Garden Of Poison

Screams continued to reverberate against the dark walls, spilling out into the nearby corridors. Emily couldn’t help but flinch at one point, as if Julia were living through her worst nightmares, even though the Princess couldn’t see them.

As if sensing Emily’s reaction, Raylen pulled his finger away from Julia’s forehead and turned to look over his shoulder. He said,

"It is perfectly alright if you want to skip this part."

Though the screams stopped, the room still vibrated, and Emily, who had been staring at Julia, reluctantly tore her gaze away from the maid to meet Raylen’s eyes, which bore a sinister gleam. She inquired, "What did you do to her?"

"Sweet Julia had forgotten some of her memories, and I thought I should help her refresh them. I believe it is quite rude when someone forgets where they come from," Raylen hummed in an eerie, calm voice that could send a chill down one’s spine. He questioned Julia, "Tell me, how was the taste of the past?"

Julia gritted her teeth, breathing harshly while she trembled in pain. Although she appeared perfectly fine apart from her displaced jaw, the true damage lay in the torment her mind endured as she relieved painful moments from her childhood.

"I am of no use to you except to gratify your demonic inclinations," Julia said, wheezing in between her words. "Master deserves retribution for what you took from him. Their lives." Her gaze then shifted to Emily. "I would have thought you would have chosen someone better, but you decided to pick someone who killed his own family." There was pity in her voice.

"I thought the same in the beginning, but it seems I should have been more cautious of those who posed as my supporters. Like you." Emily’s eyebrows furrowed as she observed the continued lack of remorse on the demoness’s face. She said, "You aren’t worthy." At her words, Julia’s smile faltered. "You weren’t a worthy daughter. You weren’t a worthy friend."

’You aren’t worthy, child! I wish you’d burn!’ Julia heard her father’s distant voice echoing in her mind.

"You are a princess; what do you know about hardship or what I went through? Where were you when I needed help?" Julia screeched, most of her words unclear due to her displaced jaw. "Do you have any idea what we commoners endure?! You—"

"It is a shame that you had such a bitchy maid, Emily," Raylen interrupted the demoness’s frustrated rant. "For someone who served you so closely until recently, it’s surprising she failed to grasp your true nature. What made you pick her?"