The Hero Became a Succubus! - Chapter 172

Alt link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DXGy_6kwNWezMyuBMHYmXdajLh6tdXyj8az1yTbiiO8/edit?usp=share_link

Chapter 172

Meanwhile, in Radevic…

After bidding Queen Kanae goodbye, Gretchen Redbaron returned to the manor with the succubus children, Kanade and Suvee. Although there were many servants and maids about, some succubi and others not, they all seemed a little too carefree about their work. They took every opportunity to coddle and play with the queen's children, neglecting the chores for them instead.

All the while, Gretchen followed the two five year old demons closely and quietly from behind as their guardian. Two maids had stopped dusting the bust of Arenade Brightwind to play with the children.

"There, there! Can you catch me? Can you?" A mangy beastman maid swished her tail side to side as Suvee lunged to grab it, but she missed every time.

Suvee was a tarnished elf, daughter of Queen Kanae Toyomi and a tarnished elven man from a backwater countryside dwelling of more tarnished. The girl was an excitable one, almost too energetic for her own good. Gretchen wasn't very fond of all that energy. It left her exhausted.

On the other hand, she much preferred Kanade, the queen and queen-regent's high elven daughter. A girl of few words, regal countenance, and all the features that royalty should possess. Kanae watched Suvee play with the gaze of a hawk, never once taking eyes off her little sister.

"Awww, you're going too fast. Slow down a little," another maid, this one a rabid human lass, whispered to her coworker.

And the beastman maid did. Her tail flicked at a gentle pace. Suvee bent her knees, waiting for the right moment to strike. She lunged. The maid let her catch it. However, she crashed into a pedestal with the bust of the queen-regent. The statue teetered. Both maids gasped.

Kanade saw it next and moved to push Suvee out of the way, but Gretchen was faster.

"Holy Armament: Kite Shield!" A golden shield manifested in Gretchen's left hand. She guarded Suvee, letting the heavy bust roll to the ground and broke into many pieces.

"We're so sorry! Terribly sorry!" Both maids bowed repeatedly.

"Get this cleaned up," Gretchen growled.

"R-Right away!" The two of them rushed down the corridor to find a broom.

Kanade pushed the shield out of the way to hold Suvee, who was on the verge of tears. She rubbed her back, patted her head, and held her until the tarnished elf was able to stand on her own again. This was a usual occurrence. Not the falling objects, but Gretchen had noticed that Kanade doted on Suvee a lot.

Even now, Kanade held Suvee's hand tightly and pulled her to the living room. Naturally, Gretchen followed. The high elven girl glanced over her shoulder. Their gazes met. Her demeanor oozed with pretentiousness rather than gratitude.

Gretchen sighed. At least in the living room, they wouldn't be up to no good. The two chased each other around with toy swords, presumably from that wretched necromancer. She stared into her empty hands. There was a time she wouldn't have acted at all to save the tarnished child. Or any, for that matter.

One of the mansion guards entered the living room looking for Gretchen.

"I was looking all over for you… I know Queen Kanae tasked you to look after her children, so we thought you should be informed. There were unsavory folks staring at the mansion. When A few of us went to confront them, they vanished into the crowds," the guard said.

"Then take care of it posthaste. Isn't that your job?" Gretchen glared down at the lowly common elf, whose race she found repulsive to call cousin.

"Geh. You… You're really full of it despite not being archbishop anymore. Queen Kanae enthralled you, so I can do this and there's nothing you can do about it." He cupped a handful of Gretchen's breasts.

The guard was right, and Gretchen could do little other than to glare spitefully.

Suddenly, the elf tensed up. He took his hands off her and looked spooked. Gretchen wasn't sure what happened until she saw Kanade, staring at the guard with glowing eyes. He left the room, and they went right back to playing.

Maybe this was her way of repaying the favor.

At 37 years old, Gretchen Redbaron had achieved what many high elves couldn't do. She had become Archbishop of Aidenhall. She had been on the path of Deification. She was the envy of countless in the Empire of Ortesia. That was all taken away from her. Now she was a glorified babysitter, a thrall to the very one who brought her to ruin, and a regular sex slave to all manner of livestock. Ortesia had all but abandoned her. She still felt the burn of the branding iron on her right cheek and the piercings on her nipples.

"Draw your sword!" Suvee pointed her wooden weapon at Gretchen. "Want to play together? It's more fun with more people!"

"I'm quite alright. Thank you." Gretchen politely declined.

"Boo… I want to see you do that kachiiing magic again! The one that made a golden shield." She climbed onto the couch to pinch Gretchen's cheek.

Gretchen gagged internally from being touched by a half-succubus and half-tarnished.

Immediately, Kanade pulled Suvee away and shot Gretchen a dirty look.

