33. Brother Zie!!!

"Where's the candy?" He asked in a robbing tone.

I tilted my head, looking at him confused. "What for?."

"Give it to me! Hurry!" It was very hard to let go of my sweets and candy, I knew now where the fate of all that food would go. "Fast!."

"Just a minute" I took a deep breath, finding it really hard to take candy and sweets from the bag, then give them to him.

He grabbed it violently once I gave him the jars of my favorite food reluctantly. Then he gave the candy to several children who saw our fight. "That's mine," I mumbled, "I have to save up to buy it" Really, I didn't want to see my sweets shared with them.

Yoru looked at me fiercely. "You're old! Why eat that much candy?! Your sugar level could go up" he said emotionlessly.

I glared, seconds after I exclaimed, "You!!" I immediately hit Yoru. Honestly, I was very annoyed with him, especially hearing his fierce remarks. He was the most evil creature on earth. "You're evil, why must it be my candy!"

My anger toward Yoru couldn't be forgotten so easily. That candy was bought with the money I just received from Azalea from completing my tasks. I really saved up for it.

I had been waiting for the opportunity to go to the city to buy candy and sweets, but today that four-eyed man just took it and gave it all to those children. I walked away from him although he kept calling me. I was so fed up that I wished I could beat him severely.

"Tha, can you clean up the hall on the fourth floor?" a guard asked me and some servants were ready to clean up the prisoner's hall on the fourth floor.

My mouth was too heavy to say 'yes' but I got myself ready. The number of the servants here was outnumbered so that I could not be too selfish not to help them. Nothing was free here and I was meant to hide, anyway.

I had never been assigned to clean the fourth floor before. Usually, I'd just clear the attic where the stone birds nested and the first floor which was the servants' quarters, or the snow pile outside. This was the first time I entered the detention room where the criminals who were punished with actions that could be said to be less severe than those who were for Falak's bait.

Despite the fact that their fault was not grave, it was still a very unpleasant place. The black wooden handrails and steps matched the iron walls of the prison, glossy lacquered to give it a cold and eerie impression. The windows were narrow rectangles, set low and high to the ceiling by copper-colored frames.

When we got to the hallway, I was honestly in shock, and so were the other servants. Blood splattered along the passageway as if something had been dragged to move his body. The smell of this room was also very strong mixed with a fishy smell that would make you nauseous. It was very different from Other Hell, where I was locked up before, where the smell of iron and coal was more dominant. I just looked at each other with the maids.

"It's okay, come on!" He said as if wanted to calm me down.

The servant asked me to get a mop, so I immediately went to the warehouse outside the camp. Just before I reached the door to the barn, which was next to the training ground, I saw Shashin standing among the other guards. The black armor he was wearing had many bloodstains on it. While in front of him, a guard was giving instructions to them. Out of interest, I watched them.

I could still hear the instructions, but not very clearly. Shashin and some of the guards then took a bow and an arrow before they finally left. Again, my curiosity was behaving, and I followed them silently.

The cold snow penetrated my clothes. I wasn't wearing a thick coat or a jacket, but because I was so curious, I ignored it. They apparently went to the execution site. Every one of the guards carrying bows—including Shashin, was standing in front of the wooden stake, a certain distance away, right at the boundary of the red line. Another guard was standing beside the wooden stake in front of Shashin, preparing his katana.

'Are they going to practice archery?' I thought. 'Or, will anyone be punished?' I heard the roar of the crocodiles in the pond behind the bollard. Soon someone was brought to the scene, his head was covered with a white cloth and his hands were tied. His body was then tied to a wooden pole in front of Shashin.

"Huh?!" I just realized that it was not a practice but a real execution. I moved a few steps backward, wanting to run away when I saw Shashin lift his bow and directed to that prisoner, ready to release the arrow any second.

That incident came to my eyes again. Zie was tied to that wooden stake, and Shashin pointed his pistol at his head. Zie smiled while calling my name so softly.

"Brother!!!" I screamed as loud as I possibly could, hoping that the trigger would never be pulled. "Brother Zie!!!" right after the second scream was echoing, a sand vortex appeared beside Shashin.

The manji that had not yet fully formed from the black sand vortex threw their sand shields, smashing Shashin's body into the pile of wood behind the place of punishment.

I stepped forward, ignoring the different kinds of stares from all the soldiers. They were immediately giving me a path. The arrow was stuck in the prisoner's head. Fresh blood turned his headgear red.

I looked at every soldier who was there. I didn't realize I was crying, but I realized now that it wasn't Zie. I turned around and saw Shashin trying to get up. He coughed up blood.

Meanwhile, on the other hand, the bodies of the manji decayed into black sand mounds. 'He's not brother Zie's. what have I done?' I thought confusedly. Panic, I immediately ran away from that place.

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