Chapter 13:
My appetite completely vanished. I returned the key to its place in a disheveled state. This was insane. What on earth was the author who created this place thinking?
I collapsed onto the bed, completely limp.
“Why did Kidd leave all that lying around instead of cleaning it up?”
I was thinking about the experiment. There was no reason to display it so openly.
The experiment records were hung as if for decoration. Kidd couldn’t have missed them—he must have deliberately gathered and displayed them. I couldn’t fathom his intention.
Was it some twisted way to keep grudges alive, like chewing on bile or something?
I washed my hair alone in the deserted dining hall.
I hoped Seniel—or anyone—would arrive soon. Being alone was terrifying.
Suddenly, I recalled how in horror movies, people who can’t pull themselves together just stand around foolishly before being taken out in one fell swoop.
I had to snap out of it. I slapped my cheek hard.
“If you can’t get a grip, then at least lose consciousness on a stowaway ship! Survive first, then figure things out!”
A little later, Seniel arrived. I greeted him with a stiff laugh.
“You’re here?”
“Have you been waiting long? I’m sorry.”
“No, I just got here too. Sit down.”
Apologizing seemed like a habit for him.
I stared blankly at Seniel, just like I had at the experiment records. My gaze naturally drifted down to his well-formed fingers. So that’s how he…
“Bibi, you don’t look well. Are you sick?”
Me? His fingers probably hurt more than I did—they’d been severed, after all.
“…No, no. Sometimes it happens. Don’t worry. By the way, you call my name properly now. I like that.”
Seniel’s anxious and uneasy gaze landed on me. I waved it off with a stiff laugh, then instinctively rubbed my own fingers, suddenly unsure if they were properly intact.
When the meal arrived, I picked at it in a daze.
“He really is pitiful.”
Kidd was pitiful too, but he was also threatening me. I couldn’t feel sorry for him entirely. Seniel, though, seemed genuinely pitiable.
“Meet the heroine soon and be saved, poor thing.”
“Is there something on my face?”
I must have been staring at him too much. Seniel nervously checked his face while glancing at me.
“No, I was just looking because you’re handsome.”
“Eh?”
“Eh?”
I couldn’t remember what I had said. My mind was too foggy, so I just nodded as if to say, “That’s roughly what I meant.”
Seniel stared at me dumbfounded, then returned to his calm demeanor.
We barely ate, and since I didn’t speak, no words passed between us. Near the end of the meal, Seniel finally spoke.
“Is there anything I need to do today?”
“Oh, this.”
I took a flower from the chair beside me. Even in my exhausted state, I had prepared it.
I chose a different flower this time, just in case Kidd criticized me for giving the same one. I didn’t know the type; I just picked something from the garden.
“Just place it in the vase like yesterday.”
“Yes.”
Seniel received the flower with a solemn expression. Such a good boy. Really good.
I couldn’t eat much and rose from my seat. As yesterday, Seniel followed me quietly.
I stopped walking and turned to him, extending my hand. He looked at me, puzzled.
“Let’s shake hands.”
“…Yes?”
Seniel was cautious and wary, yet he obeyed. His large, strong hand held mine.
Holding his hand, I muttered unconsciously:
“You’ve lived diligently.”
Seniel looked at me, completely unable to comprehend my words. I shook my head lightly, as if to say it meant nothing, then gave our joined hands a gentle shake.
“Let’s continue living diligently from now on—both of us.”
I lightly patted Seniel’s shoulder and left. He was just as, if not more, pitiable than I was.
As I climbed the stairs, I briefly questioned whether encouraging him to live diligently, as if he were Kidd, was the right thing—but I didn’t retract it. By now, he seemed like a separate person entirely.
By nightfall, a chill settled in the room. I wanted to light a candle, but I didn’t dare, afraid of upsetting Kidd.
Wrapped tightly in my blanket like the first night, I shivered.
I remembered Kidd’s various murders, and the cruel acts others had done to him. Cold sweat ran down my back.
“He probably didn’t notice.”
I feared Kidd might have discovered I’d entered that room. He was perceptive and would notice anything amiss immediately. I regretted going altogether.
“Mom…”
I even wished Kidd would come quickly, threaten me, and leave. Just trembling here without knowing what to do was agonizing.
Time ticked away slowly.
“Huh… haha…”
Sunlight seeped through the slightly open curtains.
Kidd didn’t come. I spent the night trembling in fear, utterly exhausted.
Then came a knock at the door.
“Could it be… Kidd this early?”
I dismissed that thought immediately. Kidd never knocked politely. I put away the sexual shock device and told whoever it was to come in.
It was Seniel.
Despite his towering height, he approached with tears in his eyes. His handsome face suited the tears surprisingly well.
Oh, good boy. Seeing Seniel’s face, my tension melted away.
Yes, I was glad to see you. And yes, it was nice to see you in the morning.
Seniel was Kidd, and Kidd was Seniel, so there was no reason to be glad—but I was. Today, I had survived again.
Unlike the previous morning’s disheveled appearance, Seniel’s hair was neatly tied. Apparently, Kidd hadn’t appeared during the night.
Even if he knew that, Seniel had hurried here, tears streaming, and he looked pitiful.
I considered patting his shoulder but refrained. It wasn’t my role to comfort him.
If Seniel developed feelings for me, that would be a serious problem. Our current dynamic was exactly how it should be.
“Done crying? Let’s go. Time to go to work.”
“I’m sorry for showing my rudeness.”
Seniel murmured softly, lifting his bowed face.
He didn’t seem hurt at all by my cold words. In fact, he faintly smiled as if relieved.
I felt guilty pretending not to know his situation, but nothing would change.
“Tonight, too, right?”
“Yes, we’ll definitely have dinner together. Thank you, Bibi.”
There was no need to thank me.
I waved him off. Seniel left quietly, unlike when he arrived. I exhaled softly as I watched his retreating figure.
Staying up all night was fine, but trembling in fear all night was unbearable. I lay on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
“Tomorrow is the late Marquis’s memorial day…”
Seniel’s father, the late Marquis and high-ranking official, had chased after honor, coveted his son’s power, and subjected him to cruel experiments.
If someone had intervened, Seniel would have grown up a good boy without Kidd’s interference.
I pondered this absurdly before shaking off the thought.
It was a hypothetical that didn’t exist here—this was a novel world. If the author hadn’t set it up, none of this would exist.
I returned to realistic thinking.
“On the memorial day, Kidd will probably come out and wreak havoc.”
I was terrified. How frenzied would he be? If he wasn’t frenzied, that would be stranger. His father had conducted insane experiments—he wouldn’t stay calm.
“It’s strange Seniel is kind after all the experiments he endured.”
Now, the experiments had divided good and evil, making Seniel “good,” but why hadn’t he rebelled severely before? If he had such ability, couldn’t he have eliminated everyone and escaped? Ah, perhaps the mere thought of killing prevented him from using his power. But the priests had participated in the war…
Maybe restraints rendered his abilities useless.
Ah, I was thinking too far again. Whether Seniel is kind or not has nothing to do with me.
I forced my tired body to rise.
