The only reason why they were there was because the sacristy of Ateliesta wanted to give a ceremony in honor to all the deceased for Asmodín's tragedies which had shaken the whole region. The voice of the friar was getting lost in the high vaults of the Church, the morning sun highlighted golden flashes from the heads.

Len squinted at one of the benches, nodding slightly, hoping he wouldn't fall asleep. He wasn´t put any effort in following the preaching; and to be fair with Len, the voice of the friar was so horrifying, almost from beyond the grave, which was resounding in the walls, in a long diatribe about the Hell and how to avoid it… Ha! As if Len even cared about all that thing called Eternal Life! He already knew that he and Rin would go to Hell one day, and the best thing was to enjoy the human life as well as possible.

They say, in addition, that Heaven is full of good deeds and Hell of good wishes.

The choir got up to start the chants. Len began to contemplate the stained-glass windows: Saint George impaling the dragon, Saint Peter pulling his innumerable nets; he even saw Saint Zita of Lucca in a small window with her apron full of flowers, of who Len had been a devotee once before (1); the most impressive of those images was the one of the Holy Mother Mary, extending her hand to some soul in need. Each of these images seemed to exert emotions on the poor parishioners, as if they were led to believe that it doesn't matter how much they are beaten in earthly life, just by being good, you won a pass to Heaven… Bah! For Len, they were nothing more than decorative windows. Excitement in his soul? He rather felt impatience.

—This man… Won't ever shut up?

—Please, Len…—Rin whispered, looking at him with mock reproach—. Be quiet.

—I'm trying, my darling, but he's too tedious to take it—Len replied mischievously, placing his hand on her belly, receiving a slight kick. He looked at his sister and smiled widely.

That's right: Rin was pregnant with Len. They knew it when the young blonde began to have the same symptoms as Meiko-nee, who was several months more than her; After the first general bewilderment, there were hugs and tears for the twins. The idea of being together and with future children on the way was a blessing. And if Len deigned to pray, he did so to thank for this wonderful sin and for the baby to be born well. Such a great joy is only experienced once in a lifetime.

—Len, look! Look at the friar who just left! He has a giant wart!

—Yes, I see it! It looks like a meteor or a bomb. What if that explodes?

Some present turned their heads to those laughter and whispers, and when they felt watched, Rin and Len stopped talking and adopted faces of feigned compunction. They observed how the friar with the wart, when speaking, touched it without stopping. Len quickly lowered his head to hide his hilarity, while Rin tried with all her might not to burst into hysterical laughter

They left the Church holding hands, laughing of the warty monk, even in the grotesque part where he managed to burst it in the communion ceremony and all the pus fell in an old woman whose mouth was wide open.

They walked slowly, in case Rin felt some discomfort, although until now she felt nothing, because the Kagamine girl was young and could cope it better (2). She rejoiced to see the belly already beginning to be noticed slightly, where reposed the fruit of their sinful relationship that had survived all adversities. She enjoyed touching it, talking and singing to him, letting Len put his hand out and feeling the kicks, talking with Meiko-nee about things like pregnancies and moms and mocking at Kaito's panic attacks, soon to be a first-time father and not having a damn idea what to do

Len was the one who was guiding her. The twilight was already about to hide, and the Moon had already appeared. The sky was already beginning to be studded with stars that imitated the mantle of the Holy Virgin. The forest exhaled fragrances of humus, ferns and wet earth; even a jay was causing a broad echo with its trills. They stopped in front of an old oak, half hidden among rocks. The couple was silent.

—What are we waiting for? —Rin asked after several minutes.

Len didn't answer. He smiled at his companion and with his head told her to look up. The young woman raised her head and was amazed: From the branches of the old tree, already full of bursting honeysuckle and mistletoe, floated several fireflies among them, as if they were living lanterns… It was an incredible spectacle. The young blonde laughed and stretched out her hand, waiting for some of the winged bugs to settle between her fingers.

She turned to see Len, who had taken advantage of his little sister's rapture, to kneel before her, smiling at her. The blonde was confused and, strangely nervous, what was he doing?

—What…? What are you doing, Len? —Rin asked in a nervous voice, not knowing why.

