novelraw Chapter 25 : Chapter 25
Chapter 25 : Chapter 25
Chapter 25
Leticia awoke groggily, her head spinning, vision blacking out as if her body had been completely drained after extreme exertion.
Come to think of it—that was exactly what had happened...
So this was just a normal reaction?
Heh...
Then why was she upside down?!
“Ughh...”
Her whole body ached unbearably. One rest was nowhere near enough. Every tiny movement made her feel like she’d been scraped raw with wire brushes—sharp, biting pain everywhere.
Well, maybe that was an exaggeration. If she really had been wire-brushed, she’d probably have died on the spot...
Her brain felt sluggish, blood rushing to her head. Her thoughts spun and went black several times, but she never quite reached the most crucial question—
Who had hung her up like this...
“Ngh...”
She struggled a little, only managing to make her body sway weakly in the air.
“Oh? Awake already?”
A stranger’s voice came from nearby. Leticia blankly listened, taking forever to even think about whose voice it was.
It seemed being pushed to the brink of death by Stano, then hung upside down for who knew how long, had really scrambled her.
When she first came to this world, Uncle John had told her her body was already badly weakened from “that serious illness.” Poor living conditions had left her fragile—if pushed too hard, she might really die.
Now it was trouble piled on disaster.
Her vision was still dark, no matter how she strained. Was she going blind?
Fear pricked her heart. She forced herself to take deep breaths and croaked: “Wh-who are you?”
“Who am I?”
The voice was hoarse and grim, like a crow perched on a dead tree, scratching and unpleasant.
“Hehehe... What an interesting question...”
Interesting? Wasn’t that the most natural question to ask a stranger?
Leticia felt helpless. Judging from the faint light she could still sense, she figured she was indoors—or underground. No wind, but not completely dark. Or maybe it was just a windless night.
That was all her foggy head could deduce.
Her ankles burned where coarse rope bit into her flesh. Had her skin already broken?
Just imagining the rope grinding her skin raw, blood spraying, white bone showing beneath—it sent chills down her spine.
“Um...”
She stammered, “C-could you maybe put me down first?”
She was just a harmless little girl. How could anyone bear to torment her like this?!
“Put you down? Put you down? Hahahaha—hahaha—!”
The laughter was worse than hundreds of ducks quacking at her ear. Leticia almost wanted to stuff something in the woman’s mouth.
“All right.”
“Ah!”
The rope on her ankles suddenly slackened. She plunged headfirst to the ground.
No cushions waited below—only rotting branches that jabbed into her painfully.
“Ow ow ow ow...”
Her eyes welled with tears—not from weakness, but from her body truly being at its limit.
“Hehehehehe...”
The hoarse voice cackled, clearly amused at Leticia’s pain. “A little brat like you, all alone here—what do you think you’re doing?”
“I...”
She rubbed her eyes hard, her vision spinning before slowly returning upright.
“I-I got lost...”
Half true, half lie. Best not to reveal too much to a stranger.
She finally saw her captor. A woman—cloaked in a billowing black robe that swallowed her figure, her head hidden beneath a wide-brimmed black hat. With half her face veiled, her head looked like a huge mushroom sprouting from her neck. Terrifying.
Her eyes, however, were emerald green, framed with long lashes and natural curves—eyes that seemed to speak, dangerously alluring, impossible not to stare at.
“You’re lying.”
Her words froze Leticia in place.
“Eh?”
The black-clad woman narrowed her eyes, extending a hand from her robe. Between her fingers—A note.
Stano’s uncle’s note. The one Leticia couldn’t read, covered in strange encrypted squiggles. She had glanced at it earlier and put it away. Now, in her captor’s hand.
“Quite bold. You even dared lie to me.”
The harsh, rasping voice clashed with her youthful appearance. Fair skin—but such a hideous sound. What lay under her veil?
Her talon-like fingers clamped Leticia’s chin, forcing her to meet her gaze.
The strength was shocking—Leticia thought her jaw would crack.
What now?!
She was terrified the woman might crush her at any second. But she also feared that saying too much would make it worse. She could only stare back, wide-eyed, trembling.
So useless, Leticia thought bitterly. Like a lamb awaiting slaughter.
Until the woman suddenly said:
“So I won’t kill you.”
...Huh?