Chapter 6 – What Happened at the Festival (Part 6)

In the garden of the duchy, the different races trapped in iron cages and Fernan appeared. Scales had sprouted on his face, and the arm embracing Ellerdin had transformed into a demon’s arm. As Ellerdin hesitated and tried to pull her face away from Fernan’s chest, he hugged her tightly.

“Don’t look yet.”

A beast-like rough voice was heard. 

‘This is what he wanted to hide all this time.’ 

Ellerdin closed her eyes tightly and hugged him. Her clothes began to soak with moisture. Now everything started to make sense. Why Fernan occasionally disappeared, why she instinctively felt the black-furred creature was Fernan, what the scales on his body were.

The demon’s curse wasn’t just a curse. Why hadn’t she realized that it meant transforming into a demon?

The fact that her own greed had exposed the part he wanted to hide so much brought a wave of sadness.

‘Let’s understand if he hates me for this. It’s only natural.’ 

A wife who reveals her husband’s flaws without listening or doing anything. Just thinking about it was terrible. And the fact that the terrible person was herself made it hard to breathe. No matter how kind he was, he wouldn’t easily overlook this matter.

“I’m sorry.”

Ellerdin said in a voice choked with tears. Fernan silently stroked the back of her head.

“You must be dear to him. I see she’s a woman you love?”

The voice she heard when Ellerdin released her power spoke again.

Fernan spoke without even glancing at it.

“I’m a demon, so I have no skill to save a dying dragon. Nor do I have the skill to save the others here. I brought them here simply because Ellerdin wanted it.”

Fernan spoke coldly and walked out of the garden.

***

In the early hours of that day, Fernan gently brushed the tear-stained eyes of the sleeping Ellerdin. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying so much. At that moment, a silhouette appeared beyond the balcony window. Fernan quietly opened the balcony window. Outside stood Nisroch and Mollek.

“The task?”

“It’s been handled perfectly. By tomorrow, there will be a flood of reports about the missing nobles.”

Mollek, whose skin had turned white and smooth, smiled broadly. It had been decades since he had feasted like this. The laughter kept coming from his full belly. Ignoring Mollek’s broad smile, Fernan asked.

“Was there anything useful?”

“I don’t know if it’s useful, but among the items obtained, this was considered the best by humans.”

Nisroch took out a small device from his mouth.

“What’s this?”

“Hmm… wait a moment, I’ll check if there’s a human among those I ate who knows how to use it.”

Nisroch closed his eyes and smacked his lips. The past and memories of the humans he devoured began to surface one by one. After a long moment of concentration, he suddenly opened his eyes.

“It’s a magic stone converter! If you put a magic stone in here, you can get an orb of power!”

Fernan’s eyebrows twitched.

Power orbs worked not only on humans but also on demons and monsters. It was known that consuming the orb could double one’s usual strength.

Therefore, it was an item not easily found even in illegal black markets. Although converters were rare, the primary material, magic stones, were extremely precious.

Of course, a few could be obtained by threatening the Imperial Family.

“It’s not something we really need.”

At Fernan’s words, Nisroch made a sullen face.

“It doesn’t matter since the items weren’t the purpose anyway. Leave them elsewhere and go rest.”

“Yes!”

Mollek and Nisroch disappeared in an instant.

Fernan, who was gazing at the night sky for a moment, turned his body and quietly closed the balcony door.

When he returned to the bed, Ellerdin was curled up, asleep. As if having a severe nightmare, she groaned and twisted her body.

Fernan transformed into Fer and lay down behind her.

As Ellerdin felt Fer’s soft and warm fur, she turned and burrowed into him.

Ellerdin clutched his fur tightly as if in distress. Her tightly clenched hand was trembling.

‘What on earth is making you suffer so much?’

In truth, he could find out what kind of life Ellerdin had lived if he wanted to.

From their first meeting and interactions, he could roughly guess what kind of environment she grew up in.

The truth was likely much more brutal and painful than he imagined. Fernan wanted to uncover Ellerdin’s past and eliminate everything that tormented her.

‘But then you’d dislike it.’

He didn’t want to expose what Ellerdin was trying to hide. Of course, if she chose to speak, the situation would change.

Until now, Ellerdin hadn’t wanted to share anything. So, he could only wait for her to break out of her shell on her own.

