Chapter 61
Beth was sitting in the corner of a dark, claustrophobic room where she couldn’t see an inch in front of her.
Everything was hazy.
She couldn’t tell how many days had passed, whether it was day or night, or even if she was alive or dead.
With her eyes covered by a blindfold, there was nothing Beth could do. She had slammed her body into the wall several times, but all that came of it were hands dragging her back to the corner beside the wall.
There was no doubt someone else was in the room.
That person would occasionally shove food into her mouth and restrain her whenever she acted violently, her hands still bound.
They had taken her off the train and into a car for quite some time. With her eyes covered, the only clues she had were the soft feel of the seat and the faint scent of perfume.
Could this place really be Nexus?
At that moment, footsteps that had been approaching from a distance stopped right outside the door.
Creak. The eerie sound of the door opening was followed by the presence of someone standing there. Beth raised her head.
“Has your temper calmed down yet?”
The voice was gruff.
There was no response, but the man continued speaking.
“Take off her blindfold.”
Beth flinched as she sensed someone approaching her. She twisted her head frantically, but the blindfold was easily removed.
The sudden light made Beth squint hard. As she turned her head this way and that, trying to make out anything through the piercing light, a throbbing headache bore down on her.
“Beth Jane?”
A voice came from where a middle-aged man stood.
His greying hair and moderately wrinkled eyes gave him an appearance that might seem kindly at first glance, but the fierce light in his eyes was more akin to that of a predator.
Beth remembered those snake-like eyes.
“You seem to remember me, judging by how you’re trembling.”
The man remarked casually as he leaned back into the sofa opposite Beth.
“I don’t recall you having a name back then. Did you choose it yourself?”
Finishing his sentence, the man flicked his fingers, as if realizing he had forgotten something.
“Ah, I forgot you can’t speak. Untie her hands and give her a pen.”
The command was directed at no one in particular.
Yet, in response to his order, someone stepped out of the shadows.
It was a young boy.
The boy had an androgynous appearance that made it hard to tell his gender at a glance, and he still had a youthful look about him.
As the boy untied her hands, Beth briefly felt his touch and realized that he had been the one feeding and taking care of her all this time.
After days of being bound, Beth’s hand was finally freed, and a pen was awkwardly placed in her grip.
“The fire in your eyes hasn’t gone out yet.”
The man clicked his tongue in disapproval and began removing the leather gloves from his hands.
Thud. It was merely a glove thrown to the floor, but it was done with the confidence of someone used to intimidating others.
Beth glared at the man.
“Beth inherits Beth’s affairs, huh? Quite convincing.”
The man sneered, his lip curling on one side, revealing his contempt.
“I’ve made sure to check on your mother.”
At those words, Beth, without hesitation, hurled the pen nib in her hand like a blade toward the man.
Perhaps he hadn’t expected such a provocation, as the sharp nib left a long scratch on one side of his cheek.
“Shit!”
A thin line of blood slowly seeped from the cut, a small amount, but enough to provoke the man.
With a loud, scraping sound, Beth’s head was forcibly turned aside. It was just a slap, but it reverberated through her ear and skull.
Beth’s lips parted, but no sound came out.
“What a nasty temper!”
The man raised his hand into the air once more.
Just as the sound of rushing wind filled Beth’s ears, she clenched her eyes shut.
“Stop it.”
It was a different voice.
Though she could feel the heat from the man’s hand near her face, the expected pain never came.
Both Beth and the man turned their heads in the direction of the voice.
“The reason we brought her here is because she resembles that woman. What use is she if you hit her face?”
The owner of the voice stepped into the room and removed her robe. The woman appeared to be around the same age as the man.
“So, you’re Beth? We’re meeting for the first time.”
The woman spoke with a faint Britannian accent.
“There’s no time, so let’s get to the point.”
She remained by the door, as if she couldn’t bear to spend another moment in the room.
The man looked at her with clear displeasure, his frowning jaw twitching. Then, he turned his sharp gaze back to Beth.
“You’ve been quite close to Debert Cliff, haven’t you?”
The man flexed and released his large hands as though trying to be intimidating.
Beth’s eyes remained steady as she stared back at him.
“What you have to do is very simple. Just like on the battlefield. Just like before. All you have to do is what your mother did.”
Beth’s lips trembled as she stared at the man without blinking.
She bit her red lips several times before finally spitting in the man’s face.
“You miserable….”
Though the man didn’t strike her again, perhaps mindful of the woman still standing by the door, his hand trembled violently as he wiped the spit from his face.
Smack.
“Argh!”
With a sudden burst of anger, the man struck the boy standing beside him. The boy’s much smaller body was sent tumbling into the corner.
Without pause, the man’s brutal boot slammed down on the boy’s curled-up form.
Beth struggled, but with her thighs and feet bound to the chair, there was nothing she could do. The knots tying her down were placed just out of her reach.
“How dare you! Who do you think you are?”
