7. The Mad Boy
Daphne doubted her ears. What could this sound be? She looked at the person standing there, looking at her.
Drink as much as you want? What? Me? Did he tell me to drink?
Or maybe it was someone else who said those words? But the man who spoke those cruel words was definitely Asherad. A haggard face. Bloodless lips. And yet, his uniquely beautiful face was not damaged at all.
The man with the elegant smile that made his teeth chatter willingly offered up Daphne's body, as if she were nothing to him.
“Why are you making that face?”
He asked affectionately.
“If you commit a crime, it’s natural to be punished, right?”
That must be what he's talking about, but for some reason, it stuck in her head.
He looked into Daphne's eyes for a long time. No further explanation was needed.
"I am..."
Asherad. Don't abandon me. Daphne thought back to the times she had spent with Asherad. The times she had spent reading books at his feet, talking to him, and being pampered to his heart's content. The times when she had the privilege of receiving cookies from him or eating the food he had left behind.
Stay by his side. Asherad clearly said so.
Asherad clearly cares for her.
He will save her.
However...
It was shameless to even have the heart to ask him for help. To Asherad, she was not even someone who could be of help.
He was always upright and righteous, so he just felt sorry for her. So he could have just thrown away Daphne's body without a second thought.
But...
But then, why did you ask me to stay by your side? Why? Why did you look at me with that expression? Why?
Was it all a lie? A deception?
Even in the midst of all that, it was funny to think that the Prince was 'deceiving' her.
Daphne's struggles ceased. Then the man's hand reached out to her neck. When she did not resist, the Prince gladly stroked her hair gently.
“Yes, that’s right. You little cutie.”
She was deluded into thinking that the noble Prince had caught her eye and had spoken to her a few more times.
In reality, it was an unbecoming thought, like her mother, who was the Emperor's concubine and was not even allowed to enter the palace. She was destined to go to the abyss, trampled and defiled like this. This was Daphne's life, living in the gutter.
She looked up at the man breathing heavily above her, thinking blankly as his hand grabbed the button of her maid's blouse and ripped it off.
“Open the door!”
Just then, a loud, banging noise was heard on the door.
“Oh my god, who is it!”
The Prince of Pindus gritted his teeth and shouted.
“Your Highness! These are the priests!”
The priests? Why them? Why are they knocking on the Prince's door without any reason?
“There’s an unclean atmosphere here! Open the door quickly!”
“This is Prince Pindus’s room!”
“We are the priests of Ceres! We came here because of a strange aura!”
They were the priests of Ceres, the goddess of death, who presided over funerals. They were the ones who sometimes prophesied destruction and ruin. They were the closest to death, so they had an excellent ability to sense evil.
“Open the door! There is unclean air here, so open it quickly!”
The priest's command was given.
“Yes, wait a minute!”
The Prince shouted urgently and put on his clothes. But before he could even put on his clothes, the door opened. As he was trying to put on his trousers, he lost his balance and fell down with a thud.
In an instant, a flash of light appeared, revealing three priests dressed in black. Their eyes turned to the Prince and Daphne, who were crying.
A woman with disheveled hair and wearing a maid's uniform, crying. One of the priests clicked his tongue and said.
“I wondered why there was such a sinister aura, and here was the reason!”
“...”
“What kind of outrageous act is this during the sacred ritual? Do you wish to be judged by Ceres, the goddess of death?”
At the priest's command, the Prince tried to get up, but fell down again.
While the priests of other gods were power-oriented, these were the ones who worshipped only the god of death, and they were the ones who feared nothing but death.
It was not a good sight to see a Prince trying to rape another country's head of state using the maid's punishment as an excuse. The Prince had the intelligence to discern that, too.
“This, this woman is wrong...”
“Can’t anyone see now that the Prince is raping a helpless young woman? Should I personally show you the judgment of the god of death?”
“So you’re trying to justify raping women, you dirty Prince!”
When the priests' staffs began to glow with black energy, the Prince panicked and ran out of the room.
"Your Highness!"
The knights all chased the Prince away. Once again, there was no one left in the room except Daphne and the priests.
“If all are equal before death, how can mortals be so cruel in their status?”
They clicked their tongues at Daphne. She sat up and bowed to the priests.
“Oh, thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me.”
The priest who had been speaking bluntly looked at Daphne.
“You too, Miss... you got bitten by those annoying things.”
“...”
“There is nothing good about receiving Ceres’s love.”
