Sin of Lust

CHAPTER 48

Raccoon's father grew ill and weak after years of business but before he could even achieve his dreams, his body grew weaker and weaker to the point where he could not even stand without the help of a machine. The business has drastically decreased, resulting in its own bankruptcy.

“Sir, with all due respect, you have to close this business and just start a new one. Or you can even sell this so you can have more money to medicate yourself.” His most trusted right hand and butler– Cochi spoke with gentleness in his voice.

“If I sell this, where are you going to work? We are facing a crisis right now that even a pouch of rice is worth more than a piece of silver. If I stop this business, where do you think you and your colleagues will end up?” he muttered, not even bothering to spare Cochi a glance, for his eyes are fixated on the window beside his bed.

“I am grateful that until now, you are still concerned about me, about us.” Cochi smiled at himself, “But master, you are more important, we are just merely a pawn under your palm and whatever you want we will get it for you. So, you don’t have to worry about us, just worry about yourself.”

“You are pawns under my palm? mere pawns who are more than willing to do what I want.”

“That is right, my lord.”

“Well then, I want to continue this business. This business will never die until I find the right organ for my son.” He said.

“But sir–”

“You are willing to do anything for me, right?”

Cochi could only bite the inside of his cheeks until he could taste the iron-like taste of his own blood. He was concerned about his master, more worried than himself, but because this is what he wanted, he shall obey him no matter what. “If that is what you wish, my lord.” He agreed between his gritted teeth.

“Bring me, Ester…” he spoke.

“Ester? your child’s friend?” Cochi responded in confusion. “What are you going to do with her?”

“You will see…”

Cochi went out to find the said woman, even though his mind was filled with confusion he still went to seek the girl. “What could be the reason why the master is looking for her? He could have been looking for Raccoon.” He said to himself.

He was in the middle of his mission to find Ester when a voice interrupted his series of thoughts. “Cochi, where are you going?” a tiny voice of a child asked innocently.

“Oh, young master Raccoon– goodness gracious what happened to you?!” he then kneeled immediately in front of the child who’s covered in mud, “What happened? Who did this to you? I’ll strangle whoever did this to my young master!” he growled.

But the kid only laughed at him, “Calm down! I’m not hurt at all! I’m just dirty, that's all!” He laughed out loud, “I just fell on a pond and somehow stumbled upon dust.”

“Oh, I see… then go on ahead and clean yourself, young master.” He smiled at him.

“Okay, I will but why are you talking to yourself?” he asked, wiping the mud away from his face, “You look like an idiot.”

“Ah, that? I was just looking for Ester. Have you seen her?”

“Ah yes, I left her in the garden.” He told her, “But why are you looking for her though?”

Cochi was silent for a few seconds, because he knows that Raccoon will not like it if he talks about Ester regarding his father’s business. so, instead he just smiled and lied, “Nothing, I was just going to ask about something.'' He lied through his gritted teeth, Yet he still managed to let out a fake smile, as he sheepishly rubbed his cheek. Raccoon believed what he had said, he didn't hesitate to nod his head and tell him the location of his friend.

"You can find her at the pond, we were just fishing." He said.

"I see, thank you for that information young master." Cochi bowed his head slightly before proceeding to his way.

"Wait, why are you looking for her–" Raccoon stops when you realize that the one who he is talking with is already gone. He was confused at first but then shrugged his shoulders and proceeded to clean himself. "Well, I think that's not even important."

On the other hand Kochi is looking for Ester by the pond and he didn't even take so long to find her sitting by the shore with a fishing rod in her hand.

"There you are, miss Ester." He announced his appearance by that simple greeting.

"Hey, Cochi." Ester politely greeted him back. "What are you doing here? I thought you were with the master? How was he doing?"

"The master is still… the master." Cochi wasn't able to tell her that the master's condition is worsening every second but he could not lie straight to her face that the master is fine.

"I see…"

"Miss Ester, I have something to tell you."

