Atonement, About it's Cruelty - Chapter 20
A chill ran down her spine from the low, soothing tone of the voice. All thoughts she had gathered in an attempt to maintain her composure vanished like receding tide in the face of instinctive terror. She collapsed onto the floor, face down.
“I was wrong.”
Oscar looked down at her silently, and the wolves began to move even before their master gave any commands.
“I’m sorry, please forgive me.”
Beside the brothel owner, who lay flat on the floor, a large figure crashed down heavily.
Reflexively, she looked over and saw two men, neither clearly alive nor dead.
“Ahh!”
Startled, she sprang up and sat down hesitantly. She then began to crawl backward on her buttocks, but one of the wolves pushed her toward the fallen men.
As she was shoved onto the pile of bodies, whether they were corpses or not, the stench of blood pierced her lungs, making her gag uncontrollably.
“Uck, uck!”
A heavy pouch of money was thrown in front of her, splattered with her own vomit. Seeing the filthy money, she realized that the men beneath her were the human traffickers who had brought the woman in.
Trembling, she lay back down on her own vomit. Her forehead and hair were matted with the mess, but she couldn’t care less.
She tried to comprehend why this was happening to her, searching her mind for answers. Why was the mysterious man fixated on the woman? But that wasn’t the main concern. She had been pulverized simply for bringing a woman. There must be even more reasons why she was being treated this way.
“Please, please forgive me.”
Step, step.
As the slow footsteps approached, she trembled as if about to faint. How foolish she had been to consider herself seasoned in adversity. She had never faced fear as intense as this in her entire life.
“Forgive me, please, forgive me…”
Thoughts of times and evidence seemed like a dream now, as if she had dared to challenge them in a trance.
Oscar stopped a step away from her, shoved his hands into his pockets, and gazed silently at her trembling head. He reviewed the final decision regarding her fate.
What choice would be the most efficient?
The woman who Simon thought had dug her grave with his own hands was, at least, somewhat fortunate. It wasn’t wise to witness unnecessary bloodshed repeatedly in the narrow, oppressive world of Felpe.
“There were no guests staying the night.”
The brothel owner quickly nodded in agreement.
“Yes, of course.”
“And the woman purchased for five thousand was never here to begin with.”
“Of course.”
“Take care of it.”
Oscar nudged the two corpses with his foot.
“Can I trust you to handle this? If you’re not confident, I can do it.”
“No, no, please believe me.”
The brothel owner kept repeating her responses, not even understanding what she was saying.
“Alright then. Can I trust you to handle it?”
The chillingly kind words that fell over her head made her repeatedly express gratitude as if Oscar was her savior.
“Thank you.”
But it was too early to think she was safe.
“By the way, what did you feed her?”
When she startled and looked up, Oscar had somehow positioned himself next to the bed.
Oscar slightly bent his long body toward the woman. In a short time, her previously pale face was now flushed red. Her focus flickers intermittently.
“Ha…”
Even her breathing was labored yet languid.
Oscar had been puzzled by the brothel owner’s insistence on protecting the woman that was seen through the crack in the mirror. He had felt the same way when he heard the amount paid for her. What could someone possibly want with a woman at that price?
But seeing her now, it somewhat made sense what the brothel owner saw in her.
Oscar straightened his body and glanced back at the brothel owner.
“Have you been doing unnecessary things?”
The brothel owner, trembling, crawled toward the bed. He couldn’t believe she had so desperately wanted to start the ‘training’ tonight.
The woman on the bed was curled up, moaning softly.
It was clear at a glance. The aphrodisiac had spread throughout her body.
Her consciousness sank beneath the surface, leaving her senses sharply heightened. In such a state, her entire body became an erogenous zone. Whenever touched, she blushed and moaned, and in this world, a person in such a condition was often described as an instrument.
Although it was an ideal state for training, for the woman whose life hung in the balance, each of the girl’s moans seemed to shorten her own lifespan. She desperately tried to explain the situation to Oscar.
“Um, so, it’s not a serious drug. It just, well, affects movement and heightens the senses…”
“Get the antidote.”
The abrupt interruption of her words felt as if it were cutting into her own throat, and tears streamed down her face.
“I’m sorry, but we don’t have the antidote… ah…!”
She grasped her trampled hand and bowed her head. The weight of the gaze on the back of her head felt heavier than the pressure on her hand.
“It’s not a lethal drug! I used one drop of Elros and one and a half drops of Exros. It will naturally detoxify over time.”
“Anything else?”
“No, nothing else. I swear!”
She pleaded desperately.
“We were in the middle of training. If her condition worsens, it’s also a loss for me, isn’t it? Please believe me. It will naturally detoxify with time…”
“How many hours?”
“Between seven and nine hours. She’ll be back to her senses by tomorrow morning! Please, believe me.”
“…….”
The smell of cigarette smoke returned.
Instinctively, she knew that her life was once again under scrutiny.
Would he kill her after finishing that cigarette? In a moment of extreme terror, her mind felt like it was turning white.
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