What does that mean? To be loved by the god of death...
The priest, seeing her frightened expression, clicked his tongue and left without saying anything else.
After that, other priests came out.
She picked up her clothes and left this horrible room.
Another terrible thing was added to her already terrible life. She staggered down the hallway. When she reached the workers, they began to murmur at her appearance.
There were no sympathetic looks. She just felt like a spectacle.
No, it's always been like that.
She was always being harassed subtly, as if she had given the Prince's schedule wrong, and no one helped her. When she suffered, people would quietly come and watch her.
Yes, she is a sinner, so it is understandable. That is why the tragedies she experiences are always reduced to a spectacle without any sympathy or sympathy.
Daphne met Amanda and Sarah's wide-eyed gaze.
Oh, really, she doesn't like this. She'd rather live as a beggar on the street than this.
Daphne needed comfort. But her mother, her own friend, was dead, and she had no friends. She curled up on her rat-eaten mattress, her thin blanket wrapped around her.
It was cold.
It was bitterly colder than ever.
She was sick.
The shoulder she was hit on hurt so much.
“Ugh, uh-uh...”
A sob escaped her lips. These are tears shed because she is cold and in pain. Daphne repeated this to herself as she shed tears for the first time in a long time.
She lost her mother when she was ten and entered the palace. She lived like this until she was seventeen.
After that day, Daphne did not look for Asherad.
Daphne, who was filled with white roses picked by the gardener, was busy. Although the state funeral was over, the Emperor, mourning the death of the Empress, decorated the palace with white roses every day.
In fact, the imperial couple were not on good terms, and the Emperor knew that the mourning was fake, but it was a play to please Thalassa, the mother country of the Empress. It was not funny to decorate with new flowers when the roses withered.
When she gave Amanda a white rose, she frowned and said,
“Where do you think you are?”
“...”
“Don’t get in His Majesty’s way and cause trouble for me. Get out of here quickly.”
Amanda was really being sarcastic. Daphne nodded and headed out of the mansion.
The weather was hot, as if summer was approaching. As shr was looking up at the clear blue sky, shr heard a soft voice.
"Daphne."
Her ears perked up, and her pupils dilated and then shrank. She looked like a puppy watching its owner.
She tried not to turn her head, but her body betrayed her will. She looked up and saw Asherad. Asherad was smiling broadly.
A cool breeze, blue skies, and greenery coloring the gardens. A beautiful Asherad that is not at all out of place in the beautiful palace.
It was a refreshing sight, as if those hellish days had never happened.
“Were you moving flowers?”
“...”
There was not a single crack in that picturesque smiling face.
“It’s so pretty and goes well with the flowers.”
It's strange. It's strange, it's strange!
Why doesn't that person show any expression? Not even a hint of contempt. Is it because he knows that nothing is going on with the Prince? Or is it because punishment is punishment?
Or, is it because it doesn't matter?
Because the violence Daphne suffered and the rape she almost suffered were nothing to him?
Because he doesn't even realize that he's betrayed her?
It was at that moment that Daphne froze in incomprehensible friendliness.
“Why can’t you answer quickly?”
The servant Leon shouted. Daphne opened her mouth, but without looking at Asherad's face, she answered "yes" and ran away quickly.
Surely you won't scold me for being arrogant, will you?
Her heart pounded. She turned away from Asherad for the first time. She wanted to turn her head away, but she didn't want to jump to her feet and look at him with a bright smile.
A chilling sense of betrayal spread through her heart. Daphne stopped her fast steps and looked back. Asherad, standing far away, was just standing there.
Are you looking at me?
Hey, that can't be.
Daphne turned away, laughing at her own foolish thoughts. It was driving him mad, even though he was already mad.
It was the biggest mistake seventeen-year-old Daphne ever made.
Daphne doubted her ears. What could this sound be? She looked at the person standing there, looking at her.
Drink as much as you want? What? Me? Did he tell me to drink?
Or maybe it was someone else who said those words? But the man who spoke those cruel words was definitely Asherad. A haggard face. Bloodless lips. And yet, his uniquely beautiful face was not damaged at all.
The man with the elegant smile that made his teeth chatter willingly offered up Daphne's body, as if she were nothing to him.
“Why are you making that face?”
He asked affectionately.
“If you commit a crime, it’s natural to be punished, right?”
That must be what he's talking about, but for some reason, it stuck in her head.