"Stay away from her, Suvee. She's a bad guy," Kanade said.

"But she saved me earlier. She can't be that bad, right?" Suvee stared up at Gretchen with kind and innocent eyes.

"I…" Gretchen swallowed the lump in her throat, compelled by the enthrallment to tell the truth. "Fought your mothers half a year ago. The only reason I'm watching over you is because Queen Kanae ordered me to."

Suvee drew a sharp breath. The kindness in her eyes was replaced with hesitation, and she let Kanade take her away from the living room to play elsewhere.

"What am I doing?" she asked quietly into her hand.

In the back of Gretchen's mind, echoes of the past came rushing to the forefront of her thoughts.

High elves are the pinnacle of creation. All else are but vermin beneath our feet.

We are the Supreme One's gilded children, so you must act like one.

But Gretchen, your hair isn't gold like ours. Maybe you're not a high elf after all!

Prove yourself to the empire. Go to the land of vermins and become the Grand Eye.

Big juicy languisteed di—

Gretchen pinched the bridge of her nose and shook the intrusive thoughts away. As of late, they had been often mixed in with depraved visions thanks to the accused enthrallment. Sometimes, she thanked them. They masked an unwanted past of impossible expectations.

When she looked up, neither Suvee nor Kanade were anywhere to be seen. She jumped to her feet in a panic. Fearful that they had disappeared, Gretchen raced through the manor until she came across a servant.

"Where are the children?" Gretchen asked, picking up the human servant by the collar of his tunic.

"I-I saw them pass by a minute ago! Maybe the pantry?" he stammered.

"If they are not there, I will smite you into the ground." She put him down and hurried down the corridor.

A cook and his assistant were stirring a giant pot in the kitchen when Gretchen barged in. They jumped with a start. To be so easily terrified, how pathetic.

"You're looking for Kanade and Suvee? They went out back after stealing some cookies and artichoke!" the head cook exclaimed.

"Cookies and artichoke? Is this a joke?" Gretchen narrowed her eyes at two.

They pointed at the side door that was left ajar. It led around to the back of the mansion. Gretchen emerged to the beaming sun and cool winds. She followed the cobblestone path. A fork in the road led to the front and the other to the back. Praying that they stayed within the confines of the mansion, Gretchen followed the path into the backyard and sighed in relief to find the children there.

Suvee was riding on the Vantaean thoroughbred, whom she had named Avon, while Kanade fed the foal an artichoke. The children had cookie crumbs all over their mouths.

"Please, don't run off next time without informing me." Gretchen made herself known on the way up to them.

"We don't need you to watch over us, isn't that right?" Kanade turned to Suvee.

"Y-Yeah!" Although not entirely convinced, Suvee lifted her toy sword in Gretchen's direction again as if she were a monster.

"I understand you're both quite capable, seeing as you're succubi. However, the queen tasked me with your protection. I intend to do just that," she said.

Kanade and Suvee traded glances. Without warning, they took off deeper into the maze of a backyard that was riddled with tall hedges, thick vegetation, and looming trees. Gretchen cursed under her breath and chased after them. They were deft little insects, especially on that thoroughbred Vantaean.

"Holy Armament: Angelic Wings!" Gretchen launched into the sky to search for them from above.

"Hey, no fair!" Suvee shouted.

As though taking that as fair game, they spread their wings and flew as well. Together, the three soared over and around the mansion. All the while, Suvee giggled playfully and kept throwing looks back to make sure their game of chase was still going.

Then a cookie smacked Gretchen in the face.

"Why you…" Gretchen launched high and proceeded to nosedive for them. She caught them both in each of her arms, holding them like sacks of potatoes. Wriggling ones at that. "Now will you please—mmph?"

Suvee shoved a cookie into Gretchen's mouth. Gooey chocolate chips filled her taste buds. She quickly chewed and swallowed.

"Have you two had your fun yet?" Gretchen heaved a labored sigh.

But Suvee was laughing too much to offer an answer. Hearing her infectious laughter, for some reason, almost made Gretchen smile. On the other hand, Kanade curiously tilted her head.

"How about this— you take us into the city for today, and we'll behave until mom comes home," Kanade bargained.

Suvee gasped.

"Good idea, Kanade!" her little sister replied eagerly. "Mom says to stay indoors, but I want to see what Ra… Radeevac is like!"

"Radevic," Gretchen corrected her. "And my answer is no. It's dangerous to bring you outside. There are people lurking around that might do you harm to get back at the queen."

"Like you?" Kanade asked.

This succubus child was much more perceptive for her age than Gretchen gave her credit for. She might one day become an even greater threat than Queen Kanae.

