There is No Key to His Cage - Chapter 3.1
It had been a week already.
Being alone, Elena found herself thinking of a mother she never had.
All her mother had given her was this body.
She wondered if this was why everyone went on about their mothers.
Elena had bravely endured life as a vagrant without the shelter of her family.
She questioned why she was crying now.
Creak-
The repetitive sound of the old door grated on her ears.
At the end of her gaze, there was his face again.
He called out to her with the same tone, seemingly never tiring of it.
“Hello, Elena.”
“……”
She looked at him with eyes that said, “You’re here again?”
These days, she didn’t even respond to his words.
Elena had thought he’d starve her if she rebelled, but this man seemed to truly know what love was.
He not only visited every hour but also served lavish meals each time.
On top of that, he even washed her face with warm water by hand, treating her like royalty.
“Today, I visited His Majesty the Emperor. But he’s aging more each day. I think he doesn’t have much time left. He can’t even handle state affairs anymore.”
This was one of his recent routines.
Chattering about everything that happened during the day.
Thanks to this, she had to listen to him talk for an hour every day, to the point where her ears might bleed.
After a week of this, Elena felt like she was going crazy from the tedium.
“Talk about something else. This is boring.”
Humans are social animals, they say.
After not speaking for a week, her mouth felt stuffy, like she might go mad.
Perhaps because of this, her sealed lips automatically loosened.
At her words, his face lit up, and he started chattering again, telling other interesting stories.
“Ah, remember Isaac, the Knight Commander I mentioned before? He’s my childhood friend, and we had a big fight at today’s meeting. The reason was…”
“Boring.”
“Well, there was a trial for the Jeftana noble family, and the reason was that Duke William Jeftana tried to have his daughter Aria killed by destroying her carriage. So…”
“Tedious.”
“Ah, then something else…”
“Everything you say is boring!!!”
Finally, she screamed in frustration.
It was all predictable and uninteresting stories.
No, more than that, Elena wanted to get out of here.
“Elena, then…”
“Forget it. Just explain the real reason you brought me here.”
He sighed deeply a couple of times before speaking again.
“Elena, I’ve told you.”
“That you fell in love at first sight and brought me here? Don’t talk nonsense. I know everything you say is a lie. What are you really trying to do with me…!”
Elena screamed, shaking the chair.
No matter how hard she tried to escape from this man’s grasp, it was impossible.
“Elena, if you keep this up, I’ll have no choice but to tie you up.”
He sighed a couple of times, lowering his head as if frustrated.
Then, with a serious expression, he looked into her eyes and spoke.
“It might be difficult, but you need to understand.”
“Understand…?”
He was definitely insane.
Among all the people she had met so far, no, even more than the orphanage director where she had lived, he was crazy.
Wasn’t he treating people completely like animals?
“Yes, understand. The Grand Archbishop said that the basic virtues of a rational person are tolerance and understanding.”
“Are you joking with me right now…?”
What on earth was this crazy man saying?
Treating someone like an animal and then asking for understanding?
“Elena. So now…”
Understanding or whatever, she couldn’t bear it anymore.
It was more painful than being stuck on a bus for 24 hours.
Even looking at the soup he was spoon-feeding her was now unbearable.
“Stop…”
“Elena.”
“Stop! I said stop!!!”
A bestial wail filled the silent room.
The echoing sound spread out through the window.
The tendons around her neck were standing out.
Elena spoke to him, shaking her head as if about to cry.
“Please… please stop…”
Her eyes, full of resentment towards him, trembled endlessly. She had reached a point where she could no longer endure.
She couldn’t live any longer in this terrible hell.
“I’m sick of it. The food you give me…”
Elena’s voice trembled incessantly as she lowered her head.
“Your chattering voice.”
Tears flowing down her cheeks wet her knees.
The falling teardrops made her look even more pitiful.
“Now everything is too horrible…”
Elena closed her eyes and lowered her head.
A metallic voice barely escaped her throat.
“Raise your head.”
He looked at her intently, blinking his long eyelashes.
His beautifully curved lips formed a smile.
“Good girl.”
Now she was truly sick of it all.
She thought that perhaps being sold as a slave would have been happier.
The rope was tightening around her wrists, making them sore, and her legs, withered from lack of movement, were a disgusting sight.
“Please… please stop.”
Her eyes were dim like those of a dried pollack.
Her body was emaciated as if she wouldn’t live much longer.
“Save me… please, please…. I’ll do anything you say… so please.”
A transparent wave rolled in her blue eyes.
Large teardrops formed in her moist eyes.
“Ha…!”
Suddenly, an unpleasant laugh pierced her ears.
He was covering his mouth with his hand, laughing.
Bewildered, she asked with wide eyes.
“Why… are you laughing?”
“You should have begged like this from the beginning, Elena.”
At that moment, he spoke with a cold expression.
She felt dazed as if hit on the head with a hammer.
She had been had.
From the start, this man had seen through everything.
What she would say, how she would react.
Everything.
She had been tricked by a black-hearted fox.
But there was nothing she could do.
Instinct had overtaken reason.
“Save… me…”
“Yes, that’s how you should speak from now on, Elena.”
Thud-
The old, rotted rope fell from her wrists.
Along with the sound of the falling rope, tears poured onto the stone floor.
“Hic… Hic…”
“It’s okay, it’s okay.”
He repeated that it was okay while hugging her trembling body.
How long had it been since she felt such a warm embrace?
Her sore wrists fell limply, touching his hands.
He then lifted her fragile body.
“Let’s go, home.”
