Chapter 9.2

As she carefully placed her hand on the doorknob, it clicked open.

“You’re awake?”

A silhouette backlit by light greeted her with a gentle voice and entered. A boy, his face half-covered by a mask with a strange symbol, stood before Liat.

Judging by the soft voice and similar build, he seemed about their age. The spikes she’d raised subsided. Liat forced her trembling lips to ask where they were.

“Um, um, where is this…?”

“Hmm? Keep talking. Where is this?”

“…!”

His leisurely, confident attitude made her tense up again.

They’d been kidnapped, and the boy who was smiling pleasantly in front of her seemed highly likely to be involved in the crime. Even his relaxed whistling contrasted sharply with her nervousness.

Liat glanced through the open door. Noticing she was looking for a chance to escape, the boy spoke up.

“If you go out like that, you’ll lose at least a leg. It’s underground, so escaping won’t help.”

“….”

“I like that look. It’s just what I wanted.”

“What… what do you want?”

Liat frantically spun her mind, thinking through every possible situation. She spoke as gently as possible, using polite language she never used, to appease him.

It was survival instinct. The person before her was dangerous.

If it could be solved with something material, how nice that would be. But his demands didn’t seem to include anything easy to pay off.

In the mask’s eyes was, unbelievably, pure curiosity and goodwill.

Apparently pleased with her question, the boy smiled with his eyes.

“What do you think?”

Liat chose silence. Even if she guessed right, it didn’t seem like the boy intended to let them go.

“Not going to talk? Smart.”

Through the mask, the boy’s expression was pure and transparent, like a mischievous child in the neighborhood. The only emotion visible on his face was amusement.

Peering into his heart, Liat felt a shiver as if caught in a harsh cold wind. The way he enjoyed her agitation made him seem like a monster wearing a human mask, just like in the books.

Suddenly, he leaned forward, grabbing Liat’s chin painfully and turning her face side to side.

“No matter how I look, it’s a shame.”

Even though it was the first time she’d been treated so unfairly, she didn’t have time to feel shame. Each time she met his eyes, something seemed to crawl in through her gaze and invade her mind. A headache surged.

“Ah!”

“…Such resistance.”

When his hand left her chin, Liat’s legs gave out and she collapsed to the floor.

“You’re the same type as me. I didn’t expect such a raw gem to be hidden in this Empire.”

“I-I don’t know what you mean.”

The boy laughed, showing his teeth. His sharp fangs gleamed in the darkness as if they might pierce her throat. After laughing for a while, clutching his stomach, he wiped away tears and changed the subject.

“Why aren’t you begging me to let you go?”

“Doesn’t seem like you’ll let us go.”

“Correct.”

The boy liked Liat, who trembled in fear but didn’t lose her composure. Her eyes shone with a clarity unlike any he’d seen in other people.

In fact, this wasn’t the first time the boy had seen Liat. In the days when he begged for scraps on the street, he’d seen her before.

On a snowy day, their eyes met for a moment as Liat got out of a carriage. From then on, he’d secretly thought of her from time to time.

‘Her eyes were so beautiful.’

After joining a syndicate family, the boy was raised as a monster underground. With his outstanding magical power, he’d traveled between countries, handling underground work.

He often thought of her.

Would those eyes remain unchanged, even in this damp, foul-smelling place? Whenever he wanted to see her again, he comforted himself by imagining her face twisted in misery.

Now, the person who’d only existed in his imagination was right before him, and his heart swelled.

“Ah, you shouldn’t act like this.”

“….”

“I want you.”

His eyes, looking down at the girl, gleamed with color even in the backlight. His hand slowly reached for her eyes. Wanting to escape but unable to move as if bound by a strange force, Liat held her breath.

Clunk.

Just as his thumb reached her eyelid, a large man rushed in as the door opened.

“Young Master, it’s time.”

“Already? Too bad. Don’t touch these two without my permission. I’ll be busy for a while, especially with such big shots here.”

