CH:07
“The priestess must be exhausted from using her powers.”
As soon as Amelia removed her hand from the child, Aaron spoke. Amelia flinched and widened her eyes.
“Let’s postpone today’s prayer to next week.”
“Yes.”
Louis politely clasped her hands and responded. Though she was Aaron’s cousin, within the temple, a clear hierarchy existed.
“You may leave now, Louis.”
Aaron said with a relaxed smile. Even Louis left the room. Amelia looked at the woman with a distressed expression. But the woman, overwhelmed with gratitude that her child had received the god’s blessing and was healed, had already left.
“I’ll escort you.”
Aaron looked down at Amelia, who now resembled a cornered mouse, and spoke gently. But his tone carried a subtle force.
“…”
He’s not going to let me go.
That thought made her fingertips tremble without her realizing it.
“Shall I carry you?”
She hadn’t been able to take a step. Aaron asked in a concerned tone. His mouth smiled, but his eyes didn’t.
“N-No.”
“…”
“I’ll walk on my own.”
Amelia rejected Aaron’s offer. Whatever else happened, she had no desire to be carried in his arms. The very thought of physical contact with Aaron repulsed her. So, despite trembling, she had no choice but to follow him on her own two feet.
“You really don’t seem to know how to take care of your body, Priestess.”
Aaron said softly as he walked ahead. Amelia didn’t respond. She only licked her lips anxiously.
“You are essentially the pillar of Escliff.”
Even if she was hurt, in pain, or dying—Amelia was not someone who could be used carelessly.
“Even if you cannot die, it doesn’t mean you can’t feel pain.”
That child looked like they only had a fever, but what if it had been something contagious? Amelia had no immunity against diseases, having been hidden deep within the temple. If she collapsed without precaution, it would be disastrous for them all.
“S-Stop…”
Just as she was about to order him to leave—
Knowing no one was watching, Aaron grabbed Amelia by the wrist and pulled her toward him.
“Surely, you didn’t think you’d get away with it so easily.”
Like a sheet of paper caught in the wind, Amelia was dragged along. Once Aaron had made up his mind, Amelia no longer had a choice.
“N-No!”
Amelia resisted with all her strength at the top of the staircase leading down to the underground.
“If you didn’t want to come here, you should’ve obeyed.”
Did they sense their master’s arrival?
Woof! Woof!
Loud barking echoed from the basement. Amelia’s face turned pale.
Aaron, seizing the moment when she lost strength, lifted her over his shoulder and began descending the stairs.
“No!”
She struggled, but it had little effect. Aaron remained firm and carried her into the basement. The dogs, locked in iron cages, wagged their tails when they saw him. Their coats were shiny, their muscular bodies nimble—not guard dogs, but hunting dogs.
“I-I’m sorry.”
Amelia begged desperately. She was terrified of dogs.
“It’s my fault. I won’t do it again, never again…”
But Aaron didn’t stop.
A belated apology made in fear held no weight with him.
“Go in.”
Aaron unlocked the cage.
Click.
The sound of the latch opening made the dogs press their bodies against the gate.
“Please. I won’t do it again.”
Amelia pleaded again and again, but Aaron didn’t hesitate. He placed her delicate body on the ground and pushed her inside the cage.
“Why are you so slow to learn?”
Aaron muttered in disappointment, locking the gate behind her.
Three dogs approached, sniffing Amelia’s feet and legs—as if determining whether she was prey.
“S-Stay back.”
Amelia backed away in terror.
“Ah!”
As she kept stepping backward, her ankle caught on a chain sprawled on the floor. The sharpened links, worn by dogs’ teeth and claws, grazed her ankle. A sharp pain, followed by the faint scent of blood.
“Ah… ah…”
In that moment, the dogs’ eyes gleamed.
One dog, with a large scar across its face, looked especially wild.
“Get her.”
The scarred one drooled and bared its teeth.
Amelia’s consciousness blinked into white.
The day the twin sisters died, Amelia’s mother lost her mind.
She moved as ordered, but that was all. She made no decisions of her own. Her eyes, where the soul had long vanished, never sparkled.
“Now.”
Amelia had grown used to those dead eyes. But the winter of her tenth year was different.
“M-Mom?”
Where had that strength come from in such a frail body? Her mother gripped Amelia’s shoulders tightly in bed and spoke.
It was the first time in seven years she had seen her with life in her eyes.
“We have to get out.”
How the opportunity came, she didn’t know.
But her mother had waited for this day. She pulled Amelia up and covered her in a hood.
“If you stay here, you’ll die too.”
Not you. Not you.
Her mother whispered, desperate to protect her child.
“Where are we going?”
“You just need to get out of here. Once you’re out…”
As if that were the sole purpose of her life, her mother kept murmuring as they walked.
Then her body froze.
At the end of the corridor, a shadow appeared.
One person. Three beasts. The growling conveyed unmistakable menace.
“Out so late—what are you two doing?”
Moonlight spilled in. Aaron’s face—now nearly a man at sixteen—became visible.
He patted the beast at his side.
“You know you’re not allowed to leave. Go back.”
Her mother, trembling, placed a shaking hand on Amelia’s shoulder.
“Do you see that bush? Run there. There’s a hole just your size behind it.”
“What about you?”
“I can’t come with you. You can survive on your own, right?”
She whispered, so only Amelia could hear.
“Just run. No matter what.”
Amelia nodded faintly.
Then her mother turned and ran.
Aaron released the dogs.
The hunting dogs chased after her mother.
“Ah…”
Amelia stood frozen—then remembered her mother’s instructions and ran west, toward the bush.
“Get her.”
Aaron let go of the final leash.
Taking that as a signal, the dog dashed after the child.
It was the scarred one.
“D-Don’t come any closer!”
Amelia screamed as she ran.
No one welcomes a beast larger than themselves—especially one brimming with aggression.
“Aagh!”
Before she could reach the bush, the beast tackled her.
Amelia struggled in terror.
Drool dripped onto her nape—it was pure horror.
“Uhh… uuhhh…!”
She couldn’t even finish her scream.
The dog, trained by Aaron, grabbed her shoulder and dragged her back.
The more she resisted, the harder it bit.
The pain and fear paralyzed her.
“Mother and daughter—both hopelessly stupid.”
The dog dropped Amelia at Aaron’s feet.
Foaming and shaking, she lay there as Aaron clicked his tongue.
He grabbed her by the collar and dragged her.
Her wounded arms didn’t even attempt to move.
Her bare legs beneath her skirt turned red from scraping the snow.
Drops of blood trailed behind her.
“No!”
Her mother, already captured by the hair, saw her child being dragged and screamed.
“You could’ve looked the other way. You could’ve let this child go…”
She hugged her daughter and sobbed.
Even as she cried bitterly, Aaron’s face remained blank.
“Someone will hear this! Someone saw what you did! You can’t hide this forever!”
Her mother’s voice turned venomous—as if hoping someone would hear and rush in.
“Anyone who sees this dies.”
“…”
“And anyone who hears your scream.”
Aaron sneered at her hope.
The dogs growled and scanned the area, ears twitching.
A distant scream, and the wind blew cold through the place.
It carried the scent of blood.
“That child is your future.”
“…”
“Because you gave birth to her.”
Aaron said, then patted the bloodstained dog affectionately.
“Because I gave birth to her…”
Amelia’s mother murmured as she stroked her daughter’s head.
Amelia stared at the moonlight behind her mother’s shoulder.
“I’ve become lower than a dog.”
On that hopeless night, snow piled on her fragile shoulders.
Her black baby hairs fluttered in the bitter wind.
In the name of God, hell was breathtakingly beautiful.