—I know this is wrong and I shouldn't do it… But I don't care. —He kissed his sister's hand, making her even more nervous and said in a solemn voice: —. My princess, I am your humble servant. I would do anything to see you always smile…

He was imitating a phrase from a cavalry book, which Kaito forced him to learn, at the risk of strangulation if he makes a mistake… Rin had her eyes wide and almost fell to the ground to see Len take out of his pocket a ring adorned with a shining blue cabochon, stretching it in front of her. The blond man took a deep breath and said the following:

—Princess, would you do me the honor of marrying me?

Rin was stunned, slowly trying to assimilate what she heard. She stifled a scream with one hand, while her eyes filled with tears, trembling the hand that Len was clutching… It was the most wonderful thing she had ever heard, and for a moment she didn't thought about how sacrilegious it was the idea of marrying his own brother… She opened her mouth, ready to say "Yes, I want to".

—I… I…

—Congratulations! —A voice shouted from the trees. The twins jumped and scrutinized the bushes. From them Kaito jumped, using only his scarf, again, waving two cones of ice cream, seemed so happy—. Congratulations to both!

—Uhm… Kaito… Rin hasn't even said "Yes—Len said with a huge droplet on his nape.

—Oh… It seems that I went ahead a little bit, right? —Kaito murmured ashamed. The twins nodded at the same time… Moments later, Rin and Len burst out laughing. —. Hey! What are you two laughing at? —He exclaimed inflating his cheeks.

—Hahaha! Kaito-nii, it looks like you sat on poison ivy! —Rin exclaimed, laughing. Kaito looked down: Under the scarf, a lot of red blisters appeared on his skin, as if an army of bees had fallen on him, causing him an infernal itch.

—KYAAA! —Kaito yelled, throwing himself to the ground and rolling like crazy. —. Remote it from me! REMOVE IT!

Rin and Len laughed for a long time, but then they got bored and pitying him, tied him with his own scarf and dragged him to home, where Meiko-nee was waiting, who was upset with Bakaito for leaving without telling her where, but then she smiled when she saw him tied up… And for the twins, because in the middle of the journey, between the screams and cries of Bakaito, Rin had whispered to Len: "Yes, I want to."

…

—Mei-chan! Open the door!

—Kaito… Did you bring what I asked?

—Ehm...

Kaito hid the basket where it was what he had bought so that his beloved Meiko wouldn't see it. The brunette crossed her arms. She was somewhat exhausted by the bustle that started early.

— Well, Bakaito! Where is it?

He had no other way out. He couldn't tell her that he had bought exactly she requested, because lying to Meiko was equivalent to bothering a Grizzly bear in the middle of spring… So, he slowly showed the basket, smiling, stupidly waiting for his wife to forgive him… But he couldn't get away from it. Meiko caught him violently by one ear, like a naughty boy:

—Bakaito, I repeated it five times! "You go to Rei Kagene's pharmacy, buy several baby formulas, then you go to the store and you buy a ripe orange and a sake can". That was all! —Kaito whimpered, trying to get loose from the grip. —. But Bakaito had to go through a Hagen Daaz Store and bring TEN ice cream boxes… —At last she let him go and rubbed her face—. You go back there and buy everything I ASKED, got it? —Kaito nodded scared and went off like a soul that takes him to the devil…

He returned almost half an hour later, trembling and drenched, stinking of sewer water; but this time he did bring what she asked for. Meiko received him again.

—Bakaito, why did you take so long?

—Buaaaa! If you knew everything that happened to me! —Kaito yelled, his face traumatized. —. I bought everything you asked for, but then I fell into an open sewer, which didn't even have a warning sign! Luckily, I didn't break anything… But then a monstrous lizard appeared and wanted to eat me! Buaaaa! I don't want to go back there...! —He groaned in terror, hugging Meiko. The brunette was surprised, but returned the hug, as if he was a small child. After all, she was used to these acts of Bakaito.

—There, there. That happens to you by walking distracted. Go up and change: There are new faces that you should know.

…

Kaito entered the same room where weeks before Meiko had given birth. Our beloved bluish idiot was the happy father of a girl named Arika (3)

After almost ten hours of labor, Meiko-nee expelled the creature and Kaito, seeing the amount of blood, fainted from the impression. When he came to his senses, next to the bed was a baby with blue hair and brown eyes, staring at him. Bakaito never believed that there was something so small, but nothing more to see her, fell madly in love with her and clumsily managed to cradle her, looking with joy at the woman of his life. Now he was going back to the same room, where the floor was once again covered with flowers, as is customary in the births: roses, flowers and daisies that were crushed when walking on them.

Several weeks after Bakaito, it was Len's turn.

