Once I made sure everything was in its place, I turned around to face Lucas. Under the moonlight, I was a little taken aback seeing him up close for the first time. I mean, sure I knew him from the manga, but it was completely different having the real thing in front of me. He sure was a good-looking fella. His features were not yet mature, and he still had a kind of innocence about him, but he was bound to become really handsome once he hit his real growth spurt.

Well, come to think of it, the entire family was pretty good-looking. The older brother, Mathias, looked more like his mother, with black hair and the black eyes of his father, while Lucas obviously took after the viscount. If I remember correctly, the viscountess was quite the beauty, and the viscount wasn’t so bad to look at… if it weren’t for his pretty obvious evil aura, that is.

It kinda made me feel bad about my own appearance. Not that I was ugly, but as an extra, I wasn’t a beauty either. Brown hair and brown eyes, and freckles strewn over the bridge of my nose and cheeks. I guess if I dressed up I would be really pretty, but as a farmer’s daughter that was a far-off dream. Especially filthy and emaciated as I was.

“Why are you staring at me like that? Did you fall in love with me?”

What a joke.

“I’m flattered but I’m afraid it will be useless. After all, you’re going to die in three... well, actually two days now.”

“Are you still going on about that?!”

Be serious! Honestly! How can he be so nonchalant while talking about sacrificing an eleven-year old girl?

“I was just wondering the reason you rescued me. And what about that rope? Did you plan to help me even though you’re saying so much bullshit?”

“Actually, yes.”

I blinked, my mouth falling open. That… was unexpected. Is it true? Is he going to help me escape? I could barely believe it, but if that was the case, then maybe I should apologize for thinking so many bad things about him before.

“It would be too sad to spend your last days in these conditions, so I prepared a room for you inside. At the very least, you might enjoy a bit of luxury before dying.”

“I take it back.”

“Excuse me?”

“Thank you for your generosity but I’m not planning to stay here and become a sacrifice” I took a step back, keeping my eyes on him. Just because he’s young it doesn’t mean he won’t be able to catch me if I try to blatantly run away before his eyes. “I don’t have the desire to die yet, less for people I know nothing about.”

“That’s why you should come with me. I’ll show you a few photographs of my mother and tell you stories. By the end of it, you’ll be so moved you’ll insist in sacrificing yourself for her!”

“If you want her to live so much then why don’t you die instead?!”

Ugh, that came out unwillingly because of my frustration building up, but still, can’t he see how unreasonable he’s being? At least his father clearly shows he’s evil and doesn’t justify his actions, but the fact that Lucas is trying so hard to come up with ways to convince not only me but himself of the necessity of killing me… well, it’s very disturbing, to say the least.

At my forceful yell, the boy dropped his eyes to the floor and literally pouted. What the heck? Don’t try to gather sympathy now!

Feeling fed up already, I sighed. “Listen, I didn’t mean to yell at you like that. But look at it from my side. What would you feel if they suddenly took you away from your family only to tell you they will kill you to revive someone else?” at my question, he kept silent, looking even more pathetic if it was possible. “Now think that the child of that person tells you to just accept it without question. Don’t you think it’s pretty insensitive?”

“I… I know it’s wrong” his voice sounded forceful. He looked down, his bangs covering his eyes, his fists clenching at his sides. It was obvious he was pained and unsure of what he was doing. “But father is someone… I mean, mother was the only one who understood him, the one who contained him. It has been hell to live with him since then. Cold stares, diminishing comments whenever he isn’t ignoring me… and the worst, the way he treats my brother simply because he is the heir… sometimes I wonder if I should feel angry he dismisses me so easily or glad I’m not the one he pays attention to… wait.”

His eyes rounded when he looked at me. I already know everything he’s saying, I know he hadn’t had a good childhood in this house and that his brother was constantly abused because of his position as heir… I know…. But nevertheless I could not by any means allow my existence to be erased just because of this. I had my share of problems and never resorted to killing anyone, really.

And for that reason, while he was talking to himself, I used that opportunity to tie the rope to a pillar of the prison’s rooftop we were standing on, and climb down. With a swift jerk of the wrist in a different direction, the rope came undone and I circled it around my left arm. This was the knowledge of my previous life! I always did this when I was Mio, escaping from my room when I was grounded. How’s that, idiot?

By the time Lucas realized what had happened, I was already jumping down and running to the dark corners of the castle.

Sorry buddy, but my life comes first.