Chapter 204: Beast with a human face (2)

"......"

Inside the erected tent, or more accurately, inside the hut made of dirt,

Lizzy held out her burnt thumb while inside Ferzen's separate quarter.

"Unless you give up on wearing that mask of yours...... Why don't you call a doctor first?"

"......"

"Or will you be kinder than that and treat me yourself?"

Lizzy stared at him with her lifeless violet eyes while a clear mockery bloomed on her thin lips.

However, when Ferzen did not show any reaction to what she said, Lizzy withdrew her outstretched hand and looked up at him.

"I'm hurting."

"......"

"If my plea is not appealing enough, should I let you hear my painful moans in order to make you show that pretentious kindness of yours?"

Just what was Ferzen thinking in his head right now?

Also, what kind of ugly tug-of-war was he playing with his desires right now?

Lizzy, who had no idea about it at all, continued to provoke him.

"Ah...... Now that I think about it, the order was wrong."

"......"

"The first thing you should do is to comfort me, who was being treated badly by so many soldiers."

The corner of Lizzy's mouth twitched as she patted the seat next to her with her slender hand.

"What are you doing? I need you to sit next to me and lend me your shoulder so I can lean on you and receive comfort."

"Lizzy."

Flinch-!!

As if he could no longer bear to watch her rudeness,

Lizzy instinctively trembled when his very low voice which was close to growling called out her name.

At the same time, Ferzen, who was walking towards her, gradually narrowed the distance between them......

─I brought her a meal!

However, the distance that was meant to be narrowed became far again.

It was because his non-commissioned officer, Rimbel, who had brought her ration, had called for Ferzen.

Even though the heavy atmosphere only lasted for a moment, when it disappeared, Lizzy quickly took a deep breath and wiped the cold sweat from her forehead.

Thud-!!

However, as soon as Ferzen accepted the meal that Rimbel had brought, he put it aside, and closed the tent, as Lizzy swallowed her saliva.

Did he do that because in case the cloth fluttered because of the wind, what happened inside would be exposed?

He then tied the ropes between the gaps tightly.

"......Don't you know better that I can't run away even without you doing that?"

Lizzy felt signs of trauma that were imprinted in her by Ferzen about to explode because her sight recognized just how trapped she was. However, she did not give in to it and continued to mock Ferzen.

But it did not mean that she had partially overcome her fear of him......

Rather, she had just resigned herself to the fact that she had been defeated and had submitted to him.

Little by little, she got used to the disgusting feeling of despair and frustration.

"Your eyes are scary."

"......"

"Have you decided to take that mask, that didn't suit you, off for a moment?"

"......"

"Are you going to hit me now? Or perhaps unleash your pent-up stress and unsated desires upon me?"

"......"

"Now that I think about it, that must be the reason why I, who was useless on the battlefield, is placed in your unit."

Lizzy pathetically trembled as she looked up at Ferzen who had already come closer to her while carrying the meal tray that he had placed to the side.

However, without closing the lips that she used to mock him until the end, she moved her trembling body and assumed a seductive posture that could be found in a prostitute who was seducing a man.

"Your Excellency Count Louerg, you can tell me to spread my legs anytime you want."

"......"

Despite her endless taunts, Ferzen, who had been staring at her in silence, just squatted down and placed his face in front of hers.

Then, he reached out with one of his hands to hold her right hand and gently caressed it to the point it gave her terrible goosebumps.

"Lizzy."

Before long, Ferzen broke the long silence he had maintained until now and called her name once again.

"Are you perhaps starting to get used to the terror and fear?"

"......"

"If so, I want to tell you that you are going down the wrong path."

"Ha...... Ahahaha......"

She could clearly feel the disgusting feeling of his large hand caressing her hand on her skin.

She wanted to pull her right hand to get rid of the feeling right away, but instead of doing so, Lizzy just burst out laughing and forced the corners of her eyes to smile.

And then she threw another mockery towards Ferzen.

"Are you going to do the same thing again to me?"

"......"

"Since back then you did it to my leg, will it be my hand this time?"

Lizzy's complexion became paler and paler as time passed because she felt like she was being dragged to the slaughterhouse where endless screams of sheep were heard.

But she no longer screamed as she had learned to control her voice.

"Why...... are you hesitating?"

"......"

"I know for sure that you are not unfamiliar with ways of destroying other people."

Narrowing the already close distance even further.

Lizzy threw her head forward, rested her chin on his shoulder, and chirped a whisper with words whose sole purpose was to fuel his ugly and shady desires.

