His Kindness Is A Lie

A clear intent to kill emanated from the man. She was certain of it. The moment she turned her back and fled, the man would mercilessly pull the trigger, just as he had ruthlessly killed the small rabbit.

But she couldn’t just sit and do nothing, so she had to at least attempt to run. Yet, her body wouldn’t obey, as if it were tightly bound by something. The man lowered his gun slightly and tilted his head.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to run?”

His cool voice, like the wind of this land, pierced her ears. The man looked genuinely perplexed. It was as if he found it boring that the prey, which should have been trembling in fear and running away, was just sitting there.

It was only then that she snapped back to reality. She couldn’t just sit here stupidly; she had to run immediately. If she were caught by those hands that had mercilessly pulled the trigger, there would surely be no mercy.

Every sense in her body screamed to get away from that man immediately. With trembling legs, she barely managed to stand on the ground. The moment she hesitated and turned back, she saw the rabbit’s corpse and the scent of blood hit her nose.

But she had to look ahead and run. No matter what held her back, the thought of escaping from that man completely filled her mind.

Fear of the man, the chill running down her spine from his gaze, and the image of the rabbit flashing before her eyes.

She struggled to hold onto all the things that weighed on her chest and made her feet heavy as she ran through the forest like a madwoman.

Why, despite running so hard, wasn’t the man getting any farther away?

That cold gaze kept following her back. A sob rose to her throat, but there was no time to let it out. Even in her frantic state, she clearly heard the sound of the man raising his gun again.

A loud gunshot echoed through the forest. She didn’t know where the bullet went, but her body collapsed reflexively.

“Ugh…”

As her heart pounded furiously, the buried senses slowly came back to life.

The palm of her hand scraped by sharp pebbles and branches, the cuts on her body from recklessly running through the forest, the searing and dull pain in her ankle, possibly from being hit by the bullet or from hitting a rock.

The sound of dry leaves crunching underfoot grew closer as the man approached. Bella exhaled a deep breath that she had been holding in. There was no way she could run away in this state, so it was a sigh of resignation.

The man knelt on one knee and clicked his tongue as he looked at her condition. Then, with a strangely gentle touch, he grasped her swollen, red ankle.

“Oh dear, you’ve twisted your ankle.”

His tone, which seemed to be pitying her, sent chills down her spine.

As she tried to pull her ankle away, sharp pain shot through it. The man had tightened his grip on her ankle.

“Ugh…”

The man continued to stare at her as if observing her reaction, his grip on her ankle rough.

Fear crept in, knowing that her ankle might break at this rate. The pain grew so intense that she finally found her voice, pleading softly.

“…Let me go. Please, it hurts.”

Her lips trembled, and her pitiful voice quivered with sorrow.

She had mustered up the courage to speak, worried that merciless violence might follow, but fortunately, the hand gripping her ankle withdrew. Instead, he grabbed her chin, lifting her face to meet his gaze directly.

When was the last time she had made eye contact with someone like this?

She tried to recall from the beginning of her memories, but all she could remember were the disdainful or fearful looks of people who saw her as if she were a monster whenever she made eye contact.

Her violet eyes wandered, unable to find their way in this unfamiliar experience. The man, undeterred, spoke again.

“Are you an outsider? To come in here without fear and roam around as you please.”

His tone was unmistakably filled with displeasure.

If she had known it was private property, she would never have come in.

As she glanced down, she noticed the object next to the man. Her body stiffened.

People called that cruel piece of metal a “gun.” It was an object that, like the devil’s magic, appeared out of nowhere and mercilessly took lives.

“…I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to come in here. I’m sorry. Please, let me live. I won’t come back again.”

Her voice trembled as she hurriedly spoke. She rambled, but not a single word was a lie. She never, ever wanted to come back to this merciless hunter’s forest.

The man smiled faintly. Bella couldn’t believe her eyes, as she hadn’t expected him to smile in this situation. She wanted to believe that she had seen it wrong, but the faint curve of his deep, blood-red eyes was breathtakingly beautiful.

