Episode 9: The Price of a Life
In her dream, Ranael was back in the black house again. The water and food that came once a week had stopped a long time ago.
Irbes would not starve them to death. That belief was the only thing keeping her going. Ranael swallowed even her dried up saliva to soothe her burning throat.
“If the contractor of the Water Spirit King dies because she can’t drink water, that would be pretty ridiculous…”
Ranael mocked herself.
After a very long time, the door creaked open. Ranael, who had been locked in the black house, was suddenly dragged out by a knight.
When she had first been brought here, it was still late winter. Now it was a spring afternoon. Sunlight poured mercilessly into her eyes.
“Kyaaah!”
Pain exploded in her eyes from the sudden brightness, and Ranael screamed.
“Sister! Sister! Where are they taking you?”
Erna’s scream followed, stabbing into her ears.
Ranael was carried like luggage over the knight’s shoulder and dragged somewhere. The air was full of flower scents and the smell of grass, fresh and alive.
The sunlight forcing its way through her closed eyes felt unbearably cruel. The world was this warm. This beautiful. And yet, it was so harsh only to them.
As her consciousness faded, tears slowly rolled down her dry cheeks.
When she came to, she was lying on soft bedding. Warm sunlight gently touched her body. Cheerful birdsong echoed from outside the window.
White furniture decorated with flashy gold patterns filled the room. Everything was a luxury she had never seen before. Even the blanket beneath her felt softer than anything she had ever touched in her life.
Had she died? Was this heaven?
But hunger and thirst dragged her back to reality. Everything felt too vivid for her to be dead. The iron chain around her ankle was still there.
Even now, wanting water made her feel pathetic.
She barely sat up and, with trembling hands, grabbed the cup on the bedside table.
Water flowed down her throat and spread through her body. The sensation felt strangely new. After drinking, she collapsed back onto the bed.
“Call Nahar and run away right now.”
A sweet voice whispered in her ear.
She was tired. Her mind only wanted death. Erna was probably the same.
“If I run away and Erna dies… maybe Erna would rather die too…”
Ranael slowly closed her eyes. With moisture returning to her dried out body, she could finally breathe properly.
Just as a faint smile formed at the sweet thought, Erna’s face flashed before her eyes. Her voice calling out desperately followed.
“I’m insane. I’ve finally gone insane.”
Disgust rose in her chest at thoughts she could not believe were her own, and she gagged.
“Am I really going crazy? How could I even think of abandoning my only sister?”
It was despair.
Raphiana’s excited voice rang in her head as clearly as if it were yesterday.
“If you run away, your sister will have all her fingers and toes pulled out and die slowly. Are you really that heartless?”
She should call Nahar right now, rush to the black house, break down the door, and save Erna. If she was going to die anyway, she wanted to at least try.
Just as she was about to call Nahar, the door opened.
The red haired woman Blea entered, along with the Duke of Irbes.
“My lovely niece. You’re finally awake. What was your name again?”
The duke spoke in an overly exaggerated tone as he looked down at her.
Ranael did not answer. She could not.
“If I call Nahar and go to the black house, will there be no guards? Can I save Erna without killing anyone? Can I open the door with spirit power from outside?”
Her mind spun wildly with thoughts of saving Erna.
Then suddenly, crack.
Her cheek burned with sharp pain.
Ranael snapped back to reality and looked at the source.
The red haired woman had slapped her hard. Before the pain even faded, her head was whipped to the other side. Blea struck her again. Her other cheek began to swell red as well.
“How dare you not answer the duke!”
Both cheeks throbbed. Her head felt completely empty from the pain.
“Can’t you answer? He asked your name!”
Blea’s twisted, vicious face swam before her eyes.
Ranael looked at the duke in terror, but his expression was calm. He was even smiling as he looked down at her.
“Ra… nael…”
Violence she had never experienced before quickly broke her. She was too exhausted to choose anger or resistance. Hunger, thirst, despair, and fear had drained all her strength.
Hearing her answer, Blea looked satisfied and brushed off her hands, as if she had touched something filthy.
“Yes, Ranael. We brought you here because you need to pay the price for your life.”
“You haven’t forgotten the mercy I showed by sparing you and your sister, have you?”
The duke stroked his chin and continued coldly.
“I will make you the Crown Princess. Could that filthy blood of yours ever get close to the imperial palace otherwise? It will be the greatest honor of your life.”
“Crown Princess…? Why…? Then… what about Erna…?”
Becoming the Crown Princess out of nowhere was impossible to believe. She could not guess his intentions at all.
Ranael barely managed to speak.
“If you do well, your sister lives. Don’t even dream of escaping with spirit power. There are five knights guarding the black house. The moment you appear nearby, they’ll cut off that girl’s legs first.”
“Th, that can’t be… Er, Erna might… still be able to form a contract…”
The duke spoke of terrifying things as casually as if he were recounting yesterday’s dinner.
“He can’t kill Erna. He believes Erna is a candidate for the Spirit King’s contractor. He wouldn’t kill her.”
Even as she thought that, her entire body trembled with fear. The cold from the day she fell into the lake still clung to her. She shuddered without realizing it.
“Why would I kill such a precious future contractor of the Spirit King? I never said I’d kill her. Cutting off an arm or a leg would be enough. If you love freedom that much, go ahead and try running. Like your father, you’ll be caught again soon enough.”
The duke smiled viciously and gently touched her trembling face.
“Still, isn’t it fortunate? You’ve finally become useful, just like me.”
“To be like this demon of a man…”
Ranael shook her head as if cursed. She wanted to collapse. There was nothing but darkness, with no exit in sight.
“Erna! Erna!”
Calling her sister’s name, Ranael woke up from her dream. It was still the middle of the night.
She thought that when she woke up, everything might have been a dream. That she might be back in the small cabin with Erna.
But that fragile hope shattered.
“Are you all right?”
The Crown Prince was beside her, his face full of concern. Ranael quickly hid her dazed expression.
“I, I’m fine.”
“You must have had a nightmare. You kept groaning in your sleep, so I woke you.”
“Ah…”
“If only it had been just a dream.”
Reality was colder than any nightmare. Her long eyelashes trembled, wet with tears.
“Who is Erna?”
“She’s my sister…”
“So you have a sister. You must miss her. Invite her to the palace sometime.”
Ranael thought of Erna without answering.
“That might be difficult.”
Because you’re fake.
Karsian swallowed the rest of his words. He had wanted to hurt her, but she already looked miserable.
Whenever he looked at El, his heart felt rough and scratched.
It was a feeling he could not define with a single word.
She was a woman who dared to deceive him. Her face, resembling Raphiana, annoyed him. Irritated him. And yet, his eyes kept going back to that face.
The expression El had shown while calling her sister’s name in her sleep was completely different from the one she showed him. She was a woman he had thought nothing but cruel.
Leaving the silent El behind, Karsian returned to the sofa.
“It’s still early morning. Get some more sleep.”
In the dim room, Ranael quietly watched Karsian’s back as he turned away and walked off.
Even if it meant nothing, she was grateful for the warmth in his words.
She lay back down on the bed.
Grateful? It was all meaningless.
If he would not pull her out from the freezing bottom of the lake where she had sunk and frozen, then that small, charity like warmth meant nothing at all.
