Chapter 171 – Episode 104- The Price of Getting a Position

*All characters appearing are adults.
*This is a fictional story that is nothing but fiction.

‘I was really surprised. I never imagined that there would be a strange brand on my chest.’

Arrieta, who returned to the Espany mansion after humiliating Charis, brought out these words from her.

‘I looked carefully to see if it was the stigma given to slaves.’

Arrieta explained in detail what she had seen to Junice and Lilia.

‘But, as I found out, that wasn’t the case. What kind of lunatic did this to the commander-in-chief? It gave me goosebumps.’

Karis’s right breast.
The breast was branded.
It was a brand that looked like a scythe carried by the Reaper of Death.
What that stigma was, Arrieta, as well as the two people listening to her, were well aware of it.

‘It’s usually a stigma only given to death row inmates, but why was it stamped on the commander-in-chief?’

The stigma on Karis’ chest is the stigma of death.
This stigma is imbued with explosive magic.
At the command of the master, those branded will burn on the spot.

This stigma is applied to the most unforgivable vicious criminals.
The branded prisoners are brought out with their limbs restrained on the scaffold, where they are branded and burned on the spot.
Prisoners only scream until they disappear into ashes and die.

Punishment with such a stigma existed in the demon realm, but it was abolished by the demon king Leviathan.
There is a reason that it is too cruel to be called a tradition, but Leviathan’s personal reason that he does not want to enjoy the painful death of sinners is also a decisive factor in the abolition of punishment.

‘I heard something like that was filmed?’

Upon hearing the story, Junice was taken aback.
It was because he never imagined that a terrible curse would be placed on the commander-in-chief, Karis.

‘So what did you do with the stigma? Could it be that he neglected it?’
‘No way, do you think I would have handled things like that? I unlocked it. A crude curse like that can be lifted in no time.’

It was none other than Arrieta who saved Karis, who was about to die.
Ironically, the demon who insulted Karis saved her life.
Of course, neither Karis nor Arrieta could have imagined that they would find themselves in a situation like this.

‘It’s hard to erase the stigma, but the magic is gone, so it should be fine.’

Had it not been for the hostile relationship, Karis would have bowed deeply and thanked Arrieta greatly.
It’s just that she didn’t express it outwardly, because Karis also suffered a lot in her heart because of this stigma.

The question that remains now is who is the culprit who stigmatized Karis’ chest.

“I suspected it might be the king.”

Said Lilia, gently stroking her charis and the base of her breasts.

“You are the direct successor of Roster Kingdom, which has become a vassal state. Now that your father is dead, you can be called queen. Well, in reality, it’s just a lord.”
“…”
“Has such a person been branded a sinner? Who is the fool who stigmatizes people of high status? What kind of fool would do something neither a commoner nor an aristocrat would do?”
“…”
“I naturally thought of royalty. Of that royal family, I saw that King Doublet was the only one who could be branded.”
“…”
“Because no one else would do something like this other than that madman.”

The Doublet King is the embodiment of the lust for power.
He is a guy who will do anything to protect his seat of power.
Did they just look at him as the old royalty of the country they were incorporated into?
Is he the great person to give the old royal family the position of commander-in-chief of the knights, which can be said to be the core of the country?
Lilia saw that she wouldn’t have just given the position of commander-in-chief to Karis on the basis of the stigma.

“Now, answer me, Commander Charis. That mark. It was taken by the king’s bastard, right?”
“…”
“Please answer me. There are no watchers, so what is there to be afraid of?”
“…”
“And now that you are pregnant with my sister, you are a part of us. As a member of us, I have an obligation to tell you everything.”
“…”
“I have to tell you so I can protect you and my brother.”

Lillia stroked Karis’ stomach with one hand.
A belly inflated like a balloon.
Inside her belly was Lillia’s new sister sleeping.
As long as she has a baby, Karis is no different from a member of the demon tribe, whether she likes it or not.

So, they have an obligation to help Karis.
And Karis deserves that duty.
That’s what Lilia meant.

“… Ha.”

