Chapter 383: Carmilla, the Background Heroine
Night deepened, a full moon hanging high at the sky's edge.
Roy casually found an unoccupied room in the castle to make his residence. Satella insisted on staying with him, claiming she wanted to take care of him—an offer Roy naturally wouldn't refuse. Having a girl willing to live with you was certainly something to delight in.
The room was spacious, and at night he could hold the soft body of the Witch of Envy while sleeping. As long as he restrained himself from doing anything too outrageous, he wouldn't incur the witch's jealous retaliation.
Roy knew that if he took the initiative, the gentle and yielding Satella would never refuse him. With minimal resistance, he could claim this beautiful silver-haired half-elf. But afterward, Roy would likely find himself bound by the Witch of Envy, unable to roam freely in this world. Thus, this matter required careful planning—with Echidna, the Witch of Greed, being the key breakthrough point.
After lulling Satella to sleep in the bedroom, Roy stepped out. He hadn't yet explored this witches' castle and decided to take advantage of the pleasant night to wander about. After all, sleep wasn't strictly necessary for him.
The castle was vast, but contrary to expectations of gloom, bright candlelight illuminated every few steps. Viewed from outside, the castle could be described as brilliantly lit, resembling a modern city that never slept.
Though called witches, they remained human at core. Being human, they instinctively sought light rather than darkness.
Before Roy's arrival, only six witches inhabited this entire castle—no servants or staff. The castle itself was Echidna's magical creation, requiring no cleaning. A simple spell from her would maintain its pristine condition.
Even the food and items like candles were conjured through Echidna's magic. While this witch might not excel in combat, her versatility in other areas was absurdly comprehensive.
Now, even with Roy and Satella's arrival, this enormous castle housed only eight residents, making it feel somewhat lonely.
Fortunately, each of the witches embodied extreme emotionality, which meant they wouldn't be crushed by loneliness. Instead, they thrived in this desolate solitude, living even more joyfully.
"Is this now a story of one man cohabiting with seven women?"
Roy stood on the castle balcony, watching the night breeze ripple through the grassland below as he chuckled softly to himself.
His gaze then drifted to the castle's central garden, where a solitary figure stood quietly among the flowers and plants.
After a moment's thought, Roy vaulted over the balcony railing—much like Romeo sneaking off to meet Juliet—landing lightly in the garden without alerting the girl who stood with her back to him.
With pink hair cascading to her waist and a light green shawl draped over her shoulders—perhaps due to the castle's nighttime chill—she also wore an elegant scarf. This was none other than the Witch of Lust, Carmilla.
Roy approached her, deliberately stepping heavily when he was a few meters away to make his presence known.
Startled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Carmilla jumped in alarm before whirling around defensively. Upon seeing Roy approaching, the witch immediately crouched down, hugging her head and trembling. "P-please don't hit me... and don't... don't force yourself on me!"
Roy stopped in his tracks, amused by the witch's hamster-like lack of confidence and timidity.
"Why would I hit you?" he asked with a smile.
"Because... because I used my Authority on you earlier today," Carmilla replied, still crouched with her eyes tightly shut, her voice quivering.
"That was Echidna's doing. If I were angry, I'd be angry at her. Besides, I'm not petty enough to hold a grudge from daytime until night," Roy said, amused.
"You... you really won't hit me? I truly didn't mean to. I apologize! In the past, whenever someone came to the Witches' Tea Party, Echidna always made me use my Authority to test them. She had this... twisted amusement in seeing them humiliated. I got used to it, but I never expected..."
Before the Witch of Lust could finish, Roy interjected, "...You never expected your Authority wouldn't work on me?"
"Y-yes. I never thought it would fail. That Authority only ever failed against other witches... yet it had no effect on you either."
At this point, a strange note of hope crept into Carmilla's voice. "...And so, I could appear before you... as my true self."
Indeed, in the past, no one other than the witches had ever seen Carmilla's true appearance. Before the "Faceless Goddess," everyone who looked at Carmilla saw only the person they loved most in their hearts.
Thus, no one had ever truly seen Carmilla—and so, no one had ever truly loved her.
Hearing this, Roy studied the Witch of Lust before him carefully. It suddenly dawned on him—he was likely the first man to ever behold Carmilla's true form!
Under Roy's intense gaze, Carmilla shrank her shoulders and muttered softly with her head lowered, "...Am I really that ugly? I don't have Echidna's beauty, Typhon's allure, Minerva's figure, or Daphne's uniqueness. Even Typhon is a child with personality. Ah, today I met the Witch of Envy, Satella—she's a girl beautiful enough to rival Echidna..."
"...I'm just so mediocre and ordinary. If I weren't a witch with a Witch Factor, I'd probably just be a background character, the kind of girl no one would remember passing on the street."
The Witch of Lust, Carmilla, spoke with self-deprecation, her tone filled with a lack of confidence and resentment toward herself.
"Background characters can become heroines too. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. You should have confidence—tell yourself in the mirror every day that you're beautiful. Besides, I think you're very cute."
Roy didn't have any real grudge against Carmilla, so instead of criticizing her, he comforted the girl, who appeared no older than sixteen or seventeen.
"So... just cute, huh..."
Carmilla murmured under her breath.
Ordinary girls would be described as "pretty," but if someone wasn't pretty, the best word left was "cute." To Carmilla, this word felt like a rejection of her appearance.
But Roy shook his head. "...You should remember—'cute' is the highest form of praise. Because when you find someone cute, no matter what they do, you'll still think they're cute. Even if they do something foolish, you can still call it cute. It's the best word to make someone seem utterly perfect."
"...Is that so?"
Roy's words seemed to move Carmilla slightly.
Then, Roy abruptly changed the subject. "...Witches are extreme manifestations of their respective emotions. Echidna's way of life is greed, Typhon's is sloth. Since you're the Witch of Lust, then can I...?"
As a man, the sin he was most curious about among the seven was undoubtedly lust. Back when Roy had asked Flugel whether his search for witches was mainly to find the Witch of Lust, Flugel hadn't answered—but his expression made it clear that was exactly what he'd been thinking.
And as a normal man, Roy had the same thought.
"Y-You... you're going to force yourself on me, aren't you? Please don't... I'm afraid I won't be able to refuse..."
Carmilla whimpered tearfully.