Chapter 137: Bad Ending Collection – Chapter 54: Teddy Bear Ending

Chapter 137: Bad Ending Collection – Chapter 54: Teddy Bear Ending

I don’t want to think about anything.

“Oh my. You’re awake? It’s time to eat, so come here.”

Sreuk-

I blankly surrendered my body to Scarlett’s touch.

She lifted me up and moved me to the dining table.

And then she stroked my head.

I just stared at the meal on the table without a word.

“Today’s breakfast is steak. I’ve been feeding you meat consistently… but Cecil’s diet needs to be special. Right?”

She looked at me with soft eyes, as if expecting an answer.

But I still didn’t reply.

I just glared at her with hatred.

Scarlett seemed to find even that gaze of mine endearing.

“Ah-hahaha… Your expression is so fierce.”

Scarlett then gently stroked my head.

And whispered softly in my ear.

“Don’t be like that, Cecil. This is all because I love you.”

It sounded like comfort, but in the end, she uttered blind love.

It’s not even worth responding to anymore.

I desperately put strength into my immobile legs and lowered my head.

What should I do now?

It’s been about a week since I lost the ability to walk.

During that time, I tried everything to overcome this situation.

I pleaded with Scarlett, cried, begged, and forced myself to whisper my love.

When even that didn’t work, I tried to escape the mansion by crawling at night while Scarlett slept.

But I was caught by a servant who detected the commotion and was stopped.

My attempt to jump out the window resulted in the unfortunate incident of the window disappearing after Scarlett caught me.

And the series of escape attempts led to bad outcomes.

“Come on, let’s stop the boring talk and eat. The chef recently changed the sauce, so the food tastes even better-“

“..I won’t eat.”

I said in a calm voice to Scarlett, who was speaking excitedly.

I haven’t been eating well lately.

The reason was obvious, but my mental state was deteriorating even more.

At the same time, Scarlett’s expression became extremely cold.

Then, she smiled brightly, and the mood returned.

One of the side effects of my frequent escape attempts and refusal to eat.

Scarlett has been suffering from mood swings lately.

She’s usually in a very good and relaxed mood, but if I try to defy her even a little, her displeasure escalates extremely.

“Cecil… D-don’t do that. You have to eat. You’ve been skipping meals a lot lately…”

As she spoke, Scarlett’s words became faster, as if she were anxious.

These extreme emotional swings made her unpredictable,

Kku-oo-ook-

“Aaaagh…!”

This led to physical pressure as well.

I cried out from the abnormal force applied to my arm and tightly grasped Scarlett’s wrist.

Even though I tried to get her hand off, I was no match for her strength.

“Aaa, eut.. Young Lady..”

“Cecil… Don’t skip meals… Lately… you’ve been losing weight… You shouldn’t…”

Fear washed over me as I saw her mumbling with slightly unfocused eyes.

“Ah, I understand..! I’ll eat, I’ll eat! Please… let go…”

I screamed with all my might without realizing it, clenching my teeth.

Only then did Scarlett snap out of it and release her hand.

“Aagh…”

“I.. I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional. It’s because… Cecil might be in danger…”

Looking at the arm she had grabbed earlier, I saw a dark bruise.

Lucy looked at the wound with a serious expression.

But she didn’t intervene.

Although she was poised beside me with a face that seemed ready to pounce,

‘If this continues, something really will happen…’

Tears welled up in my eyes as I felt the throbbing in my arm.

Yet, I quickly cut the steak in front of me.

If this continues, something serious might happen.

Extreme anxiety began to bloom deep within my heart.

And a few days later.

That anxiety became a reality.

****

Bok-

“Uh, uh-oh…?”

Suddenly, I was startled by my body falling forward and sat up.

What just happened?

Whether it was post-meal drowsiness or something else, I felt overwhelmingly sleepy despite not eating that much.

“Hehe… Are you sleepy? You just ate, so it’s natural to be sleepy. Come on… Come here. I’ll lend you my lap.”

Right. There must be no other reason.

It’s just that I’m sleepy because I just finished lunch.

Thinking that, I rested my head on Scarlett’s lap.

Sleep gradually enveloped me more heavily.

It felt strange. She hadn’t lit any incense, and I hadn’t taken any medicine.

Seeing me like this, Scarlett slowly stroked my head.

“If you’re very sleepy, take a nap. I have something else to do…”

‘Something to do…?’

Is she going out somewhere?

I slowly closed my eyes, feeling my consciousness fade.

But then.

