Chapter 8

Early in the morning, Ashe came to where we were being punished. She boldly said, "Because someone broke the rule by going around at night voluntarily, but that person was not arrested, so everyone will be fined. The amount of work is doubled today. Everyone has ten minutes to return to their room and change clothes."

As soon as Ashe finished speaking, there were many whispers and lamentations. People were standing all night and not getting enough sleep. Their strength was almost exhausted. Even a hunter with endurance like me felt tired and had aching feet.

A few people pleaded with Ashe. They promised to make up for the work another day. But Ashe disagreed. She yelled and chased them away.

I also returned to my room. Lying on the bed, I didn't want to move even a little; my body had no strength. Just thinking about weeding by hand makes me want to die.

Thinking like that doesn't mean I really want to die. I have witnessed many deaths, so I always cherish my life. Most of all, humans are resilient; even on the verge of extinction, people will not give up the search for life. As a hunter, I have to be even stronger. I won't let myself die quickly.

I regained my composure, got up, and went to the shower. Last night, Ashe brought me a new servant uniform, so I have no reason to refuse to wear the servant uniform.

After I finished, I followed the old path to the back garden. The sun had come out a little, but the air was still murky and cold. Ashe isn't here; she must be doing something else. That's fine, and I don't want to see her stern face.

I find a dry spot next to a dry tree. Then I sat on the ground, straightened my legs, and massaged it. I don't care about dirt, anyway; I've been through much dirtier situations than that; a little bit of land doesn't make me shy.

Sitting for a while, I leaned back against a dry tree. Fatigue enveloped me, my eyelids heavy and slowly closing.

I slept like that until Ashe's scream rang in my ears.

"Wake up! How irritating! You're such a dog." And then, an incredible, stinky feeling hit me right in the face, making me jump to my feet.

My whole body was wet. The smell of dirty house cleaner streaked straight into my nasal cavity. Before I could react, something hard hit my head, and I staggered.

I tried to keep my balance so as not to fall. The aluminum bucket rolls around beside my feet. It turns out she used it to hit me in the head.

As a hunter, I made the most serious mistake of letting my guard down. I slept so profoundly that I didn't know Ashe was coming near me. If the person approaching me were some crazy werewolf, I would have died under its claws.

Usually, I am always alert and sensitive to everything around me. No matter how harsh a situation is, I will always be on high alert and not sleep for too long. But just being here for one day made me so exhausted that I fell asleep. My ability may have decreased.

I let my guard down once and was harmed by Mira. Now, I'm making that basic mistake again. If my adoptive father found out about this, he would be disappointed in me.

Ashe's gloating laugh rang out, "punishment for the lazy."

The dirty water in my hair ran into my eyes, causing my eyes to hurt, the image in front of my eyes blurred, but I still glared at Ashe.

"Insolent! Don't look at me like that! You should remember you are just a lowly, vile, enslaved person. I can kill you at any time. Despicable human! Fuck you!..." Ashe scolded in an energetic and aggressive. She is no longer afraid of me like she was yesterday. After sleeping for one night, the memory of yesterday must have been wiped from her head.

My ears are burning, and my head is a little dizzy, maybe because hunger has affected my mind. I didn't hear her say the following sentences, but from the shape of her mouth, I knew those words were very vulgar.

I clenched my fist, trying to control my anger. If I kill her here, I will be killed too. I wouldn't put my precious life on the scale with a bastard like her.

"The next time you're lazy, I'll chop off your finger... go see Sir Charles..."

In the end, I only heard a few more broken sentences, and Ashe turned to leave. She didn't even pick up the bucket of water from the ground.

Charles? Why should I see him? When I think of him, I am reminded that I was nearly killed twice at his hands. That cold and emotionless face was etched in my mind. It made me shiver involuntarily.

Remember the moment he called my name? At that time, I seemed dumbfounded because I was so surprised. Luckily he didn't see my panicked expression because I lowered my head. When I calmed down and pretended to have amnesia, he strangled me without warning.

He was like a madman, like a roaring volcano that couldn't tell when the lava would erupt. It's so scary!

He already knows that my name is Aliyah; he must also know that I am a hunter. So I'm the most prominent suspect in last night's story.

Will he interrogate me again? Worst of all, he could kill me. What should I do?

I looked up at the window on the fifth floor nervously, thinking about how to deal with Charles. After thinking carefully, I left the courtyard.

…

*POV Charles

Last night, I was patrolling near the border with an army. I returned to the base at about 6:30 am. My subordinates told me about a suspicious person breaking in at night.

I was already sluggish due to staying up at night when I heard those useless subordinates say they couldn't catch the intruder, and my mood worsened.

"I am sorry, sir! I was careless, so the intruder hit me from behind, and I fainted. I didn't see his face. I will take the punishment." The soldier with a bandage on his head stood solemnly and said. Even though he tried to stay calm, I could still hear the trembling in his voice.

I did not answer that soldier. My gaze drifted to the maid, who was kneeling on the floor. She doesn't pretend to be strong like the soldier. Her body trembled as my gaze swept over her.

"I'm sorry, sorry... I... I can't see that person's face either... it's too dark... I only see a white shadow... please, don't punish me. .. I'm sorry... I will work more... please..." the maid cried and said in a sobbing voice. She even banged her head on the floor to beg.

I felt no pity; I even found it annoying to hear the crying early in the morning.