At the moment I saw Master Naoya, the freedom and joy I had gained during the time I escaped from the Zenyuan family completely left me.

The invisible and untouchable barriers of the Zenyuan family, the countless ways Master Naoya humiliated me, the last glimpse of Nakano Yoko’s silhouette before her death—all these humiliating memories, numb to the point where even feelings of indignation and sorrow couldn’t arise, surged from every corner of my body.

I couldn’t remember how I was brought back to the Zenyuan’s family, or even what Master Naoya said to me in the car. My empty mind, dull eyes, could only recall the brief scene before getting off the car, where Naoki-sama’s eyes sparkled with delight as he said, “Aichina, it’s been a while since you’ve seen Sato. You miss him, don’t you?”

He grabbed my arm and leisurely led me along.

The route became more and more familiar.

Even from a distance of ten meters, we could hear the muffled screams.

My body began to tremble, feeling weak. Master Naoya glanced at me with a curved smile, “What’s wrong, Aichina? Are you afraid to meet Sato?”

His attitude towards me was gentler than ever before.

His voice was cheerful, not like before when he always wore a cold expression and scorned people, throwing out mocking words at every turn. Although the force with which he grabbed my arm couldn’t be shaken off, it wasn’t enough to cause me pain.

But I felt more fear than ever before.

I shook my head desperately, choked up, “N-No, please.”

“What’s wrong?” Master Naoya continued to lead me forward, his smile unyielding. “Sato, that adulterer, has almost been devoured by the curse spirits, yet he still won’t reveal where you’re hiding. And you’re too afraid to even see him, Aichina. Isn’t your heart too cold?”

We were getting closer, and I couldn’t break free from Master Naoya’s grasp.

The screams grew louder.

The door of the curse spirit room was opened by several members of the Bing organization, and Master Naoya turned to pinch my cheeks, forcing me to look inside.

The curse spirit room, pitch black without a single light or window, emanated a chilling coldness that I could feel even without seeing the curse.

Master Sato, covered in blood, lay on the ground. In the blink of an eye, a piece of flesh was torn from his shoulder, exposing stark white bones. His heart-wrenching screams pierced through, and at that moment, he saw me. His bloodshot eyes widened, and I saw him move his lips, tremblingly uttering my name, each syllable causing blood to seep from his mouth.

I felt cold, chillingly cold, unable to control my body as I instinctively tried to retreat, only to be pulled back by Naoki-sama.

My neck was seized.

Master Naoya’s smile lingered on his lips, the knife in his eyes, “After all, we’ve known each other for so many years. Torturing you like I’m torturing him makes me feel a bit guilty. How about this? In the moment Master Sato loses consciousness, I’ll strangle you to death so you and this pair of adulterers can die together. Ah, who knew I was such a kind-hearted person?”

Seeing me treated in such a way, Master Sato struggled to climb up from the ground in the cursed chamber, only to be swiftly pressed back down by an invisible force. Within seconds, he attempted to rise again, swaying unsteadily and on the verge of collapse.

He leaned against the wall, barely maintaining his balance, his trembling hands with three broken fingers shaking as they crossed. Then, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Without a word from Master Naoya, no one dared to intervene.

Though I couldn’t see, I could feel a strong wind blowing. The two BING members responsible for opening and closing the door slammed into the wall behind them, falling to the ground and twitching before going still.

At the same time, my neck was released.

But it wasn’t because of Master Sato’s magic; rather, Naoya-sama released it voluntarily, as he remained calm throughout.

In the chaos, Master Sato grabbed my hand tightly and led me away in a stumbling escape.

As we were about to flee the cursed chamber, Master Sato suddenly pushed me away.

I fell to the ground, and as I turned my head, hot blood splattered onto my cheek. Master Sato’s left leg had been blasted off, his flesh torn apart, and he lay prostrate on the ground, unable to crawl up no matter how hard he tried.

“M-Master Sato.”

My mind was numb, completely devoid of the ability to think. I crawled towards him bit by bit, feeling helpless and not daring to touch his body, afraid of causing him more pain. I couldn’t discern my feelings at this moment; facing the scene before me, I didn’t even feel much sadness. But my tears kept flowing, pouring into my mouth, dripping from my chin onto Sato-sama’s face.

His trembling hand reached up.

I quickly understood his intention and clasped his hand, placing it on my cheek.

