Chapter 13.3

“…No signal today either?”

Alvin pressed Liliana for answers. She held a pendant made of magic stone, but it showed no sign of light. The pendant, as if mocking their desperation, remained silent.

They clung to it as if it were a lifeline.

“At this rate…”

Alvin, who understood better than anyone what the kidnapper felt toward Liat, was tormented by thoughts of the horrors his lover might be enduring.

He bit his nails, afraid Liat might make a drastic choice. His reason was eroding, making it impossible to think straight.

With no progress in the search, he was on the verge of madness.

“Ah…”

His anxiety drew blood. Red drops flowed down his finger. The sight of blood snapped his last thread of reason like a madman excited by crimson.

At this point, he resolved to t*rture the maid. If she suffered enough to want to die, maybe even a speck of a clue would surface.

The Liat in his dreams wasn’t real. What did a promise mean when he couldn’t even confirm his lover’s safety?

Being hated or ignored only mattered if she survived and returned to his arms.

The courage to be hated—he finally found it. He was willing to be hated, to hear curses, if it meant Liat could return to him. He’d sell his soul to the devil and suffer forever if she could come back.

Just as he was about to abandon all reason, Sir Selton, who was in charge of Liat’s escort, rushed to call Alvin.

“That maid has opened her mouth.”

* * *

Descending to the underground prison, Alvin saw a strange sight.

“Remember me from last time? Good to see you.”

The voice coming from Sieta’s lips was not her own. Alvin instinctively recognized the speaker. His hair bristled in instinctive rejection.

“Himbrid…”

“Of course, a born noble like you is smart! I even wondered if I should wear a mask.”

Her smile looked awkward, as if she was using her facial muscles for the first time.

“It’s hard to control at this distance.”

Karden, wearing Sieta’s shell, massaged his jaw, opening and closing his mouth to loosen the muscles. His movements were like those of a puppet on strings, hardly human.

“That’ll do. We’re not close enough to need more.”

“Where is Liat?”

“You shouldn’t call another man’s woman like that. If I get annoyed, who knows what I’ll do to her.”

His eyes narrowed, full of malice. The Marquisate servants who came down with Alvin were frozen in tension.

But Alvin was confident.

“You’ll never harm her.”

“…That’s true, but it’s annoying to hear. Yeah, I didn’t like you from the start.”

“Agreeing with you disgusts me, but for once I feel the same.”

On that day, Liat gave Karden a fever. Karden knew little about his crush except that she was precious and her name was ‘Liat.’

One day, while rummaging through a trash bin with frozen hands, he discovered who she was.

A dusty newspaper in the garbage had a small article about two children, with speculation about whether they’d end up together. Karden was familiar with the story—he’d heard it often while visiting shops. The ‘Liat’ in the rumors was the same Liat he knew. And she was destined for someone else.

‘Liat. Liat El Criesita. So that’s her full name…’

He recited her name from the photo caption, then cut out her face and kept it in his pocket. Alvin’s face was cut out and thrown away.

Alvin, who naturally sat beside her in the photo, had been Karden’s rival since childhood.

His unrequited love and inferiority complex grew, consuming him. When he was burning in those dark feelings, an opportunity arrived.

‘So there’s something fun in this trash bin.’

One day, while rummaging in the snow, Karden was found by Himbrid. Recognizing Karden’s power, the previous head of Himbrid accepted him.

Unlike Karden, who’d been at the bottom, Alvin’s bright smile in the photo never faded from his memory. Dirty and reeking, Karden hated Alvin’s clean smile.

He kept Alvin alive for one reason: someone had to dirty her.

Even after killing his father and taking over as head of the family, Karden still lived under the old Himbrid’s shadow.

‘Don’t touch the merchandise.’ Breaking this rule got Karden beaten nearly to death.

Through Sieta’s shell, Karden’s bitter hatred seeped out.

“There’s no reason I can’t k*ll you now.”

“If you can.”

“Hiding behind her back like when you were kids suits you. I wanted to k*ll you, but you’re still useful as a hostage, so I’ll let you live. Generous, right?”

Karden’s obsession with Liat left Alvin no energy to care about the trauma he’d created. When he faced Karden, the storm-like rain sounds vanished.

