help !!

The first day passed with agonizing slowness...

Lia sat in the corner of the room, hugging her knees to her chest while the sound of her empty stomach echoed through the eerie silence. She tried to ignore the pain... but hunger was not something that could simply be ignored.

By the second day, she no longer felt hungry...

But something worse.

A light dizziness...

Blurred vision...

And a weakness that made even lifting her hand feel exhausting.

“This is better... a skinny concubine suits the prince better. At least a beautiful body, even if the face is ugly.”

The queen’s words echoed in her mind like a slap.

As punishment for insulting the queen and causing her numerous troubles... Lia was assigned cleaning and laundry duties in the second princess’s room as a “light” punishment.

As for that week...

It was not a week.

It was a chain of humiliations.

One time, juice spilled onto the floor...

It was not an accident.

“Oops... clean it again.”

Malak said it with a cold smile.

Lia knelt down, wiping the floor with her small hands while drops of juice deliberately fell directly onto her short hair once again.

Another time, Malak threw her dress in front of her.

“It’s dirty... clean it.”

The dress was covered in dark stains that would not come out.

Lia washed it once... twice... ten times...

Until her hands cracked open and her skin bled from scrubbing so hard.

But she did not complain.

After all, it was not the first time.

She was used to it.

On the seventh day...

“You.”

Lia slowly raised her head.

Malak stood there, looking at her as though she were something... less than human.

“My second brother is returning today.”

Lia froze for a moment... something tightened painfully inside her chest...

“Prepare a tea table for us beneath the cherry tree in the back garden.”

Then she added mockingly:

“And don’t forget to pick up my dress from the tailor in the city center... after you finish.”

Lia stayed silent.

Then lowered herself again and continued wiping the floor.

“I understand...”

Whoever said this was not wrong:

“A scorpion gives birth only to another scorpion.”

......

Lia prepared the table beneath the cherry tree. Malak had always liked drinking tea with her second brother whenever he returned from his boarding school, and every time he came back, he carried gifts for her...

As for Lia...

What she felt toward him was...

Coldness.

Indifference.

Unlike her older brother... this one was a little tyrant.

.....

Lia returned to her room wearing a hooded jacket, preparing to retrieve the custom-made dress for Malak from a tailor shop located very far from the palace. Ordinary humans needed carriages to reach it, while mages could simply fly there directly.

Lia glanced at the terrible wounds and swelling on her small hands. She paused for a moment and whispered softly to herself:

“I’ll treat them when I come back... I’ll heal my hands...”

She covered her head carefully, tightened her worn-out jacket, then gathered the few coins she had managed to save. Unlike her siblings, who had luxurious clothes, jewelry, and personal allowances, she received only a few miserable coins and Malak’s old discarded clothes.

She looked at the few gold coins in her hand. Barely enough for the carriage ride.

She sighed.

“I need to go...”

At that exact moment, the second prince, Oliver de Estia, arrived.

Lia’s heart immediately began pounding. She grabbed her money and escaped through the secret passage connected to her room, a passage known only to her and her little maid Anna, who was still visiting her mother in the countryside.

Five minutes after Lia left, the door to her room burst open.

“Where is she?” Oliver demanded sharply at the servants.

“M-My lord... she went to retrieve Princess Malak’s dress from the tailor...”

Then Malak appeared behind her brother like a ghost, anger written clearly across her face.

“I was the one who told her to go pick it up from the tailor... Brother! How could she refuse when the brother who used to spoil her rushes to that bitch’s room the moment he arrives?”

Lia placed a hand against her chest, breathing heavily as she whispered to herself:

“I barely escaped...”

........

Lia sat inside the carriage, clutching her hood tightly while the wagon shook across the rough dirt roads beyond the palace.

The carriage was simple, driven by a random driver who knew nothing about her destination, but she had no choice except to take the risk.

As a princess, she should have ridden in a royal carriage bearing the family crest, accompanied by guards and servants.

But because of her current situation...

Well, that needed no explanation.

The cold breeze brushed against her face, yet her heart was colder with fear and anxiety.

Every step that brought her closer to the town made her feel more vulnerable, especially with how deserted the road was.

Out here...

Anything could happen.

“My lady, we’ve arrived.”

Said the driver.

Lia blinked and handed him the fare with her small hand.

“Thank you, sir. You may keep the change.”

The driver’s eyes lit up.

“Thank you, miss. How generous of you.”

Lia stepped into the city center.

She froze at the sight before her.

This was the first time she had ever seen so many people gathered in one place.

Vegetable markets.

Fruit stalls.

Voices calling everywhere.

But what captivated her was not the food.

It was the warmth.

The genuine smiles.

The friendly looks directed toward her along the way...

So different from the cold gazes she received among the nobles.

For a moment...

She felt like one of them.

She had always dreamed of living such a simple life between the arms of a loving mother and under the care of a responsible father...

Not inside political schemes ready to skin her alive if necessary.

She asked one of the passersby for directions to the tailor shop.

The man looked at her with pity.

