Towards the Winter Cabin of Serenity and Madness, Cinderella Runs - Chapter 82
He swallowed the urge to say ‘it’s a bribe’ and chose a more neutral phrase from the various unsettling comments drilled into her by the leader.
“It’s from my heart.”
“I don’t think I deserve something like this…”
Before she could finish, it was clear that Kyden’s intention was to give her the jewelry regardless of her answer.
Even though it seemed unlikely, there was a slim chance that if she gave a negative response, the jewelry might be used to sway her decision.
“Just take it. It’s nothing special.”
Kyden said nonchalantly as he sat back, his ears perked up as he continued massaging her legs.
Roel sighed deeply, setting the jewelry box aside. She steeled herself and began to speak with difficulty.
“Before I met you, I lived with my relatives. It was very hard. I was like a servant in that house, doing all the household chores… My uncle gambled away my father’s inheritance.”
“…I see.”
“Roniti hated me the most. When the household finances worsened, she started pushing for me to get married as soon as possible.”
“…”
“Eventually, I got permission to marry Hetter. He agreed to provide a dowry, and that night…”
Roel swallowed hard. Kyden’s expression grew more troubled as he listened.
“That night, Howson came to my room. He said I needed to know what other men were like… He put his hand under my skirt, and when I resisted, I hit him with a wooden doll. There was so much blood… a lot of blood…”
The horrifying scene of that night flashed before her eyes. Blood gushing from the head. A bed soaked in blood. Howson’s lifeless body. The cold creeping in through the window.
The nauseating scene and the smell of blood overwhelmed her. Roel trembled and gasped for air.
Kyden quickly pulled her into his arms. He soothed her back to calm her down.
“It’s okay. You don’t have to talk if it’s too hard…”
As Kyden’s presence and scent enveloped her, her anxiety began to ease. Howson had been killed and she had escaped the village. Now, Kyden was here to protect her.
Reassured, her breathing slowly returned to normal.
“I-I will tell you. I came here to tell you everything.”
Roel clung to Kyden, gripping his collar tightly, and struggled to release her pain.
‘I promised to tell everything. Kyden came all this way for me, and I can’t even confess this?’
Chastising herself for her weakness, she unearthed the hidden wounds.
“That part was an accident… Ah, he didn’t die. He could have been saved, but I didn’t. I thought he’d come back to assault me again if he lived… I pressed a pillow over his face until he stopped breathing.”
Roel closed her eyes tightly. He must be shocked. He must be surprised. Imagining his reaction, she swallowed hard.
“Yes, and?”
Kyden’s large hand stroked Roel’s head. Hearing his calm voice, Roel opened her eyes in confusion.
“Isn’t it horrifying?”
“They tortured you a lot. I heard from the villagers.”
On the day Kyden went to the village, he met Roel’s relatives, who were living almost like homeless people in a half-collapsed house due to a fire. They didn’t hide their hostility and anger towards Roel.
Kyden couldn’t fully trust their words, so he also asked with other villagers about Roel.
Some spoke of her as a very unlucky child, while others spoke of her as a demon who destroyed a family. But everyone agreed on how pitiable her situation had been. Despite the village’s indifference and the lack of familial support, it was clear Roel must have had a very difficult time.
So, Kyden decided to listen to Roel’s side of the story. He resolved to comfort her whenever she chose to reveal her painful past.
“Still… I killed someone.”
“Not a person.”
“What?”
“He was a beast in heat.”
Roel slumped, feeling emotionally drained. Tears flowed unknowingly down her face as she rubbed her nose against his chest.
‘He calls them monsters again…’
Roniti, who was trapped in a trap, was a monster. Howson, who tried to assault her, was a monster. Seeing Kyden’s calm face as he called them monsters, Roel felt as though her guilt was somehow lighter.
It must be that she could distance herself from her crime by thinking of them as monsters rather than people.
‘Does Kyden see them as monsters? Then what does that make me, someone who killed a person?’
Roel looked up at him.
“So what am I? Am I a monster who killed a person?”
Kyden gazed down at Roel with a voice heavy with emotion. Then he gently placed a kiss on her forehead.
“No. You are kind and lovely… Roel.”
“……”
“The person I love.”
His eyes were tinged with red, and Roel’s face mirrored the same emotion.
“So, would you consider starting over with me? If there’s something lacking, I’ll make it right…”
