CAM – 52

Red blood splattered diagonally across the wall.

Huey cut off his foe’s arm as if it were tofu as the attacker rushed at him.

With an indifferent face, he stepped on a knife that had been lodged in the abdomen of a corpse, blood flowing water.

The vacant expression on his face, as if he was stepping on an ant, was more frightening than the sight of blood covering his entire body or the dead bodies that rolled at his feet.

He swirled and cut off the legs of adversaries who dashed to attack him, grabbed their hair, smashed them into the wall, and kicked them until bubbles of blood erupted out of their mouths.

As Huey wiped the blood-stained swords on the corpses’ clothes, his eyes looked down on those who had lost their fighting spirit. It was as if a golden beast was choosing it’s prey.

While slaughtering Shada’s assailants or bringing them to the brink of death, his sweetly beautiful face did not move. Occasionally, when blood spattered around his eyes, he had reflexively frowned.

Slash- He blew off the neck of the man who was screaming and begging for his life, and he staggered towards Marcelo, who was already bleeding with strangely twisted limbs. Huey shook off the blood clots on his sword as he approached.

The narrow alley was full of carcasses and fresh blood, making the ground slippery like mud after a storm. The dreadful bloody smell is as thick as a fog. Shada was dizzy.

“Co-Cou! C—Count Kirchner…….”

“You shouldn’t covet others’ belongings, not knowing your place. You should have known better. You lack the ability to learn, Sir Marcelo Palmer.”

A frightening vitality sprung out of Huey’s previously stony face. Soft lips twisted, white teeth exposed, and a cracking sound was heard.

Huey’s brutal smile hardened on his face and stepped on Marcelo’s wrist with a hook. There was a smashing noise and it looked like the bones had popped out.

As Marcelo struggled like a worm, Huey pulled his scabbard and slapped him. A broken tooth rolled on the floor. Due to the force his mouth quickly became bloody.

Huey frowned when all of his front teeth were gone, and threw his scabbard away.

It was the first time Shada, his personal maid, had seen her master mistreat one of his belongings. This man, whose wrath made his reason disappear, was not the Huey she knew.

Without a moment to spare, Huey threw away his sword and grabbed Marcelo’s collar, punching his face into rags with his bare fists.

Bash, bash— He pounded his face like a leather drum.

Marcelo, who was a little bigger than Huey, shuddered and tried to resist, but the force of his fists pushed him into a suffocating moan. With a face dripping with blood, Huey kept punching without letting go of the bear-sized man.

It looked like he was trying to kill him.

“Once, I let you go, now you should eat it, huh?”

By the time he couldn’t even scream anymore, Huey growled with well-refined harsh profanities—and stood up and picked up the hilt of his sword that was beside him.

As the blue day flashed in his sight, Marcelo fell flat on his back, with his open mouth because he had no front teeth.

“Le-let me live—I was ordered—“

“That’s your problem.”

“Huh! Wrong—I was wrong! Ughh!”

It was extremely ugly to see a man who was only mean and cruel in front of a powerless woman, crawling like a maggot in front of someone stronger than himself.

Shada felt a tingling in her head from the shock of savage cruelty, but at the same time she felt the nausea of a loathing rage.

He was such a disgusting and ghastly man. How many day—weeks, did she tremble—unable to sleep or eat because of such an insignificant person?

Marcelo desperately rubbed his forehead to the ground and prayed.

“O-one moment! The Princess… that woman ordered it… … .”

For a moment, it seemed Huey’s eyebrows rose with his sword. Soon he muttered, twisting his lips coldly,

“I already knew that.”

You’re in front of me, so I’m striking you first.

A sharp blade cut through the man’s neck as if it were killing a fly.

Huey stepped forward over the collapsing corpse, closed his eyes  and let out a deep breath, like a sigh, and then opened his eyes.

Shada and his gaze collided immediately as if they were connected by a vein.

The two of them had short breaths, tangled eyes, and exploding emotions. He ran over and hugged Shada who was a weeping mess. He gently embraced her like a withered flower.

“Shada.”

She burst into tears.

“I’m sorry. It was scary wasn’t it?”

“Uh, oh Master.”

“Yes. You’re safe now.”

A large, familiar hand gently rubbed her trembling head and back. His gentle touch was so reassuring.

Now she is safe. Because he protected her.

I’m fine now it’ll be fine.

Hey. If this person hugs me like this, I’ll be fine.

Contrary to the inner self trying to control herself, Shada burst into tears with huge tears and completely collapsed.

“I- I was scared. So scared! Why did you come so late? How scared I was! Agnhhh!”

As Shada sobbed like a child she started to hit and beat his chest.

It’s something she would have never imagined herself doing normally, but she was so relieved that her head was half full of relief and was busy pouring it out.

Huey accepted it all and apologized over and over again, stroking her wet cheeks and her bruised round shoulders.

Shada was sure she looked hideous, but the way Huey looked at her was always warm and sad. She liked it so much that she cried more. She squeezed out all her tears like a whistle.

Soon the Count’s knights arrived and cleaned up the bodies and Huey lifted up the exhausted Shada.

Shada hugged his neck tight as he was her lifeline.

He must have felt stuffy with a sore throat, but each time he stopped and kissed Shada’s swollen face. Just like a mother chicken raises and dotes on a chick. In a sense it was insanely embarrassing but felt so good.

“I will always be by your side. Don’t be afraid.”

Ah. Why is he so sweet?

The murderer, who had gone mad before, was nowhere to be found, leaving nothing but kindness and caring.

In front of her, he was a man who changed people.

She tucked her head deep into the nape of his neck. Her face is as hot as coal.

At the moment of crisis, this man was the only one who occupied her mind.

In the midst of feeling horrible, dirty and disgusting, one of the worst things I hated right before it was that the hand touching me wasn’t Huey’s.

She didn’t want to be with anyone other than him.

And at this moment, Shada realized:

I want to be next to this person.

Continuously, perhaps forever.

* * *