Living Ornaments

When the Demon King first took control long ago, the very first magic-swordswoman to stand against him was Claudette, the realm's first princess...

"Hey, have you heard? It seems the first princess, Claudette, is making a complete fool of herself in front of the Demon King's castle."

Precisely because she was the pioneer of their resistance, she became the very first to be subjugated, and consequently, the first to experience total humiliation.

"Yeah, I heard she used to brag about being the strongest in the kingdom, but seeing her now... I guess that's what she gets."

Once defeated, she was the first to be stripped and forced onto her knees, begging for forgiveness before the gates.

"She just sits there kneeling without any clothes on, and she can't even stop wetting herself voluntarily."

Back then, the young knight princess could only endure it, swallowing her rage without covering her ears against every malicious word aimed at her bloodline, forced to hear the mocking voices of the crowd.

"It's a complete disgrace to the royal family to have the literal embodiment of a loser among their kin."

In that moment, the young knight princess gripped the magic sword hanging at her waist with all her strength, its blade trembling slightly as if echoing its master's burning fury.

(Every single one of them... When my sister worked so hard for this country, they worshipped her like a goddess. But the moment she lost, they treated her like trash. They disgust me!)

Recollecting that bitter past as she marched through the plaza—passing row upon row of kneeling magic-swordswomen uttering endless apologies—the young knight princess, unable to hide her simmering irritation, stepped into the castle's audience chamber.

"Welcome, my daughter... You understand the situation, don't you?"

Taking in the sight of all those naked bodies of every kind of woman lined up in postures of permanent apology, the princess, thoroughly disgusted by it all, remembered how years ago her father, the king, had sat deep within his throne as he gave her the mission to leave the capital and grow stronger.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Reviving that conversation, the young knight princess clearly remembered how in the words of the man who was supposed to be her father, there was not even the slightest trace of concern or paternal affection.

"At this rate, the morale of the entire kingdom will collapse, and no one will be capable of standing up to the Demon King, isn't that right? That's why you want me to go and try to kill the Demon King: to reignite the people's will."

In the monarch's voice, the young woman could only perceive a desperate anxiety over the collapse of his own power and absolute contempt toward the conqueror's existence, while the world fell further under the sway of shadows.

"Mind your words. But you are right. Right now, you are the only one in the entire country with the qualities of a magic-swordswoman who has not yet been subjugated. Furthermore, considering the fall and disgraceful betrayal of the hero's party, we can only count on you to complete the subjugation that Claudette failed to achieve."

Both the oppressive atmosphere of the room and the cold words of the king brought a violent sense of nausea to the princess.

"This is a royal order."

Hearing her "father" speak like that—the very man who had discarded her sister as a simple "failure" and who was now using her as an expendable pawn—was the exact moment something inside the young woman broke forever.

(I cannot forgive the Demon King for what he did to my sister...)

Advancing with deep resentment hidden behind a strict mask of dignity and justice, the young woman clenched her fist tightly against the leather armor that bound her generous bust.

(But this country, which turned its back on my sister and threw stones at her after she fell, is just as disgusting...!)

Within the royal line—which possessed the fastest learning speed among all those women who awakened the mysterious factor to become magic-swordswomen—the young knight princess was the one who held the most outstanding talent of her generation. That gift, in perfect combination with her magic, had shaped a unique ability of "Copy," with which she was capable of analyzing, deciphering, and instantly mimicking the techniques of any rival.

"...Understood. I will defeat the Demon King, free my sister... and rescue the magic-swordswomen imprisoned in the plaza."

Counting on such an ability, her true plan was not a simple blind attack, but to meticulously analyze the reasons why her sister had been defeated in order to find the flaw in the enemy and secure victory.

"But don't get the wrong idea."

However, after accepting the royal mission to subjugate the tyrant, the young woman held her father's gaze firmly before declaring her true stance:

"I am not going to fight for you, nor for this country."

Resolute, she turned around and left the audience chamber, letting the obedience and refined grace with which she had been raised before the arrival of the Demon King vanish completely.

"I am going to decapitate the Demon King solely to restore the pride of my sister Claudette and my master. That is all."

Within her, no trace of former royal grace remained; only the sharp, cold, and tenacious resolve of someone whose most cherished possessions had been stolen and burned away.

"...I'm so sorry. Please forgive me, Your Majesty, the Demon King...! Great Demon King...!"

"I'm sorry, I was rude... I am a foolish woman... Please forgive me...!"

Advancing through the cold cobblestone streets in the present, the young knight princess barely suppressed the urge to cover her ears, while the voices of those defeated women, lined up in endless rows, fed the fire of her determination more and more.

"?!"

And it was precisely then that she noticed her.

"Sister... It's me."

Among the chorus of distorted voices of those who were once legendary magic-swordswomen, the young woman identified the figure she had sought for so long. Ignoring all the other captives, she stopped dead in her tracks before a woman placed in a slightly elevated position.

"I have come for you."

At those words, the figure who had remained motionless, kneeling on the ground—Claudette, the first princess of the realm—suffered a violent shudder.

"You... No... don't come any closer... Please, don't look at me anymore...!"

