Chapter 15

Opesa didn't know the direction where Sinderel was, so she could only rush forward. When she came to a fork in the road, she would stop and look around, and only move forward after making sure that there was no one.

The black market had many branches, as complex as a spider's web. Opesa kept an eye on those shady shops, afraid to miss any information about Sinderel.

She saw the iron cages that had not been pulled back to the shop because of the sudden rainstorm, and looked into the pairs of black, gray, and brown eyes inside. The bodies soaked by the rain were shivering, their limbs were black and blue, and they could only curl up in the corner, hoping for a little warmth.

Opesa didn't dare to look at the tragic scenes anymore, so she turned her head away and continued forward.

Suddenly, the originally galloping footsteps stopped in place.

Someone ran toward her, their skirt, weighed down by the rain, rising in an arc behind them. Opesa focused on them and uttered, "Holly!"

Holly was startled for a moment, taking a few steps back, her expression panicking. After seeing who was coming, her drooping eyelids suddenly widened: "You!"

Hearing the wrong address, Opesa immediately became alert, but in order to avoid any mistakes, she still asked cautiously: "...Why don't you use honorifics?"

"Hahahahahaha..." Upon hearing this, Holly burst into laughter. Her gray hair was a mess and stuck to her wrinkled face. Her withered skin was stretched to a hideous extent. Large patches of bloodshot eyes bulged out, occupying the entire eye sockets. "You guys are really more interesting than the other."

Her words were incomprehensible, but they were enough to prove Opesha's guess. The peeper was Holly.

Now that she had been discovered, Opesa had no need to hide any longer and simply said, "It was you who entered my room, wasn't it?"

Holly was clearly no longer listening. She simply raised her withered hand and covered her mouth with it, laughing. When she had laughed enough, she put away her smile and said, "Yes," with lifeless eyes.

"Did you see everything?"

"Yes. And everything you worried about has come true." Holly curled her lips slightly and smiled slyly, "This is the first time I've seen such a secret."

"..." Opesa was silent, her fingers unconsciously grasping the hem of her rain-soaked clothes. "Where is Sinderel, and...tsk, did you tell her?"

She was worried about Sinderel, but she was more worried about whether her identity would be exposed.

She heard the word "you" in Holly's words. She was not surprised that Sinderel had a secret, but she was surprised that Holly could get his secret from Sinderel.

"Are you afraid that I'll tell him and then die at his hands?"

She knew the rules of the Dark Forest, and the same rules applied to her own situation - she and Sinderel, two people full of secrets, fighting for survival, whoever was exposed first would be destroyed by the other first.

"You just need to answer me, yes or no."

The first thing that all living things must ensure in this world is survival.

And the person who died would definitely not be her, Opesha promised.

She has always cherished her life.

"Ma'am, aren't you curious about his secret? I think you should be able to understand the hidden meaning in my words."

"Curiosity? Nothing good ever comes of curiosity. Eve and Adam angered God because of their curiosity."

So, if necessary... Opesa narrowed her eyes and pinched the half of the umbrella rib hidden in her sleeve with her fingertips. She had left it for self-defense. It was sharp enough to pierce a person's heart without any problem.

"Hmph... Witches are afraid of angering God? You are no longer blessed by God!"

"Thank you for taking the time to worry about me, but what you should be most worried about right now is your own situation."

She had no chance of winning against Sinderel, but she was 90% sure of crushing the elderly Holly.

"No, as long as I tell you his secret, you will choose to protect me."

"Oh? So interesting?"

With the spike hidden between her fingers, Opesa walked closer, pretending to be interested.

She didn't care what Holly said. Even if she said anything, it would make it more difficult for her to approach Sinderel. It would be better for her to know nothing.

It's just a fictional world, no one would care if a supporting character is missing, Opesa thought.

The distance between them was getting closer and closer. Perhaps it was because the raindrops were too cold, but for the first time, her five senses felt so calm, so calm that even she felt unfamiliar with it.

Holly still had a smug smile on her face, unaware of the calamity she was under. "Let me tell you, even if you were a witch, it would be difficult to get rid of him. The one the Lord God was looking for was him, and I actually found out! That guy Sinderel is... ahem!"

