Page 35 of Plaything of the Dark Elf

“I don’t think these servants will treat you as badly as the last batch.” I stare at one of them, standing in front of the dining room entrance with a stony expression. “After all, they saw what happened to the last ones who did such a foolish thing.”

“I hope you’re right,” she mumbles.

“So why don’t you show some appreciation and eat the dinner they prepared for you?” I’m not one to care about stuff like this, but I want her to eat. If she loses any more weight, she’ll be nothing but bones. “It’s delicious. I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a meal like this.”

“...How am I supposed to eat after that?”

There’s a pause. I furrow my eyebrows at her.

“What are you talking about?” I ask.

“You expect me to eat dinner after watching one of your soldiers cut the heads off your servants?” Dalia grits her teeth. “Are you crazy? You’re a disgusting monster!”

My chest seizes up.

“I can barely even look at you after what you’ve done! I understand that those servants didn’t treat me right, but they didn’t deserve that! They begged for their lives until the very end. You saw them! And you didn’t do anything about it! You’re a monster! A–”

I slam my fist into the table, hard enough to cause the plates to bounce off the surface. My fists clench up, trembling with rage. Red spots dot across my vision.

What more does she want from me?

“Everything I did,” I rasp out. “I did it for you.”

“I-I didn’t want that! I never would have wanted you to decapitate your servants for what happened to me!”

“They were cruel to you. They hurt you. They gave you those ugly wounds and marks on your skin. Do you truly believe their actions should have gone unpunished?”

“No! That’s not what I said at all!”

“Then what?!”

I rise from my seat. My efforts aren’t getting through to her. A monster? Does that what he think of me? After all the things I’ve done for her?

Dalia falls from her seat, trying to get away from me. She scoots back into the wall, tears already forming in her eyes. I approach her slowly.

“Do you know what they would have done to you had I not come back in time? They would have killed you. I know their kind. They wouldn’t have hesitated against a vulnerable human woman. They would have torn you, limb by limb, and would have laughed at your agonizing cries of suffering. Did you want that fate, Dalia? Did you want to die like that?”

“No!” Dalia cries. “No, I didn’t want to die like that!”

“You would have died. And then what? What was I going to do with your dead body?”

Leaning down, I take her by the arms and drag her back up to her feet. She lets out a small noise as she tries to pull away from my hold, but it only makes my grip tighten.

When I saw those wounds on her arms and limbs, I worried. It’s difficult to admit aloud, but I was horrified to see the suffering she endured at the hands of my servants. Thinking back on it now, I lost myself. All I wanted was the blood of the ones who made her suffer and there was no stopping me. When I’m in that state, there’s nothing that can satiate me besides bloodlust.

Those dark elves needed to die for what they did and I made sure that happened promptly. What good is a disobedient servant? What use is a servant who will harm the one I yearn for? Those servants were lower in caste than me, weaklings among the strong. They had no power, no influence, and no right to live.

My servants are no better than slaves to me. They’re replaceable. If I lose one today, I can buy another and have him here in my mansion the next morning. It’s that easy.

So why is she crying over some cowards who would have never shown her any mercy? They relished in her suffering! They hurt her! And she expects me to feel any remorse for them?

Is she stupid? What kind of brainless creature do I have underneath me right now? I could snap her arms if I wanted to. I could smash her head against the wall until her skull explodes.

“Let go of me!” Dalia yells, fighting against my hold and trying to kick me in the shins.

I nearly lose control. I raise my hand, fully intending to strike her across the face with enough force to send her flying. Her eyes widen and her breath hitches in her throat. I hear it.

But, something stops me. A certain realization dawns upon me, stopping me in my tracks.

She’s small and soft. She’s pure. She’s a beautiful creature that drives me crazy, but I’m intoxicated by what she does to me. It’s addicting. I can’t get rid of her, not from my heart.

She owns a part of me that will stay with her forever.

I lower my hand and trail it across her cheek. I grab her neck and squeeze gently.

Then, I kiss her with enough passion to swipe the air from her lungs. Before long, she melts into the kiss. I moan into her mouth, desperate for more of what she’s giving me.

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