Chapter 10
I swallowed, trying to moisten my dry throat.
I’d been wiggling my arms and legs little by little for a while now, but as expected, they were tied so tightly that not even the tiniest gap formed.
All it did was make my posture slump in the chair, making my lower back ache even more.
…Judging by how vivid everything feels, I must still be inside the duke’s manor. Now that my senses are coming back, that’s not exactly a good thing.
I let out a sigh.
I should probably be grateful they didn’t gag me, at least.
I was scraping at the rope with my fingernails when—
“You’re awake?”
A familiar voice. I turned toward the sound, but the blindfold kept me from seeing anything.
“Scarlet?”
My voice came out hoarse, as if my throat had cracked from dryness.
“That’s right. Not my real name, but close enough.”
Her voice carried a hint of laughter.
It was completely unlike the quiet, timid tone I remembered. Now it was bright and lively, almost bubbly.
“Why… why did you lock me up?”
My leaking voice sounded pitiful even to my own ears. Scarlet burst into laughter.
“Why else? You’ve only got one use.”
“Lewin?”
“Yep. There are a lot of people who’d be in trouble if that kid starts talking.”
Her voice grew closer. Then something cold touched my hands behind the chair.
“So at first I was just going to get rid of you, but then I thought… maybe you’d be useful on our side.”
On their side?
What did that even mean?
While I sat there confused, the cold sensation left my skin.
And then the blindfold slid off.
“…!”
Sudden, bright light flooded my vision. I squeezed my eyes shut, then cautiously opened them to slits.
The place was exactly what I expected—narrow, stark white. Light seemed to seep from everywhere: walls, ceiling, floor.
And in front of me stood Scarlet.
Her hair was no longer red, but a pale, soft lavender.
“If your name isn’t Scarlet, should I call you Violet instead?”
I glared at her, mocking. Scarlet burst out laughing.
“Pfft. You’re hilarious.”
I hadn’t said it to be funny, but she seemed genuinely amused. She laughed for a while, then finally looked at me.
And held something out right before my eyes.
“See this?”
A brass-like cube—like a die.
She lifted it right up to my face and grinned.
“I’m going to make you swallow this.”
“What?”
It was small, but nothing about its color or shape looked remotely ingestible. My eyes widened as I stared at her.
“It’s your first time seeing something like this, since you’re a commoner. Aren’t you curious?”
She rolled the cube in her palm, eyes sparkling with excitement.
“Don’t worry. You won’t die. Or… maybe you will? I heard that if a person doesn’t have a proper sense of self, they die.”
“Sense of self?”
I repeated her words, unable to ignore them.
Scarlet smirked.
“Since you gave me a funny joke, I’ll teach you something special. This is a very precious magic tool. It’ll stay inside your stomach for life. When you die, they cut you open to retrieve it—it’s that valuable.”
A chill ran down my spine.
Scarlet lifted the cube toward my mouth.
“Say ahhh~”
Her cheerful voice brushed past my ear.
The cube’s cold edge pressed against my lips.
I clamped my mouth shut, but her brute force pushed my jaw open anyway.
“Mmfp!”
The moment the cube touched my tongue, I tried to spit it out, but Scarlet’s hand was faster. Her grip was unbelievably strong for another woman.
Nausea surged up my throat.
From what she’d said about “sense of self,” the cube must be something like a mind-control artifact—something that turned people into puppets.
How was this any different from being killed by mana depletion? My mouth filled with the bitter taste of metal.
I tried desperately not to swallow, but my effort was meaningless. The artifact slid down my throat almost immediately.
It felt like swallowing a huge hard candy—burning, raw pain scraping down my esophagus.
I gagged, trying to throw it back up, but nothing came out. Scarlet just watched me with an unwavering smile.
Her deep indigo eyes looked like an abyss.
When I eventually gave up struggling, hollowed out by the sensation of swallowing it, she finally removed her hand from my mouth.
“Any last words?”
“…What?”
“A final message. I can’t deliver it to anyone, but I’ll listen. The last words you can say while you’re still ‘you.’”
I glared at her, but my vision blurred. I forced the words out before I lost consciousness completely.
“The duke is going to kill you.”