"I'm firmly under your mother's control. I will not let harm come to either of you," Gretchen assured them.

"What if you weren't?" Suvee timidly gazed up at her.

"I would… I'm unsure," she answered honestly.

What would I do?

While Gretchen was lost in thought, another chocolate chip cookie entered her field of vision. Suvee was giving her one instead of throwing it at her face.

"Mom says we should always try to make friends first. Kanade thinks you're a bad person, but I don't think that. So… can we? Be friends?" Suvee asked.

Gretchen looked away. "Brighton. The upper wards surrounding Aidenhall is a safe place. I'll bring you there, but you must stay close to me and behave once we're home."

Their eyes lit up, and they nodded intensely.

This has nothing to do with making them happy, only so that they will stop misbehaving, Gretchen told herself.

The three of them landed on the polished, almost glinting streets of Brighton. This beautiful part of Radevic was made less dazzling by the many vermin lords and nobility who lived here. Even so, Gretchen felt at home here the most. The walled estates and Ortesian architecture that made much use of gold accents, tall columns, and excessive decorative moldings reminded her of the empire.

Those feelings came bittersweetly, because it was from a home that exiled her…

"Everything is so pretty! Kanade, look!" Suvee yanked her sister over to the window of a store that sold jewelry. Necklaces with multi-faceted gemstones and gold chains rested on mannequins for display.

"Hey!" An irate shopkeeper threw open the door to yell at them. "Keep your faces off the glass, you rabid—"

"You're speaking to the princesses of the Commonwealth." Gretchen stepped between them.

The human man's eyes scanned the succubi features on Kanade and Suvee. He gasped so hoarsely, Gretchen feared he might choke.

"A-A thousand apologies…" He slinked back into the shop and flipped the sign from open to close.

"Who's that I see with my spyglass?" a whimsical voice asked.

"Miss Renya!" Suvee and Kanade raced up to a tarnished elven woman, who was dressed in a long, crimson coat.

Renya Rown, chairwoman of the Rown Company, created a clone of herself to pick the children up each. She was accompanied by a mangy feline beastman close behind.

"Scoundrel." Gretchen regarded the tarnished elf with a derisive look.

"Hey, hey. You were there when we dethroned my brother. That makes us close enough to be drinking buddies! So, what brings you little rascals out?" Renya tapped Suvee's nose with a glowing finger, earning a giggle from the girl.

"Mom went out again, so Kanade and I are playing with Gretchen. Do you want to play, too?" Suvee lifted her sword.

"What! You had a weapon on you the entire time?" The pirate lord quickly put Suvee down and drew a cutlass.

They two sparred playfully, but it was mainly Renya parrying Suvee's attacks. Gretchen grew tense with each hit.

"Take this!" Suvee thrusted the point of her sword into Renya's chest, and she performed an exaggerated death cry before falling flat to the ground.

"Lady Renya… we have a meeting soon," Thedia groaned.

"Ah, those bastards wouldn't dare start without me anyway." Renya got up and dusted off her clothes. "Anyway, say hi to your mom for me!" She ruffled the hair of both girls before going on her way, then threw up two fingers. "Take it easy, Gretch~"

For the rest of the afternoon, Gretchen begrudgingly chaperoned Kanade and Suvee across Brighton. The two kept wandering off and never stayed close like they promised. Even after a scolding, they would do it again. However, despite disappearing for a minute or two and leaving Gretchen panicking, they always somehow found their way back.

"I'm putting a leash on them next time." Gretchen sat down on the edge of a fountain after another one of their vanishing acts.

They would be back soon anyway. No need to waste energy running around.

Gretchen was stretching her arms when a high elven man in a loose tunic sat next to her.

"Is it still you, Archbishop?" he asked quietly.

"Who do I owe the pleasure of this chance encounter?" Gretchen questioned back.

"It's me, Sal! Everything… Everything's gone to shit after the coup. It wasn't supposed to end like that. Contacts from Ortesia's cut us off to, but the rest of us won't give up."

Remnants of the rebellion? So, they were still around. That inept Grand Eye wasn't thorough enough, it seemed.

"Give up. We lost. It's time to accept the consequences," Gretchen said.

"No!" Sal exclaimed, then glanced up and down the street. "You're out with that succubus bitch's spawn, aren't you? We saw. We've been watching."

"You're the ones who have been staking out the mansion?"

Sal nodded.

"We've still got a few of those potions to resist their succubus magic. Some of us are going to snatch them up, ship them off to Ortesia. Maybe broker a—"

"For your sake, I suggest you don't. You know I'm currently enthralled, yes? If you make any moves against them, I will act. I will not show mercy," Gretchen warned.

