Chapter 1
— — —
「 Eldorado Crown Prince—slaughters the Pris Empire and claims victory. Who is the ‘Annette’ he is searching for? 」
My pupils trembled as I read the newspaper.
The headline featured news of the Crown Prince’s victory, though the fact that he had won was hardly surprising.
The Crown Prince was, after all, an incredibly powerful ability user.
What was surprising, however, was the fact that the reason for the war was merely to find a woman named ‘Annette.’
‘Are you out of your mind?’
The article stated as much.
It claimed that the Crown Prince, who had never shown any interest in war, had wiped out the entire continent the moment he heard news that the Pris Empire was hiding Annette.
*Gulp—*
I swallowed hard.
Because…
The Annette that terrifying Crown Prince was looking for was me!
But below that, there was an equally shocking headline.
「 Next Tower Master ‘Grand Duke Heinri’ places a 5.8 trillion gold bounty on the sister he lost in his youth. 」
“……Insane.”
That amount was enough to cover the annual budget of a massive empire.
“Who puts a national budget as a bounty……?”
Who else but Heinri, that temperamental brat I had taken in and raised as my younger brother when we were young?
That wasn’t all. I discovered an even more absurd article below that one.
「 Death’s Information Broker, Larva, declares war on Delphi:
“They touched my bakery, so I will annihilate their entire clan.” 」
Annihilate their entire clan just for touching a single bakery?
Just for touching a single bakery……?
As the owner of that ‘bakery,’ I really want to talk you out of this, Mr. Kyle.
All three of them are truly,
“Out of their minds…….”
I was muttering to myself in exasperation when the door burst open with a heavy thud.
The moment I turned around in surprise, I froze instantly.
The man who had replaced the blown-off door stood about 190 centimeters tall, his shoulders broad enough to fill the entire frame.
His chiseled, muscular chest beneath his prominent collarbones was so magnificent it was hard to know where to look.
‘Why is he shirtless again?’
Regardless of my questions, he began walking toward me with the graceful movements of a predator.
The moonlight slanting through the room cast an unreal glow over his body.
His armor-like chest, the countless scars, and the clearly defined, rippling muscles of his abdomen.
The atmosphere was raw, almost savage.
The man stepped right in front of me and lightly lifted my chin with a long index finger.
“I found you, Annette.”
Finally, the man’s face was revealed under the moonlight.
Beneath hair as black as a moonless night, his eyes were a startling, blood-red.
I murmured his name like a groan.
“Sislein…….”
He was the Crown Prince of this country, Sislein.
The very man I had just seen in the newspaper.
As if responding to my call, Sislein’s eyes curved into a smile. It was a smile that clearly radiated madness. He whispered,
“I thought I was going to go insane from missing you, Annette.”
Pardon me, but I think you’ve already gone quite insane, Your Highness.
*Click—*
At that moment, a cold sensation clamped onto my wrist with a metallic sound. Damn it, it was a shackle.
“Now, if you want to run away…….”
His broad shoulders leaned toward me. *Hah,* I gasped instinctively, catching the man’s heavy, masculine scent.
“Cut off my wrist and run.”
The cruel red eyes, connected to me by the shackle, flashed intensely.
*Thump, thump.* My heart was racing when suddenly—
*Whoosh—*
A breeze blew through, and when I quickly looked toward the window, a man was already sitting on the windowsill.
A beautiful man with brilliant silver hair, basking leisurely in the pouring moonlight.
“……Heinri?”
“Sister.”
He leaped inside. His noble violet eyes were still as beautiful as I remembered, even though it had been a long time.
‘How did he find me?’
The last time I saw him, those pretty eyes had been brimming with tears…….
Now, Heinri’s gaze had matured, and the hands that used to be so playful and affectionate had become those of a full-grown man.
He flowed toward me, wrapping his arms around my waist like an eleven-year-old boy and burying his face in the nape of my neck.
“I missed you.”
His hot whisper pierced my heart.
“……Why didn’t you keep your promise? You said you wouldn’t leave me, Sister.”
Every time he uttered those sorrowful words, my skin tingled.
“Heinri…….”
Heinri lifted his head, looking down at my cheek from an angle, and whispered into my ear.
“Lying is a bad thing, you know.”
His long eyes, filled with violet irises, curved in a way that was both innocent and cruel.
“What kind of punishment should I give a child who does bad things?”
*Startle!* I stiffened, and that was when a damp voice rose from my feet.
