Chapter 2
I desperately dreamed of escaping, but there seemed to be no way out. Hiding in a cart and attempting an escape proved futile as I was already exposed.
Even trying to climb down the tower through that small window would lead to certain death.
Let's say some miracle happens and we manage to get out of this tower. Where could we possibly go?
Estelle was so weak that she couldn't even run, and above all, leaving her in the tower would put her in the hands of our enemies.
Could there be at least one trustworthy person left in this ducal residence?
"Nevertheless, Hyung is still somewhat himself, but Estelle is no longer the same. These days, she seems like a ghost wandering around... Sometimes, I wake up in fear, dreading that they might be dead. So, I can't sleep."
Hesitantly, I reached out and touched Benya's eyes. His expression was complex, a whirlpool of emotions seething with sadness, anger, and fear. Tears welled up in his eyes.
"I can't bear it. Seeing the way those two have changed... I can't bear it."
His voice trembled as he tried to suppress his heavy cry. It was heart-wrenching to witness. My own heart ached as if it was about to shatter.
Who could have brought down such a proud and noble young master like this? Who made us suffer like this?
There are so many wicked people in the world, so why do we, as innocent children, have to endure such hardship?
Whether he's suffering because he's not the main character or because of his fate as the villain, it feels incredibly unjust and absurd.
I shifted my body and embraced Benya's head with my arms. He didn't resist, but instead buried his face in my chest, letting out muffled sobs.
"Actually... I started thinking it might have been better if we all died together... I don't know what to do anymore... Sasha, do you still think we can make it out alive?"
Tears streamed from my eyes as well. I swallowed a sniff and buried my face in Benya's tousled hair.
"Benya, didn't you say you trust me? If I told you that I saw a future where we all escape from here within half a year, would you still trust me?"
It was a story of destiny that only I knew. In the past, if I had mentioned such a thing, they would have thought I was going crazy and couldn't take it seriously.
But at that moment, as if influenced by some force, the words came out of me without hesitation.
Benya laughed through his tears.
"How...? Are we even going to kill the butler when he comes in?"
I laughed too.
"That's right. Once we find out the date of the banquet, you and Oppa can work together to take down Mr. Harris, and we'll all leave this place, carrying Estelle on our backs. Then, we'll enter the mansion and confront all the guests."
Benya asked again.
"And then? What should we do next...? What about the people who did this to us...?"
I held him tightly in my arms.
Soon after, I, Sasha, whispered.
"We'll be killing all of them."
* * *
The first time it happened was on a freezing afternoon that finally cleared up.
Estelle and Lethias were in the library, while Benya and I were changing the sheets in the downstairs bedroom.
The mirrored door silently opened, and an unannounced visitor entered, so we discreetly tucked the edge of the sheet under the mattress and froze in place.
It was Harris. I could see another man dressed as an attendant, pushing a new cart alongside our lunch order, just like the usual spy who would bring us meals without anyone noticing.
Regardless of how blank and bewildered we appeared, the two of them exchanged carts nonchalantly and left, closing the door behind them.
The whole encounter happened so suddenly and swiftly that I questioned if it was a hallucination.
But it wasn't a hallucination. From that day on, Harris would show up unexpectedly at any time, leaving our meals without any secrecy. Whether we were watching or not.
With this strange and mysterious occurrence, our meals began to deteriorate.
In the past, we received food that could be considered a meal, albeit tasteless and unappetizing.
However, the quantity decreased, and soon we were left with hard bread (which seemed to have been left outside for who knows how long), white stew with unidentifiable floating ingredients, cheap brick biscuits, and sour sausages.
Not only did the quality deteriorate, but there wasn't enough food for four growing children to eat three meals a day.
Even the tableware wasn't delivered properly. Eventually, we had to resort to tearing off a piece of the bookshelf and using it as a makeshift plate.
Estelle, whose signs of food rejection were worsening by the day, frequently secluded herself away at mealtimes and played hide-and-seek.