Lia froze for a moment, doubting her own eyes.

Was that expression real?

“Go this way... but little miss, that road is dangerous. Are you going alone?”

Lia ignored the question.

“Thank you, sir. I hope you have a wonderful day.”

The man stared at her deeply before replying softly:

“You too, my lady.”

.....

After parting ways with the man, Lia felt her steps growing heavier along the narrow streets.

The town was crowded with merchants and travelers. Their voices mixed with the smell of fresh bread and fruit, yet she felt as though something lurked in the shadows.

Every narrow corner.

Every abandoned alley.

Made her heartbeat faster.

Without realizing it, she quickened her pace.

She entered the road the man had pointed toward.

A narrow, dark passage between old buildings where only scattered lamps provided faint light.

She tightened her fists.

The air suddenly felt heavier.

The city that once seemed welcoming now felt suspicious and eerie.

She had left the noise behind.

All that remained was an oppressive silence.

Then, in the distance, Lia spotted a decorated building with a sign outside:

“Lady Vantilla’s Tailoring.”

Relieved, she hurried inside.

But the moment she stepped through the door...

Her blood froze.

Several massive men sat around the room while servant girls moved between them serving drinks in revealing clothes that barely covered their chests.

Lia trembled and instinctively stepped back toward the exit.

Then—

“Hoho, look what we have here. A little guest.”

Four bronze-skinned men with enormous bodies stood up.

Lia recognized the evil in their eyes instantly.

Barbarians.

The most hated race.

Practitioners of black magic.

Known across the continent as—

“Devil Worshippers.”

“I-I’m sorry...” Lia stammered with a trembling voice.

“I got lost... I think I entered the wrong shop...”

One of the men pulled her hood down.

The moment he saw her red hair, he grinned wickedly.

“No. You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be.”

“Lady Malak sent us to discipline you.”

“Oh right... she also told us to take very good care of you, didn’t she, brothers?”

The men burst into laughter.

Except for the victim standing among them.

“Yooo, big brother, don’t you love playing with children? Let’s leave her to you.”

One of the criminals laughed.

“Fine by me. I’ll make sure you all see the greatest show of your lives.”

The large man licked his lips with a disgusting grin filled with lust and cruelty.

Tears welled up in Lia’s eyes.

“N-No... please... I don’t even know you... why are you trying to hurt me...?”

“Sorry, princess. Nothing personal.”

He bowed mockingly.

Lia’s body trembled violently.

She tried to run.

But her legs refused to move from sheer terror.

The man slowly approached her like a predator staring at prey he had waited years to devour.

Lia desperately tried to stop him by insisting she was ugly beneath the mask.

But he only laughed harder.

“Help! Please save me! Someone!”

She begged desperately.

The man reached for her—

Then suddenly—

“MAXIMUS, SAVE ME!”

Lia screamed with all the strength left in her throat.

The men burst into loud laughter.

But the instant one of them grabbed her wrist and pulled her—

“CRASH!”

A deafening sound exploded through the hall.

The four men died instantly.

Fast strikes tore their bodies apart into scattered pieces.

“Open your eyes. You’re safe now.”

A cold, low voice echoed beside her.

Lia felt herself wrapped in warm arms.

She slowly opened her eyes.

A man dressed entirely in black held her close while the barbarians lay slaughtered around them.

Black clothes.

That strange style.

And...

The same woody scent.

Lia slowly raised her head toward her savior and whispered hoarsely:

“M... Maximus?”

Maximus pulled Lia tightly against his chest.

She trembled violently while tears streamed endlessly down her face.

“Calm down. You’re safe now... no one will hurt you again.”

His voice was low, but firm.

Her small body shook uncontrollably in his arms.

She tried to breathe, but silent sobs kept escaping from deep inside her chest.

Her tears carried away her fear.

Her loneliness.

And every bit of suffering she had endured throughout her life.

“M-Maximus...” she whispered weakly between sobs while clinging to him like a lifeline.

He gently wiped away her tears.

But her heart still refused to calm down.

Dizziness overwhelmed her from fear and exhaustion.

“Close your eyes. I’ll keep you safe...”

He whispered softly.

Slowly, her breathing calmed beneath the warmth of his embrace.

Maximus’s face returned to its usual cold expression.

But this time...

His killing intent rose high enough to suffocate the entire room.

His servant Felix felt fear crawl through his body.

Even standing nearby became exhausting.

Felix swallowed nervously.

“My lord... the doctor has arrived. He’s waiting at the palace.”

Maximus hummed quietly and carried the thin, fragile Lia in his arms.

His brows furrowed slightly.

She was far too thin.

“Let’s leave.”

The moment he spoke, he vanished into the shadows, leaving behind only slaughter and the heavy scent of blood.

“It seems a death zone will form here soon.”

Felix muttered while following after his master.

Death zones were created whenever enormous amounts of blood were spilled.

The hungry spirits unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation would remain behind...

Trying to devour the living and rebuild their bodies once more.

This was not the first death zone.

And it would not be the last.

Soon...

One would form in Estia.