Chapter 5
Even as this scene unfolded before her very eyes, there was someone next to her who whispered casually as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
It was Melaine.
Melaine Vava Cretos.
The second daughter of the Vava marquis family, she was, like Sue, one of Enzhe’s trusted followers. If Sue was ‘Lackey 2’, then Melaine held the authority of ‘Lackey 1’.
With her long, lustrous golden hair that cascaded down to her waist and her equally radiant golden eyes, she was nothing short of dazzlingly beautiful. The way she styled her hair, with a few strands braided and hanging down, was her trademark.
Thanks to her position as the daughter of a prestigious marquis family and her eye-catching appearance, Melaine also had her own group of followers.
*She self-destructed in the end, if I remember correctly.*
That being said, even Melaine would eventually meet her downfall a few years later. No matter how impressive their backgrounds, villains were still villains.
“Ah…! I-I’m sorry, Lady Lopetrefer! Ugh…! Aaaaargh!”
Her eyes were fixed on the violence unfolding before her, her ears filled with Melaine’s muttering and the sickening sounds of the beating. Her lungs were heavy with the stale, unpleasant air of the dark basement.
This was the glass garden, yet it wasn’t.
Deep within the glass garden, hidden from ordinary eyes, was a trapdoor in the floor. The trapdoor was always concealed by a patch of grass, but Enzhe had discovered its existence when she was twelve years old. The existence of this small, empty basement hidden beneath.
Why, and for what purpose this space was created, no one knew. What mattered was who was using it now, and for what purpose.
Enzhe Lopetrefer used this basement whenever she wanted to torment someone to death.
“Haha… hahaha…! I… I really hate girls like you…!”
“Sob… Ugh… Uwaaaah…”
Enzhe grabbed the girl who was trembling on the floor by the collar and lifted her up. Not caring that her hands were getting dirty, she slapped the girl’s bloodstained cheek with all her might. The sickening sound echoed through the basement like a venomous snake.
Today’s victim was a fifth-year girl from the Green Giant Class. Apart from the fact that her name was Holland and that she came from a provincial noble family, even Sue didn’t know much about her.
Tears of terror streamed down Holland’s face. Blood-streaked tears splattered onto her uniform. The pristine white academy uniform had long since lost its original color.
There was no particular reason why Enzhe bullied others.
Fritz had helped the girl up when she had tripped and almost fallen while walking down the hallway, and the girl’s face had flushed red at his kindness. Then, Enzhe, who had been in a particularly bad mood lately, had noticed her.
That was all.
Just because she had interacted with Enzhe’s fiancé for a brief moment, this girl was being beaten to a pulp.
*It’s almost pitiful.*
And yet, Enzhe had a reason for inflicting such senseless and pitiful violence for years.
There was a secret between Enzhe and Fritz, who were currently engaged, a secret unknown to others. That secret was a promise they had made just before getting engaged.
When the marriage proposal between Enzhe and Fritz had been exchanged between their families, Fritz, despite his young age, had tried to break off the arranged engagement. On the other hand, Enzhe had been adamant about going through with it.
There was no room for romantic narratives in marriages between nobles, so Fritz had eventually accepted the engagement, bowing to his family’s wishes. However, around that time, he had realized that he would never be able to love Enzhe.
*If I find someone I love before I inherit the family title, I will definitely break off the engagement.*
That was what Fritz had declared to Enzhe just before their engagement.
This was an engagement between two grand ducal families. It wasn’t something that could be easily broken like a fragile glass bottle. However, Enzhe couldn’t just ignore Fritz’s declaration, even if it was just bravado. Having known Fritz the longest, she knew better than anyone.
Shina Fritz was someone who would achieve anything he set his mind to, no matter what.
So, just like Fritz, who had reluctantly accepted the engagement arranged by their families, Enzhe had nodded her head in agreement to his words.
*Fine. Do as you wish, Shina.*
But she had herself. Because by then, Enzhe was already certain.
That Shina Fritz would never be able to not love Enzhe Lopetrefer.
And even if, by some miracle, that were to happen, all she had to do was make sure Fritz never met the person he loved. She would make sure of it, forever.
That was the reason why Enzhe had taken on the role of the main villain in ‘Beyond the Tiny Droplet’.
“She’s calmed down a lot compared to after that incident last year, but she’s still in a terrible mood, isn’t she?”