Scarlett, who was looking down at me, took something out of her pocket.

I wasn’t mistaken. I saw it clearly.

It was a syringe.

There were also a few other suspicious herbs.

The most confusing thing was that she was holding a small knife in her other hand.

‘No way, this sleepiness…’

Suddenly, I felt a surge of alertness.

But it was too late.

Scarlett smiled faintly, realizing that I had finally noticed.

“It’s okay. It won’t hurt at all. I’m just cutting off parts you don’t use.”

“Wh-what…”

“You know, Cecil. I’ve thought a lot. You don’t listen to me, and you don’t eat well… Every time that happens… do you know how my heart breaks?”

This is crazy talk.

It’s impossible.

Even though I knew this was the ravings of a madwoman, the truly painful part was.

The fact that I had absolutely no strength to stop her insane act.

I slowly closed my eyes.

“You’re preparing to be happy with me. Little by little…”

Lastly, the words she whispered to me.

Were incredibly sweet and terrifying.

****

Sreureuk-

The bandages were unwrapped.

“Oh my… It’s sutured beautifully. How is it? It doesn’t hurt, right?”

My skin was revealed.

“Hmm… Good. No problems. With this much, next time you can finish faster and more beautifully.”

I tried to move my ankle.

And I felt nothing.

“Cecil? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Poo-leok-

Ignoring her slightly worried question, I flopped backward onto my back.

My head was blank.

“Perhaps… you’re in pain? No. That shouldn’t happen…”

Scarlett’s beautiful face then loomed over me.

Looking at her,

I opened my mouth briefly.

“…Kill me.”

“What? What do you mean? Why would I kill you, Cecil?”

Scarlett, saying that, seemed genuinely surprised.

At first, I tried not to think of the worst-case scenario, thinking ‘maybe, maybe,’

But I was too complacent, and it was too late.

“K-kill me… Kill me… If it’s going to be like this…! Just kill me!!”

I thrashed my whole body and screamed at the top of my lungs.

I tried to kick Scarlett away, but my legs, which had become much shorter, only cut through the air.

My whole body convulsed, and I wailed like a madwoman.

“Kill me! Kill me! Please!! KYAaaaaaaaak!!”

“..Calm down, Cecil.”

Kook-

And my rampage slowly subsided with Scarlett’s extremely calm injection.

“Kill… me.. Kill me…”

As my consciousness blurred from the sedative, I continued to repeat the word ‘kill.’

But I didn’t know.

What I thought was the end was only the beginning.

And that there was a deeper abyss below the abyss.

That those facts I didn’t even want to imagine were waiting for me.

****

“Cecil. Aaaang..”

Tuk, tuk.

A fork with steak touched my lips.

I stared blankly into space, then opened my mouth.

Sweet steak entered, and as I chewed it,

A savory flavor spread in my mouth.

“It’s delicious, isn’t it?”

I didn’t answer her question.

I just chewed the steak silently.

And waited for the next piece of steak.

“It seems it’s so delicious you can’t even speak. Here… Aang…”

Then, the fork touched my lips again.

Mechanically, I opened my mouth, chewed the steak.

And twitched my empty arm.

“You might still feel a bit strange. But it’s okay. I’ll be your hands and feet.”

Even her heartfelt words, spoken with tear-filled eyes, now just went in one ear and out the other.

I raised my right arm and gazed at the empty space where my hand should be.

That’s where my hand should be.

When did it get cut off?

Ah, right.

It was cut off when I attempted suicide.

It was probably cut off by Scarlett about a week ago.

Thud, kwaang!

As I leaned forward to eat the next steak Scarlett offered,

I lost my balance for a moment and toppled sideways.

“Ce, Cecil!”

Startled, Scarlett quickly helped me sit up,

But I was indifferent.

I don’t even know if what I feel is pain or something else.

It seems I failed to balance because I no longer have legs below my knees.

I moved my remaining left arm and wrapped it around Scarlett’s neck.

“Are you okay, Cecil…?”

“I’m fine.”

I said briefly, avoiding her worried gaze.

I don’t want to talk anymore.

So I sat back down in the chair and resumed eating.

“U, uuu…”

Beside me, Lucy was biting her lip as she watched me.

It’s okay, Lucy.

There’s no turning back now.

After the meal ended.

I embraced Scarlett, repeating words I couldn’t convey.

“Come on… Today I brought a few books from the study. It’ll be boring if you just lie there, right?”

I still didn’t answer.

