[Chapter 27]
At that moment, the river of the Dreys prison.
The white hand of the woman who was being sucked into the deep abyss found him. He had to grab it. He couldn’t stop even though he was out of breath. Lower and lower. Into the darkness. But the purple eyes that were clear at first were now no longer visible.
Lemony disappeared. It was strange how quickly she vanished, as if she had sunk into the water. Was it the prisoners’ doing?
Deon looked around as the air around him slowly disappeared, but nothing was strange. The strange creatures with fins looked grotesque and were trapped inside the cells. In this state, it couldn’t catch up with the woman’s ankles at a fast speed, and it couldn’t drag her along until she was out of his sight.
Deon frowned as his breath slowly ran out. If she had gone down, she would have gone to the torture chamber she mentioned. First, he needed to find a way to get out of the river and get there.
“Where is Princess Lemony?”
As he surfaced from the water, a frightened voice came from the other side. That guy is still hanging around here. Deon swept his wet hair back and climbed onto the ground without saying a word.
“Princess Lemony…”
“I’ll find her, so shut up.”
As he glared at him fiercely, he blinked like a rabbit. Seeing him like that, he couldn’t help but sigh. At least that woman had tried to find a way out even in extreme situations, but this guy had no answer.
If only that woman had been as stupid as this guy, his nerves wouldn’t have been so sensitive. But she was always busy, always calculating. If she had made it to the torture chamber, she would have undoubtedly considered it an opportunity and tried to escape.
“…..Do I look like I was enjoying it?”
As the voice filled with disgust came to mind, his expression grew cold. Deon squeezed the water out of his wet clothes and started to walk. He could feel the hesitant watcher following behind him.
“Where are you going?”
“You didn’t come to Dreys Prison alone.”
Ignoring the question from the watcher and asking a question, the watcher awkwardly answered while scratching the back of his neck.
“Actually, I came with the knights, but they all died and I’m the only survivor. The Southern Empire mostly manages this place, so the Western Empire only does protection and observation. But even that, they often find it bothersome, so they reduced the number of personnel. I didn’t expect the situation to turn out like this.”
“Do you have any means of communication?”
“The communication stone is broken. That’s why I realized something was wrong with the prison and sent a carrier pigeon to the Western Empire, but it would take at least a week to reach the Western Empire from here.”
A carrier pigeon. Humans were still at a civilization level of 100 years ago, except for greed and luxury.
“The Western Empire.”
“Since the Southern Empire came this time, it will take at least three months for Western Empire to come.”
It was an absurd time. At this rate, there would be no salvation for them. Either escape or go mad. One of the two.
In the distance, a scream echoed across the horizon.
All he could see were the dry dirt ground and the ruined prisoner-only road, as well as the massive wall at the edge of the horizon. Suddenly, he realized that he had become quite accustomed to the outside scenery he had longed for during the past five years. However, there was no heaven in the world he had broken the rules to escape. If prisoners who broke the bars could cross that wall, becoming a monster would no longer be just a problem for the Dreys Prison.
However, Deon’s distraction disappeared as the watcher’s question prompted him. Deon silently looked down at the man, and upon meeting his gaze, the man awkwardly scratched the back of his neck.
“Thank you for saving me 6 years ago. I don’t know if you remember, but there was a demon attack back then, and I received help from the Khan Federation. It was on the way from the Southern Empire to the Western Empire. You didn’t directly participate in the demon subjugation, but I remember that you indirectly gave orders to the subjugation forces at that time.”
“I don’t remember.”
“I think I’ll remember it for the rest of my life.”
The watcher spoke calmly for the first time.
“You were the reason why the Khan Federation was created and it is still maintained to this day. The current exchange between the Southern Empire and the Western Empire is also possible because of the Federation.”
“I’m regretting it.”
“What do you mean?”
“I saved them for a long time, but, instead of repaying the favor, they locked me in the prison they built.”
“….I see.”
As the pitch of his voice dropped, the watcher’s complexion became sallow. However, Deon didn’t speak the truth to intimidate the man. He was just telling the truth.
Human emotions were as tumultuous as the seasons of the world. They couldn’t stay in one place and were swayed here and there by the wind. The reason Deon made a mistake was simple. It was because he acted like a human, with expectations and desires.
“Y-Yes. It’s all because of the Empire’s law…”
The watcher hesitated to say that Deon was wrong, but soon he threw a sharp question at him.
“But couldn’t you have escaped easily enough?”
“Get down.”
“Ah, yes!”
Of course, the initiative of the conversation was in Deon’s hands.
Since then, Deon walked in silence. Bearing the suffocating stillness was solely the responsibility of the watcher.
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“Open your mouth, Lemony.”
Damn it.
Despite my inner curse words, my mouth opened on its own. Then, a warm soup spoon touched my lower lip, and soon the food entered my mouth.
