Chapter 15
The place the guard dragged me to was a dark, damp room.
He forced me down onto a chair, then fastened my arms and legs to the chains embedded in it.
“W-what are you doing?”
Fear gripped my chest, cutting off my breath. The guard completely ignored my question.
Here, I wasn’t a person. To them, my voice was meaningless noise, and my existence, that of a vile heretic.
Clank. Clank.
Every time I struggled against the chair, the chains clashed with a sharp metallic sound.
“P-please… let me go.”
They had starved me, beaten me, and kept me from sleep. Now, what were they planning to do next? Tears blurred my vision, falling uncontrollably. I couldn’t breathe through the fear.
“What have I done wrong to deserve this? How much longer do you intend to torment me?”
Soon, I heard the door creak open behind me. A priest dressed in ceremonial robes stepped inside.
Wearing a white robe embroidered with golden thread, the priest looked down at me with cold eyes.
“Is this the one?”
“Yes, sir.”
“She doesn’t look like a witch to me.”
“She’s tough. Doesn’t speak even under torture.”
“I see. Her name… is Selena, correct?”
The priest adjusted his glasses and asked me.
“I’m not a witch. I’ve never used black magic.”
“That will be determined through investigation.”
At the priest’s signal, the inquisitor left the room. Now it was just the priest and me.
“I was told you resonated with the Relic of Estarion, the Crucus. That is a grave matter.”
“Even if you ask, I can’t explain why it resonated with me. I genuinely don’t know.”
“Selena. If your black magic was strong enough to cause a resonance with a holy relic, that alone makes it dangerously severe.”
“So, you’re not going to listen to anything I say either.”
I gave up trying to persuade him. After weeks in this place, I had learned—they had no intention of hearing me out.
“Magic and divine power are fundamentally incompatible. But when identifying black magic, using them together is the most effective method.”
“Could I… at least have a glass of water?”
“It will hurt. Every nerve, every blood vessel will be seared through.”
“Then… never mind…”
Here, one learns how to give up. Only when I begged desperately would they grant me water, and even then, it would be stale and foul.
Instead of pleading further, I closed my eyes and braced myself for the pain to come.
Perhaps they hoped I would die from it, unable to endure.
If I survived and proved my innocence, would even they—the priests, the Count’s family—beg for forgiveness?
Ah… I knew. All of it would be meaningless.
“…Hrrgh… Aaaaaaah!!”
The pain that tore through my body defied any attempt at description.
Every joint, every fingertip, my scalp, my toes—each tiny cell felt as though it were being branded by fire.
Is this what getting struck by lightning feels like? I couldn’t breathe. I wasn’t even aware that I was screaming.
“AAAHHHH! AAAAAH!”
The chains were to prevent me from convulsing violently.
They rattled loudly, but not louder than my screams. Though even my screams were drowned out by the sheer agony.
‘Just kill me already.’
Death would be easier. If my heart stopped and my soul left this body, I wouldn’t feel this pain anymore.
‘Father, brother… how could you let this happen to me…?’
Even if some bitter familial bond remained, surely they wouldn’t have gone this far. This was cruelty fit for enemies, not family.
‘They say even mortal enemies hesitate before subjecting someone to the Inquisition…’
Now I understood why. It felt like every bone was shattered, every wound seared with flame.
“AAAAAARGH!”
My nails broke as they scratched against the armrest—but I couldn’t feel it.
There was no specific part to pinpoint. The pain was overwhelming, consuming.
Time warped. One second felt like ten years. I lost all sense of how long had passed.
“Enough.”
With the priest’s sigh, the pain finally stopped.
“Haa… haah… hah…”
I collapsed like a corpse, gasping for air. My eyes were unfocused, my whole body trembling. My chest felt as though it had caved in.
Dear God… have mercy… please…
“Kill me.”
“Selena… You really didn’t use black magic. My goodness… truly…”
“Please kill me. I don’t want to live anymore…”
“Guard! Hurry and release her! She is innocent—she’s been wrongly accused!”
I didn’t even have the strength to beg. The priest hastily handed me a cup of water.
As the cold liquid ran down my throat, my body shivered violently. My windpipe felt like it was collapsing—I couldn’t breathe properly.
Under such pain, time loses all meaning. Seconds become years, past and present become void. Even breathing feels like too much weight to bear.
