Chapter 385: I Want to...
Roy pulled the Witch of Lust, Carmilla, up from the ground and took hold of her hand.
The girl's hand was incredibly smooth, unlike Echidna's or Satella's. Carmilla's hand had a plush, fleshy softness to it. Roy gave the small hand in his palm a gentle squeeze before tugging her toward the castle.
"W-What are you doing?!"
The Witch of Lust, Carmilla, trembled with fear, her voice quivering as she cried out. Yet, contrary to her words, there was a sense of reluctant compliance in the way she yielded to Roy's pull. Her feeble resistance could easily be misconstrued by a man as mere maidenly shyness—that with just a little more persistence, he could do whatever he pleased with her.
Roy felt the same way. However, he soon realized that Carmilla wasn't resisting—she simply didn't know how to. As she had said before, she didn't understand refusal.
In the past, everyone who encountered her would fall under the sway of her Authority, forgetting even their own breath and heartbeat in her presence. No one had ever made demands of her, no one had dared to force her—so Carmilla had never experienced rejection or resistance.
Roy's bold behavior, to Carmilla, was an exhilarating first. Amidst her nervousness, there was also anticipation.
He was the only man who could disregard her Authority and face her true self. Unlike the other witches, Carmilla could keenly sense the difference in how Roy treated her—he saw Carmilla as Carmilla, not as someone else.
This made her want to reveal her true self to him, to show the Witch of Lust in her genuine form. She even felt a sudden urge to indulge in pleasure with him, to share in the ecstasy of lust.
But it was so embarrassing.
With her head bowed, the pink-haired girl allowed herself to be dragged into the castle in a daze. As Carmilla began imagining Roy taking her to his room and doing all sorts of things to her, she wondered—should she refuse at first before giving in, or should she simply accept outright? The idea of outright rejection didn't even cross her mind.
Though she was an untouched maiden, the emotions of the Witch of Lust were gradually beginning to influence her.
He was married. He had a girl he loved. But that only made it more thrilling—the sinful pleasure of transgression.
And the fact that he was the only man who had ever seen her true self filled Carmilla with an overwhelming infatuation.
This was the Witch of Lust. The slightest flicker of affection for someone would expand boundlessly, until it became as all-consuming as greed itself.
After leading Carmilla into the castle, Roy suddenly stopped.
The dazed girl blinked in confusion. "...Why did you stop?"
Roy smirked at the Witch of Lust, teasing, "...What else was I supposed to do?"
His playful remark immediately flushed Carmilla's cheeks crimson, and she shrank back timidly once more.
"It's too cold outside. Look, your face is already red from the frost. You should come inside the castle to warm up. I'd hate to see such a lovely girl freeze."
The overly tender words sent a shiver down Carmilla's spine—not from cold, but from the stirring within the heart of the Witch of Lust. Carmilla's lips trembled as she sobbed, her voice choked with tears, "...If you keep this up, I won't be able to take it."
This girl was truly too easily moved. Among all the witches, Carmilla, the Witch of Lust, was likely the easiest to deceive and bully. She had always lived behind a curtain, never truly experiencing life. Thus, when someone approached her real self, even the smallest gestures of kindness moved her deeply. Because no one had ever cared for her, the slightest affection made her give everything in return.
Roy had a sharp eye for people and easily saw through Carmilla entirely. That was why he tentatively acted this way, testing his assumptions.
Innocent and naive—these words suited the Witch of Lust, Carmilla, best.
Roy took out a handkerchief and silently wiped the tear stains from the corners of her eyes. Then, gripping her hand firmly, he pulled her back into the room.
This was Carmilla's private chamber. The furnishings inside were surprisingly simple, far from the extravagant lifestyle one might imagine for a witch. In truth, aside from their elegant tea parties, the witches in this castle lived much like ordinary girls—perhaps even more plainly and purely.
A small table held the girl's cosmetics, with a delicate mirror placed atop it. Against the wall stood a wooden desk, beside which was a soft mattress on a simple bed frame. A wardrobe stood nearby, though it held only a few pieces of clothing—no more than two or three. The most striking feature of the room, however, was the enormous window.
The window was massive, offering an unobstructed view of the endless grasslands beyond the castle. Facing south, it likely bathed the bedroom in brilliant sunlight during the day, filling the space with warmth and radiance.
The layout and design of this room were identical to the one Roy had randomly chosen earlier with Satella.
Gazing at the enormous window, Roy felt a sudden realization. Perhaps this was the true desire of the witches. Though they distanced themselves from society and human contact, their hearts still yearned for life. Witches were human, and humans were social creatures—always drawn to sunlight and companionship...
They might not enjoy noise and bustle, but what they truly disliked was the desolate loneliness of isolation. This enormous window was a manifestation of the witches' innermost longing.
Roy analyzed the witches' thoughts. These witches were the ultimate embodiments of emotion—whether viewed through psychology or thaumaturgy, they were subjects ripe for study. For Roy, who pursued the unknown and knowledge, encountering such extraordinary witches was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.
And so, he would start with the most transparent of them all—Carmilla, the Witch of Lust—to uncover the truth of the witches and the Sins they embodied.
Greed, envy, lust, gluttony, sloth, wrath, pride—these seven deadly sins were all subjects Roy sought to understand and explore. In the biblical framework, humans are born with original sin. To become a nobler existence, the first step was to eliminate these sins.
Take Roy's authority, for instance. In a sense, it could be called an "angelic ritual." Roy had only obtained his "sinless" constitution by slaying the heretic Michael, but while he knew the fact of this sinlessness, he didn't understand the reason behind it. Now, with the emergence of the Sin Archbishops, Roy had the perfect opportunity to thoroughly analyze the essence of the seven deadly sins.
If he could decipher the seven sins and actively eradicate original sin, the Roy of that time would likely no longer be considered human.
For humans are born with sin, while the sinless are pure and holy angels.
At that point, Roy would be able to wield "angelic rituals" to his heart's content.
What were angelic rituals? Literally, they were the rituals used by angels—rituals purified of original sin. In practice, every angelic ritual was a grand ceremony capable of annihilating the world.
For example, Roy's authority, "The Destruction of Sodom," even at its full power with the support of infinite magical energy from human reason, could at most destroy an area the size of a mountain range. That was the limit of his authority.
But a true angelic ritual—the power of angels as recorded in the Bible—was a grand ceremony capable of enveloping an entire planet, bringing civilization to utter ruin.
'I once thought only the Return by Death and Volcanica's blessing were useful in this world, but it seems I underestimated it. The sins of the Sin Archbishops are far more worthy of study.'
With this thought, Roy turned his gaze to the Lust Archbishop, Carmilla, and bluntly asked a question that left her utterly stunned: "...I want to sleep with you."
Carmilla wondered if she had misheard. This was the first time she had ever encountered a man who could say such a thing!