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Chapter 05
Meydillion, lying in bed, let out small, pained whimpers.
In the cramped, suffocating darkness where he could barely make out anything around him, someone sneered at him.
‘I hear the young lady’s been favoring you lately. Go steal something valuable from her.’
After Meydillion began accompanying Winter, his father had started beating him in ways that left few visible marks while threatening him all the while.
His main demand was always the same.
Sneak into Winter’s room and steal gold ornaments or jewels.
But Meydillion never did it.
As a result, his father claimed he had become rebellious and beat him every night.
“You ungrateful brat! You’re living in luxury while your own father starves, and you don’t even care!”
His father had never once gone hungry.
If there truly had been nothing to eat, he was the kind of man who would have forced Meydillion to beg in the streets just to fill his own stomach.
When Winter had once asked if there was anything he wanted, perhaps things would never have become this terrible if he had simply answered honestly.
But he didn’t want to.
By now, he knew there was no point in begging for his father’s affection this way.
—
“Mey, if you’re hurting, then say you’re hurting.”
—
His father always claimed every beating was for Meydillion’s own good.
But this wasn’t affection.
Affection was something that smelled like soft soap, looked like golden fields glowing beneath the evening sun, and sounded like a gentle voice whispering until he fell asleep.
Winter had taught all of that to powerless, fragile Meydillion.
In truth, Meydillion had already known that Winter was infamous as the disgrace of the Duke’s household.
That was why he had deliberately acted pitiful at first, pretending to need her help and speaking kindly to her a few times.
But as time passed, he began to wonder what the point of any of it was.
Even if Winter’s kindness was nothing more than a passing amusement…
Even if she was only pretending to care…
That warmth was something Meydillion desperately longed for.
So, after curling into himself for so long, he finally stammered,
“I… it hurts.”
“What?”
“It hurts, Father. It hurts so much I think I’m going to di—”
“How dare you talk back to me!”
But his young lady had been wrong about one thing.
Telling the truth about his pain didn’t make the kicks stop.
If anything, even greater suffering would be waiting for him tomorrow.
After every beating came even more horrifying threats.
“If you still don’t bring something back today, I’ll make your young lady disappear without leaving a trace.”
Meydillion was fine with getting hurt.
Pain only lasted for a while.
Tomorrow he would be able to smile again when he saw her warm, gentle smile.
But whenever his father mentioned Winter…
He simply couldn’t endure it.
“I hear your young lady won’t live much longer anyway.”
Grinning wickedly, his father mocked him.
Meydillion begged.
Not his young lady.
Please, not her.
Winter, who knew nothing, always asked if he needed anything and worried that she wasn’t taking good enough care of him.
Thinking of that warm sense of safety, Meydillion burst into tears.
Looking down at him silently, his father asked,
“How many kicks do you think that weak little body of hers could survive?”
“…Hah!”
At last, Meydillion’s eyes flew open.
He sat upright, gasping for breath, his forehead soaked with cold sweat.
“So you’re finally awake.”
Instead of Winter, it was Nayla who had been watching over him.
After groaning in his sleep as though trapped in a nightmare, Meydillion had finally awakened and immediately began frantically looking around.
“M-My lady?”
“Outside.”
At Nayla’s answer, Meydillion froze.
A terrible feeling washed over him.
“Outside… where?”
Without much thought, Nayla answered,
“She went to meet your father.”
The color drained from Meydillion’s face in an instant.
He bolted out of the room.
Just like in his nightmare, he couldn’t shake the fear that Winter might be in danger.
Watching him rush away in panic, Nayla tilted her head.
“That’s strange. After getting beaten that badly, is he still worried about that man?”
She never even imagined that the one Meydillion was worried about was actually Winter.
Meanwhile, Meydillion ran as fast as he could.
Without even knowing where Winter was, he searched every corner of the Duke’s enormous estate.
“No… please…”
His desperate prayer escaped his lips like a sob.
Terrible images kept flashing through his mind.
Her beautiful black hair, dark as the night sky, stained with dirt.
Her kind golden eyes twisted in pain.
Fragile and delicate like a tiny kitten, Winter might never stand again after just one brutal kick from his father.
What if…
Just as his father had taken everything from him…
He took Winter away as well?
Meydillion prayed with all his heart that such a tragedy would never happen.
At last, he reached the training grounds.
“Huff… huff…”
Panting heavily, Meydillion desperately searched for Winter.
Torchlight flickered, twisting the shadows.
He could hear the murmur of many voices.
His mind filled only with worry for Winter, he forced his trembling legs to keep moving.
Finally, he found her.
“How dare you lay a hand on my Mey. I hope you’re prepared to give up at least one wrist.”
His gentle young lady had forced his father to his knees and was smiling leisurely like a fierce leopard.
“…H-Huh?”
Meanwhile, Taig stared blankly at Winter.
“…Excuse me?”
“I said he didn’t steal anything.”
Winter repeated herself clearly before lowering her head.
The blazing torchlight reflected in the eyes glaring down at him.
“But you seemed convinced Mey stole something.”
