Making Monster Girls 3: For Science!

by Eric Vall

  “As soon as possible,” I stood from the arm of the couch, came around it, and then leaned my palms against the back. “I’d say within the next few days. I’ll come to visit you two or three times during the week, or if you’d like, you can stay the night with us at the manor as much as you want.”

  “I’d say I’d like to live here, but you and I both know that’s not possible right now,” Josephine sighed. “The other aristocrats would think it’s strange and suspicious. It’d be best if we went back and forth between my manor and yours. I’ll send a courier to Edony’s duchy tomorrow morning. If I don’t hear back from her by the afternoon, I’m sure that I can visit her in the next coming days, and I’ll get the information you need.”

  “W-Wait,” Valerie gasped. “You’re leaving?”

  “I think for tonight, I have to,” the blonde smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back, and we can spend as much time together as we want to.”

  Josephine stood from the couch, smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt, and then smiled down at my three women. The blonde aristocrat seemed to think for a moment, but the light in her eyes had changed from earlier, she looked happier than I’d ever seen her before. Josephine stepped around the coffee table, gazed at me, and then offered me her hand. I took it in my own, supported her elbow with my other hand, and then pulled her to me.

  The heiress gasped lightly, giggled, flushed red, and then leaned her head back to look up into my eyes. I wanted to kiss her, but I wasn’t sure if it’d be right, would she accept it, or was it to soon? Before I could move a muscle, the aristocrat rose on her feet, closed her eyes, and brought her lips to mine. Electricity raced through my body, slammed up my spine, and raised goosebumps all over my flesh. When she pulled away, a light chuckle slipped from her lips, she turned, patted Valerie on the head, stroked Daisy’s cheek, and then gave Rian’s shoulder a tender squeeze.

  “Once I hear back from the Duchess and visit her,” Josephine spoke. “I’ll come over right after and tell you everything I’ve learned. Don’t worry, Charles, I’ve waited for a long time for the downfall of the Duchess, and it seems… it might just happen because of you. So because of that I must thank you.”

  “For what?” I asked, pressed my fingertips to my lips where she’d just kissed me, and smiled down at her.

  “For giving me hope,” the heiress whispered. “I’ve spent my life hoping that Edony’s time and power would run out, and here it is. All because of you. Even if we have to kill the Duchess ourselves, we will see the beginning of a new age where men and women are allowed to love each other. It’s all thanks to you.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  A few days passed, and we still hadn’t heard back from Josephine. I was worried that she’d gone to the Duchess’ and somehow had been caught but thankfully on the fourth day, a white carriage pulled into our drive. All of my women were inside of the house, and I stood in the gravel next to my hitched wagon and turned to wait for our guest.

  Right as the elegant carriage pulled to a stop, the door slammed open, a white velvet heel stepped out, and Josephine appeared from inside. Her orange, cat-like eyes stayed on the ground for a second, lifted, and then a wide smile curled up the corners of her lips.

  “Charles,” the heiress sighed. “Don’t you look dashing this morning?”

  “I could say the same of you.”

  Josephine did look prettier than ever before. Her honey-colored blonde hair flowed around her shoulders in loose waves, lifted off her shoulders in a gust of wind, and settled down her back. Her round, childlike cheeks flushed pink at my compliment, and she hurried forward, offered me a hand, and took mine in her own.

  The young aristocrat wore a long sleeve orange and white striped dress with delicate lace around the neckline and sleeves. A wide, white bow was tied around her tiny waist, ruffles flowed out at the hips of her dress, and a golden pendant glittered against her pale, voluptuous chest. Josephine stepped forward, her pristine, white petticoats rustled against the gravel at our feet, her sensible low heels clicked lightly, and her smooth leather gloves felt almost buttery against my fingertips.

  “Your dress matches your eyes perfectly,” I purred.

  “My mother used to call it the color of fire,” the blonde giggled. “But when I think of fire, I always picture the blazing hot blue flames, not the muted tangerine of my eyes.”

  “I think she was right,” I smiled. “It is the color of fire. Such a beautiful shade.”

