A couple of days after Shalltear's resurrection in the throne room of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the Tomb's lord and master, Lord Ainz Ool Gown was speaking with one of his floor guardians.
"Where is Shalltear?
"My lord, she is in her quarters. She refuses to come out."
"And why is that, Demiurge?"
"I relayed the recent events to her as you ordered. Shalltear has not taken it well. She has been crying in her room ever since and I cannot get her to come out."
"That was two days ago!"
"Yes, my lord."
…...
After her resurrection, Shalltear Bloodfallen, guardian of the first three floors of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, retired to her rooms to rest as her lord had ordered her. She was not tired, of course, but she was very confused and was thankful that her lord was kind enough to give her time to sort herself out.
She layed down on her bed, her tiny body dwarfed by what was actually a normal sized bed, and closed her eyes to clear her thoughts. And maybe to try and remember anything of what had transpired to make everyone angry at her. She had no idea what it could be, but from the comments from the other guardians, it was grave indeed. And it had something to do with Lord Ainz.
Two hours later, there was a knock at her door. It was Demiurge, fellow guardian and responsible for the seventh floor of Nazarick. His appearance, in his perfectly fitting suit, was dapper and impeccable, as always. She sat up quickly, eager to have the mysteries in her mind explained.
"Demiurge, what has happened? And why is everyone mad at me? Please explain."
Seeing her sitting cross-legged on her bed, clasping her hands together, he thought she looked like a doll out for display and he almost smiled. That thought was banished when he remembered why he was here.
As the vampire sat anxiously on her bed, Demiurge took a seat in a chair near the bed. With a finger, he adjusted his spectacles before beginning.
"Lord Ainz found you standing in a clearing, unresponsive. As if you were waiting for someone. In his infiinte wisdom, our lord knew that you had been mind-controlled and were waiting to attack."
"Wha- what? That is impossible! I am a vampire and naturally resistant to any form of mind altering or control. How-?"
"Lord Ainz believes that someone used world-class magic on you. After you attacked him, there was a battle..."
"I-I-I WHAT?! Are you saying that I tried to kill our beloved master? That is impossible! I have no recollection-"
"We all saw it, Shalltear. We watched you raise your hands against him. Of course, he defeated you and killed you, but through his great benevolence, resurrected you again."
Staring ahead without seeing, blood-red tears were now flowing freely down her face as she realized the depths of her sin against her lord. Against the man she worshipped and loved above all others in this world. And she couldn't remember any of it.
In a dull voice, she asked, "And why did not the other guardians assist Lord Ainz in fighting me? Would it not be normal for his guardians to take up such a task?"
"Lord Ainz insisted he do it alone and that the rest of us stand down. He told Albedo that it was because he felt he needed to prove himself as a leader (as if such a thing was necessary!), but we believe that was a lie. We are certain he fought you alone because he could not bear to see us fighting each other."
Hearing this, Shalltear began to sob as the tears continued to fall unheeded. "How can I possibly face my lord and master after such a betrayal?" she muttered to herself.
As if he had actually heard her, he said, "Please remember, Shalltear, that our master has forgiven you for everything. In his eyes you are blameless."
The vampire did not respond to that, but continued to stare straight ahead, seeing nothing. "Please leave me alone for a while, Demiurge."
Without a reply, the demonic guardian rose, adjusted his spectacles again, and with a short bow left the room, closing the door softly behind him.
….
"I have dispatched the Lords of Wrath, Envy and Greed to guard the first three floors of the Great Tomb of Nazarick in her absence. If I may be so bold, Lord Ainz, her behavior is inexusable. Her dereliction of duty on top of-"
A raised hand from Ainz Ool Gown, absolute ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, was enough to immediately silence his guardian.
"Hmmm". As a being of such incredible power it must be devastating to know that her actions were bent upon another's will. Especially as a vampire, whose very nature resisted any normal means of mind control. No wonder Shalltear is such a mess.
Striding towards the huge doors of the throne room, Ainz said over his shoulder "I will take care of this personally. Ask Albedo to stand by here in the throne room immediately. You did a good job informing Shalltear of what happened. Please go back to your duties on the seventh floor." The doors closed loudly behind him.
Walking the halls toward's Shalltear's room, Ainz was lost in thought.
I need all my guardians ready and able in case of attack on Nazarick. Something beyond her control happened and it's over now. What's the big deal? And why did I ask Albedo to go to the throne room? Did I think that having another female in the room when I speak with Shalltear will help? Having two women in the room that hate each other was a good idea? What was I thinking?
His thoughts were interrupted when he realized that he was already standing in front of Shalltear's door. He had to handle this correctly and definitively. He took a deep breath and knocked firmly.