Melaine muttered.
Last winter, there had been an incident where a perfectly fine count family had been completely wiped out overnight.
The ‘Damon Keron Incident’, as it was called.
Damon Keron, the youngest son of the Keron count family, had been accused of attempting to murder Lady Lopetrefer. As a result, Damon Keron, along with the entire Keron family, had been thrown into the Wastelands.
The entire territory of Atlantis was protected from monsters by layers upon layers of barriers, but there were areas that lay outside the boundaries of these barriers. The people of Atlantis called these areas the ‘Wastelands’.
The land was so polluted by the miasma of monsters that it was impossible to even farm there. Just surviving from day to day was considered a blessing.
Even though it was a land teeming with monsters, unprotected by the barriers, there were still people who lived there.
For instance, there was the protagonist of the novel, Yuriann Halo.
She was from the Wastelands. ‘Beyond the Tiny Droplet’ began with Halo, who had been desperately clinging to life, entering the academy in order to escape her miserable existence.
The only reason Halo had been able to survive in the Wastelands was because of her extraordinary talent. Any other person would have been poisoned by the miasma and died or gone mad the moment they set foot on that cursed land.
Therefore, the Imperial Court often sentenced nobles who had committed crimes to exile in the Wastelands, and Damon Keron, the former count’s son, was one such case.
As was the execution of Sue and Melaine.
Yes, Sue’s downfall culminated in her being thrown into the Wastelands.
She would have been happy to live there, but the funny thing was that the last anecdote of ‘Clot’, whose name she couldn’t even remember properly, was mentioned briefly in the novel.
It was said that the moment Clot set foot in the Wastelands, she was devoured by the monsters that ruled the area.
*Well, she dies either way…*
Sue was lost in her thoughts, imagining herself being abandoned in the Wastelands.
“…Ha… ha…”
Enzhe was finally catching her breath, standing over the small, crumpled figure that could barely twitch anymore. A few strands of her disheveled black hair were plastered messily across her face.
“Sue.”
Enzhe called out softly. Even the smallest of sounds were amplified in the confined space.
“Yes, Lady Enzhe.”
“It’s done.”
Enzhe lifted her head. Her black eyes glinted sharply. On days like this, Sue had a feeling that those eyes were as deep and bottomless as black holes.
“Good work.”
Sue offered a sweet smile.
“Please rely on me, Lady Enzhe.”
Melaine quickly moved to Enzhe’s side and supported her. Enzhe’s unsteady steps, as if she were the victim, were almost comical.
Sue watched silently as Enzhe and Melaine made their way out of the basement. She couldn’t leave yet. After Enzhe was done with her ‘business’, it was Sue’s job to clean up after her.
*It’s finally over.*
“Please get some rest, Lady Enzhe.”
The moment Sue, unconsciously clutching her right side, bid farewell to Enzhe…
“….”
Enzhe, who had just started to climb the stairs, suddenly stopped and looked down at Sue.
“…Lady Enzhe?”
“…Hehe.”
A malicious smile spread across her face.
“Ugh!”
Enzhe’s black eyes glinted with an icy cold light. And at that moment, another scream echoed through the basement.
“Ah… Aaaah… Aaaaaargh!”
The dark basement of the glass garden.
No one was hitting or kicking anyone.
And yet, as if she were putting on a one-woman play, Sue suddenly began to writhe in pain, groaning uncontrollably.
“Ugh… Aaaargh…!”
It hurt.
Her arms, legs, stomach, face – every inch of her body was filled with pain. Sue lost her strength and collapsed onto the hard floor.
Nausea welled up in her throat, and tears blurred her vision.
The pain was so intense that she felt like she would lose her mind if she closed her eyes even for a second.
Then, Enzhe burst into laughter, her voice filled with delight.
“Keuk… Ahahahaha…!”
“Gasp… Ugh…”
It felt as if hundreds of spears were piercing her heart.
…No, it wasn’t spears.
‘It’ was relentlessly ravaging her body.
Her arms, legs, stomach, face – they writhed and slithered beneath her skin, never ceasing their torment. Occasionally, ‘it’ would even reveal itself on her face.
*That snake makes me want to puke every time I see it.*
Melaine, who had been watching Sue, turned her head away in disgust.
Yes, it was a snake.