"What is it?" At this point Ester's attention is now fully at him.

"The master wants to talk with you, he is waiting in his chamber." He simply stated.

"What do you think he wants to tell me?" She asked, quite hesitant from the fact that she knows the master will not call her in his chamber even though she is almost his own child.

"I don't have any idea but I think it's best for you to go and ask him yourself."

Ester looked at the fishing rod on her hand. This simple gesture was acknowledged by the man.

"Don't worry young lady, I have told him that his father is asking for your presence so you don't have to worry about him. He already knows about everything." He reassured her with a simple and gentle smile.

"Oh, is that so? Well then if he already knows i will be leaving." She said as she stood up before putting the fishing rod aside. "Will you please accompany me to the master's chamber?"

"If that's what my lady asks." Cochi bowed his head. And the two of them went.

However, when Raccoon returned to the pond he didn't see anyone. "Huh? Where is Ester?" He asked himself as he looked at the fishing rod in italy place above the basket.

Ester is now standing on the foot side of Raccoon's father with Cochi standing far behind her.

"Ester, my child." He extended his arms and motioned for Ester to come. To which the woman didn't hesitate to go near him.

"What is it, father?" She asked in a low tone as she took a seat beside him.

The master decided to force himself to sit up but he was immediately countered by his butler, "Master you don't have to sit up."

"I have to… please." The master said but his voice was just barely above whisper.

Cochi wasn't able to deny the request of his master, and so in the end he just helped him propped himself on the pillows.

"Ester, my child, I am growing weak. Weaker than ever before, and because of that our business is going down. But I don't want this to be wasted, our efforts all these years will be wasted if this business is–" he was cut off with his own fits of cough.

"Sir, please do not speak anymore." She told him, as she gently pats his back.

"No, you must listen and know this. Ester this company needs you."

With that sentence, Cochi and Ester were both shocked. They weren’t able to look away from his eyes.

"Me?" Ester was shocked, "Why me I'm just nobody I can't even handle my—"

“You are the only one I can see who can handle this,” He said in a low tone, so low as if he’s running for his last breath. “Ester…”

“Master, I respect your every decision, but this? I’m sorry but I have to go against it.” Cochi bravely stood up to his ideals.

Ester and the master could only look at him. While Ester’s eyes are lingering on him with confusion, the master’s orbs are piercing as if he’s throwing daggers at him, indicating that he should shut up at that moment.

But, despite how sharp his glares are, making Cochi tremble on his knees, the latter man really stood his ground. “I…”

“What is it that you are trying to say, Cochi?” The master asked with his deep and breathless voice.

“Mister Cochi?” Ester mumbled from bewilderment.

Cochi forcefully swallowed the lump forming in his throat, “I… I disagree with this plan, master.” He repeated what he had been saying.

The master could only narrow his eyes and lowly growled as he kept his sharp gazes on him.

“...I’m really sorry, but young master Raccoon will not like this in any possible way.” He continued. “With all due respect, I know that you know that he doesn’t like Ester to be part of any of this, and he was very vocal even before. So, that’s why… as respect to my young master, I will have to decline on behalf of him.”

This seemed to angered the headmaster and looked at him with nothing but anguish, “What were you trying to say?! You don’t know about him and me, you don’t even know what is in his heart! but you’re only trying to stop my child from taking her rightful place! now get out of here–”

The master has barely finished what he’s trying to say when he turns into a fit of coughs, he cupped his hand over his mouth.

“Sir, please, don’t speak anymore. Your body is weak…” Ester politely supported him.

Cochi on the other hand immediately went to his side and aid him but the master only swatted his hand away from him, “Don’t you dare lay your hands on me! Get away from me! You just wanted my position, that is why you are going against my decision!”

Even though Cochi wanted to defend himself and the decision of his young master, he could not say a single word. And the only thing he can do is to obey his master’s words with nothing but a clenched jaw.

