If this continued, both Luiza and the coachman could be killed. The man in front of him was cruel enough to do that.
Irel wants to prevent this at all costs. She quickly knelt down, grabbed the hem of the man's shirt standing in front of her and begged:
"Please. I swear I will never tell anyone about what I saw today. Please let me go."
Of course, the possibility that he would listen to her was zero. Even the man he killed just now begged until his limbs were weak, but in the end he still became dog food.
Killing two women and a servant on this deserted forest path was an easy matter. Even though she knew that, Irel still had to stubbornly beg and cling to him. It's a shame, she has no other choice.
“Let her go.”
"Yes?"
“If I let you go, what will you do for me?”
The man, who had regained his usual sarcastic smile, asked. Faced with the unexpected question, Irel stood stunned for a moment, then cautiously opened her mouth:
“If it's money then…”
“Do I look like someone lacking money?”
Irel's wavering eyes successively glanced at the high-class suit, the diamond cuff on his wrist and the heavy gold ring he wore. To be honest, he looked richer than her, a noble lady.
“So, so you want…”
"What should I say? Whichever side is interested should make a proposal."
“If you want, I will write the deed, please let me go…”
"Deed? You told me to use it as kindling for the fire?"
Dilemma. Luiza's voice grew closer, but the man in front of her did not retreat, like a wall of ice.
Irel looked at him, not knowing what to do, then suddenly realized. He is toying with her. His eyes, looking down at Irel just up to his chest, were full of mockery.
He was enjoying her desperation, her urgent begging like a snack.
From the beginning, he had no intention of letting me go.
When she realized that, the restlessness in her heart suddenly subsided. Especially the bright red negative number of sympathy that appeared in the back of his head, it was truly a despair.
“…Please.”
The strength gradually left Irel's hand that was clutching the hem of his shirt. Tears welled up in her eyes, predicting the tragedy that was about to happen.
"Please don't touch anyone else. If you want to kill, kill only me..."
Who knows, maybe he will accept this request. Cleaning up one corpse is much simpler than three, and also less troublesome.
“Who said I would kill?”
The man's answer uttered in her ear was surprising. Irel was startled, reflexively raised his head and asked again:
"Huh?"
"Talk nonsense. Why should I kill you?"
The man smiled inexplicably and then said coldly. Her heart fluttered at his words that he would not kill. Even though she knew clearly that it was just a trick to lift her up and then throw her back down more painfully.
“Even willing to die…”
The man squinted his eyes, repeating what Irel had just said as if pondering. Then he slowly smiled, looking at her under his red eyelashes, fluttering like butterfly wings.
“Then that life is mine.”
…Why did the story turn that way? Irel was stunned, in the blink of an eye, he was caught up in his rhythm. She felt she had to object immediately, but the man in front of her was too scary for her to dare object.
"My daughter, where are you? Please answer me..."
Right at that moment. Luiza's sobbing voice rang out just around the corner. Her heart tightened as the voice grew closer.
Irel was extremely scared, afraid that Luiza would unfortunately encounter this man and not be able to escape. Her eyes opened wide in horror as she looked up at him. Unexpectedly, he laughed again and grabbed Irel's shoulder, turning her away.
“Go away.”
The words she longed for slipped from his lips. Even though permission was finally granted, Irel still did not dare to leave in a hurry.
Did he really let me go?
She felt a chill, afraid that if she innocently walked away, she would be stabbed from behind without realizing it.
"If you say go, go. Hurry up."
The man's face turned around, still smiling brightly. Even though he was someone who would smile like this even while stabbing a knife into someone's back, she had no other choice now. She could only temporarily believe what he said.
"Mom, Mom! I'm here!"
Before Luiza could turn the corner, Irel quickly ran out. Luckily, nothing flew and stabbed her in the back.
“My daughter!”
Luiza's face beamed with joy when she saw Irel running towards her. She, who always walked lightly and elegantly like a lady, now ran at full speed. She hugged her and rubbed her back frantically, as if to confirm that her daughter was safe.
