Her daughter's sudden vomiting surprised Luiza. Amidst her scream, Irel covered her mouth with her handkerchief and glanced at her.
‘Will she be angry?’
Her parents in her previous life did not love her. Although not abusive, their parenting methods bordered on neglect. When Raeyeon makes a mistake or needs help, they often nag and get angry.
However, Luiza is not that kind of mother.
“Are you okay, baby girl?”
Luiza was not angry at all, on the contrary, she was worried to the point of restlessness. Irel's already small and white face was now pale as if she was about to collapse.
“Quickly stop the carriage!!”
Luiza shouted to the coachman, then clasped her cold, sweaty hand. She asked with worried eyes.
"Why is this suddenly happening, Relle? Are you sick?"
The hand holding hers was so warm. Maybe that's why? She suddenly wanted to rely on that warmth.
But Raeyeon did not forget that she is not Irel Elorance. It was definitely unusual for Irel, who had been used to riding carriages since childhood, to now get motion sickness.
“It's just, I have a bit of a headache, but when I ride the carriage it suddenly hurts more… I'm sorry.”
"Oh, why didn't you say it sooner? You're weak, so you have to be careful in everything."
Luiza lightly scolded her, half worried, half sad. Then she folded the blanket, giving Irel a place to rest her head and lie down.
She looked sadly at her daughter who was huddled together, breathing heavily from fatigue. I don't understand why the daughter was born so weak, unlike the son who was so healthy that he had excess energy. She felt even more heartbroken, thinking it was her fault for not giving birth to a healthy child. Looking at Irel with pitying eyes, Luiza suddenly came up with a good idea.
"The head maid said that there is a new pharmacy that opened recently. They probably have simple headache medicine available."
Luiza doesn't understand why she didn't think of this sooner. She quickly called the driver, briefly explained about the pharmacy and asked.
“So, do you know where it is?”
"I think I know, ma'am. It must be the newly opened warehouse right in front."
Luckily, the coachman blinked in thought and then quickly answered. Luiza's face beamed because she could finally do something for her daughter.
"That's great! Then please take a trip."
The coachman bowed and left. But he kept going and never came back.
"What's taking so long? It'll get dark if this keeps up."
Luiza, unlike her elegant appearance, is quite hot-tempered. Having almost never had to wait for anyone in her life, she impatiently stamped her feet and looked outside. If there was any further delay, they certainly wouldn't have reached the neighborhood in time.
"No way. He said right in front, let me go and see."
Luiza told her to wait a moment. Even though the road was near a busy neighborhood so it wasn't dangerous, she was still worried.
"Mom, don't go. Just stay in the carriage with me..."
"Hey daughter. What parent would sit idly by when their child is sick?"
Luiza wiped the sweat from her forehead and pinched her cheek gently. Faced with that affectionate touch, Irel tried to open his eyes to look at her. Luiza looked straight into her eyes, smiling to reassure her daughter, but that smile made her want to cry.
“I'm sorry… truly.”
"No need to apologize. I'll be back soon, just rest."
Luiza kissed her lightly on the forehead and stepped down from the carriage. But unlike her promise to return soon, Luiza did not return for more than an hour.
‘What to do?’
After resting for a while, the motion sickness subsided and Irel tried to get up. She worried about Luiza, who had to walk the rough mountain road to the pharmacy just for her.
Not only that. Sitting alone in the carriage, ominous fantasies kept coming. Especially the words Michael said earlier.
‘Mom, be careful. Recently Keytan appears more and more.'
Maybe that's why? The forest outside the carriage window looked especially dangerous. She felt as if Luiza was in trouble somewhere she didn't know about.
Thinking like that, she couldn't just sit and wait. Fortunately, after moving her body, the motion sickness that tormented her almost disappeared. Carefully setting her foot on the ground, the first thing she saw was the red sunset setting behind the mountain.
‘I have to find my mother before it gets darker.’
