TCBD 4

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Lismere, where Cecilia lived, was a kingdom that had become prosperous through its military power. It had built up its wealth by sending troops to other countries and exporting weapons.

But every benefit always came with a cost.

Political conflicts and economic hardship were still bearable.

The real tragedy was the orphans, widows, and soldiers who had returned from war but could not adjust to normal society.

They gathered in the back streets of the city, which had become a place filled with crime and poverty.

People called this place “Easthollow.”

(Easthollow: the emptiness of the east.)

The atmosphere here…

Cecilia looked around and nervously hunched her shoulders.

The alleys were so narrow that even cars could not enter. Trash was scattered everywhere.

Old electrical wires hung between the buildings, and cold water dripped from wet clothes hanging on them, falling onto the foreheads of people walking below.

Cecilia carefully looked at a black stray dog at the end of the alley.

Then she suddenly realized it was actually a person and quickly looked away in surprise.

Ruby sat on her shoulder and started talking.

「Ugh, it’s cold. This place is creepy. Even my friends who like searching through trash cans don’t come to places like this.」

「They say you can get anything here as long as you have money. Now that I’ve changed my face, I need to get an ID card.」

Cecilia had slightly changed her plan.

She would need a fake ID not only in this city but also after she left by train.

Illegal methods were usually expensive because there were no fixed rules.

The people making the fake ID could charge whatever price they wanted.

So Cecilia decided that she should get one while she still had plenty of money.

「But Cecilia, do you actually know where the people who make this ‘ID card’ are?」

「Hmm… If we keep walking, won’t we eventually find them somehow?」

「What?!」

Ruby screamed and flapped her wings.

「No! I don’t want to freeze to death in a place like this! I’m sure that sneaky snake hiding under your skirt would…!」

「Don’t worry. If necessary, I’ll ask for help.」

Cecilia stretched her lips into a smile and quietly took a plastic bag from inside her clothes.

Inside were two slices of bread, cut into small pieces so that mice could easily carry them away.

「The rats in the city know everything. Sometimes they know even more than pigeons.」

「That’s true, but… Do you really think the rats living in these back alleys will care about pieces of bread?」

「I’ve never seen a rat that doesn’t like bread, Ruby.」

Even though Ruby still sounded doubtful, Cecilia was confident.

However, she did not realize that she was seriously misunderstanding the situation.

Just as Davion had said, Cecilia Winterhall was like a weed that had grown inside a greenhouse.

She had spent almost her entire life trapped inside a huge estate where everything was provided, including fields, mountains, and valleys.

Because of that, she knew nothing about the real world.

Naturally, she also knew nothing about the ugly side of the back alleys that only young women were likely to experience.

「What’s wrong?」

Cecilia suddenly turned around.

Ruby also followed her gaze and blinked her round, black eyes.

That’s strange. I’m sure I heard footsteps…

Was I wrong?

Cecilia looked toward the empty alley filled with rolling trash and touched her left ear.

「No, it’s nothing. I must have heard it wrong.」

But after walking only a few more steps, she stopped again.

「Cecilia?」

People say that human instincts can sometimes be sharper than the instincts of wild animals.

Her blood began to flow faster, and a chill ran down Cecilia’s spine.

No way…

She barely controlled her body, which was beginning to shake with fear.

She carefully walked toward the entrance of the alley and leaned forward.

Then she suddenly met the bright eyes of a cat sitting on top of a pile of trash.

“Ah…”

A weak breath escaped Cecilia’s lips.

She was just about to sigh with relief when—

“Not that way, miss.”

A strong smell of cigarettes.

Then a low laugh.

Before Cecilia could even turn toward the source of the voice, a powerful blow struck the back of her head.

Huh…?

The world suddenly spun upside down.

The pile of trash and the cat seemed to rise into the sky.

Like a broken light bulb flashing again and again, Cecilia’s nerves desperately struggled to keep her conscious.

In less than a second, memories flashed through her mind.

Perhaps because she had spent several years with him, Davion appeared in most of those memories.