They had stayed at Kaito and Meiko's house and, in the early hours of the morning, Rin had begun to suffer the first pains. The brunette (who became good for these things) acted immediately… First of all, pulling Kaito out so he would not get in the way of another fainting and locking herself with Len for hours. Finally, all was over.

Meiko was wiping her hands on a cloth, in front of a luxury crib, speaking softly to whatever was inside it. The young woman in labor, pale, with shining eyes and her face still disfigured, rested in the same bed with canopies, with a staff that stretched across the floor. She seemed extremely tired and she was trying to stay awake.

Len was sitting next to her at the head of the bed, imposing a kind presence. His gaze was rotating from the crib at the end of the room, to his wife, as if watching a game of tennis. After spending many hours of stress, he could finally breathe calmed.

For in those centuries, two-thirds of children usually dying in the cradle and half of the women dying in childbirth. Kaito didn't worry too much, because Meiko was robust, but Len gained his good scares, because Rin was younger and frailer than the brunette... Without Meiko-nee to noticed, Len had wiped Rin's forehead when she was panting with fever, reciting mysterious prayers that made no sense in Latin, English or in any other known language…Luckily, everything came out well, and those two lumps in the crib proved it.

They had twins.

—Just look at them! They are a carbon copy of you guys! Above all, look at this cute little boy, identical to his father, except younger and saner than him, he—Meiko said happily raising the child. Something unpleasant, however touching, as it is all baby in the first hours: Reddened, with fixed look and full of drool, with a tiny blond lock on the head—. Oh, Souta (4) wants to eat—She said watching the baby's lips move. Without thinking twice, Meiko sat in the nearest chair and opened her bodice.

—Eh… Meiko-nee, I think I should do that… —Rin managed to say.

—Tsk! You are too exhausted now to feed them at same time I have enough milk for this little creature—Meiko said with delight looking at Souta who, with his eyes closed, was sucking her breast with the voracity of a puppy. Seeing Rin's bewildered face, she pulled the cradle toward them—. Meanwhile, just take Yuka (4), she must be hoarse from crying so much.

For a few moments only, the sucking noises of the children were heard. Len didn't stop contemplating the exhausted but still happy face of his wife while breastfeeding, seeing that pink breast, abundant and dilated; admiring, almost for the first time, a motherhood when it used to be vilely interrupted.

—Do you want to hold her? —Rin murmured, covering her breast and extending the little baby girl to her husband. Len nodded and clumsily managed to cradle her. For a few moments he carefully studied the innocent and rosy little face, already serene because she had eaten.

For four years, Len had seen babies… But those were nothing but pieces of flesh, bloody and lifeless, conceived by accident and therefore destined to be buried and hidden like vermin in the cold ground… If during that time he would have been told that years later he would have a small child alive in his arms and that this would be his daughter, Len wouldn't have believed it.

Many times, happiness seems a mere mirage, especially if one has known nothing but suffering. "Happiness is a bird", they told him once. And Len had caught her

These little ones wouldn't have to suffer the old martyrdom of their parents; they wouldn't lose them after an epidemic that ravaged entire villages; they wouldn't have to live desolate and without support in a cold and depressing orphanage. They wouldn't be separated by an artist's career or a servant's job. They wouldn't be trapped in a horrible castle, where one would be a sexual slave and the other would just watch helplessly. They wouldn't have to kill and flee to save their lives… They wouldn't have to do anything like that… Instead, they could play and enjoy life without worries in the fields, from spring to fall, so that in winter they would fight snow battles until It was time for dinner, where they would all gather together in the fireplace, enjoying the warmth and mutual love… The dark days were left behind to never return.

—She's… beautiful—Len muttered, stroking her rounded cheek with one finger, marveling at its softness, earning a chuckle from his little one. To say that Len was happy was to be too short: He felt like a man, he felt strong. He turned his head where his beloved wife was and leaned over to kiss her gently. Meiko gave Souta back to them, because it was feeding time for little Arika.

For the rest of the minutes the two blonds watched with infinite tenderness the two little ones sleep peacefully in their arms… It was hard to believe that a happiness, so great, came to their lives, after so much suffering. Maybe… The Duke of Venomania, among all his evil, unconsciously did something good, didn't he?

—Hey! We must perpetuate this for posterity! —Kaito said, taking from who knows where a heavy manual photographic machine and pointed it towards them—Be ready: One…

—Kaito, I don't think that it's a good idea…—Len began.