“I-I didn’t mean… that…”
“And you naturally assumed he’d say you were the one who ordered him.”
“A-As I said before, that boy lies every time he opens his mouth, and he’s got sticky fingers, s-so without thinking…”
“Enough.”
Winter cut him off.
“That’s enough of your self-introduction.”
His rushed excuses were pathetic.
There was no point listening any further.
She already knew he’d only continue spewing nonsense.
“Why did you hit him?”
At her question, Taig immediately lifted his head and shouted as if he’d been waiting for the opportunity.
“H-He deserved it! He can’t even do the simplest thing he’s told, and the way he looks at adults is completely disrespectful!”
At first he was merely blurting out whatever came to mind.
But the more he spoke, the more convinced he became.
Because of that miserable brat…
How had he ended up in this situation?
“It’s a father’s right to discipline his child. That’s my authority. Even if you’re the young lady…”
“Shut up.”
Her patience had finally run out.
Smiling coldly, Winter whispered,
“How dare you lay a hand on my Mey. I hope you’re prepared to give up at least one wrist.”
Rustle.
As if on cue, the main character appeared.
His face was deathly pale, both hands trembling violently, yet Meydillion still walked faithfully toward her.
“M-My lady?”
“Come here, Mey.”
Winter held out her hand.
Like a gentle lamb, Meydillion walked straight to her.
It was as though he couldn’t even see his own father kneeling before them.
“Why’d you come out instead of sleeping a little longer?”
“I… I was worried…”
Winter smiled happily.
“So you were worried about me?”
Blushing bright red, Meydillion nodded.
As she gently stroked his head, Winter deliberately pointed at Taig.
“A good child deserves a reward.”
“Then… shall I kill him?”
“…What?”
Meydillion’s eyes widened in shock.
As if he’d been waiting, Eustace drew his sword.
Only when the cold blade touched his neck did all the color drain from Taig’s face.
“P-Please spare me! Please spare me, my lady!”
Winter’s expression didn’t change in the slightest.
Realizing she wouldn’t listen to him, Taig immediately changed who he begged.
“M-Mey! Tell the young lady! Hurry! Have you forgotten everything I’ve done raising you?!”
His desperate cries echoed throughout the silent training grounds.
Looking down at him as though listening to a barking dog, Winter asked Meydillion,
“What do you want to do?”
With the face of an angel, she softly whispered,
“If that’s what you want, I can erase him so completely it’ll be as though he never existed.”
Meydillion quietly looked down at his pleading father with clear, innocent eyes.
After a long silence…
His gentle face slowly shook from side to side.
“N-No.”
Watching him shake his head, Winter smiled as though she’d expected nothing less.
“You’re far too kind.”
It was a rather strange thing to say to the future mastermind who would one day dominate the underworld.
But to Winter…
Meydillion was still the beloved character she had adored.
In the original story, Meydillion’s first murder had been the stable keeper.
But that had been a fatal mistake.
Later, after learning the secret of his birth, Meydillion needed someone who could testify that he was the hidden prince.
Because the stable keeper had died, the Regent Emperor and the conspirators constantly questioned the legitimacy of his claim.
Eventually, an enraged Meydillion slaughtered them all, earning himself an even more infamous reputation.
But this time was different.
Because Winter was by his side.
She couldn’t just get rid of such an important mouthpiece.
Still smiling brightly, Winter turned back to Taig.
“You get to keep your life thanks to Mey.”
“Th-Thank you! Thank you so much! T-Then I’ll just—”
After bowing until his forehead nearly touched the ground, Taig cautiously started getting to his feet.
Noticing that he was clearly trying to slip away, Winter gestured to the knights.
The knights immediately seized his shoulders again and forced him back down.
Taig looked up in confusion.
Winter smiled.
“Who said you could leave?”
“B-But… you said you’d spare me…”
“I will.”
“I’ll let you keep your life.”
It was an ominous statement.
It sounded as though only his life would remain intact.
Nothing else.
Then Winter innocently asked,
“If your hands and feet stay perfectly fine… won’t you just go after our Mey again?”
Quick-witted enough to grasp her meaning, Taig immediately threw himself flat on the ground.
“M-My lady… my lady, please…”
Even now, Taig begged only Winter.
He never once apologized to Meydillion.
There was no reason to show mercy to someone who wasn’t genuinely remorseful.
“Cut off one hand and one foot.”
“Throw him out afterward.”
At the final sentence, all the blood drained from Taig’s face.
Shing.
Eustace drew his sword once more.
“M-My lady! My lady, no! H-How am I supposed to live after that? Please, have mercy! Mercy, my lady!”
Even as the stable keeper screamed in desperation, Winter didn’t so much as blink.
She simply placed a hand on Meydillion’s shoulder.
“Let’s go.”
“…Yes.”
Meydillion didn’t seem to care in the slightest what became of his father.
His eyes remained fixed entirely on Winter.
Somehow…
They seemed to sparkle even more brightly than before.
“AAAHHHHH!”
The moment the two of them turned away, a horrifying scream rang out behind them.
