“Once upon a time, in a remote village in a forgotten corner of the continent, a poor farming family lived. They tilled their fields and raised geese, scraping by day after day.”

“How dreadful. To spend the rest of one’s life raising geese.”

“Indeed. But listen, Roselia. One day, while tending their flock, they witnessed an astonishing sight. One of their geese suddenly laid a golden egg. An egg made of pure, solid gold.”

“Like the medal on Father’s desk?”

“An egg far larger than that, my darling girl. At any rate, from that day on, the goose began laying golden eggs without fail. Exactly one per day.”

“Then they wouldn’t need to till fields anymore to survive.”

“Right. That should have been enough. But greed began to take root in their hearts. As time passed, one egg a day no longer satisfied them. So they came up with what they thought was a splendid idea.”

“What was it?”

“Think about it. The golden eggs come from inside the goose’s belly. Which means if they cut it open, not just one but countless golden eggs would come pouring out, wouldn’t they? It was utterly foolish, but true to their rustic nature, they thought it was a fine idea. So they put it into action immediately.”

“Good heavens.”

“You can guess the end of the story now, Roselia. They took a knife without hesitation and slit open the belly of the egg-laying goose. Then, brimming with anticipation, they spread it wide open. But what awaited them was not a multitude of golden eggs—only the goose’s empty belly.”

“…”

“Had they been satisfied with even a single golden egg, they could have lived happily for the rest of their lives. But because they could not abandon their instinctive greed, they met such a fate. Having torn open the goose’s belly, they could no longer obtain any golden eggs at all.”

…

“That’s a relief, then.”

“…A relief?”

“Yes.”

“Because this greedy family received their punishment?”

“No.”

At the end of the long story, Father expressed doubt at my answer. So young and innocent was I that I blurted out what I was thinking without a trace of malice.

“Now no one besides them can have golden eggs anymore.”

Why.

Why do old memories surface at times like this.

“Duke.”

But such memories were of no importance right now. I spoke urgently to gain control of the immediate situation.

“I can explain everything. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s all a misunderstanding.”

“…”

“So just listen. What happened was—”

“It’s broken.”

Duke dismissed my excuse with a single word. Then he approached the broken communication equipment and fiddled with the shattered fragments.

“Completely trashed. Looks like someone took a hammer to it.”

“Lope did this on his own. It has nothing to do with me.”

“But it’s broken, isn’t it?”

“Yes. But—”

“Then what about my milk?”

“What?”

The question came out of nowhere, and question marks involuntarily popped into my head. But Duke asked with a grave voice, as if it were a matter of utmost importance.

“I asked what happens to my milk. Are they bringing it or not?”

“Ah…that…of course I told them. The supply ship is departing soon anyway. You don’t need to worry.”

“I don’t know. Honestly, I’m a bit skeptical.”

“Skeptical? What do you mean—”

Suddenly, Duke stepped right into my face. His brute bulk filled my entire field of vision—enough to shut my mouth. He tilted his head and lightly brushed my hair upward.

“Well, obviously. I saw you doing god knows what with Lope, so how am I supposed to believe you? You two could have been conspiring together.”

“That’s not it, Duke. I swear, there was nothing like that. And I definitely relayed the message about the supplies.”

“I’m not so sure about that anymore. You always communicated with the mainland by yourself. The fact that you made contact at all seems true enough, but I’m a little suspicious about what you were blabbering about. Since I’ve never heard it even once.”

“That’s because you were busy doing other things…”

“So I was planning to ask tomorrow. Whether I couldn’t try that communication thing or whatever myself. But then this mess happened. So now the contents of that communication will remain a mystery forever.”

“Ugh…”

His sweat-dampened hand gave my hair a slight tug. A faint groan escaped me involuntarily at the mild pain.

“Ah…but it was an unavoidable accident. That bastard Lope suddenly barged in and did this.”

“Why would he come suddenly? He must have known I sent people to catch him. If so, running away would be the right response, wouldn’t it? Why would he come here out of nowhere to see you?”

“I’m not sure. I was asleep and got dragged here by force, so I was in no state to understand what was happening.”

“Ah. Right.”

“Ugh…”

At my answer, Duke pulled my hair a bit harder. I was drawn toward him involuntarily and cried out in pain.

“Duke. That hurts…”

“That’s the point of making it hurt. Because it seems like you’re lying. Anyone can see Lope came to see you. Then he came here and had some conversation with the mainland. After that, he destroyed the equipment so I couldn’t know what was said. Right?”

“That’s not what happened, so—”

“The very first thing I saw when I walked into this room was you and him kissing. Looked quite affectionate. Like lovers who had no choice but to part ways.”

