Chapter 0

Creak. 

When she woke up, she heard the sound of metal scraping against the wall in the darkness. Vivi started to tear up, hoping she had heard wrong.

Creak.

Vivi covered her mouth with her hand, pulling the blanket up to her neck. The sound of a man’s heavy footsteps in the mansion grew louder, but there shouldn’t have been anyone else but her.

Creak. The door opened. 

There was a sound like a jackknife swinging. Right next to Vivi, there was a swoosh, a match being struck, followed by the click of a lamp opening. 

Vivi knew that if not now, there would be no chance to escape. But her body, overwhelmed by fear, would not move an inch. 

She felt the surroundings brighten with the lamp, but still couldn’t open her eyes. The noise from before was quiet, as if it had never happened. 

As if he was checking her reaction.

Crash. Suddenly, a terrible sound of glass shattering. 

“Is that what you call pretending to sleep?”

Vivi flinched involuntarily at the voice filled with weariness and cruelty. Even now, she wanted to beg for her life, but her body still wouldn’t move. 

“I know you’re not sleeping, but you’re not waking up.”

She couldn’t get up, Vivi was crying inside. Suddenly, a shadow appeared over her head. 

Her cheek felt something sharp and smooth, more blunt than a knife, but firmer than cotton.

“This acting is top-notch.”

He was poking her cheek. The longer she remained silent, the shorter the interval between his pokes became. 

“If you don’t get up  within three-.”

“Hey, I’m up!”

A cold sweat ran down Vivi’s pale face. Something blood-red filled her vision.

It didn’t take long for her to realize that those were Kid’s eyes. 

“Eek!” 

Kid twirled the knife deftly, his curly ebony hair loose around his face. 

When his eyes met hers, he smiled languidly. 

    “I don’t particularly hold a grudge against you. But I’m in a very bad mood right now.”

“…….”

“You’re scared, but you don’t even ask who I am?”

As if he was offended, the knife was thrust right under her chin. If he had thrust a little deeper,  a raw wound would have appeared on her neck. 

“Did Seniel tell you about me?”

“……Ah, no. I, I don’t know who you are.”

Vivi desperately denied it. He hated being confused with Seniel, so it was best to say she didn’t know. 

Vivi’s breath caught in her throat as he carefully examined her to see if she was lying or not. She was so terrified that she couldn’t tell if her expression was giving her away.

His eyes narrowed.

“Well, if he’d told you everything, he’d have helped you escape instead of sending you to me. Damn him.”

She unconsciously felt relieved that she hadn’t been caught lying. She held onto a faint hope that she might be spared, even though she knew that she wouldn’t be allowed to get away with it. 

But his knife was still at her throat, and Vivi chose reality over hope. She gripped the blanket and tried to find an escape route. 

His bright red eyes flashed dangerously before her. 

“Well, that’s okay. Whether you know it or not, you’re going to die now.”

Vivi desperately held back her tears. Please, please save me. She wanted to say, but the words stayed just on the tip of her tongue. 

Suddenly Kid smiled, his eyes narrowing into crescent shapes.

“You’ve been quiet without making a sound, so I’ll be especially lenient and let you go without any pain. I hate being noisy. Any last words?”

“Wa-wait a minute.”

“Are those your last words? I’ll be sure to tell your husband.”

The knife at the nape of her neck flashed. Vivi shut her eyes tightly.