Chapter 187: Punishment
"..."
With a gaze full of majesty, the Dragon Emperor looked at his two so-called mothers. It made the two of them tremble, and they immediately softened.
"Artorius..."
The slightly mature XX muttered his name and revealed an embarrassed expression. She knew she had done something wrong and was prepared for a scolding.
The younger X, on the other hand, was different.
Her expression was stiff, her eyes flickered, and she seemed ready to make a quick escape as if she were a mischievous child caught by her parents after causing trouble.
"O-Oh, I suddenly remembered, the reactor of Dun Stallion II hasn't been shut down. I'll go back first!"
After being stared at by Artorius, X said loudly while turning around, preparing to run away.
But before that could happen—
"X!"
Artorius called her name. At the same time, he grabbed the collar of her clothes. X's body tensed instantly.
He grabbed her arm and waist, lifting her up entirely.
"Where do you think you're going...?" Artorius whispered calmly into her ear.
"Uh!"
If it were any other time, X would have already been happily smiling at Artorius with such close contact, but not now. Right now, she shivered like a frightened kitten and struggled hard.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I messed up, please forgive me, Artorius!"
X apologized continuously as she struggled while looking at Artorius with pitiful eyes.
However, it didn't work.
"Do you think this is as simple as breaking a vase? Apologizing casually and saying you'll be more careful next time is enough to get away with it?"
Just like all final boss villains. Artorius said these words in a magnetic and charming voice right by X's ear.
It was like a seduction, and she felt very scared but also a bit excited at the same time.
"You, because you were too unrestrained before and didn't face any consequences, you've developed this kind of personality. Don't worry; I'll educate you properly. I'll give you a memorable lesson, so you'll never misbehave again in your life..." Artorius continued to whisper in her ear.
"Hiks, hiks, hiks..." X completely gave up resisting and cried. She went limp and collapsed into his embrace.
At the same time, Artorus turned to XX.
"You too."
"Uhh..."
The big sister, who was stared at by Artorius, involuntarily shivered.
"You're already grown-up; don't you know the seriousness of the situation? You're supposed to be an adult by now."
"Yes, I'm sorry..." XX said timidly. "B-But..."
"No 'buts'! You will also be punished!"
"O-Okay..." XX blushed shyly and turned her head away. "I'll accept the punishment..."
"..."
The Dragon Emperor remained silent for a few seconds. He felt there was something wrong with XX's way of thinking.
After saying so much, did she really think he was joking? Did she think her punishment would be a simple scolding, and then she could apologize and promise to be more careful next time, and that would be the end of it?
What a joke. If he did that, it would be more like a reward than a punishment.
Artorius believed that if he didn't make a clear distinction between right and wrong, reward and punishment, it wouldn't have any effect. X and XX, these two foolish lasses, would not learn from their mistakes. They might even become more reckless next time, or worse.
If news of this incident were to spread and he was seen as lenient and forgiving, Artorius was sure that the other women in his harem would also start to act recklessly, without fear of the consequences.
Maybe next time, it would be Mordred beating up Gaia, and then Morgan challenging Alaya. The harem would explode, and the empire would collapse. Artorius would have to retreat to the Throne of Heroes with these bizarre women and spend his days enjoying their company.
So, he had to punish them severely, make X and XX realize how serious their actions were, and teach them a lesson they would never forget.
But the problem was, Artorius hesitated. If he really stripped them naked and beat them severely, leaving them bruised and battered, and then saw them crying and clinging to each other with fearful eyes—he felt it would be too cruel, especially with that Artoria Face.
And would that even really make them yield?
They were both powerful females; a little pain and suffering wouldn't faze them.
So, what should he do?
After thinking for a while, Artorius quickly came up with an idea.
"Next, the two of you will..."
*Gulp!*
The two of them swallowed hard, feeling a tremendous amount of pressure.
"In any case, start by going to the dungeon."
===
In the following days, from the dungeons of the Palace of Orleans, there would always be eerie cries and howls that sent shivers down the spines of those who couldn't comprehend.
But at the same time, if one were to observe the palace maids, they were seemingly unfazed by these eerie sounds, which was rather peculiar.
"What's happening?"
"Nothing at all~"
"Oh..."