Master Sato’s eyes, once like a clear, gentle lake, had now turned murky, veiled with a heavy layer of death. He trembled to open his mouth, but a clot of blood blocked his throat. Every movement of his vocal cords produced not words but a hoarse, raspy sound.

I suppressed my cries, lowering my head as much as possible to make sure I could hear him clearly.

“D-Don’t… cry. Shedding tears for someone like me isn’t worth it. I’m… not a good person. That time before, I was planning to deceive you.” After saying this, he seemed to feel somewhat relieved, and a tender smile from the past appeared on his face again. He wiped my tears, but more blood stained my face. “But… praising… you’re cute, giving you rice cakes, saying I like you, all of these…”

“Bang.”

Master Sato’s head turned into a mass of pulp.

I stood there in a daze.

“Ah,” someone squatted beside me. “Is this how he died?”

I still held onto Master Sato’s hand, pressing it against my cheek, staring at what remained of his head, just a lump of mud. Almost unresponsive, I murmured repeatedly, “M-Master Sato.”

My chin was pinched and forced to the left, diverting my gaze from Master Sato. A slight pain came from my cheek, as if being tapped several times. Naoya-sama’s face bore a malicious, gloating smile as he looked at me like he was having a great time. “Aichina, Aichina, I really can’t figure out what’s going on in your mind.”

I remained numb, just blankly, repeatedly murmuring, “Master Sato.”

Master Naoya’s smile widened. “Have you been scared silly already?”

“Masyer Sato.”

The smile on Masyer Naoya’s face gradually faded, turning cold. He forcefully pulled Sato-sama’s hand from mine and slammed it onto the ground.

My gaze followed that hand.

But my cheek was grabbed even harder, and Naoya-sama’s eyes glared poisonously at me. “What are you crying for? There’s nothing worth crying about. You only cry when I bully you.”

My tears fell even more fiercely, like beans, each dropping onto the back of my hand, painful, so painful, like my heart was pierced, and blood oozed out in tears.

But I wasn’t crying because Masyer Naoya pinched my cheek too hard, nor because I was afraid of him.

I just mechanically repeated that name, recalling every moment I spent with Master Sato during our days on the run.

Even though he was injured, he always said it was nothing serious, not worth buying medicine for. He saved the money and spent it on buying clothes for me.

When he heard I had only eaten beef rolls once, he borrowed the inn’s kitchen and made them for me many times.

He would give me the bed and curl up on a small chair himself.

Even though we were evading pursuit, when I casually mentioned missing the takoyaki we had that night, he risked going to crowded places to buy them for me.

Every time we hitched a ride on a truck and bought supplies, the first thing he always bought was rice cakes.

I gradually sobbed aloud.

This was the first time I had cried out loud after enduring so much suffering.

From behind clenched teeth, Master Naoya let out a cold laugh. He grabbed me and forcefully pulled me away from Master Sato’s corpse.

He moved quickly.

He pushed me down in the corridor, then grabbed my chin from above, forcing my mouth open. His fingers jabbed into my mouth, digging repeatedly.

“Let me check if you’ve been damaged by him. If your body has been touched, then you might die as well.”

Then he began tearing at my clothes.

I recalled the memory of being trapped in the alley by Master Sato and the others that night, and I began to struggle forcefully, trying to snatch back my clothes and evade Master Naoya’s hands. But he exerted even more force to control me, then pressed down, biting my lips. It was so painful, so painful, his wet, hot tongue invaded without consent, licking indiscriminately.

“Smack.”

The air was quiet.

I lay dumbfounded on the corridor floor, staring incredulously at the handprint on Master Naoya’s face.

I shuddered and shifted my gaze to my trembling hands.

I quickly hid my hands.

Master Naoya’s face was terrifyingly dark, but he still managed to force a smile.

Like he wanted to devour someone.

Chills rose from the soles of my feet to the top of my head. I tried to turn and run, but I couldn’t stand up. I crawled forward a few steps, and then my ankle was grabbed.

Master Naoya seized me and dragged me back into the cursed chamber, pushing me inside.

I fell heavily to the ground.

On the high steps, where the sunlight was strong, I couldn’t see clearly, but I could hear his icy voice.

“Release ten Level Four entities.”

This was my second time in the cursed chamber.