‘I will be your strength.’

Someday, hoping she would rely on him, he closed his eyes.

From that day, Ellerdin began having nightmares for over a week. Even when awake, she only seemed to breathe quietly as if exhausted.

Fernan, in the form of Fer, stayed by her side throughout the early morning, but her condition only worsened.

One day, she lay as if dead, and another day, she wiped tears from her hollow face. On some days, she woke up screaming and started biting her nails.

Seeing this, Fernan hurriedly grabbed Ellerdin’s arm. Her despairing eyes looked at him.

Her pale face had lips that moved silently.

Her voice had no strength, and she grew thinner by the day.

***

“Ah… sob, stop… don’t do it…….”

Ellerdin began to plead, panting. Fer hugged her convulsing body familiarly.

“Please…….”

In front of Ellerdin stood two giant men.

“Useless.”

The Earl pointed a cane at her, speaking coldly.

The Baron standing next to him clicked his tongue and shook his head. He whispered something into the Earl’s ear while looking at Ellerdin.

Kneeling before them, Ellerdin looked at the ground with trembling eyes. She couldn’t even dare to look at them.

What would happen today? What words would end this situation?

‘This is a dream… it’s a dream…….’

Since it wasn’t reality, she could run away immediately if she wanted. Or she could shout the words she couldn’t say to them.

Her voice didn’t come out, and her legs didn’t move as if they were frozen. Just like before she met Fernan.

The four eyes watching her trembling like an aspen tree shifted sideways.

“Yeah, that sounds good today.”

The Earl snapped his fingers with a smirk. Instantly, knights appeared and grabbed her arms. The Baron and Earl sat in chairs, tapping their feet.

“Begin.”

At the Baron’s words, the knights tightened their rough grip on Ellerdin’s body. With a force strong enough to break bones, Ellerdin screamed and began to struggle. The knights pressed down on her sobbing head.

“Now it’s worth tormenting.”

The Baron stood before Ellerdin with a satisfied smile. He chuckled, holding a small knife in his right hand.

“What did I tell you to do when you see me?”

Ellerdin looked up at him, trembling. His cold eyes looked down on her.

“Ah…….”

Those eyes could do anything. Her whole body shivered. The events that were about to unfold played out in her mind.

Before she knew it, the knights pressing her down had disappeared.

Ellerdin bowed her head to the Baron’s feet and lay flat.

“I-I’m sorry… Please have mercy just this once.”

Her voice trembled, and she couldn’t speak properly. The Baron began to step on her head with his shoe.

“You should have done well without being prideful. How many chances have I given you? Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, yes. It’s because I’m lacking…….”

“Since you couldn’t prove your worth, you must be punished, right?”

The Baron grabbed her hair and pulled her up. He swung the dagger in his hand and cut Ellerdin’s eye. In an instant, a white flash passed before her eyes, and her eye area felt hot.

“Aaaah!”

Ellerdin clutched her eye in burning pain. Red blood flowed through her fingers.

Watching her struggle in pain, the Earl stood up. He slowly approached Ellerdin.

“Huff, sob.”

Ellerdin glared at the Earl with eyes full of anger.

Seeing her rebellious gaze, the Earl raised an eyebrow and knelt before her.

He gave a small laugh, grabbed her chin, and pointed to the side.

“Oh dear, looking at your father with such eyes… you must endure. Hmm? If you don’t want to end up like that.”

“Mo… mother…….”

Ellerdin’s body turned cold. In a blue tank, a woman with the form of a mermaid was bound in chains.

Her eyes were hollow, and blood bubbled from her mouth.

Like a dead fish floating in water, the mermaid’s body slowly rose to the surface. Her stiffened body turned its head to look at Ellerdin.

Her empty, blackened eyes stared at her. Her cracked white lips moved silently.

“Because of you… if you had been perfect, I wouldn’t have ended up like this… because of you…….”

Ellerdin’s head drooped. She felt no resistance or emotion. Her mother was right. The Earl was right. The Baron was right.

‘If only I had been a little more perfect… if I had been useful… if I had proven that…….’

Like a marionette with its strings cut, black hands descended upon her. In the slowly encroaching darkness, Ellerdin whispered softly.

“I want to die.”