Chapter 2
“Are you going to take it all again today? Today, it’s eighteen lashes.”
It was the 18th day—time for eighteen lashes. Regis increased the number by one each day. And every time, he let someone choose who would receive the punishment.
So far, Elruana had always volunteered to take it alone, and today was no different. With a feverish flush to her face, she replied:
“I’ll take them all.”
Regis’s crimson eyes swept over Elruana.
She still had a youthful face, yet one that drew the eye. Her golden hair, reminiscent of sunlight, was tangled and matted, and her unwashed face was smudged with grime, yet she still stood out. If groomed properly, she might rival Shavia, the belle of high society.
The sight of her pretty face twisting in pain had been Regis’s amusement these past few days. He hoped she’d survive for a long, long time—he was looking forward to more. And again, Elruana had said she’d take it all.
Her back was already a mess. Taking all eighteen today might kill her. And if she died, the fun would end. That would be such a shame.
“I’ll make a generous offer. If you share the lashes with your brother, I’ll cut it down to nine. How about it?”
“I’m fine.”
Elruana did not compromise. She didn’t hesitate. But—
“I’ll take them,” said a voice.
Louis, who had been lying on the bed, threw off the covers and ran over to grab Elruana’s hem. Startled, Elruana shouted without thinking:
“Be quiet!”
“I can take the lashes too.”
Tears dripped from Louis’s eyes. His soft sobs pierced Elruana’s chest. It was strange how a heart could ache more than the festering wounds on her back.
Elruana raised her voice a little more.
“Sis is angry. I told you to stay still.”
“I don’t want to.”
Regis, watching the siblings bicker, burst out laughing. He cackled for a while before mocking them.
“How touching. So, who’s it going to be?”
“I’ll take them all.”
Elruana spoke while covering Louis’s mouth. The teardrops landing on the back of her hand felt so hot they could burn her.
“It’ll be fun to see how long this loving sibling bond lasts.”
Once again, Regis decided to heal Elruana if she survived today. Keeping her alive promised long-lasting enjoyment.
At his signal, his attendant hurriedly inserted a key into the prison door’s lock.
‘Please. Don’t open.’
Clank. The iron door rattled. Clank, clank. Maybe it was just the wind sneaking through the barred window. Or maybe the attendant was being overly dramatic.
No one noticed it. That Elruana’s desperate wish had touched the bars.
“Huh? Why… why isn’t it opening?”
The attendant’s face was clearly confused.
The prison door didn’t budge. He tried inserting the key again, but nothing changed. He grabbed the bars in a panic and shook them—still useless.
“You can’t even open a door?”
Regis’s irritated gaze stabbed into the attendant.
“It—it won’t open.”
Annoyed by the feeble excuse, Regis snatched the key and shoved it into the lock. Still, the door didn’t move. Fuming, Regis struck the attendant across the face with a branch from the World Tree.
Smack! A sharp sound echoed as the attendant screamed, clutching one eye.
“Arghhh!”
Elruana shuddered involuntarily at the cry. She’d been beaten enough to know how painful the World Tree branch was. And the eye—getting hit there could mean losing vision.
Regis looked down at the writhing attendant with disdain and muttered,
“Stop whining. It’s boring.”
Clutching his wounded eye, the attendant staggered to his feet. Blood seeped between his fingers and dripped down his wrist.
“I—I’m sorry.”
“Do your job properly. I don’t want to kill you. Do you know how annoying that would be for me? Right?”
“I’ll make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
“Drop your hand. Anyone would think you’re dying.”
The attendant lowered his hand, revealing a deep cut around his right eye. Blood streamed down from the eye that wouldn’t open. Though he seemed likely to go blind, Regis turned away indifferently.
“Leave the door open until I return from the forest.”
“Yes, sir.”
The attendant scrambled to follow Regis.
Only after the two disappeared down the stairs and all signs of their presence were gone did Elruana release her hand from Louis’s mouth.
Louis’s voice exploded.
“You’re an idiot, sis!”
“What are you saying? You’re the idiot.”
“I can take the lashes too.”
Elruana placed both hands on her hips. This fool.
A child’s soft flesh would split with just one hit. Just imagining Louis bleeding was enough to bleach her thoughts white with fear.
“I’ll let you take over when I really can’t bear it anymore. But I still can.”
Louis started crying again.
“You’re a fool. A dummy.”
“Who’s the dummy? You are.”
As Elruana comforted the sobbing Louis, they heard someone coming back up the stairs. As if planned, both of them fell silent.
Soon, unfamiliar men dragged in a limp boy. Neither the boy nor the men had faces they recognized from Adern. The men looked like the word ‘criminal’ was stamped on their foreheads—dangerous, shady.
They paid no attention to Elruana and Louis, opening the cell opposite theirs. Without a word, they shoved the boy inside and left the way they came.
The boy, thrown onto the floor, didn’t move. Elruana moved close to the bars and peered into the opposite cell.
‘Is he dead? I don’t want to see someone die right in front of me.’
She watched in silence for a long time, but the boy didn’t move at all.
