The pause made Akane's fur bristle.

"My horns and my tail came out," Rita sighed. "At the time, keeping them hidden actually took a bit of concentration, and seeing that knife blessed by the church… I needed to be completely focused on that blade. Though in the end, there was no need to," The Succubus chuckled. "She stabbed her husband in the chest. Just like that, no hesitation."

Both listeners blinked, their eyes widening.

"The memory of it still makes me shiver. I thought I might seriously get injured, yet it turned out that I wasn't the one she was mad at, not at all."

Her hand moved to her collarbone, tracing the memory.

"I couldn't help but laugh out loud when it happened."

Syl gulped audibly. "S-she didn't try to stab you?"

Rita's smirk widened, then melted into something more complicated. "I thought she would, but no. She came closer after pulling the knife out of her husband's chest. I was laughing so loudly, so uncontrollably… I'm not even sure I would have been able to protect myself had she attacked me. She got closer and," Rita raised her hand, lightly pressing her own cheek as if remembering the touch. "She put her hand right here. On my face. On my cheek." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "'You look just like your mother,' she said."

Akane's tail stiffened. Syl felt a knot in her stomach.

Rita's smile trembled, and she chuckled. "It was… Such a strange thing. The laughter that had momentarily ceased came back even stronger. She had just murdered her husband. His body was still bleeding beside us… And she said that! How unbelievable is she? Hahaha!"

Her laughter shook the two listeners.

"And then…" Rita's voice softened again, almost nostalgic. "She chuckled. Just a small laugh. It was utterly ridiculous. We were both laughing while her husband was bleeding out."

Silence.

Syl's eyes darted between Rita and Akane, unsure if she should speak. Akane's lips parted, but no sound came out.

"What did you do to her?" The female Hobgoblin finally managed to ask.

"Nothing." Rita leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees, eyes distant. "I didn't kill her," she answered.

Both raised an eyebrow.

"I wanted to. At first, I wanted to. But then… I don't know."

Akane frowned slightly. "You pitied her? Felt sorry for her?"

"I wouldn't say that, no." Rita shook her head. "It wasn't pity. More like… Some kind of kinship." The Succubus's gaze fell to her hand, grazing the grass below.. "I left her there. Sitting on the floor beside his body. She didn't even look at me when I went."

"And…" Syl's voice came out small. "What happened to her?"

"Nothing." Rita's silver eyes glimmered faintly. "The Inquisitors didn't arrive until two days later. Two whole days. Two nights. The Inquisitors were only notified two days later. I guess she waited."

Akane's brows furrowed. "Waited?"

"Yes," Rita whispered. "Waited for me to get far away, maybe."

Syl swallowed. "You really think so?"

"Who knows?" Rita shrugged, smiling faintly. "Why else would she wait two full days?"

The silence was heavy, and only the Succubus could break it.

"I think she realized that I wasn't her enemy, that I wasn't the one she hated," Rita whispered. "She might have even grown to regret cursing the woman who gave birth to me."

"Your mother, you mean?" Syl raised an eyebrow. "As far as I can tell, you're the one who was cursed, no?"

"Well," Rita shrugged. "She's dead, and I'm alive. Who was really cursed? In the first place, I don't think of her as my mother."

"I guess you wouldn't," Akane muttered, gaze to the ground. "You haven't known her after all."

"Yeah." The Succubus nodded, her threads dangling lazily. "I do wonder though, which one of these women is my mother."

The two listened quietly.

"Is it the one that gave birth to me? Or is it the one that kept me alive and out of the Inquisitors' grasp? Or is it neither of them? Is it the one that made me what I am today, the one that made me a Demon?" Rita whispered. "Maybe it's none of these. Maybe it's the sorcerer employed to make and lay the curse…"

After a moment, the Demoness's gaze suddenly moved to fall on Akane.

"In that moment, when she had her hand on my cheeks, while I was in my full Demon Form, when I was… Completely myself, she still thought I looked like my so-called mother. In that moment, it felt like… She could really see me. Like she could see me entirely for everything that I was." Rita explained. "Ever since that day, I've been able to use my threads much more precisely, and much more easily." The Succubus let out a sigh and pushed herself up to stand. "It's likely something like that that you need." She said while dusting herself off. "Sometimes, the way to accept yourself fully is for another to accept you fully."

"Where are you going?" Syl asked suddenly.

"The cuffs are off, for now at least," Rita grinned. "I'll exercise my temporary freedom and go for a walk."

The two stared for a bit, pursing their lips.

"Don't go too far." Akane muttered.

"Yes, ma'am." Rita chuckled, and started walking away.

Silent seconds passed, and the Demoness was out of view.

"Twisted stuff, huh?" Syl sighed. "I guess… As you would expect from Demons."

The female Hobgoblin turned to glance at the silent Akane.

"She said that her father was kissing her, thinking that Rita was her mother."

"Yeah…" Syl muttered.

"After the wife cried, Rita freed her." Akane whispered. "I wonder how sad and disappointed she might have felt, thinking if only for a moment that her father had recognized her…"

"You think she's lying, huh?" Syl stretched her arms. "That Rita didn't free the noblewoman because she wanted more tears, but that she freed her to get her father off of her?"

"The way she described it…" The Fox added. "It's almost like she was frozen and unable to react… Unable to push him off…"

Syl stared at Akane for a moment, before raising her gaze upwards.

"I guess…" The female Hobgoblin started. "She might have made herself sound more twisted and wicked than she really is… Or was."

Meanwhile, the Succubus was seated on a tree branch she had climbed on with her arms wrapped around her folded knees.

'Maybe I shouldn't have shared so much…' She thought as her threads danced and, with them, the puppet of grass below.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.