To You Who Will Destroy Me - Chapter 8

<Episode 8>

Louisa was very surprised by her daughter’s sudden vomiting. Irelia glanced at her, while pressing her lips with a handkerchief at her shrill scream.

‘Are you going to get angry?’

Her parents in the present life did not love her. They were not abusive, but their parenting style was close to neglect. However, when Rae-yeon made a mistake or asked for help, they would grumble and get angry.

But Louisa was not that kind of a parent.

“Are you okay, my baby?”

Louisa was not angry, but rather worried, for Irelia’s small, pale face looked as if it might collapse at any moment.

“Stop the carriage!!”

Louisa, who had called out to the coachman, held her cold hand, which was covered in cold sweat. Then she asked with a worried look in her eyes.

“Why are you suddenly like this, Rel? Are you sick?”

The hand I was holding now was very warm. Maybe that’s why I felt like relying on that body temperature.

But Rae yeon never forgot that she could never be Irel Ellorance. It must have been strange in front of Irel’s mother, who had seen her ridding carriages as if it were very common like breathing since she was young, to now feeling motion sickness from it.

“I just had a bit of a headache and it suddenly got worse when I got on the carriage… … I’m sorry.”

“Oh, you should have said so earlier! You are weak, so you always have to be careful in everything you do.”

Louisa scolded her, half in worry, half in pity. Then she folded the blanket and helped Irelia lie down with her head on it.

She felt sorry for her daughter, who was curled up and wheezing in pain.

‘Unlike my son who was extremely healthy, my daughter be born so weak. It was all because I had not given birth to her properly, and my heart aches even more at that thought.’

Looking down at Irel with pitiful eyes, Louisa suddenly had an idea.

“My maid told me that there’s a new herbal medicine shop around here. They might have some simple headache remedies.”

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner. Louisa quickly called the servant, gave him a brief explanation about the apothecary, and asked him a question.

“So, do you happen to know where it is?”

“I think I know, ma’am. I think you mean the new warehouse up ahead.”

Fortunately, the coachman, who had been blinking and thinking about something, soon answered. Louisa’s face brightened at the thought that she could finally do something for her daughter.

“Good! Then you take care of it.”

The coachman bowed his head and left. However, he went to get some headache medicine and did not return for a long time.

“Why is he so late? The sun will set at this rate.”

Despite her elegant appearance, Louisa had a surprisingly impatient personality. She had rarely waited for anyone in her life, so she stamped her feet and looked outside. If she was any later, she would obviously not be able to arrive at the downtown area on time.

“I guess it won’t work. He said it’s right here, so I’ll go and take a look.”

So, Louisa urged herself again to wait a moment. It was not dangerous since it was close to the downtown area, but she was worried just in case.

“Don’t go. Just sit in the carriage and wait for him… … .”

“What kind of parent would sit still when their child is sick?”

Louisa wiped the sweat off her forehead and pinched her cheek so that it wouldn’t hurt. At her affectionate touch, Irel barely opened her eyes and looked up at her. Louisa smiled as if trying to reassure her daughter, but that smile made her feel like crying.

“I’m really sorry… … because of me.”

“There’s no need to apologize. I’ll be back soon, so just rest for a bit.”

Louisa kissed her affectionately on the forehead and got out of the carriage. But contrary to her words that she would be back soon, Louisa did not return for over an hour.

‘What should I do?’

Irel got up, feeling that her motion sickness had subsided after a good rest. She was worried about Louisa, who had walked the rough mountain path to the herbalist because of her.

That wasn’t all. As I waited alone in the carriage, ominous thoughts began to come to mind. Especially things like what

Michael had said earlier.

‘Be careful, Mother. There have been more and more Kitans appearing recently.’

Could that be why the forest I saw through the carriage window seemed particularly dangerous? I had a feeling that Louisa might be in trouble somewhere without me knowing.

Thinking about it like that, she couldn’t just sit back and wait. Fortunately, as she moved her body around, the motion sickness that had been bothering her seemed to have almost completely disappeared. When she carefully stepped onto the ground, the first thing she saw was the red sunset beyond the mountains.

‘I have to find my mother before it gets dark.’

