Early morning.
The Convent.
"Scratch."
Following Silas's instructions, Sister Rose carved a mark onto the stone wall of the bedroom. Two complete sets of five-bar tallies sat there.
Today was exactly the tenth day.
Everything was as usual.
Perhaps because they had finally been eating nutritious meat broth recently, Leah and Elena's faces were no longer so pale, nor were they as thin.
Since they no longer had to worry about food, Sister Rose could afford to eat a few more stewed beans after watching her two younger sisters finish their fill.
It was just as Silas had said.
In a confined space with nothing to do, people would unconsciously sink into negative emotions—the so-called "idle hands are the devil's workshop."
Therefore, she assigned tasks for her sisters and herself every day.
What should she do today?
Every corner of the convent had been tidied; she had even found a pot to plant some seeds Silas had brought. Aside from watering the sprouts, there was nothing else to do.
Books...
The sleepless nun flipped open a book; it looked like an old volume that hadn't been touched in ages.
But the contents were not from a published book. It was merely a book cover used to hide someone's handwritten notes.
[Today I discovered that my dear husband does not only love my dignified appearance.]
[He is obsessed with my ability to utter lewd and wanton cries...]
[...]
Why did Mr. Silas give her something like this?
Was it just a random book he collected without knowing the contents, or did he intentionally mix it in with the others for her to learn?
Regardless of the reason.
As the days passed and her two sisters greedily ate the supplies Silas left behind, she became increasingly aware that no one was obligated to risk their life to provide so much.
Logically speaking, as Silas had said, she never really had a seat at the negotiating table.
Even if he forcibly defiled her and gave her no reward afterward, what could she do?
The lines on her chest were still there, so obvious. Having become like this, yet seeing her sisters breathing healthily... it was already a decent outcome, wasn't it? If her status as a nun couldn't protect them, discarding it... must be the right choice.
She continued flipping through the notes.
[But before long, I discovered another thing. My dear does not enjoy pure vulgarity.]
[What he wants is for me to be extremely dignified in front of others. I must remain somewhat dignified even before him, so he can personally destroy that sense of dignity.]
[...]
[Sure enough, when I restrain my desires and act with bashful reserve, he is more interested than ever. If I play it this way, those newly-wed concubines will never shake my position.]
[...]
Ah.
So, after all this time, these were techniques written by some noblewoman to secure her status by pleasing a man?
[Regarding techniques with the mouth, simply holding breath and taking it in isn't enough; I found one must use the tongue to gently...]
Clap.
Sister Rose slammed the book shut.
The previous notes hadn't moved her much, but this part was completely different—because she had done this for Silas.
How... how could such a thing be written down like a book review? How foul must the woman who wrote this be...
But she only wrote it to please her husband, not for others to see.
Wasn't she, the one peeking at it, the foul one?
No, the person who gave her someone else's private notes to read was the real culprit.
[You must cover that thing under the tongue; keeping the mouth closed will increase saliva. Once it is mixed enough, move the tongue to let the object rest on top, and repeat the cycle...]
[When you feel his member pulsing, you should understand he has reached his limit.]
[If he loves you, he will naturally try to pull away or show other signs, but what you must do at this moment is abandon the previous rapid service. Change to slow, gentle inclusion... accept all of him. In this way, he will fall in love with you. At the very least, in terms of sex, you will become irreproachable in that instant.]
Too lewd...
[My dear daughter, this is the treasure I leave for you.]
Why?
Why would such a thing be a "treasure" left for a daughter?!
Sister Rose flipped back through the notes for a while. She had initially thought the entries were written right after each session by the mistress, as some pages even had moisture stains... it looked like a diary accumulated over years, with a final sentence added for the daughter.
Was this thing meant to be a family heirloom?
Her face was flushed deep red. Yet she couldn't help but recall the moment she served Silas, when her mouth was suddenly choked full.
He must have shown signs of climaxing or tried to pull away, but she hadn't noticed... she didn't understand at all.
Why did her body feel strange whenever she thought of those scenes... like her legs instinctively pressing together?
"Sister! Leah is stealing the preserves the big brother gave me!"
"Ah! Elena, I told you to knock before entering the room, didn't I?!"
The sister who suddenly burst in almost made the nun jump out of her skin.
Morning.
The two sisters' moods were quite low. Even though the nun smiled and added more jerky to the pot, it didn't help.
"Sister Rose, um..."
