“You crazy woman... let go of my hand!”
Sylvia screamed savagely.
She was furrowing her brow, trying to snatch her hand away, but every time she tried to let go, I held her tighter.
I said simply, feignedly:
“What’s wrong with you, Sylvia?”
Her face hardened.
“You...”
I smiled innocently as I stared directly into her eyes.
“Aren't you saying I'm useless? Then, since I got out of the cage myself, this is legitimate self-defense. Come on, kill me!”
Sylvia stammered in shock and disgust:
“You've gone crazy...”
As for the servants who were whispering a moment ago, they held their breath as they watched me and Sylvia with apparent confusion, not knowing what to do.
'So they're afraid you'll really hurt me…'
I thought quietly as I glanced at them.
This made it clear to me once again that they did not dare to harm me directly.
I muttered in a cold tone, wiping my smile:
“How pathetic you are.”
Sylvia's eyes trembled and she was confused:
“W-what did you say?”
I said, shifting my gaze from her face to the faces of the servants one by one:
“I know why you're doing this, but you're really pathetic.”
Most of Cayenne Palace's servants were homeless people, born into poverty and suffering eviction and exclusion.
In the end, some of them found no alternative to indulging in crime, even if it was just a miserable excuse for a time that gave them no other choice.
It is not surprising that these people harbor a grudge against Lizzie Alheim.
Although she was human like them, she lived in a completely different world.
The dilemmas that crushed them had never occurred to her, and the impossible choices that were imposed on them had never occurred to her.
'Anger is understandable... because there is injustice in the matter.'
But…
I said quietly:
“Is this my fault?”
Then I continued, looking at them steadily:
“You just needed a target on which to vent your anger, didn't you?”
“…….”
“The Grand Master, you do not dare to oppose him because you fear him. As for me, I am small and weak, so you thought there was no harm in venting your anger against me.”
“……..”
“You are truly miserable... your misery is more pitiful than my anger.”
Sylvia's hand trembled.
She suddenly shouted in a hoarse, angry voice:
“And what do you know about us?”
Then she suddenly jumped with both hands to grab my neck.
The place shook with the servants' shouts:
“Sylvia, don’t!”
"Stop her! Someone stop her!"
While turmoil and chaos prevailed...
A great sound resounded as the farm door slammed open with such force that it almost dislodged it:
“What in heaven’s name is going on here-!”
A man wearing glasses entered, screaming in incredible amazement.
The servants' faces turned pale at once.
“Mr. Huan!”
They began to fall at his feet one by one, begging:
“We have sinned, please forgive us!”
“Just once, please forgive us this time!”
But Huan held his forehead with his hand as if his head was burdened with pain, and said sharply:
“Do you ask for forgiveness after this act?!”
One of the servants cried hopefully:
“We beg you, Mr. Huan, don’t tell Big Master!”
At that moment a deep, quiet voice rang out:
“Unfortunately...”
Another man came forward slowly.
“The Grand Master has already learned.”
'Kick Cayenne.'
The name that resonated in my mind with the first sound I heard when I came into this world.
As soon as Arkle stepped inside, there was complete silence.
The servants who were crying and trembling fell silent at once, and even their breathing became shallow for fear of being heard.
Huan said, trying to speak:
“Sir, this place is me...”
But he remained silent as soon as he saw Arkell's rigid features.
Arkell passed the servants until he stood in front of me and Sylvia.
Sylvia was still clinging to my neck in hesitation and confusion, as if she had been frozen in place, while I was dazed by something else.
'Oh my God…'
Can a human being look like this?
For the first time I saw his features up close.
He had hair as black as night, like two fires, but his eyes glowed a burning red like embers.
It brought back the first impression I had when I saw Naran, as if the entire Kayin family did not belong to this world.
If Naran was handsome with the innocence of a teenager, Arkel was handsome in a dark, depraved way, both with a beauty that transcends humanity.
There is also that common mystery that surrounds every member of this family.
I was staring at him, lost in my mind, and he was looking back at me with his eyes devoid of any feeling.
Then he turned his gaze to Sylvia.
As soon as her eyes met his, she trembled and loosened her grip on my neck.
“S-Sir...”
I mumbled fearfully.
Erkel did not show any expression, but rather looked at her coldly and said:
“What is your job here?”
She stammered:
“My name is Sylvia Lil, and I…”
He interrupted her coldly:
“I didn't ask you your name.”
