Imperial Year 1577, April.

Ranian opened his eyes, letting out a rough, gasping breath.

A tearing pain was felt in his abdomen. His whole body was burning hot and damp. And the smell of blood. A foul, rotten stench.

“Aaaargh!”

The tragedy that unfolded in the Ider Palace rushed into his mind like a tidal wave. Each scene vividly emerged amidst the splitting headache.

-“Run away, Ranian!”

Who was it that shouted that?

Ah, right. Elder brother. The third elder brother.

-“Motheeeeer!”

A child cried. Who was it? Who cried?

It was Winiel. The second elder brother’s daughter.

Hot blood splashed on his face. Whose blood could it have been?

He didn’t know.

Screams, shouts, groans, and wails were all mixed together, making it impossible to properly identify who was who.

The important thing was.

‘I was stabbed.’

Ranian looked down at his abdomen, which had been burning since earlier. A long wound was visible through the torn clothes. It was long, but not deep.

‘Did they think I was dead because so much blood gushed out?’

The wound was festering and swarming with maggots. Ranian picked off the maggots one by one with his fingers. He tried to distract himself from reality by removing those disgusting creatures that he normally wouldn’t have gone near.

But he could no longer ignore the foul smell, the lumpy something beneath him.

“Urgh!”

He retched, not because they were disgusting, but because reality was so terrible.

“Bleurgh!”

Only after vomiting for a while did Ranian, with tear-filled eyes, confirm those lying beneath him.

The corpses of his family members were discarded. They were sprawled together like garbage. In a place without a single Adelia flower, without a sliver of light, his precious family members were strewn about.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaah!”

Ranian wailed. Though he knew it was useless, he cried while embracing the rotting corpses. He cursed Lucas, chanted curses, both pleaded with and cursed God, but the darkness did not lift and his family members did not open their eyes.

And so Ranian lost all strength and sat leaning against the damp wall.

“Lucas Pelur. Elise Hailis. Lucas Pelur. Elise Hailis.”

He endlessly chanted the names of the two people who deserved to be cursed through gritted teeth.

Then, with a sudden thought, he examined his family’s corpses once again.

“Gone……”

One person was missing.

“Elder sister is not here.”

It was a gathering to congratulate and welcome Roxiana, who had been away from the palace for a long time, returning after offering pre-wedding prayers at the Grand Temple. The tragedy occurred before Roxiana arrived.

“Is elder sister… alive? What do you think, Father? Could she be alive?”

He asked the headless corpse propped up against the wall.

“She’s alive, right? Mother said so. That elder sister has a special power. Right? Besides, Robert was with her too.”

She must have survived. There’s a high chance she noticed something was wrong and escaped.

“Elder sister……”

Ranian covered his face with his dirty hands.

“Elder sister is alive.”

It was a great hope. A massive light.

Ranian sobbed for a moment, then lowered his hands and asked.

“What should I do now? I should escape, right? I need to get out of here. I have to find elder sister and protect her. Right?”

In truth, he had been thinking of dying.

He had thought of being torn apart and chewed to death by his family members who would soon come to life, not having been granted the Adelia flower.

But now there was hope. He must meet his elder sister.

“There must be a way out. There should be a place where water flows in.”

Ranian tried to stand up but felt dizzy and collapsed. He didn’t know how long he had been trapped here. He had lost a lot of blood, and his wound was festering, causing his whole body to burn with fever. At a time when he needed care, he hadn’t even had a sip of water, so his body was not normal.

But there was no way to recover physically here.

Ranian scooped up water pooled on the floor with both hands and put it in his mouth. As the rotten water flowed into his mouth, he felt like vomiting, but he covered his mouth with both hands and swallowed back what was trying to come up.

He had to survive and get out of here. He had to find his elder sister who must be somewhere.

-“Ranian, shall we sneak out at night?”

Roxiana had playfully asked Ranian, who wanted to see the circus. He didn’t know why such a memory came to mind at a time like this.

He just wanted to see her. He wanted to meet Roxiana and share this bursting sorrow and tearing agony.

Ranian staggered to his feet and felt along the well wall. It was not easy to find anything in the lightless well.

Wooooo- Wooooo-

Hearing a faint moan from behind, Ranian stopped moving and slowly turned around.

Wriggle-

Something seemed to be moving. An eerie air pressed down on Ranian.

‘No, I’m not afraid.’