The boy’s body jerked a few more times before finally going limp.
Beth’s face turned pale as she watched the scene unfold. Her lips trembled, and intermittent gasps escaped her mouth.
“You did this,” the woman reproached with a smooth voice. “This is the result of your arrogant actions.”
A thin stream of fluid trickled from the boy’s mouth. Though the darkness concealed its colour, it was undoubtedly blood.
“Now, I suppose you’re finally ready to talk.”
The man grinned, baring his teeth, and picked up the pen that had been thrown to the floor. Beth stared blankly at the pen in her hand.
“Well then, let’s have a little chat between old acquaintances.”
* * *
Debert left the castle before dawn broke.
Last night, less than half of his guests had returned to the castle. It was clear that the rest were scattered somewhere in the alleyways of the Burnt Protected Area.
“Your Grace, are you sure you’ll be all right on your own? Shall I send someone to fetch the guests?”
“No need. They’re all people who care about appearances.”
Debert gave a simple excuse, claiming to be mindful of his friends’ dignity.
The banquet hall, which had looked like it had been hit by a bomb, had only just been tidied up. However, Debert stood before the servants looking as pristine as if he had no knowledge of such a chaotic party.
He even appeared more lively than when he had first arrived in Wayne.
“If other guests arrive at Wayne, let them know that Duke Cliff is too drunk to function,” he said as he fastened his shirt cuffs.
“I do have some dignity, after all. It’s better than being seen in the Sanctuary at the crack of dawn, wouldn’t you agree?”
He spoke casually as he grabbed his coat.
“I’ll be going alone.”
Debert swiftly left the castle, snatching the car keys from the driver’s hand at the door.
He had only visited the Burnt Sanctuary once before, but now everything was vivid in his mind.
Debert clenched his fist, pressing it hard against his chest.
Could that old woman really be Elizabeth Barmer?
And might Beth be there as well?
If she was returning to such a place, why did she leave me?
Was he no better than that filthy pit?
It had been a sleepless night filled with questions and doubts.
He should have searched every room in the maze-like alleyways of the Sanctuary. Instead of wasting time holding on to that old woman, he should have been looking for Beth.
This regret made him all the more anxious in the early morning.
As Debert’s luxurious car came to a stop in front of the Sanctuary, the vagrants sprawled on the ground scowled.
He entered without hesitation. A few men, not recognising him, approached as if to pick a fight, but they were quickly knocked to the ground by his brute strength.
“Gasp. Gasp.”
Uncharacteristically, rough breaths escaped from deep within him.
That familiar smell.
The closer he got to the room where he had met the old woman, the stronger the stench became.
“Your Grace!”
The man who had dealt with Debert the night before came running from the end of the alley.
“The old woman, where is she?”
“Well, she… urk!”
Before he could finish his sentence, the man’s neck was seized by Debert’s hand. The duke’s urgent grip was as unyielding as it had been the night before.
“The old woman, where is she?”
“She suddenly… died.”
“Died?”
The man collapsed to the ground, clutching his throat and coughing violently.
Debert felt as if ice-cold water was being poured over him from the top of his head, chilling his blood. His pulse, which had been slightly elevated from excitement moments before, now settled.
“Dead…?”
The man anxiously watched Debert’s reaction.
“Yes… she was close to death anyway, so it wasn’t unexpected.”
“How did it happen?”
“How? She just died.”
“The one guarding her room?”
“I left it to one of the guys downstairs…”
“Where is that bastard?”
“The guy who was guarding the room?”
The man hesitated. After all, even in a place as insignificant as the Sanctuary, there were still rules. Despite being the leader here, he couldn’t possibly know the names of every minor thug.
“He’s just someone who eats and sleeps here…”
“Find him.”
“Ugh!”
Debert grabbed the man by the hair. The terrified expressions of the underlings watching their leader being humiliated were unmistakable.
“Bring every person in this Sanctuary to me. Not a single one is to be missed. And bring the old woman’s body too.”
His voice was cold and deadly.
“If even one person is overlooked, I’ll slaughter everyone in this alley.”
“Hurry! Hurry!”
The duke’s words were not a joke.
Rumours had long circulated that he was a madman. The man, now on the verge of tears, frantically gestured for his underlings to search.
The underlings scattered swiftly, running from room to room, dragging people out.
Nobles from Wayne, still half-unconscious, were among those who gathered, along with guests, brothel keepers, and passers-by, all herded together like cattle in the narrow alley.
Finally, a white shroud on a stretcher was brought out.
Debert stepped over the sprawled bodies like they were dead leaves, approaching the stretcher. He lifted the cloth to reveal the old woman, who had raged so fiercely the night before, now lying with her eyes closed.
“What a remarkable coincidence,” Debert murmured with a faint smile breaking through his otherwise expressionless face.
“She just happened to die today, of all days.”
(T/L: Seriously my man is broken at this time. TT)
