“Haah…haa…”
The rough sound of breathing escaped through my lips. My heart was pounding as if it would explode, but I couldn’t stop my steps for even a moment.
Viviana told me to be alone for just ten minutes. It was an uncharacteristic moment of carelessness from her, but to me, it sounded like the perfect opportunity to escape from this hellish prison.
Even as the scenery changed endlessly, my legs kept moving forward without rest. Thanks to running and running, I managed to get far away from the street where the pasta restaurant was.
“Haah… Huh… Heh, hehe…”
An uncontrollable smile crept up my lips. The exhilarating feeling of freedom washed over me like a shiver. I stopped for a moment to catch my breath, then looked up at the clear sky and smiled calmly.
By now, Viviana must have noticed I was gone. I wondered what expression she would make.
Of course, considering Viviana’s abilities, there was a high chance I’d be caught again within hours. But I didn’t care. That time alone was enough to enjoy freedom and die in peace.
Carefully scanning my surroundings, I moved my steps to a secluded alley. As I went deeper, I arrived at a damp back alley where not a single ray of sunlight reached.
After checking my surroundings once more in the depths of the alley, I reached for the collar around my neck.
“If only this… if only this were gone…”
If this collar disappeared, I wouldn’t have to endure the forced healing anymore. If that happened, I could finally sever my ties with this world.
But the collar wouldn’t come off easily. I searched for a way to undo it with my fingertips, but there was no gap anywhere.
“Ugh…!”
I tried to pull it off by force, but the tough leather collar only tightened around my neck. Frustrated, my breathing grew ragged, and my heart beat even more wildly.
After struggling for several minutes, I stomped on the alley floor in frustration and shouted irritably.
“A knife… I need a knife.”
With my current strength, it wasn’t enough, but with a sharp knife, I could cut through this stubborn collar in one go. In the heart of the Empire, getting a knife shouldn’t be too hard.
And since this was the Empire, there would be plenty of people to help me. Unlike that hellish prison, here I had the reputation and connections I had built up in the social circle.
The young ladies must have found my absence strange. After all, I, who attended banquets every day, suddenly disappeared one day.
Especially Bersha and Sharrione, my former patrons, must have been eagerly waiting for me.
I would expose everything the Saintess had done to me and then commit suicide. A story of me committing suicide after enduring Lillian’s torture would be enough to give Lillian a taste of her own medicine.
‘Good.’
I let a single tear fall, emphasizing my pitifulness with a sorrowful expression and drooping eyes. This much should make anyone want to help me.
After all, humans are nothing but ugly lumps of desire obsessed with beauty and aesthetics.
I had no doubt they would help me.
Holding a grudge in my heart, I rushed out of the alley without hesitation.
But a sudden shadow blocked my vision, and a foot suddenly kicked me in the stomach.
“Kyaak?!”
My breath caught, and my body flew backward. The impact made my vision spin for a moment. As I tried to get up from the ground, a shadow loomed over me.
“You seem in a hurry. Too bad we have business with you.”
Two women in shabby clothes blocked the alley. The only noticeable thing was that both had their faces covered with cloth.
“W-who…?”
Instinctively, a sense of caution surged. Their shabby attire clearly marked them as part of the lower class.
The lowest of the low among commoners. Such lowlifes dared to block me, a noble?
“Ha, you must have a pretty good life, huh? Your skin is so smooth it glows.”
“We thought you’d been sold off to some brothel, but here you are, strolling through the Empire’s streets.”
I couldn’t believe my ears.
A brothel?
“Y-you’re crazy! I’m a noble!”
Disbelief surged.
Are these women insane? Do they think they can insult a noble like this and get away with it in this Empire?
Or have I just had the misfortune of running into some bugs who’ve lost their minds?
“You’re the crazy one, bitch.”
The short-haired brunette rushed at me. I reflexively tried to push her away, but my frail frame and strength were no match.
She easily overpowered me. My back hit the cold alley floor, and my arms were pinned under her strong legs.
“What are you doing! Get off—!”
The mysterious woman ignored my protests and raised one hand high. Then, with a firm force, she slapped my cheek.
Slap!
“Ugh?!”
Before I could even cry out in pain, the other hand slapped my other cheek.
Slap!
“Ahk!”
Both cheeks burned with a stinging pain.
“You deserve to die, you bitch! I don’t know why the Saintess keeps you alive!”
Without any reason or explanation, she began slapping my cheeks relentlessly.
Slap!
“Ugh?!”
Slap!
“Ha, hak… W-wait—”
Slap! Slap! Slap!