"Shalltear!" he said in his most commanding voice.
"Yyyes, lord?" The voice on the other side of the door was weepy and frightened. Not like her at all. Now he was more resolved than ever to get this done with.
"I order you to prepare yourself and appear before me in the throne room in twenty minutes." Without waiting for a reply, he turned on his heel and headed back to the throne to wait.
Albedo was happy just to be in her love's presence, but was confused about what was going on. He seemed to be waiting for something...or someone.
Seeing her confused expression, Ainz merely said "Shalltear will be here shortly. You will attend me."
Bowing her head, she said "Of course, my lord. As you wish."
Now she had an idea of what was going on. She knew of Shalltear's condition, as did all the guardians. None of them had been able to entice the little lamprey out of her rooms the past couple of days. A small part of her had been happy about that. She had Lord Ainz to herself without the little hussy barging in at inopportune moments. However, as captain of the floor guardians, she also was concerned that one of the Tomb's guardians was not doing her duty. "Well", she thought to herself with the utmost confidence, "now that Lord Ainz is taking a hand, this will all be resolved as it should be."
The doors opened and Shalltear appeared before her lord and master. Her clothes were slightly rumpled and her bow was askew. Her face was still streaked with bloody tears and she looked lonely and scared.
Before a word was said, the diminutive vampire prostrated herself before the throne, her face pressed firmly to the ground. "I throw myself at your feet, my lord. What I have done is unforgivable. I do not know why you brought me back to life after such a base betrayal, but I will gladly suffer any punishment you see fitting."
Ainz somehow knew that this was not a time for kindness, but firmness. He was feeling his way around these emotional issues, but he felt he knew how to best handle this.
In his most commanding voice he ordered her "Shalltear Bloodfallen! Rise and face me." Shakily, she pulled herself off the floor to stand.
In a word, she looked...pitiful. So pitiful, in fact, that even Albedo couldn't muster enough anger to ridicule her as she normally would.
Seeing his friend's creation in such a state made Ainz sad. And angry.
"Who is your lord and master, Shalltear?"
"Yyou are, my lord."
"Did I not say that you were forgiven?"
"But, Lord Ainz-"
He cut the air in front of him with his hand. "Enough! If I say that you are not to blame, then who dares gainsay me? You are my guardian, my vassal. Do not dare to go against my wishes!"
Did I lay that on a bit thick? I'm just winging it here and Albedo isn't helping at all.
In a softer voice, he continued "As I said earlier, Shalltear, what happened was not your fault and there was nothing you could do about it. It is over and we have other grave matters to attend to. I need you to attend to your duties as guardian for Nazarick and to help find out who did this thing to you. I need you to be as strong as you were created to be."
His voice became like steel again. "Because when we find who is responsible for this unpardonable offence of casting world-class magic against one of my subjects, I will crush them to dust. They will reap my anger a thousand-fold. All will know the vengeance of Ainz Ool Gown!"
Without realizing it, he had stood up while delivering this speech. He unclenched his fists and sat back down once again, a little embarrassed by his display of anger.
"Do you understand me, Shalltear Bloodfallen?"
Ainz was taken aback for a moment when he noticed that his little vampire was now standing ramrod straight, her tears gone and an expression on her face that could only be called "euphoric". Maybe he did overdo it just a bit, but she seemed to have gotten her swagger back.
"I am honored, O Master, that you would direct your great wrath at our enemies in my behalf. I will strive to be worthy of such an honor." She was positively beaming now. "If there is nothing else, my master, I will straighten my slovenly appearance and return to my duties."
With that, she glided towards the doors.
"Yes, please try to make yourself presentable...for a change." Well, Albedo had finally found her tongue.
Without even slowing down, the vampire replied "I'll try my best for an old lady like you!" The doors closed as Ainz had to hold out an arm to restrain Albedo from chasing after her.
Well, I'm sure I could have handled that better, but it seems to be over with. Now I can concentrate on all those other things that need taken care of. I hope I didn't sound too stupid to Albedo though. I really want her to see me as a great leader. Well, nothing I can do about that now. I'll do better next time.
….
Albedo calmly related these events to Demiurge in an awed voice (after sufficiently calming herself down) and the demon nodded with satisfaction.
"Of course the great Lord Ainz, with his great wisdom, took care of it. Is he not our lord because he can do things that we cannot?"
Albedo was practically swooning. "There is nothing that my love, the great Lord Ainz, cannot do!" Her look of euphoria matched Shalltear's from earlier. And she was hugging that damnable body pillow she was keeping with her more and more often.
With a grimace at her antics, Demiurge withdrew to go about his duties.