  “Well, thank you,” the heiress giggled. “But, I’m sure you’re more excited to hear about what I learned from the Duchess than to stand here and admire my eyes all day.”

  “I would gladly do that,” I chuckled. “But yet, come in. Valerie, Rian, and Daisy have repeatedly been asking about you. Valerie in particular.”

  “I’m excited to see them,” Josephine grinned. “I’ve missed them very much. I even brought an overnight bag if… I could stay here tonight?”

  “Of course,” I nodded. “I’m sure they’ll be overjoyed to hear that.”

  “Oh?” the blonde paused. “Charles? Were you going somewhere?”

  Josephine paused for a moment, pointed toward the wagon filled with supplies, and the hitched horses, and then turned back to me.

  “I’m so sorry if I interrupted you,” the aristocrat breathed. “I can come back at another time…”

  “No, it’s quite alright.” I chuckled. “I just returned home. It’s actually funny, and I think we forgot to tell you in all of the tumult of the evening. We caught the nix in your lake. We’ve been keeping it in a small jar, but Daisy read that they need lots of space to swim. At least fifty gallons of water is the smallest. I just got back from the mercantile with some supplies for it. It won’t take me very long to build, so I’ll do it later today.”

  “You caught it?” Josephine gasped. “I’ve been trying to get rid of the pesky nixes for at least a year, and you finally got the last one?”

  “Yes,” I smiled. “I told you that we use mythical creatures in the experiments, so when we saw it, we captured it for whenever we perform the next one.”

  “Charles.” The blonde heiress murmured. “Do you mind if I watch you while you build it? If it’s too much of a bother, it’s fine. I can either return home or spend some time with your women, but I’d love to watch you work with your hands.”

  “Nonsense,” I breathed. “Of course, you can watch. I don’t mind.”

  “Where are you going to build the tank?” Josephine asked. “Down in your laboratory? I’ve been to the manor a few times, but I’m sad to say I’ve never seen it for myself.”

  “I’ll show it to you once we’re done talking to the others,” I nodded. “Not only that, but there’s someone down there that’s very anxious to meet you.”

  “Oh?” the stunning blonde asked. “You have someone staying in your laboratory?”

  “Well, staying isn’t the right word,” I laughed. “He lives down there… well, uhm, it’s hard to explain. You’ll understand when you meet him.”

  I offered Josephine my hand, took hers, hurried up the stairs, and swung the front door open. Bright afternoon sunlight flooded into the drawing-room as we passed it, and in the distance, I could hear the soft shuffling sounds of my women’s feet and their lowered voices.

  “Rian! Valerie! Daisy!” I shouted. “Josephine is here!”

  A loud crash reached our ears, a loud giggle, and then Valerie pounded down the hallway with her arms pumping at her sides.

  “Josie! Josie!” the feline-woman cackled. “You’re finally here! We’ve missed you so, so much!”

  The ash-blonde bent her knees, rolled across the floor, balanced on all fours, and then launched herself into the air toward the heiress. The aristocrat chuckled, rushed forward, held out her hands, and then caught the flying feline-woman in her arms. The heiress wobbled on her feet and almost went down, but I steadied her with my hand. The honey-blonde leaned back her head, grunted from the weight of the feline-gi
rl, and then parted her lips to speak.

  “Thank you,” Josephine gasped.

  “Valerie,” I warned. “Get down. You’re too heavy for Ms. Josephine.”

  “She’s fine,” the stunning heiress giggled. “I just wasn’t expecting that.”

  “See?” Valerie cried. “I’m not too heavy! Josephine can handle it!”

  The cat-girl closed her eyes, rubbed the top of her head against Josephine’s cheek, and purred so loudly that it echoed around the small hallway.

  “I don’t think anyone’s ever called me ‘Josie’ before,” the heiress giggled. “My mother used to call me ‘Jo’ when I was little, but other than that, I’ve never had any nicknames.”

  “Charles calls me Val sometimes,” the feline-woman nodded. “I originally got my name off of this weird, long metal thing I found in the laboratory. ‘Valstrom,’ I loved it so much, but then Charles changed it just a wee bit, and I loved it even more!”

