“H-How dare I…”
“Hmm, how can I believe the words of a lowly Xenos slave?”
“I, I will never do that!”
Duke Bledel kicked the man’s abdomen and ruthlessly trampled on his fallen head. Flickering in his eyes was a glimmer of life. The faint smile on his lips revealed his merciless disposition without reservation.
“Did the emperor slyly appease you in return for securing your independence? Foolish Xenos people may think that’s possible, but unfortunately, it was a trick often employed by the previous Emperor. It was a despicable method used to sow discord among Xenos nobles.”
“Ugh.”
“That Ian is no different from his father. In my eyes, he’s just as repulsive, always harboring deceit within.”
When the talk turned to the Emperor, the madness in the Duke’s eyes was chilling enough to make one break out in a cold sweat. Unable to control his boiling anger, his cruel kicking continued.
“Among the clans I despise, those who are ungrateful infuriate me the most.”
James’s agonizing groans grew shorter with each passing moment.
“They occupied such vast territories thanks to me, and yet, ungratefully, they tried to eliminate me. They said blood doesn’t lie. They continue to plague me generation after generation.”
He reached a state of extreme excitement, panting heavily, his face turning red, and only then did he finally cease the assault. It was truly a bleak sight, leaving my mind blank and pale.
“Pathetic people fall for such obvious tricks thinking they could reclaim independence. Tsk, Tsk. That’s why you can never escape Asha’s feet.”
The man, as if squeezing out his remaining strength, struggled to lift his body and clung desperately to Duke Bledel’s leg. Blood filling his mouth distorted his pronunciation.
“M-My… Is my M-mother… Is she still… alive? P-Please… just… let me know… that… much…”
His desperate plea carried an overwhelming sense of despair.
“What a cheeky fellow. Even after getting out of prison, you keep harping on about your mother, always clinging to her like a leech.”
Threatening someone by targeting the person they cherish the most. It was a despicable tactic used when one wanted to manipulate someone as they pleased. That’s what Ian was to the young Lethenia.
The Duke pushed the man away with a look of disgust, as if a filthy bug had attached itself to him. Then he shouted at the person outside the door.
“Bring her in.”
When the door opened, a slender middle-aged woman was dragged by her servants. James’ pupils widened in astonishment. He spoke with a blank expression on his face.
“M-Mother…”
The man burst into tears as soon as he recognized that she was his mother.
“P-Please… please save me! Please!”
However, the woman who was not in her right mind did not recognize her son. Seeing her, the man’s sobbing grew louder, and for a moment, the terrified woman seemed to regain her senses as her gaze changed.
“James?”
“M-Mother… It’s me…”
“Oh, my child. Why are you here… You shouldn’t be in a place like this.”
“I-I… I’m with Mother…”
“No, you can’t. Please leave me behind and escape quickly!”
Duke Bledel smiled like a viper at the sight of them hugging and sobbing tears.
“It’s because you’re so weak… At times like this you need to harden your heart, don’t you think? Only then can you save your beloved mother?”
At the Duke’s signal, the servants held James’ arms and separated him from the woman. Then one of them gagged a towel in the woman’s mouth.
Duke Bledel mercilessly swung the whip he received from the servant at her. The brutal lashing caused her flesh to burst, and her ragged clothes were stained crimson with blood.
Faint screams seeped through the towel, filling the warehouse. The woman soon lost consciousness and collapsed.
Witnessing his mother being beaten before his eyes, the man howled like a beast and thrashed about.
“Your Grace, I-I was wrong… I’ll do anything… If you want me to kill someone, I’ll… I’ll do it… If you want me to die, I-I’ll die… Please…”
Duke Bledel wore a satisfied smile as he gently stroked the head of the man who was sobbing like a young child.
“If I had a son as kind as you, it would have been wonderful. James, since you owe me your life, someday you must repay me generously, don’t you think?”
Unable to bear the disgusting sight before my eyes, my stomach churned, and my mind became hazy. Then, Duke Bladel’s cold gaze subtly turned toward the window where I was.
Our eyes met. It was a terrifying sight, as if a reaper was glaring at me, intending to take me to hell.
In an instant, Lethenia’s trauma within me took hold, and my whole body stiffened. I couldn’t breathe.
Unconsciously, my legs lost strength, and I stumbled and fell from the wooden crate I had been standing in. At the same time, I heard Duke Bledel urgently shout.