Elena was the first to speak up, her voice full of worry. "Is the big brother really going to be okay?"
"He will be fine."
Sister Rose sat upright, adding a spoonful of soup to Leah's bowl, then another for Elena.
"Why do you always think of bad things? He said he'd bring me food so delicious I wouldn't let go even if I got slapped! I believe he has the spirit of a knight!"
Leah replied, tilting her head stubbornly.
"You don't understand anything at all! You don't even know what Sister and... anyway, you're just a coward!"
"I told you, next time I definitely won't hide behind you! I'll charge right in!"
"...Eat your food and stop talking."
Watching the two sisters bicker, Sister Rose scolded them sternly.
But looking at her sisters who couldn't stand each other, how could she not be worried?
There was still quite a bit of food left, enough for half a month if rationed. But it wasn't infinite.
"Infinite" was based on the premise that Silas would return. If those notes weren't given to her intentionally but were just mixed in... what if he had simply done everything he thought he could and then abandoned her and her sisters at the convent, never to return?
She went to the kitchen.
Sister Rose turned her back to the two children and took out the "medicine" Silas had given her. A jar filled with a sticky, semi-transparent liquid. It had a faint fragrance.
She had never seen anything like it before.
Her stomach felt nothing after drinking it. It just felt slippery and greasy.
I must not be negative.
I must not become a monster.
He will come back...
He gave me those notes, treating me like his property... how could he give up before getting what he wants?
He can bring back so much food freely. He must have his own unique way of survival. Maybe he has already found the knightly order. Perhaps he's helping others while on his way back.
If he returns with the knights... will the trade be voided?
No.
Because he truly helped a lot. Just once or twice, three or four times... she could endure it.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Just as Sister Rose was about to drink more "medicinal liquid," the back door of the confessional hut was rattled violently.
"Big brother Silas is back?!"
The younger sister was overjoyed.
"..."
But the nun didn't let her guard down. She made her sisters hide in a corner and picked up the short sword Silas had left, heading to the door alone.
"Mr. Silas?"
"..."
No one answered.
The nun's expression grew grim. Peering through the crack in the door, she saw shoes that only a woman would wear.
A woman?
BAM!
Before she could even react, the wooden door was smashed open, and the nun was pinned to the ground.
"Sister?!"
"Bad woman, let go of Sister Rose!!!"
"..."
The nun saw clearly—it was Mrs. Osman, whom she had met before. The noblewoman who had looked down on her. But now, her eyes held no trace of her former arrogance, only a muddy haze.
The woman's chin pressed against her chest, trying to bite the flesh of her neck.
But because her mouth was restricted by a ball-shaped object, she could only gape fruitlessly while saliva dripped out.
The noblewoman's fingernails digging into her hands felt like they had been clipped by someone. They didn't pierce the nun's skin, but it was painful.
"...Let... let me go."
No matter how Sister Rose struggled, her frantic scratching at the noblewoman was useless. Her throat was being crushed by the weight, making it painful and suffocating.
"Bad woman! I am a knight, not a coward!"
She glimpsed her young sister grabbing an oil lamp and rushing over.
"Leah?!"
Sister Rose had never expected her sister to possess the spirit of a knight at such a young age. She was just a child.
Smack!
Like a piece of trash to be discarded, the noblewoman swiped her hand and sent the girl flying. Leah hit the corner of the confessional table. The nun could see Leah's head covered in blood as she lay motionless on the floor.
"Ugh. Big brother Silas... why aren't you back yet... let go of Sister. Monster..."
Elena, who had been calling her sister a coward for days, cried uncontrollably at the sight of the bleeding Leah.
"..."
So.
Didn't he say that if she agreed to the trade, he would protect her sisters?
Didn't he say ten days at most?
Didn't he say the surrounding area was cleared and the convent was safe?
What else... could she do besides becoming a monster?
Sister Rose, not knowing where her strength came from, broke free from the noblewoman. She grabbed the short sword Silas had left by the table.
Stab!
Again and again. She drove it into the noblewoman's neck, chest, and stomach.
"..."
Before long, her hands were covered in slickness. her clothes were sprayed with thick blood mixed with bits of flesh.
A strange thought rose in her mind.
This would be delicious.
A peculiar curve spread across her lips as that thought took hold.
"R-Rose... Sister...?"
A small, fearful voice sounded behind her.
She turned her head, only to see her young sister huddled in a ball, her body trembling incessantly, her eyes filled with terror.