He said it was definitely near to them, so we would meet soon. Thinking that, Irel turned the corner and was momentarily confused. It was because the road in front of her was divided into two.

She thought for a moment, then absentmindedly looked down at the dirt floor. Fortunately, she saw a mark on the left path where something like a heavy sack had been dragged. It was a large sack, probably filled with some kind of medicinal herb.

‘Perhaps this is the herbal medicine shop?’

Irel, having made that judgment, headed to the left. Fortunately, as expected, at the end of the road stood a large warehouse-like thing.

“Is this it… … ?”

Irel couldn’t be sure, but this was the only house visible through the thick trees.

Irel approached the warehouse hesitantly. Just as she was about to knock on the large, tightly locked door, she heard a noise from a window a little distance away.

Could it be the voice of her mother or the coachman who had arrived earlier? Thinking so, Irel went to the window and took a peek inside. And soon her face turned pale.

“Please save me… … I was wrong.”

A man was kneeling on the stone floor, begging, his arms tied behind his back. He looked like he had rolled around on a thorny path, his body torn and bloody here and there, a pitiful sight.

“I beg you, please spare my life… … .”

The man shook his knees as if he wanted to escape somehow. His face was clearly terrified. However, the dark men standing on either side of him were threatening him with clubs, so he couldn’t do anything.

Irel instinctively knew that she had witnessed something dangerous. Perhaps the marks on the sack she had seen were not from an apothecary but from a person.

It was a blessing that she didn’t knock on the door.

‘Let’s get out of here first. I can’t get caught.’

She bit her lips hard to keep herself from making a sound and quietly place away from the window. No, she tried to move, but her feet soon froze in place.

Because of a man who suddenly appeared like a streak of fireworks across the night sky.

“Hello, it’s nice to see you again.”

I almost thought it was a greeting addressed to her. Irel let out the breath she had been holding, her pounding heart slowly sinking down.

The moment she saw the man with red hair, her heart stopped beating. The man in front of her was exactly like the one Irel, or rather Raeyeon, had seen in her dreams. He was terribly beautiful, sensual, and above all, he had the aura of a cruel predator.

Thanks to that, Irel froze stiffly, forgetting that she had even tried to run away. It felt like she had opened her eyes and was wandering in a nightmare.

Fortunately, the red-haired man hadn’t noticed her yet. The person he was talking to was none other than the kneeling man.

“You were pretty good at running away. Maybe you wanted to live in poverty, Jack?”

“Eek! Please, spare me. I’ll beg you. It was my fault… .”

“Shh.”

The man called Jack stammered and begged in front of him. But the red-haired man frowned when he heard this.

“You know I hate noise.”

The man who raised his finger above his sensuous lips spoke casually. Contrary to his tone of voice that seemed almost playful, his shoe mercilessly trampled Jack’s knee. Then, with a burning sound like a soldering iron, Jack’s body twitched in pain.

“Kuaaaa… … Ugh!! Ugh!!!”

The scream that seemed to rip apart was short-lived, but the subordinates on both sides quickly covered his mouth. Only then did the red-haired man smile in satisfaction.

“Look, how nice it is to be quiet.”

The face that made a person half-dead and then smiled brightly like a flower was terrifying. Even when such a handsome man smiled, it sent shivers down my spine.

“Oh, by the way, do you like dogs?”

He kindly knelt down on one knee to get on the eye level with the man. Then, looking down at his eyes, which were particularly red because of his eyelashes, he whispered.

“I like them quite a bit. I’m a bit embarrassed to say it myself, but I guess you could call me an animal lover.”

At the same time, a growling sound was heard from behind the man. Judging from the rough and heavy howl, it was not an ordinary animal.

“They are very loyal and affectionate. Who can hate a dog?”

As he spoke, his men dragged out something that seemed to be a monotonous hum. It was a two-headed dog, almost as big as an ox.

“Woof, woof!!”

A fearsome dog wrapped tightly in chains barked with teeth as big as a forearm. It was so strong and violent that it made several strong men stagger even though they were holding the chain. However, the red haired, who man saw this giggled and called the dog as if he was happy to see it.

“Choco, you look so cute.”

The expressions of the men around him became pale as the name of the dog came out of his mouth.