"I know, and I know deep inside you want to be freed from that succubus' control. If we do this, we might even get Ortesia's help to free you from her! All you have to do is stay here. Don't do anything. I'm going to get up now and put the plan in motion. If the Supreme One is watching, we will succeed." He got up and began walking away.

Gretchen sat there in disbelief. She gripped her knees, digging her nails into the skin. Why did it have to be so difficult? No, it wasn't difficult at all. The enthrallment didn't compel her. She stood up on her own and headed in the direction Sal had gone.

A mixed group of elves dragged the struggling Kanade and Suvee into a narrow alleyway. Others blended into the background as a group to obscure what was going on. There was ice cream on the ground. Not two, but three cones. They were probably on their way back when it happened.

"Step aside," Gretchen stormed up to and demanded the blockade of elves.

"A-Archbishop?"

"She's under the succubus queen's control!"

"Shit! What do we do?"

Gretchen didn't give them a second warning. She created a flanged mace from Holy Armament and bashed her way through. The last one backed into the barrels they had placed in the way to cover the others' escape. She picked him up and hurled him through.

"Three hells, Sal! I told you letting in the know was a bad idea!" an accomplice holding Suvee snarled.

"I have never been more clear-headed in my life. I envisioned a Radevic ruled by high elves again. I still do, but not one where children are used as pawns. Unhand them, or so help me Supreme One I shall mete out divine savagery upon you," Gretchen threatened them.

"It's too late to be preaching, Archbishop! Get her!" Sal exclaimed.

Three of them charged at Gretchen with cudgels. She cratered the first into the side of the building, created a Holy Armament shield to block the second one's attack and headbutted him, and kicked the third one to the ground. She empowered the mace with holy energies and smited the last.

A shadow loomed over Gretchen from behind. A heavy blow struck the crown of her head. Warm blood streaked down her face.

"I was wrong. I committed a grave sin and was punished for it, but the queen entrusted me to protect her children. Me, the one who would have sooner buried her and her kin a hundred feet under No Man's Land. Yet those children did not spite me. They simply wanted to play. You will not deny them their innocence." Gretchen lifted her mace, calling down a beam of holy energy that burned the hoodlum and healed herself. He dropped to the ground with a thud while she continued her advance.

More and more rebel remnants poured past Sal to stop Gretchen. He and his accomplices hurried deeper through.

"Damn it, she won't give up! You're just a languisteed fucker now, aren't you? Get back to the stables, why don't you?" Sal cried.

"My reward for stamping you out will be far greater!" Gretchen pummeled through them one by one, but their numbers seemed endless.

Gretchen was about to lose sight of them when explosive shots went off from the other side. The remaining rebels turned around. Sal fell backwards, a deep magical burn blemished his chest. Thedia landed next to the Kanade and Suvee, picked them up, and ferried them safely behind Renya, who used the barrel of a gun to lift her tricorn hat.

"Wanna meet in the middle, Gretch?" Renya smirked.

The two of them laid waste to the remaining kidnappers. Guards, drawn in by the commotion and blood curdling cries for help from the losing rebels, flooded into the street to take control.

"Huuu~ When I saw you, I thought you broke free of Amethyst's control. Good to know you're still on our side!" Camilla Rudoux patted Gretchen on the shoulders with two mangy paws.

"Get your hands off me…" Gretchen groaned.

"Awww. Lighten up. I added some dried zakobell to my pipe. Want some? Makes you feel alert and happy!" She brandished the pipe in Gretchen's face.

Gretchen wrenched away. "I'm quite alert and happy, thanks."

"Che. Still a buzzkill."

Among the crowds that had gathered, people parted away to let Gretchen through. Thedia and Renya were tending to the kids, who were shaken but unhurt. When they saw her, Suvee flew up and threw both arms around Gretchen.

"You were soooo coooooool!" Suvee squealed.

However, the girl's embrace only left Gretchen feeling ashamed.

"No, I… I'm sorry. I should have been keeping a closer eye on you two. Because I didn't, you were almost taken away," Gretchen said.

"But you came for us, didn't you? See, you're a good person after all!" Suvee smiled so brightly it was like the sun had risen again. "Besides, it's not your fault. Going to get ice cream was Kanade's idea."

"Kanade's…?"

"Back home, mom would get us ice cream when we were sad. You looked sad earlier, so…" Kanade trailed off and averted her gaze.

Gretchen couldn't stop her lower lip from trembling. She kneeled down to scoop Kanade into her arms and hugged them both. They hugged her back.

"I see. Thank you, but please… for my sake, don't run off again." Gretchen smiled back.

The Empire of Ortesia had exiled Gretchen Redbaron, but enthralled or not, she vowed to make amends and protect Kanae's children. She understood that she was wrong then. These two were not demons. They were angels.