“If that is what you wished, I will leave now.” Cochi said with his head hanging low as he stepped out of the room, closing the door with a small thud. But behind it, he began to bite his lower lips from frustration, he bit it so hard that it even drew some blood.

“Cochi?” a voice of a man stopped Cochi’s train of thoughts, “What are you doing– oh my god, you are bleeding! what happened?” Raccoon immediately went to his side to aid him.

“Young master…” Cochi gripped the young man’s shoulder with gravity in his voice, “there’s something you need to know.”

Back at the room, Ester felt a fleeting-warmth of a hand on her lower arm, “Child…” the master called her with so much love and affection in the tone.

“Yes, sir?”

“This business is the only thing that can save my son, your friend. I don’t want to lose him too as I have lost his mother, so please, continue this business for him. Don’t mind me, just him.” The master begged her.

“Sir… I don't think I am capable of handling all of these.” Ester truthfully replied.

“I know you can, my child. Please, that’s the only thing I want before I leave this world.” The master said, his eyes are getting droopy and his breathings are getting shallow.

There was a lump of hesitation in Ester’s chest, she wanted to decline his offer but just the way his eyes begged for her approval is something that is making her stop from declining. His orbs are really begging for her to continue the business, not only because of money but because of his son.

Ester can see from him that there is nothing more valuable to a father than his own flesh and blood, and as the friend of Raccoon, she too can’t just accept the fact that her friend is going to die while she can do something to make him live the best moments of his life.

His hands that are lightly gripping her arms are getting tired, and the light of his eyes are slowly fading away, so with the last time Ester responded, “I will do it, father.”

He could only let out a weak smile through his wrinkled lips. He wasn’t able to answer anything because his breath stopped at that moment. His head limply fell down on her arms.

He wasn’t able to get the best he wanted for his child. And when he died, the business started to die down with him, but Ester didn't let the business go down because they hadn’t found the suitable organ for her friend. And in this case, she took the place of her uncle and decided to run the business at a young age of sixteen years old.

Raccoon learned all about this from his trusted butler– Cochi. This immediately made his anger rise through the roof.

“Master, where are you going?!” Cochi went to chase after his master who is currently stomping his way to the head office of his late father.

Raccoon slammed the door open and there, inside the very office of his father, behind the desk he knew from the bottom of his heart. He saw his best friend sitting.

“Oh, Raccoon, how are you? It’s been a couple of months and this is the first time I saw you.” Ester greeted him, however, Raccoon felt the coldness within.

“Ester, is it true that you accepted my father’s death wish?” Raccoon asked, his hands are trembling from anticipation that she would say no and all of these are just a dream, a very bad dream.

“What if I tell you, yes?” she looked at him with keen eyes.

This causes Raccoon’s eyes to widen, "Ester, you don't have to do this.” He tried to reason out, “My father is gone so there’s no reason for this business to go on.” Raccoon tried to talk with her. “So, let’s get rid of it, right?”

“No, I will not let this business to stop, many people are in need and this place is the only thing that keeps them alive.” Ester spoke in a monotonous voice, as if she’s a robot that can’t even feel anything. “And you know the sole reason of your father why he did this in the first place.”

“But Ester! this is not the right thing to do!" Raccoon’s voice slightly raised, not what he had expected. But it seems like she's not listening to him at all. "Are you even listening?!" He finally raised his voice.

"We will not stop until you have your organ, Raccoon. This is all for your sake and just like what I have said, a lot of other people are still waiting for their turn to have theirs so I will not stop this business. I won't let this business go down." She then commanded her security "Go and get the organ he needs. I don't care how you will get it but make sure that he has the suitable organ!"

"But Ester this would be a huge problem we haven't found anywhere near close to being suitable for him yet we have killed many children, men, women." The security told her. “Can we just let it—”

"I don't care how many people are needed! What I want you to do is get him the organ he needs!" She yelled to the man to which he immediately rushed out of the room and began to do the same experiment they've been doing after all those years.