“…Ugh.”

“So do you know what conclusion I’ve drawn?” 

Who knows. Whatever it is, it’s bound to be a stupid conclusion. I clenched my teeth and grabbed Duke’s hand. But he continued speaking while still gripping my hair.

“Forget the supply ship or whatever. The truth is, what you called for was an escape route for a lovers’ elopement. I don’t know since when, but you and Lope must have been together. I don’t know how much you loved each other, but you two wanted to get off this island by any means necessary.”

“That’s not—”

“The problem was that the only communication equipment was in this room. So you tried to sweet-talk Heiter into letting you use it. But when that bastard died and I took over this place, your plans hit a snag.”

“That’s not what happened, Duke—”

“Because unlike that softie Heiter, I actually know how to be suspicious. So you called Lope at night to make one last contact and then smashed the equipment, right? But the noise from destroying it exposed your plan, and in the end only Lope managed to slip away. Right?”

“That’s really not—Ugh!”

The logic, the sequence of events—it was all a complete mess. But because he kept yanking my hair, I couldn’t mount a proper defense. Yet Duke seemed to think my silence meant he had hit the mark, and he chuckled as he spoke.

“Looks like I’m right. Seeing as you can’t even make an excuse. What kind of filthy shit did you two get up to? Did you maybe load soldiers onto that escape ship? When it arrives, we’ll all be dead. Right?”

“Duke…please, just listen to me…”

“We’re all going to die in a few months anyway, so I don’t know why you’d scheme something so complicated. Is Lope really that great? Seeing as you’re obsessed with him too—Lena included—his dick must be fucking huge, huh?”

“It’s a misunderstanding. Why would I do such a thing? There’s absolutely no reason for me to do that.”

“Could be. But do you know what I think is really fucked up?”

“What…what is it?”

“So where the fuck is my milk?”

His milk. Milk. Milk. Duke’s infantile obsession didn’t even warrant a bitter laugh. Instead, irritation surged through me and my brow furrowed. But Duke asked me with a serious expression.

“Milk. Are they bringing it? Are they, Roselia?”

“I already told them. So please let go of my hair—”

“No, I told you I don’t believe you. It’s not like I heard them say it directly.”

“I swear it. The milk will come. I promise, Duke.”

“And if it doesn’t come? Are you going to squeeze it out yourself? Hm?”

Duke suddenly chuckled and touched my chest. His careless fingers brushed over my undergarment once or twice before accidentally making contact with my nipple. An involuntary moan escaped me.

“Ngh…”

“Must be here. This is where you’d squeeze it from. Though your tits aren’t even that big.”

“Don’t do that, Duke. I said I promise—”

“Ah, come on. It’s just a little touching. If I sucked on it a bit right now, wouldn’t something come out? What do you think? Hm?”

“Fuck, I said don’t!”

At that moment, I screamed without thinking and shoved Duke’s hand away. The irritation that had been building from his idiotic attitude erupted all at once. I absolutely could not tolerate the way he treated me like a whore.

But the anger didn’t last long. The moment my scream echoed through the room, cold sweat ran down my body and my breathing stopped. I swallowed hard and looked up at Duke.

“Duke…”

“What. Don’t do it?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“That’s scary. Seriously.”

“Duke. I—!”

Before I could even spit out an excuse, Duke seized my hair with a violent yank. He pulled it upward, far beyond my reach, tugging wildly. My hair went taut as if every strand was about to be ripped out, and a sharp pain tore across my scalp.

“So what are you gonna do if I don’t stop? Hm?”

“W…wait…I…I made a mistake. I…Ugh…!”

“I’m asking what you’re gonna do. Answer me. I’m curious.”

“Don’t do this. I said I’m really sorry…!”

“I don’t need that, so just answer the question. What are you gonna do, Roselia. Hm? Hm?”

“Ugh…Aaagh!”

Duke bared his teeth in a grin as he yanked my hair. The ecstasy a child feels while tearing the legs off a helpless ant was evident in that smile. He was enjoying this moment so thoroughly that whatever had happened earlier no longer seemed to matter.

Stupid. Infantile. Pathetic. I could hurl every insult in existence at him and none would even register. Duke had always been like this. A third-rate thug who roamed around with his large friends, bullying weak bugs—just like now. Nothing had changed at all.

No. There was exactly one thing that had changed. Back then, he couldn’t torment noble young ladies like me. Now he could lay his hands on them as he pleased. That was a game beyond compare for him. That was why something as trivial as a supply ship could slip his mind.

But fuck. Whatever the reason, at this rate my hair might actually get ripped out. Or worse—something even more terrible could happen. Even right now, he was pummeling my head—!