He looked into Daphne's eyes for a long time. No further explanation was needed.
"I am..."
Asherad. Don't abandon me. Daphne thought back to the times she had spent with Asherad. The times she had spent reading books at his feet, talking to him, and being pampered to his heart's content. The times when she had the privilege of receiving cookies from him or eating the food he had left behind.
Stay by his side. Asherad clearly said so.
Asherad clearly cares for her.
He will save her.
However...
Asherad turned his back on Daphne's blank face and left. There was a brief silence in the room. She finally realized that there was no one in the room. For a moment, fear struck her.
“I don’t think even your Prince can save you.”
She lifted her leg and stepped back, but a large hand grabbed her slender wrist and pulled her forward fiercely. Daphne shook her head frantically. Tears fell down her face.
Asherad's 'betrayal' loomed larger than the man's ugly insidiousness before her eyes.
No, would that be a betrayal? Strictly speaking, Asherad had no obligation to help her.
That's right. Asherad has always been like that.
Even though he seemed to care for her... he didn’t think about her plight... no, let’s not think about it. Even so, Daphne gave up on thinking about it any deeper.
“I don’t think even your Prince can save you.”
She lifted her leg and stepped back, but a large hand grabbed her slender wrist and pulled her forward fiercely. Daphne shook her head frantically. Tears fell down her face.
Asherad's 'betrayal' loomed larger than the man's ugly insidiousness before her eyes.
No, would that be a betrayal? Strictly speaking, Asherad had no obligation to help her.
That's right. Asherad has always been like that.
Even though he seemed to care for her... he didn’t think about her plight... no, let’s not think about it. Even so, Daphne gave up on thinking about it any deeper.
It was shameless to even have the heart to ask him for help. To Asherad, she was not even someone who could be of help.
He was always upright and righteous, so he just felt sorry for her. So he could have just thrown away Daphne's body without a second thought.
But...
But then, why did you ask me to stay by your side? Why? Why did you look at me with that expression? Why?
Was it all a lie? A deception?
Even in the midst of all that, it was funny to think that the Prince was 'deceiving' her.
Daphne's struggles ceased. Then the man's hand reached out to her neck. When she did not resist, the Prince gladly stroked her hair gently.
“Yes, that’s right. You little cutie.”
She was deluded into thinking that the noble Prince had caught her eye and had spoken to her a few more times.
In reality, it was an unbecoming thought, like her mother, who was the Emperor's concubine and was not even allowed to enter the palace. She was destined to go to the abyss, trampled and defiled like this. This was Daphne's life, living in the gutter.
She looked up at the man breathing heavily above her, thinking blankly as his hand grabbed the button of her maid's blouse and ripped it off.
“Open the door!”
Just then, a loud, banging noise was heard on the door.
“Oh my god, who is it!”
The Prince of Pindus gritted his teeth and shouted.
“Your Highness! These are the priests!”
The priests? Why them? Why are they knocking on the Prince's door without any reason?
“There’s an unclean atmosphere here! Open the door quickly!”
“This is Prince Pindus’s room!”
“We are the priests of Ceres! We came here because of a strange aura!”
They were the priests of Ceres, the goddess of death, who presided over funerals. They were the ones who sometimes prophesied destruction and ruin. They were the closest to death, so they had an excellent ability to sense evil.
“Open the door! There is unclean air here, so open it quickly!”
The priest's command was given.
“Yes, wait a minute!”
The Prince shouted urgently and put on his clothes. But before he could even put on his clothes, the door opened. As he was trying to put on his trousers, he lost his balance and fell down with a thud.
In an instant, a flash of light appeared, revealing three priests dressed in black. Their eyes turned to the Prince and Daphne, who were crying.
A woman with disheveled hair and wearing a maid's uniform, crying. One of the priests clicked his tongue and said.
“I wondered why there was such a sinister aura, and here was the reason!”
“...”
“What kind of outrageous act is this during the sacred ritual? Do you wish to be judged by Ceres, the goddess of death?”
At the priest's command, the Prince tried to get up, but fell down again.
While the priests of other gods were power-oriented, these were the ones who worshipped only the god of death, and they were the ones who feared nothing but death.
It was not a good sight to see a Prince trying to rape another country's head of state using the maid's punishment as an excuse. The Prince had the intelligence to discern that, too.
“This, this woman is wrong...”
“Can’t anyone see now that the Prince is raping a helpless young woman? Should I personally show you the judgment of the god of death?”
