Chapter 123
Viviana Laurent and Enoch Mare.
Their escape had nothing romantic about it.
At first, it felt like a journey, maybe even a little thrilling. But the longer it went on, the more they became nothing more than rootless wanderers, cast into a barren world with nowhere to return to.
Hunters tracking down the bounty on fugitives with Inma Blood were everywhere. They had to live in hiding, in constant fear.
Worse, they couldn’t let go of their luxurious noble lifestyle. Their escape funds dried up in no time.
They coveted Kido’s hidden fortune, but her precautions had been flawless. They couldn’t find a single coin.
She’d split her wealth across secret banks that refused to reveal ownership to anyone and anonymous accounts that left no trail.
Desperate for cash, the two struck a deal with Inma hunters, splitting the reward in exchange for selling out bloodline kin.
Grandis had been one of their victims.
Having lived as nobles all their lives, adapting to common life had been difficult.
Still, they did everything they could to avoid getting caught.
But in the end, Enoch and Viviana were captured right before boarding a ship to the Eastern Continent, cornered with nowhere else to run.
“I can’t believe I ended up in prison…”
Viviana’s lifeless eyes, trying to escape reality, turned to Kido.
Then, like someone clinging to a single thread of light in a pit of despair, a glimmer sparked in her crimson eyes.
“Enoch, look—Kido’s here.”
There was a smile in her voice as Enoch looked across the yard to where Kido stood alone in a dull green prison uniform.
Her unique features and rare hair color made her stand out immediately.
Enoch sneered.
“I thought she was dead, but it figures she’s still kicking. I didn’t expect to find you in this prison?”
Viviana caught sight of the “49” printed on Kido’s uniform and let out a soft snicker.
Ranked dead last in the prison hierarchy, it would’ve been a shame if she died before seeing this.
In a situation where everyone had fallen to their lowest, Kido, sunk deeper than anyone, made the perfect measuring stick for their own wounded egos.
“Enoch, compared to a life on the run, I think this place might actually be better. At least we’re together. And higher ranks get better treatment, don’t they?”
Enoch wore number 6. Viviana, number 10. She was sure she could climb to number 7 if she played Enoch right.
This place was no different from high society.
Naturally, the single-digit inmates would band together. And if they took control of the prison, life here could be far easier than it ever was outside.
A place where hierarchy and strength meant power over others. This was the perfect stage for someone like her, twisted by greed.
Just the thought of flaunting everything she’d stolen from Kido and crushing her like an insect filled her with thrill.
“Mhm. With Inma hunters swarming the outside, this place actually feels safer. We might even get a chance at release someday.”
Enoch met Kido’s crimson eyes across the yard and gave a slow nod.
There was anticipation in his eyes too.
Back then, he had only ever fulfilled his duty as Kido’s betrothed. He’d never once felt love or sincerity from her.
No matter how hard he tried to win her heart, not as a fiancé, but as a man, she would always draw a line, saying it was just a political arrangement.
Unlike the proud and domineering Kido, It was natural to fall for Viviana, who had been warm and affectionate.
She found joy in little things, showed interest in him, and built up his confidence with praise.
With her, he felt like someone important.
Most importantly, he could do all the things with her that he couldn’t with Kido.
Kido might have been emotionally detached and selfish, but she was also possessive. She hated having what was “hers” taken from her.
And if she were to see, with her own two eyes, the love that used to be hers given to someone else, it must have been unbearably painful.
“She should’ve treated me better while she had the chance.”
Enoch muttered quietly.
From the groveling fiancé who once tiptoed around his bride-to-be, to now, a high-ranked inmate with the upper hand.
Their positions had completely reversed.
No one in this prison would love a powerless, half-dead, lowest-rank inmate who hadn’t even awakened.
He was sure Kido was regretting letting him go.
He already felt the satisfaction of seeing it in her eyes.
Enoch raised his bound hands and held Viviana’s.
Then, seeing the slight pinch of Kido’s brow, he smirked.
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