Delicious Sacrifice - Chapter 9

Delicious Sacrifice - Chapter 9

“This is my name.” 

“What is it?” 

Only then did she realize that the monster and herself hadn’t even exchanged names yet. 

“Miela…….” 

“Miela. Miela. Miela.” 

The monster muttered Miela’s name as if he was memorizing it. He even wrote Miela’s name over and over again with charcoal until it filled up the piece of paper. She had no idea that the letters Jack had taught her to pass the time would be so useful. 

“Excuse me……. What’s your name, Mr. Monster?” 

The monster, who had been filling up a whole page with Miela’s name, tilted his head. 

“I’m monster?” 

“Huh? A monster…….” 

No matter how much of a monster you are, isn’t it a bit odd to call yourself a monster? Miela felt a confusion of values. How could that be okay……? Was it okay for a monster? Because he was a monster? 

“A long time ago, I was hungry and went out to find something to eat……. That’s when I met someone. He looked at me and said, Monster! Monster! That’s how I knew. I’m a monster.” 

That’s not it…… 

Miela felt hurt for no reason. She didn’t know what he had done in front of those people, but how could such a beautiful and innocent being be called a monster? 

“No, that’s a word given to something powerful and scary to people.” 

“That’s me.” 

“No, any other powerful person or thing who is scary to people is also a monster.” 

“I am not the only monster?” 

“Uh… What if there are other people similar to you? I mean, you must have a special name that only Mr. Monster knows to go by.” 

“I don’t know.” 

A being without even a name. It was too pitiful. 

At least she had a mother who had moved to Duke Village with her, and even though she passed away before she was ten, she still gave her the pretty name of Miela. That meant that monsters didn’t even have mothers like that.

The villagers’ attitudes changed compared to to before and after her mother passed away. Just like before, they would greet her and give her something to do to earn some money. However, their gazes had changed. Before, they would at least give her a warm look and smile back at her, or give her a potato in addition to her wages, but none of that had happened. 

That was what it meant to not have a mother. That kindness returned as Miela gradually became old enough to become a mother. The only reason she could endure that time was because she had the memories of her mother. 

The conviction that one was a loved child was that important. The monster didn’t seem to lack confidence or be lonely, but Miela couldn’t stand the fact that he didn’t have a name. Even though she didn’t have to do it, she wanted to think of the coolest name she could think of. 

Miela struggled to pull out the few names she had in her head. For now, she picked the coolest sounding name she had heard from people while talking. 

“Hmm… Benedict?” 

“Is it something you eat?” 

That shouldn’t be the first impression. Miela shook her head firmly. 

“Robert? Oscar? Lawrence? David?” 

Outside the village, those were the names of famous and great people, but for some reason, they didn’t suit the monster. The monster himself seemed to have no particular interest, just staring blankly with dry eyes. 

“Hmm, I can’t think of any more names…….” 

Miela, lost in agony as she stared blankly at the monster’s face, felt a random word inside her mouth as if receiving a revelation. 

The feeling that came to mind when she saw those green eyes as lush as the forest. She wanted a name for that. 

“…… si, so, sa, se, se…… , seri…… an?” 

“Serian?” 

The monster’s green eyes briefly hid behind his blinking eyelids before shining brightly again. The sunlight that had been hidden by the clouds sparkled like the leaves of a tree in the middle of the day. 

“How about Serian? Serian. I think it’s pretty.”

Even though she had made it up herself, she liked it so much that Miela rolled the words over and over in her mouth. Serian, Serian. 

“Serian. My name is…… Serian now?” 

“Yes, just like I am a human, and my name is Miela.” 

“I am a monster, named Serian.” 

Once the word monster began to bother her, the idea of ​​monsters kept bothering her. 

“Instead of a monster, you could be a god, or the master of the forest, or something like that.” 

“Is it different?” 

“To me.” 

“Okay. Then from now on, I am Serian, the master of the forest.” 

The nameless monster had become Serian, the master of the forest. Miela felt excited. 

It was wonderful. It felt like the wonderful lords and princes that her mother used to tell her before bed. 

When you thought about it, it didn’t not make sense? 

At least in terms of appearance, he looked like the hero of an old story. Even his hair, fluttering like a mane, had a shiny and beautiful texture if you looked closely, and he had a body that would look great in any clothes. And nothing more needed to be added about his face? 

“Sir Serian! Let’s dress up like the real master of the forest!” 

Last time, when she dressed him up by rummaging through the clothes piled up on the floor, he was impressively cool. She couldn’t even imagine how cool he would look if she dressed him up properly. 

“Where are the coolest, most gorgeous, and most shiny clothes in this castle?” 

* * * (read on pink-grapes.blogspot.com) 

If the building where Miela and the monster usually stayed was like a freshly baked baguette, then the building where the bookstore was located was like a 10-tiered luxury cake. She never seen one, but if she imagined it, it was like that. 

Every room she opened was dusty, but it was gorgeous enough to make her eyes spin. Of all the items stuffed tightly into each drawer, not a single one looked cheap. 

The closet was the best. 

It wasn’t a closet, it was a ‘closet’. Every drawer that filled all four walls was filled with clothes made of such fine fabric that it was slippery to the touch, with jewels hanging from them. 