“Hey, are you dead?”
The boy’s blurry gaze slowly turned toward her. His blue eyes resembled the sea she’d only ever seen in pictures. But his gaze was dull and unfocused.
Like a dead fish.
That was Kazhar’s first impression.
***
The floor was cool and damp. Kazhar slowly opened his eyes. His vision was dim and blurry—he could barely make out shapes. At this rate, he would lose his sight soon.
‘Where am I…?’
Darkness.
It had been a long time since he last saw such darkness. He blinked again, but the shadows remained. Within that pitch-black world, death seemed to be waiting for him, jaws wide open. How long until it swallowed him whole?
‘Hawk.’
Kazhar thought of the man who had poisoned him and sold him to a slave trader.
The man he had spent the most time with in his life. The only person he had ever fully trusted. Hawk had even kindly whispered into Kazhar’s ear just before he lost consciousness: “The poison you just drank is Redfire.”
He had believed him. Kazhar let out a bitter chuckle and checked his condition.
The aura that once made him a genius swordsman didn’t respond. His senses were dull to the point that he couldn’t feel anything unless he focused intensely. Worst of all, his heartbeat was sluggish.
As if it would soon stop.
Redfire dulled the nerves, robbed all senses including sight, and ultimately took one’s life. Unlike fast-acting poisons, its effects developed slowly over more than two weeks.
Had it been five days since he drank it?
His blurry eyes finally gained focus. The cell was still dark. Kazhar thought it strange, but didn’t move. He stayed still to delay the spread of the poison and waited for the prison door to open again.
He had been unable to try anything during the transfer because of the shackles, but now he planned to escape. Of course, even if he got out, more betrayal and death might be waiting for him.
Then, a soft and youthful voice came from the darkness.
“Hey, are you dead?”
Startled, Kazhar sucked in a breath.
‘Someone’s there?’
He lifted his head and saw, through the opposite bars, eyes the color of fresh greenery. When he saw the long golden hair down to her waist, he thought of Emperor Cantio. She looked about fourteen or fifteen. Next to her was a tiny, pinkish child.
He hadn’t even realized someone was there—his senses were duller than he thought. But still, why were children in a prison?
Not that he minded. It was better than being alone—he might get useful information. Kazhar was about to ask questions, but the girl beat him to it.
“You’re not from Adern. Why are you in this prison?”
Adern? That was the last village near the western border. Suddenly, a wave of alarm washed over him.
He had heard they were transporting him somewhere. That the reason for using a slow-acting poison like Redfire was to deliver him to a buyer.
‘Are they taking me across the border?’
Kazhar lifted himself and replied,
“I was kidnapped. But how did you know I’m not from Adern?”
The girl, Elruana, replied as if it were obvious.
“Adern doesn’t even have a hundred households. There are only six kids my age.”
Saying that, she remembered the face of Mary, which had been hung above the city gates.
“…Now it’s five. Anyway, you’re an outsider.”
Kazhar also knew Adern was the smallest territory in the Empire. He recalled it had less than 400 people. As he sorted through his knowledge, Elruana continued questioning him.
“How did you end up getting caught?”
Kazhar gave a bitter smile.
“My guard betrayed me. It was my fault for trusting him.”
“Hmm.”
Elruana sat casually on the floor, giving him a sympathetic look. To be betrayed by your own bodyguard—how pitiful.
“Why is it your fault? The one who betrayed you is the scum. If you find him, break his legs.”
Kazhar gave a faint smile, amused. That smile melted quietly into the darkness.
“You think it ends with just that?”
“Well, yeah. If word gets out he betrayed someone he was supposed to protect, he’d lose all his credibility—his livelihood.”
Kazhar thought, No, what he’ll lose is his head, and studied Elruana more closely. Though his eyes were adjusting to the dark, his vision still blurred if he relaxed. He had to stay focused.
‘Something’s off.’
Her clothes were expensive, but her mannerisms and speech weren’t ladylike. And her sitting posture seemed unnatural—her shoulders were tense, and she was using her hands to support her weight.
‘Is she hurt?’
As he observed, Kazhar introduced himself first.
“I’m Kazhar. You?”
“Elruana Vita.”
The little boy clutching her skirt with both hands also introduced himself.
“I’m Louis Vita.”
Vita?
“The Vita of The Radiant Mortal Night and the Silence of the Black Sun? Ron Vita?”
“Yeah. He’s our dad.”
Elruana lied smoothly and let out a subtle sigh. It seemed their father had become a bit too famous.
This time, Kazhar asked first.
“Then why are you in this prison if you’re a noble?”
“Because we’re nobles, our heads are still attached. They want to know where Dad is.”
“Who’s ‘they’?”
“The first prince.”
Elruana almost added that bastard but quickly corrected herself.
“His Highness.”
The fact that she had to call someone ‘His Highness’ just because he was a prince irritated her.
‘Dad… are you dead yet? Or struck by lightning?’
As she made her usual small wish, she noticed Kazhar’s gaze sharpening.
“…Did you say someone is in Adern Castle?”
