morning, huh…?”

I woke up not in my bed, but at my desk in the office, and I swayed as I looked around.

Looking at the office, which was neatly organized to the point where it was hard to believe a catastrophe had occurred, I was reminded of yesterday’s events.

“Damn it… Damn it…!”

–Gnaw!

I bit my nails and scrubbed away the dried tear stains clinging to my eyes. Those tears I shed while sobbing at the misfortune that had befallen me, calling out my brother’s name as I fell asleep.

“Why, why only me…!”

–Gnaw!

The nail I was biting flew off, and a drop of blood stained my cheek. But it didn’t hurt. Before I could feel the pain, resentment surged from the depths of my heart…

I didn’t even have time to feel such a small amount of pain.

“Haa… Haa…”

In the end, I was only able to calm down after biting my nails repeatedly, a total of three times on my ring, middle, and index fingers.

My hand was stained with blood as if I had punched a wall. I still didn’t feel any pain. As I let my ruined hand hang limply, someone handed me a handkerchief from the side.

“Y-You are…”

Following the gesture of the handkerchief, I looked up and saw a expressionless maid standing there, holding the handkerchief out to me without a word.

Was I so consumed by angry depression that I didn’t even know someone was there…?

No… That couldn’t be. Also, that face… I remember it.

The maid who brought me the paper for the purpose of slandering me… and the maid who was corrupted by Beth and left here. The purpose is… to monitor me.

[You’re bleeding, Annie. Please use this handkerchief.]

A completely blank face that neither looks down on me nor threatens me. Her expression was eerily unchanging, and her emotional expression was extremely minimal to the point of being creepy. If a Doll had a human body, this is what it would look like.

Moreover… she seemed far stronger than me, even though she was just a maid. Her strength seemed to be specialized in concealing her presence, so I couldn’t feel her presence even when she was right next to me.

Instead, it is presumed that her absolute force is inferior… Nevertheless, I, who made a name for myself as an adventurer in my younger days, feel that I am no match for her.

“Gulp… I-It’s okay. Forget it… I don’t need that…”

[I’m not giving it to you because I’m worried about you, Annie.]

“What…?”

[Lord Ranche’s inauguration ceremony is coming up soon. You must be clean before then, so please wash your hands quickly.]

That’s right. The maid handed me the handkerchief not because she was worried about me…

But for her master’s inauguration ceremony…

Hearing the maid’s words, the figures of the two people came to mind again.

Purple and black skin. A Dick larger than most men, and breasts that were swollen beyond comparison with ordinary women. Their grotesque bodies went beyond admiration, even causing those who saw them to feel strange emotions.

“Inauguration ceremony… Right. That’s right…”

The purple letter I had left open before falling asleep.

It contained information about the inauguration ceremony preparations.

I absolutely didn’t want to meet the monster in the form of the Avian race again. I didn’t even want to associate with that rude person who was always mocking others…

“If I run away from here, this time for sure…”

What would happen if I refused Ranche’s orders… was Marked on my body through the ordeal of just one day.

More desperately, more painfully than yesterday, and… I would suffer an irreversible humiliation.

“I know… I get it.”

I snatched the handkerchief from the maid and wiped my bloodstained hands haphazardly.

“Ugh… It stings…”

Why is the pain only rising now? When I wipe away the bloodstains, the blunted nails and the clear wounds between them flicker into view.

[Annie. Please prepare quickly…]

“I know. Stop rushing me…!”

I pushed away the nagging maid and moved to my private room to tidy my disheveled hair, change clothes, and wash up.

–Squeak…

When I opened the door, the usual corridor stretched out before me.

The maid quickly followed behind me, matching my movements.

The interior of the mansion, which I seemed to have come out to after a very long time.

The same shaped doors, the same colored wallpaper, the same shaped lamps… the same dressed maids…?

Wait a minute, what’s that?

“Hey, you there! Stop for a moment.”

A foreign object that was clearly different from usual was mixed in with the mansion.

That was the maids’ attire who worked at the mansion…

“Yes…? Oh, is that you, Annie? What is it?”

The maid, who should have been dressed neatly and quietly, had completely changed from her clothes to her way of speaking and behavior.

The front of her chest was wide open, her skirt was so short that her underwear was clearly visible every time she walked, strange tattoos were drawn all over her body, and heavy makeup was painted on her face.

Rather, the maid who was corrupted by Beth was properly dressed, creating an indescribable sense of incongruity between the two.

“Yes, you… Aren’t you a maid of the mansion? But if you wear your clothes like that…”

“Ah… Are you talking about this? What’s wrong with it?”

“Huh…?”

No matter how much I suffered terrible humiliation the day before, my position had not changed. As the Lord’s wife and the person in charge of managing the Territory’s projects, I am not generous enough to overlook such deviations.

And this maid… Now that I look at it, she’s the maid who cleans my husband’s room, isn’t she?

The fact that she’s here at this time means that she’s neglecting her duties.

“What kind of way of speaking is that…! I think you lack an understanding of your position and job… Ugh… Did you smoke too?”

There has to be a limit to how frivolous you can be…! When I got closer to scold her, the faint smell of tobacco clung to my nose.

But the maid, who didn’t care about my nagging, clicked her tongue and didn’t stop her delinquent attitude.

“So what…? Do I have to get your permission for everything I do, even if I take a little break during work?”

