Dear Eddert - Chapter 77 - Belle Reservoir

Chapter 77
Translator: effe

A burning anger surged up in her chest, and Hyemi couldn’t bear it. She bit her lips painfully, her mouth dry. Her heart felt heavy as if it were tied to a boulder in her chest, and her eyes blazed hot. Her hand on her knee trembled silently.

“Helmut used to give me as a gift for the night to his favored subordinates. It was the first person … I killed.”

On the night she was dedicated to the commander who won the hunting competition, Ayla was beaten for several hours.

“I don’t remember how much I was beaten. Blood burst in my mouth, and my nose was clogged with blood, swelling twice as much. I felt as if I had a faint mind. Ah. My face was a mess, so I thought I wouldn’t have to face anyone tomorrow.”

Hyemi clenched her fist so tightly that her short nails dug into her palm. While she trembled all over, Ayla remained composed. Her composure only made Hyemi’s heart ache even more.

“He laughed at me as I was covered in blood. He said he liked it.”

Ayla twisted her lips slightly in a sneer.

“Now… he felt like doing it.”

Hyemi clenched her teeth. She was sure that if he was in front of her now, she could kill him at all costs.

“He was excited.”

How.

How could that be if he wasn’t a devil?

When he laid his body on hers, which was covered in blood, Ayla shattered the flower vase next to the bed and stabbed his eye.

“I don’t remember what happened afterward. When I came to my senses, all I saw was that the commander was lying there, his entire body mangled.”

A dark shadow fell over Ayla’s blue eyes. Hyemi couldn’t say anything. She had to endure a horror more terrifying than death alone, holding back the tears that were about to burst in front of her.

“I knew I was going to be executed, but I wasn’t afraid. I thought having my throat cleanly cut would be better. And… I wished to never be born again.”

Ayla’s voice was as icy as a frozen lake.

“This world was too horrifying for me.”

“…Ayla.”

“But… something even more horrible happened.”

Helmut Kaplan, the head of Kaplan family, found Ayla tearing apart the commander, whose size was more than three times of her.

Instead of executing Ayla, he trained her as an assassin. While her mother and younger sister were no longer treated as slaves, it was clear what would happen to their future if Ayla betrayed Kaplan.

“After about a year of hellish training, they abandoned me at the southern end of the Triva Mountains.”

Abandoned with her bare body, Ayla wandered through the dense forest teeming with wild beasts for 15 days. The order they gave her was to infiltrate Sernotti and find the Archmage’s Jewel.

“I asked what the Archmage’s Jewel was, but no one told me. It wasn’t until after attending Valtri’s lessons that I understood what they meant… But when I was first abandoned in the forest, I really didn’t know anything.”

Ayla’s voice grew even lower.

“I didn’t know where Sernotti was either. As you know, assassin groups usually conceal their whereabouts, and especially in the case of Sernotti, it remained hidden for 12 years after the death of the previous Emperor. I think many Kaplans, not just me, must have died trying to find Sernotti.”

Hyemi clenched and released her fists repeatedly, her brows furrowed. Kaplan had treated Ayla purely as a tool. They wouldn’t find it a problem even if she were to be used and discarded.

“At night, I barely avoided the wolves, and during the day, I walked. I hadn’t properly eaten anything, and I was on the brink of starving to death. The world in front of me kept getting dimmer, and I couldn’t walk anymore. I kept seeing a large raven circling above me, and I realized that the bird was just waiting for me to die.”

Ayla’s blue eyes glistened with tears.

“And then… an angel appeared in front of me.”

Blood slowly spread from beneath the tightly wrapped bandages around her delicate shoulders. Hyemi stood up in surprise.

“Ayla, your wounds…”

“When Cedric pulled the arrow out, I thought; Ah, that beautiful angel is going to kill me painlessly. But… but… huuh…”

Ayla, who had shown no signs of agitation until now, was biting her lips painfully as she looked at her.

“Cedric shot the arrow, and the black bird that had been screeching fell down beside me.”

Ayla’s voice, which had been calm until now, trembled and became erratic. With tear-filled eyes, she whispered.

“You know, Eden. Cedric was….the first person to save me in my entire life.”

Hyemi tightly pressed her lips together with burning eyes.

Ayla.

“No one listened to my cries. If I resisted, they would beat me, saying that I should be grateful for receiving men like a prostitute should. They said that crying when it hurts only makes people go crazier… that I should cry louder… But… but…”

Ayla’s words, uttered incoherently, became faster and her mournful voice grew louder.

“Cedric told me not… not to cry…uhhuh…!”

Eventually, Ayla burst into tears. The jewel-like blue eyes closed, trapped teardrops streamed down her cheeks. Hyemi couldn’t stop her from releasing the emotions that she had been holding in all this time.