affection chapter 4

Sienna’s knuckles turned white. Brother. She trembled, the phantom echo of Soohan’s voice ringing in her ears, a voice she shouldn’t be able to hear. Did you hurt like this too? Were you this scared and in pain? Her gaze was fixed on the rag in her hand, but her attention was riveted on Damon. Sister, it hurts. Thwack! 

Sienna scrubbed faster, desperate to escape the suffocating atmosphere. The carpet could be damaged by such vigorous scrubbing, but that hardly mattered now. With each brutal strike of the thick, rod-like cane that Limerio brought down on the boy, Sienna’s movements grew more frantic. 

The boy was being beaten just five steps away, for no justifiable reason, and she could do nothing. She was utterly powerless. If I interfere, I’m ruined. If I intervene, my life here is over. I just need to endure this for a year, like I’m dead, build my experience, and then leave. 

The crushing helplessness brought tears to her eyes. With trembling hands, Sienna finished the last of the cleaning. Her chores, like Damon’s preordained punishment, were complete. Limerio, breathing heavily from the exertion of beating Damon, loosened his collar. But Damon remained standing like a statue, silent and unmoving, as he had been from the start. This seemed to further enrage Limerio, who slapped the boy hard across the face. The impact of his ring-laden hand against the child’s soft cheek left a bloody welt. 

“You… devil child! You don’t even flinch! You should never have been born! Do you know how many people have suffered because of you?” 

“…I’m sorry.” 

Sienna froze, poised to gather her things and leave. What was there to be sorry for? He hadn’t asked to be born. Limerio smirked, seemingly pleased by Damon’s complete lack of defiance. To Sienna, he looked more demonic than the boy he was tormenting. 

“What did I say these beatings represent?” 

“The resentment of those who have suffered because of me.” 

“Exactly! A devil spawn like you needs to be taught a lesson! Like this!” 

With that, Limerio began to mercilessly beat Damon’s small body again. A high-pitched ringing filled Sienna’s ears. Damon endured the violence without a single cry. He seemed accustomed to it. Perhaps crying out only earned him more pain. From within his curled-up form, Damon lifted his head slightly and looked at Sienna. Their eyes met for the first time, and Sienna froze. 

His eyes were dark, lifeless, holding an ancient weariness that belied his young age. Even as he was being beaten, Damon mouthed the words, Get out. The ringing in Sienna’s ears stopped abruptly. He was concerned for her, even while enduring such brutal treatment. Sister, I’m alright. How could they be so alike? A bitter smile touched Sienna’s lips as she stood, an inkwell clutched in her hand. Perhaps their fates had been sealed since Damon was Soohan’s age. 

The tears she had been holding back finally spilled, splashing onto the floor and spreading into dark circles. Perhaps, she thought, this was a chance. A chance to atone for what happened to Soohan. 

“You stubborn brat…!” 

Infuriated by Damon’s stoicism, Limerio grabbed a fist-sized glass ornament from the desk. The angel-shaped figurine glittered menacingly in his hand. Sienna could take no more. 

“Stop it, you madman!” She hurled the inkwell at Limerio with all her might. It arced through the air, a dark projectile aimed directly at his head. Smash! 

“Ugh!” With the accuracy of a seasoned athlete—a testament to her MVP status on her village’s baseball team—the inkwell struck Limerio squarely in the center of his forehead. It clattered to the carpet, rolling across the freshly cleaned beige surface and leaving a spreading stain of black. 

Limerio stared in disbelief at the blood gushing from his forehead, then at Sienna, before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the floor with a thud. As the sound of the grown man hitting the floor echoed around her, one thought filled Sienna’s mind: I’m in so much trouble!

***

Sienna shivered in the damp, dark chill of the underground cell. Water dripped steadily, and multi-legged insects scuttled across the walls, preventing her from leaning back. She huddled in the center of the cell, hugging her knees. Should I have waited? If I had just endured a little longer, I’d be asleep in my bed right now. 

“No, I did the right thing. I did.” She shook her head vehemently. Even if she could go back, she would make the same choice. Ignoring it would have haunted her forever. But… what’s going to happen to me now? 

“M-Maybe… execution?” Striking a nobleman, even a cruel one, could result in immediate execution, especially for a commoner. And in this remote, rural place, the death of a commoner was hardly noteworthy. The image of her head rolling flashed through her mind, making her dizzy. 

“Oh no…”