Chapter 22: 22

“Where did she go? Didn’t you say that you saw her around here?”

Afraid he would hear me panting, I covered my mouth and curled up smaller.

I saw Kir in the distance, still looking for me, and quickly retreated into the blind spot. A small body was an advantage at times like these.

“So it’s like this, huh? Just wait till you get caught.”

Kirsec wandered around for a while, but eventually left when he couldn’t find me, stamping his feet and disappearing far away. It wasn’t until the sound of footsteps completely faded away that I sighed and removed the hand covering my mouth. That wicked brat!

*****

It’s already been days since this game of hide-and-seek started. I would run away and Kirsec would chase after me.

This guy must have been a demon in his past life. He couldn’t have shown such patience and persistence at such a young age unless he was a demon who had climbed up from hell.

The more I ran away, the greater Kirsec’s obsession became. He hunted me enthusiastically with a fire in his eyes. There were many close calls, where I let my guard down and was almost caught. Every time it happened, I would feel like I’d lost a few years of my life. And the more narrow escapes I made, the more sinister Kirsec’s face turned.

Overcome by anger, the flame in him grew stronger. Perhaps it was sparked by his dissatisfaction and the obsession with wanting things to work out the way he wanted.

The baby demon turned into a full-fledged monster. If I get caught now, it’ll be even worse. So I ran away more desperately.

Even after several days of avoiding Kirsec like this, there was no news of my father’s return, while his pursuit of me was becoming defter by the day. My heart tightened as he came closer and closer to catching me.

I couldn’t wait for my father to come back and take me home. I wasn’t even studying these days and was solely focused on surviving.

When dawn comes, I pack some food to eat and go to some unfrequented place, like crawling under the bed and hiding. At night, I sleep in the room of someone who’s in favor of me since there might be an unwanted guest waiting in my room at night. I survived thanks to the help of those who didn’t like Kirsec very much.

So foolishly, I underestimated Kirsec’s preparedness to overuse his power. Realizing he could not catch me with his own hands, Kirsec wielded his authority.

“Bring the kid in front of me right now! Anyone caught hiding her will not be forgiven!”

At first, he tried to solve it on his own. But I outsmarted him too much, and Kirsec, who didn’t know the meaning of the word patience, gave in to his anger.

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And that single order from Kirsec changed the attitude of the people who’d been helping me.

Not knowing about his command, I went to Anne, with whom I’d been sleeping these days.

Anne was the maid who had shown me to my room and warned me about Kirsec on my first day at the Duke’s mansion.

So I was off guard.

“We have somewhere to go together.”

She grabbed my hand and dragged me somewhere. At first, I followed without thinking, but I felt instinctively anxious at Anne’s guilty expression.

“Let me go. I’m not coming. Let go.”

I struggled to escape before we reached Kirsec, but I couldn’t loosen Anne’s grip.

“I’m sorry. The young master ordered me to bring you.”

I shivered with shock and betrayal when Anne apologized before dropping me off in front of Kirsec.

Actually, I understood that Anne had no choice but to do so. I also knew how impossible it was to refuse an employer’s orders.

But to throw this tender little me into the hands of that devil just so she could survive. The world is so heartless.

Only demons lived in this grand mansion.

“Hey, kid.”

“Hello.”

I greeted him reflexively before he said a word. Still, Kirsec’s expression didn’t seem to improve.

Sitting in his chair, he looked down at me arrogantly. Wouldn’t that be the expression of Yama, the Lord of Hell before he gave judgment to the sinner?

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