The guard was about to get out of the room when Raccoon yelled at him to stop, to which he did.

“Why are you so against it, Raccoon? Can’t you see, I am doing this as respect to the death wish of your father, and for you.” Ester finally stood up from her seat as she slammed her hands on the desk.

"Ester, you are out of your mind!" Raccoon pulled her collar and shook her trying to shake some sense. "Can you even hear yourself?! Ester, I don't want this! I don’t want you to sacrifice all of these children just to save me!”

"Raccoon, I am doing this for you and this is what your father wanted. He wanted to help as many people as he can." She told him with her eyes holding a fiery determination.

"But you are not saving anyone! Look at you, you are killing these people so that their organs can be used by others." He tried to argue with her. “The amount of people you save doesn’t even equate to the people that you have killed.”

"I am not killing anyone, I am just merely feeding the stocks. I am not the one who's holding the knife." Her words made Raccoon step back since he cannot fathom if this woman in front of him is his friend or a devil.

"This is right, Ester you're not the Ester I knew, you're not my friend."

"Of course I am your friend, a friend that handles all the problems of your father's business and it didn't die because of everything I do." She stated nonchalantly as if it's not a big deal to horde people and use them for her own will. "This is your father's will and legacy. So, I will do everything to save you and his legacy."

“Ester, you’ve become a monster I never expected you to be.”

“Someday you will understand.”

“I don't think that day will come.” Raccoon muttered with defiance, “And I don’t want to think that someday I will accept this.” And that’s when he turned his back and walked out.

But before he could walk away, Ester’s calm facade finally shuttered down and she hollered, “Why can’t you understand that I am only doing this for you, look at you, you’re dying! If we can’t find any organs for you, I am more than sure that you will not last any longer.”

“But I don’t want you to,” he muttered without even sparing her a glance.

Because of her sudden change of behavior, Raccoon escaped from her wings. He escaped from her during the night when the rain was pouring heavily. He went out with nothing with him and with the last look to the window where Ester’s office is, he whispered, “I can’t find you, but I hope you will find yourself again.”

Cochi’s role every morning is to attend to every needs of his master, but the moment that he went into his room he found nothing but a letter beside his desk. “A letter?” He went to look at it closely, and when he flipped it, he saw a message on the other side of the folded paper and it was addressed to him, “It’s for me…” he then proceeded to put the tray of breakfast for his master on the same table to give time to read the letter.

“Cochi, you are the most trusted man I have ever had. This will seem off but I can't even trust my own father, and the woman who I called my best friend. I am grateful for your company all this time. But I have to go now, in hope that someday Ester will find herself if a part of her will be gone.”

Cochi read the letter aloud so he can understand each and every word his master is saying and when the last word came out of his mouth, his eyes and jaw are agape. “The master…”

He instantly went to Ester’s office only to see her stoic face and sullen orbs focused on the papers on her table, “Ester!” He shouted so he could have her attention in that instant, and when she finally looked up from her works, he said, “Raccoon is gone.”

“What did you say?!” Ester’s stoic facade is now enveloped with dread.

He went to her side and handed her the letter, “Read this…” he said and when Ester finally saw the letter, she instantly knew that he really did go away.

This made Ester order her men to find him and they will not return unless all the stones are turned. Their business halted because of his disappearance and she even went out to find him. But to no luck, they weren't able to find him.

“Ester, I am afraid that we can’t find Raccoon anywhere.” Cochi said in a heave as he went to Ester’s office with his head to toe drenched from the rain. “We have looked everywhere but there is not a single trace of him.”

“You told me that you have searched everywhere and yet you have not found him until now, that only means that you are not searching for him at all!” Ester screeched on him. “Go and find him! Turn every stone if needed! don’t come back here without him!” She hollered.

“But–” one of the men was about to complain when Cochi beat him before he could say any more.