In the dark alley, the sharp sound of skin being struck echoed endlessly.
Merciless violence.
Unfamiliar fear and pain overwhelmed my body from the savage, one-sided violence.
“Hic… S-stop…”
Even my faint plea couldn’t stop her hands.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
As the hot pain spread across my face and the sticky taste of blood filled my mouth, hot tears fell helplessly from my eyes. In my blurred vision, a bitter taste slid down my throat, and a sense of helplessness washed over me.
“Hic… Hic… P-please stop hitting me…”
In the end, just like in that hellish prison, all I could do was beg desperately for it to stop.
Anger burned fiercely inside me, but the fear of escaping the immediate pain completely dominated me.
“Ha, why did you do something like that if you’re going to cry like this?”
“I… I was wrong… I was wrong… Hic… Please stop…”
Without even knowing what I had done wrong, I apologized through tears and sobs. The sense of helplessness crushing me from within grew deeper, and my voice became so small I could barely hear it myself.
“Hey, let’s stop and go.”
The other woman, who had been watching, grabbed the woman slapping me and calmed her down. The brunette glared at me, breathing heavily, and finally spat on the ground as if her anger hadn’t subsided.
“If it weren’t for the Saintess, you’d already be executed. Don’t ever come near this alley again.”
With a fierce glare, she turned and disappeared into the deeper alley.
Finally, a peace-like silence arrived.
Touching my stinging cheeks, I barely managed to get up. Through my blurred vision, I staggered forward, muttering to myself.
“Damn… bitches.”
The wounds on my cheeks had already healed, but my shattered pride showed no signs of recovery.
“Damn… those lowlifes… I’ll kill them.”
With a twisted expression, I spat out curses and clenched my fists. The image of the women whose faces I hadn’t even seen clearly lingered in my mind.
How dare these bug-like commoners touch me?
Staggering toward the end of the alley, I swallowed the rising anger and gritted my teeth.
Just wait. This won’t end easily.
I’ll find you no matter what it takes.
I’ll trap you in pain until you beg for death.
Should I report this to Mardian?
Ah, I already dealt with Mardian.
Then Bersha? Or Sharrione? Or should I ask the young ladies from prestigious families?
How long had I been walking, harboring these chilling thoughts?
“Tina?”
A soft voice interrupted my thoughts. Dazed, I looked up and found myself standing in the middle of the Empire’s streets.
In front of me was a young lady in elegant attire, staring at me with wide eyes. I couldn’t remember her name, but her face seemed familiar from a few banquets.
Since she called me Tina, she must be one of those who treated me as a pet and showered me with affection.
Slowly, I put on my pitiful mask again and approached her.
“P-please help me…”
With a trembling voice, the young lady’s eyes fluttered.
Quietly stepping closer to her, I gently took her hand with the tearful expression that had charmed countless young ladies.
But before I could even speak,
Thud!
The young lady roughly pushed my arm away with a look of disdain.
“How did you end up on the streets?”
For a moment, I blinked in confusion at the incomprehensible situation.
“…Huh?”
“If you ran away, go back now while I’m being nice.”
She took a few steps back, glaring at me with eyes full of disgust and hostility.
“You impudent murderer.”
※
In the dark slums of the street.
The brunette woman, her face covered with cloth, spoke with a bitter smile.
“Ha, serves her right. I was in a bad mood, but this was perfect.”
“But is it okay? She’s a criminal, but she’s someone the Saintess personally took in.”
“So what? We covered our faces anyway. Besides, who would stand up for a murderer like her?”
“True, it doesn’t matter. But didn’t you hit her a bit too hard?”
“Ah, well… I was planning to go easy, but something about her just triggered my sadistic side.”
“Pfft, right. Her crying face was kind of… stimulating.”
In the gloomy slum street, the women’s laughter spread through the cold air. For them, who lived day by day through desperate theft and survival, beating up a noble was a new and thrilling pleasure.
“Next time we meet, should we just rape her? She’d cry even more.”
“Ew, even if she’s a woman, that’s a bit…”
“So what? She’s damn pretty—huh?”
Suddenly, the brunette stopped talking. A strange smell tickled her nose.
Following the source of the smell, she turned her head and saw a woman in a black uniform silently staring at them.
A cigarette hung from her lips, and a long sword was strapped to her waist.
“Uh… w-who are you?”
“No need to know.”
The woman in uniform threw the cigarette butt to the ground, stomped it out, and approached the brunette.
“W-wait….”
In the dark slum, her eyes, shining like amethyst,
were as calm and cold as if she were about to commit murder.
