Stigma Effect
Chapter 56

Proofreader: kuroneko_chan

Unlike Yuriel, who was satisfied, Raphlet did not have a good expression. It was a worried face.

Raphlet took the sponge from Yuriel’s hand. He said as he gently rubbed Yuriel’s back with a newly foamed sponge.

“There is a festival held in the spring in the Imperial Capital. It’s a festival that lasts about ten days.”

“Wow, it’s a spring festival. That would be fun….”

Yuriel, who turned to Raphlet’s touch, responded lightly.

If she could go with Raphlet, she thought it would be fun. She can’t go out, so she was just imagining it.

If it’s a spring festival, is it a flower festival?

The appearance of Raphlet standing in front of the flowers in full bloom would look like a work of art in itself.

She didn’t have much money, but she would be able to afford a bouquet of flowers for Raphlet. She wished she could give him a bouquet that she purchased for him.

After imagining holding a bouquet in her arms, Yuriel turned her head and smiled.

How wonderful it would be if she could become a person who could give Raphlet the most precious things in the world.

It was a pity that the only thing she could give him now was her loyalty.

Yuriel opened her mouth, rubbing the soap bubbles on both hands with her fingers.

She could not go out, so she guessed he would not say that they should go to the festival together.

In order not to show disappointment, Yuriel started speaking in a lively tone.

“Lord Raphlet goes well with spring. Your warm and kind personality is like spring.”

“No way.”

“Really. There is no need to go to the festival if I am with Lord Raphlet.”

“… you like whatever I do. It must be frustrating, but thank you for saying that.”

“I feel less frustrated than when I was in Mogris Estate and not seeing Lord Raphlet. I’m really not frustrated at all.”

In front of Raphlet, Yuriel responded naturally. Raphlet smiled faintly and kissed Yuriel on her head.

As he hugged Yuriel from behind, he continued rubbing a foam-filled sponge across her chest and stomach. Yuriel bit her lip as he rubbed her flat stomach and gently stroked her chest, holding back her moan.

After bathing, it was time for breakfast.

A moan would make Raphlet try to embrace her, but she didn’t intend to have a tumble in bed. That would take away his meal time.

Recalling Raphlet, who had to skip meals because he was wasting time in the bathroom, Yuriel managed to suppress her moan and asked.

“But why the festival?”

Raphlet continued speaking in a calm tone, not sure if he knew Yuriel was desperately holding back her moaning. His erect member was touching her back, but his voice was calm.

“During the festival, more people come and go to the Temple. Even if you can’t get inside the Knights Order, it’ll be more cluttered than it is now. A lot of nobles also visit.”

Raphlet, who had been wiping her body while kissing Yuriel’s head, concluded with a worried voice.

“People will come from the Imperial Palace, so be careful.”

＊＊＊

People will come from the Imperial Palace….

Yuriel stared blankly into the air and pondered Raphlet’s words. Maybe he didn’t want to make her uneasy, so Raphlet concluded it that way.

The princess was the only one Yuriel knew from among the people coming from the Imperial Palace, so she could quickly recall why he told her to be careful.

He must have been warning her that the princess was also coming to the temple.

She’ll have to work harder to refrain from going out while the festival continues. In case of anything, she’ll have to stay in her room as much as possible.

Yuriel made a serious commitment.

Even after she promised to stay in the room, her thoughts continued.

Will Lord Raphlet be with me? I want to be with him. At least it was nice to sleep together. No, sleeping will not be enough. If he’s not tired, it’s okay if I ask him to do it… ?

Oh, I miss Lord Raphlet.

Yuriel’s thoughts always led to the fact that she wanted to see Raphlet. Even though it had only been three or four hours since she separated from Raphlet, she missed him.

She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t realize she was tapping the desk with the pen she was holding. Shudmuel, who was looking at documents from the other side, asked in an irritated tone.

“Yuriel. What are you thinking?”

“Lord Raphlet told me to be careful during the festival, so I was thinking about that….”

The answer came naturally. Without hesitation, Yuriel shared everything she was thinking about.

“I was thinking that I would like to see Lord Raphlet right away. And….”

“… Stop it, that’s enough.”

“Yes.”

Shudmuel pressed his forehead. Checking the glasses he had taken off at the desk, he looked at Yuriel’s fresh face and sighed.

