Tilda came to her senses when an icy chill penetrated her entire body.
“Hah!”
She was now underwater.
With the relentless flow of water pouring down on her and the smell of salt in the air, Tilda quickly figured out she was underwater in the ocean.
But since she couldn’t see anything, she couldn’t guess whether she was near the shore or deep in the ocean.
It was Aclea’s doing.
Knowing that she wouldn’t survive anyway, Aclea had chosen not to kill her directly but instead tossed her into the sea.
Even if she survived, what could she do having lost her sight?
Her eyes burned, but the fierce sea didn’t even allow her to shed tears. The tears were quickly swallowed by the waves, disappearing before they could form.
Like the tears that vanished before they could form, her struggles would not change her fate.
This meant there was no need to struggle with all her might.
Thinking that way, everything felt empty. Tilda slowly released her strength from her arms and legs.
Whoosh!
The sound of a crashing wave filled the air.
And just as the raging waves were about to swallow Tilda, someone grabbed her arm and pulled her sharply.
“Get a grip!”
In her dazed state, as if slipping into a deep sleep, Tilda couldn’t recognize the owner of the shouting voice.
She could only feel that the person who lifted her was strong and warm.
“Damn it.”
The voice that cursed was rough.
‘Why did this man save me…?’
But Tilda couldn’t utter words of thanks or plead to be left alone. The cold and pain sent her consciousness flying away, and her body drooped like a waterlogged doll.
At that moment, Tilda thought she was at the end of her life.
Until she regained her senses.
This time, it was not the cold of the night sea that jolted her awake, but a stifling heat more suffocating than the tropical warmth.
Feeling as if her whole body was on fire, Tilda groaned and twisted her body.
Instinctively curling her fingers, she grasped something soft and warm.
What she held was a cozy, soft blanket.
But Tilda didn’t realize that she was lying on a plush bed.
It felt as if someone were trying to burn her alive.
Tilda instinctively understood. Somehow, she hadn’t died, but this terrible pain was proof that she had reached the gates of death.
When this pain ended, her long, hard life would too.
Unable to see, the pain felt even more intense.
“Ugh…”
As she helplessly squirmed, she heard a man’s voice nearby.
“… This is maddening.”
The man was the one who had rescued her from the sea and forcibly clung to her life.
His voice felt strangely familiar, but Tilda had no energy left to deduce why.
“Can you not see?”
Tilda gasped for breath.
Unable to respond properly, the man roughly gripped Tilda’s chin and repeated himself.
“You need to answer properly for me to help you.”
Tilda focused on his words in the darkness and pain.
After she finally nodded, the man let go of her chin and, as if pleased, stroked her hair.
“Can you not see?”
This time, Tilda nodded weakly.
The man muttered, “This is the worst…”
“I can save you. I can also restore your sight.”
… What is he saying right now?
Tilda couldn’t believe the words of the man who spoke as if he were a deity.
“But it will hurt a little.”
More pain than this?
Tilda shook her head violently. She had no confidence to endure any more suffering than this.
If any more pain were added, she might die from shock.
Seeing Tilda’s reaction, the man embraced her head and spoke in a soothing yet serious voice.
“No, you can endure it.”
Who are you to speak to me like you know me…? And why are you comforting me with such a kind and affectionate voice?
At that moment, suspicion surged within Tilda. This was her instinct to survive, standing at the crossroads of life and death.
“… Who are you…?”
The words tumbled out of her cracked throat with great difficulty.
“That’s not something you need to know right now.”
It might be better not to know.
Before she could think further about the ambiguous man’s words, pain surged through her again.
As Tilda curled up and exhaled heavily, the man’s actions became urgent.
“We need to start quickly.”
Tilda couldn’t refuse what the man was about to do. The darkness was trying to consume her as soon as she showed any sign of weakness.
The man climbed onto Tilda’s body.
Realizing the situation too late, Tilda thrashed around, and the man muttered with a troubled voice.
“… It won’t be easy if you’re already like this.”
What is he trying to do?
Tilda was scared the guy might hurt her, especially since he had pulled her out of the rough waves for a reason.