“So you’re trying to justify raping women, you dirty Prince!”
When the priests' staffs began to glow with black energy, the Prince panicked and ran out of the room.
"Your Highness!"
The knights all chased the Prince away. Once again, there was no one left in the room except Daphne and the priests.
“If all are equal before death, how can mortals be so cruel in their status?”
They clicked their tongues at Daphne. She sat up and bowed to the priests.
“Oh, thank you.”
“There’s no need to thank me.”
The priest who had been speaking bluntly looked at Daphne.
“You too, Miss... you got bitten by those annoying things.”
“...”
“There is nothing good about receiving Ceres’s love.”
What does that mean? To be loved by the god of death...
The priest, seeing her frightened expression, clicked his tongue and left without saying anything else.
After that, other priests came out.
She picked up her clothes and left this horrible room.
Another terrible thing was added to her already terrible life. She staggered down the hallway. When she reached the workers, they began to murmur at her appearance.
There were no sympathetic looks. She just felt like a spectacle.
No, it's always been like that.
She was always being harassed subtly, as if she had given the Prince's schedule wrong, and no one helped her. When she suffered, people would quietly come and watch her.
Yes, she is a sinner, so it is understandable. That is why the tragedies she experiences are always reduced to a spectacle without any sympathy or sympathy.
Daphne met Amanda and Sarah's wide-eyed gaze.
Oh, really, she doesn't like this. She'd rather live as a beggar on the street than this.
Daphne needed comfort. But her mother, her own friend, was dead, and she had no friends. She curled up on her rat-eaten mattress, her thin blanket wrapped around her.
It was cold.
It was bitterly colder than ever.
She was sick.
The shoulder she was hit on hurt so much.
“Ugh, uh-uh...”
A sob escaped her lips. These are tears shed because she is cold and in pain. Daphne repeated this to herself as she shed tears for the first time in a long time.
She lost her mother when she was ten and entered the palace. She lived like this until she was seventeen.
After that day, Daphne did not look for Asherad.
***
Daphne, who was filled with white roses picked by the gardener, was busy. Although the state funeral was over, the Emperor, mourning the death of the Empress, decorated the palace with white roses every day.
In fact, the imperial couple were not on good terms, and the Emperor knew that the mourning was fake, but it was a play to please Thalassa, the mother country of the Empress. It was not funny to decorate with new flowers when the roses withered.
When she gave Amanda a white rose, she frowned and said,
“Where do you think you are?”
“...”
“Don’t get in His Majesty’s way and cause trouble for me. Get out of here quickly.”
Amanda was really being sarcastic. Daphne nodded and headed out of the mansion.
The weather was hot, as if summer was approaching. As shr was looking up at the clear blue sky, shr heard a soft voice.
"Daphne."
Her ears perked up, and her pupils dilated and then shrank. She looked like a puppy watching its owner.
She tried not to turn her head, but her body betrayed her will. She looked up and saw Asherad. Asherad was smiling broadly.
A cool breeze, blue skies, and greenery coloring the gardens. A beautiful Asherad that is not at all out of place in the beautiful palace.
It was a refreshing sight, as if those hellish days had never happened.
“Were you moving flowers?”
“...”
There was not a single crack in that picturesque smiling face.
“It’s so pretty and goes well with the flowers.”
It's strange. It's strange, it's strange!
Why doesn't that person show any expression? Not even a hint of contempt. Is it because he knows that nothing is going on with the Prince? Or is it because punishment is punishment?
Or, is it because it doesn't matter?
Because the violence Daphne suffered and the rape she almost suffered were nothing to him?
Because he doesn't even realize that he's betrayed her?
It was at that moment that Daphne froze in incomprehensible friendliness.
“Why can’t you answer quickly?”
The servant Leon shouted. Daphne opened her mouth, but without looking at Asherad's face, she answered "yes" and ran away quickly.
Surely you won't scold me for being arrogant, will you?
Her heart pounded. She turned away from Asherad for the first time. She wanted to turn her head away, but she didn't want to jump to her feet and look at him with a bright smile.
A chilling sense of betrayal spread through her heart. Daphne stopped her fast steps and looked back. Asherad, standing far away, was just standing there.
Are you looking at me?
Hey, that can't be.
Daphne turned away, laughing at her own foolish thoughts. It was driving him mad, even though he was already mad.
It was the biggest mistake seventeen-year-old Daphne ever made.
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