Ch.47Anne’s Diary (3)

“Another hellish day had passed.

Actually, I couldn’t be sure since there was no way to tell time, but that’s how it felt.

Irene sat still, holding her breath.

She remained motionless in that state.

Even as the cold rising from the floor devoured her body heat, even as the thick darkness grew mold in her heart.

She just lay there like a puppet with its strings cut.

“Aaaaaahhh!!!”

“Stop it, stop it…!”

“I don’t want to die!! I don’t want to die, stop it!!”

“No, no, no, no, don’t tear it off!!”

Perhaps it was because her will had been broken.

The screams echoing from the end of the corridor never stopped, even for a moment, and the fox had to listen to them helplessly.

Despair surged.

It was a terrible feeling.

A space that wore people down.

Even in such a setting, the reason Irene could maintain her sanity was…

Thanks to the voice that spoke to her through the iron bars.

The girl chirped cheerfully.

“Fox sister!”

“…Yeah.”

“We’re still alive today! I was worried about being dragged to the lab while sleeping.”

“Do they… take people away while they’re sleeping too?”

“It happens sometimes. That’s why I need mental preparation every morning. If I opened my eyes and found myself lying on an experiment table, it would be too terrifying.”

“……”

“…Did I say something wrong?”

Irene’s expression hardened.

Anne fidgeted nervously, watching for her reaction.

Seeing the girl’s cautious attitude, the fox soon relaxed and shook her head.

“It’s okay… I was just thinking about something else.”

“That’s a relief then.”

The girl smiled brightly.

It was a pure smile.

At fifteen, she was at an age preparing for adulthood, but she was still young.

The fox repeated a thought to herself.

‘I wonder if they’re doing well…’

She was thinking of her siblings.

The little foxes she loved. They would be happily staying in their suspicious hideout now.

Irene unconsciously murmured.

‘…When my siblings grow a bit more, will they look like this?’

Looking at Anne made her think such thoughts.

A bitter taste spread in her mouth.

A momentary pang of regret.

Sadness about her siblings washed over her.

She would never see them again.

Now only a cold end awaited the fox.

Her chest ached dully.

She had wanted to stay by their side at least until they became adults, but even this was denied by fate.

Irene was sinking into despair.

Just then.

“You know, sister.”

“……”

“When I get out of here, I want to write a book.”

“A book? Suddenly…?”

“Yes! A book!”

Anne smiled brightly as their eyes met.

The girl who had been crouching in the corner soon jumped up and answered.

“It’s been my dream since I was little.”

“You’re still little.”

“Hey! I’m talking about when I was even younger! Besides, at fifteen, I know everything there is to know!”

“Is that so…?”

“Of course!”

Anne flapped her arms indignantly.

She seemed to be objecting to being called little, but to Irene’s eyes, even that made her look young.

Only children dislike being called little.

“Anyway! I want to write a wonderful story.”

“What kind of story?”

“I’ll include everything I’ve experienced so far. Like compiling a diary written day by day!”

“…Then isn’t that just a diary?”

“Hey! Is there a law saying diaries can’t become books?”

A straightforward response.

The girl spoke proudly of her dream.

Even though she must have known it was a wish that couldn’t come true, the light in her eyes didn’t dim.

Perhaps it was hope.

“I know too. That it lacks realism.”

“……”

“Maybe I’m wishing for an unreasonable miracle. If the demon outside heard my story, he’d laugh and call it a happy delusion.”

Yes, it was just a delusion.

It was no different from a girl hanging on a cliff’s edge praying for a convenient miracle.

But.

“Still… sometimes, wouldn’t it be okay for such convenient things to happen?”

The girl smiled brightly.

It was a smile with the purity unique to childhood.

“In difficult times, you need courage. The more you persevere, the more beautiful life becomes.”

Irene was somewhat surprised.

Despite living as an experimental subject and experiencing all kinds of terrible things, she could still sing of hope.

Not despair, hatred, resentment, or anger, but courage.

“Am I thinking too naively?”

“…I don’t know.”

The fox looked at the girl without answering.

Should she call it admirable?

Or should she call it pitiful?

Irene couldn’t decide.

