I took too long to start regretting this idiotic mission. There's a very simple reason why I should have refused from the beginning: Count Vandric harbors a monster in his house.
This monster in Sword of The Iron Maiden is known for dissecting and studying bodies to perform alchemical experiments, eventually creating flesh golems for the MC to fight.
I don't need to say that this woman dies without much difficulty, especially after joining some evil association whose name I've forgotten now. Anyway, it's because of this that I'm hesitant to walk into the mansion with the army of confectioners and bump into her... but I more or less understand the reasons why she's so disturbed.
The Imperial City has certain problems with Demi-Humans, yet they are still included in society. Elves, orcs, fae, most, one way or another, end up entering the nobility through a marriage of convenience or even historical relevance. The Countess's case is similar. She is not human, and precisely because of that, the Count pays so little attention to the woman.
They married out of pure interest, so the Countess isolates herself at home, performing her experiments with herbs and watering plants in the garden. Excessive time isolated, without friends, pacing back and forth just staring at the walls inevitably degrades the mind and makes you a bit loopy. I mean, I'm not defending her, please, but you can understand what led to the madness.
The Countess hasn't done anything bad yet, either... I think.
"Platoon!" Vivandir calls to the group of confectioners, they all stop and stand at attention. "We've arrived!"
We are now at the back of the mansion, specifically at the back gate that also leads to the kitchen. I never learned to cook, neither in my previous life nor in this one; it's more likely I'd set the whole place on fire trying to fry an egg.
After stepping inside the kitchen, I finally take off the silly hat from my head. Seriously, why on earth did I decide to put that on first place?
"Thanks, Vivandir. That was easier than I thought."
"The guards already know us, especially with me working for the Count. I just managed to find work for my colleagues..."
"Cool..."
Uh, what an awkward vibe. What do I say now? There's nothing else to add besides that. We stare at each other for a strangely long moment.
"I'm heading off, thanks for the help."
"Oh, yes! And don't forget the promise!"
"Yes, I won't forget..."
What promise? Which one? I don't even remember what I ate. I just nod, trying to feign a firmness I don't possess, and slip out the side pantry door before Vivandir asks for another absurd thing, like facing the Count in a pie duel.
The mansion's interior is a whole other beast, as welcoming as a morgue at midnight, with a dead-inside receptionist greeting you with a lifeless gaze. Every step echoes, the paintings of old people even seem to hide corpses behind their frames, following me with their eyes as I pass by.
I sneak along the side, trying to remember more or less the route I need to take according to the description in the original work. I think the Countess's laboratory is on the third floor, near the internal garden.
I shouldn't go there, of course. That would be stupid, a stupidity worthy of a slow death by evisceration, so I just need to go in the opposite direction. The Count's office should be on the same floor, but I need to be careful not to bump into one of those rooms.
She also has a terrible habit of keeping viscera in jars, so the chance of me vomiting again is very high.
I climb the stairs with small steps, trying to look like a lost servant. I'm already sweating again. The wine hasn't even fully left my system, and my legs are as weak as two sticks.
At the end of the corridor, I spot a slightly ajar door. A sweet, flowery breeze escapes from it. This must be it! The description in Sword of The Iron Maiden mentioned a rotten and filthy smell from the Countess's laboratory, but this is... pleasant.
I push the door open with two fingers.
I can't believe I did that.
Sitting in a wicker armchair, surrounded by climbing vines and crystalline flowers that sway to the sound of a harp playing by itself in a corner, I see the Countess, who resembles a living painting more than someone who crushes rabbit eyes to make soul tonic.
Her hair is long, almost white, but with pale pink reflections. She has delicate antennae attached to her temples, large eyes with black scleras and golden irises. She caresses a butterfly the size of an open hand, which lands on her lap with the lightness of an enchanted feather.
For an instant, I even forget why I came here, enchanted by her beauty. Wait a minute, am I getting hard because of this?! No fucking way!
"Who are you?" she asks with a low, mellifluous voice, like a singer.
Damn. Damn. Damn.
"I... I'm new to the kitchen staff. I came... um... to deliver herbs?"
She tilts her head, like an owl studying a mouse before deciding if it's worth the effort to tear it apart to feed its young.
"Hm... Deliver... herbs?"
The butterfly takes flight. She neither smiles nor frowns, she just remains there, motionless, showing a docile expression... docile like a jar with acid inside.
I'm so fucked.
If I act like the idiotic servant, maybe I'll just get a scolding. It's good to know she's at least here and not in the Count's office, it makes my life much easier!
"I'm... I'm sorry, Lady Moriah. I couldn't think of a better lie... It's just that I needed to go to the bathroom, no one helped me, and I ended up getting lost."
The Countess blinks several times and then bursts into laughter. I confess her laugh is very strange, likely a side effect of her being partly a moth. More specifically, Moriah is an insectoid feral derived from moths, which is why the functioning of her vocal cords and certain sounds she produces sound so... unnatural.
"It's alright, you must be new. I've never seen your face in Vivandir's Brigadiers Troop..."
"Oh, that's because I'm just here as a substitute! I'm his cousin!"
"One of them fell ill? Poor thing. Most of the cooks are already old anyway, they wouldn't stand a chance against a cold..."
Huh? She's actually... great? I was expecting an extremely cold and crazy treatment from Moriah, I even expected some bits of flesh scattered around, but there are only flowers in this place and the smell is great. Geez, I even feel comfortable here.
"What a relief..."
"Something wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing to worry about, Countess! It's just that... I thought you'd be stressed by my presence, but it seems I was mistaken. You really are a good person, and very beautiful, by the way..."
"You think I'm... beautiful? Even with you being a human?"
"Ma'am, frankly, a woman shouldn't be judged by that kind of thing. If it were up to me, I'd keep you company every day, unlike Count Vandric. I've heard all sorts of things about him that I would never do. Who would leave a beauty like you alone in this immense mansion?"
Moriah was silent for a moment. The butterfly, now floating somewhere above us, slowly spun in the air, flapping its wings in a slow, almost hypnotic cadence.
Did I say something wrong? I just complimented her, right? It's the right thing to do in this situa... I see, I understand the weight of my sin. I just dropped an anvil on my head by accident.
I complimented the beauty of the villainess who rips out live organs with a smile on her face.
She rises from the armchair, gliding with that overly light, almost floating gait. The flowers on the floor swayed when she moved. There's something very wrong with this woman!
"You think I'm beautiful..." she repeated, stopping a few steps away. "Even with this strange blood in my veins? Even with these antennae? Even with... this?"
She brought her hands to her back, lightly touching wings that were hidden by her dress. The butterfly, up high, spun at the same instant, responding to the gesture.
"Most men don't know how to deal with what they don't understand. They marry for convenience, for status... but the touch, the attention they should give to their wives... they save for human mistresses. Prostitutes, even. It's funny."
She passes by my side, I hear a locking sound behind me. I can exactly recall the passage from the novel where this woman's atrocities were described: "...and Moriah fed not only on the suffering of others, but also liberated repressed desires through it."
This is where I die, for real. A pair of hands rest on my shoulders, while another moves up my chest.
"The Count never touched me. It's curious how you... see me."
Her warm breath touches my neck, sending a wave of shivers up behind my ear. The sound of the butterfly's wings stopped.
"You smell good..."
My knees almost buckle. Only now I understand why so many people said to avoid marriage with demi-humans: they are literally animals.