Chapter 41: The Unyielding

After what felt like an eternity, Felicia slowly regained consciousness.

The door that had always refused to open was now ajar. Seraphina stepped into the room, looking down at Felicia from on high.

“What… what are you trying to do…” Felicia asked, her voice drained of strength.

She felt as though her entire body had been torn apart. Even though the handcuffs had stopped shocking her, they had inflicted severe damage.

“The answer is simple.” Seraphina crouched down and lifted Felicia’s chin. “I just want you to understand your place.”

“Even though you can command anyone else in this castle, you are still my pet. And I am your master.”

“Tch… Some master… When it comes down to it, you’re just a pervert.” Felicia turned away, unwilling to meet Seraphina’s gaze.

But Seraphina’s grip was iron, forcing Felicia to face her.

“What? So sick of me already? Wasn’t I good to you before?”

“Good? You mean using me as a tool for your… business? Or depriving me of the freedom to even step beyond the castle walls?”

“…” Seraphina found herself at a loss for words.

Thinking about it, it was exactly as Felicia said. She hadn’t misspoken.

“What’s wrong? Nothing to say? Since you have nothing to say, then—Ah!”

Before Felicia could finish, the handcuffs shocked her again.

“Seems my little pet is still restless.” Seraphina said. “Until you realize your mistake, I’m not letting you out.”

“Think it over.”

Felicia tried to stand and run toward the door, but her body had no strength. She could only watch helplessly as the door slammed shut.

“Ah…” Felicia collapsed to the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling.

The physical pain remained, growing even more intense. Yet the pain she felt seemed to be gradually fading—perhaps she had grown numb.

After resting a moment on the ground, Felicia stood up. She walked to the door and began to knock.

Once. Twice. Three times.

She lost count of how many times she knocked, but there was no response from outside.

Felicia even suspected that Seraphina was standing right outside, probably wearing that condescending expression, arms crossed, waiting for Felicia to obediently admit defeat.

She clenched her fist and slammed it against the door.

She had no idea what the door was made of. When her fist connected, the door barely trembled, but her hand ached fiercely.

Yet Felicia didn’t care. She just kept hitting, as though venting her emotions.

Gradually, Felicia wasn’t just pounding with her fists.

“Seraphina! I know you’re watching me!”

“I’m telling you, whatever you’re planning, I won’t give in!”

“Even if you starve me or torture me to death in here, I will never admit I’m wrong, because I’m not wrong! Never!”

With every strike, she shouted these words at the top of her lungs.

At first, her voice was full of conviction, but as time went on, it grew weaker.

Her blows softened too—she was running out of strength.

“Seraphina…” Felicia slammed a fist against the door, but it made no sound.

She slumped against the cold door panel. Her body slid down, inch by inch, until she collapsed onto the floor.

“Why… why me… why…” She could no longer hold back. Her body curled into a tight ball, and she began to sob quietly.

****

Just as Felicia had guessed, Seraphina was standing outside the door, waiting for her to obediently confess her mistake.

Seraphina could see everything happening in the room. Felicia’s struggle unfolded before her eyes.

She watched the petite silver-haired girl slam her fists against the door again and again. Even though it did no good, Felicia kept at it.

Seraphina almost wondered whether this was pure venting or an act of defiance.

Perhaps it was both.

Seeing the silver-haired girl curled up inside, Seraphina felt a momentary pang of pity. But she quickly suppressed it.

“Why resist to this extent? If you just admitted a small mistake, I’d let you out. But…” Seraphina trailed off, saying no more.

****

Felicia awoke again, roused by pain.

She had fallen asleep earlier because—after all that pounding and shouting—she had exhausted herself and collapsed under the strain. Or perhaps she had fainted?

“…” Her silver hair was now disheveled. The locks that once seemed to shimmer with light were now dull and lifeless. Her eyes were vacant.

In this state, no one would doubt that she was the tragic heroine of some mature-rated work.

Physical exhaustion and mental anguish tormented Felicia. She knew that if she just said the words of apology, she would earn Seraphina’s forgiveness.

But Felicia refused.

She was afraid that with each compromise, she would lose herself, becoming nothing more than Seraphina’s property.

Maybe that would happen eventually, but at least for now, she wanted to resist—even if it was meaningless.

She stumbled to her feet, only to collapse back to the floor.

“Hungry…”

A sudden hunger pang interrupted her thoughts.

Why was she hungry? Felicia couldn’t even process that question.

The overwhelming hunger made her suspect that she would starve to death soon.

In truth, it was a spell cast by Seraphina through the handcuffs, creating the illusion of hunger. She wanted to break Felicia with harsher punishment.

If Felicia gave in once, there would be a second time, a third… Eventually, she would submit completely—body and soul.

But Felicia’s resilience far exceeded Seraphina’s expectations. She hadn’t imagined that even after all this, Felicia would not utter a word of surrender or apology.

Seraphina found herself at a loss.

“Wha—?!” Felicia suddenly felt a stabbing pain in her abdomen. Her right hand touched something wet and sticky.

The splash of red… was that… blood?

“Am I dying… So tired… Just let me go…” Felicia closed her eyes in exhaustion and lost consciousness again.

Even when tortured to unconsciousness, she had no intention of surrendering to Seraphina.

Not long after Felicia fell unconscious, the door swung open. Seraphina entered and gathered the unconscious silver-haired girl into her arms.

“Why did it have to come to this… It didn’t have to be like this…” Seraphina murmured, holding Felicia close.

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