“Master.”
“Ah!”
Goodness! I was so startled that I looked down to find a handsome man kneeling on one knee at my feet.
‘When did you appear, Mr. Kyle!’
The man with curly brown hair and forest-green eyes was wearing glasses that had slipped askew.
It wasn’t that I hadn’t seen Kyle in a long time. To explain, he was the type who always hovered around me.
Kyle was, of all things, a regular at our bakery.
“Master, please.”
“……!”
Mr. Kyle, please, you must add the word ‘bakery’ before ‘owner.’ If you use such extreme omissions, people will misunderstand!
He gripped my ankle with his large, beautiful hand and kissed the top of my foot.
“Please stay by my side forever. I beg you, please.”
He whispered with his long eyelashes lowered mournfully and his lips flushed.
He looked as infinitely obedient as a young stag.
But you, you are……
‘You’re the murderous leader of the death’s information broker, Larva!’
I know you’re a terrifying person, no matter how much you pretend to be obedient in front of me.
‘How is it that not a single one of these three is normal?’
I suddenly felt a wave of reality hit me, and the corners of my mouth twitched.
“Annette, you can’t unlock these shackles until you die. No…… you can’t even unlock them after you die.”
“Sister, you know, right? I love you. ……Forever…….”
“Please spend your whole life with me, Master.”
Caught between the three obsessive, crazed men clinging to me, I thought with glazed eyes,
‘How did all three of them end up so thoroughly insane?’
I began to worry about my future, which would be intertwined with these obsessive men, but in truth, I needed to retrace my past first.
The reason these three obsessive men were so desperate to get their hands on me surely lay in the past.
So, perhaps…… it seems the beginning of all these events was that day.
That very ‘day.’
The day I first met Sislein.
* * * In the dead of night, when everyone was asleep, I was lying in wait in the kitchen.
It had already been a week. I had been placing savory cheese bread on the counter and waiting, just to meet Sislein.
‘Oh? He’s out!’
*Swoosh—*
Seeing a small hand fumbling about to find the bread, I clamped my hand over my mouth.
‘He finally appeared. …I’m so nervous.’
As soon as the tiny hand found the bread, it scurried away like a busy squirrel.
A moment later, the sound of the bread being “munch-munched” drifted from behind the covered counter.
‘So cute…!’
My heart was pounding wildly. This was the moment I would finally meet that boy for the first time.
The one who had been nothing more than a character in a novel to me, the very definition of obsession, madness, and decadence—the “obsessive yandere.” Though, of course, he was only eleven years old right now.
‘I have to approach as quietly as possible.’
Even though he was still a child, he was a high-ranking Awakener who had already realized his powers, meaning his five senses were as sharp as a beast’s.
*Munch, munch.*
When the eating sounds grew quite close, I carefully leaned forward and revealed myself to the child.
“Um, hello?”
“…….”
Finally, the boy looked up.
His jet-black hair was tangled like a chimney sweep’s brush.
His frightened red eyes, though partially hidden by his bangs, were incredibly beautiful.
His clothes and cheeks were covered in black soot.
It was certain.
That boy was indeed Sislein.
‘Ah, he’s… more than I expected.’
Truly, much more.
‘He’s so much cuter!!!’
I bit my lip to suppress an internal scream.
*Sob*, he’s like a scruffy little wolf.
Afraid of startling him, I reached out my hand cautiously and spoke.
“My name is Annette. Let’s be frie—”
“……!”
That was the moment. The boy, like a sensitive wild animal cub, turned around in a flash and dove into the lower cabinet of the counter.
“Ah! Wait!”
I reached out my arm immediately, but since I was just a child myself, my reach was too short.
‘Damn it.’
In that split second, the little beast had disappeared into a small hole inside the cabinet.
In the spot where Sislein had been, the bread, barely a couple of bites taken out of it, lay scattered.
“……I’ll take the bread, then.”
I muttered, feeling unnecessarily upset. He must be hungry.
It had already been three months since Sislein awakened his powers and holed himself up in the tunnels of the mansion.
This mansion was known as the “Forest,” and children who awakened their powers like Sislein often appeared here.
The traits that manifested in Sislein upon his awakening were exceptionally sharp hearing, sight, and smell….
That was when it started. The boy had hidden himself in the tunnels to escape the noise, the smells, and all the terrifying things in the world.
This mansion had been remodeled from a place where a small race once lived, so tunnels existed as emergency passages.