Lethias and Benya, on the other hand, despised it all at first but forced themselves to eat owing to inevitable hunger and pragmatic reasons to set an example for Estelle.
I couldn't even eat enough food.
If they had finally chosen to kill us, it would have been much easier and quicker to just cut off our foods or put poison in our meals.
However, no matter how hard I thought about it, there was only one reason they were getting to the point where we were almost dying after eating what appeared to be leftover meals.
I'm not sure why they kept us alive, but they didn't want to kill us, and it was evident that even Viscount Hippolyte had lost interest in his niblings.
Harris, who had sensed the atmosphere, and the servants, who knew we were living here, didn't mind doing whatever they pleased.
Carrying four meals a day and making excuses for it would be quite inconvenient. Perhaps this is his way of retaliating for being beaten by Benya and Lethias the day before.
Maybe that's why they came and went whenever we wanted, whether we were conscious or not. So, even if we debate, there is nothing to notice, so they are acting rashly.
Benya agreed when I told him my conjecture. For any little query or viewpoint, the two of us have recently been direct to each other.
Our conclusion was always the same: find a method to get out of here.
Lethias and Estelle were the sources of our distress. The four of us had to work together to escape, although the two's conditions made no sense. Particularly Lethias.
Lethias hadn't done anything reckless like attempting another suicide since the last time he sliced his wrists, but his words had been significantly decreased and he now moved sluggishly and without vigor.
When I tried to engage in a conversation with him, he didn't even respond to anything I said or asked.
Estelle's vacant eyes were the same, devoid of all desire and curiosity. Estelle was the only one who elicited his response.
It was terrible and eerie to see two ghostly siblings sitting next to each other all day, mumbling nonsensical phrases and folding papers.
Of course, Benya couldn't stand seeing his brother in such a state.
Benya would have pummeled him till Lethias roused his survival instincts and renewed his sentiments of wrath if I hadn't previously urged him not to provoke him.
As winter came to an end, the days began to brighten up, but hunger made it feel even colder.
To make matters worse, the stove's kerosene was also depleted. We just have a few candles left now. We couldn't survive the winter twice, no matter how much we loved our life.
I used to wonder who it was as I stood in front of the mirror door and stared at it.
Who is that girl in the mirror, that ghost-like child with long, frail hair and sunken skin and bones around her eyes?
It didn't appear like the version of myself I knew anywhere I looked.
I began marking the date again after the New Year's
bell rung. It was to maintain the date's essence. And then, exactly 500 days
after we arrived here, Estelle began coughing.
* * *
My head was throbbing as sleep eluded me. Thankfully, Estelle was upstairs, soundly asleep, and her dry cough had subsided.
Her fever hadn't worsened like last time, but I couldn't help worrying. In this harsh environment, even a simple sore throat could have severe consequences.
Lethias sat on the edge of the bed, while Benya occupied a chair against the wall.
Both of them had come downstairs without saying a word, knowing we were all consumed by the same thoughts. We had been pacing around in silence for hours, awaiting Harris's arrival.
When the mirrored door finally opened, and Harris entered, we had been anxiously waiting for his response.
I immediately approached him and tried to calmly convey Estelle's condition, as he placed the tray on the floor.
"Mister, Lady Estelle is unwell."
Harris replied coldly, not even bothering to look at me. He literally spewed out his words heartlessly.
"Give her painkillers."
"We've run out of painkillers. She's been coughing continuously and needs something soothing to eat. We also need kerosene to keep her warm."
Finally, Harris turned to me as Benya came up behind me, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
In the meantime, Lethias stepped in, blocking the space between us and Harris. It all happened in the blink of an eye.
Lethias's once ghostly, distraught appearance had vanished, replaced by a defiant stare with his glowing blue eyes fixed on Harris.
For a moment, he seemed like the little duke from the past, to the point that even Harris, usually quite composed, flinched.
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