“Let you live?”

At his brief question, Bella hastily nodded.

“Yes, yes. Please let me live.”

Perhaps it was because of the smile she had seen, but a thought crossed her mind that maybe he would let her live.

“Is that what you want?”

The man asked again, and she thought about it. There had been countless times when she didn’t want to live. She had only lived so far because she was too afraid of death.

Even now, she didn’t want to die at the hands of this merciless man.

“…Yes, I want to live.”

“If I let you live, what can you give me in return?”

She didn’t have much to give. In fact, she had almost nothing.

How much money did she have on her?

Bella naturally thought of money as the price for her life. But all she had in her pocket were a few silver coins, and of course, she had no savings.

“…How much should I give you?”

The man slowly scanned her appearance with a disdainful look.

“Money? Are you seriously suggesting that you’ll pay me to spare your life?”

Even though she was lying on the ground with dirt on her, her clothes were already tattered and shabby. In contrast, the man in front of her was dressed in such luxurious clothing that it was almost overwhelming.

Only then did she realize something was off. Normally, a hunter wouldn’t wear such clothes while hunting. This thought was quickly followed by the realization that something was seriously wrong.

She couldn’t tell what he wanted, but one thing was certain: it wasn’t money.

Bella regretted her foolish question. The man grabbed her chin and twisted his mouth into a sneer.

“How insolent.”

The hand that had been gripping her chin was withdrawn. She hadn’t noticed before, but he had been gripping her quite hard, and her chin ached slightly.

The man stood up and looked down at her. Now that she was at a lower eye level, she could clearly feel how large he was. A heavy pressure weighed down on her body.

He picked up the gun that had been lying on the ground. Watching this, Bella’s shoulders immediately tensed. A short command was issued above her small head.

“Stand up.”

Her legs didn’t have much strength, so she struggled to get up. Even as she tried to stand properly, her mind was racing with thoughts of what might happen next.

She might be shot and left to bleed to death, sold to some unknown place, or taken to the temple, accused, and burned to death by knights.

Any outcome would be dreadful. As soon as she stood up, the man gave another command.

“Turn around.”

At this moment, she couldn’t exactly defy him. Resigned to the fate that awaited her, Bella turned around.

Now that she couldn’t see his actions, her anxiety intensified. She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip in an attempt to forget her fear, but it was no use.

The man’s hand slowly wrapped around her shoulder. The unexpected touch made her small body flinch violently.

The man leaned in close enough for her to feel his breath near her ear. Bella instinctively held her breath.

“Run away.”

What did he mean by that? Was he really going to let her go, or…?

The man had already given her a chance to run once before. Although he had fired into the air as if bored, watching her frantically flee.

“This time, you’ll need to run with all your might. If I catch you again…”

He will kill her.

He swallowed the words that hovered in his mouth and gave her a push on the back.

“Run.”

It could just be another game for him, but to someone powerless, it was a desperate opportunity.

She began to run with all her strength along the path she had come. She struggled to shake off the persistent image of the man chasing her. However, the red eyes that had been seared into her mind wouldn’t fade.

Contrary to what she imagined, the man remained standing in place, unmoving. He simply blinked languidly as he watched the small figure of the woman frantically running away without looking back.

The warmth in his hand, which the cold wind couldn’t sweep away, felt unfamiliar. The memory of her tearful face begging for her life lingered vividly.

Suddenly, his gaze dropped to where the woman had been. An old handkerchief that bore the marks of time had foolishly caught his attention.

Without much thought, he picked up the handkerchief, and it stirred a small flame buried deep in his heart.

Bella

It was a name he never wanted to recall, yet he could never forget. A name that haunted him terribly, no matter where in the world he searched, where hundreds could be found.

Belliard slowly traced the name embroidered on the handkerchief with his finger.

It was something that made him endlessly cruel and endlessly weak.

The piece of cloth crumpled helplessly in his hand.

“I was going to show some mercy for once.”

Before the cruel coincidence, his twisted curiosity began to rise.