“Did you not like it?”

“You’re such a terrible person.”

He only smiled in response. Still sniffling and unable to stop crying, Hailla froze when she felt something hard press between her b*ttocks again. She tried to squirm away, but Lian had already pinned her shoulder down, restricting her movement. Her slick entrance twitched involuntarily. She could feel the warm sensation of s*men trickling out. Lian licked a slow line up the back of her neck.

“Seems like it. It must be bad down there.”

“Huh… ah…!”

“But you still like me, don’t you, my good little Hailla?”

Even though she was sobbing beneath him, Hailla found herself calming down whenever Lian gently licked her body to soothe her. She was becoming more and more accustomed to him — she knew it — but there was no chance of escaping. Seeing the self-loathing in her eyes, Lian gave a faint smirk and tucked her damp hair behind her ear.

“Let’s go and watch that play you said you wanted to see today.”

“..…”

A long time ago, she’d read in a newspaper about a famous play being performed at the largest theatre in the capital. Once, on the way to the lake, Hailla had rambled to Lian about it, piecing together bits of the plot she’d overheard while working odd jobs at a costume shop. Her account was clumsy and incomplete, but Lian had listened attentively. Now, thinking back, she regretted trying to sound knowledgeable — how foolish she must have seemed!

“I don’t want to go.”

“You said you wanted to see it.”

“Not anymore.”

“You said the same thing two days ago.”

Lian chuckled, as if recalling something amusing. Hailla turned her head slightly, her cheeks flushing. Two days ago, Lian had practically dragged her to the stables. She’d made a fuss, saying she didn’t want to go. But from past experience, she knew resistance was futile, so she obeyed quietly.

Once they got there, she had a really good time. She hadn’t realised that riding a horse could be so enjoyable. The horses, with their glossy coats, were beautiful, and riding alongside Lian was a strangely thrilling experience. She’d never experienced what people call ‘refreshing’ before, but that was exactly how it felt.

In truth, everything that Lian had forced on her had ended up pleasing her. There were the cakes and biscuits from the famous patisserie that she had longed to try since childhood, the exquisite tea she had never tasted before, the performance by a renowned orchestra, and the soft silks imported from afar.

This was always the pattern after she returned home. Lian knew exactly what Hailla lacked and what unspoken desires she harboured, and he exploited this knowledge. He flaunted everything he had, tempting her without hesitation. He even dangled the academy in front of her like bait, knowing how envious she was of the students.

It was a low tactic.

And yet, Hailla found herself both hating and longing for him. That distorted yet natural feeling of satisfaction slowly dulled her resolve to stay away from him. This change disgusted her.

The comfort he offered her was like giving seawater to a beggar dying of thirst in the desert. She knew it would only make her thirstier, yet she couldn’t help but accept it. It was a gentle kind of violence.

It wasn’t as if she’d never tried to refuse him before. When she said no, he would try to have s*x with her inside the house while Rethe was there. Stripping her and pinning her down came easily to him. More than once, she had been forced to give in.

Each time, she bit her lip to stifle her moans so that Rethe, just beyond the thin wall, wouldn’t hear. In frustration, she once bit Lian’s neck. But he never stopped midway through. In the end, she always ended up following him willingly, just as he wanted. Each time, Lian assigned a servant to care for Rethe on Hailla’s behalf.

Today was just another one of those countless days. Lian had brought her to a luxurious inn and devoured her greedily. Now, having indulged every desire, he was offering her a new ‘reward’.

“Rethe’s probably waiting.”

“Doesn’t seem like it.”

“The delivery person has changed. I need to stop by the newspaper office today to check.”

“Ah, right.”

There was a hint of boredom in his sigh. Lian recalled the time not long ago when Hailla had stopped the newspaper delivery girl, who used to leave the paper on the doorstep as though throwing it away.

“Marie quit. Just like that, without a word. So I’ve been delivering it all month instead.”

The curt reply came from a young woman who, after answering, turned and trudged down the mountain, grumbling. Hailla watched her go and let out a small sigh.

Before, when Hailla wasn’t home, Marie, the regular delivery girl, used to bring the newspaper directly to Rethe’s room so that she could read it right away. This was possible because Hailla paid her extra, wanting to ease her sister’s boredom.

“Now there’s someone to take care of her even when we’re not around.”

