Chapter 54
She’s Going to Hate That
Why is this happening?
Anshi tried to pull Damien up.
As expected, her hand passed straight through him. She had felt this before, but it was still strange and made her skin crawl.
Damien, get up!
Anshi bent down to look at his face, and her eyes flickered for a moment.
In the eyes of the man in the dust-stained suit was something unmistakable—fear.
But not fear of the enemy in front of him or the bullets flying toward him.
If that were the case, he should have at least been staring ahead, frozen in place. Even if his legs were trembling too much to run, he should have been trying to get out of the way.
Instead, he only clenched his teeth and covered one ear with his hand.
With the other hand, he gripped his side tightly—as if trying to stop the bleeding from a gunshot wound there.
Stop it, Leo…
In that instant, Anshi realized.
Damien was caught in a vision of his past.
When Damien de Orphee had been discharged from the military, the official reason had been a light gunshot wound to his side.
Countless articles speculated:
A man who had stayed in the military through far worse injuries suddenly discharged over something so minor? The rumor was that he left not for medical reasons, but to establish himself as a businessman.
But…
Had he been betrayed?
Someone who called him by his first name.
Someone like that had shot Damien. That was why…
But now wasn’t the time for this.
If he didn’t get up right now, this time the bullet might really tear through him.
Damien!
Anshi called out frantically, but he couldn’t hear her.
Footsteps approached them.
Anshi’s head snapped up, and her face went pale.
Gerris was walking toward Damien—gun in hand.
Because of sneaky bastards like you, Rain suffers. She should suffer by my side, not yours.
Muttering words Anshi couldn’t make sense of, Gerris advanced.
The feverish gleam in his eyes was that of a madman.
He shoved the gun muzzle at Damien.
Anshi lunged at Gerris, flailing her hands to try to snatch the gun away. But her voice never made it out, and her hands kept passing through him.
Even knowing it was useless, she couldn’t stop clawing at the air.
That’s why you need to die—urk!
Suddenly Gerris toppled backward.
Damien had risen and kicked him down.
Mounting him, Damien pinned him with a knee and wrenched the gun from his hand. Gerris lost it with pathetic ease.
…What the hell are you?
Damien still had one hand clamped over his ear, his face twisted as if he were hearing something awful.
Give it back!
Pinned beneath him, Gerris thrashed wildly, eyes bloodshot, shouting. Anshi flinched at the sight.
But the gun was no longer in his hands.
It should be fine now…
Thud—
A dull, sickening sound cut through the air.
Damien’s brow furrowed, his body jerking upright in pain.
What was that sound…?
Anshi’s gaze trembled as she followed it—
Damn it…
Damien groaned and raised the gun.
Bang! Bang! Two shots rang out.
Aagh! Aaagh!
Gerris’s screams echoed down the path. Damien had shot him in both legs.
Leaving him behind, Damien began to walk away. The sharp cries continued behind him as he climbed into a car.
The victor was clearly Damien.
Anyone could see that.
And yet—
Anshi just stared blankly at his back, frozen.
She couldn’t even swallow her breath.
A knife was sticking out of his back. Through the dark navy jacket, she could see the red stain spreading.
His hands trembled as he turned the ignition. The car started moving. Blood kept running down his back, soaking the seat.
Hah… she’s going to hate that…
Damien muttered with a mocking smirk. Soon the car stopped. The strength drained from his hands on the wheel, and he slumped sideways.
Damien!
Anshi screamed, trying to wake him. A wave of fear crashed over her, swallowing her whole.
Moments later—
Her vision went black.
“Haah…!”
With a rush of air flooding into her lungs, Anshi’s eyes flew open. Her whole body was shaking.
She’d been through this before, but she would never get used to it.
But there was no time to sit here trembling. Blue light was leaking past the curtains—it was already morning.
She jumped out of bed and ran to Damien’s room, so anxious she thought she might collapse.
Today.
She knew the place from her dream.
A narrow path lined with evergreens. It was unchanged from the past. The lakeside in the Dede Forest where she’d met that boy as a child. She knew the way there.
Knock, knock.
Anshi waited tensely outside Damien’s door.
No answer.
Finally she couldn’t take it anymore and threw the door open.
“…No.”
She strode quickly inside. The bed was neatly made. Damien was gone.
“Damien?”
Her voice trembled as she searched the room, but he was nowhere.
Anshi yanked on the bellpull. Moments later, the butler Nouvelle entered. Recognizing Anshi as the one who summoned him, he widened his eyes slightly in surprise before asking politely:
“What is it, madam?”
“When did Damien leave?”
“Not long ago—about fifteen minutes.”
“Prepare a horse. As quickly as you can.”
It was a strange request—so early in the morning? But Anshi’s eyes were so resolute that Nouvelle didn’t ask why.
“Right away.”
Anshi hurried to grab a coat and headed outside. She mounted the horse in haste, making it startle and snort. She hadn’t even tried to calm it first.
But there was no choice. A carriage would be too slow, and Damien had already taken the car. This was her only option.
She stroked the horse’s mane gently, whispering:
“Please… help me save your master.”
As if understanding, the horse settled under her touch.
Then Anshi set off—
Toward the narrow path in the Dede Forest where Damien was.
The blue dawn had passed; now it was fully morning.
Gerris leaned against a large tree, smoking. It was a cheap cigarette that left his throat raw, but he needed it now.
He held a gun in his hand. Since Rain had taken his old one, he’d had to get another.
Through the smoke, he recalled something he’d heard the last time he met Rain.
I thought you might be the one who could save Rain.
The noble who had summoned him had said that. They’d been behind a screen, so he hadn’t seen their face. From their refined speech and the amount of money they’d offered, he guessed they were a noble.
Their identity didn’t matter.
What mattered was what they said next.
Do you know Rain has a husband?
A husband?
Gerris’s expression had darkened at the absurd claim. Rain? Married? Since when? And how?
He had never seen her with a man back in the South. Had it happened after she came to Felitz? Had she left home without a word to marry?
No farewells, no explanation…
A strange fury coiled around him like vines.
He had imagined crushing her, selling her off somewhere—but never imagined her standing by one man’s side.
His body tightened, and his eyes grew bloodshot.
The noble sighed, speaking in a regretful tone.
A man bought Rain. To make her do all sorts of things.
All sorts of things?
Exactly what it sounds like. Things you can’t even bring yourself to say aloud… Because of that, she’s in terrible distress.
The voice was slow and deliberate, like music in a slow tempo. As Gerris followed those words, images of Rain drifted through his mind—images he had only ever seen in his imagination.
He clenched his fists.
Rain Arel, so delicate, so pure and untrodden as fresh snow—if anyone was going to have her, it should be him. And yet someone had bought her? Dressed her up like a doll?
Gerris, she sometimes talks about you.
For a moment, Gerris went blank.
She said she liked you once.
His thoughts began to spin out of order.
She liked him? The only times her refined lips had spoken his name had been in anger, hadn’t they? The last time in that alley, she’d fought so desperately to get away from him.
But… if she truly liked him…
The chaos in his mind slowed, then aligned in one direction.
They’d been unable to see each other clearly because of the debt between them. Now there should be nothing to stand in the way.
Hah.
A crooked, anticipatory smile curled Gerris’s lips.
She’s just afraid her husband will find out—that’s why she can’t come to you.
The noble handed him a small map.
One spot on it was marked.
