EPISODE 10

“What are you doing? Did you end up stealing something? I told you to eat up all the food here.”

Evony bit her tongue as she closed her mouth in a hurry, surprised. Sanko shrugged his shoulders at Danté who had appeared out of the blue.

“I see you’ve returned, Your Excellency. The Lady was telling me she had broken teeth.”

“Broken teeth?”

Danté walked swiftly across the kitchen and popped in a finger in Evony's mouth. Her eyes got even wider than when he first appeared. His thumb opened her tiny mouth and pressed the tongue down.

“So, it is true.” Danté clicked his tongue as he gently checked the gum. His face showed disapproval, but he didn’t allow his voice to show anger.

She stood, frozen in fear with her mouth open. The duke studied the insides of her mouth with a stern expression.

Sanko watched the two while stroking his beard. “Hey now, Lady Evony seems uncomfortable. Your Excellency looks too erotic in these postures.”

“What? Are you sure it’s not your mind that is lewd?” Danté chuckled as he pulled his finger out of her mouth.

He indifferently picked up a bread and lifted it to his mouth with fingers covered in Evony's saliva. She gulped unconsciously as she stared, tasting blood from when she bit her tongue.

“It must be difficult to eat tough food.”

“It’s no problem. I can chew with the other side.”

Sanko and Danté didn’t ask Evony how her teeth had been damaged. By now, they’d come up with an unspoken rule of sorts.

She stood quietly with her hands pressed together.

“Are artificial teeth going to be enough? Although the doctor’s skills are unquestionable,” Danté asked.

“Yes, she said she would use a cast to make them.”

Danté nodded as he studied her. Looking closely, he could see the difference Marsha, Sanko and the doctor had been making with their efforts. The corpse-like, ghastly skin of hers had some of its life back. Her body was still skin and bones but at least she looked like a human now.

Above all, her murky eyes were brightening with intelligence. Danté, unconscious of the fact, pulled his lips in a smile.

Today, he had important business with Evony.

“Follow me,” he instructed, leading her into his office which was even messier than before.

Documents covered the room from his desk, the shelves and even most parts of the floor. She had to cautiously move through the room to try and not step on anything.

“Take a seat there.” Danté pointed at a sofa, the only tidy furniture in the room. She perched on the edge of the giant sofa.

He wore his usual, inscrutable expression, but seemed strangely to be in a good mood. Evony was quick to read the room, so she saw through this subtle difference and tilted her head in wonder.

“First, we should do things in order, right?”

“Sorry?” she asked.

“Sign here. Though, read it through carefully before signing.”

Danté handed her a piece of paper. She quickly stood up and received the paper with two hands. She read through the document.

At first glance, the text didn’t seem much different from her initial reading. However, there was an additional clause of how Danté must fulfill his duty as a guardian and how Evony must fulfill hers under his guidance.

But under further examination, another difference popped out at her.

Danté Bord Schneider was delegated with all legal rights of Evony Vonieck, except her right to life. And in an event of a dispute, he was to stand by her side and be her defendant.

“Your Excellency?”

Before, Danté’s delegated rights included her right to life. That first document handed ownership of Evony to Danté. But it was different this time. The document was now rectified to make Danté only her legal guardian and representative.

Evony's right to life remained solely hers.

It was something she could never have imagined. She looked at Danté, puzzled.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Isn’t this too advantageous for me?”

“What are you talking about? There’s still a long way to go. But to get into detailed clauses, limit my rights, and to notarize everything will take at least a few months with this complexity. It was the addition of your signature that made me yield at this point in the process. The secretary went through some trouble.”

At his words, she took another look at the document. Just as he said, on the bottom, there now existed a box for her signature.

The document required the signatures of the Karcassian judiciary, the foreign ministry, Danté, and Evony.

“If you require the time to think, I will wait.” Danté leaned against the window relaxed. But her mind started to race. As she considered it, the contract seemed way too advantageous for her.

She couldn’t understand that man’s intentions. What he was thinking? What were his end goals?

Frustrated and lost in thought, Evony bit her lip numerous times. But she knew better than to close her mouth in silence. What they needed was a conversation.

“The more I think about it, this is too advantageous of a contract for me. Even excluding the problem of my past, this puts legal pressure and burden on Your Excellency.”

“That’s exactly why I put this clause in.”

“Pardon me?”

Danté walked towards Evony in long strides. He bent over, looked her in the eyes and pointed at a clause on the document in her hand.

“Evony faithfully fulfills her responsibility.”

Was this man a fool? Evony's head shot up. Danté met her wavering gaze and put on a mean smile.

“Are you going to stab me in the back?”

“No!”

“Are you going to run away?”

“No.”

