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I had never been so humiliated in my life.
I bit my lip “No.”
“Really? No?”
Really? No?
Eric’s voice was eerily calm.
Panic seized me. Whether he was a child or a grown man, I was terrified of him when he was like this. As the male lead of this pocket world, Eric was no ordinary person. Once the plot had deviated, the man who was meant to be a paragon of virtue became
a monster of unrestrained brutality when he embraced his darkness.
Anyone who crossed him met a terrible end. Death was the most merciful outcome.
I had seen him deal with those who offended him before. One man had his hands and feet chopped off and was thrown into the
dungeons. He couldn’t live, but he couldn’t die.
I’d been curious about the dungeons once and had lied to the guards, telling them Eric said I could take a look. Down there, I saw a man whose body was crawling with maggots. White worms writhed over his flesh, burrowing into his wounds and crawling back
out. The dungeon was lit by a single, flickering candle, casting a sickly yellow light.
The sight made me throw up my lunch. Amidst the vomit on the floor, the maggots squirmed relentlessly towards me.
My legs gave out and I scrambled to run, tripping on the stairs as I fled.
I fell into a warm embrace.
I looked up.
It was Eric.
He looked as gentle as ever, stroking my hair. “Ava, what are you doing down here? Who let you in?”
In the dim light, he looked like a demon crawled up from the depths of hell.
I shook my head violently, pointing back towards the dungeon. “What did that man do to deserve that?”
Eric picked me up and carried me out. Step by step, the warm sunlight outside did nothing to dispel the chilling cold that had seep-
ed into my bones.
His voice was placid. “Have you forgotten, Ava? Three months ago, outside the palace, that man tried to assault you.”
“But he never even touched me!”
Eric had arrived just in time and beaten him senseless. He’d already paid a price for his crime. He didn’t deserve this.
From behind us came a hoarse, gurgling sound. They had cut out his tongue. He couldn’t even scream for help.
Eric simply used his sleeve to wipe a smudge from the corner of my mouth. “Good girl, Ava. Don’t come to places like this again.”
Tears welled in my eyes.
When I returned to my world, the System had erased these memories, fearing they would affect my normal life. But seeing Eric again brought them all flooding back in fragmented flashes.
Before, I was under Eric’s protection. He wouldn’t have hurt me, wouldn’t have forced me to do these things.
But now…
I obediently opened my mouth.
The cream was sweet.
I had wanted him to try it earlier.
Now, I was the one eating all of it
Tears streamed down my face.
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Tears streamed down my face.
Eric lifted my chin, forcing me to look up at him.
He wiped away my tears. “That’s a good girl.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, refusing to look at him.
He paused, then slowly gathered me into his arms. I couldn’t understand how he could do such terrible things to me, yet still speak in such a gentle voice.
His lips brushed against the corner of my mouth.
“How old are you now, Ava?”
My eyes snapped open.
“You…!”
He remembered me all along!
“Eighteen, is it?”
He pushed up the hem of my nightgown, a low chuckle vibrating from his throat.
“Our Ava really has grown up.”
