Of course, Alana was also a shield. The corridor leading to the library was deserted.
Click. Click. Click.
Her shoes rang along the stone tiles.
When the servant guiding Alana on the way was asked away for some matters by a nobleman and left, Alana was alone.
As she neared her destination, the sound of sniffling, little screams, and ragged breathing brought her to a halt.
She wondered if it was Mileia’s voice.
Alana ran. It was the first time in her life that she had ever run.
But no matter how slow her pace was, she ran.
Mileia, Mileia, she called out to her in her heart.
She hadn’t done much, but she was breathing hard, her shoulders heaved up and down.
She struggled with the door separating the corridor from the library. Her weak hands fumbled, and at last, it opened.
Alana saw a sight she never wanted to see. On a couch in the middle of the library, Mileia was crying. There was a man beside her who looked familiar. He had a big body, full of extravagance, breathing hard and crushing little Mileia.
That was her father. He was the king of Armenia.
As soon as Mileia saw Alana, she reached out desperately towards her.
“…Ahh. Alana, help me! Help me!”
“Mileia!”
Her father stood up and looked at her when Milieia and the sudden intruder shouted.
“You are Alana! What are you doing there?”
“I’m the one who wants to know what you’re doing! You’ve done a terrible thing!”
Her father walked over to Alana and hit her on the cheek with his hand.
He had never spoken to her much before, but he still looked like a changed man.
“You’re not a human…You are no better than an animal, you despicable man!”
“Shut the f*ck up! Do you think that the second coming of Lorenzo is allowed to leave my castle!”
The next blow was to the other cheek.
He struck her with such force that she thought it would take her head off.
“You’re in my castle for the rest of your life, and you just have to live for me obediently!”
He grabbed her dark hair and punched her in the face again and again.
All over her face, blood spewed, splattering on the library carpet. She wanted to go to Mileia, but she could not. Her head was shaking so much that her senses were lost.
“You have not only disobeyed my orders, but you have dyed your hair such a dirty colour… Did you forget the grace that I gave birth to your beautiful hair! Never leave my castle again! When you’ve had enough of this pain, go back to the castle!”
Her father was a brute.
“No, stop! Alana’s going to die!”
Mileia, her dress torn and miserable, clung desperately to her father. But he kicked her away and beat Alana again, with all his might.
Trembling, Mileia cried and screamed. “Please don’t hit Alana!”
─Please, Mileia. Stop. Stay away from here.
Alana felt her consciousness slipping; her father’s fists were unstoppable in the heated violence.
“Oh, Father, what are you doing playing with a little girl? The King of Serrat is looking for you.”
“…Hmm, I must go,” he mused.
“Leave the rest to me. May I dispose of your ragged plaything?” “Dispose of? How could you? The hair is black, but this is your sister Alana.”
“My dear Alana? Oh, have your breasts grown?”
“No, don’t f*ck Alana, the Chancellor won’t allow you. Unless you want to follow in my footsteps, go ahead.”
“Father, how could you be so brutal? See, the floors all bloody,” the man laughed.
“Shut up. This is a father’s education.”
In a daze of consciousness, Alana recognised her half-brother, Raymond.
She felt nauseous. He was the most dangerous, the worst enemy she could think of in this situation.
”How is Alana down there*? Your mother was pretty good, but … I want to compare. Yeah, I want to compare. Well, let’s compare. See? Your favourite brother is here.”
*talking about her pussy
He grabbed her hair, dragging her in a bloody trail.
“No … No! stop! What are you doing to Alana!”
Alana lost her voice.
──Mileia … I’m fine, so run away.
She tried to speak but couldn’t. When she noticed, she couldn’t see the surroundings well. She desperately tried to stop Raymond from attacking Mireia, but she was beaten, kicked, and thrown.
The shock of hitting her head blackened her consciousness, and now, when she opened her eyes, everything seemed to be a mess. It appeared that someone was by her side.
She felt as if someone was looking into her face.
“It’s me, can you see me?”.
“… Callisto,” she murmured.
“You’ve been beaten so badly …. Can we go home now? It’s too dangerous. I can’t allow you to go any further. You’ve done enough, Alana.”
She looked through her blurred vision. But she could not find the person he was looking for. Milieia was nowhere to be found.
“….. Where is Mileia?” She could see Callisto shaking his head as he did not answer.
It was no use.
–I couldn’t save you.
Far from saving, she was saved by Mileia. She was a person she should have risked her life to save.
Useless.
In the quiet emptiness, that feeling coursed through her.
Absolutely useless.
Her heart ached.
Alana fought to hold back her tears. She had no right to be sad. She didn’t deserve to comprehend pain or suffering because Mileia could not feel anything anymore.
Alana wished all emotions would disappear from her. She wanted to die with her useless body and broken soul.
– I hope all my feelings are erased, and my existence is gone, physically and mentally. Mileia…