Eventually, Karis opened her mouth.

“There’s no point in hiding it any longer.”

She intended to be buried as a secret for the rest of her life until she died and went to her grave.
His younger brother who became the lord, his mother, his people, and even the knights who followed him.
It was my intention not to let everyone know.
The moment you announce this, it’s because it’s obvious what will happen.
And it was obvious what the king would do.

So I tried to hide it, but I never thought it would be found out like this.
Karis calmly revealed all her secrets.

“Yes, Lilia. You’re right. It is true that the mark on this chest was made by King Doublet.”

Everyone’s eyes focused on Karis.
No one paid attention to Princess Bellion, who was buried in her semen.

“If you want to get that position, swear allegiance. They were ordered to be branded as proof of their allegiance. She even threatened to kick me out of the Order if I didn’t comply.”

After the previous commander-in-chief died of old age, discussions were held about who should be given the position of the next commander-in-chief.
And Karis was chosen almost unanimously.
Even though Karis is the royalty of Roster Kingdom, she was a hard-working knight for the Kingdom of Dice.
Bravery in not retreating towards the enemy. A heart that cares for the people and subordinates.
She was all flawless.
Everyone thought that it wouldn’t be a problem if she was given the position of commander-in-chief.

The Doublet King, except for that one person.

“I had no choice but to accept the request. Because there was no way to revive the Roaster Kingdom, no, the Roaster Territory, without me.”

The Loster Kingdom also suffered tremendous damage from the invasion of Leviathan.
I needed money to get it back to where it was before it was damaged.
However, the income from the territory he was currently earning was unreasonable.
Even if he was making a surplus through trade with the Carti Kingdom, that was impossible.

So Karis entered the Knights Templar.
She becomes a knight and has wealth and honor.
And use it to revive the roaster territory.
Karis wanted to make life easier for his struggling mother and brother, and for the people.
Because he wanted that, Karis couldn’t give up his position as commander-in-chief.

Even if the price was to be King Doublet’s death row.

“Roster… I know it became the territory of the Sirens.”

When Camilla heard the word roaster, she opened her mouth as if she had suddenly remembered it.

She said, “She heard that the Siren fleet captured it, saying that it would be used as an outpost for an attack on the Karti kingdom. We fought desperately, but I heard that it was captured in three days.”
“…”

Hearing her words, Karis’s expression grew darker.
Hearing her cry that her hometown was trampled on, is there anyone whose expression does not change?
Regardless of Karis’ change, Camilla continued her words.

“Lorelai says she has never seen humans resist so fiercely. She refused even when asked to surrender. None of the people living in the estate escaped.”
“…”
“It is said that Lorelai liked that she fought so valiantly. So, the survivors proudly said that they made all of them their own people.”
“…”
“The lord and his mother are said to have been made from his own bloodline.”
“… For a moment.”

Karis interrupted Camilla’s words.

“If it’s the lord and mother, no way?”
“Yes, that’s right.”

With that said, Camilla pulled out one of her small orbs from her bosom.

“Lorelai got her cute little sisters, so she gave me this too.”

When magic was injected into the crystal ball, light emitted from the crystal ball.
The emitted light turned into a small screen, and three women appeared on the screen.

One is Lorelai.
Purple hair down to her waist and orange eyes.
At her meeting, she was soaking in a huge bathtub naked, not wearing a blue uniform.
In place of her two legs was a fish tail covered with blue scales.

This is the original appearance of the Siren.
The appearance of walking around on two legs is nothing more than a state maintained by magic.
When the mana runs out, it automatically returns to the fish tail.
It is impossible to walk on two legs 24 hours a day, so it takes a while to return to its original form.
It returns to its original form and recovers magic power, and when it is fully recovered, it returns to its original form.
This is the daily life of the Sirens.

The reason Lorelei, who appeared on the screen, returned to her original form is to take a break.
This is because even if she is the head, her magical power does not come out indefinitely.

And on either side of Lorelai, two mermaids hugged Lorelai, smiling happily.
The two mermaids were very familiar to Karis.

“Sweep, mother?”

