Wandering alone in the ruined castle, Roselia marched through the halls holding a flickering candle. Illuminating her path, the candle drove away the shadows as she mulled over her thoughts. Concern resting heavily on her face, she tried not to let her mind race too much.
'Something feels off…' She could sense it crawling up her skin, the uncertainty and doubt plaguing the walls of the decrepit castle. Taking a look through a broken window, she let her fingers glide across the glass shards barely held in by the frame. As blood began to trail down her arm, she clutched the glass harder until it shattered into her palm.
"Burn," She commanded, and the glass boiled until it was charred to ash.
Letting the ashes slip through her fingers, she glanced up at the full moon overseeing her misery.
"Just a century more, and all of this will end," She mumbled as though speaking to the night itself.
Turning around she resumed her walk. Getting to the spiraling stairs she climbed up them as the sound of her heels echoed throughout the castle. Having no intention to be seen she made sure no one saw her getting off on the floor with the dragon-crested door. It had been a while since she'd last gone in, and the very image of disappointment on her brother's face put her in a despairing mood.
"I'm sorry I couldn't visit sooner," Mumbling to herself, she placed her hand on the dragon crest.
Shutting her eyes, a stream of warmth traveled from her palm to the crest made of ice. In a spell of time, the whole crest turned into vapor.
"Your big sister is here, and I'm sorry it's been a while…little brother," wearing a weak yet loving smile, Roselia pushed forward.
***
Covered in blood and guts, Haruki held the little girl's hand while heading toward Moriyana's temporary base. Following behind him were the same men he'd seen conversing in the alley. However, with their guts spilling out of their stomachs and their eyes punctured in, they staggered behind Haruki like mindless zombies. Every now and then, he had to force them to walk faster by pulling on their collar made from their own ragged clothes.
'I hope they don't die before Moriyana can turn them into slaves.' He thought, looking back up on the stone-paved path.
"Mister, where are we going?" The little girl asked, trying to lower the blindfold.
Grabbing her arm, Haruki gently made her put it down again. After rushing back towards the alley, the curse of the tyrant's heart purged any sympathy he could've had for these monstrous men selling off this young lady, but that wasn't the only thing that he had lost from that moment.
'I can't remember what happened, but I need to get this girl somewhere safer.' Marching forward a while longer, Moriyana's hosting tent finally came into view. Haruki knew that taking the girl to Moriyana wasn't the best choice, but since he wanted to put her in charge of all criminal activity in the duchy, she was the only one who could make sure no children were further involved in any criminal activity.
"What's your name?" He asked, his eyes vigilantly spying for any pedestrians. Luckily, it was quite late for any regular person to be wandering around the streets.
"R-Riana!" The little girl squealed, uncertain about her fate going forward.
"I'm giving you a master Riana, one who'll keep you safe, but…" As if a cold dead hand had taken a hold of his heart, Haruki couldn't help but doubt the morality of his choice.
'I've just killed two men, and I'm about to offer a child to a slave trader. Should I really trust my judgment anymore?' At last, he came to realize the kind of path he had chosen. It was a path spilling with guts, screams, and corruption, something he could've never imagined himself doing in his past life.
'Tyrant's heart!' Washing the doubts out of his mind, the curse gave him some clarity.
"I'm giving you a master, Riana, and you have to be a tyrant, that's the only way to avoid yours and the suffering of your loved ones." Unaware of what Haruki meant by those words, the girl innocently nodded.
Standing by the curtained entrance to Moriyana's office, Haruki breathed a curse before letting out a tired sigh. Moving the curtain to the side, he stepped right in. Glancing around inside the tent, he was surprised by the dainty appearance of the place. Thinking back on the extravagant carriage she had, he was completely left baffled by the lack of any luxury. As his wandering eyes glanced over a study table, Haruki noticed a small bat laying atop a mountain of documents.
'Is that a pet?' Despite knowing Moriyana for a while now, he couldn't rule out that possibility.
"Who's there?" Moriyana's familiar voice called from the conjoined room in the expansive tent.
In the time she took to pass from the other room to her office, Haruki noticed a file of countless cages lined up behind her.
"Did the inns kick you out?" Haruki asked, trying to lighten his own mood.
"Oh…it's you," tilting her head, she glanced over Haruki's shoulder at the near-dead men standing behind him. "And it seems you've brought some guests."
"Gifts," He corrected, pulling hard on their leashes he forced them to move forward, "You can sell them as slaves."
Clamping her hands, her ears instantly perked up at the news. Having a bright smile plastered all over her face, she happily grabbed onto their collars.
"What about the girl?" Looking down at her she asked.
Shifting his gaze to the other room, he motioned her to take the men away first. Without asking any questions, Moriyana shrugged it off and took the men into the backroom.
"Here," Haruki mumbled, taking the blindfold off Riana.
After being blindfolded for so long, it took her a moment to recover her vision. And once she could properly see again, she quickly glanced up at Haruki. In front of the kid's watchful eyes, he turned into Snow and then into his demonic form.
"I'm sorry again, but you're gonna be a slave peddler from this day forward," With an aching heart, Haruki playfully ruffled through her hair.
Contrary to what he had expected, the girl wasn't scared by his transformations, instead, she was greatly infatuated as if it was a cool trick by a magician.
"T-Thank you, mister!" Hugging the devil who had saved her from a life of misery, tears of joy flowed down her cheeks. "I'll do my best for you!"
Before Haruki's eyes could even form tears, Moriyana came back into the room, disrupting the bitter-sweet moment.