“Carrol. I’m grateful you saved me, but… I don’t love you.”

At dusk today, a man was about to leave a woman. The woman, clinging to the hem of his trousers, lifted her head upward. The man, frowning at the grotesquely scarred eyes of the woman, spoke.

“To think you once had such clear violet eyes, and now you look like this.”

“Cliff?”

Even as he saw the woman’s skin-and-bone hands trembling, the man did not stop his cruel words.

“Now you’re just… like a monster.”

“……!”

These melted, fused eyes—she had sacrificed them for the man she loved. To save him, trapped in a blazing inferno that burned like the fires of hell! Carrol’s emaciated arms dropped powerlessly to the floor.

“Live well. Goodbye.”

“……Cliff, Cliff?”

Carrol pressed against the ground, spinning round and round. There was nothing to grasp. The woman realized that the man had abandoned her. Her blind scream, cutting through empty air, rang in his ears.

“Don’t leave me! Please!”

The man, who had received her body and soul, tried to leave. The woman, blind, tried to follow him down a path she could not see. But as she ran, she stumbled and rolled across the floor like a withered branch of winter.

“Ugh.”

Tears spilled onto the ground, leaving round marks, while the hand that braced against the floor curled inward.

“Ah… Cliff.”

Crushing her heart-wrenching cries beneath his feet, the man vanished to the far side of another world. Even as her fingernails split and broke, blood seeping out, Carrol could not let go of Cliff.

The bright stage lights that had illuminated her slowly dimmed, and Carrol was swallowed by darkness.

Only the faint sound of sobbing told the audience that she was still there. Carrol—no, Eve—smiled to herself in the perfect darkness where no spotlight reached.

Eve, the actress who had completely become Carrol. At this moment, Carrol was Eve, and Eve was Carrol. The curtain slowly descended, signaling the end of the performance.

“The acting… was perfect. Satisfying.”

Even if the audience numbered only a pitiful ten or so, that was enough for Eve. The moment the curtain fell completely, Eve Saint’s flawless performance would be remembered in their minds forever. But, unfortunately, what the audience gave her was not applause, but shouts.

“Stop her!”

“Drag that wench down!”

“……!”

The small theater in the capital’s back alley was thrown into chaos. The ten or so burly men sitting in the audience leapt onto the stage the moment the play ended.

It was a wonder they had waited until the performance was over, considering how rough and urgent they were.

‘They weren’t real spectators…?’

Eve had no time to finish the thought. The leader of the group who had rushed onto the stage grabbed her hair first.

“Kyaaah!”

Her luscious platinum hair was yanked and tossed about. The violet eyes she had kept shut for her role snapped open in pain.

“Aagh! Why, why are you doing this?”

“You thought we’d just go home, didn’t you? Your father’s unpaid debt—you’ll pay it back with your body!”

“N-no, it can’t be.”

“Oh, but it can!”

Through barely opened eyes, she saw the face of the thug who had once come to her home, trashed the place, hurled curses, and left. It was the same hulking man she had secretly watched while hiding.

“You little rat, I finally found you.”

Her drunken, gambling father who had abandoned her had died. Not just died—he had left behind a mountain of loan shark debt as her inheritance.

To escape the creditors who chased her to her house daily, Eve had been eating and sleeping at the theater for over a year. The theater was several kilometers away from her home in the slums—she had thought they’d never find her here.

‘How did they track me down?’

Seeing her violet eyes trembling violently, the thug smirked. His bloated, fat face swelled with a grotesque smile.

“Now you understand, don’t you?”

“……”

The man grabbed her wrist and tried to drag her up. Eve looked up at his face and began to plead. She had to beg for at least some pity.

“It’s not my debt. It’s my father’s. Please, have mercy!”

“Shut up!”

Smack!

“Ahhh!”

She had begged for mercy, but what came back was merciless violence. Eve collapsed onto the very spot where she had just been weeping in her performance. Her limbs shook uncontrollably

She stared with frightened eyes at the stage floor, where her tear stains still remained. The pain on her struck face was intense; she touched her throbbing cheek with her thin hands.

“Shut it. There’s a quicker way, so why would I waste time?”

This thug was not someone who could be reasoned with. If he had a conscience that could falter at the sight of a delicate actress’s face marred by his handprint, he wouldn’t be doing this in the first place.

“Hey! What if you damage the merchandise? A face like that is top-class!”

At his companion’s harsh rebuke, the thug thumped Eve’s head with his fist and spat curses.

“Damn it. That’s why you’d better follow quietly. Got it?”

“Ugh.”

Merchandise?

That word terrified Eve more than being struck.

‘These men… they’re going to sell me at an auction!’

She had heard rumors. That back-alley loan sharks sold debtors off at secret auctions. The thug grabbed her arm and tried to drag her away, but Eve bowed her swollen face and resisted with all her strength.

“N-no!”

“Damn it, I can’t just keep hitting you either!”

The thug raised his hand—his palm easily two or three times the size of her face.

‘I-I’m scared!’

Her father’s face overlapped with the thug’s. Eve had grown gaunt from playing the role of blind Carrol. Curled up on the floor, her fragile figure looked as though it might snap if touched.

The thug, looking down at her in displeasure, ground his teeth.

“Annoying!”

Suddenly, the man’s large hand shoved its way around Eve’s slender waist and flat stomach.

The stage floor that had been so close instantly dropped away, her view rising higher. The thug slung her over his shoulder and lightly leapt down from the stage. Like prey caught in a hunt, her body jolted violently with every step he took.