They said it's right ahead, so we'll definitely see each other soon. Thinking so, Irel turned the corner and felt slightly confused. The road ahead splits into two branches.
After a moment of hesitation, she accidentally looked down at the ground. Luckily, on the left path there were traces of something heavy that had been dragged. Perhaps it was the mark of a large sack filled with medicinal herbs.
‘Maybe the pharmacy is on this side?’
Having decided that, Irel went to the left. Sure enough, at the end of the road there was a large warehouse standing tall.
“Is it here…?”
Irel is not sure. But this is the only house visible among the dense groves of trees.
Irel timidly walked towards the warehouse. Just as she was about to knock on the large locked door, a sound rang out from a window not far away.
Was it mother's voice or was it the coachman who arrived first? Thinking so, Irel walked to the window and quietly looked inside. And her face immediately turned pale.
“Please save me, please… I'm sorry.”
A man with his hands tied behind his back was kneeling on the stone floor, begging. His pitiful appearance was torn and bloodstained everywhere, as if he had just rolled on thorny grass.
“I will beg like this, just spare my life…”
The man shivered, trying to escape. His face showed extreme fear. But dark men stood on both sides, holding sticks and threatening him, making him not dare to move.
Irel intuitively realized he had just witnessed a dangerous scene. The trail of a sack being dragged that she saw was, I'm afraid, not an item from a pharmacy, but from a person.
It was extremely lucky that she didn't knock on the door.
‘I have to leave here now. Don't let it be discovered.'
She bit her lip to keep from making a sound and backed away from the window. No, she tried to step back but her legs were frozen in place.
Just because a man suddenly appeared like a stream of fire across the night sky.
“Hello, we meet again.”
She almost thought he was greeting her. Irel tried to suppress his pounding heartbeat and let out his suppressed breath.
The moment she saw the red-haired man, her heart stopped beating. The man before her was identical to the one she had seen in her dream: extremely beautiful, charming, and above all, exuding the aura of a ruthless predator.
Thanks to that, Irel forgot about escaping and froze in place. She felt like she was opening her eyes and lost in a nightmare.
Luckily, the red-haired man hadn't recognized her yet. The object he was talking to was the man kneeling.
"You're pretty good at hiding. Looks like you really want to live, huh? Jack."
"Huh! P-please spare my life. I beg. I was wrong..."
“Shh.”
The man named Jack stammered, shaking and begging. But hearing that, the red-haired man frowned.
“You know I hate noise.”
He raised his finger and placed it on his seductive lips and spoke softly. Different from his joking tone, the tip of his shoe cruelly stepped on Jack's knee. Immediately, one sound
sizzling
The sound sounded like hot iron hitting flesh, and Jack writhed in pain.
“Cough…!! Mmm!! Mmm!!”
As soon as the heart-wrenching scream rang out, the subordinates standing on both sides quickly covered his mouth. At this moment, the red-haired man smiled with satisfaction.
“See. How wonderful it is to be quiet.”
His face as fresh as a flower when he had just tortured a person until he was half dead and half alive was horrifying. No matter how handsome that man was, she still felt creepy.
“Ah, I wonder if you like dogs?”
He also kindly knelt down on one knee to be at eye level with the man and whispered, his eyes were bloodshot under thick drooping eyelashes.
"I quite like it. It's a bit embarrassing to say it myself, but I'm an animal lover."
Just as he spoke, a growl rang out from behind. Just hearing the rough, heavy growl, I knew it was not a normal animal.
“Grr, grrr!!”
His subordinates pulled out something. It was a giant dog, almost as big as a bull and with two heads.
“Woof! Woof!!”
The terrible dog was wrapped tightly in an iron chain and barked loudly, baring its arm-long fangs. It was so strong and ferocious that it made even the men holding the leash stagger. But the red-haired man saw it and chuckled, happily calling its name.
“Choco, this cute little thing.”
Hearing the name coming out of his mouth, the expressions of the surrounding subordinates became unsightly.