I didn’t remember being freed or carried out by the guard.
What brought me back to my senses was the voice of my father, who had come to hear the priest’s report.
“If she didn’t use black magic, then how did she resonate with it?”
“We don’t know. But what’s clear is there’s not a single trace of black magic in her.”
I was being held by the priest who had examined me. My father glared at me with a cold, rigid face.
“Hah.”
You can’t even see my pain, can you? That’s how much you despise me.
“Satisfied now?”
“What did you say?”
“It was excruciating. I begged to die. Disappointed you didn’t get to see it? Or are you pleased by what I endured?”
“Isn’t it enough that your innocence was proven? You were spared from being burned as a witch.”
“I once thought we were family…”
There was no reason to cling to them anymore. Why love those who don’t see me as one of their own?
What little affection I had left was now gone. All that remained was coldness and hate.
Once again, my consciousness faded. I vaguely remember someone shouting at me, but the memory is hazy.
When I came to, I squinted against the harsh sunlight.
“Ah…”
My throat was parched, my limbs drained of strength. I couldn’t even stay upright.
The guard pushed me through the prison gates.
“Don’t go causing any more misunderstandings. Stay away from places like this.”
The door slammed shut behind me. The heavy thud made me flinch, and I collapsed to the ground, losing balance.
“Hrrgh…”
I couldn’t even lift my eyelids as I crawled weakly on the stone floor. Step. Footsteps approached, casting a shadow over me.
I barely opened my eyes and saw the toe of a woman’s shoe. I looked up and…
“Sie…na…”
“My goodness, Selena! Are you alright? The Inquisition is known to be harsh, but this… this is too much!”
Siena lifted me up with concern in her voice—but her face bore a faint, mocking smile.
“Tsk. You’re resilient, aren’t you? I thought you’d be dead by now.”
Her whisper snapped something in me. I let out an animalistic cry and lunged at Siena. Grabbing her by the neck, I screamed:
“Why are you doing this to me?!”
“Selena! Have you lost your mind?!”
My brother struck me with the hilt of his sword and forced me away.
“Guh!”
Pain exploded in my stomach. I couldn’t breathe.
“Siena, step back—it’s dangerous.”
“B-brother… you didn’t have to hit her like that…”
My brother barked an order at me as I gasped for air on the ground.
“Siena pleaded day and night for your release. That’s how you got out. And yet you repay her kindness with violence?”
“I was proven innocent.”
“Innocent? Hah! Nonsense! Kneel and apologize. Show your gratitude. You owe your life to Siena!”
“No. I was released because I’m innocent—not because I owe anyone.”
“Selena!”
The cold glare, the harsh tone, the sword pointed at me… this wasn’t the brother I once knew. Sion Estarion, my kind brother, was gone forever.
“Kneel and apologize for what you did. Thank her. If not, I’ll have you punished under noble law.”
“Do you really want me back in prison… or dead?”
“You think I won’t?”
“……”
The blade pressed against my throat. My heavy eyelids drooped. The sword, frozen by winter wind, was icy cold.
“Haa…”
At last, I understood. No—I finally accepted it.
I have no family.
I am no longer part of a we.
I am alone.
The realization made me let out a hollow laugh.
I opened my eyes again. That man was no longer my brother.
“Brother. Please, put your sword away.”
Siena’s voice sounded like the sneer of a wicked witch.
Of all people, kneeling to her was the last thing I wanted to do.
She was full of suspicion. She bore malice toward me.
‘But I must survive.’
To prove my innocence, I had to live. So, I swallowed my pride and knelt.
The word humiliation couldn’t even begin to describe the despair I felt.
I bit my lip to hold back the sobs, but the tears flowed freely.
“I… beg the lady’s forgiveness.”
“Get up, Selena. I forgive you. Brother, there’s no need to be so harsh!”
Siena quickly lifted me up.
Turning her back to Sion, she looked at me alone—and her face, unlike her words, was full of wicked delight.
She sweetly crinkled her eyes. My wounded, cracked hands trembled violently.
“Brother, let’s get to the carriage. We weren’t supposed to wait out here.”
Siena turned to Sion and clung to him. He sheathed his sword, gave me one last look, and walked away.
As his figure disappeared, I muttered bitterly, barely holding back the hatred and bruises swelling inside me.
“You…”
