Chapter 9

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However, unfortunately, Adel couldn’t keep that promise.

 

Strangely enough, the memories of yesterday faded when he woke up today.

 

What color was her hair, what kind of voice did she have, and what trivial conversations did they have?

 

At times, his memory became so fragmented that he could remember her as two different people.

 

In such circumstances, the only thing he could remember were the last words she left before leaving.

 

“All this happened because of your mistake.”

 

“So, blame yourself. If you had been a good person, this wouldn’t have happened.”

 

“Be grateful to me.”

 

“Blame yourself. That’s all you’re capable of.”

 

“Always remember. This is the most ideal education that teaches the worst version of yourself.”

 

Today’s morning felt just like the first, and as her accumulating words became overwhelming, Adel carved each one into the wall, marking the dates.

 

And so, that day marked ten months by his counting.

 

Just like any other day, the woman who used to visit Adel’s place left him a potion she had prepared without fail.

 

Normally, they would have had various conversations, but today was different.

 

Her eyes, which used to gaze at him intensely, showed a hint of pity.

 

His body, which used to be more than two or three times her size when she first arrived, had now shrunk to a size smaller than her. It was impossible to determine his age, and even his eye and hair color had completely changed due to the potion.

 

For the first time, a genuine smile appeared on her face.

 

She flicked her thumb and index finger together, making a clicking sound. Then, the magical power that emerged from her hand enveloped Adel.

 

“Now you too will fall into the same hell as me, –Den.”

 

Her voice grew fainter. As Adel drifted away into unconsciousness, he closed his eyes halfway.

Then, as if he had just died, she gently covered his eyes with her own hands.

 

* * *

 

He woke up again after two days had passed.

 

As soon as his mind cleared, the curse words she had uttered filled his head as usual.

Just like when he was trapped, his memories didn’t fade away each day.

 

Being able to remember yesterday. It might have been called a blessing, but it wasn’t for him.

 

The thoughts in his head tormented him regardless of time. Now he truly believed that he was a bad person, and her punishment was completely justified.

 

Adel instinctively hunched over, burying his head in his legs and covering his ears. It wasn’t an audible voice but a curse that shook his mind directly, yet he felt that if he didn’t do something like this, he would truly go insane.

 

“Are you really… selling me a child?”

 

He couldn’t tell exactly what was going on because he was in a swaddling sack, but he knew instinctively that she was a human being.

 

“I’ll give you a special discount.”

 

“Oh, how delightful!”

 

The voices from outside mingled with the thoughts in his brain and then vanished, causing the sack he was in to tremble slightly. And not long after, a faint light dazzled his eyes.

 

Adel stared at the kind face of a woman, visible beyond the light.

 

“…Tsk. It was a boy. Well, it doesn’t matter as long as I can use him for something else.”

 

The voice of the woman in front of him and the thoughts in his head merged.

 

“Worthless. I should be grateful for this much.”

 

A rough touch of a woman’s hand gripped his arm and forcefully pulled him out. A bitter laugh escaped him.

 

Perhaps he was an unworthy human to even experience such things. So there will be no benevolent gods to save someone like him.

 

However, at that moment, paradoxically, a god appeared before him.

 

He closed his eyes slightly, and when he opened them, the first thing he saw was an unusually small foot. Following that foot with his gaze, he saw a woman with an indifferent expression who embraced both the sun and the darkness above her.

 

Adel managed to control his trembling body with great difficulty. The thoughts that had plagued his weak self were completely silenced upon encountering this presence.

 

“…Well, it’s not like I care about it to that extent.”

 

Her voice flowed sweetly into his ear, and he couldn’t regain his senses in an instant. Her voice dominated his entire consciousness.

 

The countless voices that had been swirling in his mind had already vanished with a single syllable she uttered.

 

“Really?! So… Can I really take him?”

 

The woman’s voice rang in his ear as he dumbfoundedly faced her. She was the woman who had treated him like a mere beast.

 

Adel’s eyes scrutinized the woman, who was called Louisa. However, her gaze remained unchanged. Indifferent yet strangely filled with emotions unknown to him.

 

He reached out his hand, which lacked strength, and grasped the hem of her pants, which were torn.

