Volume 2 - CH 1

It’s been two days since I started to treat the man in the quarantine room.

I went late at night on purpose because I was afraid he’d be wary of me again like yesterday.

Aside from that, I wanted to avoid the gaze of priests.

I entered the quarantine room and opened the door, but there was no response.

‘I guess he’s sleeping.’

Squeak!

When the iron door was closed, the quarantine room was engulfed in pitch darkness.

‘Was it always this dark?’

Oh, I didn’t bring a lantern today.

I couldn’t see him well this way.

I didn’t even know where the man was.

I assumed it was because it was late at night, but the quarantine room had only a small door that was usually closed.

So, whether it’s day or night, it was the same for this man.

He is always surrounded by darkness, and there is never any light.

‘I should remember to bring the lantern next time.’

To see how much the man’s wounds have improved as a result of my treatment, as well as to see his face.

Even if I bring a lantern into this room, the priests will not be able to see it from outside due to the small door.

Perhaps because his bleeding had stopped, the fishy odor of blood had faded, and I could smell the scent of grass wafting through the air.

It was the smell of herb ointment applied to wounds such as centella sage, lavender and rosemary.

It was the point at which I sniffed and moved my feet cautiously toward the man’s presence.

I could feel his presence as he slept, and then something caught in my leg and leaned my body.

“Ah……”

When I saw the man’s next move, I realized what he did was deliberate.

Because a knife was stabbed to the wall right next to my head in an instant.

The shards of the wall bounced off my face with a crack.

That’s when I realized.

He wasn’t asleep at all.

It was such a short moment, less than a second, that he knocked me over, pushed my body against the wall, and stabbed the knife into the wall.

I was stunned, as if my heart was about to burst, but the man who was clutching my collar was also embarrassed.

“That’s…… my chest…”

Of course, his palms were touching my chest, so there’s no way he couldn’t have realized.

Furthermore, as the protagonist of the high-ranking novel, Selina had a very sensuous body.

The man’s hand, which was holding my chest h in surprise, fell sharply.

I could hear him stomping back after pulling a knife from the wall.

“Looks like you’ve gotten a lot better. I’m relieved.”

I said to the man, but he didn’t respond.

His wound was not completely healed because I could still smell the fishy odor of blood vibrating.

‘I guess he can see me.’

But I don’t think he can see my face in great detail. Perhaps as a result of my movement?

“Please sit down.”

I pretended to be calm, but my heart was still racing.

He is extremely dangerous in his sane state.

I had to feed him poppy juice right away.

No, more than that……

“Could you please put down the knife?”

I tried to appease him as gently as I could, but he refused to budge.

I didn’t have the guts to feed him poppy juice while he was holding a knife, so I had to reach out to him.

I couldn’t see more than an inch ahead, so I brushed up against the blunt blade with the back of my hand.

He drew the knife behind him, perplexed.

“… You… Who are you?”

It was nice to hear the man’s low voice ringing in the quarantine room.

I can’t believe I think hearing a clear voice is good when he’s so wary of me.

…That’s why the face is a scary thing.

Dealing with a gorgeous face is the worst.

“I asked, who are you?”

The man, as if out of patience, couldn’t wait any longer and demanded an answer.

‘Wait, what should I say?’

If I said honestly that I’m a Count daughter that has probation on the monastery, it would get my throat cut off.

Since only nobles ever played and bet their money in a match that put Toono’s lives at risk, although I never did.

“A trainee.”

I respond by waving my hand at him.

I gave a half-right, half-wrong response.

Simultaneously, I touched the back of the man’s right hand.

I slid my fingers fearlessly into his knife-wielding fist. Then I put down the knife he’s clutching tightly.

Clank!

The fallen knife rolled on the floor.

I pushed the knife far away.

“What’s your purpose?”

Meanwhile, he asked the second question.

“Did you come at the request of the High Priest?”

A series of embarrassing questions were posed.

I looked around with eyes that had grown accustomed to the darkness.

‘Where’s the poppy juice? Poppy juice!’

I traced my fingers along the wall until I found the corner.

“Tell them. I’m not going to join that fanatic group.”

The fanatical group mentioned by the man had to be the Holy Knights.

‘He’s talking as if he’s going to win if he put his mind to it’

Because he was in the quarantine room, I’m guessing he hasn’t heard the matches of The Raven and The Fire-Moth yet.

When his opponents die, the Raven eats their arms first.

I can tell he’s a psycho cannibal by looking at his eyes, which have turned around, leaving only the white part.

The initial goal of this martial arts competition was to empty the prison. Perhaps because the majority of Tonoo’s inhabitants were violent criminals with no morals or ethics.

I had to tell this man to stop talking so hopelessly and prepare to live with all of his limbs and body intact.

“Then you’ll just have to be the runner-up.”

My hand came into contact with a cold bottle while I was waddling on the ground.