In the middle of the closet room, there was a men’s and women’s formal attire that was on a different level from the other clothes. It was similar to what Susan had worn when she got married two years ago. At that time, Susan’s husband Dane wore a coat that had been handed down from his father’s father along with his usual shirt and pants, which he said was a precious garment that he only wore for ceremonies. 

The men’s clothes looked similar to that coat. However, the ones here were more splendid and luxurious to even dare to compare. 

“This……, can I try it on?” 

Miela’s voice trembled slightly. She was scared because it felt like something out of this world she could not dare approach. It felt like this really was the castle where the master of the forest lived? She wouldn’t get in trouble for touching the master of the forest’s belongings, right? 

“Yes.” 

The monster answered calmly as if it were his own. Miela’s tension also eased at the attitude of the true master. Yes, there was someone who would take responsibility for it. 

Miela was excited and took off her clothes. 

This outfit was a proper full-length outfit, so even men’s clothing wasn’t simple. They struggled until the sun went down, putting it on like this, like that, and made a big fuss before finally creating a proper look. 

The clothes previously offered as offerings had awkwardly short arms and legs, but surprisingly, this outfit fit perfectly in every aspect, as if it had been sewn on. 

She had him sit in front of the mirror and combed each strand of his hair carefully with a fine comb and tied it with a ribbon, completing a look that would make even a nobleman from the capital, or a prince, believe it. 

“Everyone would believe it if I said you were the master of the forest…….” 

Miela stood next to the monster and looked into the mirror with a blissful expression. She looked like a princess. She braided her hair with a decorative string studded with pearls, wore a lace choker around her neck, and held a large fan made of feathers of some bird. 

Even the monster’s eyes thought Miela was beautiful. His hands pulled Miela’s waist tightly and hugged her. 

Naturally, their bodies came together and the monster’s lips touched her ear. 

“What good is it to believe that I am the master of the forest?” 

Miela laughed out loud, shrugging her shoulders in ticklishness. Now, rather than fearing that the monster’s lips might eat her if they came near, the pleasures that they would give her came to mind first. 

“They won’t curse you or be afraid of you as a monster, and this castle will be managed cleanly with many people coming and going? And wouldn’t we be able to invite lords and princes from other regions and hold a ball?” 

Miela’s imagination, which was completely ignorant of the situation outside the village, was like a fairy tale told to a child. However, to Miela, it was the most beautiful and romantic imagination possible. 

The monster’s lips touched her cheeks that were excited just by thinking about it. When they were dyed such a pretty color, his lips naturally went there. Just as pale meat becomes tastier when cooked on fire, Miela also became a more delicious sacrifice when she turned red. 

“What is a ball?” 

“A ball, I’ve only heard about it. Princesses and princes dressed in these wonderful clothes gather in a magnificent hall and eat, drink, and dance all night long. Musicians play music all night long. They play music with not just one instrument, but fifty or a hundred different instruments, and the sounds can be heard far outside the castle. I guess you will spin around and dance along to the music” 

“How do you dance?” 

“Um……” 

Even in the village, there were dances whenever something good happened. There were dances where you danced around a fire and stepped in sync, and there were also dances where you held hands and shaked them around. But dancing in such an elegant place wouldn’t be like that. 

Suddenly, she remembered a pretty decorative box that the general store peddler had in his sack. It was called a music box. When you wind up the spring next to the box, the princess and prince dolls held hands and danced around and around. He said that it was a request from another village and that he had to take it, so he only allowed her to see it while he was in the village. 

How pretty it was. So pretty that she couldn’t even ask for it. 

“Maybe like this? Put your hand around my waist, like this……” 

The monster obediently followed Miela’s orders. It was awkward for both of them because it was their first time doing this. Without a song, they just moved their bodies awkwardly, relying on their feelings. 

“If you take one step forward, I’ll take one step back. Oh, right? Oh, is this it?” 

The monster was quick to learn anything. After moving a few times according to Miela’s hand, he quickly figured out how to move Miela and how to turn her, and he began to form a dance-like form. 

Now, in reverse, Miela began to flutter like a flower petal, following the monster’s movements. She just followed the lead, but her body spun around on its own. 

When her legs faltered from the force of the rotation, the monster grabbed her waist with both hands and lifted her up. He spun around while holding her.  The sunlight streaming in through the long window was as splendid as the lights of a ballroom. 

“Wow!” 

She felt like a doll on a music box. 

The monster smiled brightly as he faced Miela, who was screaming in excitement and bursting into laughter. He wasn’t even aware that he was laughing. He just moved naturally, following its body. 

Miela was momentarily stunned when she saw the monster’s smiling face. It seemed that she was also moving instinctively toward the monster. 

It didn’t take a second for her to lower her arms that had been reaching for the sky, and cupped the monster’s cheeks and kissed his lips. 

The monster’s spinning feet stopped. With a thud, the fluttering hem of the dress shot up high. The lips of the two people, entangled like the floral beads on the dress that had swelled like wind-blown flower petals, didn’t part for a while.

[Previous Chapter] [TOC] [Next Chapter]