If they talk without the glasses, Yuriel follows him unconditionally.

Yuriel was the type that was susceptible to brainwashing.

Shudmuel furrowed his brow in annoyance as he looked into Yuriel’s eyes, who seemed to completely trust him.

He made a good catch. Even wearing glasses, the brainwashing effects remained.

But that was only when Raphlet wasn’t around. As soon as Raphlet appeared, Yuriel escaped Shudmuel’s brainwashing.

She wasn’t even trying to get out of the brainwashing. Just recognizing Raphlet’s existence, it seemed like a natural phenomenon that all of her nerves were concentrated on him.

The success or failure of brainwashing was determined by how much control the subject had.

When he took off his glasses and talked to get Yuriel’s attention, Shudmuel was able to continue his brainwashing again. Of course, that was only for a while.

There were cases where the brainwashing did not go into effect, but this was the first time that the brainwashing was released whenever one saw a specific person.

It was a headache that the brainwashing was constantly removed, so he tried to increase his control by changing Yuriel’s perception of Raphlet from positive to negative, but it was all in vain.

While trying to increase his control, all his efforts to brainwash Yuriel were almost in vain.

‘Are you listening to me?’

‘Yes, Sir Shudmuel….’

‘Great. From now on, answer my questions only in the affirmative.’

‘Yes….’

‘Commander Raphlet is not a good person, Yuriel. Do you agree with me?’

‘Wait a minute, are you insulting my master in front of me now?’

Even if she nodded her head with hazy eyes, when he started to speak badly of Raphlet, her eyes flashed blue.

For the first time since beginning his brainwashing, Shudmuel was in awe of the subject. He has never heard of such a case.

How frightening it was to see her immediately come to her senses when he brought out a negation about Raphlet.

In order to maintain his brainwashing, the subject must not have negative feelings toward him.

‘No. I asked the question wrong. Commander Raphlet is a good person.’

‘That’s right.’

Shudmuel had to spit out unfamiliar sounds several times in order to have a smooth emotional exchange with Yuriel. It was like it wasn’t Yuriel but him who was about to be brainwashed.

After saying that, Yuriel stopped staring at Shudmuel and smiled innocently as usual.

In this bizarre phenomenon, Shudmuel wondered if Yuriel might be pretending to have been caught in his brainwashing, so he decided to test Yuriel. He asked her to do an inhumane act that her sober mind would normally not easily follow.

Yuriel did what Shudmuel had asked her to do without any embarrassment.

Looking at it, there was no doubt that she had been brainwashed.

Yuriel was still naturally pouring out answers to his questions.

“Yuriel.”

“Yes, Sir Shudmuel.”

Yuriel, who was tapping the pen on the desk again, tilted her head and looked at him. It was inadvertently imitating Shudmuel’s daily knocking on the desk.

It was judged that the brainwashing of the subject was complete when the subject starts to imitate his actions.

Yuriel was the only exception.

Shudmuel saw Yuriel mimicking his actions and tried to start a negative indoctrination against Raphlet.

Recalling the memory of his efforts in vain, Shudmuel lowered the hand that was pressing on his forehead and said.

“Did you say you knew it was going to be a festival soon?”

“Yes. Lord Raphlet told me.”

“There is something I would like your help with during the festival.”

“If it’s SIr Shudmuel’s request, I’d like to help, but…. Lord Raphlet told me to be careful about moving within the Order during the festival.”

… Raphlet again!

Shudmuel bit his lips sharply at the name Raphlet, who broke his composure.

He did not know how Raphlet was able to make Yuriel become so blindly loyal to him.

Rather than Shudmuel’s actions of manipulating people with brainwashing, it was more frightening that Raphlet had put Yuriel in this state.

Seeing Shudmuel grinding his teeth, Yuriel asked worriedly.

“Sir Shudmuel, is everything okay?”

He took a deep breath and finally regained his composure.

This situation was annoying, but it wasn’t that there was no way to move Yuriel.

“It’s helpful for Commander Raphlet.”

As long as it was for Raphlet, it was simply solved.

“Then, of course, I should help!”

“… Thank you.”

Shudmuel sighed and said.

He hoped that there would be no issues during the festival with the terrorist attack that Yuriel would cause.