In the Nest of the Fallen Serpent - Chapter 6

Schedule: Thurs and Sun

Chapter 6

“Aagh…!”

“You impudent wench!” The Count yanked her back with a force that felt like it would rip her scalp off, then slapped her hard across the face.

Crack! A sharp pain resonated through her skull. Thrown to the floor, Hilde couldn’t even scream. Her head rang as if her eardrums had burst.

“I complimented you, and you dare defy me?” The Count climbed on top of the stunned Hilde and seized her throat. “Gah! Ack!”

“Do you know who kept your lowly body safe in that orphanage teeming with panting mongrels?” Hilde struggled, her face flushed, eyes bulging. But his grip didn’t loosen. “I know exactly how to handle girls like you. Oh, I know very well.”

Her strength ebbed away, her mind fading. The Count’s l*stful face contorted with p*rverse desire as he watched her body go limp.

“I was going to teach you slowly, one by one, but… Urk!”

Suddenly, the Count’s eyes widened as he cried out. Something warm and wet splattered Hilde’s cheek.

“Guh… ack…” The pressure on her throat vanished, but Hilde couldn’t move. She couldn’t even twitch a finger. The sharp blade of a sword, protruding from the Count’s throat, was inches from her face.

The blade slid out, a geyser of blood erupting. Hot blood showered Hilde’s face. As the corpse toppled over like a log, she trembled.

“Ugh…!” The stench of blood made her gag.

“Oh dear.” An indifferent voice cut through the air. “There was another one.” He spoke as if he’d just noticed her, which was impossible.

“My apologies for interrupting your… fun.” This, too, was a lie. He couldn’t not have known. The chilling touch of a blade against her throat confirmed it.

“P-Please, spare me.” A plea escaped her lips before she could think. Unable to open her eyes properly because of the blood, Hilde begged the faceless stranger. “I-I just started here today. I didn’t know… I didn’t know this would happen. Please, please, I beg you, spare me.”

She couldn’t explain that she’d been tricked by the promise of a job, that she hadn’t wanted any of this. The shock made it hard to even think straight. Trembling under the suffocating weight of impending death, Hilde looked up at the man’s golden eyes.

She had to live. She wanted to live. As a child, she’d naively dreamt of happiness, imagined escaping her harsh life. She’d believed it was possible. Then, after losing Sasha…

“Sister, you have to live for me too. Live happily, for a long, long time…”

She couldn’t die meaninglessly. She had to survive and find joy in life. For her sister, who had wished for her happiness until her last breath. That fierce sense of duty and obsession had kept Hilde going until now.

“Please… spare…” Her words trailed off, and Hilde’s eyes closed. Her body slumped forward like a marionette with its strings cut. The intruder tilted his head slightly.

‘Fainted?’ It wasn’t from blood loss. The woman’s pale throat had only a shallow cut. Crimson beads of blood welled up from the thin, line-like wound.

‘A clean, bright red.’ Benedict knelt down on one knee. His finger moved towards the woman’s nose, then to the pulse point on her neck. A distinct, fluttering beat.

‘Her eyes were pink. She looked like a rabbit, and just as timid.’

He lightly brushed his thumb against the bead of blood forming on her neck and brought it to his lips. An uncharacteristically impulsive act. His red tongue flicked out, savoring the taste, and one eyebrow arched slightly.