Before the needle pierced my eyes, I heard a muffled sound that drowned out the sound of raindrops.

The light in Holly's eyes instantly vanished, and her body collapsed into the water like a dead tree.

Opesa's eyebrows twitched, and she looked at the newcomer warily.

A slender figure appeared in front of us.

The other person was not holding an umbrella. He stood in the rain, holding the hilt of the knife, staring down at the person who had been knocked unconscious under him.

She stared at him intently, and he gently raised his eyelids and met her gaze.

At this moment, lightning flashed, and the already dark and gloomy alley became even more turbid and unclear. However, the eyes with a faint light were very clear, and they pierced sharply at Opesha whose heart was beating wildly.

The sound of rain drowned out all other sounds. She did not move forward, nor did she hear any signs of biological activity other than her own.

She was unsure, unsure whether the person in front of her was alive or dead.

All was silent, like a pantomime.

The man who had faded to black slowly stood up, but he did not stand up alone. Instead, he grabbed the collar of the limp man and walked towards her step by step, heavy yet light.

He approached, and she retreated.

She wasn't sure whether Holly had told him the truth. She didn't dare to gamble, and there was no room for her to gamble.

And there is the inexplicable "God Lord".

Something new appeared, something she was completely unfamiliar with.

He paused in confusion at her retreat, then advanced again. Once he was certain she was retreating in a defensive move, he stopped. He tossed the unconscious old woman before him like trash, along with the dagger he always carried.

Opesa scrutinized his actions, her fingers gripping the spikes.

Puzzled, Opesa was completely puzzled. There was no way he could remove the dagger, especially in front of someone who might know his secret.

The dagger is still in its sheath, the sheath protecting the knife's sharpness, but the knife itself is content with its dullness, just as Rabindranath Tagore said in his poem "The Crescent Moon".

Opesha was convinced of this.

She tensed up and made no response, focusing all her attention on Sinderel, who hunched his shoulders and leaned slightly forward.

"She's not a good person." Finally, someone broke the deadlock, their voice intermittent with breaths, "...She wants to kill you."

Opesa frowned slightly: "I know."

"She's... your family's helper... in order to get rid of you... and to offset the debt." He seemed to be holding back something, his body leaning against the damp wall, a little shaky. "You know something... well..."

The second half of the sentence was condensed into a whisper, but Opesa knew what he meant and said, "She didn't have time to say... huh?" Before he finished speaking, Sinderel fell directly along the wall.

"Hmm..." He hummed softly, then slowly took out a crumpled paper bag from his arms, "Your...bread..."

Opesa called out cautiously, "...Sindriel?"

There was no response, and the other party seemed to be still trembling.

Seeing two people fall down one after another, Opesa hesitated and didn't know what to do for a moment.

She thought about just leaving, but she couldn't bear the condemnation of her conscience. In the end, she approached them morally and used her toes to test Holly and Sinderel. After there was no movement, she dared to squat down to check if they were still breathing.

Fortunately, both of them are still alive. Sinderel didn't kill Holly, but simply knocked her unconscious. The cause of Sinderel's coma is unknown, whether it was hypothermia or something else.

Her eyes drifted towards the bread bag that was wet by the rain. Opesa picked up the bag and opened it. The bread was swollen by the water and was obviously inedible, but the bag was warm.

He always kept it in his arms, even if it was bread that he couldn't eat.

Now we have to bring the person back.

She couldn't carry them back, but she couldn't just leave them there either. This was the black market, and as soon as the weather cleared, they would be bundled up by some unscrupulous merchant and taken to the slave market, where they would live out their days in iron cages, living in darkness.

She had to take Sinderel back. But Holly was a problem. She knew her secret and was also an accomplice assigned by the "family" that never appeared to assassinate her. She must not be kept.

Opesa thought for a while, her eyes falling on the dagger.

She decided to be cruel.

In this unknown world where life and death are the real necessities, this is the only way to protect yourself. She squatted beside Holly, clasped her hands together, and prayed for Holly for the last time.

"Sorry." She pulled out the sheath, cut off a corner of her skirt, and slowly put the cloth on her hands, with no color in her eyes.

"I've taken your tongue."

"You can blame me, in the silent hell."

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