  “Valstrom?” Josephine asked. “Isn’t that a brand of wrenches?”

  “Yes,” I chuckled. “I’m surprised you’ve seen it. Most aristocrats have never even seen a wrench, let alone known the names that are written across them.”

  “I’d like to believe that I’m pretty handy,” the blonde aristocrat chuckled. “I enjoy fixing things around the manor whenever I have the chance, but if I can’t, that’s when I call in one of my workers.”

  Josephine set down Valerie, patted the feline-woman’s head, and then turned back toward me. I smiled gently at her, gestured with my arm toward the kitchen door, and then led her in.

  “Oh, hello, Charles,” Daisy bubbled. “Josephine is here, too! Hello!”

  “Good afternoon, Ms. Browning,” the heiress breathed. “What are you making? It smells delicious.”

  “I was baking a few loaves of bread,” the brunette stated. “They should be done in a few hours or so.”

  “Daisy,” I uttered. “Where’s Rian?”

  “She’s in the conservatory,” the bear-girl pointed.

  “Ah, perfect,” I smiled. “If you’d like to join us, Josephine is going to tell us what she found out from the Duchess.”

  “I can assure you…” the blonde heiress muttered. “It’s not very much… The experience itself was terrifying, but the information she gave me wasn’t much more than you found out yourselves.”

  Daisy brushed off her hands on a towel, set it down on the counter, untied her apron, hung it up on the wall hook, and then followed after us. Behind the small kitchen table, glass double doors led out into the conservatory, and though I didn’t spend much time out there, it was one of my favorite places in the manor. Since Rian’s creation, the red-skinned imp-woman had taken over the space, planted a few herbs, flowers, and other types of plants out there.

  The doors opened up into a large, round room, the walls were made entirely out of frosted glass, and they stretched up into a perfect dome over our heads. Dark iron pieces of metal held the glass walls in place, and blooming vines crawled up their lengths. It was warmer in this part of the house, only by a few degrees, and much more humid. Even in the dead of winter, this section of the house stayed as hot as mid-July.

  Different parts of the room were sectioned off into aisles with even more lush foliage, but directly in the middle of it was a medium-sized table with six chairs. I headed for it, pulled out a chair for Josephine, and then pushed her toward the table once she sat down.

  “Rian?” I called. “Where are you?”

  “Over here,” the black-haired beauty answered. “In the palm section. I’ll be right over.”

  “Josephine is back!” Valerie cried. “She’s here with news from the Duchess.”

  Rian appeared from the left of the room, gloves covering her hands, and a pair of shears in her grasp. The red-skinned woman dropped the tool on a small sliver cart, pulled off her gloves, brushed off her hands on her legs, smiled, and headed toward us.

  “I doubt it was a pleasant visit,” the imp-woman replied. “But I’m anxious to hear what she found out.”

  I sat down beside Josephine, all of the rest of my women settled in beside us, and then we all turned toward the heiress. The stunning aristocrat cleared her throat, placed her hands on the tabletop, knit her fingers together, and then began to speak.

  “I visited the Duchess the day after I left here,” Josephine explained. “It’s now Tuesday, so I saw her on Sunday morning.”

  “How was she?” I asked. “Did she seem… off?”

  “Yes,” the blonde nodded. “At first, she seemed hungover, but the more time I spent with her, she seemed more… erratic. She definitely knew that something happened to her, but she told me that she couldn’t remember what. She said that she thought it had something to do with you and Lucien, but she couldn’t recall anything concrete. I assured her that it must’ve been a dream, or she must have spoken to you at the party, but she disagreed. I would’ve come the day I spoke to her or the day after, but I wanted to wait a few days.”

  “Why?” Valerie asked. “Do you have a specific reason?”

  “I wanted to see what the other aristocrats said,” Josephine added. “So, I spent a few days wandering around town, shopping, having luncheons with Adelia and Lilliana, and everyone that I spoke to felt the same. The first two days, Edony walled herself up in the duchy, but after that, she was seen in town utterly disheveled and accusing people of being ‘in on it.’ I’ve even heard that she’s locked Lucien in the laboratory permanently because she believes that you and him are in cahoots. I also heard a rumor that she attacked a group of male workers in the street, though that couldn’t be confirmed or denied.”

