episode_0061
by fnovelpiaBefore meeting Lian, Iris’s mind completely collapsed, and she had to block all her senses to protect herself. She spent time in the darkness, huddled up, unable to distinguish between today and tomorrow.
Lian was the one who pulled her out of that state with his affectionate touch.
Like a child just beginning to learn about the world, Iris held onto Lian’s hand tightly and took steps toward the world.
The cruel world she lived in before meeting him now felt like a dream, and life with Lian was so sweet.
Iris gradually began to understand not only her surroundings but also the situations she found herself in.
She realized that Lian poured out affection for her without asking for anything in return and learned that they were siblings. Her aversion to the idea of family and their white hair became endearing.
Overwhelmed by happiness to the point of tingling toes, the harsh reality crept back in.
Always smiling, but when alone, the increasing scars and the smell of blood, being taken away by the ‘big guests’ multiple times and returning reeking of an unbearable smell of blood.
Closing her eyes tightly and focusing only on his laughter, Iris was suffocated by the reality she didn’t know.
“It’s okay. Lian said it’s okay. So… ”
Iris tried to erase her personal thoughts from her mind somehow. She wanted to live like a doll, breathing and living like that.
..Wanting to live so foolishly, but at some point, Iris discovered that she was looking into the harsh reality.
Iris thought deeply, bowing her head.
“Why are you so good to me? Is this how families are supposed to be?”
Iris didn’t know what a family was. It was confusing because she had never experienced it.
“Why don’t you say it hurts? Why don’t you resent it?”
Smiling as if it were natural, suffering in places where she wasn’t present. Lian endured everything because he was her “brother.” Iris couldn’t understand such Lian.
Iris lifted her head at the touch that gently caressed her hair. Lian looked at her with affection and concern filling her eyes.
“Iris, are you hurting anywhere?”
The overflowing concern poured in as if it were natural, sweet. She wanted to lean into his embrace and cry out that she was in pain. The hand that lightly touched her forehead checked to see if she had a fever, then lightly brushed her cheek.
“No, I don’t have a fever?”
The words that lingered on her lips were eventually swallowed deep down her throat. If Lian were to reveal the secret he was tightly holding, she feared their relationship might break.
If his lips held resentment towards her, and his affectionate eyes shattered into tears…
Iris didn’t want Lian to hate her. That’s why, once again, she cleared her mind. She turned away.
“Uh, no. I’m fine.”
“Really? Are you sure?”
“Yeah, do you want more to eat?”
“Okay, would you like to eat more?”
Yes, that’s enough.
Ignoring Lian’s hunger, the smell of blood, and the wounds, as if they never existed, she let him act as he wished.
She couldn’t live without Lian, so it was an inevitable choice.
***
A peaceful afternoon.
I spoke to an elderly man who collapsed on the ground, hitting his teeth hard against the floor.
“Are you okay? I… feel a little embarrassed…”
The old man who called me after several days, this time, said that if he could make me fall to the ground, he would strip my skin with a blade.
With a villainous expression, he pressed the blade against my skin and pushed it straight, starting to peel my skin like fruit peel. Not only my skin but also my clothes and organs peeled off like peels and piled up on the ground.
When you peel fruit well, the peel doesn’t break, right? The old man seemed to be good with his hands, as he peeled me just like that. Because of that, I became a skeleton.
Everything else was fine, but having holes all over my body made me feel embarrassed. So, I asked for clothes, but the old man sat down on the floor and kept moving back.
“Do you fear skeletons?
There are people like that even in the comedy world. People who scream at the sight of zombies or skeletons. The old man seemed to be one of them.
“I thought he was just physically weak, but it seems his heart is tender too.”
Thinking that to myself, I looked at the old man hunched over and wheezing. His pants seemed oddly damp… I quietly averted my gaze.
“Is this all for today’s business? Then I’ll take my leave.”
“Wheeze…! G-Get out!”
Having received permission, there was no reason to stay here any longer. I left the white room and walked down the corridor.
“Huh? The trap didn’t go off this time? Oh, maybe it’s because it’s a skeleton?”
Unlike last time, I quickly escaped the white space. I rummaged through the wardrobe and put on a shirt and pants.
“It’s because of that old man that my clothes disappeared. He’ll understand this much, right?”
Honestly, there was no other way to leave besides this method. My body had returned to normal without any problems, so I could easily leave the old man’s room.
While walking towards the elevator, I came across a familiar face.
“Oh, hello?”
“…Hello.”
The man who had given me a satisfying meal last time was standing in front of me. He seemed a little flustered at first, but soon greeted me with a friendly expression.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t told you my name. My name is Ansho. Please feel free to call me that.”
“Yes, I will. Ansho.”
Ansho’s expression became subtle at my words. Should I say he was shaking as if there had been an earthquake? I don’t know why.
***
Ansho thought to himself.
“Is he really crazy?”
Even though Ansho had allowed it, not even adding ‘sir’ to the subject of the slave issue was something Ansho had never experienced before.
“He didn’t receive proper education… I know he spent quite a long time in the arena, but?”
Ansho mentally noted down Rian’s unpleasant behavior.
“I should probably educate him separately.”
Thinking that to himself, he captured the crumbling expression.
“By the way… I thought he would come out in a mess after being called by Bansuk. His condition is better than I thought. His clothes are intact too.”
Angsho glanced up and down at Lian slowly. He felt irritated by Lian’s seemingly unscathed appearance, as if he had not met Ban Suk.
‘Ugh, as usual, he must have tortured him.’
Upon hearing that Lian had been taken to Ban Suk, Angsho made a plan. The moment when people are most vulnerable is after experiencing great pain.
Whether it’s the pain of parting or physical pain… comforting them afterward generally leaves a deep impression.
Angsho planned to care for him after his torture, when he would be in a vulnerable state. However, Ban Suk, unexpectedly, did not inflict any wounds on him and sent him back, which disrupted the plan.
“Thank you for the meal last time. Thanks to you, my younger brother was able to eat plenty of delicious food.”
“I see. But… why are you here today?”
With a glimmer of hope, Angsho asked Ban Suk what had happened.
“Oh, a certain guest called for me and talked to me. It seems like an elderly person with a tender heart and weak body.”
“Tender-hearted… and weak-bodied?”
Taken aback by the surprising words, Angsho stumbled over his words. Lian continued without noticing this and kept talking.
“Yes! He seems to get easily shocked by little things and seems to be in pain all over his body. I don’t know why he called me… maybe because I’m approachable?”
“Ah…”
Thinking he had met someone he could communicate with, Lian kept talking.
“What’s going on? Did Ban Suk meet someone else?”
Feeling confused, Angsho spoke.
“So… what did you do today?”
“Well, I shaved leather today.”
“…Excuse me?”
“I was a bit surprised because I didn’t expect to see you everywhere. It’s embarrassing if you see me in disarray, isn’t it?”
“Oh…”
In the end, Angsho failed to control his expression. He looked as blank as a student listening to a professor’s explanation.
“Anyway, so… Oh, the elevator is here. I’ll be off now.”
Lian left, leaving Angsho mentally bewildered in front of the elevator. With a vacant expression, Angsho thought to himself.
‘What on earth is that?’
The head, which had been spinning smoothly as if oiled, seemed to have completely solidified. Angsho felt small in the face of the true ‘unknown’ he was encountering for the first time in his life.
“Haha… It’s getting more… interesting.”
Like someone trying to forget their fear, Angsho filled his fear with anger and resentment.
He was following the same procedure as the two who had been defeated earlier.
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