The oppressive, murky air, the curses that crawled up my body from time to time—no matter how I tried to escape, I couldn’t dodge them. Wherever I hid, those curses would crawl toward me.

Even though I knew Level Four entities wouldn’t cause any substantial harm to humans, I was still terrified to the point of collapse. Memories of Master Sato being devoured by the entities, covered in blood and exposing bones, kept replaying in my mind.

I didn’t know how much time had passed because there were no windows in the cursed chamber, only the exit, the stone door, tightly shut, keeping the sunlight outside.

I was tormented until my hands left countless bloodstains on the ground.

Until I had no strength left to struggle, lying weakly on the ground, letting those curses climb up my body, pressing on my shoulders, touching my cheeks stickily.

I stared into the pitch-black air, recalling a distant past.

Behind the bushes, the satisfaction of thrusting a stone into Naoya-sama’s eyes;

The apricot blossoms were discarded, and when Master Naoya said he would take me to find them, but witnessed the lord and the mistress coupling, despite his curses, his eyes still couldn’t conceal the hatred and betrayal;

And the days when I escaped Zenyuan with Master Sato.

Why did I have to endure so much misery, yet the only thing that brought me joy when I remembered was just that tiny bit?

Why?

Just because I’m a woman without magic?

But outside Zenyuan, there were many ordinary women without magic. Why was I the one who had to go through all this?

“Aichina, you have to try hard to stay alive. However you can manage it, as long as you can survive, it’s all right. No one will blame you.” My brain, a mass of pulp, was gradually filled with the last words my mother said before she died.

“Wu.”

I finally let out a sob, even though it was brief and faint, it was enough to echo in the empty and desolate cursed chamber.

Master Naoya deliberately waited for seven days before deigning to visit the cursed chamber.

Because he remembered the last time at school when she went hungry for ten days, she gave up all her dignity on the seventh day.

The stone door of the cursed chamber was opened, and in his sight, that woman lay motionless on the ground, almost covered by ten Level Four entities.

He frowned and banished all the entities.

He waited at the door for a while, but the woman never crawled over to beg for mercy, to plead for even a shred of compassion. He walked over impatiently, kicked her shoulder, and spoke harshly, “Get up.”

She showed no response.

But he could see her chest rising and falling, although very weakly, she wasn’t dead.

Master Naoya kicked her shoulder again with controlled force, growing impatient as he muttered to himself, “I told you to get up, can’t you hear?”

After a while, she weakly grabbed a corner of his hakama.

Master Naoya’s expression softened slightly, though still cold. He squatted down, tugged at the shabby clothes she wore, probably bought by Master Sato, and sneered disdainfully, “You can only attract this kind of trashy man, you must have really fallen for him. Did he force you to leave at the beginning? If everything is explained clearly, I can overlook the fact that you were deceived by that scoundrel.”

Suddenly, something soft pressed against him, silencing the rest of his words.

“Master Naoya,” her voice was weak, so frail that it could break with just a pinch, her body so thin that there was hardly any flesh to grab.

Master Naoya froze, his breathing suddenly difficult to control.

“That night, when Master Sato and the other branch heirs tried to bully me while you were away, it was Master Sato who saved me,” her eyes moistened, her nose reddened, her face, which had little color to begin with, now even paler. The world grew quiet as if only the rapid beating of his heart and her weak breath remained. She choked, “He said he would take me to find you. Master Naoya, Master Sato gave me so many beautiful clothes, let me eat so many delicious snacks, I never thought of leaving you. In Zenyuan, the only person I could rely on, from start to finish, was you, Master Naoya.”

Master Naoya struggled to regain a steady breath, sneering, “Hah, you’re really good at saying flattering words, aren’t you? Well, maybe I should let you starve for a while longer before you start behaving, right?”

Her fragile body trembled, unable to stop herself from burrowing into his embrace, tears falling one by one, wetting his collar.

So weak, so small, so pitiful.

Like a pet dog that had been stolen by a dog trader for over a month, dirty and emaciated, finally escaping and seeking comfort in his arms.

In the end, unable to resist, he stiffly raised his hands and hugged her, exhaling softly, saying,

“I knew it, how could you willingly wear the clothes I bought you so much, how could you possibly be willing to wear clothes that only beggars wear? You must have been deceived. I have to say, your brain is really stupid, you can’t leave me at all, otherwise you’ll easily be fooled and die miserably.”