Lord of Perverted Ladies

Neither of us spoke.

The silence stretched across the lounge while the only sounds came from the quiet breathing of the sleeping girls and the ticking of an expensive grandfather clock somewhere deeper in the mansion. Yuna still held the knife, but she hadn’t taken another step. That alone told me something important.

She wasn’t here because she enjoyed killing.

She’d convinced herself it was the only way forward.

I kept the candle holder raised, though not high enough to look like I was about to attack.

”Yuna.”

She looked at me immediately.

”...Yes?”

”You said you wanted this to stop.”

She nodded.

”I do.”

”Then killing everyone in this room won’t stop it.”

”It’ll just start something worse.”

She slowly shook her head.

”No.”

”They’ll never hurt anyone again.”

”And no one will hurt you either.”

”I’ll make sure of it.”

”...Why are you trying to protect me?”

Her expression softened.

”Because...”

She hesitated for the first time.

”...You treated me like a person.”

I sighed quietly.

”Yuna.”

”I smiled at you.”

”I held a door.”

”I picked up a book.”

”That’s all.”

”It wasn’t all.”

She answered so quickly it almost sounded rehearsed.

”You thanked me.”

”You apologized when I bumped into you.”

”You asked if my arm was okay when I burned it carrying tea.”

”I’d never heard anyone ask me that before.”

Fragments surfaced inside Adrian’s memories.

A maid carrying a tray.

A burn on her wrist.

Someone saying, ’You should put cold water on that.’

I’d forgotten it almost immediately.

She hadn’t.

”I started waiting near the academy gates every morning,” she admitted quietly.

”Just to see you walk in.”

”I knew your timetable.”

”I knew where you usually ate lunch.”

”I knew which route you took back to your apartment.”

My stomach tightened.

She smiled sheepishly.

”I know...”

”That sounds creepy.”

”...A little?”

”A little?”

She looked genuinely confused.

”...More than a little?”

”Much more.”

”Oh...”

She lowered her head.

”I’m sorry.”

For a brief second...

She actually looked embarrassed.

Then her eyes wandered back toward the couch.

”...But they’re still the problem.”

The softness disappeared again.

”They made tonight happen.”

”They’ve done this before.”

”They’ve brought people here.”

”They treat everyone like toys.”

Her fingers tightened around the knife.

”They laugh when people cry.”

I looked toward Lila.

She was still asleep, one arm hanging over the edge of the couch.

Nothing about her peaceful expression matched the picture Yuna was painting.

Then again...

People rarely looked like villains while they were sleeping.

”...How long have you worked here?” I asked.

”Since I was sixteen.”

”Sixteen?”

”My parents owed money.”

”My father gambled.”

”My mother got sick.”

”The debt kept growing.”

She laughed quietly.

”So the family sold my employment contract.”

”They called it an opportunity.”

”It wasn’t.”

The words landed heavily.

”They paid for my room.”

”They paid for food.”

”They also reminded me every day that everything I owned belonged to them.”

She lifted the knife slightly.

”I thought if I worked hard enough...”

”They’d eventually trust me.”

She smiled bitterly.

”I was stupid.”

A floorboard creaked upstairs.

Both of us instinctively looked toward the ceiling.

Nothing followed.

The mansion fell quiet again.

I used the moment to edge half a step closer.

She noticed.

”You don’t have to be afraid of me.”

”I am.”

That answer caught her off guard.

”...You are?”

”You walked into a room carrying a knife while talking about cutting people into pieces.”

”I think being nervous is a reasonable reaction.”

For the first time...

She laughed.

Not the unsettling laugh from before.

A real one.

”...I guess it is.”

The tension eased by the smallest amount.

Good.

Keep talking.

Keep her thinking.

Don’t let her act.

”...System.”

A blue window quietly appeared.

______

Host?

______

”Analyze the situation.”

Several seconds passed.

______

[Psychological Assessment]

Current emotional state:

Obsessive attachment mixed with unresolved trauma.

Primary objective:

Protect perceived emotional anchor.

Secondary objective:

Revenge.

Likelihood of immediate violence:

Decreasing while dialogue continues.

______

Finally.

Useful information.

”...Any weaknesses?”

______

The target currently values the host’s opinion above all others.

Use responsibly.

______

The window disappeared.

I looked back at Yuna.

”...Can I ask you something?”

She nodded immediately.

”Anything.”

”If I told you not to kill anyone...”

Her smile faded.

”...Would you listen?”

She didn’t answer.

Instead, she looked toward Lila again.

Then Sasha.

Then the sleeping maids scattered around the room.

”I...”

Her voice became much quieter.

”I don’t know.”

”They deserve it.”

”They really do.”

”I believe you suffered.”

She blinked.

”I do.”

”But if you kill them...”

I pointed gently toward her knife.

”...What happens to you afterward?”

She frowned.

”I’ll be arrested.”

”Probably.”

”Maybe worse.”

She shrugged.

”I don’t care.”

”...Really?”

”I’ve already imagined dying.”

She said it so casually that it almost didn’t register.

”I just wanted...”

”...One happy memory before that.”

Her eyes met mine.

”And I got one.”

The room became silent again.

The words sat heavily between us.

For her...

Tonight hadn’t simply been about desire.

Somewhere inside her damaged mind, she’d decided this had been the first night she’d ever truly lived.

Which meant...

She had nothing left to lose.

That was far more dangerous than the knife.

I slowly lowered the candle holder until it rested against my leg.

Her eyes widened.

”...You’re not going to hit me?”

”I never wanted to.”

”You could’ve.”

”I know.”

She looked genuinely confused.

”...Why?”

”Because hitting you doesn’t fix anything.”

”You need help.”

Those two words broke something inside her.

Her shoulders began trembling.

”I...”

”I don’t...”

”I don’t know how.”

”I’ve never...”

Her grip loosened.

The knife dipped toward the carpet.

”...No one’s ever...”

”...No one’s ever said that to me.”

Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks.

She didn’t even seem to notice them.

”I don’t want to be like this.”

Her voice cracked.

”I keep thinking...”

”If I just get rid of everyone...”

”Then everything will finally be okay.”

”It won’t,” I said quietly.

”I know.”

She started crying openly now.

”I know...”

”But I don’t know how to stop thinking about it.”

The knife slipped from her fingers.

It landed softly on the thick carpet with a dull thud.

Neither of us moved.

I kept watching her.

She kept crying.

The mansion remained completely silent.

Then—

A sleepy voice drifted from the couch.

”...Adrian...”

Lila shifted beneath the blanket and slowly rubbed one eye.

”...Why are you standing over there...”

She blinked once.

Then twice.

Her gaze settled on Yuna.

Then on the knife lying on the floor.

Then back to me.

The last traces of sleep vanished from her face.

”...What...”

”...What’s going on?”