“Time’s short.”

“Alright. Liat, see you next time. Don’t forget my advice.”

The door closed.

Only then did Liat breathe freely. She crawled over and sat next to Alvin, clinging tightly to him and wishing:

That Alvin would open his eyes as late as possible and only face this hell later.

That when he opened his eyes, all this would be a dream. Overcome by fatigue, she lost consciousness.

“Ha ha! Look at this! She’s awake!”

“Where, where. Let’s see if these little nobles act noble even in the morning.”

Liat despaired when she realized what she faced upon waking was not a dream.

A fat man with a rough face shoved his face right up to the children. His clothes were stained a deep brown, reeking of a strange, fishy smell. If one were to describe that smell, it was hell itself. The scent of the dead, piled layer upon layer, stung her nose.

“We caught a good one. This girl’s looks….”

Words dripping with crude desire poured out toward the child. Liat wanted to cover her ears to block their lewd taunts, but worried it would only provoke them further, so she bit her lip and endured.

“Hey, Pan, the Young Master said not to touch the girl. The one we can mess with is the one stuck in the corner.”

The thin man standing behind pointed his chin at Alvin. There lay Alvin, still limp and unconscious.

“Such a shame. Guess I’ll have to play with this one instead.”

The man called Pan smacked his lips and reached out toward Alvin.

“No!”

Liat rushed to block Alvin, who was cornered. She was struck by a fierce premonition that if Alvin were caught by their hands, the Alvin she knew would be gone forever.

“Just because the Young Master said not to touch you, you think we can’t rough him up? Move, Miss.”

Liat shook her head, tears brimming in her eyes.

“The Young Master meant something else. He didn’t ask us to keep you safe. Unless an arm gets broken, you won’t move?”

“Absolutely not!”

She’d been known as a stubborn one even at the mansion. Even when the men’s thick palms slapped her cheeks, even when they tried to pull her away from Alvin aggressively, she didn’t let go of Alvin.

The fear that had gripped her body turned into anger, giving the girl strength.

“What a crazy girl we’ve got here!”

“If you can break my arm, go ahead! Even if you pull out all my teeth, I’ll bite back just as hard!”

Even as she was beaten until bruises covered her body, Liat chewed over their words slowly. The violence they could inflict on her was limited.

If she endured, she could protect Alvin.

Liat spat out the blood that filled her mouth and screamed. The blood trickling down her chin made the men click their tongues in disgust.

“Let’s just leave it for today. Pan, you’ve lost it. This one’s what the Young Master likes. Are you trying to get killed?”

“Fine, I get it. D*mn it.”

Pan, driven by both cruelty and l*st, gripped his groin.

“If I just go crazy and shove it in—ah! Fine, Paul! I’ll leave!”

“I don’t care if you get your throat cut, but I don’t want trouble on myself. Get out.”

“Tsk. Guess I’ll have to find another girl. You, your name’s Liat, right? I’ll remember that.”

The two men left, promising Liat there would be a next time. The child rubbed her aching cheek with her palm. The sharp pain made it impossible to close her mouth.

“Help, help me! No!”

Not long after the men left, a woman’s scream rang out.

The room where Liat and Alvin were kept was so well soundproofed that they had never heard any sounds from outside.

‘…The door is open.’

Why was the door, always locked, open now? The thought flashed through her mind, but escaping was more urgent.

Could she get out of here?

Crawling to the door, she heard a woman’s sobs ringing clearly from a nearby room.

Opening the door a bit more, the sounds became sharper. The screams, as if her vocal cords were tearing, made Liat freeze, forgetting to check what was happening outside. She didn’t have the courage to peek her face out.

“Stop! No! Please save me!”

To young Liat’s ears, strange sounds tangled together—Pan’s panting and a woman’s sobs in response.

Not knowing what it meant, Liat covered her ears. Even with her hands pressed tight, the woman’s cries didn’t stop.