It was unbearably humiliating, terrifying, and dreadful. Eve cried out at the top of her lungs the name of the one male actor she had trusted, the only one she could rely on.

“Ivan! Ivan! Help me, Ivan!”

‘Ivan, where have you gone…?’ If he had finished playing Cliff and left the stage, by now he should have come backstage to meet her. But on stage, there were only debt collectors. They wrecked the set without hesitation.

“No, stop!”

They smashed the stage props, tore down the curtains, and stomped on them in fury. It was a stage she had built with her own feet and effort because the theater director had failed to manage anything properly.

“No, please… not that. Don’t do that….”

Once, she had dreamed of becoming the most famous actress in the world. A dream laughable considering her lowly birth, but not unreasonable given her talent.

‘What use is any of that now…?’

The despair that money brought crushed Eve so easily. Her struggling body fell still. Her fists, once beating uselessly, stopped.

Until the thug carried her out of the theater, she hung from his shoulder like a lump of dead meat. As she had feared, she was forced into a carriage—and no one helped her.

Sitting blankly in the back seat of the carriage, Eve saw someone approach.

“Oh, Eve.”

Unlike her, still in Carrol’s messy stage makeup, the man was clean and neatly dressed. It was Ivan, who had played Cliff.

“…Ivan.”

Hope lit up her eyes. Eve summoned all her remaining strength, twisting to escape the men binding her arms, and thrust her body out the carriage window.

“Ivan, please help me. I know it’s shameless, but fetch the constables for me!”

“Eve. If you know it’s shameless, then stay quiet.”

“What?”

That gentle smile of his was the same as always. ‘But why, Ivan—why are you doing this?’

Just then, the thug who had carried her on his shoulder walked up to Ivan.

“Here. Your payment for the tip-off.”

A pouch of gold coins dropped into Ivan’s palm.

“I should be the one thanking you. Don’t handle her too roughly—she’s delicate.”

“Heh. Rough? We’ll treat her well and sell her for a high price.”

Eve’s face went pale.

“Ivan, d-did you… betray me?”

“Sorry. I was in urgent need of money. But I’ve done a lot for you as a friend, haven’t I? I gave you food and lodging, spoke well of you to the director.”

“I paid you for those! How could you do this to a friend?”

“Friend? You’re a woman. What kind of friend? Do your best out there.”

“Ivan!!”

Ivan, smiling, waved at her as she stared in horror. He casually backed away a few steps, then turned his back completely and disappeared into the theater. The thug slammed his fist on the roof of the carriage, signaling it to depart.

“To the Crowd Auction House.”

“Yes, boss.”

***

Perhaps because the auction time was pressing, the thugs did not even bother to wash Eve properly before tossing her onto the stage. Her face was barely cleaned, only a black veil covering everything but her eyes. On her body, a black gown of Eastern style was draped.

For the actress Eve, this was the most humiliating stage of her life. The lights burned hot, sticking the gown to her skin. She tugged at the fabric as her lifeless eyes stared into the audience.

The lights and the wide stage were familiar. But the faces of the raucous crowd were not. Men shouting with drool on their lips, ladies and gentlemen laughing crudely—the seats were full of them. Perhaps the strange music filling the auction hall was meant to dull their senses.

“The final lot! An Eastern dancer, brought in urgently!”

Eastern? She was born in the outskirts of the capital of the Aria Kingdom.

“Oooh!”

“Top quality!”

“Her eyes sparkle like jewels!”

Hundreds of shameful gazes slid down her body, lingered, and moved on again. Even when she tried to cover her exposed chest with her arms, the humiliation did not leave her.

‘…Someone, please. Anyone, save me!’

But no one heard Eve’s silent scream. And even if someone did, there was no one here who would save her.

“Bidding starts at one thousand Lofran!”

“Two thousand!”

“Yes, bidder 105, two thousand!”

“Three thousand!”

“Bidder 200 offers three thousand!”

From the very beginning, bidders flooded in. A fire unseen ignited between them.

“Five thousand!”

An old gentleman in a black mask lifted his paddle with wrinkled hands. Eve, meeting the murky eyes filled with desire, gagged and covered her mouth.

“Yes, bidder 44 at five thousand.”

“Six thousand.”

“Bidder 2 at six thousand, now the highest bid.”

Beside the old man sat a woman in a white mask, her hand raised. That woman—it was Rosie, the famous madam of a high-class tavern! Even with a mask, Eve recognized her instantly.

Rosie was well-known for matching her silver hair with white clothing. Now, too, she was clad entirely in white. Once, she had tried to recruit Eve through threats and persuasion.

Eve’s body began to tremble violently.

‘Wouldn’t death be better? Better to die than become the plaything of some decrepit noble, or a pr*stitute in Rosie’s tavern.’

The auction turned into a contest between the wealthy old nobleman and Madam Rosie. The bidding climbed higher and higher, reaching a sum great enough to buy a small mansion.

“Seven thousand!”

“Bidder 2 at seven thousand.”

“Ten thousand!”

“Ten thousand Lofran offered! Bidder 44 at ten thousand! Any other bids? If not, I’ll count three times. Ten thousand, ten thousand….”

The old noble’s black eyes met Eve’s violet ones. The aged man turned his palm upward and crooked his fingers twice.

Ah!

There was no savior. Her knees buckled, and Eve began to collapse. Staff rushed in to hold her up.

“Yes. Once….”

Just as the auctioneer raised the gavel to strike the block, a man’s cold voice cut through the feverish heat.

“I’ll buy that woman.”

A tall young man in a golden mask was walking toward the stage. Behind the mask, his golden eyes—like sharpened blades of light—flashed.