She blamed herself for letting her guard down and opened her mouth wide.
‘If it comes to this…!’
Just as she was about to bite her tongue hard, the man thrust his hand into her mouth to stop her.
“Damn it, do you know it’s harder to deal with you than to tame a beast?”
“Filthy bastard…”
“I’m not trying to rape you. I’m trying to save you.”
The man said firmly.
Though she couldn’t see, she imagined what expression he might have on his face right now.
His voice didn’t sound like that of a liar. The sincerity in his tone soothed the thorny pricks in her heart.
As Tilda relaxed her jaw, the man withdrew his hand from her mouth. His hand must have deep bite marks. Since she had intended to bite her tongue.
But the man remained silent, unfazed by any pain.
After a long silence, just when Tilda became curious about what the man was doing, something hot and soft covered her lips.
“Mmph…!”
Tilda realized a moment too late that the thing touching her lips was the man’s lips.
Even as she tried to resist in surprise, the man didn’t give her any chance to escape.
‘… He deceived me!’
Amid the pain, she could clearly feel the strange sensation and held her fists tight.
But soon, she realized the man wasn’t just kissing her.
His breath seeped into Tilda’s body, and the energy was stimulating and primal, awakening all her senses.
An unknown force was entering her body. And soon after, a pain that felt as if it pierced her brain followed.
Ah!
Tilda opened her unseen eyes wide. This was a pain she had never experienced before.
Even as she twisted her body in agony, the man pressed her down with his solid body, not budging an inch.
Instead, he smoothly moved his lips, injecting the strange power into her even more rapidly.
‘If this continues, I’m going to die!’
At that moment when Tilda silently screamed in despair, the man’s lips parted.
Though the mysterious force in her body wasn’t injected, the pain continued.
Tilda bit down hard to overcome the pain.
It still hurt enough to feel like dying, but she felt that the man’s words were not a lie; since a strange force seemed to be pushing out the impurities in her body.
As the man released Tilda’s bound hands, he muttered, “Your teeth are going to break.”
He forced her mouth open, and as the pain she had been holding back burst forth, she screamed, “Ah!”
Tilda flailed her hands, trying to grasp something. What she touched was a person’s skin.
As pain crashed over her again, she instinctively clawed at the skin within her reach.
“That’s right, scratch and bite me instead.”
Encouraged by his words, Tilda clung desperately to the man’s neck, as if hanging onto the mast of a sailboat swept away by waves.
Tilda followed his suggestion, biting and clawing at him to alleviate her suffering.
She could imagine that the man’s back and neck were becoming a mess, like torn rags.
Yet, she felt no remorse towards him. He was the one who had put her in this situation.
But how long would this pain continue?
Tears gathered in the corners of Tilda’s eyes. With the unending agony, she had no choice but to cling tightly to the man.
“Phew.”
The man let out a sigh, as if he was holding something back.
“…When will this pain end…?” Tilda asked weakly.
The man fell silent for a moment before slowly responding.
“I can’t tell you that either. It depends on the person.”
At his grim reply, Tilda’s tears, which had been precariously hanging on, finally rolled down her cheeks.
It felt as if she had shed all the tears she would cry in her lifetime within a single day.
As Tilda wept silently, the man grumbled irritably.
“…This is a form of torture.”
Instinctively blinking her unseeing eyes, Tilda looked in the direction of his voice and felt the man’s body flinch.
Soon, the man wiped away Tilda’s tears and said, “Listen carefully.”
“…”
“There’s a way to reduce the pain.”
Tilda’s eyes widened in surprise.
Was there really such a thing?
In betrayal, she punched the man’s broad chest with a loud thud.
“…Don’t resent me. I had to prepare myself to make this suggestion too.”
The man held Tilda’s wrist and spoke seriously.
“You might regret this later. But do you still want me to reduce your pain?”
Tilda didn’t ask what it was. After all, the man had seen all of her shameful moments, and there was no more room for her to fall apart.
As long as there was a way to eliminate this pain.
Tilda nodded, feeling the man’s muscular chest tense under her grasp.
“Alright, you clearly gave your consent.”
With that, the man once again covered Tilda’s lips with his own.
