The Succubus and the Saintess [Western Fantasy] 3

Chapter 3: The Fever

The Saintess was a busy woman.

Even after making the unprecedented decision to keep a beautiful succubus slave, she was by no means the sort of person to indulge in debauchery or wicked pleasures.

Catori was a small kingdom, and the Saintess was a figure of immense authority. Word that she was pleased with the auction house’s “gift” spread quickly. The royal family was ecstatic, and for the next several days, Cenia was completely occupied with negotiations to build a new branch of the cathedral, scout for individuals with an affinity for the light element, and train paladins and priests.

A cathedral couldn’t be built on a whim, nor could just anyone with a gift for light magic join the Church. The strength of one’s power was determined by the purity of their faith in the Goddess, and many commoners were merely casual believers. Establishing a church in a remote region often required transferring personnel from the Holy City itself.

It was only after Cenia became the Saintess, spending a great deal of effort each year on missionary pilgrimages to various kingdoms, that the number of believers had increased and the Church’s influence had been able to expand so smoothly.

While Cenia was busy with diplomacy, Pamela’s days were not nearly as pleasant.

The handmaiden, Belin, had served Cenia since their days in the Holy City. Her loyalty was beyond question, and Cenia trusted her implicitly, taking her along wherever she went. No other handmaiden could compete with her.

Now, however, Belin’s position was under threat.

Of course, this wasn’t to say that Belin held the demon in any high regard—a slave was a slave. Even if Her Ladyship was kind enough not to kill her, the succubus would never surpass her in status.

It was just… just that this cunning succubus was far too devious!

After the interrogation in the confession chamber, the succubus had offered her worthless loyalty to her new master. Then, after flaunting her beauty for a moment, she had begun to sway, feigning a swoon and collapsing right at the Saintess’s feet, her body landing on the hem of her gown.

Cenia hadn’t been startled. She didn’t even frown as the inferior blood of a demon stained her pristine robes. It was Belin who had rushed forward to move Pamela’s body away from Cenia’s feet, cursing the foul luck in her heart, only to hear Her Ladyship say:

“Take her to my cathedral chambers. She can stay in the room next to yours. Keep a close watch on her.”

Not daring to object, Belin lowered her head and assented, grinding her teeth in secret. According to protocol, even a demon slave should be locked in a cell. How could she be allowed to live in the Saintess’s personal chambers, and right next to her own room? Even if their stay in Catori was temporary, and even if they were short on staff, making her the one to guard the dangerous demon was indeed the most logical solution…

The petite handmaiden struggled to lift the tall demon. Her own white robes were immediately soiled. Pamela’s eyes were shut tight, giving her a fragile, pitiable appearance. A low-level succubus is a low-level succubus, Belin thought. Unable to withstand the torment of the light element. What good is a pretty face? Lady Cenia is not one of those foolish nobles who can be deceived by looks!

Muttering curses internally while maintaining a prim expression, Belin carried Pamela out of Cenia’s sight.

As the Saintess’s handmaiden, Belin herself had once been a candidate for the position. She had only given up her ambition to serve Cenia when it became clear that the current Saintess’s star shone too brightly for anyone else to have a chance. At her core, she was little more than a physically frail light-element priestess.

So heavy! Wouldn’t a succubus this big crush a person in bed?

Pamela, who was secretly using gravity magic, was naturally oblivious to Belin’s thoughts.

The moment they stepped into the Saintess’s chambers, the “weak” succubus’s eyelashes fluttered. Her deep eyes opened, and she glanced at Belin.

Belin: “…”

Before she could say a word, Pamela leaped from her arms with an air of utter revulsion, landing steadily on her feet. She scanned her new surroundings, showing no sign of being seriously injured or weak.

Damned demon! The Goddess of Light should grind them all to dust!

With Cenia away, it was easy for Belin to make Pamela’s life difficult. Demons relied on the dark element to survive and heal, but Belin not only refused to provide Pamela with any dark magic stones, forcing her to rely on her own natural recovery, but also placed a lock of light element on her door.

Guarding a demon, you see. Perfectly normal. Even Cenia herself would find no fault in it.

Her wounds having already healed at an unnatural speed, Pamela passed the time by walking in and out of her doorway, dancing through the dense web of incandescent light as if it were nothing. She had changed into another suit of leather armor—still form-fitting, but this one a fiery red—and wore the white Church robe loosely over it. She was a stark, jarring presence in the sacred and solemn environment of the cathedral.

