Chapter 00
Smooth calves exuded the earthy scent clinging to dried mud.
The forest that Afrosa had been rummaging through was as dense as it was shrouded in mist. It would not have been easy to pursue her. Tree roots stood out prominently amidst the loose soil. Afrosa stumbled over a root and fell flat on her face.
“Haah… Haah…”
She sank to the ground, suppressing a groan. Clouds poured rain all day long, yet the moon refused to show itself. The moonlight was eerily dim. Gunshots echoed from a dense thicket of trees in the distance. It was the sound of the search party led by her husband. Groaning, she dragged her aching legs to stand up. Her hand grasped at the trees, stinging from the effort. Suddenly, a rustling sound was heard. It was the sound of the animals her husband hunted
“…No.”
The thundering sound of hoofbeats grew closer several times. Afrosa wiped tears from her eyes with muddy hands. Her pink satin dress, hastily donned in the rush to escape the banquet, dragged along the ground.
“Tang-”
A gunshot pierced the night sky. He descended from the horse, wielding a shotgun, slashing through the air. The dim moonlight illuminated the contours of his figure. His blunt, short features appeared and disappeared in the dusky moonlight, alternating between revealing and concealing within the darkness of the forest.
“We found you.”
He bit his lips in a composed tone. The indistinct figure frightened her. Trembling, Afrosa glanced at her trembling legs as she walked unsteadily. Her teeth chattered.
“Lara.”
A hoarse voice echoed in her ear. An unpleasant name… another name for Afrosa. She didn’t respond, turning her gaze sideways to peer into the growing darkness. She couldn’t tell how far they had traversed through the forest. It was laughable that she, pregnant and all, had managed to evade them for so long. If she was going to be caught so easily…
“Let’s go back.”
“…”
“It’s not good for the baby.”
Large hands grasped her shoulders. Trembling, Afrosa looked at him. In the dim moonlight, he had a stern face. Contrary to the armed soldiers who pursued her, his face was tinged with sadness. His wounded face made her want to laugh. His other hand caressed her swollen belly. He bit his lips hard.
“…Can this child be born? The one I lost in my past life. Even before I was born. The child who collapsed her, born dead.
“…I don’t want to.”
She lifted her head, Her husband was staring at her endlessly. His gaze, worn out from staring, felt like choking her neck and suffocating her. Afrosa always found his eyes heavy and agonizing.
“We can’t. You and I can’t.”
She had said that sometime before, But her husband just shook his head. He had no half of the fear Afrosa harbored. He knew what was fearful. What was dreadful. Unless he was a fool.
“Lara.”
Could one be so obtuse? Having suffered that calamity, endured all sorts of curses and died. That life was still vivid to Afrosa. She was terrified enough to wish that the child inside her womb had never been born. She was suffocatingly afraid.
“…Let’s just go back.”
The hand that had rested on her shoulder embraced her waist. Afrosa pushed him away. Firmly, as if pushing against a thick chest and pushing away a wall. He didn’t budge. There was no hint of movement. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking.
“I don’t want to.”
Rain began to scatter reluctantly.
“I can’t, I can’t do it. Ailek.”
The hand that had caressed her almost pregnant belly now stroked her cheek. Tears fell where his palm had passed. Ailek tried to kiss her. Afrosa tried to avoid his lips, but her chin was caught, and her lips were swallowed. She stiffly bit the tongue that entered her mouth without invitation. Blood flowed thickly even on the tip of her tongue. After greedily swallowing her, Ailek released her lips. Afrosa, who had been pushing his chest, scratched his neck mercilessly with her nails.
“Wasn’t once enough? It was so disgusting, but you can’t be satisfied with just once? Why! Who the hell are you? I can’t. I feel like I could live without you! So please….”
She cried uncontrollably. Pushing him away, hitting him, shaking her head vigorously. Whether the wetness on her cheeks was rain or tears, she couldn’t tell. The hand that had held her chin slipped down to her shoulder. Afrosa, whose jaws were the only thing left fierce, sobbed bitterly.
“Not much time left.”
It was a sentence that would kill Afrosa again. Holding onto his chest, Afrosa, who was crying, lifted her head. His smooth face was unbearably hateful. It was a face she could neither love nor hate. With such a face, saying the same thing as back then.
“You….”
“I mean it. Please….”
His distorted face was pitiful. If she were the first, she would have closed her eyes and clung to him desperately. But Afrosa was not the first. Afrosa, who trembled, gazed at him with wet eyes.
“Do you know that?”
“…….”
“You said that before you burrowed between Valerie’s legs.”
“Lara.”
“You said it when you married me to impregnate that woman and then to impregnate another woman again. Before you went into Valerie’s bedroom all cleaned up like a new groom. Remember? You came to me before embracing another woman, crying and apologizing.”
Every syllable dripping from her lips was icy and cruel. Afrosa looked at the man who was looking down at her with disgust, grabbing his round shoulders. She felt like she could hate this face now. She felt like she could erase this face now.
“You said it that night too, On countless nights.”
Ailek stopped breathing.
“There’s not much time left, We’ll be happy. Just like that…”
Yet nothing could be kept, They had nothing left. Not a child. Not love… They couldn’t live as a couple either. The time they loved each other was just a phase, they weren’t even lovers.
“Change.”
“Shut up.”
“No, Lara. I’m different now.”
“I’m sick of it, You! Your love is tiresome! It makes me sick!”
She yelled, No more tears came out. It was a night with a pale moon. The black night with scattered rain reminded her of past lives. He was wearing a crown back then. It wasn’t a forest but a palace, and the moon was painfully bright and cold.
‘I love you, I’ll do anything to protect you.’
Lara recalled his sickening vow.
“It’s not love, Ailek. I don’t know, maybe it’s not you loving me. It’s obsession. Obsession is different from love. Obsession is just a ghost. What you call love is just a ghost of the past!”
She pushed him away and yelled, the sound of hooves pounding the forest growing louder. Afrosa breathed heavily, looking at the search party gathering behind him. Ailek didn’t even release her despite her struggling.
The cold steel-blue eyes that used to gleam with moisture turned chilly. The man who stared down at her as if he could swallow her whole finally spoke. Afrosa clenched her lower lip hard, meeting his gaze behind the door. The hand that had been squeezing her shoulders let go.
“Kill.”
He extended something. Afrosa, who had shed cold tears, looked at it. A door handle engraved with the crest of the palace. A silver sharp blade glinting…
“Kill and leave.”
She raised her head. There was nothing reflected in the man’s face, distorted as if he were about to cry. Afrosa looked at the knife he offered. Tears welled up in her eyes, filled with hatred. Even then, Ailek’s face seemed sweet.