I wanted to resist, but there was no other way but to make a gap and let the food in. Without even thinking, I took a bite of the bread that came in soon after. The bizarre cohabitation with the torture chamber had been continuing for several days. It was almost like being kept captive. I would wake up in the morning to be served meals and occasionally take a stroll through the halls of the torture chamber. Sometimes, I would play card games and chess with someone whose origin I didn’t know and then fall asleep.
In the torture chamber-like room, the only thing that shone brightly was his golden eyes. So, I had no choice but to obey.
The situation where I was being fed like a little child was no different.
“Hmm?”
As I lifted my head, a handsome face stared at me with a look of anticipation as if waiting for me to finish my bread. I felt like the gaze was piercing through me, making me almost choke on my food.
I managed to swallow the bread and forced a fake smile. It seemed like we were getting closer, but I wasn’t sure if it was okay to say anything yet.
“Is there a reason why you’re feeding me? I know how to use a spoon.”
“Well, it’s just interesting to me.”
“Yes?”
The man’s thumb touches my lower lip. He steals the leftover soup that was there and wipes it away with a tissue.
“I don’t need to eat this kind of thing, but you have to eat to survive, it’s cute.”
The corners of his mouth curled charmingly, as if he were satiated just by looking at me, and there was a human warmth in his gaze.
But I couldn’t figure out where he found cuteness in me. I knew he had peculiar tastes, but Ian’s behavior over the past few days seemed more decent and considerate than I expected.
After dressing me in his prisoner’s uniform, marked with the number 1002, without any warning, he just fed me and let me sleep. Recently, I even began to think that it was more comfortable than being with Deon.
“Rather than taming that damn dog, wouldn’t it be more comfortable for you to be taken care of by me?”
However, every favor comes with a price.
As I struggled to swallow the bread that felt like a rock, he slowly stood up from his seat, staring persistently at my slow-moving neck.
“Did you enjoy your meal?”
Even though I felt like the food was about to come back up, I nodded my head.
“Then it’s my mealtime now, right?”
My hands, which were folded on his knees, twitched at the kind question. He seemed friendly, as if he would not sit down if I did not want to, but if I refused, there would be a strange atmosphere.
“If you do too much, I’ll get dizzy.”
In the end, I couldn’t refuse again. And then a dark shadow fell over my face.
“Of course.”
A soothing touch brushed against my cheek.
“If it hurts, I’ll stop right away.”
Sweet words echo in my ears. But he knows that I don’t feel any pain. Suddenly, he disappears from my sight. It seems like a golden light flashes in his eyes as if he quickly bowed his upper body. Then, like a snake quickly catching its prey, his cold lips covered my neck.
It doesn’t hurt, but all my senses start to go wild.
The slowly penetrating flesh gently soothes me, stroking my skin. It was neither a kiss nor a bite. But I melted like butter in this strange affection. But I bit my lips right after.
“Ia—.”
Unknowingly, the name on the tip of my tongue vanished into thin air. As the sharp fangs penetrated my tender skin, all emotions except for pain gathered on my face. I should have been in agony, should have been writhing in pain, but all I showed this man was the slow rising heat and ragged breath.
Aah. Ahh.
Electricity crackled in the still-black sky. My hand, which had naturally rested on his back, clenched and unclenched. As blood drained from my body, the ceiling I had been staring at began to blur. Just as it did, he wiped the blood from his mouth with the back of his hand, breathing out roughly and lowly.
“…Lemony.”
Finally, it seems to be over.
I slowly opened my eyes at the rough low pitch that called me. His palm, which had kept me in place, slowly swept over the back of my head.
“Why does it taste so good?”
It’s starting again.
“Ah? Why does it taste so good? It feels like I’m going crazy trying to hold back every time.”
“Then you don’t have to eat it at all.”
He chuckled softly at my words.
“Should have eaten it all in the first place, right?”
I shuddered. In the end, I gave up on talking and plunged into his cave-like embrace, feeling a simmering heat rising within me. Or rather, I was about to plunge in, but suddenly opened my eyes wide.
Oh gosh.
The action I was about to take was no different from what a lover would do. Crazy. Crazy. Desperately pushing the man’s chest with my palm, he gave in and gave me a puzzled look.
“I-I’m sorry…”
“Tell me.”
What should I do. What should I do.
“I’m hungry again.”
I had to say something. Even though my response seemed ridiculous even to me, Ian momentarily closed his mouth and burst out laughing.
“Ah, okay. Then, should I bring something to eat from outside?”
Ian, who held me in his arms as if I were so lovely, finally let me go and went out to find something to eat.
This was my chance. I quickly counted about five sets of 60 seconds, hurriedly got out of bed, and opened the door of the torture chamber.
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Thank you for reading!