‘Adults could never fit in there.’
Furthermore, even for children, it was easy to get lost in the maze-like tunnels.
Since he was hiding in a place like that, no one could find him.
A sigh escaped me.
“To think he lives by coming out at night just to steal food.”
The environment is much harsher than I expected.
What’s more, in a little while, the Madam is going to set animal traps at the entrance to catch this kid.
If that happens, he’ll severely injure his ankle.
‘I have to rescue him.’
He must be lonely and scared; I can’t leave him alone like that anymore.
Seeing him with my own eyes made it even more certain.
“Alright, let’s do this.”
But the next day, Sislein did not appear.
Even though I had gone out of my way to prepare sausages that smelled amazing.
The day after that, too.
And the day after that.
For several days, not a single strand of his hair was visible.
For a week, my heart burned with anxiety every time he went hungry.
‘Ah, he’s finally out!’
To my great relief, I saw that small hand cautiously picking up the oat bread.
That hand looked as sensitive as a snail’s antenna, so this time, I didn’t move a muscle and only opened my ears.
Fortunately, I could hear the rustling sound of him eating.
‘I have to stay quiet.’
Please, at least fill your stomach before you go.
I held my breath and waited for him to eat.
I felt like a cat-mom, nervous and watching from the shadows after leaving a can of food for a stray.
In the end, I missed the timing to talk to him that day. Still, my heart felt at peace knowing he had eaten his fill.
For nearly a week, I waited, listening only to the sound of Sislein eating.
I changed the menu every day.
Cheese bread, sausages, fruit, stew, salami, and so on.
‘First, I need to get him to gain at least 10g.’
He’s just too thin, like a stick. It’s hard to believe that in this state, he’ll grow to be nearly 190cm tall later.
Then, one day, I accidentally left some barley bread on the edge of the counter.
*Fumble, fumble—*
The hand that was moving to find the bread like usual faltered, as if flustered.
“*Chuckle*.”
I laughed at the sight before I could stop myself, and was startled for a moment. Thank goodness, the boy didn’t run away.
I had no choice but to slowly reveal myself.
Even if I hadn’t spoken to him, hadn’t he known I was there?
He must have smelled a human.
Sure enough, Sislein didn’t avoid me even after seeing me. However, unlike usual, he ate the bread in tiny, tiny bites.
In the span of a week, the boy had grown even thinner, and my heart ached.
“…….”
I crept toward the boy. Like a giant trying to stand next to a very delicate, fragile flower.
But once I sat down next to him, our heights were similar.
For a while, I waited in silence for the boy to eat.
Even though he was wary of me, the boy ate the bread without a sound, perhaps because he was so hungry. Still, he couldn’t hide the way his cheeks moved adorably as he chewed.
‘Ugh. My heart.’
Finally, I asked the boy cautiously.
“Hey, you’re Sislein, right?”
“Don’t talk to me.”
The boy’s voice was raspy from not speaking for so long, but it was a hauntingly beautiful, melodic tone.
I blinked, then asked belatedly.
“……Why can’t I talk to you?”
“Because I’m a dirty kid.”
A dark shadow fell over the boy’s red eyes.
“If you talk to me, you’ll get dirty too.”
“…….”
Ah….
A sharp pang of pain pierced my heart at Sislein’s unexpected reply.
What kind of things has this little kid been told to live like this… to say such things?
He’s at an age where he should be carefree and happy.
I should at least be the one to tell him kind words.
“No, you’re not dirty at all. Later on, you’re going to become someone more wonderful and important than anyone else.”
I looked at Sislein and gave him a deliberately bright, sweet smile.
“I believe that, you know?”
“…….”
For a moment, Sislein forgot to eat and stared at me blankly.
Then, his ears turned as red as a ripe berry.
‘Ah, he’s such a pitiful and cute baby.’
This cute, lovely baby… grows up to be that terrifying obsessive yandere?
I can’t believe it at all, Author-nim.
Isn’t this a bit too extreme of a corruption arc?
Thinking of Sislein as an adult, it’s almost as if the child is rotting away!
‘Dangerous. Very dangerous.’
I realized anew the immense danger of the novel I had possessed.
* * *
The novel I possessed was a dark BL genre.
The title was < The Dogs of the Mansion >.
It was a hardcore, spicy novel containing all sorts of trigger elements like coercive sexual acts, confinement, kidnapping, and assault.
0 Comments