At that moment, Ferzen let go of her right hand that he was holding.

"......"

At Ferzen's actions, Lizzy felt a subtle sense of relief.

At the same time, she also frowned because of regret that she could hardly put into words.

Thud-!!

"Ah!"

But as if to overshadow all those feelings, Ferzen snatched her right hand, which he had let go just a few seconds ago, again and forcefully made her thumb feel pain......

"Keu...... Keheuk!"

Lizzy instinctively let out a scream as hot steam from the soup on the food tray went up.

Unfortunately, the scream was muffled by Ferzen's other hand which quickly covered her mouth.

"Heup! Heeeeuup!"

As her thumb burnt bright red, Lizzy, who writhe uglily like a trampled earthworm, tried to break free from his clutch......

However, It was simply impossible for her to overcome his strength.

Trickle-!!

The tears that fell from the corners of her eyes ran down her cheeks and wet the back of Ferzen's hand that was covering her mouth.

However, unlike her expression which was filled with nothing but pain and fear, her unique purple eyes were smiling.

Startle-!!

Facing those smiling eyes of hers, Ferzen felt extreme comfort and pleasure that was derived from the symmetry they had......

However, he could feel that those feelings quickly turned into disgusting self-hatred in an instant.

Squeeze-!!

"Keu...... Heuk......!"

His disgust incited a visceral rage,

Ferzen was consumed by anger that was thickly coloring his mind and grabbed Lizzy's slender neck violently without realizing it.

Because of his actions that hindered her from breathing, her pale complexion turned red and her purple eyes began to lose focus......

At that moment, Lizzy's eyes stopped smiling and was replaced by a sneer that bloomed on her lips.

......In the first place, why did he even wear a mask that did not suit him and try to live like an ordinary person who has achieved glory?

He who felt 'satisfaction' from the fact that he had dipped her thumb into the hot soup and watched her struggle against the burning pain was no different from him from eight years ago.

Human nature was something that did not change.

No matter how much time they took to mature and how many miscellaneous decorations they put on.

Each individual's true nature could never be hidden.

'Ah......'

Do you know what kind of expression you are making right now?

The sight of his angry face that was not covered by anything as his mask was unintentionally removed was truly like that of a ferocious beast.

Lizzy could not help but wonder whether anyone had ever seen his face expressing such hatred.

Either in the official setting or in a private setting,

'Really......'

It looked ugly and hideous.

If it's like this, how did he plan to hide his true nature and live?

If Ferzen was someone who made her aware of the absurdity of the world and her weakness.

She was someone who reminded Ferzen about the ugly and hideous appearance he was hiding.

"Keu...... euu......"

Before long. Lizzy's body began to slump as her eyes became completely unfocused.

Ferzen who was looking down at her face which was stained with tears and snot belatedly removed his hand from her neck and checked her breathing.

"......"

She was not breathing.

The handprint that was clearly engraved on her slender neck clearly showed that he had not controlled his strength at all.

As soon as Ferzen realized that, numerous negative emotions, including skepticism, self-hatred, and shame, washed over him like a tidal wave.

However, Ferzen quickly turned his attention away from those feelings and secured Lizzy's airway before breathing some air into her.

After all, because of the situation, if he were to put pressure on her lungs, he would end up breaking all of her ribs.

"Cough......!"

As if his judgment was not wrong, Lizzy, who had stopped breathing for a moment, opened her eyes and rose back up while coughing violently.

Seeing her starting to collect herself like that, Ferzen turned around from her.

"That soldier...... told something good to you."

"......"

"The toy will last longer if you do this...... Cough! rather than breaking it in one go."

As Lizzy watched him stop dead in his tracks at her words, she touched the corner of her mouth which had a faint lingering, unpleasant touch.

Then, she spoke once again.

"How are...... My lips?"

"......"

"Do you find it to be your liking?"

"I'll call the medic for you."

But what came from his mouth was an answer that was completely unrelated to her question.

Eventually, Ferzen opened the tent and slipped out. What followed him was Lizzy's laughter.

"......"

After he asked his aide, Rimbel, to call the medic for her, Ferzen walked towards a secluded area and placed a stick of cigarette into his mouth.

......He was glad that night had come.

After all, because of it, no one could see his face.

......He was also glad that Yuriel wasn't here.

After all, he was able to avoid having his ugly appearance being discovered.

When Ferzen left the spot after smoking the cigarettes, there were only a bunch of crushed and extinguished cigarettes left in the empty spot, as if representing his current feelings.