She just gently held the hand that reached through the bars.

“Heehee!”

“What’s so good about a hand full of calluses?”

“My mom said calluses are traces of effort. So sister’s hands are beautiful hands.”

“…Think what you want.”

The fox turned her head away indifferently.

The warmth kneading her palm.

She deliberately turned away from hope.

Irene simply closed her heavy eyelids.

***

Two more days passed.

It was now the 6th day since the fox had entered the laboratory.

She was gradually getting used to it.

The screams from the end of the corridor, the smell of blood that tickled her nose, even the damp air.

Things that had been disgusting were becoming familiar one by one.

Not that the souls dying every day had become acceptable, but still.

‘Two days left… until I’m dragged to the end of that corridor.’

The one-week grace period given by the demon.

A life with only two days remaining.

Whether the experiment succeeded or failed… she could no longer remain human.

The only difference was the method.

The premise of death remained the same.

Irene was waiting for her execution.

But there was a girl who would stand at the threshold of life one step ahead of the fox.

None other than Anne.

“You’re next, kid.”

“You’ve been lucky to survive so far… but that ends tomorrow.”

“The director himself ordered it.”

This was the news delivered by a passing guard.

He said there would be an experiment tomorrow so be prepared, and even added mockingly that they would let her meet her mother soon.

A death sentence that fell out of nowhere.

Anne simply nodded.

“I understand.”

It was a calm reaction.

She didn’t cower, beg while crying, or faint on the spot.

She just smiled as usual.

The girl waited until the guards left, then continued the story she had been telling before, as if nothing had happened.

“Where was I… Ah, places I’ve always wanted to visit!”

Anne chattered away.

She had just heard news that she would die tomorrow. It might be something even more terrible than death.

Yet even at such a moment, the girl remained carefree.

Irene gazed steadily at the figure visible through the iron bars.

“I’ve always wanted to go to the Academy! It must be a wonderful place, right?”

“Anne.”

“My mom said only excellent people go to the Academy. When I get out of here, I’ll definitely…”

“Aren’t you afraid of tomorrow?”

“……”

She had asked without thinking.

The girl’s chattering mouth closed. It was the first silence that had fallen.

A void hovered between the thick iron bars.

For a while, neither continued speaking.

Neither the fox nor the girl.

Both were quiet.

It was only after a long time that a voice was heard again.

Anne called out softly.

“Sister.”

“Yes.”

“Sister.”

“Tell me.”

“Actually…”

The girl crouched down next to the bars.

After sinking into thought for a moment, she soon displayed a complicated smile.

She hugged her knees timidly.

“Actually, I’m scared too.”

“……”

A simple statement that fell plainly.

Although it wasn’t a long sentence, there was an immeasurable depth beyond it.

The girl’s voice continued calmly.

“I’m scared. Sad, anxious, and resentful too.”

“……”

“I lie awake at night afraid I’ll wake up on an operating table, and I hold my breath when the guards pass by. There hasn’t been a single moment when I wasn’t afraid.”

In the end, she was just a person too.

She was still a young lamb who hadn’t even reached adulthood, needing someone’s protection.

“The reason I smile despite all this… is because there’s nothing else I can do.”

The girl was helpless.

Faced with unreasonable misfortune, all she could do now was hold onto hope.

Perhaps it was the sorrow of life.

Her fragile voice gradually became tearful.

“I’m really scared.”

It was a particularly pitiful plea.

“I miss my mom, my dad, my sister… I miss my family so much.”

Tears fell one by one.

She seemed to be trying hard not to cry, but sobs leaked out that she couldn’t quite hide.

The fox listened to it silently.

“If I had known this would happen, I would have told my family I loved them more often…”

A common regret.

A common sadness.

A common wish.

“I don’t want to die.”

“……”

“I want to live.”

“……”

Irene bit her lip tightly.

It was a damn painful feeling.

Her fist clenched involuntarily.

After staying silent for a while, Anne, who had calmed down somewhat, murmured.

“Sniff, I’m sorry. I’m not usually like this… I just wanted to lean on someone a little, and you’re the only person here with me.”

“It’s okay.”

“Thank you.”