When Belin returned, Pamela would be sitting in her room, robe properly fastened, grinning at Belin through the doorway with the unrepentant air of someone trying to seduce her.

But a steadfast believer in the Goddess would not fall for such tricks.

Belin stopped at her door, tilting her head up to speak with disgust. “Lady Cenia has already forgotten you. When we leave, I’ll be sending you to the Inquisition Army.”

Leave? A thought sparked in Pamela’s mind. Her journey from the Abyss to Catori had taken a long time; she was no longer up-to-date on the Abyss’s current movements.

Of course, what she said aloud was, “How could that be? No one can forget me, not even Lady Cenia. She will definitely come for me.”

The words sounded like the complaint of a spurned lover, but her tone was confident and proud, layering another coat of revulsion onto Belin’s opinion of her. “You—save those tricks you use on foolish nobles! This is the Church, a place under the watchful eye of the Goddess of Light!”

Pamela found bickering with Belin quite amusing. The handmaiden clearly belonged to the category of people who despised demons with every fiber of their being, yet when the great lords of the Church kept demon slaves, she could turn a blind eye. After all, a favored succubus like Pamela could sometimes even walk all over her master.

**

While walking all over Cenia was still a distant goal, the day she could walk all over Belin arrived in the blink of an eye.

Just as Pamela had predicted, Cenia could not have forgotten her. With her affairs in Catori concluded, Cenia was indeed preparing to depart ahead of schedule. Belin had been busy assisting her for the past two days, so when Cenia suddenly asked about Pamela, she was taken aback.

“She should be… fine? I placed a lock on her door. She can’t escape.”

Cenia’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. She wasn’t worried about Pamela escaping. Here in Catori, so far from the Abyss, clinging to her was the best choice for a weak succubus.

A response like Belin’s…

Cenia knew Belin hated demons. She was from Dilipinia, a nation on the border of the Abyss, and both her parents had died on the battlefield. In truth, almost every member of the Church who became a fanatical believer in the Goddess harbored a deep-seated hatred for demons.

She couldn’t fault Belin for it.

So when the two of them returned to the Saintess’s chambers, opened Pamela’s door, and passed through the threads of light element, they were met with a sight: the beautiful succubus was lying on her side in bed, the thin blanket tracing the lines of her exquisite figure. Her exposed, delicate skin was flushed crimson. Her very breath seemed to heat the air, creating a scene so feverish that a single glance was enough to make one’s own blood run hot.

Cenia and Belin both held their breath and took a step back in unison.

If this had been one of those pot-bellied, simple-minded nobles who kept succubi, he would have lost control long ago and lunged forward with bloodshot eyes. Fortunately, standing before the vulnerable succubus were two righteous clergywomen. They cautiously approached to observe the patient’s condition.

“She has a fever,” Cenia stated.

Belin was dumbfounded, her eyes scanning Pamela’s face for any sign of acting. How could it be such a coincidence? The succubus had been perfectly fine and energetic all this time, only to come down with a fever the very moment Lady Cenia came to see her, right when they were preparing to leave?

This devious demon!

The two priestesses stood before Pamela’s bed. One of them was the Saintess of the Church. Logically, as long as a person was still breathing, they should be able to save them. And yet, faced with a common fever, both of them were utterly helpless.

The light element used for healing was poison to demons. No one knew how to treat a demon’s illness.

For that matter, did demons even get sick?

They had only ever seen demons alive, injured, or dead…

On the small, narrow bed, Pamela turned over restlessly, letting out a soft whimper that was enough to melt the bones of anyone with weak willpower. She groggily opened her eyes, which were misty and unfocused. Her eyelashes were damp and distinct, dark as a raven’s feathers. The succubus who had mocked the world from the auction block and endured through the interrogation was now burning with a high fever, delirious from days of imprisonment without proper treatment. Because she had seemed so headstrong before, her current vulnerability was all the more captivating.

She seemed to see Cenia. Her lips parted, murmuring something unintelligible. Unable to hear, Cenia instinctively took two steps closer and bent down. A weak hand reached out from under the blanket, likely trying to grab her, but it merely brushed against the inside of her arm before falling limply beside the fabric of her gown.