Looking down, the young princess observed how the face of that legendary beauty was completely paralyzed by magic, as she stared blankly toward the castle's throne room, her eyes welling with tears that trembled in absolute despair.

"...I don't want you to see me like this... in such a pathetic state... ever again..."

Her voice, once firm and commanding, had vanished entirely; in its place remained only a raspy, torn, and submissive plea.

"...."

Without uttering another word, the young woman knelt gently beside her sister.

"I'm going to clean your body... 'Purify'."

She extended the palm of her hand, and a soft white light wrapped around Claudette's body and the cobblestones beneath them.

As a result, the dirt accumulated on her knees, the grime stuck to the palms of her hands pressed against the stone, and the mud caked on her forehead began to vanish instantly.

"Oh, damn it... I'm sorry, little sister... I'm so sorry... I'm thirty-one years old and I've forced my younger sister to do this... even cleaning up my own filth...!"

Even the waste that had escaped uncontrollably over her skin and the ground—due to the impossibility of holding it in after days of forced prostration—dissolved completely under the magical light...

"Kill me... Please, kill me right now...!"

Unfortunately, no matter how much magic restored a clean and flawless appearance, the humiliation embedded in Claudette's mind was a wound so deep that it proved impossible to erase.

"Don't move. It will all be over soon."

The young princess's hands trembled with contained rage, but her tone remained steady and calm.

"There's no point... you don't have to do this. Because I am... a sinner who must continue begging the Demon King for forgiveness forever. Even if you clean me now, as soon as you leave, I'll lose control again and get dirty once more... I'm less than a beast... I can't even control my own body..."

Since Claudette's fall and the consolidation of the conqueror's power, the voices in the capital labeling her a "disappointment" and a "disgrace to the royal family" had grown more ruthless with every passing day.

"Don't say that! Sister... you only lost one battle. They sent you to fight under impossible conditions, and even so..."

Every sob and every word of self-pity spilling from Claudette's lips pierced the young knight princess's heart like a sharpened blade.

"Haha... it's fine. It's the truth. They told me I was the strongest, and I even believed it myself... But before him, I was... nothing more than a fly. Look. Don't I look ridiculous? My chest gets in the way, and I can barely even rest my forehead on the ground... I feel so miserable..."

Heavy tears welled up in Claudette's eyes and fell in thick drops onto the cobblestones. Simultaneously, as her forehead remained pinned to the cold stone by the force of the spell, she was not even allowed to cry out loud; her sobs remained smothered against the dirt.

"...All the dirt is gone. You are still beautiful, older sister. So please, don't degrade yourself like that..."

The only thing the first princess could do was tense her flushed body and surrender herself completely into her younger sister's hands.

"Beautiful? In this state? That's ridiculous... Right now, my apology to the Demon King is being controlled by his magic. I can't even raise my head or free myself of my own free will... I'm just a loser..."

The will of the first princess of the realm had been utterly shattered by defeat.

"It's time to eat. Now, open your mouth."

Barely holding back the storm of emotions surging within her, the young knight princess brought out a piece of bread and a container with warm tea she had brought along, in a desperate attempt to comfort her sister.

"...I don't want to eat. If I eat, more waste will build up in my stomach, and you... Besides, swallowing anything in this state is so humiliating that my throat simply won't cooperate..."

Nothing seemed to work against the abyss in which she was plunged.

"Sister! If you don't eat, your body won't survive. Not even with the Demon King's magic! If your heart withered as well... Please, don't leave me alone!"

Only upon hearing that agonizing and desperate plea did Claudette weakly part her lips. She began to swallow the bread and tea with difficulty, bite by bite, under her sister's watchful gaze.

"Ahhh... uf..."

Being forced to remain kneeling and hunched over, Claudette nearly choked with every swallow. Her voluminous, firm breasts shook violently with her coughing fits, causing her face to contort in intense pain.

"Take your time... no rush."

The young princess gripped Claudette's mud-and-dust-stained hand tightly, looking her straight in the eyes.

"...Thank you... But I can't taste anything. Just being alive has become so heavy and painful... Look, pay attention to all the others kneeling around us... We are all like this: objects of mockery for monsters, forcibly kept alive by magic once a day so we don't die... We are no longer human. We are just living ornaments designed to display the Demon King's authority..."

In those eyes that had once inspired an entire kingdom, absolutely nothing was reflected anymore.

"No... that's not true..."

Claudette's hand had lost all the strength with which she used to wield a sword; instead, it felt cold, thin, and trembling to the touch.

"Yes, it is the truth. Ever since that day I was defeated, I feel as though half of my heart has died. The moment the Demon King fought seriously, my body automatically adopted this posture of submission... In that instant, something inside me shattered with a loud crack... Now... I feel more like myself when I stare at the ground like this, forming words of apology in my mind..."

Sick of listening to such self-shattering words, the young woman stood up abruptly. Faint tears traced her cheeks, and her voice broke completely as she couldn't bear to see her older sister's deplorable psychological state.

"Don't say such sad things...! Sister, I swear to you... definitely... someday...!"

Watching the entire scene with morbid amusement from the fortress throne, the only one laughing...

"Ahahahaha... This is without a doubt the absolute best!"

...was the Demon King.