Chapter 4

“Are you okay? Am I not bad luck?”

“Bad luck? Not at all! Your hair is shiny and pretty.”

004

The Bird in the Cage (Part 1)

“Ugh!”

It felt like I had a terrible nightmare. Anne, who had returned to the village after a long time, heard about my engagement and led an army to massacre the villagers in my dream. Haha, really. Even so, dreaming something so absurd. I thought I had sorted out my feelings, but it seems I still felt guilty about Anne.

My condition was definitely not great. Pressing my throbbing head, I looked around.

“Where am I?”

The floating sense of reality returned, and the things around me became clearer. I was in a white room. The air felt stuffy, so it seemed like I was underground, but a painfully bright light seeped in, and everything—the ceiling, the floor—was entirely white.

The room wasn’t very spacious and was quite bare. A hard-looking bed, a small desk, and a chamber pot were all there was. On the desk was a black book, and on one wall, a cross that seemed to be made of pure gold.

Turning around, I saw multiple layers of silver bars—no, upon closer inspection, they were cheap silver bars blocking the exit, and beyond them stretched an endless white field.

It felt like a scene from a fairy tale or the Scriptures, but if I gathered my senses, the answer was clear.

‘A prison, huh.’

Silver is softer than iron and more valuable. That’s why the bars were loosely arranged. My arm could pass through, and with some effort, I could probably squeeze my whole body out. It seemed pointless for imprisonment.

Though I hadn’t fully grasped the situation, the desire for freedom is universal, so I unconsciously reached my arm through the bars.

And then, I realized why the bars were so loose.

Zap!

“Ahhh!”

I hadn’t noticed, but there was an invisible barrier between the bars. The moment my right hand touched it, a terrible pain shot through my arm and spread throughout my body.

It felt like dozens of lightning bolts striking at once, or intense flames burning through my bones. The pain was unlike anything I’d ever experienced, and my vision flickered black and white.

After screaming incomprehensibly for a while, I lifted my trembling hand, still shaking from the pain. It felt like my hand had evaporated, but there wasn’t even a burn mark left. The pain, so vivid, seemed like a hallucination. Unable to muster any strength, I lay there like a corpse for a long time.

“Whew, huff.”

The lingering burning sensation didn’t fade easily, but after some time, I could move my body except for my right hand. How long had I been like this? A few minutes, or maybe hours.

Only after pulling myself together could I face reality.

This place is a prison. Dragging my feet, I approached the desk and opened the book. It was a Scripture filled with hymns and reverence for God.

Even in the cracks of solid rock, weeds take root, and corruption waits cunningly for its time.

This place is a prison. One filled with religious overtones.

······As my thoughts reached that point, the memories I had buried under shock began to surface one by one.

The army of the Holy War that swept in like a tidal wave.

The village, swept away like foam without any real resistance.

And the most beautiful memory that turned into the most terrible nightmare.

“Ah, uh, ah······.”

For some reason, you spared me while mercilessly slaughtering the other villagers.

Should I be happy about that? That I survived, even if I’m now a bird in a cage? As if God answered my prayers, even if it’s like this, at least I’m not dead?

No way.

“Ahhhhh!”

My defense mechanisms crumbled, and the shock, fear, horror, and despair of that moment came back vividly.

It was too much for my already battered mind to handle. My head went blank, and I froze, unable to speak for a long time.

The vomited emotions couldn’t form words and spilled out incoherently. Just meaningless feelings stretched on until a cough mixed with bloody phlegm burst out.

“It’s······ a lie······.”

Even though I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears.

I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it. I wished I didn’t have to believe it. Because acknowledging it would mean everything around me would collapse miserably.

Anne. Not someone else, but that innocent, kind child, really?

“It’s······ a lie, right?”

As I stared at the illusion shimmering beyond the bars, I pleaded.

Beyond the silver bars, you stood with a calm yet sorrowful expression, making it seem like you were the one imprisoned, not me. Silently.

Your beauty, which stood out even in childhood, had fully blossomed into maturity. Your delicate features, like a masterpiece crafted by God, your well-defined jawline, and your expressive eyes.

Even without you saying a word, I could read your mind by looking into your eyes. That hadn’t changed even after nearly a decade apart.

But I couldn’t be sure. Whether we had truly drifted apart.

Whether you and I were still the same people as back then.

“Ha, hahaha······.”

You were silent. Of course. You were just a figment of my imagination.

Afraid of the pain from earlier, I pitied myself for not being able to reach out and touch you.

Dazedly reaching out toward you, a flicker of memory stopped me. As I sighed and tried to pull my hand back, your hand reached through the bars and grasped mine.

The warmth of your hand, held after so long, brought tears to my eyes. The illusion······ wasn’t an illusion.

“Anne······.”

“Yes, Louis.”

“It’s not true, right? It’s all my misunderstanding?”

Holding hands through the bars, I sobbed, leaning into her warmth.

“You wouldn’t do that, right? Such terrible things······.”

“No.”

“Haha, right. Of course······!”

Even that simple word filled my head with joy and happiness. Yes, it couldn’t be true. Anne, really······.

The hand I held was as soft and gentle as in childhood, making it impossible to believe she could do such terrible things. Her slender fingers, her skin as pale and clean as if untouched by sunlight.

The very image of a typical noble. Though I had no love for their arrogance and high-handedness, it was still better than a heartless murderer wielding a mace.

“It’s not a terrible thing.”

Thud, my heart dropped.

“It’s bringing those who fell into darkness back to God’s embrace.”

The hand I held, which had been such a comfort just moments ago.

Now felt like the appendage of a disgusting insect, filled with rejection and revulsion.

“Ha. Wh, what······.”

Even in this state, I was still trying to escape reality.

It’s impossible. Even if she really did it, such a warrior’s traits should show on her body. With such a delicate frame, no. It’s impossible for an ordinary human to wield such monstrous strength······.

Like a thunderbolt in my mind, knowledge flashed in the dark void.

The higher-ups of the Religious Order are granted the Holy Body. A fragment of the ‘God’s’ flesh. A treasure that grants eternal youth, heavenly beauty, and demi-godlike strength.

Anne was already young and beautiful. But the superhuman strength she displayed couldn’t be explained by talent or effort alone.

The higher-ups of the Religious Order—the High Priest, the Bishop, the Gospel Protector.

And the Inquisition Judge.

“······Let go.”

She had ‘judged.’

Our village. Your hometown. The neighbors and friends. Those who grew up with you, sometimes mischievous but always caring, who gathered to see you off when you left for the city.

“Why, Louis? You don’t look well.”

“Let go!”

I screamed like a madman. I wanted to tear away immediately, but Anne’s hand was as firm as shackles on a criminal.

The more I struggled, the tighter her grip became, and my wrist felt like it was about to tear off, but I couldn’t stop. If I didn’t scream and vomit it out now, the madness inside me would burn everything to ashes.

“Witch! Murderer! Do you know what you’ve done? The villagers, my friends······.”

All of them.

All of them!

“Louis.”

Anne frowned slightly as she said my name. Everything about her should be hateful, but you were still beautiful. The slight curve of your eyes, the small scar on your forehead, even as I screamed in madness, my gaze was drawn to you every moment.

I cursed myself. I wanted to hate you, I needed to hate you.

But a part of me still loved you, even after I had a fiancée.

The incomplete hatred came back to wound me. After thrashing around, I finally charged at the bars. I didn’t know what I was trying to do. Grab your collar, hit you, or.

Like a moth, throw myself into the flames and die.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

The silver bars separating you and me, me and this world, burned my soul.