"Oh my God, Thank God. Thank You, really thank You...!"
Luiza's face lit up when she realized that Irel was still safe and sound. But that joy only lasted for a moment, tears of relief and belated blame began to flow.
"You naughty mole! Do you know how worried I am?"
“I'm sorry, Mom.”
"I'm already sick and still wandering around! Don't you know what the danger is? I thought my heart was going to stop beating!"
Luiza sobbed while lightly hitting Irel's arm. However, even those blows did not hurt, making Irel's heart suddenly tighten.
What if those were Raeyeon's biological parents? Maybe they won't bother looking for their missing daughter, and will even be happy that she left on her own. If Raeyeon came back, they would just show cold faces and ask why she came back.
This is the first time she has received love like this. So, even though I knew it wasn't mine, that warm embrace still became extremely special.
"I'm really sorry for making you worry, Mom. Since you didn't come back, I went out to look for you, and then..."
Irel almost burst into tears. Remembering the terrible things she had gone through, she finally couldn't hold back and sobbed.
"Come on, we're both safe. Why are you crying like that? It's embarrassing this beautiful face."
Seeing her daughter sobbing, Luiza stopped scolding her and gently wiped her face. The love transmitted from her fingertips not only did not stop her crying, but also made her tears flow more.
"Shh, don't cry anymore, my princess. Let's go home now."
"Yes. Let's go home together, Mom."
Irel wiped her tears and smiled with a red face. Luckily, Luiza is safe. She was really happy when she got on the carriage to go home with her grandmother.
However, she couldn't stop her heart from feeling heavy. All because of that man's face, vaguely imprinted behind her eyelids.
He won't let me go easily.
Her instincts spoke to her like a warning, but Irel tried to ignore it. Even though the carriage going home was still as bumpy as before, she didn't feel motion sick at all. She was just grateful for the fact that with every turn of the wheel, she was further and further away from this hellish place, and from that terrifying man.
"By the way, Mom. Let me ask, why did you stay at the pharmacy for so long?"
On the carriage ride back home, Irel suddenly asked curiously.
“Oh my god, don't mention it again.”
Luiza gets angry when she remembers what she went through. She also had a reason for the delay.
Of course, she wasn't unlucky enough to encounter some Keytan flesh-eating monster on the road. She and the coachman took the right road, and there was indeed a pharmacy there.
The pharmacy owner became extremely confused when he saw Luiza and the coachman suddenly rush in. He kept trying to delay time under the pretext of looking for goods. Even though Luiza and the coachman expressed their intention to leave, he still tried his best to prevent them from leaving the house.
It was as if there was something there they weren't supposed to see.
"What a strange person! Extremely suspicious behavior."
Luiza was indignant, certain that he was smuggling something. She was very worried about her daughter being left alone in the carriage, but because the pharmacy owner insisted that he was about to find the item, she had to give in.
"It's as if he buried gold outside. How ridiculous!"
Luiza vowed to report to the police as soon as she returned to the mansion. Hearing that, Irel sighed, because she seemed to understand what the pharmacy owner was trying to hide.
Maybe he's in the same boat as that man.
The pharmacy owner was probably one of his subordinates. He tried to buy time and hold Luiza back, fearing that she would accidentally discover the "work" going on at the nearby warehouse.
I didn't know that, so I got out of the carriage and encountered that man.
His face when he calmly allowed her to go was full of meaning. This made her even more scared.
Irel shivered, leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. She didn't get motion sick again, but she wanted to use this to get the scary memories out of her mind.
"That's right. You're tired, take a nap, daughter."
Luiza patted her shoulder with a gentle hand. Focusing on that softness made her feel a little more secure, and sleepiness gradually came.
Irel yawned, then quickly fell asleep. Therefore, she was unaware of the cold and sharp eyes watching the carriage from behind.
“…Are you going to let her go like that?”
His confidant asked, looking towards Irel's carriage as it disappeared. Varkan, the red-haired man, smirked and commanded with his finger:
“No. Let's go after it.”