Her self and her identical brunette hair and black eyes.
Unlike Karis, her skin is white, and her legs are covered with a fish tail covered in blue scales, but her face is the same as she remembers.
It was her sister, Sweep, and her mother, Rack.
The precious people Karis wanted to protect became the Siren.
Everyone was laughing like a maddened person, as if she had been subjected to some type of torture.

But this wasn’t the only thing Karis had her eyes wide open.

“Bae, bae, why…”

Why are you so big?
Both of them had their stomachs sticking out as if they were pregnant.
Camilla explained why he was doing this.

“Because I am pregnant.”
“What?”
“Lorelai, by her nature, would have impregnated these people with the semen of the most capable man. Since the Siren are a race that lays eggs, it would be easier to think of them as having dozens of them.”
“No, no way…”

The shocking fact left Karis speechless.

“I can’t do this. Could this be…”

My brother and mother became monsters.
It’s not just the two of them.
If Camilla is right, everyone on the roster has become a monster.
That means that there is no existence for Karis to protect anymore.

‘I should have taken the risk and went to the rescue…’

When she heard the news that the roaster estate had been captured, Karis gave up her rescue.
The reason is simple.
Because it was all I could do to maintain a defensive line.
In this situation, it was reckless to steal her troops and go to save the roster estate.

So I gave up, but I never thought it would turn out like this.
If this happened, why did she stigmatize her?
Why did she choose to become the king’s slave?
If she had gone to save Youngji from the beginning, wouldn’t she have prevented everyone from becoming a monster?

“Here, Commander-in-Chief. Wouldn’t the captain want to live with his family too? Doesn’t he want to live with the people? There is one way to do that.”

Lilia quietly whispered to Karis who was in confusion.

“Captain, you will also become a siren.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Now the residents of Roaster Mansion are living happily. I am living a happy life as a siren.”
“Sounds not even funny. What nonsense on the subject that was forcibly converted…”
“Yeah, it’s crazy. However, the reality is that we have no choice but to live with that foolishness as happiness.”

Even when Karis glared at her fiercely, Lilia didn’t care at all.

“Unless you’re an idiot, the commander-in-chief knows that, right? No matter what I do, it’s impossible to win against the demons anyway.”
“That, that…”
“Your family is smiling brightly because they know that it is impossible. Like me.”

Lillia smiled brightly and continued her story.

“If there is only despair anyway, let’s just go crazy. Let’s go crazy and live with this as happiness. Even if someone is lying, let’s consider it as unconditional happiness. Let’s pretend we live happily. I live like that.”
“So Lilia, are you mad? Is that why she became the Demon King’s minion?”
“Yes that’s right.”

Lilia nodded her head.

“Because there is no answer other than that. If there is no answer but one, wouldn’t it be better to go that route? If you can be happy even if you become a monster, wouldn’t it be better to let go of trivial pride?”
“Lilia…”
“So, Mr. Karis, please give me a wise answer.”

Holding both of Karis’ hands tightly, Lilia asked.

“Please be on our side. Be on our side and enjoy everything you couldn’t enjoy because of the king. How long are you going to live with only the king’s eyes on you? I want to live happily with my family.”
“That happiness was ruined by demons, what kind of bullshit…”
“Yes, the demons ruined it. It broke everything. But isn’t it true that there is no answer other than living with them?”
“…”
“Give up hope. Give up everything. Give up and choose to live with them. Then you can feel comfortable.”
“…I am.”

At Lillia’s words, Karis couldn’t properly refute.
It’s embarrassing, but it’s all true.
It is impossible to defeat the demons. Resistance is futile.
Even if you fight to the death, the only thing that comes back is defeat, nothing else.

So wouldn’t it be better to accept defeat?
Wouldn’t it be better to admit defeat and go under them?
Unlike kings who brand themselves slaves, wouldn’t it be more profitable to go under them?
If you want to protect your precious people, wouldn’t it be better to join hands with them?

‘What should I do? What to do…’

Still, the commander-in-chief did not realize that there was no point in thinking about it anyway.