Chapter 11
“I’m fine. It’s just a few needle pricks.”
Michael, who had been startled by the nonchalant response, slowly lifted his head. The casual smile on the girl’s face made his stomach churn in a way he had never felt before.
“How…?”
His widened eyes took in the young girl before him. In the deep darkness, an unexplainable sense of doubt began to gnaw at his mind.
“Aaaaagh…!”
For a brief moment, he had the illusion of hearing a desperate scream from somewhere. A buried memory resurfaced—limbs restrained carelessly, writhing in agony. Michael felt his hands begin to tremble uncontrollably.
And before he knew it, his voice, almost a rebuke, spilled out.
“How can you smile like that, as if nothing happened…?”
Having undergone education multiple times, Michael couldn’t help but feel nauseated at the sight of the girl’s arm, marred with needle marks similar to his own. He recalled the countless times unknown substances had been injected into him, the endless torturous experiments conducted by the nobleman who called himself a magician.
‘She must have gone through something similar to me… But how…? How can she act like it’s nothing…?’
The sight of the gruesome needle marks and the fact that she was being treated as less than human in this place—it should have been unbearable.
Michael’s mind spiraled in desperate denial.
That shouldn’t be possible. We are slaves… Nothing more than commodities that can be subjected to anything. And yet…
‘How can she smile like that…?’
Michael flinched, shocked by his own thoughts. He clenched his trembling hands into fists and bit down hard on his lip.
What was he expecting by asking something like that?
‘Do I… want to live now?’
Until now, Michael had never clung to life. If anything, he had longed for death. There was no hope in this place, so he had simply accepted that he would die someday. This wretched existence, being captured as a slave, used as a test subject for a mage—none of it mattered. Everything would end once he died.
That was all he had ever wanted.
But this girl had made him question that belief.
“They say if you smile, good luck will come your way.”
“….”
Michael was momentarily stunned by the absurdity of her response. He almost wanted to know who had put such foolish nonsense into her head.
“If I’m going to smile for your share too, I need to smile a lot.”
“…?”
More nonsense poured from her lips. Michael had no idea what kind of expression he was making, but he could feel the trembling in his hands subside under the girl’s light touch.
“I hope my luck goes to you.”
“….”
Their eyes met in the darkness. The girl’s gaze curved into a gentle arc.
She was still smiling.
As if she truly meant it.
With not even a hint of hesitation.
˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗
Blink, blink.
As my senses gradually sharpened, I blinked and instinctively turned my head. Just then, I heard the faint sound of someone sucking in a breath.
Soft, rhythmic breathing.
Michael had dozed off, leaning against my shoulder, his face unguarded in sleep.
I couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
‘He really does look like an angel when he sleeps.’
Truly…
‘Beautiful,’ ‘exceptionally handsome,’ ‘holy in appearance,’ ‘a smile that bewitches’—among all the characters, Michael had received the most praise for his looks. Even at a young age, Of course, he was only angelic in appearance. When awake, he was anything but. Despite the brief conversation we had shared, he was still mostly silent and distant.
To him, I was probably nothing more than a walking food dispenser…
‘Still, I should be satisfied just being beside him.’
Hah… If I had been alone in this darkness, I wouldn’t have lasted long.Feeling a moment of weariness, I let out a small chuckle and gently patted Michael’s head.
Grrrrrgle—.
‘Ah, I’m starving…’
My empty stomach rumbled noisily. I tried to calculate how many days had passed. It had to be around three or four, but in this darkness, it was hard to tell.
‘How much longer are they going to keep us here?’
Unless they planned to starve us to death, surely they’d let us out soon, right?
As I was contemplating this, the steady sound of approaching footsteps reached my ears.
“….!”
They’re here!
My instincts told me it was finally time to leave.
Quickly, I reached over and shook Michael awake.
“Michael. It’s time to get up. Come on, wake up.”
“Mmm… What…?”
Still half-asleep, he was slow to respond. Meanwhile, the owner of the approaching footsteps finally came into view.
Clank.
The door creaked open, and the warm glow of a lantern cast light into the darkness. A familiar caretaker stepped inside.
“You two, come out. Time to go back to your rooms.”
The moment I heard those words, relief washed over me. Without hesitation, I stood up, grasping Michael’s wrist, ready to leave.
Honestly, after days in this place, even seeing the caretaker felt somewhat relieving.
Maybe I’ve been starving so long that even the caretaker looks a little friendly.
“They said we can leave now. Let’s go.”
“….”
“Michael…?”
I tugged at his wrist, but he didn’t move.
Hesitating, I turned to look at him.
Michael remained seated, furrowing one brow as if something was bothering him. His gaze flickered down to the wrist I was holding, hesitation evident in his expression.
Why is he acting like this?
I was about to ask, but before I could, the caretaker banged on the iron bars with a loud clang clang! and shouted impatiently.
“Hurry up! Do you two want to stay in there forever?”
His harsh tone stopped me from saying anything else. Instead, I carefully tugged at Michael’s hand again.
“It’s okay, Michael. You don’t need to worry anymore. Once we get out of here, you won’t be hungry or in pain anymore.”
“…..”
I tried to reassure him, thinking he might be scared. But Michael just kept staring at our clasped hands, lost in thought.
“…Once we leave… we don’t know what they’ll do to us.”
His head lowered, hiding his expression. But his voice was quiet, almost trembling.
So that’s what he’s afraid of.
I chuckled softly. He always acted tough, but in the end, he was just a scared kid too.
“There’s nothing to worry about.”
“…..”
“I’ll protect you.”
Holding his hand tightly, I confidently declared that everything would be fine. I had looked after the other kids in our room, and now I had made up my mind to take care of Michael too, so he wouldn’t grow into a future disaster.
“So don’t be afraid. Come on, let’s go together.”
“……”
Michael looked at me with an unreadable expression. I wasn’t sure what he was thinking, but after a moment, he slowly stood up beside me.
And then, I felt his fingers tighten around mine, holding on firmly.
‘See? He’s just a kid after all.’
Smiling at him briefly, I turned and followed the caretaker out of the solitary confinement cell.
The relief of finally leaving that place made me giddy with excitement. But when I glanced at Michael, he still looked uneasy, his head slightly lowered, brows tightly furrowed.
“It’s going to be okay.”
I gave him another reassuring smile before focusing on the path ahead, following the caretaker down the familiar corridor.
When we finally reached the door, the guard fumbled with the lock but then, unexpectedly, turned to speak.
“It’d be best if you stopped causing trouble like this. There’s nothing good about being thrown into solitary too often. Especially you, white-haired boy. If you cause trouble again, you better be prepared for disposal. You know what that means, don’t you?”
“…..”
The guard pointed a finger directly at Michael as he spoke, his face twisted into a menacing scowl.
Disposal?
The unfamiliar word made me tilt my head in confusion.
˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗
You can also check my Ko-fi for more chapters!
Thank YOU for reading! ♡