“Capture them immediately!”
I quickly turned my body to run away. I saw a narrow alley split into three paths in front of me. My feet refused to move decisively.
I was unfamiliar with the geography of this place. I had a foreboding feeling that I might end up encountering them face-to-face. Just as I was panicking about which way to go, someone snatched my arm.
They enclosed me in their arms and covered my mouth with a large hand. I tried to scream, but the sudden muzzling only resulted in muffled cries echoing inside my mouth.
Then they led me towards a pile of hay bales nearby, stacked haphazardly. Soon, a deep, familiar voice reached me faintly.
“It’s Lethenia. Don’t be alarmed.”
When I turned my head, I saw Theo’s face. The moment I saw him, I wanted to collapse right there, overwhelmed by relief.
Before I could ask him why he was here, I heard someone shout.
“There!”
It was one of Duke Bledel’s knights. Theo grabbed my hand and started running. The speed was too fast for me to keep up with. As I struggled to catch my breath, he pulled my hand even harder.
After running deep into the right alley for a while, I saw a horse waiting as if it had been prepared in advance. He helped me onto the horse first and quickly mounted it behind me.
With one hand holding the reins and the other wrapped around my waist, Theo and I rode the horse without looking back.
The sound of horses’ hooves echoed rapidly and loudly. Overwhelmed by the unfamiliar speed, I cowered and hunched my body. It felt like I was about to fall off the horse.
Then Theo hugged my waist even harder. It felt as if his strong arm was protecting me like a safety belt.
When I glanced back, I saw Duke Bledel’s knights chasing us at high speed. Despite having come a considerable distance, they showed no signs of giving up.
The distance was gradually narrowing. Theo also checked behind him and shouted in an urgent voice.
“Hold your breath!”
Theo took some small pockets out of his pocket and threw them. Then, black powder scattered through the air, and the chasing horses went wild, screaming as if they were being torn apart.
The knights riding the horses also screamed in agony due to the gust of black powder. Eventually, they lost consciousness and fell to the ground.
Could it be… they’re dead? Fear overwhelmed me at the thought that someone might have died right before my eyes.
“Don’t look back.”
At Theo’s whispered command in my ear, I had no choice but to look ahead once again.
***
We arrived at a desolate forest where there were no traces of human presence. Only after dismounting from the horse could I catch my breath. Recalling the thrilling moments just before, a chill ran down my spine.
Theo stopped the horse and handed me a vial.
“Drink this.”
“What’s this?”
“You have to drink this to get home safely.”
Without further questions, I accepted it and drank the contents. Theo also took out a vial and drank from it. We continued moving forward again.
Taking a deep breath, I looked around. There were trees and grasses that I had never seen before in an ordinary forest. There was an eerie sense of foreboding in the air.
The full moon, which had shone brightly just a while ago, began to be obscured by dark mist, and as we went deeper, the darkness became so intense that it was difficult to distinguish things. Despite being a vast forest, there was no trace of even the slightest presence of birds or insects.
When Theo couldn’t see ahead at all, he took out a tinder from his pocket and lit a fire.
“Where is this place?”
“The Cursed Forest.”
“What? What do you mean?”
The Cursed Forest was a forbidden and dangerous area in Asha. It was information I had obtained from Stella. Originally, it was an ordinary forest, but strange phenomena began to occur when an unknown black mist enveloped the forest.
The trees and plants in the forest died, and strange and unrecognizable plants grew in their place. The biggest problem was that the people who accidentally entered the forest returned as lunatics and soon died of mysterious deaths.
Even those who went in to investigate the cause and eliminate the forest suffered the same fate. They even tried shooting fire arrows from a distance, intending to set the forest ablaze, but strangely, the fire wouldn’t ignite, further fueling people’s fear.
There was no obvious solution, and the royal court was concerned about public sentiment deteriorating, so they stopped sending people in. Instead, they simply designated the entire forest as a restricted area. Theo looked at my frightened face in indifference.
“The air here is mixed with a deadly toxin. What we just drank was an antidote.”
“But why didn’t you tell the world? Many people died because of this place…”
“It doesn’t matter to me who dies.”
The warm smile that usually graced his face was nowhere to be found. His expression was so cold-hearted that he seemed like a completely different person.
