Chapter 9.3

“Miss! Are you listening? Haa, Miss, it’s your fault! Hahaha!”

Startled by Pan’s shout, Liat lost her original purpose and shut the door.

The beast-like m*ans and the woman’s screams didn’t leave her ears. Liat scratched at her ears until they bled, trying to turn the pain into a way to absolve her guilt.

“H-hic, mm.”

Even with the door closed, the muffled sobs didn’t disappear. But it seemed more like a sound coming from inside the room than an illusion.

She wondered if she’d been unconsciously groaning, but her mouth was tightly shut. Liat wiped her nosebleed with her sleeve and turned around.

“Alvin!”

“A-are you okay? Your face, h-has so much blood.”

“I’m fine.”

Liat smiled bravely and hugged Alvin. She stroked his small back, hoping his trembling would subside.

Comforting Alvin was just an excuse to hold onto warmth. The unique warmth of a child gradually calmed her shaking.

“You’re not hurt, right?”

“You, you’re more hurt. I-I actually woke up earlier… but I was too scared to do anything. S-sorry… I’m sorry, Liat.”

“It’s because I insisted on going out. Please don’t cry.”

Blood dripped from her nose, running down her chin and pooling on the floor. The metallic scent filled the small room.

Liat forced herself to act cheerful. Her bruised cheek trembled every time she tried to smile, but she didn’t lose her smile for Alvin’s sake.

But her resolve soon faded. The boy with the mask she’d seen before entered the room.

“You’re awake? Ah, look at your face. I told them not to touch you. I gave Pan and Paul a good scolding.”

“Ah, ah…”

“There’s something about you that riles up the people down here. But don’t worry. No one but me will touch you now. Isn’t that good?”

Right?

The boy tilted his head and smiled soothingly, his eyebrows lowered.

Unlike the smiling boy, Liat felt nauseous and dizzy as soon as he entered.

“Beside you, beside…”

“This? It’s a present.”

Next to him, a man hung upside down in midair, limp. There wasn’t a spot on his body not covered in blood. He looked almost like a corpse.

If not for the faint groans that came from him, one would think he was dead.

His arms dangled and swung, and blood dripped down, pooling on the floor.

“Ugh.”

“Ugh.”

Seeing such a gruesome sight, Alvin and Liat closed their eyes as nausea surged.

Drip, drip.

Blood drops from the swinging man formed a puddle.

Drip, drop.

It sounded like summer rain tapping the window at a country villa. The happy memories of that day were gnawed away by the present despair.

“No matter how much I begged, your father wouldn’t give you to me. It’s a shame, but I wanted to leave something in your memory, so I prepared a gift.”

The boy snapped his fingers and a knife tucked into his pants floated into the air.

“If you don’t open your eyes, I’ll k*ll this man.”

“H-hic, mm.”

“Really not going to look? I’m not lying.”

Thud. With the sound of something slicing the air, something was stabbed. A terrible scream rang out in the small room.

“Aagh!”

“N-no, please don’t k*ll him.”

“Mm, ugh. H-hic…”

The gentle-hearted boy and girl had to watch in horror as blood spilled from the man’s body. No matter their expressions, the masked boy continued the conversation indifferently.

“Did you know? It’s raining outside.”

“…”

“Ah, you can’t see from here, right? Let me show you for a moment. This room is pretty close to the outside.”

He snapped his fingers again, making a sharp sound. The wall, which had no windows, began to show the outside scenery.

‘Magic…’

Shhh. Water poured from dark clouds, raindrops pounded the muddy ditches, making a splashing sound. The sound of rain and blood drops blended into one, echoing in the hollow of their ears.

“When it rains from now on, I’ll make you remember me.”

The person hanging changed every three hours. Man, woman, child—it didn’t matter. They were hung upside down, covered in blood, swinging before their eyes.

If they turned away, unable to bear it, the boy would say they weren’t entertaining him and stab them with a knife. Witnessing death before their eyes, Liat and Alvin were too afraid to look away, lest they cause another death.

The peaceful scenery conjured by magic on the wall clashed with the horror unfolding before them. The sound of rain and blood drops blended together. The metallic scent of water and blood mixed, stimulating their nerves through their noses. At some point, the running rainwater began to look like blood in a hallucination.

It took less than two days for the children to lose their minds. The ongoing psychological t*rture was too much to bear.

“For you two, I brought another friend today. It seems reactions are better when they’re the same age.”

“T-that’s enough…”

“You don’t want it?”

“No, no, no, no…! I said no!”

“Is it because it’s a stranger? Then…”

The strange eyes behind the mask turned to Alvin.

“What about him? He’s always fainting, so he’s boring. And sticking to you is annoying.”

“Aagh!”

Liat screamed and reached out desperately, but Alvin floated into the air in an instant. He rose to a height she couldn’t reach, leaving Liat helpless.

She ran at the masked boy to stop him. The man with his hands behind his back flashed a sharp light.

“No, no!”

“You threatened me first, so this is self-defense, right?”

“Liat! No! Don’t come close!”

Liat felt her mind fade from the burning pain in her neck. Someone’s scream echoed.

“If you lose value, I get to keep you, right? Damaged goods can’t be shipped.”

Even as the boy muttered to himself, blood streamed down the back of Liat’s neck.

“Now your father will have no choice but to give you to me. Someone who’s lived so pitifully deserves at least one or two gifts like this, right?”

The boy, holding the collapsed Liat, stroked her pink hair as it grew wet with blood. His eyes glowed with a subtle madness.

“You’re mine now.”

“Liat! Liat!”

“Be quiet.”

The boy threw Alvin against the wall, knocking him out, then left the basement with Liat in his arms.

He laid Liat on a soft bed and called a physician to treat her. But due to accumulated fatigue and stress, Liat didn’t show signs of improvement.

She regained consciousness, but rarely opened her eyes, and even then, she only sobbed for Alvin, unable to have a conversation. The boy envied their bond. He wished Liat’s stubbornness toward Alvin would turn toward him.

“Finally, you’re in my hands. Is this love? Right? So open your eyes and tell me you love me.”

The boy did his best to care for Liat. He didn’t let her starve, dressed her in clothes of his taste, and even treated her wounds.

He would sit by her bed and tell her stories of his past, all filled with misery and ending with rationalizations for his misdeeds.

Even after all this, when Liat still didn’t open her heart, he began to get angry. Then, trouble struck. The search party began combing the area near the building where the children were held and found a clue.

He had to move Liat and Alvin elsewhere, but both were too weak for him to use magic.

“Ah, do I have to let them go? I don’t want them dead.”

“It’s time to retreat.”

“What about the Duke’s child?”

“A mess from self-harm.”

“Should I at least take her… No, I have a better idea. Put people near Liat’s room.”

Just as he intended, the plan unfolded smoothly. Himbrid left the mansion, deliberately dropping clues. Liat, caught in the trap, acted exactly as he’d planned. The search party stormed the mansion, found Liat, and the emaciated girl cried, begging them to find her friend. But what they found after their search was a scene that rattled their minds.

“Aaaah! No, this isn’t right!”

In the room, Alvin was hanging upside down, unconscious, swinging in the air. Liat, unable to support her collapsing body and mind, finally fainted.

The children were rescued a week later and returned home, but neither could keep their sanity.

Alvin blamed himself for his helplessness and fell into depression, growing obsessed with Liat. Liat couldn’t bear the weight of her trauma and erased her memory.

On rainy days, Alvin and Liat would seek each other out as if by promise, wallowing in the mud of hellish memories. Only after several years did they begin to slowly recover.