“Ha! Scary.”
Her tone said she wasn’t scared at all.
But I meant it.
If Lewin dies… you won’t get a clean death from the duke.
In the original story, he…
And with that last thought, I blacked out.
* * *
I didn’t stay unconscious long. I woke again soon after.
“Can you hear me?”
I hadn’t even fully come to before Scarlet grabbed my chin and shook it sharply.
My stomach was already churning; this made it worse. My wrists throbbed.
“What are you doing…?”
I focused with difficulty and jerked my chin out of her grasp.
Her nails scraped me slightly, but…
Seeing Scarlet look shocked—at me—was oddly satisfying.
Then she burst into manic laughter.
“Ha! Hahaha! What are you?”
“What do you mean?”
My senses were razor-sharp, hypersensitive. I narrowed my eyes and stared her down.
Scarlet seemed unfazed.
“Do you remember your name?”
“Why are you asking that?”
“Hm. You seem perfectly normal. Did I grab a defective one?”
She muttered to herself.
Apparently, she couldn’t understand how I still had my sense of self even after swallowing the artifact.
Is it because I have no mana at all?
That was my guess, too.
I still felt nauseous, but nothing else was wrong.
If anything, my senses were even sharper—probably because of the artifact.
“Are you feeling anything weird? A voice in your head? Thoughts getting fuzzy?”
If anything, my thoughts were clearer than ever… but there was no way I’d tell her that.
I decided not to react.
If not for her next words, I would’ve ignored her entirely.
“So strange. Should I cut you open and check?”
Cold sweat prickled down my spine.
She wasn’t joking.
She had picked up a small, scalpel-like knife—thin and terrifyingly sharp.
“Don’t worry. If you’re not defective, your body will be valuable for research. I won’t kill you.”
Her blue eyes gleamed with madness.
I tried to yank my arms free, but I only rattled the chair—there was no escaping the rope.
“Stop thrashing. You’ll peel your skin off.”
Her tone sounded gentle, but she didn’t loosen the ropes.
She angled the scalpel precisely toward my abdomen.
I imagined the cold blade touching my stomach and squeezed my eyes shut.
Then—
CLANG!
Metal hit the floor. My left leg burned sharply.
I snapped my eyes open.
Scarlet was being held in place, her eyes wide.
My gaze followed the hand gripping her.
Someone I recognized.
Cold, crimson eyes.
“…Oh.”
Scarlet rolled her eyes upward. The duke said nothing, but the rise and fall of his chest showed how desperate he’d been.
His clothes were casual—an untied shirt collar, smooth black pants—not something he’d wear publicly.
“You got here quicker than I expected.”
Scarlet glanced at him. I hurriedly shouted:
“Untie me!”
But my voice was drowned out by the duke’s.
“Why are you here?!”
Well… I don’t know either, honestly.
Seeing the vein bulge on his forehead, I shut my mouth. He continued:
“I told you it was dangerous!”
I was careful…
A wave of unfairness washed over me, but he looked too furious for me to argue.
He’d come to rescue me—poking his temper now would be stupid.
“You… why…”
He ran a hand down his face, looking exhausted.
I was about to speak when a cheerful voice sliced between us.
“Fun girl. See you next time.”
A shiver ran down my spine.
I turned my head just in time to see Scarlet smiling with her wrist still in the duke’s grip.
Confused, I watched as she suddenly ducked her head—
and bit down hard on the back of his hand.
“…!”
The duke flinched. Thick red blood trickled down his hand—far too much for a human bite.
He loosened his grip, and Scarlet immediately slipped free.
She reached for the brooch on her chest.
“Bye!”
She beamed. Only then did I notice the shark-like sharpness of her teeth—color and shape completely inhuman.
Her body began to grow faint. The duke lunged to grab her again, but he was too late.
“Damn…”
He pulled his hand back, grimacing. I shouted anxiously:
“Are you okay?!”
“It was my carelessness. Don’t worry about it. Are your bindings hurting you?”
His tone was a little sharp, but from his expression, it seemed he was angry at himself, not me.
Red blood was soaking the sleeve of his shirt. It didn’t look like it would stop easily.
“Your hand… it’s bleeding…”
