Helen’s tray trembled relentlessly from side to side. As a result, the glass on the tray and the plate containing cookies clattered. However, despite the unstable shaking of the tray, Helen was unable to do anything.

In front of Helen, was standing the owner of this castle who was watching the inside of the room with a narrow gap of the door, whose mere presence choked people with fear even though she could only see his back.

‘What the hell is this…….’

Helen glanced at Ezekiel’s unmoved back and barely held her lips tightly at the horrors of taking over her whole body. She was trembling from arms to her body, but she was scared to even make a sound of breathing. If even a handful of momentum from the owner’s body is directed at her…… She couldn’t stand it at all.

Fortunately, Ezekiel seemed to move away from the door soon after, and turned around. Helen didn’t have confident to see her owner’s face, so she lowered her head deeply and raised her head only after the sound of his footsteps disappeared.

Helen, who swallowed her saliva, looked at the door for a long time with a worried expression. Then, she shook her head as if shaking off her anxiety. And knocked on the door for the Madam and Young Master inside who were waiting for the snack.

Knock, knock.

The door opened and two people who were tightly attached to each other looked at her. Helen gently lifted the tray at the sight of them together which warmed her heart just by looking at.

“I brought snacks. So have a break and eat.”

*****

“Ah……”

The snowflake had a small crack. At the same time, the small body, which was struggling with endless pain, wriggled as if it felt something and stopped moving.

The broken joint found its place and the broken nail grew back. The blood that had soaked the whole floor was sucked through the black scales, but the room was enveloped in silence when even the last drop of blood returned to its original place.

‘It’ took a long breath and rolled its four pupils in all directions.

Fuck.

A black bug passing by without knowing anything was penetrated with ‘Its’ fingertips around its torso. A bug the size of a man’s finger with a full belly struggled with six legs in agony. Even the wings that allowed them to run away from predators and the solid shell were all useless now.

Black things came out of its long, black fingernails. The black liquid, which was procrastinating as if it were moving alive, entered the bug’s body as if being swallowed. It slipped through both eyes, and was sucked in between them. Soon after, the bug stopped all resistance and only moved one leg, when a smoky voice filled the room.

[Oh, Ezekiel……, Ugh. I’m the child of Medea. My Father. We’re brothers.]

It was still a voice struggling with pain as if ‘It’ were still under excruciating pain, but beyond that, indisputable joy was heard in the words. ‘It’ held out its long red tongue, raised the corners of its mouth to its ears, and slowly removed the fingernail that penetrated the bug.

Starting with the battered body, the bug’s broken body, broken wings, and broken back were regenerated again. The bug grew out six legs, flashing its gold-colored eyes unlike before. Then it made a weird noise and began to hit the floor quickly.

The black and disgusting creature skimmed through the corners of the wall a few times and dug through the cracks in the wall. ‘It’ giggled in a creepy voice as all of its six legs disappeared.

[How can you always be so stupid and foolish….]

***

“What are you doing!”

Just as the sun was beginning to set late in the afternoon, shouts that should not have been heard came out of the castle. Servants, who knew the owner of the voice, ran away in surprise and quickly bowed their heads to the scene in front of them.

“Ezekiel!”

“…….”

“Ezekiel! Why all of a sudden…… Argh!”

A slender body floated into the air in an instant. Ezekiel stood his ground and carried Herace, around his shoulders like a sack of potatoes, and moved his feet. The man quickly came down the stairs, left the entrance, and headed to the back of the main building.

“Put me down! Ezekiel!”

Herace shouted sharply and struck Ezekiel on the back with her fist. However, even though she hit him with all her might, Ezekiel only looked forward without moving an eyebrow. Frustrated, Herace struggled with her legs, but her legs tied in a dress did not budge.

Ezekiel passed through the garden behind the main building in an instant. Herace stiffened her face when she saw him passing by the annex close to the main building. If he goes straight on the road he’s going…….

“No! Put me down! I want you to drop me right away!”

A building that she got used to and didn’t want to stay in appeared. Herace recognized the corner of the annex where she stayed until a few days ago and shouted sharply.

Ignoring her desperate cries, Ezekiel entered the building and soon reached the deepest room in the annex. When she saw the glass greenhouse beyond the room, Herace screamed and punched him again. Nevertheless, Ezekiel easily overpowered her and put her on the bed as he did when he lifted her.

“Keep your word.”

As soon as Herace’s body fell into the soft bed, Ezekael said with a cool face. It was a low, gloomy voice as if it were ringing in a cave.

“Well, what do you mean…… Speak clearly!”

Herace, pressed by the momentum, stuttered unknowingly and raised her eyes upward. The anger reflected in the blue eyes was clear, but Ezekiel looked down at Herace, who was half lying on the bed with an unwavering face. And repeated the words.