“Ugh! Urgh…Ugh…!”

“Ahaha. This is fun.”

Duke was now yanking and pushing my hair like a yo-yo, repeatedly striking my head. He did it lightly, as if playing around, but each blow sent a dull ring through my skull. 

“Stop…Stop!”

“You should see yourself. You look like a doll. You know, that thing where the head wobbles. What was that called.”

“Duke. I’m really sorry. I’m really, truly sorry!”

“Alright. Alright, I said. If you don’t like it, try to get away yourself. I’m just holding on.”

“Duke, please…Please!”

Then his hand struck the back of my head, and suddenly my vision went pitch black. When I gasped for air, my sight returned ever so slowly, like a screen flickering back on. The fear that I might actually die crept over me.

“Duke! I’ll do anything. So please forgive me. Okay?”

“Alright. I’ll forgive you. That’s got nothing to do with it—I’m just doing this because it’s fun.”

“Please…Please, I was wrong. I said I was wrong!”

“Of course you were wrong. What’s the point of begging now?”

“Duke!”

I screamed and frantically looked around, desperately searching for something—anything—to break this situation.

Then the broken communication equipment caught my eye. Knowing it was futile, I still screamed with all my might.

“Right…milk! I’ll get you your milk. I’m the only one who can make that happen. Right!”

“Yeah. But that thing’s broken. How would you know whether you can get the milk or not. Right?”

“But…right…I…I can fix it. I know how to fix it! Only I know. Really. So!”

“…Hah.”

“Aagh!”

Then Duke released my hair without any warning. Thrown forward by the momentum, I fell gracelessly onto the filthy floor. Tears. The saliva that had been dribbling down. The snot that had begun flowing at some point—all of it mixed together and dripped onto the ground.

Then shame washed over me. But Duke approached me as if such things were of no concern whatsoever.

“You can fix it? Really?”

“Yes…really. I can fix it…”

“Last time you said there was no way to fix it if it broke. And you can still fix it?”

“That was…”

“So it was a lie after all.”

“Th…that’s not it! Absolutely not!”

I screamed urgently, forgetting even the pain. My hands and legs trembled uncontrollably.

“That was just something I said to scare you. But I can fix this much easily. I know how.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Really. I…I’m a Magic Engineering major. It’ll take some time, but I can definitely do it.”

“Roselia.”

“Yes?”

“You can really fix it?”

At that heavy, grave voice, I turned my gaze toward the ruined communication equipment. To be honest, no matter how I looked at it, it was beyond repair.

But for now, I had to seize even this tiny opportunity. I composed my expression as best I could and nodded.

“Yes. I can fix it.”

“Really.”

“Truly. I’ll swear on anything. Besides, right now I have more reason to fix that thing than anyone else in the world. That’s the only way I can prove that what happened earlier was a misunderstanding. Right?”

“Hmm…I suppose that’s not wrong.”

He tilted his head and fell into thought for a moment. But soon he tossed out his answer as if such deliberation was too much bother.

“Alright. Bullying someone like you would get boring fast anyway, so I’ll trust you this once. You can really fix it?”

“Yes. I can fix it. I mean it.”

“Fine. Then fix it. But you’d better hurry.”

“Understood. I’ll do my best.”

Only then did I exhale a sigh of relief. The tension released in an instant, and I felt as if all the strength was draining from my body. If I had been standing, I might have crumpled to the floor right then and there.

But then a small ambition stirred within me. Negotiation always meant aiming for more than your original goal. If I continued to be dragged around by Duke, I would inevitably walk a predetermined fate.

That was why I had to leave even the smallest opening. With that thought in mind, I spoke carefully.

“Um, by the way, Duke. There’s one more thing I’d like to discuss…”

“What now.”

“It’ll be difficult to do it alone, so I need someone to help me. That’s fine, isn’t it?”

“Why. Trying to call in some bastard like Lope?”

“That’s not it! It’s not that, it’s just…”

At that moment, I racked my brain desperately. Someone who could help me in this situation. And at the same time, someone Duke wouldn’t be wary of. As I pondered those two conditions, a single name flashed through my mind.

“…Miss Lena. I need Miss Lena. She’s at the top of her class, so she’s sharp, and she’s well-versed in Magic Engineering. You know that too. Right?”

“Ah. Lena.” 

“Yes. Would that be okay?”

“You need Lena, huh…”

Duke fell into thought once again. And true to form, he quickly shook off his concerns and nodded.

“Well, fine. Do it together.

But the moment those words left his mouth, he smirked. Then he added a single, ominous remark.

“Though I don’t know if she’s in any condition to work.”