— …Two…

—Eh… Kaito-nii? —Rin asked.

—…Three!

The strong whitish flash of the camera blinded them for a second, followed by a thunderous sound of the machine ... and it resulted in strong cries from the three babies, who got scared.

—Bakaito! —Meiko shouted.

…

Every spring, and always alone, Len went to the hill where the old broom tree was. The beautiful memories that that place brought him always helped him a lot. He would sit in front of the tree in silence, sometimes for an almost hour, with his hands clasped in his lap. He didn't come to worship him or to pray, but he always had the feeling that it was a necessary ritual (5)

He needed to alleviate the heavy burden of Evil that still lived inside him, like a snake or a parasite that inhabited his inner insides and that, very occasionally, it did… act of presence with vague and slight memories about the past, accompanied with throbbing of pain… Hate is part of all of us; It's part of the human condition, and Len was already clear of that... But, just seeing those little yellow flowers that adorned the thin branches, he could remember the smiles he had there… and so, are calmed those internal demons that would always be inside the young man as an annoying memory of having taken revenge with his own hands.

It's like the Elder from the Coven told him: "You came to the end of the impossible puzzle that was your life, maybe one day you'll mess it up again to solve it, Len, because life was never said to be easy".

All things are crystal clear, as the old man would have said. And on those spring mornings that he passed with the tree, sitting in the silent and overgrown clearing that has hardly changed, with his legs bent under his body, he sometimes experienced such gratitude that he had the feeling that his heart was going to explode. Is that same gratitude that drove Len sometimes to sing. He had to sing.

He stopped singing for a moment, as he heard screams and laughs: "Tate! Tate!" Surely it was Yuka and Souta, playing Cat and Mouse with Arika in the same vacant lot where he and Rin had a "close encounter" with the past.

How was the time passing...! And the funny thing is that he was only nineteen years old… What didn't five years ago he was polishing someone else's shoes? "A little lapdog," as the old man had scornfully dismissed him long ago.

"I have learned not to let down my ears again, nor to hide my tail, never again." Len thought, both for his mentor and for himself, with a mischievous giggle.

...

Almost eighty years have passed.

To Yuka and Souta the hair has turned from blond to white over the years. Each year they climb the hill of the Yellow Servant, as they used to call it, with the children they had together (they followed the tradition, so to speak, familiar, of marrying each other), their nephews and grandchildren. His parents Rin and Len Kagamine had long since died. They buried them there, under the same broom tree, already completely blackened and dry.

Asmodín never recovered. All the events narrated in this story, like daggers, made it bleed so much, that there was nothing left. The town was completely deserted; the houses collapsed and only the structures remained. Everything, until the cemetery of the countryside, was covered with weeds. No one, not even the homeless tramps want to stay, because of their reputation as the demon's town, where he once dwelt.

In the ruins of the old castle of the Duke of Venomania, the stones burned by the fire reveal to the unsuspecting traveler the story of lust, love and blood. The legend said that in the place where Gakupo Kamui was buried, with no shroud or prayer, sprout roses of an unusual purple color, unique in the world; others say that, from time to time, yellow roses sprout, but didn't reappear until the anniversary of that fateful day. Would it be a posthumous curse cast by some blond warlock…?

. . .

Be that as it may, the fact is that in that same place where this sad legend of lasciviousness and cruelty occurred… the act of someone, someone who, according to society and religion, should never raise his head or say what he thought, but rather always had to obey and be silent… It was the spark that caused that voracious fire that changed everything forever.

All for the act of a servant.

Len Kagamine… The lapdog that turned into a wolf.

Hope is a good thing, perhaps the best of all, and good things never die.

Stephen King.

FIRST FINAL

Author's Note:

(1) Saint Zita of Lucca: Saint and Italian virgin. Considered as the patron of the servants. Her celebration at the Catholic Church is on April 27.

(2) In the Middle Ages it was normal to see girls from thirteen married and pregnant years (Thirteen years was a sign that the girl was already nubile) That was also done because the death rate was quite broad: For those centuries it was very uncommon overcome the sixty years of age.

Names of babies:

(3) *Arika means "Joy"

(4) *Souta literally means "Courage". It is also a funny word pun: Souta = Shota, due to Len Kagamine's fame of "shota".

(4) * Yuka means "Small flower"

(5) Final based on the epilogue of Rose Madder, by Stephen King