 

“No, no. Please…”

 

He doesn’t want to be separated from her.

 

The few minutes he spent with her were the happiest moments he could remember among the years he had lost. But…

 

“I detest clichés.”

 

Her facial expression was slightly furrowed.

 

He didn’t know exactly what her words meant, but Adel knew it wasn’t a favorable statement for him. She showed no signs of any emotion or hesitation, not even to his desperate face.

 

“Take him with you. I won’t pay attention to such trivial matters.”

 

And as always, the gods turned their backs on him. His pleas for mercy were futile.

 

Ah, so blessings don’t come to him either. The gods aren’t so generous as to bestow mercy on a worthless human like him.

 

Merchen, a woman, brought him in the end, dragging him away. 

 

She had promised to make him do all sorts of things, but when they arrived home, she didn’t ask him to do a single task.

 

No, it would be more accurate to say that she ‘couldn’t’ ask him to do anything after Louisa’s warning.

 

But it was Adel’s actions that made her give up.

 

Merchen clicked her tongue as she looked at Adel, huddled in a corner of the living room.

 

“That’s why you’re useless for any kind of work, whether it’s research or odd jobs.”

 

After a moment of muttering about how she should have known when they sold him for cheap, Merchen turned her attention to Adel. 

 

She didn’t care if he was whimpering or shaking with pain. Only once did she turn to Adel and whisper in his ear.

 

“Kid, wouldn’t it be better to quickly let go of attachments in life? It would be more convenient for both of us.”

 

Her tone was gentle and kind, but the meaning of her words was chilling. Adele snorted inwardly and closed her eyes. Attachment to life? 

 

He hadn’t had such a thing since he woke up. Revenge was no longer possible as his body and mind were exhausted.

 

Time passed like that. He couldn’t tell how many days had gone by. Adel thought of the last angel he’d seen, hoping he’d slip out of consciousness completely.

 

The woman who had done this to him wanted him to fall into hell, but he had already seen an angel. So there was only one woman who would ever dip her toe in hell.

 

The voice in his head continued to scream loudly. He covered his ears again and hunched his body. Ironically, the screaming voice seemed to be diminishing as it approached the end. 

 

It was clearly a delusion. There was no reason for it, so he thought his head was getting numb because it was his time to die.

 

Certainly, that was the case…

 

“Hey, kid.”

 

Miraculously, a voice that expelled the darkness within me was heard.

 

“An… Miss Angel?” 

 

“I’m not an angel.”

 

Was it like a hallucination people see before they die? Adel reached out and hesitantly touched her face.

 

“It seems… like a dream?”

 

And she kindly corrected his foolish words.

 

After that, she seemed to babble on and on. His angel, more than he deserved, hugged him warmly. Adel hugged her tightly as if he were going to collapse. 

 

He tightly wrapped his legs around her waist and buried his face in her shoulder.

 

“So, are you going to keep tormenting him?”

 

Moreover, she saved him from this place…

 

She really… Could she be an angel sent by God?

 

That thought struck his mind. Adel’s lips twitched upwards. The ecstasy that covered him peaked when his eyes met Merchen.

 

Yes, that gaze.

 

Eyes filled with defeat and overflowing with hatred that he couldn’t dare to overlook.

 

Ah, he has been chosen by an angel.

 

He bit his lip tightly to hold back the laughter that threatened to burst from his euphoria. But he couldn’t restrain himself from shuddering.

 

She patted his back and comforted him affectionately. His body, which was completely intoxicated with happiness, gradually calmed down. Then she asked him his name.

 

Adel wanted to answer whatever the angel asked, but unfortunately, this time, he himself didn’t know the answer.

 

“You’re really unlucky.”

 

She didn’t get angry that he didn’t know his name. She just looked at him with a sympathetic gaze. 

 

That sympathy was more than he could ever hope for, and he wants her to look at him with a sympathetic gaze for the rest of his life.

 

“But still…”

 

She saved him.

 

No, she might really be a God. Like the goddess of birth, Clotho, or the goddess of death, Atropos.

 

But she firmly interrupted him, saying that she was not an angel.

 

“I’m not an angel. It’s Louisa.”

 

Louisa.

 

It was the moment a new god was born in his heart, named Louisa.

Read ahead here.