“You hear the head mistress! do not come back until you find even a single clue of the young master!” He roared at them.

“But the rain is too heavy and the roads are too muddy! It's too dangerous out there. There is even zero visibility out there!”

“You heard the young mistress!” Cochi hollered once again, “I will take full responsibility for you! Now go!”

Even though the people are not liking where this is going, they still obey their orders.

But even with all of that, there was still no clue where they could find him until the very day they arrived, they found him dead on the street. Ester mourns because of his death but that doesn't make her wake up from all of this situation. Instead, this only fuels her determination to continue the things she's already doing, thinking that it's her sole purpose.

And just like that, her powers awaken. The dark thorns that seem to be binding her from seeing her true self.

"This is for the people who are dying! Who are you to question how I can help?!" Ester’s fury was evident from all the erratic attacks she’s sending her, “Do you think that I will just let my friend die, when I can do something for him? Do you really think that I will just sit there and let his own body rot?!” She hollered as she swings her arms

“I am glad to hear that you care for your friend, that you don't want them to die and that you are willing to do everything to help others.I really appreciate that.” Blanche grunted as she kept on evading and blocking all her strikes in the middle of air. “It means that you have a heart that cares.”

“Then what's your problem?!” the mayor hollered back, “If you don't have a problem with me, then why are you doing this?”

The sudden outburst of Ester makes her stop from her chains of attacks, resulting for Blanche to land peacefully.

"Why can't you see? You're not helping anyone, you are just killing people so others can have their body parts! Is that what you call helping? Because I don’t think I understand that concept.” Blanche shouted at her, her statement makes Ester falter because that's almost the same thing her friend told her before he died.

"You know nothing so don't ever tell me what I do is wrong!"

"Yeah, I don't know anything about you nor what you have gone through but I'm telling you this. Do you really think anyone would be happy if they knew that you have killed innocent people for them to live?" Blanche pushed herself to her limit as Ester once again started her assault to which she kept the thorns at bay so they wouldn't hurt her and further, because the impact is enough to hurt her.

"You really know nothing brat.” Ester, on the other hand, grumbled and started to jump on her. Closing their distance together as she makes her point clearer to her. “Anyone… anyone. I'm telling you, anyone would be happy to be alive even if someone will have to take their place in death's door." She sends an attack that surely hits her on her stomach, Sorting for her to cough a bit of blood. “And even the thank you from them is enough for me to continue.”

The both of them are getting tired and almost out of breath, both wounded from each other’s attacks and merciless assaults. “You better stop all of this now, kid. You should know your place.” The major heaved out as she thought that the fight is over because Blanche is still and not moving on her spot.

The young woman is on the ground with her face, clearly no sign of fighting back. The mayor turned her back and was about to go back to do her business when she heard a rustle from behind her that completely caught her attention. Since she's exhausted, she wasn't able to fully face the direction where she heard the noise. But then she just looked from her shoulders, only to find Blanche pushing herself to stand up.

"No, that's not true.” Blanche coughed up some blood, as her hand was clenching her stomach from pain as she stammered. “Do you really think that anyone will be happy about that? If so then everyone will let you go and no one will go against you like what we are doing right now." She stated the fact, "and I'm sure that there is one person that has told you before that this is wrong."

Esther's solid resolve was shaken, and because of her internal conflict and confusion her thorns lashed out. Every spine is breaking out of control just lashing out anywhere and everywhere

"Woohoo this is getting exciting!" Luxuria exclaimed out of joy and excitement since this is the first time in a while that he got into action. "Let's go all out! Come on, come on, come on. Come on. Let's go!" He laughed out loud. “You better use me good, ‘kay?”

Even with all of those antics he said Blanche didn't even bother to spare a single thought about it, "Luxuria, this time I need your help. Lend me your power."

"Now I got you, I already told you that I'm helping you all right." The male voice said with excitement evident in his tone.

"All of your power." Blanche grumbled.