“Ha, haaa…?? Are you saying that’s a reasonable excuse…? Are you out of your mind? You seem to be looking down on the work you’re being paid for… You’re ignoring the contract! You’re committing a sin. Do you know that!”

“A sin, you say…? Ahaha♡♥]

I was furious at the maid who was making absurd excuses. An act of ignoring the contract just for her own safety, not even a plausible excuse, is a sin in itself…!

But… when the maid heard the word sin, she raised the corners of her mouth and smiled brightly.

Then, she took out a piece of paper from her arms and showed it to me.

“If I’ve committed a sin… I can be forgiven with this♡♥ Even this much deviation can be overlooked with this Indulgence guaranteed by Hecate Goddess♡♥ Ahh… I think the Goddess has forgiven my sin just now♡♥ My whole body is tingling♡♥]

It was a shabby piece of paper that said Indulgence.

The maid had a blissful expression every time she mentioned the Indulgence.

“Indulgence… you said? No, wait a minute… What is that? Why… that, that?”

Something was wrong. The moment I looked at the Indulgence the maid took out, a chill ran down my spine.

Because the smell of semen that had been smeared all over my body yesterday was wafting from every corner of that Indulgence.

It wasn’t Beth’s or Ranche’s, but the smell was as pungent and sweet as theirs.

Only their semen has such a strong smell that clings to my nose and won’t go away.

“You, where did you get that… that Indulgence…!!”

I spoke again in a trembling voice. The me who had been furious and scolding just a moment ago had already disappeared.

Even now, every time I smell that semen, the face of the strong who violated the weak comes to mind, and I feel like I’m about to collapse.

“Ah, it seems like you’re interested too, Annie♡♥ The Priests are selling this at the town square♡♥ They say that if you have this, the Goddess will forgive all your sins♡♥ Ahh… I think she just forgave my sin♡♥ My whole body is tingling♡♥]

–Pshuuuut♡♥

The maid kept talking about the Indulgence, and then she climaxed on her own and scattered vaginal fluid.

An Indulgence purchased from a Priest. Buying off sins with money…? That’s a blasphemous thing that only pagans would think of.

I don’t believe in religion itself, but I at least know that it’s irrational to bury sins in exchange for money.

“Yesterday, other maids and residents besides me bought a lot of them♡♥ For some reason, when I have this, I want to be more open, so I immediately put on makeup and groomed myself♡♥ Ahh♡♥ I can’t stand it♡♥ I have to calm this excitement down quickly…♡♥]

Leaving those words behind, the maid left leisurely. Water droplets were dripping on the path she was taking.

An extraordinary situation that came in just a few minutes. I couldn’t understand it, I couldn’t comprehend it, and I didn’t want to accept it…

“Brainwashing… They’ve been brainwashed. And it’s a vicious brainwashing that they don’t even know they’re being brainwashed…!”

An extremely vicious type of Brainwashing. Even though common sense is twisted, they think it’s normal, and they gradually spread it and form a group. The group defines normal people as abnormal, gradually isolates them, and then lures them to their side.

Above all, the subject who sold the Indulgence… the Priests. And it was done at the Church where Muse Symphony, the High Priest of the Sea Moon Church, is…

The connection between the Muse Priest, who was recently attacked and fell into a coma, and Beth and Ranche… Does that mean…

“Is the Muse Priest already on that side too…?”

I got goosebumps. If I had known about this in advance, could I have prevented it? No, I’m sure I couldn’t have.

Beth and Ranche. The ‘Goddess’ that they praised and worshiped was subtly and darkly eating away at this Territory. It was useless to assume when and where it started.

As naturally as time passes… the Depravity of the Territory is moving as if it were an established fact.

“Damn it… I’m going crazy…”

[Annie. The inauguration ceremony will begin soon. Please prepare quickly.]

“Ah…”

The maid’s comment, devoid of any emotion. She urged me as if she was wearing a mask on her face.

I’m sure this child didn’t want to fall either…

“Okay… I understand. I’ll get ready quickly…”

A sense of helplessness suddenly invades me. I want to sit down and do nothing. If I could lean on my husband’s reliable back, I could alleviate this feeling even a little…

But my husband hasn’t shown his face since yesterday. Without a trace or smell. He went somewhere and hasn’t come back.

“Ranche…”

In the end, I’m the only one who can deal with this adversity.

–Thump… Thump…

Just as I was stretching my legs weakly towards my private room.

One thought flashed through my mind.

“The Avian race… Ranche is also of the Avian race…”

In the midst of a world where no one helps me and tries to devour me with fangs bared, I thought of a nostalgic being who brings peace to my heart.

My brother, who disappeared due to the mischief of the fairies. I tried all sorts of methods to find that child, and in the end, I even brought in the Avian race, who had a folktale that they would find what was lost, and made a contract.

But that Avian race disappeared.

“There’s one more chance for a contract…”

Just in case, I had told Ranche about it too. I don’t know if that child still remembers it…

“Maybe it’s the last… no, it’s not the last. There are many opportunities. I will definitely find Ed… and we’ll go home together. Even now, that child might be suffering.”

I can’t give up. I can’t give up on my brother with just this much.

It might be the opportunity of a lifetime. I’m the only one who can save that child.

“Ed… wait. Your sister will come to pick you up soon. I can endure this much humiliation. If it’s for you…”

A firm determination is courage in itself. I can’t abandon the hope of my life…

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