“That settles it. Sign it.”

What a simple conclusion. Evony, bewitched by those beautiful eyes, nodded. Even if she did take time to think it through, she didn’t believe she could have come up with a better conclusion.

Danté brought over a pen from his desk and put her fingers around it. The signature showed her anxiety. The writing itself was excellent, but the fine wavers at the ends of the pen strokes reflected how she felt.

“Your writing is not as ugly as you.” Danté put on a satisfied smile. It was only a slight movement of the lips, but she thought his expression reminded her of a beast, stuffed after a meal. He had a slender body with beautiful facial features. Even though they were not close to enough to hide his ferocity, he was concealing it quite skillfully.

But the edge he had made people perceive him as even more special. Danté had skin fairer than most women, but he didn’t look weak. Rather, what suited him more was to be called a crazy murderer under a beautiful cover.

Evony considered herself a lucky prey who encountered a beast right after a stuffing meal.

“We need to talk,” he said.

She’d hoped that he would let her go now that his business with her was over, but it looked like he had just started. Danté pushed her shoulders back down onto the sofa, sat on a chair across from her and crossed his legs.

“Evony.”

“Yes, Your Excellency?”

Really, she was determined to do anything the duke required if she could be guaranteed the peace she’d been granted for the past few days. Even if he worked her like a slave, she was confident she could do what he asked. It was okay for him to use her as a political tool, or even an accessory to show off his status.

Those things weren’t a big deal. At least that’s what she thought. But the questions that came out of Danté’s mouth were a whole different kind.

“Who is Evony Vonieck, what does she want in life, how far is she willing to grow, and what does she value?”

She was correct to think that he wanted quick answers because of his straightforward manner of speaking. But she let out a low groan upon hearing the questions.

Danté knew she wasn’t ready to give easy answers. So he didn’t press her, but slowly led the conversation.

“You must be wondering about my true intentions with these questions. Right now, I don’t have any evil schemes or motivations. You can count on my words on this.”

A hint of red lingered on Danté’s purple eyes reflecting the summer sun. His eyes seemed clear yet thick, warm yet chilling. This juxtaposition gave her glimpses of the devil at work.

Ironically, Evony was relieved by this. The man in front of her was simply a supreme being. A powerful existence beyond her control and whom she could not harm.

That meant she could ask or beg disgracefully for her life. She could also make dumb mistakes or confess her sins. Before a god, humans were always like this. Human beings were bound to risk their lives for values they just could not grasp.

A strange and unidentified sense of relief filled her. As fear and tension disappeared from her face, Danté loosely smiled and asked again.

“If that was hard to answer, how about this. What kind of a life does Evony Vonieck ultimately want to live?”

There was a humane warmth in his voice. The same was true with his slow but sure manner of speaking.

“If you are afraid of the public gaze, you can live quietly in this castle. If you want the money, I will let you run a business. If you want the education, I can send you to a university. If what you want is to make a family, I will find you a fitting suitor.”

“Do I have the freedom to choose?”

“Of course. It is your life after all.”

Evony swallowed with her dry mouth and clenched her skirt with her hands. The freedom to lead her life the way she chose. Something that hadn’t been granted to her until now.

“Things like that, I haven’t given much thought to. I, no, Your Excellency. No, I’m sorry. Right now, I have too much on my mind. If you give me some time.”

“Evony?”

“Yes, Your Excellency?”

“Do you want revenge?”

Danté’s voice was deep and rough. Evony lifted her gaze and looked him straight in the face. He stood awfully close and leaned towards her. Then, he whispered just like the devil in a myth.

“Revenge on those who condemned you as a witch, and on those who beat you. Do you want revenge?”

“If I say I do want it… Will you avenge me?”

“I think so.”

“How come?”

“I will take questions after I get enough answers. So, answer my question first. Evony Vonieck, what kind of person do you want to be?”

Maybe this was an opportunity. She instinctively knew that nothing the humans said before the supreme being mattered. To listen or not, it was up to him. She was confident that she wouldn’t blame him, or be disappointed if he didn’t listen. How could she when she didn’t want anything?

But revenge. It was a sweet temptation. From the tips of her fingers, a thrill ran up her veins and illuminated her eyes. Just imagining it made her blood boil. Like an addict anticipating pleasure, her heart pumped.

But it could never be the ultimate goal, not in the life she truly wanted.

“The kind of person I want to be? I do not have a clear goal. I actually have no clue what kind of person I am now. You asked what I wanted. Until now, I wanted to survive. I didn’t want to be executed. Somehow, I just wanted to get out of prison alive.”

“Continue.”

“How far am I willing to grow? That, I’m not sure. I’m truly being honest. I don’t know if I have the potential for growth. But if, there is a chance…”

“Then?”