It was a poppy juice bottle.

I exhaled the breath I had been holding back, relieved.

“Fortunately for you, your opponent has the best chance of winning.”

The semifinal matches had already been scheduled.

Berserker VS Fire Moth 

Raven VS Gladiator

The matches were planned this way because they thought the match between The Fire-Moth and The Raven would be so important.

When the priests gather these days, they predict who will win the Martial Arts Competition.

Although priests did not bet money like nobles, it was a topic of great interest to them.

The neck-and-neck race was definitely between The Fire-Moth and The Raven.

The Gladiator was said to be very talented, but as a mercenary, he was only there to make a name for himself, and he stated that he would not compete in the semifinals. Because he is up against The Raven.

If The Raven was really Valhail, I was going to pay him to get him to leave.

As a result, he will never meet Shannon.

‘If I hired someone like that as an escort. I can never sleep soundly.’

Valhail was an attractive supporting character in <Bound of Salvation> who was cold to others but warm to his woman.

But The Raven was not that kind of person.

Maybe if he joins the Holy Knight, the demon will be the one who prayed and exorcised on a daily basis so they don’t meet him.

Anyway, if this man beat The Fire-Moth in the semifinals and miraculously survived even if he had to face The Raven in the final… Then… There’s hope.

“If you survive, you may be forgiven and freed. Because you’re the last four.”

“… What?”

The man reacted as if he had just heard it for the first time.

‘I’ve already told him this.’

But it’s possible he couldn’t remember because he was high on painkillers at the time.

In fact, when I saw this man, who was being calm to me at the time, suddenly doing this to me indicates that his memory of that time did not remain intact.

“Please survive and stay alive. Then you will be able to live your life freely.”

The man then slumped.

The man, who had no interaction with anyone, was unaware of the runner-ups’ special rights.

He appeared to be embarrassed by the fact that he had heard it for the first time.

He seemed quite embarrassed by the fact that he heard it for the first time.

“Why……”

Because I expected the conversation to continue, I grabbed his clothes and yanked him away.

I couldn’t give him medicine while he was standing up because he was so tall.

After hesitating, he gently let himself be dragged by my hands and sat down.

“Drink it.”

Since I had a hard time dealing with this man in his sane state, I pushed the bottle of the poppy juice near his lips.

He did, however, turn his head to the side, as if he could tell the identity of the poppy juice by its smell.

‘What the…?’

I clung to his hard jaw like a metal ball and brought the bottle back up to his lips.

He let out a low sigh after I held his jaw like that for a while.

Simultaneously, his jaw, which had been clenched, loosened.

‘It takes a lot of effort.’

He flinched as I fumbled his chapped lips with my thumb, ensuring that he opened his lips fully.

But he’s quieter than Tori, an abandoned maltese dog I cared for from my previous life.

I couldn’t even put a finger on the dog’s body because he was so ferocious.

‘This man is a gentleman in comparison to him.’

Large dogs, as expected, are gentler.

‘I’m a little bit sorry to compare this man to the dog.’

I tipped the bottle to the side and poured poppy juice into the man’s mouth.

I heard liquid being gulped down, but I couldn’t tell if the man was faking it or how much medicine was left in the bottle.

A small amount of poppy juice was dripping onto my finger, which was holding the man’s head.

When I put my hand on the man’s thick neck pole to see how much he’d drank, the man’s thick neck pole stopped moving.

‘Drink more, drink some more.’

Even if his body is ripped to shreds, this man will not die as a result of taking too much painkiller.

As I pushed and tilted the bottle further, he came to a halt and resumed drinking poppy juice.

My palm vividly conveyed the sensation of the man’s neck mass moving up and down.

I felt strange for some reason, and when I tilted the bottle halfway, I let go of my hand.

It looked like he drank quite a bit.

Because he was relaxed, his exhaling and inhaling were long and slow.

The aroma of cherry suddenly enveloped me.

“You……”

The man was unable to continue speaking and leaned against the wall.

He let out a long sigh.

When he’s calm, I have to treat him quickly and get him out of there.

I quickly took out the Magic Stone and began praying.

“Dear generous God. I pray for the healing of his wound. Please allow his wound to heal and stop the bleeding.”

It was upsetting because I couldn’t see how much of the wound had healed or how far it had progressed.

By the time I felt dizzy again, I had to stop praying.

My legs shook so badly that I couldn’t even get out of my seat.

‘I’m thirsty.’

I felt like my body was shrinking due to severe thirst.

I had to go out and drink water right away.

“Don’t go… Please stay with me.”

The man grabbed my sleeve and pleaded, but……

‘Please let me survive as well, okay?’

I was also out of my mind, so I ignored his pitiful puppy-like gaze that followed me from behind.

Squeak!

When the iron door was shut, he was once again alone in complete darkness.