The tree, called the ‘Tree of Hope’ among the refugees, was looking down at Eun Ha from more than twice its original height.
‘Someday, when this sapling grows much larger than these shanties, may this nightmarish reality be over.’
The day the sapling was planted, someone’s desperate prayer was still vivid in her mind.
“Now do you believe me, senior?”
Eun Ha, standing still in her place, showed no significant change in expression. Only a very slight trembling of her fist.
Behind the towering buildings, the sun was dimly setting.
Eun Ha’s black hair sadly fluttered. A strong smell of blood was carried by the wind, touching Siwoo’s nose. A smell that wouldn’t come from ordinary humans.
Eun Ha stood in her place for over an hour without moving. When the sky darkened and a white moon hung, Siwoo, who had slowly grown accustomed to the smell of blood, discreetly checked the time.
“Shall we go back for now?”
She only slightly licked her lips, her eyes fixed on the pine tree.
“…Where to?”
Where was she saying to go back to? She had already lost her home twice.
Siwoo, who had been staring at her expressionless profile, turned his back.
“How about going to my mansion for now and finishing the rest of the story? There must be a lot left that we want to ask each other.”
Her black eyes, fixed on the pine tree, moved slightly. Eun Ha looked vacantly at Siwoo’s back.
…There was no choice.
[This is the time separator]Sleep wouldn’t come.
The cleaning lady, tidying up the room, brought a clean new quilt, pillow, and even pajamas that fit just right.
But Eun Ha was perched at the table, not even having changed her clothes.
The wall clock pointed at 2:30 a.m. Her gaze shifted from the clock to outside the window. The moonlight, seen for the first time in years, was incredibly cold. So cold that her heart seemed to freeze.
Above the ensuing silence, only the ticking of the clock passed.
In front of the motionless Eun Ha, a yellow message window popped up.
Ding!
[The Divine Beast ‘Wandering Cat of Darkness’ reveals itself from the shadows.]It was the first message window to appear since she had escaped the Gate. Normally, it might have been a welcome sight, but…
Before the joy, there were a mountain of questions she wanted to ask the cat.
“…Did you mean to take the name? Was that what you meant?”
In the dark room, without even the lights on, Eun Ha licked her lips.
[The Divine Beast ‘Wandering Cat of Darkness’ cautiously peeks around.] [It says that it’s not something it can do now due to the constraints of the contract at the time, and averts its eyes.]“…”
Eun Ha stared at the message window quietly. Yes, blaming the cat was strange.
The cat had clearly mentioned the constraints, and Eun Ha had accepted the contract. At the time she was trapped in the Gate, she hadn’t been in a position to pick and choose.
So what she should be questioning the cat about at this point wasn’t really that.
“…This.”
Eun Ha took off the tiara she was wearing and held it up close to the message window.
Then the message window vibrated largely, as if reflecting the cat’s reaction, and began to fade as if… fleeing. Eun Ha narrowed her eyes sharply.
“Don’t run away. This was yours, wasn’t it?”
The yellow message window, caught by the scruff of its neck, gave no response. Eun Ha opened her mouth again.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
The cat must have known. How long Eun Ha had been searching for the fifth named monster.
In the end, the fifth named monster didn’t exist. The last item was not held by a monster, but by the cat.
If she said she didn’t feel betrayed, it would be a lie. She had thought of it as her only companion while trapped in the Gate for a long time.
So she wanted to know why. Eun Ha waited for the yellow message window to pop up, with sunken eyes.
It was only after a long while that the message window cautiously reappeared.
[The divine beast ‘Cat that Wanders the Darkness’ begins intense grooming.]
The cat said.
It had planned to give the fifth item to Eun Ha someday. But unexpectedly, there was an external intrusion, so it had to hand it over sooner than planned.
“Why didn’t you give it to me sooner? You knew I was trying to escape the gate.”
[The divine beast ‘Cat that Wanders the Darkness’ looks at you and slowly blinks its eyes.]A moment of silence passed, then ting, another notification sounded.
[It wanted to play a little longer with you, sobbing that it only has its sister as family.]Family. At that word, the lips that were about to utter the next statement hesitated. Come to think of it, the cat had been calling Eun Ha ‘sister’.
When did the cat start to think of Eun Ha as family? When playing together in the Unknown Gate? When they drove away monsters and came back to roast meat? When they chatted trivially just before falling asleep?
It didn’t know. But ‘when it began’ was not the most critical point right now.
The Male lead Always Seduces Her with His Beauty (Matriarchy)
Xin Jiao Zhou is the leader of the world’s premier sect. She has just experienced betrayal from all sides, was poisoned in an assassination attempt, and faced death squad attacks while the poison was taking effect. After finally clearing out the scum from her sect, she was drugged again while trying to detoxify.
After waking up from a night of unconsciousness, she gained a “beautiful and kind-hearted” husband.
Xin Jiao Zhou: “???”
He fell ill.
She came to see him, bringing breakfast.
As she put down the breakfast and was about to leave, his hand slipped while holding the spoon. “Clank!”
She turned around upon hearing the noise.
He looked up at her, his eyebrows drooping: “My hand… has no strength.”
“Shall I… feed you?” she asked tentatively.
He opened his mouth cheerfully: “Ah—”
Thinking she was drowning, he jumped in without hesitation to save her, but nearly drowned himself. In the end, it was she who swam over to rescue him, giving him air underwater.
After emerging from the water, his ear tips turned red. He lightly brushed his cheek, tucking his sideburns behind his ear, revealing delicate, pink-tinged ear tips. He lowered his gaze, too embarrassed to look at her.
Xin Jiao Zhou: He’s truly beautiful, kind-hearted, and adorable.
A certain someone when disciplining subordinates behind the scenes: “If they don’t obey, just kill them.”
What’s that? She might already have someone she cares about in her heart? A certain someone: Find out who it is, kill them, and then there won’t be anyone.
What? She met a man by the riverside? What? That man even hurt her? A certain someone: Whichever hand hurt her, chop off his entire arm.
Love at first sight without realizing it, gradually falling in love, slowly getting closer…
Family and national grudges, schemes and desires, good and evil, crime and punishment, she and he face the future together, seeking justice with passion!
A naturally dark female lead who could accidentally destroy the world but is actually an honest person VS a weak, pitiful, and helpless but skilled fighter, beautiful white-cut black male lead
My heart is not of stone, how steadfast is your love? — Tao Yuanming “Imitating the Ancients (No. 3)”
— Reading Guide —
Cold female lead & dramatic black lotus with hidden yandere traits male lead
