A Contradictory Flower

Without any introductions, Faithless grabbed the maid by her hair with full force and slammed her to the ground… She screamed from the pain until she began to cry, raising her hands as she pleaded with him:

"Please forgive me, I didn't do anything… Forgive me, O Great One."

He slapped her hard on the cheek and grabbed her by the collar, lifting her as he looked into her face, which carried hatred and resentment… As if he was staring at someone who would never change, even if he killed her.

Faithless placed the palm of his hand on his forehead, and his eyes were black, bleeding dark blood down his cheek, as he spoke like a deep thinker:

"I don't understand anything… Why do people like you love submitting to humiliation? Why do you love licking the boots of those you could easily remove?"

He continued in the same tone:

"It seems this thing is embedded within you… The thing that made me feel disgusted, that made me unable to even look at your face, is that you sell your body to a filthy person… My God, how foolish you are."

The maid began to cry and wail, speaking with a voice wrapped in tears:

"I had no choice———"

"NONSENSE!" She couldn't finish her sentence before Faithless shouted at her with fury, like a wolf trying to unleash his pent-up rage.

The maid was shocked by this violent reaction, especially the angry eyes and strange smile… The contradiction in his expression made her look away.

The children began to cry, some of them hiding from Faithless… He looked at them with sadness, then threw the maid away so hard that she hit the wall, spitting blood from her mouth due to the force of the blow, and she began to cry.

Faithless stepped toward them, lowered his body, interlocked his ten fingers together, and pulled out a beautiful golden flower that would calm anyone just by looking at it.

"This is a gift for you, and I'm sorry if I did anything that made you afraid of me." He spoke in a calm tone as he covered his face with his ten fingers.

And he added in the same tone:

"Take this flower, I have things I need to settle… and I will return for you."

One of the children took the flower, and before Faithless could rise, a small girl held his hand and spoke with a tired, sweet voice:

"Clown… Circus." Faithless's smile widened with rage. He approached the maid, grabbed her hair tightly, and threw her toward the food, raising his head and pointing at her with his index finger as he said in a calm tone:

"This maid, was she cruel to you? More specifically, did she hit you?"

The children looked at each other and all nodded their heads. Faithless punched her in the stomach—not a lethal blow, but a disciplinary one.

She spat blood from her mouth and pleaded for her life with every letter… Then Faithless asked the children again with the same tone:

"When you were sick, did she help you or ignore it?"

One of the children spoke with a terrified tone, his face covered in many bruises:

"When we wanted medicine, or when we asked her to light a fire to warm us, she used to beat us violently. And not just her, but the other maid too, and the man you killed. Sometimes, when the mayor comes, he kills one of us and takes another."

Faithless patted his head and said to him in a warm tone:

"That's a lot of information, little one… I don't know how to thank you."

He lifted the maid by her hair again and smashed her face into the food she had thrown on the ground, saying in a sharp voice:

"Eat this filth you gave them… How does it taste, huh? Is it delicious? Does it make someone feel full and satisfied?"

He lifted her face from the food and placed the Hermes dagger in front of her. The maid was crying and sobbing in fear.

"Please, I'm just a maid doing what they tell me to do."

"And I'm a clown, doing what my principles tell me to do." Faithless answered her in a heavy tone as he cut her cheek.

He pulled the Apollo chain from his neck and tied the maid to the dungeon gate… Then looked at the children with warm expressions:

"I have one final meeting… When I finish, I will set you free from this cruel place. Stay here until I return."

Before Faithless could go far, the maid spoke in a broken and angry tone:

"I don't know what principle you follow, but the torment I experienced made me do anything just to avoid going back to where I once was. I was just a tortured girl who found life here."

And she added in the same tone:

"What would someone like you know about pain and loss? You're just a clown with a silly smile painted on your face."

Faithless stopped, then looked at her from the corner of his eye and spoke in a cold tone:

"As you said… I'm just a clown."

Faithless walked steadily, leaving the maid in shock from that simple and incomprehensible answer… and he took with him half of Krans's head. Faithless reached the gate that led to the upper floor, opened the door slowly, and entered the castle hall.

As he was about to go up the stairs, the other maid came out of the wide hallway carrying plates in her hands, speaking in a normal tone:

"Finally, you're out of the basement? You've spent——"

The plates dropped from her hands as she looked at Faithless in his mad clown form… She didn't open her mouth, only trembled in place.

Faithless appeared in front of her and struck her on the neck, causing her to faint… He climbed to the first floor and found two guards.

He waved the Hermes dagger and cut off their heads before they even realized someone was there.

Meanwhile, the mayor was sitting on his chair with one leg over the other, speaking in a mocking tone:

"You're a genius, Cleo… The person who defeated the Black Order is now embracing the dirt."

Cleo was sitting on a chair opposite the desk, her five fingers resting on her cheek, speaking in an arrogant tone:

"Thank you for the compliment, sir… It was merely my duty. Also, that boy was just a fool—he probably took down the Black Order by luck."

At that moment, Faithless blew up the door, causing everyone in the room to fall off their chairs, staring at the destroyed door, their eyes unable to comprehend the situation. Faithless entered through the debris and threw half of Krans's head to the ground, his face wearing a mocking smile:

"Sitting on the throne of power does not make you a king… So, do you think you're a king, Mayor?"