“Endlessly. Until my last breath. I don’t care if you call it foolish. I don’t know where this end is, and I don’t know how far Your Excellency will allow. So, if I could, I just want to keep going. Become a better person. At least so I can grow some affection towards this life. Not the dirty Evony that everyone points their fingers at, no, but the girl who stood on her feet, on top of her unfortunate past.”

Once she started spewing out words, she became more determined. Fierce resolve towards life, firm will, and hot anger bubbled as she spoke.

There was a pleasant stir on Danté’s calm, smiling façade. A refreshing laugh came out.

Evony may not have realized, but this was the beginning of a change.

This woman will grow, he thought. Firmly rooted, she will grow into something big.

Perhaps this was the introduction to a great tale, one that a lone woman was about to write.

“You have one more question to answer, smart Evony.”

“You asked about my values.”

“I did.”

She swallowed once more and mustered her courage one last time.

“Could I be of value?”

“Yes.”

She nodded soberly. “I will become, at all costs, someone who can help Your Excellency. I will stand on the path you will lead. Whichever path you chose, I will not argue whether it is good or evil. The argument means nothing to me. I won’t ask for anything in return. If only Your Excellency would give me a chance… I can lay my life down for you.”

“Without judgement of good or evil, and for nothing in return?”

“Yes.”

“Can you swear on your words?”

“Yes, other than my life, I can risk everything.”

Danté was truly satisfied. He even liked that she excluded her life in the bet. A person who didn’t value oneself could not value another life. Danté demanded that she not take her life lightly, and she had abided.

He put on an even thicker smile and asked lightly. “So, not your life? Huh.”

“Your excellency demanded I sign it. The document. Excluding the right to life. That was what it said. That my life was solely mine. You have recognized it as so.”

“Haha… Hahahaha!”

Danté burst out laughing, unable to hold it in. He laughed away, with his long fingers covering his eyes and his back buried in the sofa. His laughter did not easily die down even as she stared blankly.

“Evony?”

“Yes?”

“You did good.”

She gave the right answer. What Danté wanted from her was desperation. She let out a sigh of relief as she was overwhelmed by the thought that she passed his test.

“I guess it’s now my turn to answer your question. Why, you asked, am I going to this extent for you?”

“I did.”

“Are you anxious because you cannot see my intentions?”

“That is correct, Your Excellency.”

Danté nodded his head. He told her it was natural that she was anxious and that when she had questions, she could ask freely. Then, with his head tilted, Danté pointed to his messy desk to his back.

“How should I explain this simply for you. Yes, cleaning. Evony, what I am about to do in Karcass, is a kind of cleaning.”

“Cleaning?”

“Yes. Even though it is troublesome, as long as I’m in the position as a grand duke of this kingdom, I cannot stay out of their power struggle. And if it is a game I am going to have to play, I will undoubtedly win. During the process, if I could rid the kingdom of the unsightly while at it, well I do not think it will get much better than that.”

Danté used the term cleaning, but what he spoke wasn’t something to be described with that ordinary of a word. Power struggle. Struggle for authority. Political game. And of course, cleaning. There was going to be human cleaning. She scanned her brain, willing his words to make sense. Although she was short of information, it didn’t mean she was dim-witted.

Grand Duke Schneider was back from his sojourn. As a young and ambitious royal, he was a fierce and sudden wind in the Karcassian political scene. As of now, he was an unfamiliar Southern breeze, but someday he would become a storm that would wipe out everything.

As he said, his intentions were to clean. The process would be anything but peaceful. Evony understood that she was to become his deception and his weapon.

“Do you want me to be your pawn?”

“Do you know what the opponent fears most in a game of suits? The best card, sometimes called the wildcard?”

Of course she knew. She immediately responded. “Joker.”

“Yes, that is your role,” he whispered. As he stood and walked to the window, he laughed like the devil.

She recalled the deck of cards she once saw in her father’s study. The flashy and lavish joker, a clown masked in white with a blood-red smile.

“Do you think I can pull it off?”

“Yes, of course. I am going to make something out of you.”

In this world, there were two species of humankind. One who lived the predetermined life set out for them, and the other who lived by changing their course and their self. Danté was telling Evony to become the latter. Her wishes weren’t different from his, and he was telling her to become exactly the person she desired to be.

She felt like she’d made a deal with the devil.

Evony stared at Danté’s wide back as he gazed out the window. Karcass was in the midst of its summer, but the room felt cold as winter. She could almost feel the frost and the blizzard.

Joker. As soon as Danté said that word, she clearly realized what exactly he was asking.

He was asking her to become a witch, a real one this time.