Lian cut off Hailla’s excuse with a light chuckle, dismissing the idea. Let the servants handle something as minor as delivering a newspaper. Hailla mumbled in reply — because, to some extent, it was just an excuse to go back home.

“Either way, I can’t go to the play today. I want to go home.”

She already knew that Lian had bought expensive tickets in advance. He always spent a fortune on the best ones, and when she didn’t show up, he would feign disappointment at having wasted money. But today, at least, she didn’t want to be dragged along again.

This was partly because he had exhausted her far too harshly just moments ago and partly because Rethe hadn’t looked well that morning. The memory weighed on her.

“All right, then let’s go another time.”

He accepted her refusal surprisingly easily, as if he were in a generous mood. This was unfamiliar to Hailla. Worried he might change his mind, she quickly slid off the bed and headed into the bathroom. Seeing her scurry away was so endearing that Lian let out a quiet laugh. His footsteps were light as he followed her inside.

—

“Urk… ugh… kh…!”

Rethe began coughing up blood in the early hours of the next morning. The moaning woke Hailla up. Without knocking, she burst into her sister’s room. She found Rethe clutching at the bedcovers, so she calmly placed a white cloth under her chin before grabbing the emergency medicine and mixing it with water. The water was cold — there hadn’t been time to warm it up — and the powder was dissolving too slowly, making Hailla anxious.

“Sis, try drinking this, okay? It’s cold, so be careful…”

She crushed the clumps of powder with a spoon and gently propped Rethe up. She was used to doing this, but there hadn’t been many times when Rethe had vomited enough blood to soak the blanket. Hailla gripped the water glass tighter. This isn’t anything new. She can get through this.

Muttering to herself, she brought the spoonful of medicine to Rethe’s lips. After three or four spoonfuls, Rethe’s breathing began to stabilise and Hailla finally let out a sigh of relief. However, just as she was about to give her the final spoonful, Rethe clutched her chest and grimaced in sudden pain.

“Kh—ghu…!”

A seizure! Hailla knew exactly what to do, what to grab and how to help, but her feet wouldn’t move. Something felt off. A terrible, gut-deep sense of dread swept over her. Her hands began to tremble.

“Hailla.”

“Lian…”

The man entered the room with an unusual look of alarm in his eyes, embracing the sobbing Hailla tightly. After asking where the medicine was kept, he went to prepare it while she remained by her sister’s side.

There was no way to stop a seizure perfectly. All they could do was administer a high dose of medication to ease the symptoms and hope for the best. That was how cruel and terrifying Rethe’s illness was.

It had started with occasional stiffness, but her muscles had later weakened so much that she could no longer sit up or stand unaided. Once she was bedridden, blotches began to appear on her body. From that point on, breathing became difficult, and eventually seizures followed as the illness worsened.

People would shake their heads and say that, once the blotches covered her entire body, she was destined to die during a seizure. Even visits to the temple yielded the same uncertain response — there was no guarantee that she could be fully cured. In other words, for a commoner who couldn’t afford temple treatment, it was essentially a death sentence.

“Sis, can you hear me? Please?”

Nevertheless, Rethe had held on remarkably well. She was a stubborn woman and had recovered her breath through countless seizures, her eyes regaining their clarity as she met her sister’s gaze time and again. She would pull through this time, too. Hailla fed Rethe the pills that Lian had brought and held her tightly as she convulsed.

Her heart pounded so loudly that it rang in her ears and filled her with confusion: thump, thump, thump.

“Haa… huh… Hai… lla… Hailla…”

“Yeah, I’m here. I’m right here, sis…”

Gently clasping Rethe’s frail hand, Hailla let her know she was there, guiding it to her own cheek so that Rethe could feel her face.

“Haa… where… where are…”

“I’m right next to you. I’m right here… Why are you—”

But Rethe’s consciousness wouldn’t return. Murky blood continued to trickle from her nose and mouth, and eventually only cracked, hoarse groans escaped her parched throat.

Today might be her last day.

The last?

A bitter taste surged up her throat and she gagged. She wanted to identify the emotion she was feeling, but there was no time to reflect. As always, Hailla could only let her tears fall silently as she held her sister’s hand.

Rethe’s eyes were open, but she was as lifeless as a dying fish, flailing weakly.

More than an hour had passed since the blood-coughing and seizure began, and there was still no sign of improvement.