Chapter 23: The Price of Disobedience

“Are you afraid Aisha might see you?”

My mood was like a lake into which a block of sodium had been thrown, erupting almost violently.

Cold sweat trickled down my forehead, and I felt nothing but utter disbelief.

‘How did she figure it out?’

“Of course, I noticed.”

Saying this, the young lady pushed a plate of bloody raw food toward me, her gaze never once leaving my face.

For some inexplicable reason, I felt her eyes radiating an increasingly chilling intensity.

“Because I’ve been watching you, you disobedient, naughty child.”

The collar’s chain was seized once more. This time, however, it pulled not upwards, but downwards, relentlessly dragging my head until it was forced to the ground.

From above, a calm, chilling voice resonated:

“As my pet, you should devote your gaze entirely to your master, wholeheartedly. Who gave you the audacity to flirt with others?”

“Do you even comprehend the extent of your transgression? I pitied you, fearing you wouldn’t adjust to this new life, which is why I hadn’t trained you much these past few days. Yet, you dared to speak so much with others behind my back! What are you trying to do? Make friends? Heh, heh—”

“It seems it’s truly necessary for you to be thoroughly reminded of your place!”

The young lady’s voice, brimming with uncontrollable, chilling fury, poured forth.

“Eat it. I want you to eat this bloody meal. Not a single morsel is to remain.”

Upon hearing her words, I looked with a sense of despair at the pristine white porcelain plate before me, upon which lay a dark, reddish-black pig’s heart.

The raw offering still bore evident traces of fresh blood, its potent, metallic stench assailing me.

Merely inhaling that aroma was enough to blanch my face with terror, and my stomach churned, threatening to bring forth everything I had eaten over the past few days.

‘Eat this thing?’

Staring at the repulsive object, I felt as if the very air around me had solidified.

Outside the cabin, the boisterous laughter of sailors on deck and the rhythmic crash of waves against the hull resonated with unnerving clarity.

Time flowed silently. The young lady offered no urgings, yet I knew her patience was waning with each passing second. Once it vanished, an even more terrifying punishment awaited me.

‘There’s no other way…’

Regardless, this choice was undoubtedly better than the first.

Taking a deep breath, I strove to quell the fear and revulsion within me.

After a long moment, a flicker of grim resolve ignited in my heart, compelling me to slowly extend my hand and take the still-bloody heart.

The heart felt heavy and slick in my grasp. With a gentle squeeze, fresh blood oozed between my fingers.

I could feel its weight, its texture, and a peculiar warmth emanating from it.

‘Wait? Warmth?’

A sudden unease settled over me.

The Longwind was far from land, drifting across the vast ocean. This heart, clearly hunted ashore, should have grown cold by now, severed from its host body.

Yet, the heart in my hand emanated a distinct warmth, as if it had only just been removed.

No, that wasn’t quite right. It was more like…

It had just been cooked!

Hesitantly, I raised the heart to my mouth, my own heartbeats almost audible in my ears.

A pungent, bloody aroma fermented at my nostrils, yet within that scent, I seemed to detect a subtle hint of another kind of meat.

As if a sudden understanding dawned upon me, I opened my mouth and bit down, crushing more than half the heart at once.

Initially, a strong, bitter, metallic taste, chillingly cold, filled my mouth.

But swiftly, a tender texture, accompanied by a lingering sweetness, settled on my tongue, leaving a long aftertaste.

Without further hesitation, I devoured the entire heart, tearing at it until not a single piece remained.

Wiping the blood from the corners of my mouth, I observed the young lady’s expression. The anger that had previously marred her face was now replaced by profound satisfaction.

“Excellent. You performed splendidly. This is my Lilian—a fierce child.”

She crouched down, affectionately stroking my head, then leaned closer, as if unable to restrain herself, sniffing at my body.

“Ah…”

After a long, drawn-out sigh of contentment, an unnamed emotion began to blaze fiercely in her eyes.

“I long to transform you back to your former self, quickly. I miss your brown skin, your slender tail, your sharp claws, and your ferocious teeth… Hmm, where should I even begin? Should I seek out a doctor? A witch?”

She spoke to herself, oblivious to the fact that her words had already caused me to tremble.

Fortunately, after a moment, the young lady seemed to snap back to reality, slowly reining in her recently heightened emotions.

“Never mind. This isn’t the most pressing matter. I must first make that wretched man from Moon Isle fall for me.”

She sighed, her gaze tinged with reluctance as she looked at me on the floor.

“You may go. Before I change my mind.”

I practically fled the young lady’s cabin. The moment I breathed in the fresh, briny sea air outside the door, I nearly wept, overwhelmed by an inexpressible surge of emotion.

‘Is this the taste of freedom?’

I returned to the corner where I had spent the morning, gazing at the moonlit sea. My spirits lifted considerably as I took in the boundless expanse of ocean and sky.

‘Is Moon Isle beyond that sea?’ I mused.

However, I was hardly a seasoned sailor, and out here on the vast ocean, I had no idea which direction Moon Isle lay.

Therefore, I looked up and prayed to the moon, hoping that beyond the sea, at Moon Isle, I too might find a chance at freedom.

Even if it wasn’t for me alone.

“Hoo—”

As I finished, my taut nerves instantly relaxed. Then, as if all strength had been abruptly drained from me, I felt my body sag and collapse, colliding obliquely with something beside me.

A thud echoed.

A sharp pain shot through me. Several nearby crates of cargo seemed to have toppled with me, rolling away with a low rumble.

“Ugh…”

With difficulty, I tried to push myself up to retrieve them, only to find that one side of my body felt completely numb, devoid of sensation.

A chilling sensation traced its way down my cheek, and my vision in my right eye blurred.

Reaching up instinctively, I saw my hand was smeared with vivid, crimson blood.

“Ah?”

After a moment, the realization dawned: I seemed to have hit my head. ‘No wonder I feel so numb,’ I thought.

‘I’m injured. I need to get up quickly, return to my room and rest. Thankfully, I have tomorrow off, so I can recuperate a little…’

Despite telling myself this, my strength seemed to be rapidly draining away with the blood from my wound. My breathing grew increasingly labored and shallow.

In the distance, I thought I heard a familiar voice, inquiring about my whereabouts from the sailors on deck.

‘That child…’

I instinctively wanted to respond, but then I abruptly recalled the young lady’s recent warning. The shout caught in my throat.

‘No, I can’t trouble her again.’

‘If she gets involved with me, it won’t end well for her.’

‘I’ve already brought trouble to Lulona; I cannot drag that child down as well…’

I whispered these words to myself, trying to leverage the nearby cargo to pull myself up.

Yet, despite repeated attempts, I failed. My body simply grew colder and weaker with each moment.

After an unknown number of tries, I finally managed to stand, but a sudden wave of dizziness sent me toppling backward, falling stiffly onto my back.

This time, it felt as though I would never be able to stand again.

‘This is bad…’

After gasping for a few moments, I decided to cast aside all reservations and use my remaining strength to call for help.

“Help…”

My voice seemed too faint. I drew a breath, preparing to shout louder.

But then, abruptly, the dark sky flashed fiercely. Moments later, a roaring thunderstorm mercilessly drowned out my cry.

Immediately afterward, the frantic shouts of the sailors erupted across the deck:

“Downpour!”

“Downpour!”

“Downpour!”