No matter what they’ve turned into, they’re still my family. There’s nothing to fear. Even if things go wrong, I’ll just be eaten by my family. I’ll just go to the same place as my family.

‘No, then elder sister will be alone.’

Ranian gritted his teeth and felt along the wall again. But he couldn’t concentrate because of the ominous moans that kept coming.

‘How long does it take to become an undead? Can Father and Mother become undead even without their heads?’

Ranian, who had lived in a place safe from monsters, didn’t know much about monsters or magic.

‘Can I win? No, can I even fight against my family in the first place?’

He moved his hands busily while thinking all sorts of thoughts.

His hand swept through the air and something grabbed Ranian’s ankle almost simultaneously.

“Uwaaaaaah!”

Ranian screamed and jumped into the empty space he had just discovered. But he lacked strength. The arm supporting the edge couldn’t withstand Ranian’s weight.

As Ranian fell with a thud, a small face entered his eyes.

“Prisiiiiiin!”

Ranian cried out his niece’s name as he pried the child’s small hand off himself. It was unbearable to see the eyes that had always sparkled now staring at him emptily. His heart felt like it would burst with grief.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Ranian apologized as he removed and pushed away the child.

“I’m so sorry, I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. I’m sorry.”

Sobbing, he got up again and gripped the edge of the empty space, putting strength into both arms. This time he was able to jump up successfully.

“Ughhhh……”

But unable to leave through that place, Ranian lay face down and sobbed. Unable to bear the sight of his niece trying to stand up while making grotesque moans, he buried his head in his arms and wailed.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t bring everyone. I’m sorry I’m the only one who survived. But I promise. I’ll definitely find elder sister. I’ll come back here with elder sister. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

He repeated the promise that couldn’t be heard countless times. Carrying a sense of guilt that wouldn’t disappear no matter how much he apologized, Ranian raised his head. He slapped his cheeks hard with both hands.

Slap-!

The sharp sound overcame the grotesque moans.

“Since I’ve survived, I’ll live on. I’m going now.”

After giving his final greeting in a voice full of determination, Ranian turned around.

An endless winding and narrow passage stretched out. Sometimes it narrowed so much that it was hard to squeeze through. He was afraid of getting stuck in such a place, unable to move forward or backward, but his worry for Roxiana was greater.

‘She must be alive. She couldn’t be dead, could she? Did they throw her into another well? No, she must be alive. If it’s elder sister, she’ll be alive.’

He didn’t think about Lucas and Elise. Finding Roxiana was the priority, and just thinking about that was overwhelming.

‘Where can I find her? If she noticed something was wrong on her way back from the Grand Temple to Kanta, did she flee to another country? Since the Bionic Kingdom is close to the Empire, she might have escaped there. How should I search? If it’s elder sister, she would have left traces. No, leaving traces might attract trackers, so she’ll probably try to find survivors after it’s safe.’

At that point, Ranian stopped and sobbed for a moment. The thought that Roxiana might also be dead wouldn’t leave his mind.

‘Elise Hailis was next to Lucas Pelur.’

A forgotten scene came to mind.

‘The gathering was also because of Elise Hailis. Elise suggested holding a welcome party for elder sister.’

His head ached from hunger and thirst. It felt like hundreds of needles were stabbing his head. His mind wasn’t working well.

‘Why? Was the position of Gania’s crown princess that tempting? No, that doesn’t matter. Would Elise have kept elder sister alive? If she had sent people to the Grand Temple side as well……’

The escort that went to pick up Roxiana wasn’t large. They had judged that there wouldn’t be much danger on the way back from offering prayers at the Grand Temple.

Since nothing could be brought into the Grand Temple when offering prayers, even thieves didn’t attack the carriages of nobles coming out after praying at the Grand Temple.

‘No, stop thinking like this. I have to believe. Elder sister must be alive. She’s alive.’

Ranian muttered as if brainwashing himself as he moved his increasingly heavy body. Eventually, the darkness dispersed. When he looked up, he saw a hole connecting to the outside.

‘Is it evening?’

The light wasn’t strong. That was fortunate. Since he didn’t know where this passage led, it was better for the outside to be darker.

‘Which well could this be? Is it a well inside the palace? No, if they threw us away knowing we’d become undead, dumping us inside the palace would risk discovery. They must have dumped us far away from the palace.’

He hoped so.

He didn’t know how much time had passed since the tragedy, but the Gania soldiers would still be on high alert.

So he desperately hoped that the end of this well was far from the palace.

Ranian waited anxiously for the sun to set.