She closed her mouth immediately.
He said again in a weak tone, as if he was tired of repeating the question:
“Your job.”
I whispered in amazement:
“I…the head maid…”
He said with icy calm:
“Good.”
Then he slowly turned to Huan:
“Then we have to choose a new head maid, Huan.”
At the same moment, he suddenly extended his hand to grab Sylvia's face.
She screamed terrified:
“I-have mercy on me!!”
Arkle ignored the loud scream that tore the place apart, and a terrifying gleam flashed in his red eyes, a gleam that carried the foreboding of cold murder.
I shouted, grabbing his forearm with both hands:
“Wait a minute!”
He turned to me with a silent look.
“Really… I have to kill her?”
“…….”
“In the end, nothing happened to me.”
I smiled faintly, but he continued to stare at me silently, until he slowly opened his lips:
“So what do you suggest?”
“Can’t you get another punishment...?”
“And what punishment? This woman is no longer the head of the maids and there is nothing significant.”
I turned to Sylvia, whose face was roughly clutched by Arkell.
Her body was trembling feverishly.
Actually, it doesn't concern me directly...
But she wasn't trying to kill me honestly.
When she rushed towards me, I saw clearly in her eyes that it was not the face of a murderer, but the face of a completely collapsed person.
I may not care, but whoever ignores a scene like this will soon be haunted by nightmares.
I looked up at Arkel and asked him:
“Sir... or Your Honor? How should I call you?”
“Kick.”
“Kick…”
He asked me, staring straight into my eyes:
“What is the reason? This woman harbors animosity towards you, and yet you forgive her... Perhaps what is said about you being the Saint of Eliheim is not a lie.”
I shook my head no.
“I am not a saint. I do not have a heart that can accommodate everyone.”
“Then why?”
"Because forgiveness is not limited to the saints. Every human being is capable of forgiveness... you and I too."
I was silent for a moment, then added:
"Anyway, I wasn't hurt. It's okay if we ignore it this time."
In fact...it was a bit amusing, as if I were living one of my favorite scenes from “Red Moon.”
Arkle stared at me in silence, and so did the servants who were watching the scene with bated breath.
Finally, he released his grip on Sylvia, and her legs collapsed and she knelt on the ground, panting shakily.
She raised her head towards me, eyes full of tears and intermittent breaths.
Arkell said in an emotionless voice:
“Oh Huan.”
"Yes."
“Take care of the rest.”
“Understood sir.”
Then he looked back at me:
“Lizzy Alheim.”
I got a little nervous as I stared at him, then he extended his hand and grabbed my hand, saying:
“Come with me.”
He turned and started to step in one direction, dragging me behind him.
What…?
I could only stare at his broad back as I was led without understanding.
“Where are we going?”
“……”
He didn't answer.
But for a moment, I thought I could hear his rapid breathing.
'What's the matter?' He looks tired...'
He left the farm and entered the corridors of the palace until he stopped in front of a great door, then he said while still turning his back to me:
“Come in.”
I couldn't even ask him where? He preceded me in opening the door and entering.
I followed him reluctantly, and the first thing I saw was… a huge bed in the middle of the room.
“Oh…?”
My voice came out unconsciously stupid.
He let go of my hand and simply said:
“It's my bedroom.”
That's obvious...but why did he bring me here?
A faint groan escaped his chest, and he sat on the edge of the bed, breathing unsteadily.
As I looked closely, I saw his cheeks were red and his face was glowing.
He raised his head and looked at me. His appearance was completely different from the one I had seen on the farm moments before. He seemed disturbed and exhausted.
He said, smiling sarcastically:
“Do you know why my sister brought you to Kayne’s house?”
I nodded.
“I thought it was stupid...but here I am the first one to beg you.”
He was silent for a moment, then added in a heavy tone:
“I need your strength. Right now.”
And then I realized that he was a reservoir of magic... his body was groaning under the weight of the excess of power.
As if to prove this, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and muttered convulsively:
“If you want the truth... I'm barely holding myself together.”
His features constricted into a broken smile as he stared back at me.
“Lizzy Alheim.”
“…….”
“Come closer.”
His red eyes sank into mine, his voice shaking with compressed hope:
“Grant me your mercy... Saint.”
His voice was fiery, as if he was suppressing something raging inside him.
~
Translated by Lynn💕