“So this is how you feel, my daughter… I see everything clearly now.”
With those ominous words, he kicked the blanket off of himself and lunged at his child.
Gilbert grabbed her hand which held the blade and squeezed hard, forcing the weak girl to drop the knife while yelping in pain.
He didn’t let go of her hand even after she lost the weapon, instead choosing to use his hold as an anchor so that the girl wouldn’t fly across the room from the punches that followed.
This time, there was no Vernice who could offer her body as protection the young Iris could hide behind. She was alone, faced by a cruel monster.
“Stop… My love. Come, use my body as you see fit.” The peasant girl who was Gilbert’s current ‘flavor of the month’ kidnapped prisoner was awoken from her nightmarish slumber and swiftly understood the situation. Even in such dire circumstances, her instincts as a normal, kind human being overtook logic and self-preservation, and decided to sacrifice her safety for that of a small child’s. She was at least an adult, so she could surely take his anger much better than such a fragile existence could.
Gilbert paused Iris’ beating momentarily as he turned his head to look back at the woman. “You… You’re all looking at me like I’m a monster! I’m tired of this! My daughter wants to kill me, my late wife hated my guts, and all my lovers want to see me drop dead. Stop smiling at me gently already, I can see the coldness in your eyes! I’ve had enough!” With that, he reached for the knife and plunged it deep into the young farmer girl’s stomach.
“Argh… Wait, I’m sorry! Please forgive me!” She begged, to no avail.
“No! Curse you and curse this horrible world!” Gilbert shouted as he delivered stab after stab into the defenseless woman’s bare body.
Iris watched in sheer terror for a few seconds before her sharp instincts took over as she turned around and rushed for the door.
Her little legs were not at all swift enough, though. Before she could even reach the doorknob, Gilbert threw himself onto her and wrestled Iris onto the ground.
She did her utmost to resist but her efforts resulted in only more injuries, and her meager stamina quickly ran out. Her limbs trembled from the extreme exertion she forced upon them, and soon enough, she lay on the ground motionlessly. Iris couldn’t do much beyond accepting defeat.
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
“Sir! Is everything alright? Your daughter said she encountered an assailant but we found no one in her room. Do you need assistance?”
Gilbert panted heavily from the effort he exerted to murder the defenseless woman and wrestle his child into submission. “All is good. It was my child. Her mother’s loss corrupted her mind, she stabbed Monica multiple times before she turned the blade on her own father!”
“What?! Sir, we’re coming in.”
…
Within a few minutes, Iris found herself locked up in the mansion’s holding cell in its basement.
She did her best to escape through the small gaps between the iron bars, but it was all to no avail.
Once it was evident that she had no power to escape, she huddled up in the corner of the cell. She hugged her knees close to her chest and finally allowed herself to cry. What she just saw was way too much for her young mind to handle.
Her father was officially a crazed monster who killed an innocent woman in cold blood and beat his daughter up. Furthermore, she was fervently wracking her little brain in an attempt to understand what saved his life from her attack. Although she had no profound knowledge of magic and artifacts, she could make an educated guess that a supernatural effect protected him.
Iris’ desperation grew into pure hyperventilation as she realized that she had no way to exact revenge on him. Her brother and mother would not see justice served from the side of the Goddess.
*Sniffle* *Sniffle* *Sniffle* Big tears traveled down her tender cheeks as she rocked herself back and forth in an attempt to cope with her new reality.
Minutes turned into hours and it swiftly became evident that no one was going to let her out of this cell anytime soon. Although she didn’t want to fall asleep, her undeveloped body simply didn’t have enough energy left in the tank to remain awake, thus the young child drifted off to dreamland – which in her case meant replaying her nightmarish memories on repeat.
…
The door to the basement creaked as it opened, alerting the sleeping Iris to the presence of a newcomer.
She glanced up only to see the form of the man she hated more than anything enter.
He grabbed a chair from nearby and placed it in front of her cell, then comfortably sat down on it. He examined Iris for a good bit. The girl defiantly returned his glance with a spiteful stare of her own.
“Happy fourth birthday, my child.” Gilbert said in a strangely lighthearted tone which was accompanied by a smile. “I would like to ask if you were ready to make up with me, but… Your eyes tell me all that I need to know.”
Iris didn’t respond vocally, though she never ceased her death staring.
“It pains me that our relationship was strained to this degree, but I’m your father. You’re my last living family member, so we have to stick together. Be each other’s strongest pillars of support, yet here we are… I’m ready to forgive you, but the same can’t be said for you. Therefore, you leave me no choice, daughter. I will have to educate you all over again. I will teach you respect, love, and family values. I won’t stop until you smile at me cheerily upon seeing my visage. I want to see pure, unadulterated adoration toward my person in your eyes, nothing else. I’m your father and you will love me.”
“You wish!” Iris spat hatefully, eliciting a disappointed sigh from Gilbert.
“Sigh… What will I do with you? What can I even do to make you understand? Oh, I know. I will beat my lessons into you. It worked with my late Vernice. After a single firm beating, she never spoke up against me ever again. She accepted her fate as a purchasable hole and did her duty she held toward me until her final breath. Women are fickle creatures like that. A strong exterior that crumbles the moment they feel threatened.”
… I see how it is. Throughout the past few years, I learned from Iris what devastating emotional loss feels like, and now, it was time for me to build up damage resistance. This is what you wanted, right, Soul Records?
… fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓
[AN: Next two chapters have elements of torture. Proceed with caution. If the cruelty is too much in this arc for you, I recommended skipping these two chapters, or even outright going to the end of the iris arc at chapter 367. I firmly believe that the following chapters turned out great for what they are, but I understand if the darkness of this arc is too much to bear for some readers, and there’s no shame in that, none at all.]