Despite that, Scarlett didn’t get anxious or angry like before.

Instead, she stroked me lovingly.

And smiled brightly.

“The book is called ‘The Happy Prince.’ Here… I’ll read it to you.”

After dinner, Scarlett always read books to me.

With her beautiful voice, softly.

I lay down and gently closed my eyes.

I was glad I still had a hand left to scratch my itchy cheek.

I don’t know how long this will last,

****

“Hehe… It’s time to eat, so put this in.”

“Ugh-eup..”

I moved my lips around the magic tool Scarlett put in my mouth.

Soon, the magic tool fit perfectly into my gums.

It fused smoothly with my gums as if it were my own body.

This was, simply put, dentures.

“Lucy. Can you take Young Lady to the dining table for a moment? I’ll bring some snacks.”

“Uuugh..”

Lucy nodded at Scarlett’s request.

Lucy lifted me and sat me at the dining table, then fidgeted nervously with her hands.

She tapped her fingernails and bowed her head.

Then, unable to bear looking at me, Lucy ran out of the room.

In the fleeting glimpse I caught, tears were streaming down her face.

“Aagh…”

I stared blankly at the sight and fiddled with the dentures with my hand.

Although it’s a magic tool that fuses with the skin, there’s still a slight sense of foreignness.

It’s only been less than five days since I started wearing it.

Four days ago.

As punishment for attempting to escape again, my remaining right arm was also amputated.

Because of that, I tried to commit suicide by biting my tongue at dawn,

But Scarlett woke up midway through, hearing my gasping and struggling.

And the next day, she pulled out all my teeth.

There wasn’t even time to feel pain.

I woke up, and all my teeth were gone.

Creak-

“I’m sorry. Did you wait a bit long? The snacks were a bit much…”

As I waited patiently for Scarlett,

She returned with a handful of jelly and chocolates.

She had persistently asked me what I wanted to eat before, and I had vaguely said something sweet.

She remembered.

I smiled softly at Scarlett.

“You remembered? Thank you.”

“I remember everything Cecil says. Here… Eat, and let’s eat together. The chef’s snack-making skills have really improved lately.”

I smiled brightly at her again and started a happy meal.

After the meal, I took out the dentures.

Since the snacks were soft anyway, I didn’t really need teeth.

Even though I had my left arm, Scarlett chose to feed me the snacks.

Perhaps it was her love, or perhaps a rehearsal for the future.

I made eye contact with Scarlett and had a delicious snack time.

The fact that I was slowly adapting to my ‘deficiencies’

Was eating away at me.

****

Time passed.

I don’t know how much time has passed. In any case, a lot of time has passed.

I don’t know the concept of time, or how the world works.

I don’t know how the seasons change.

I could only learn about the outside situation through Scarlett’s few words.

“Okay, today’s book is… a collection of short fairy tales famous in the northern regions. How about it? It’ll be fun, right?”

Today, Scarlett was holding two books.

Suddenly, my cheek felt itchy, so I reached out and touched my cheek.

But what I touched was a blunt cut surface.

Ah, right. This was also cut off yesterday.

Lucy carried me on her back to take me out of the mansion to help me escape.

After that, I couldn’t see Lucy anymore, and my arm was cut off as ‘punishment.’

As I looked at the severed part, a chuckle escaped my lips.

Seeing me like that, Scarlett chuckled along.

How pathetic.

After all that struggling to escape, this is how it turned out.

“I’ll scratch it for you. Today we’ll read this, and tomorrow another fairy tale…”

Scarlett scratched my cheek and continued speaking in a very excited voice.

I smiled faintly at her.

“Okay. Thank you always, Young Lady.”

“You’re welcome. What wouldn’t I do for my beloved Cecil?”

Chup.

Scarlett kissed my forehead, speaking in a voice dripping with honey.

I’m happy. Every time our bodies touch, I feel a tingling sensation.

After the kiss, Scarlett began to read the fairy tale softly.

I was the listener, and even if I didn’t want to hear it, her voice deeply penetrated my mind.

Lately, I don’t think at all.

The days of screaming from phantom limb pain, writhing, self-harming, and coughing up blood from crying so much.

By accepting her ‘love,’ I could finally find peace.

Yes. I should have been like this from the start.

I closed my eyes, using her lovely voice as a lullaby.

I hoped she would leave my eyeballs intact, even if she took everything else.

Because if I couldn’t see her face, or the world,

I would truly go mad.

In the end, following and obeying her was true happiness.

It felt like a belated realization.