Although everyone could discern that this lament sounded very much like Artoria's voice, what did that matter? Artoria had been beating up Mordred every day in the training grounds for the past few days.
Emperor, every day, sent down plenty of delicacies, cream pastries, and the like, and whenever that happened, the cries from the dungeons grew even louder. The mournful and heart-wrenching feeling made many people sigh involuntarily.
How much suffering and hardship must one endure to be crying like that?
===
Just like tonight.
Artorius, as usual, descended into the dungeons with a lavish spread of food. Three maids of Einzbern pushed the food cart behind him. Everyone wore smiles, appearing quite delighted.
Before the people even arrived, the aroma of the food wafted through the air.
Locked inside their cells, X and XX, who had their powers drained from their bodies and now lay limp, much like ordinary people, in restrictive clothing, cried out in excitement:
"Artorius! Please, please, I know I was wrong, forgive me!"
"Hiks, I can't take it anymore, kill me, just kill me!"
Whether begging for mercy or begging for death, Artorius paid no attention. He just sat down with a smile in front of the cell where they were held, one delicious dish after another placed on the table.
"Look, this is oven-roasted duck."
"Aaah!"
"Aaaaaah!"
"And this is braised lamb."
"Ughhh!"
"Nooo!"
"And this is, steamed lamb and bear paw..."
The two Artorias were in agony.
===
Artorius's method of punishing the two Artorias was quite simple—lock them up and deny them food.
For ordinary people, such punishment was generally not much and stupid. Going without food for two or three days was indeed very distressing, but usually not life-threatening. However, after four or five days without food, it became dangerous.
X and XX, however, were not ordinary people; they were Servants from Servant Universe. Servants were entities of energy. Strictly speaking, as long as magical energy existed, X and XX would not die.
Even if they die, they would just be reborn in the Servant Universe like nothing.
But not dying did not mean it was bearable. For the Artoria Species, not being allowed to eat was torture, more agonizing than dying since dying was their everyday routine.
Going without food for several days was more effective, especially for the Artoria Species.
They were not allowed to eat, and at the same time, they were forced to watch Artorius cut steak with graceful elegance, slowly, piece by piece, chewing and swallowing those meat chunks. This was a form of torture within the torture.
In fact, in the dungeon, there was equipment with a similar function, a brainwashing device that created illusions of Artorius feasting with them while they were restrained.
This set of punishments might not work well on ordinary people, but for Artoria Species, it was like a supercritical special attack.
In an instant, XX was crying in agony and losing her voice. On the other hand, X had tears of blood streaming from her eyes, literally.
They wanted to close their eyes, cover their ears, not see or hear, or even hold their breath to avoid smelling. But it was impossible.
With their powers sealed to that of ordinary humans, they were forced, under the alchemical machinery's compulsion, to keep their eyes wide open, ears alert, taking in everything before them.
"In this way, the lesson should be profound enough, but..."
Watching their condition, Artorius believed that this punishment was enough. But the problem was, would they become insane and darkened if it continued? Would there be any issues?
As he pondered this, he turned to look at Scathach beside him.
It was with the help of Scathach that Artorius was able to devise this special equipment for the Artoria Species.
"It's alright." Seemingly aware of what he was thinking, Scathach assured him. "Artoria Species are resilient beings. They won't break down over something small."
"Something small? We are talking about Artoria Species here..." Looking at X and XX, who seemed dazed, Artorius couldn't help but be amazed. "If this is considered small, then what's considered big?"
"Of course..." Scathach continued. "Psychological trauma is inevitable. At least, they didn't lose their mind and become a lunatic."
"..."
Seeing Artorius's expression, Scathach smiled.
"What, feeling sorry for them?"
"..."
Of course, he felt sorry for them.
Even though they were foolish and dumb, but even if they were foolish, they were still his mothers. Seeing them like this, how could sons not feel sorry for their mothers?
"Should we let them go?" Scathach asked.
"..."
Artorius thought for a moment and then decided.
"Give them two more days."
He felt sorry, but sometimes one needed to punish their loved ones when they were at fault.
Today's excessive pampering could lead to rebellion tomorrow.
They nearly destroyed the Earth. If he let them off too easily just because he felt sorry for them, Artorius might as well not have an empire. They could all commit mass suicide and have a feast on the Throne of Heroes.
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