52 – Unforgettable Memories.
Pia was with Noah and his group, but she felt detached. She performed her share of duties well, and no one knew she had any problems when they talked.
Even if they knew, they wouldn’t have been able to take care of the children’s mental state.
Just as she would imagine refreshing water when she felt thirsty, she always thought of Lian when she was in pain or when she was happy. It happened naturally, like blood flowing when the flesh is cut.
[Pia, are you okay? You didn’t eat much earlier.]
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
[Really? That’s a relief. If there’s anything uncomfortable, let me know.]
“..Thank you.”
[hahahahaha, of course I should. After all, it’s something Pia asked for.]
Pia no longer saw her sister’s hallucinations. Instead, she saw the gentle hallucinations of Lian and heard her voice in her head.
She was going crazy.
Lian’s hallucinations and voices were not entirely bad. They were barely holding Pia’s crumbling mind together.
Thanks to that, she was able to rely on her life more than ever before. Despite hearing hallucinations and voices, she was happier than before.
But her happiness didn’t last long. The memories she had been avoiding, the memories where she shouted that it wasn’t her fault, came back to haunt her on a cold night, choking her throat.
“Pia… Why are you doing this to me?”
Lian looked at her with a gaze full of disgust.
“I always cherished you, so why?”
I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.
No matter how much she pleaded, she couldn’t say a word, like a stuffed animal.
“I said I would help you. I said I would save you.”
Yes, you said you would save me.
Her memories were twisted and uncertain. She remembered it as if Lian had actually said those words she had never said before, and it tormented her.
She could no longer discern what she had done wrong or what was true.
“But why did you do that? Why? Why did you lead me to death? Why, Pia?”
The voice of resentment pierced her ears and seemed to eat away at her brain. Pia couldn’t bear the agony and woke up from her sleep.
She muttered like a mad person.
“Sorry, sorry… I’m sorry… sorry…”
Her delicate mind couldn’t accept the guilt that seemed to melt her brain. To stay alive, she began to push away the distant sense of guilt.
“No, no… I’m not at fault. It’s you… you’re the one who’s wrong.”
Pia faced her own sins like a person thrown into hell, faltering again and again, committing the same sin repeatedly. Like a person trapped in purgatory.
Her actions were similar to the ascetics who willingly endured suffering. Was that the reason? Pia gradually began to nurture a strange belief.
“Salvation, yes… you’ll save me. Yes, Lian… Lian will… -“
Like humans in need of hope, Pia found salvation. Her salvation was Lian.
***
Jess, a supernatural being with greater wisdom than others, was a blessed creature. At the same time, she was a slave. Her mother always spoke to Jess with heavy chains.
“You have to pretend to be a foolish supernatural being. That’s how you can live longer.”
No owner likes a clever beast. They wanted a foolish pet supernatural being who could be teased. Jess’s mother knew this fact and indoctrinated Jess like brainwashing.
And not long after, Jess’s mother was dragged into a cruel fight and died.
“Jess, scary…”
Jess’s vague tone and slightly exaggerated behavior were all created by her mother’s touch. Jess knew that these actions could protect her.
That’s why I didn’t bother to fix it. One day, during those continuing days, I met Lian.
Jess quickly noticed.
“Oh, this person is kind.”
Jess clung to Lian and said. The person who gives delicious things is the owner.
Until now, many slave traders had given her delicious food or food like garbage, but she had never considered them as owners. But she said they were owners with her mouth. By saying so, she could eat slightly better food and sleep in a better place.
Calling Lian “Master” was the same logic.
Jess felt a liking for Lian, but at the same time, she was cautious. Her sensitive instinct as a werewolf told her.
It’s safe near that person, there’s no danger or difficulty if I’m by their side.
To Jess, who had lived as a slave since birth, “unconditional safety” was no different from the greeting of a false religion. That’s why she was cautious of Lian.
Then, one day, “that incident” occurred.
Werewolves ate more than regular humans. It was natural since they had a higher calorie consumption.
There was a significant difference in strength between a werewolf who had a proper meal and one who didn’t. That’s why Jess tried to put everything she could into her mouth. Sometimes it was a mouse pup, sometimes it was a bug, but she didn’t discriminate and ate them all.
That’s how she could survive each day.
“There’s nothing…”
In the prison where Jess, Noah, and Nero stayed, there were a few bugs crawling around, but they were all smaller than Jess’s pinky finger. They couldn’t survive properly with just that.
“I have to find something to eat…!”
When everyone was asleep, Jess wandered around the prison.
“Oh, there’s a hole!”
When Jess pulled the corner of the prison bars, a small hole appeared that she could barely pass through. It looked like someone had made it to escape. By putting the removed piece of the bars back in place, it fit perfectly without revealing the hole.
“I’ll sneak out and get something to eat.”
It didn’t have to be proper food. It didn’t matter if it was rats or bugs. Jess escaped from prison and sniffed his way to the kitchen, his nose crinkling.
“A delicious smell.”
Sniffing the scent that filled the kitchen, he rummaged around here and there.
“Not much…”
There wasn’t as much to eat as he had hoped, but it wasn’t completely empty. He grabbed a broken piece of bread and a little cheese, and went into the sink cabinet, closing the door. He quietly stuffed the food into his mouth.
Bam!
“…!”
A tremendously loud noise echoed. Jess tensed up, his ears and tail standing on end.
“Did they hear me…?”
Swallowing his dry saliva, Jess squeezed his body into the corner of the sink cabinet. If they had discovered his escape, he had to stay as quiet as possible.
How much time passed like that?
“It’s hot…”
Unknowingly, the kitchen started to heat up to the point where Jess muttered those words. Realizing the strangeness a little too late, Jess firmly opened the tightly closed cabinet door.
“Huh…?”
Whoosh -.
A bright red flame flickered and greeted Jess. The kitchen was engulfed in flames.
“Cough, cough…!”
The acrid smoke stung his eyes and choked him. Jess quickly realized the situation. The fire was already spreading uncontrollably. There was no way to escape from here right now.
No matter how intelligent Jess was compared to other werewolves, it was natural for him to panic in the face of ‘death’ at such a young age. Jess, who never had his mother’s embrace to run to when he was scared, closed the cabinet door and huddled in the corner, crouching down.
Thud, thump.
The sound of crackling flames and the smell of smoke pierced the air. Since the fire had not yet reached the hiding place where Jess was, it felt like something happening in the distance.
Jess imagined something unimaginable. The fire unable to reach inside the hiding place, imagining that they would come out unscathed.
It was an unimaginable thought, but it was the only thing Jess could do at the moment. Tears welled up in their eyes, and they struggled to catch their breath.
“Jess!”
His voice rang out. Why did his voice reach them like that?
“Hweeing..”
Even though they had always been taught to cry silently, they couldn’t help but make a sound. The storage compartment door that they had closed with their own hands opened, and a concerned gaze filled with worry poured in.
Jess could never forget this moment.
Since that day, Jess began blindly following Lian. They saw Lian not just as a pretend owner, but as their true owner.
Jess had only one goal. To protect their owner and make them happy. They were young and inexperienced, but Jess tried their best to be helpful within their capabilities.
Then one day, Lian disappeared. Without a word.