Chapter 11: Why Are You Doing This to Me?

This was nothing short of a long, drawn-out mental torture.

“What’s the point of just staring?”

Seraphina casually fiddled with her nails, her airy voice brushing across Mili’s frayed nerves like coarse bristles.

“Aren’t you getting up yet?”

Mili remained frozen, curled stiffly in the blanket clutched to her chest. Her heart pounded like a terrified rabbit trapped in a cage.

How could she possibly get up and change clothes in front of this terrifying woman?

She had been too exhausted the night before—there had been no time to fix anything…

The towel she’d knotted tightly had come loose during her earlier scrambling.

“I… I…” Her voice quivered with unease. “Could you… could you step outside for a moment?”

Seraphina tilted her head, a spark of interest flashing in her strange eyes.

She slowly leaned in closer, the metallic buttons on her uniform glinting even in the shadows.

“You’re trying to bargain with me?”

Her voice pierced Mili’s ears like an ice pick, each word laced with deadly threat.

Strands of Seraphina’s silvery hair brushed against Mili’s cheek like a cold whip, sending chills down her spine.

Mili hugged the blanket tighter. Her face was pale as paper, fear and anxiety flooding her eyes like a rising tide.

“N–no… I just…”

“Just what?” Seraphina cut her off, lifting her right hand to gently stroke the girl’s trembling chin with a slender finger.

Mili tried to retreat, but her back hit the cold, unyielding wall behind her. There was nowhere to go. The impact left her head slightly numb.

“Ah—!”

Seraphina suddenly gripped her shoulder tightly. The crushing pressure of her fingers dug into bone, making Mili cry out in pain.

“You think you still have a choice?”

“I told you—from today on, every move you make will be under my supervision.”

Tears welled up in Mili’s eyes, a misty veil of sorrow blurring her vision.

She bit her lip hard, trying not to sob, but the pain made her tremble uncontrollably, betraying the terror within her.

Humiliation, helplessness, shame—an overwhelming wave of emotion crashed against her mental defenses again and again.

She clutched the edge of the blanket with all her strength, her knuckles turning ashen from the strain.

“You… why… why are you doing this to me…” Her voice was barely more than a whisper, choked with tears. “I haven’t even done anything wrong…”

Seraphina looked at the teardrops hovering in the girl’s eyes—so close to falling, yet still resisting—and her lips curved into a satisfied smile.

The thrill of completely controlling another life, of crushing someone’s will—this feeling surged through her like adrenaline, even stronger than the rush of taking lives on the battlefield.

To her—

The power of life and death, domination over another, was the greatest ecstasy.

“Because you are my property.” Seraphina withdrew her nails from the girl’s skin—now marked with bloody indentations—and gently stroked Mili’s tear-stained cheek as if caressing a precious object.

“And property should be used to its fullest.”

“Now, get up and change,” she commanded, her tone harder now. “Move faster. My time is valuable.”

Mili flinched away from her hand, trembling as she slid off the bed, her bare feet touching the icy floor.

She clutched the loose towel tightly around herself, terrified that even the slightest shift would expose her. Seraphina’s burning gaze followed her every movement, sending a chill down her spine…

Even with her back turned, Mili could feel the oppressive weight of that woman’s presence, like a predator watching her every breath.

Hands trembling, she opened the wardrobe and found several plain dresses and simple tops hanging neatly inside.

She hastily grabbed a set and rushed toward the bathroom.

“Stop.” Seraphina’s voice cracked like a whip. “Change right here.”

Mili froze in place as if struck by lightning, her mind going completely blank.

“H–here…?” she echoed in disbelief, her voice shaking as she tried to protest. “I… I can’t…”

No…

No way…

She’d rather be left exposed in the ruins, cold wind biting her skin, than undress in front of this woman.

“I don’t like repeating myself,” Seraphina said, now lounging against the bedframe, arms crossed.
“Or… would you rather I do it for you?”

Her voice turned ice-cold, dousing whatever flicker of resistance still burned in Mili’s chest.

She knew Seraphina wasn’t bluffing—whatever she said, she would do.

Mili slowly turned around, her blue eyes wide with fear and pleading.

“P–please… I’m begging you… let me use the bathroom… please…”

Seraphina’s smile dropped instantly, her face darkening. She moved slightly as if to rise, and Mili’s skin prickled with fear.

“I’ll do it! I… I’ll change…”

“Face me.” The command was flat and merciless.

“…Okay…”

Mili turned around slowly, each second heavier than the last.

“Take it off.”

The knot on the towel had long since loosened.

As Mili moved, the cloth slipped slightly, revealing a pale, delicate shoulder—marked with raw red welts from Seraphina’s nails…

Her movements were clumsy and slow. Every passing moment felt like being pressed to a scorching iron plate.

Shivering, she hurriedly pulled on a clean undergarment, fastening it awkwardly, followed by a loose cotton dress.

The fabric brushing her skin offered the barest comfort—but it couldn’t drive away the cold and shame wrapped around her heart.

She kept her eyes shut the entire time, not daring to look, not even to think.

All she wanted was for this to be over.

By the time she had finally gotten dressed—awkwardly, crookedly—she dared to peek up.

She froze.

On Seraphina’s arm was a compact, glowing screen she hadn’t noticed before.

The woman tapped her fingers lightly on the display. The image on the screen paused—on Mili’s stunned, helpless expression.

Mili didn’t know exactly what kind of technology it was—but just seeing her own mirrored back confirmed what Seraphina had done.

—That monster!

“Y–you… you’re horrible!!” she cried, voice rising with anguish and outrage.

It was the first time she’d ever spoken out this clearly, her rage overflowing.

Tears finally spilled from her eyes, sliding down her gaunt cheeks.

She clutched the crumpled towel in her arms, her nose burning with suppressed sobs.

Seraphina didn’t flinch at her tears—on the contrary, she seemed to find the scene quite pleasing.

The room fell into a suffocating silence, broken only by Mili’s muffled sobs echoing faintly through the air.

“Are you done crying?” Seraphina aimed the camera at her, voice cold and unfeeling.

“It’s time to get to work.”

“Go wash up. Now.”