“As I said. Keep your word. Herace, you’re supposed to be here for three years.”

Herace, who finally understood what Ezekiel was saying, looked confused. She raised her voice with a frown as if what he was saying was something absurd.

“I told you! I will be with Erzen…….”

“No. Herace, you should be here alone. That was the rule.”

Ezekiel’s golden eyes, who said the words as if they were natural, were tightly closed as if a wall had been laid. Herace was choked up by Ezekiel’s mysterious expression and jumped up. Her high chin and red cheeks showed her anger.

“What’s wrong with you all of a sudden? Why? You left us alone for a few days. But why….”

“Us?”

A spark flashed from Ezekiel’s eyes, who had been talking without a clue. Lowering his back, he glared at Herace at an angle looking straight at her eyes. When Herace pulled back at a distance further from him, a large man’s hand pressed her cheek and squeezed her face tightly.

“……you live in the world alone with your son. Right?”

Even though the corner of his mouth, which only went up on one side, his face was like a block of ice. Herace shrank from the goosebumps that ran down her spine. The man laughed coldly at the sight, suddenly stopped laughing, and said in a heartless voice.

“I let you stuck with your son for a few days because of the promise I made on his birthday. I allowed you to meet him, his mother as a birthday present for the child.”

“…….”

“In the past, I told you you could spend time with your son only half a day, but the child has experienced an accident, so I have shown mercy. But you shouldn’t take it for granted, right Herace?”

Herace’s face, caught by the man’s large hand and listening to what he said, was distorted.

Yeah, he was such a man. She forgot for a moment, but he was this kind of man. He was a cruel and mean person who made her choose to run away with her hundred-year-old son.

“Don’t look like that. You just mistook my mercy. You’re just back to your original place, but you can’t have an expression on your face like that. Fix your expression. Smile beautifully like a mistress should to me, Herace.”

“Insane! Take your hands off me!”

Herace shook her head and scratched Ezekiel with her nails to get away from his hold. The man’s hand was marked with red lines. But the more she behaved roughly, the deeper the smile on Ezekiel’s face became.

“……you are pretty even when you are being so mean. I can’t take my eyes off you for a second. But we need to break the habit of complaining without knowing the topic.”

“Fix your habits yourself! How dare you act like a self-indulgent, insane! And the rules? Why would I follow such a thing? Get out of the way! I’m going to Erzen!”

Erzen, who cried in front of her saying, “Mom is the only one I have,” came to mind. Herace shouted and struggled to the end, then managed to escape the man.

“Ugh……”

As soon as she stepped on the floor, her body tilted back. Her back touched the bed again before Herace could fully understand her position.

“If you don’t like the rules, do as you please. But, Herace, if you ever leave this room again…….”

The man’s lips under the sharp nose briefly touched Herace’s lips and then moved away. He looked down at his wife, who looked at him like a disgusting bug, and continued.

“……your son will have to go somewhere else for his education. Since you said he is a bit weak, it would be better to send him to the warm Barashe. He might forget your face after 15 years of sunbathing there.”

The southern city of Barashe was also a resort city in the South. It is a luxury resort city where aristocrats stay, and it is also an active city for trade with foreign countries, so the culture was well developed, and the weather was warm throughout the year. But it was so far from Serpence Castle that one had to run in a carriage for six months to reach there.

“Of course, if that happens, don’t worry. Your son will still be a member of Serpence and my son. So I will do everything I can to make him comfortable.”

Herace’s face turned pale when she heard that he would send her son far away, and tears filled her blue eyes. She stared at Ezekiel with her lips trembling and opened her mouth after a long time.

“……a lowly human being.”

“…….”

“You’re the worst human being I’ve ever seen! You’re the dirtiest and the worst guy in the world! Beast!”

Herace had never imagined that she would spit on anyone in her life. But now she thought she could do it without hesitation many times, if it was the man in front of her.

Ezekiel smirked as his wife’s saliva flowed down his cheek. He reached out and pulled the ribbon around the bed curtain. Then he wiped his cheek with it and threw it to the floor. Then he got closer to her and whispered.

“You’re right, Herace. I’m a low, dirty guy. What can I do if I’m born with it? You, of noble birth, must bear it. Of course, even if you don’t like it, there’s nothing you can do because you’re in the opposite position now.”

Herace tried to push him away because she didn’t want to hear any more, but Ezekael was one step faster. He swallowed her lips, clasping the Herace tightly. Soon the damp air in the room became heated.

In the cage in the glass greenhouse beyond the room, the blue bird fluttered its wings violently and cried. The bird’s rough struggle shook the cage. Soon after, the tired bird landed on the perch again and looked far beyond the cage with black eyes.