PBAOM ★ CH 05

Chapter 5

The Tower’s Clever Captive Life (1)

“Hey.”

Someone tapped me lightly. I tried to ignore it, but they kept nudging until I finally opened my eyes.

My breathing was rough, like someone who had just been pulled out of the water, and my whole body felt heavy and pressed down. I had dreamt again of the time I drank poison.

The man staring at me strangely made me lower my head—then I realized my own hands were wrapped tightly around my neck. I was sweating cold, my face twisted in pain.

Ah, damn it. I had accidentally acted as if I could see. Quickly, I softened my gaze, making it look dull and unfocused again.

A cold voice came from above my head.

“What are you doing right now?”

When Deoki asked again, I finally lowered my hands.

“…I must have had a nightmare.”

My voice was dry and cracked. My lips felt split. I could tell my face must look exhausted even without checking.

I turned on my side to hide it, but I could still feel his sharp stare on my cheek.

Then came the sound of water being poured. I moved my eyes slightly — Deoki was setting a jug and a glass down on the shelf.

Soon, his low, chilling voice followed.

“You wanted to escape from me, even if it meant dying?”

“…”

I silently reached out a hand — not toward the cup, but in another direction.

Deoki sighed and shook his head.

He grabbed my hand roughly and shoved the cup into it. Water splashed halfway down my arm, but I didn’t care — I drank the rest in big gulps.

Deoki tilted his head and said suddenly,

“If you need help, just say so honestly, Lady.”

“…Forget it. It’s not like you’re planning to stay by my side as my guide forever.”

“…”

“Keep your pity. For a hostage, it’s a luxury.”

A sharp pain throbbed behind my left eye, making my tone harsher than usual.

Deoki rested his chin on his hand and smirked.

I turned my head toward his voice and asked,

“What’s so funny?”

Over the week I’d spent here, I realized he had no intention of killing me.

That’s why I dared to speak more boldly.

I was still afraid of him — but at least I knew he wouldn’t kill me right now.

Still, why would someone lock me up in a tower, feed me, and let me sleep peacefully?

‘Maybe he’s keeping me here until the person who hired him comes to collect me.’

While I was deep in thought, his stare lingered on me — slow and heavy, like a snake wrapping itself around its prey. It made me shiver.

When the only sound in the room was my quiet swallow, Deoki finally lost interest and stood up.

Then — he stripped.

He peeled off his tunic and trousers in one motion. Firelight reflected off his bronze skin, and dark shadows traced the hard lines of his body.

I almost screamed — but I couldn’t risk revealing that I could see.

So instead, I just looked blankly toward the ceiling and said evenly,

“I might be blind, but I can still tell when someone’s ignoring me like I’m invisible, you know?”

As Deoki changed into clean clothes, I ducked my head, trying to cool my burning face. But I couldn’t unsee the image — the scars across his back, the defined muscles, the lean line of his waist.

His calm voice came again.

“Your hearing’s sharp. Is that because of your blindness?”

I almost dropped the cup. When I looked up, he was right in front of me.

Now that I was fully awake, I saw dried blood covering his neck and shoulders.

My breath caught. Pretending not to see that was impossible.

“So,” he murmured lowly, “can you guess what I was doing before I came here?”

“…”

“No? Then maybe your sense of smell will tell you?”

The metallic scent of blood hit me at once. My stomach twisted.

For a moment, I feared he had killed someone — but then I spotted it: a dead deer lying near the door.

He must’ve gone hunting while I slept.

I tried to calm my pounding heart and forced myself to speak.

“Your name was Deoki, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“You make your living by killing people.”

“That’s true. So—have you given up trying to bribe me yet?”

He smiled faintly, wiping blood off his cheek with a towel. When he dipped it into a basin, the water turned red. He washed his hair, then dragged the deer closer and started skinning it with smooth, practiced motions.

The sound of the knife slicing through flesh filled the room — shhk, shhk.

I fumbled for the empty cup, set it down, and stood.

But I hadn’t walked far when I banged my knee against the wall. I let out a deliberately loud groan.

“Ah!”

The pain was real enough — it would probably bruise. I rubbed my knee and kept moving, using the wall as my guide until I reached the door.

Then I turned halfway and said as calmly as I could,

“Um… I’m just going to the bathroom for a bit.”

That was part of our unspoken routine here. Luckily, Deoki never followed me there.

But just as I grabbed the doorknob, his voice came again — lower, darker.

“I heard you lost your sight from poison when you were a child.”

“…!”

“A poison so deadly it’s a miracle you survived.”

I froze. What was he trying to say now?

Curious despite myself, I glanced back — and immediately regretted it.

Crouched beside the fireplace, Deoki looked inhuman.

Covered in shadows, cleaning his kill — he looked like a monster dissecting a corpse.

A chill ran through me.

I suddenly wondered — if I stopped pretending and jumped out of this tower right now, what were my chances of escape?

Maybe… 0.1 percent?

Even if I survived the fall, he’d catch me. And then… he’d kill me for real.

Deoki glanced up at me.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect it. I thought the Duke of Mermandi would pay your ransom.”

“What… did you say?”

“It’s true, isn’t it? The Duke mistreats you. He locked you in that lonely house and barely noticed you were gone until long after.”

Deoki spun his knife between his fingers, the metal whispering as it turned. Then he stopped — and slowly rubbed the handle against his jaw.

“Isn’t that right, Nat?”

He said my nickname so casually that a vein throbbed in my forehead.

How dare this assassin talk to me like that?

I clenched my fists, refusing to rise to his provocation.

“So what are you really trying to say, Deoki?”

Then, before I could stop myself, I blurted out the thought that had haunted me for days.

“Did the prince send you — to finish what wasn’t done seven years ago? To kill the Duke’s troublesome daughter once and for all?”

Deoki froze mid-motion.

Then he laughed quietly — shoulders shaking. When he lifted his head, his long hair fell aside, revealing eyes sharp and wild.

Those eyes glowed with a cruel light — like something ancient and demonic, torn straight from the pages of a cursed book.