Secret Love Affair between a Former Saint and a Dark Hero - Chapter 19
Iora, or rather Kim Jiyeon, walked along a familiar street. Where was this place? When she turned around, she realized she was at the crosswalk in front of the old boarding house where she had lived for several years after graduation. She saw the blinking lights of a traffic light.
Ah, right. It was just a dream after all. I chuckled in embarrassment. I can’t believe I’m dreaming about being a character in a novel! I need to tell Sol about this crazy dream right now. I fumbled in my pocket and found my relic of a cell phone. Pressing the familiar speed dial, the dial tone rang. However, there was no answer from the other end.
Sol always picked up the phone right away. Was she busy? I was about to cross the street when the light turned green.
Boom—
The sound rang in my ears. I yelped and grabbed my ear, and a voice sounded like it was tapping on the side of my ear with a drum. A voice echoed as though whispering into my ear.
「You have to read it till the end, no matter what! There’s a twist at the end.」
Sol? It was Sol’s voice.
「You have to read it till the end, no matter what. Don’t forget.」
Ah! I screamed as the ground crumbled below my feet. Sol! Sol! Where are you!?
「Don’t forget, Jiyeon.」
And soon, I was falling.
* * *
“Ah!”
“How can you be sleeping soundly with the trouble you’ve just caused?”
Iora sat up with a start, shivering all over as the cold water poured down on her face. She couldn’t recall what dream she had just had. What mattered now was this reality, where her brother was glaring at her with a cold, needle-like face as if ready to devour her.
Terrified, she shrank back. As she pulled away, her brother kicked the carriage door open and yanked painfully at her shoulder. Despite her sharp cry of pain, she was unceremoniously thrown to the ground. Her palm crunched and tore, smearing blood on the gravel.
“Oh, brother. Why are you… Ugh!”
“Look at this. What’s this? What on earth did you blabber about at the palace that brought this about!”
A torn envelope clung to her wet face. Trembling, she picked it up to find the broken wax seal of the Crown Prince. She could guess what letter lay within. Iora squeezed her eyes shut. It must have been the annulment letter. Ovid was cruelly efficient, not even enduring a single day before sending the missive.
“Oh, brother, I, I need to explain…”
“Ha! I told you not to call me that. I’ve never had a sister like you.”
“I, this is, I mean…”
“When on earth did you start behaving like this? Have you been this late before? There’s no reason for the Crown Prince to act like this suddenly, so the fault must lie with you.”
“…What?”
The disgust in his voice made her shiver as if she were standing on ice. She had no idea what her brother was talking about. It was an accident that she was late today, and Iora had never been late before. So, why now?
She stared at his twisted face in disbelief. He looked ferocious enough to pounce and strangle her immediately.
“Surely you didn’t just stand idle all that time, did you?”
“Oh, brother…?”
“Were you seeing someone elsey? Is that it?”
“What, that’s nonsense…!”
“Did the Crown Prince know about that?”
“Brother, please!”
The lace of the damp dress clung to her skin, making her cold and wet. But she felt too frozen to suggest going inside. Iora felt suffocated, aware of the servants discreetly watching them.
And then, she heard the sound of rough footsteps approaching in the distance.
“Iora! You idiot!”
With a tearful yelp, she took a step back and retreated.
Get some rest. Vigros’s voice, lazily laughing as he said that, echoed in her ears.
“Ahh!”
Her father’s figure rushed closer, his raised hand, followed by a dizzying agony that made her entire body sway. She screamed and collapsed, her mouth gushing red blood mixed with saliva. Disheveled strands of hair clouded her vision. Too shocked and in pain to even muster any strength, she didn’t think of getting up.
Her father yelled sternly. “Get up this instant!”
“Yes, Father.”
She truly didn’t understand. Even as the maids lifted her like a doll with their rough touch, Iora felt numb. What had she done so wrong? She had merely sat like a doll in front of the Crown Prince as per their demands. Was that one moment where she mustered the courage to be honest the problem?
“Father, I tried.” Iora numbly watched her blood spreading on the ground, her lips trembling. “But Ovid had already made up his mind to discard me from the start. No matter how hard I tried, it wouldn’t change. I’m not his saint. I’m not…”
She heard the crisp sound of a folding fan. Alongside graceful footsteps and the swish of a hem, a cold, composed voice pierced Iora’s ears. Even her last hope shattered into pieces.
“Why all the fuss in front of the mansion? Darling, I think we’d better take care of this quietly.”
There was only cold disdain, irritation, and a sigh. No one spared a sympathetic word or glance for the bleeding Iora. She deserved it, after all. She made them angry, she was ugly, she wasn’t even considered family.
“Tsk, it’s unbearable to look at. Restrain her immediately. Don’t give her a drop of water, and ensure she never steps outside the room!”
“Yes, my Lord!”
She dragged her feet, unable to stand properly. Vigros was right. There would be no tears. Though her eye sockets turned crimson, the only thing flowing was the blood gushing from her split lips. She stumbled under the maids’ painful touch. Even the starlight was too bright.
A sob, a laugh—something unidentifiable—erupted out of her. She remembered his blue eyes, sharp but kind. What would the man who had surprised her by rubbing her cheeks look like if he saw her like this now? What cunning words would he use this time?
‘This is my reality. This is my reality… right now.’
Thrown onto the cold floor, Iora stared helplessly at the heavy, closed door with empty eyes. A click. The gap disappeared. The light faded. Then, with a thud, complete darkness engulfed her.
