***

“Leah? Leah?”

Leah, lost in thought, was brought back to reality when a hand gently shook her shoulder. 

“Huh?” 

She lifted her head to see Zion’s face, his expression filled with concern. 

“Is something wrong? You look so pale and tired.”

“Oh, brother…”

Leah murmured, realising she had drifted off while helping out in the slums. 

“It’s nothing.”

She replied quickly, brushing it off. She couldn’t possibly tell her brother about the naughty dreams that plagued her every night. 

Zion was a priest, holier and more virtuous than anyone she knew. 

If she confessed to him that a demon was raping her in her dreams, how would he see her? 

No matter what, she couldn’t bear to see the contempt in Zion’s eyes. 

She loved her brother more than anyone and the thought of him knowing this shameful secret was unbearable. 

“Is it something you can’t even share with me?”

“No, it’s not that, brother.”

Leah replied quickly, forcing a smile. 

It hurt her to lie to Zion, but she felt she had no choice. 

“I have to go down this alley…” 

Facing him only made her feel more uncomfortable, so Leah hurriedly pushed the cart full of bread and moved away, putting some distance between them. 

‘What am I supposed to do…?’ 

Lost in thought, Leah mechanically knocked on the doors of the houses in the alley, handing out bread as her mind raced with worry. 

‘I can’t let this demon torture me anymore… But who can help me?’

She had tried everything she could think of to stop the demon from invading her dreams. 

Believing that it was due to a lack of faith, she had fasted and prayed fervently, pleading for deliverance. 

But it had all been in vain. 

Since the demon only appeared when she was asleep, Leah had tried desperately to stay awake, fighting sleep with all her strength. 

But no matter how hard she tried, exhaustion would inevitably take over and she would fall asleep without noticing – only for the demon to return. 

She had even asked Adele to stay awake and watch over her, but whether due to the demon’s tricks or simple exhaustion, Adele had fallen into a deep sleep, seemingly oblivious to the sounds of Leah’s torment. 

What made it worse was the deeply obscene nature of what was happening. 

There was no way Leah could confide in the Mother Superior or the Abbess about such matters. 

Zion had sensed something was wrong, but even with him she couldn’t bring herself to talk about this unspeakable secret. 

What could I have done to deserve this torment from a demon?

These thoughts plagued Leah, gnawing at her mind. She couldn’t help but wonder if, deep down, the demon’s presence was her punishment – if some hidden seed of sinful desire within her had brought this upon herself. 

Why else would this be happening to her all of a sudden? 

“Haa…”

Leah sighed softly and handed a piece of bread to an older woman who took it. Then she pushed the cart towards the next house. 

Before she knew it, the cart was almost empty, only three or four loaves left. 

‘I have to go back and get more bread.’

She thought as she looked at the cart. Today Adele hadn’t been able to join her for the charity work.

Adele had come down with a cold, leaving Leah alone in the familiar alley – a path they usually walked together. 

‘It’ll take too long if I go back the same way… Maybe I should go this way instead.’

Leah hesitated as she reached the dead end of the alley. 

Going back would take too much time, but the alternative route seemed unfamiliar and unsafe. 

There was a shortcut – a narrower alley that branched off in the middle – but it was darker and even more oppressive than the rest of the already gloomy streets. Leah and Adele had only passed through it once before and even then it had been a tense and unsettling experience. 

The alley had always given Leah an eerie feeling. Even with Adele at her side, they had rushed through it without pausing to look around. Now, walking through it alone, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of fear. 

No one lived in the smaller alley. 

Leah had knocked on every door there, only to find them empty. Later, the other nuns had explained that people had once lived in the alley, but an earlier outbreak of disease had taken all their lives and left the houses abandoned. 

‘Just for today, I’ll go this way.’

Hoping to save time, she pushed her cart into the narrow alley – a route she would normally have avoided. 

‘I’ll just get through quickly.’

As expected, the alley was dark and unnervingly quiet. 

Trying to shake off her unease, Leah pushed the cart faster, eager to get out of the oppressive passage. 

Then she froze. 

A faint noise reached her ears.

‘What was that?’

This was an alley where no one lived.

But she thought she heard a human voice.

‘Is someone there?’

Just as Leah started to turn around, her vision was abruptly swallowed by darkness.

“Kyaah!”

Suddenly a sack was pulled over her head, plunging everything into darkness.

“Aah! Mmph!”

Her scream was muffled as someone clamped her mouth shut.

Whoever had covered her head tightened the sack with what looked like a towel, preventing her from making a sound.

‘Somebody, please… help me!’

Leah couldn’t even fight the terrifying force holding her.

The person covering her mouth held her tightly and dragged her off somewhere.

‘Where are they taking me?’

Terrified, Leah shook violently.

With her vision completely blocked, she had no idea where this stranger was taking her.

‘Who could do this and why are they targeting me?’

“Kyahhh!”

The towel covering her mouth slipped away and Leah screamed.

“Help! Somebody, please help me!”

She screamed with all her might, but a terrible fear crept up on her – the fear that no one would hear her cries.

This alley was uninhabited, and the nuns and priests who came to do charity work never ventured here.

No one knew she was here.

In other words, there was no one to save her.

“Who… whoever you are, please…”

The bag was still covering Leah’s head.

She couldn’t see who the person in front of her was.

But she could sense their presence, close enough to feel their oppressive aura.

“Please… let me go…”

‘What on earth is this stranger trying to do by bringing me here?’

Her hands and feet were still free, but Leah knew that any attempt to escape or remove the sack from her head would only provoke the stranger further.