The memories began moving backward into the past.

Davion, who always used to frown, eventually began smiling gently at her.

Under the heavy summer rain, his pitch-black eyes quietly expressed his love for her.

Then the rain stopped, and her memory went all the way back to the moment they first met.

But before that memory could completely return, Cecilia finally gave up resisting and closed her eyes.

The door to a completely black unconsciousness opened.

The first thing she heard was the powerful sound of Ruby’s wings as she flew upward from the ground.

.

.

.

Cecilia dreamed of something that looked like an old, faded photo album.

The sun was setting behind the mountain ridge, spreading a fiery red glow across the sky.

Davion was sitting on the edge of the bed.

He was carefully holding the hand of Cecilia, who had just woken up, as if her hand might break.

Cecilia did not ask what he was thinking about while he stared into the empty air.

Instead, she remembered pulling on his sleeve.

Davion turned toward her and gave her a gentle smile.

When Cecilia said something, his smile became even brighter, filled with happiness that he could not hide.

He whispered his answer and leaned down to kiss her.

Cecilia closed her eyes and buried her head into the pillow.

Then she suddenly felt that something was strange and frowned.

“Umm…”

Cecilia regained consciousness because the floor against her cheek was extremely cold.

She tried to move her neck and felt a sharp pain in the back of her head.

Her memories disappeared like the tide going out.

Cecilia coughed and slowly opened her heavy eyes.

Where am I…?

The room smelled damp and moldy, like an old wooden building.

A weak light from an old light bulb softly illuminated the room.

The window in Cecilia’s view was completely covered with wooden boards.

I’m trapped.

As soon as she realized this, she hurriedly lifted her skirt and checked her legs.

Her shoes and stockings were still there.

But something felt strangely missing.

It’s gone.

Oh my God. Where did it go?

Her fear and frustration became even stronger than her fear of being kidnapped.

Cecilia quickly felt around her body, desperately searching for something.

Then a woman’s tired, hoarse voice quietly broke the silence.

“They don’t do things like that. They can get women anywhere.”

“Ah…”

Only then did Cecilia realize that there were other women trapped inside the room.

Four women who looked around Cecilia’s age were huddled together in a corner, watching her carefully.

They seemed to have suffered badly after being kidnapped.

“You were unlucky too. We’re going to be sold anyway, so let’s just pray that we get a good master.”

A sad smile appeared on the woman’s face, as if she had already given up on everything.

Cecilia felt a dull pain under her ribs.

She slowly stood up and touched her cheek with her fingertips.

The swelling had gone down a little, but the pockmarks were still there.

That meant less than an hour had passed since she was kidnapped.

From behind the thin wall came Ruby’s panicked screams.

First, this isn’t underground.

As Cecilia slowly began to understand the situation, a drop of water suddenly fell onto her forehead.

Drip.

She instinctively raised her chin and sighed.

There were holes throughout the rotten ceiling, following the patterns of the old wood.

Above the ceiling, she could hear something with a long body moving around while making a hissing sound.

There you are.

Fortunately, she had not lost it on the way here.

Finally relieved, Cecilia buried her face between her knees and let out a quiet sigh.

“But you don’t have some terrible disease, do you? Could it spread to us…?”

“No. My face has been like this since I was born.”

“Then come over here. You shouldn’t stand out.”

Can they really sell someone with a face like that?

Cecilia heard someone quietly mutter from the deepest corner of the room.

But she ignored it and checked her body.

She wasn’t sure whether she should thank the people who had done this to her, but at least they had not tied up her hands and feet.

Just like the other women, Cecilia had a strange six-digit number written on her left arm.

It was the kind of number normally marked on animals that were being prepared for sale at a market.

Cecilia instinctively rubbed it with her palm, trying to erase it.

Someone quickly grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

“Don’t. If you erase it, they might beat you.”

But then—

A black figure appeared at the edge of Cecilia’s vision.

There was someone else in the room besides the women and Cecilia.