“I haven’t done anything.”

“I thought I would die alone and lonely. But thanks to talking with you, I don’t think I’ll be lonely.”

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll be following you soon.”

“…Is that supposed to be comforting?”

“I wonder.”

Irene answered indifferently.

The fox held the hand through the bars.

Anne smiled through her tears.

“Sniff, hehe… your hand is warm, sister.”

“Is it?”

“Yes!”

They sat like that.

With the cold iron bars between them, waiting for the tomorrow they wished would never come.

***

A day passed.

As soon as Anne opened her eyes, she had to leave her cell.

As she was being taken away by the guards, the girl looked back and smiled brightly.

Leaving a brief message.

“I’ll be back.”

Of course.

Anne never returned.

***

Anne’s screams that filled the corridor last night.

The voice that cried out in pain until dawn.

Irene wanted to cover her ears, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

She wanted to share in the girl’s pain, even if just a little.

The terrible screams faded as time passed, and eventually disappeared into a moment of silence.

That could only mean one thing.

Anne was dead.

“……”

There was no time to grieve.

It was her turn next. The guards immediately walked to Irene’s cell.

Clank, the door opened with the sound of a key turning.

“The director is waiting.”

“Hold her tight so she can’t resist. Handle her carefully, she’s valuable material.”

“Move and you die? Don’t get any stupid ideas.”

As many as five people surrounded her.

All of them were high-level black magicians. Though not as powerful as demons, they were skilled enough to easily subdue someone like Irene.

There was no hope until the end.

The fox simply moved with lifeless steps.

Trudge, trudge-

The sound of multiple footsteps echoed through the chilly air.

Thinking about last night that still lingered in her ears, she became afraid of the imminent future.

A hollow laugh escaped her lips.

“Haha…”

Was she, in the end, just a child too?

She wanted to collapse on the floor right now.

She wanted to cry shamefully, calling for her master.

No, anyone would do.

She was hoping for someone, anyone, to get her out of this place.

“Maybe, who knows! Someone might appear like a prince on a white horse to save us.”

She needed those words that she had dismissed as delusions back then.

If her life really ended like this, there would be too many regrets to leave behind in the world.

A prince on a white horse.

A dream she hadn’t wished for even in childhood, she now yearned for as death approached.

Her churning stomach made it hard to stand.

“…Save me.”

She held back words that would never reach anyone.

They were nearing the end of the corridor now.

If they opened the door and went down the stairs, she would fall into an irreversible reality.

The fox trembled.

Trudge-

The long walk stopped.

One of the guards grabbed the doorknob leading to the laboratory.

In that moment of despair.

“That’s far enough.”

Slash-!

The heads of the guards all flew upward at once.

Behind the cutting sound that came too late, the cleanly severed heads of the black magicians rolled on the floor.

Crash-!

“…?!”

Irene was startled by the sudden scene.

As she was about to lose balance and fall, someone’s arms from behind caught her.

It was a gentle movement that embraced her body.

“Finally found you.”

A familiar voice rang in her ear.

The fox looked up at the face, thinking it couldn’t be possible.

There was deep blonde hair.

White eyes smiled brightly.

“Miss Irene.”

“……”

Was she dreaming?

The person she had least believed in appeared before her eyes.

“I’ve come to save you.”

The boy whispered sweetly.

Irene stared blankly.

At the same time, an inexplicable sense of relief washed over her.

The despair that had colored the world black until just now disappeared, and a new light painted the scene with color.

It was a magnificent sight.

“You.”

Irene, who had been in a daze, soon entrusted her body completely to the snake.

Her voice was wet with emotion.

“…Why did you come so late.”

“I’m sorry.”

Hot tears fell.

The boy calmly wiped them away. Each time his hand touched her, warm body heat colored the fox’s cheeks.

He was infinitely gentle.

“Everything’s okay now.”

“……”

“You did so well holding on. I’ll take care of the rest.”

In the darkening corridor.

Irene hugged the boy tightly. As if she would never let go.

She buried her face in his warm embrace.

The snake quietly accepted the fox.

“I’m so glad you’re safe.”

“……”

The two stood like that for a long time.