The Cat Who Weeps in the Dark - Chapter 83

“What?! Deluding ourselves?! Damn, that mouth of yours really knows no bounds!”

“Enough. A beast that won’t listen needs the whip. No use wasting our breath—let’s show her with skill!”

Katie was speechless. These were the same men who’d collapse first in a real test of skill, yet here they were, preaching about it.

Perhaps they mistook her stunned disbelief for fear. Grinning triumphantly, they brandished their weapons.

“Look at that terrified face! Told you this was the way.”

“Fine. Come at me one at a time.”

Why did things always go exactly as expected? The moment she’d been summoned here, she’d braced for this.

Katie rolled her shoulders, loosening up. The knights hesitated at her unexpectedly aggressive stance.

“I said come. What’s stopping you? Weren’t you going to show me your skill?”

The taunt made them gnash their teeth. The oldest-looking one charged, wooden club raised high.

“You arrogant b***h! The only thing you’re good at is seducing men!”

“Misunderstanding. I can do this, too.”

With a bored expression, Katie threw a punch. Her fist shattered the club mid-swing and plowed straight into the man’s face.

“Ghk—”

The knights behind him gulped. In their haste to tear her down, they’d forgotten the rumors—that her skill far surpassed her “mid-rank” title.

‘Did we pick a fight we can’t win?’

They exchanged glances, all thinking the same thing, ‘One-on-one, we lose. Rush her together.’

“Charge! Show her what a real knight is!”

They stampeded toward her.

But in the end, it wasn’t them who demonstrated what a real knight was—it was Katie.

Thud. One punch sent three men crashing to the ground.

Crack. A single kick snapped an iron pipe in half.

“Agh!”

“What the hell—she’s a damn monster!”

The area in front of the warehouse descended into chaos. It wasn’t just a scuffle—it was pure carnage.

Katie moved like a storm unleashed. She’d expected rumors, and she’d resolved to endure them—but that didn’t mean she could calmly weather outright persecution. There was a limit to patience, and she’d reached hers. The anger she’d bottled up for so long finally erupted.

“Why target someone who’s done nothing to you? What have I ever done to deserve this?!”

For them, it might’ve only been a few days of gossip. But for her? Three years. Three years of enduring Damian’s mockery, the knights’ sneers, even Arnin’s attempted assault.

And now, her mind was already in turmoil. The spy in the Eastern Palace had been exposed—though she told herself she’d left no traces, the fear still gnawed at her, stealing sleep.

Worse, she’d made that bizarre deal. She’d given her purity to the enemy. Pretending it didn’t matter was one thing, but how could it not?

Then came Wayne’s mission, ‘Kill The First Prince.’ The very man she’d surrendered herself to.

She should have welcomed the order. But instead, she found herself unsettled by it.

That was the real problem. Even now, the young Helion haunted her dreams—a child weeping bloody tears, demanding, “Why?” if she let him die.

Just as Helion hadn’t forgotten the person who once saved him, Katie couldn’t forget the boy from that day.

Even if she resented him, he was still a life she had protected. Taking that same life with her own hands… it wasn’t so simple.

The peace delegation would arrive soon. People’s faces brightened with hope for an end to the war.

The goal she’d longed for was within reach. She should be pushing forward with all her strength—yet now that the finish line was in sight, her legs felt heavier.

Wouldn’t it be enough by now? Wouldn’t the war end even without me here?

She wanted to abandon it all—to return home. Not just to watch the delegation leave from afar, but to go with them, back to the Kingdom where her family waited.

Then—a sharp whistle blast cut through the air from somewhere in the distance.