  “Really?” I muttered. “And all of this is because of the truth serum?”

  “Either that,” Josephine went on. “Or a combination of that and her own delusions.”

  “I never expected her to react this way,” Daisy uttered. “The Duchess is always so calm and collected no matter what is going on. Do you think that the aftereffects of the truth serum caused her to lose touch with reality, or was it something else entirely?”

  “When I saw her,” Josephine breathed. “She didn’t seem that bad. Yes, she was suspicious of everything I said, but she certainly wasn’t delusional or disheveled. She looked as she always does.”

  “So,” I grunted. “Tell us what she told you.”

  “Well, I sent a courier first, asking if I could join her for tea,” the heiress started. “She responded almost immediately. At least within an hour after I sent my request. I arrived at her manor later in the afternoon, and everything seemed fine. Her servants opened the gates for me, helped me from the carriage, and opened the front door for me. Edony greeted me at the top of the stairs, elegantly descended, and then guided me into her drawing-room. We spoke for a little bit, and over time, I started flexing my power on her. Small things, you see, making her grab the sugar bowl when she meant to grab her cup. She seemed to notice at first, and would furrow her brows, stare at the object in her hands, sigh, and then grab whatever she meant to in the first place, but over time, she stopped. That’s the thing about my ability. Once I use it on you a few times, you stop noticing that anything is abnormal. It feels… natural.”

  “Did you talk about her plans there?” Daisy asked. “While you were drinking tea?”

  “No,” Josephine breathed. “Edony had other ideas…”

  “What do you mean?” I murmured.

  “Have you ever heard of the Duchess’ trophy room?” Josephine asked.

  Daisy’s brows furrowed, Rian shook her head, but Valerie and I glanced at each other. The two of us had heard of it, briefly from Milton and his men back in the forest outside of the duchy.

  “Yes,” I grunted. “But Rian and Daisy haven’t.”

  “Then I must explain,” the blonde heiress shakily breathed. “Everyone knows, but the two of you may not, poaching around the manors, or poaching at all is illegal. Not only in Edenhart, but all over the country. Animals are seen
as sacred, and because of our powers, they seek us out. No one knows why, but they do. I’ve known Edony for most of my life, we’re pretty close in age, and we’d have playdates when we were children. No one loves animals as fiercely as the Duchess, and she does everything she can to protect them.”

  “But what does this have to do with her ‘trophy room’?” Daisy asked.

  “Many men resort to poaching,” Josephine explained. “May it be for food, clothing, or for selling on the black market. I’ve heard of hunting parties, too, composed entirely of all aristocrats, but I know that Edony put a stop to them many years ago because it disgusted her. Most men who are caught poaching are executed. It’s a heinous crime and they spend the rest of their short lives in the dungeons because of it, but with Edony… she takes extreme measures when it comes to poaching.”

  “What does she do?” the red-skinned imp-woman urged.

  “If they’re caught on her property,” the heiress informed us. “They’re taken inside into the depths of the house, strapped down, and then… skinned alive, just like the animals would’ve been if they’d caught anything. The men in these situations die horrible, slow, and agonizing deaths, but that’s not the worst of it. Edony keeps the skins, frames them, and hangs them up on the walls like pieces of art in a museum. For the longest time, I didn’t believe the rumors about her ‘trophy room,’ but I’ve seen it with my own eyes now…”

  “You saw it?” I growled.

  “She showed it to me willingly,” the stunning blonde nodded. “She asked if I wanted to see her ‘most prized possessions’, and I agreed. I never in a million years would’ve thought it was human skins, but I shouldn’t have been surprised with the Duchess’ depravity. She told me that a lot of people find her installments ‘grotesque’, but ‘sometimes, you have to do something grotesque and horrifying to protect the things you love,’.”

  “That’s exactly what the warden’s men told me,” I muttered. “You remember that, don’t you, Valerie?”