“As for where Liat is…”

“I told you not to call her name.”

“Where is she?!”

Alvin failed to keep his composure, his voice cracking with anger. Karden pretended to clean his ear, taunting him.

“No need to wonder anymore. You’ll never see her again. If there’s good news, I’ll let you know. Maybe about a child?”

Alvin clenched his teeth so hard they ground. His furious face delighted Karden.

“I’m not fond of children, but if it’s hers, I think I could love it.”

Karden wore a dreamy, sweet expression. Just imagining it made his eyes fill with happiness—a bizarre sight to Alvin.

“Why do you do this?”

“What?”

“If you feel the same as I do, you’d know what she truly wants.”

Alvin’s own darkness was no different. But he always put Liat’s happiness first, hiding and yielding everything.

That was his way of loving.

“If she doesn’t love me, I’ll grab something else. That’s why I hate nobles. Acting so noble, so pure…”

Karden’s childish, one-sided demands made Alvin downgrade his assessment from ‘criminal’ to ‘brat.’

“I’m a noble now too, so we’re on the same level…”

Alvin barely resisted the urge to draw his sword and stab the babbling man before him. With no clues, he couldn’t afford to lose the only way to communicate.

After they fell silent, a tiny sound came from Sieta’s mouth. Everyone listened. It was the faint sound of someone sleeping—barely audible, like a breeze.

Alvin’s rage surged uncontrollably.

“Do you know who that is?”

The familiar breathing was Liat’s.

“She was sleeping at the door—pitiful, isn’t it? I was careful not to wake her, so don’t worry.”

“Lay her on the bed, pat her back.”

With her nightmare now reality, Alvin couldn’t imagine her fear and exhaustion.

Karden, about to criticize Alvin for acting like he knew her so well, fell silent. He didn’t want to admit he was lacking. Rationalizing it as the misery of a powerless loser, Karden barely kept his composure.

“I’ll contact you whenever I feel like it, then.”

With those words, Sieta collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.

As soon as Alvin realized Liat was safe, relief made his legs give out. His knees hit the hard dungeon floor with a loud thud. The pain was sharp, but the anxiety Liat must be feeling brought Alvin to tears.

Time passed. When his tears dried and his cheeks felt tight, Sieta opened her eyes.

While Karden possessed her, she’d vaguely shared his memories and senses, so she could guess where Liat was. But the memories were fuzzy, and Himbrid’s magic prevented her from speaking freely.

Gathering her courage, Sieta tried to speak several times, but finally dropped her head to the floor, the mind-sharing not fully ended. She saw a faint image of her former mistress—Liat, crying just like Alvin before her.

“I… I…”

Sieta reflected on her short life.

She was not from the Empire, but a faraway country. With dark skin and a talent for magic, her people lived in isolation. But their uniqueness brought trouble. After being discovered, her whole clan was scattered and sold into slavery.

Recognizing her specialness, Karden kept Sieta as a subordinate rather than a s*x sl*ve, chaining her so she couldn’t escape.

The restraints on her wrists were much rougher than Liat’s, so her wrists never saw a day without blood.

When she got used to the pain and weight, her first order came—to harm someone. Sensitive, Sieta gagged and refused. That night, Karden brought familiar faces as ‘gifts.’

As punishment for disobedience, the head of a beloved friend rolled on the floor. The smell of others’ blood was stronger than her own, haunting her every breath. To save her clan held hostage, she used magic to harm others. Pushed into it, but still responsible.

She prayed for death every night, but the gods never answered. She considered s*icide, but Karden, reading her mind, said he could replace her with someone else—usually the youngest child in her clan. Even death was no escape.

With despair repeating, she gave up hope and living as a person—until she was sent to Liat’s mansion.

‘Sieta.’

For the last time, she decided to be brave. She wanted to help her master, Liat.

Faced with a storm, her fragile light no longer feared going out. The death she’d dreaded now felt light as dust.

Sieta told all she could. The oath Himbrid placed on her tightened as she spoke, but she didn’t stop.

Her eyelids trembled. Sieta looked straight at Alvin. 

‘Does love make people resemble each other?’

She saw Liat in Alvin’s face.

Kind people.

As her eyelids grew heavy and pain surged, Sieta surrendered to sleep.