Chapter 53: Chapter 51

[Present/ Shada:] “Y-y-you… … .”

“You are still pretty. No, you’ve become prettier.”

The man that had reminded her of a brown bear spoke in an amused tone. But there was something twisted in his laughter.

The face reflected in the shallow sunlight was sadly familiar.

He looked warm when he smiled as if he was a normal person, but Shada was afraid of his unhappy eyes even though he smiled kindly.

But now, his excessive charm from before seemed to have disappeared. Even though she didn’t know what had happened to him, from his eyepatched eye, to a wooden prosthetic arm, to the traces of a torn lip, his appearance had changed a lot.

But Shada wasn’t particularly scared by his appearance.

She acutely remembered the violence this knight had savagely wielded against her—revealing his true monstrous nature.

Unknowingly, after that incident, Shada had developed a phobia of men.

She knew that not all men were like that, but she feared the utter hopelessness and the feeling of despair being at the whims of a man she was overpowered by and couldn’t physically retaliate against.

As she stepped back, trembling as if she had seen a monster, he smiled harshly, his countenance looking particularly brutal.

“You don’t have to hate me that much, Shada. How much I loved you.”

“G-go—stay away from me and don’t come any closer.”

Gathering her courage, she spoke sternly.

But the man didn’t listen to her words and said what he wanted to say:

“How many years ago was the last time we saw each other? Meanwhile you’ve become more beautiful—Wait.”

A sudden thought seemed to occur to the man making him crazily furious.

“During this time, have you been rolling around with another guy?”

I want my wife to be a quiet bitch. The noises he was making as if he were talking to himself, utterly incomprehensible and strange chatterings, that Shada didn’t want to overhear.

Shada lamented in fear and disgust, then turned around and tried to run away. But she couldn’t go any further because of the men blocking her way.

She felt suffocated by the sinister and cruel eyes looking down on her. She took a step back and stuck to the wall.

One of the boys chuckled meanly, gawking at Shada’s breasts.

“Marcelo, do it in moderation. It’s a pity. How could there not have been a single man who has touched such a girl? As soon as I saw her, I was moved too.”

“Whoo~ look at that face. A number of people should have hit that every day.”

“The boss said that it was Count Kirchner’s.”

A man pointed a finger at her as they chatted amongst each other. They laughed at her as if Shada was a funny clown— a toy.

Shada guarded her mannerisms not trying to give them an opportunity to mock her for acting cute or funny because toys got trampled on in the future.

She felt like a helpless idiot. And what was worse—what she couldn’t stand, was how utterly terrified she was.

The knight who had stalked Shada in the past, Marcelo, his expression became more brutal when the story of Count Kirchner left the man’s lips.

“What? You pretended to be expensive to me and then went to another noble and spread your legs? Hahaha! Isn’t that what happened, my Shada?”

Shada couldn’t even respond to his harsh question, and her lips trembled as she froze.

The man uttered vulgar swear words.

“Well, we can check it out.”

“…… !”

“Take it off.”

“Hey, can I do it too?”

The men taunted her. A black shadow loomed over her.

In this situation, she could only think of one person. She closed her eyes tightly and whispered quickly. Scared, scared, scared! Master! Master, where are you? Huey! Please…….

A disgusting hand reached out to pick up the hem of her dress.

“No!”

Shada desperately slapped the hand away and ran into the alley on her right. But it wasn’t long before they grabbed her by her hair and she screamed.

She was thrown on the floor. Dazed, she crawled trying to run away.

Shada felt like she was going to vomit. She must have been hit in the head and her mind was tingling. Her words screaming for help, to be saved stuttered out of her mouth. As if the devil’s hand had emerged out of hell, she burst into tears as he grabbed her ankle and dragged her away.

“Help me! Anyone!?”

“Won’t you be quiet?”

Marcelo slapped her as he roughly covered Shada’s face.

As she struggled, the other men rushed in and groped her limbs.

Every piece of skin touched by rough hands was full of an accursed emotion deeper than revulsion or terror—making her sting and ache.

It was a far cry from Huey’s fierce and tender warmth. With a hot love that was buried beyond desire. And most importantly, because he was Huey. Was there any other reason other than that?

Shada shed tears between the thick, ugly fingers—her mouth and face was painfully crushed. Shaking her head violently, the sight filled the men with lustful laughter in the shadows.

No.

No.

She resisted even more violently.

Even if she was beaten this moment was worse for her. I… … !

“Ahhh!”

Marcelo, who was just about to lift up her skirt, screamed.

Shada bit his hand as hard as she could muster, making him bleed.

This bitch! It was clear that the girl who had always been trembling and unable to rebel became more cocky after she had mingled with high-ranking nobles. As expected, it would take a few hits to calm her down.

Shada closed her eyes tightly as the ferocious hand rose upward to strike her.

But there was no pain. She heard a scream. A more terrifying and evil scream than before.

“Shada.”

Shada gasped at the address. Marcelo was holding the bloody wrist and nursing his injury. On the back of his hand was a sharp purple dagger. Behind him, she saw familiar blonde hair.

In her eyes, for an instant, Huey looked like an angel of death that had descended from heaven. Because it was the first time she had ever seen this elegant, relaxed man so angry.

Already at his feet was the corpse of a gang member who had been guarding and on the lookout. He called Shada’s name again. Soft and terribly low.

“Close your eyes.”

Shaa-rung— With the cool sound of the metal blade escaping it’s scabbard, Shada closed her eyes.

Soon after there were screams, clamors, and the eerie noises of flesh falling on the floor, reverbering loudly.

For a different reason than before, Shada couldn’t move.

The brutality of the slaughter was heard vividly.

Shada, who was shaking, opened her eyes at the sound of that evil man shouting:

“Die, Count!”

Huey!

But as she hurriedly raised her head, Shada was mesmerized. And she faintly regretted openly her eyes.

***