Cloaked in Sin and Shadows of Vengeance
After wiping Elisha’s lips clean with a wet tissue, Seong-il pulled her into his arms, pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, and tried to drape the cloak around her shoulders. The moment she slipped from his embrace to put it on properly, her legs—weak from prolonged ecstasy—buckled beneath her. Seong-il caught her before she could fall, steadying her with quiet care as he wrapped the cloak around her naked body.
His unexpectedly tender attitude stirred something strange in Elisha’s chest. Without thinking, she pressed her face against his warm chest and clung to him.
“I’ll walk you home tonight.”
Huh? What’s gotten into him?
Startled by the sudden offer, Elisha blinked, but soon nodded in agreement.
Well… I can just pick up the clothes I left at his workshop tomorrow.
With her consent, Seong-il drew her tightly against his side, one arm looped possessively around her waist, and began walking down the street like a pair of intimate lovers. To avoid any misunderstanding in the red-light district, Elisha kept her face buried in his chest, making their silhouette look all the more like that of a couple lost in each other. They walked like that for a long time.
It was late spring, the air still carrying a chill before summer’s arrival. Wearing nothing but the cloak left her feeling cold, and Seong-il’s warmth became surprisingly comforting. Even after they passed through the red-light district, she made no move to leave his arms. They continued in that same position all the way to her workshop.
Someone happened to witness the pair who looked, to any observer, like lovers.
“Eh…?”
Late at night near Elisha’s workshop, a woman froze at the sight of her clinging tightly to Seong-il as they walked.
What the hell…? Aren’t those Elisha and that Eastern bastard?
Vivian Olke, who had spotted them while crossing the street, stared with narrowed eyes. She calmed her racing heart and began piecing together what she was seeing.
What is this? Why are they clinging to each other in the middle of the night? Don’t tell me they’re actually dating?
That bitch Elisha acts so high and mighty, lording her bloodline over everyone despite being a penniless nobody—and now she’s fallen for an Easterner?
Shocked by Elisha’s unexpected choice, Vivian ran a hand through her lustrous blonde hair and continued her venomous thoughts.
Wait… I heard that Eastern bastard donated a fortune to the Temple of Light and built himself some powerful backing. They say he comes from a successful trading family, too…
Hah. Is that whore selling her body to solve her money problems? After all that arrogance, she ends up spreading her legs for an Easterner. Disgusting slut.
Hmph… All she has is some dusty old noble title…
Vivian desperately tore Elisha down in her mind, trying to swallow the inferiority complex that gnawed at her. She hid by the roadside for a long time, watching and cursing them, until the couple finally disappeared from sight. Even then, the flames of jealousy burning in her chest refused to die. With a bitter expression, she turned her steps toward the dormitory.
“See you tomorrow. Let’s have fun again then, okay?”
“Y-yes…”
The strangely kind tone of Seong-il’s voice contrasted sharply with the lewd content of his words. Elisha felt a complex swirl of emotions as she saw him off.
“Well then!”
She watched as he turned and walked away, leaving her standing there. For a moment she stared blankly after him, a thoughtful look crossing her face, before finally entering her workshop.
Gulp.
Without realizing it, Elisha swallowed hard as the word play echoed in her mind.
Hmm… Judging from her reaction today, her psychological resistance seems almost completely broken. Maybe it’s time to turn up the intensity?
With those dark, scheming thoughts, Seong-il closed out the day.
After that, he continued making Elisha take naked walks wearing only the cloak. The frequent outings gradually accustomed her to exposure. Since no dangerous situations arose despite several walks, she slowly began to relax about them. The immoral thrill of possibly being seen by others addicted her to the pleasure of these strolls.
However, to ease her growing fear that her identity might be discovered, Seong-il had her wear the masquerade mask he’d obtained from a random box. The unique mask didn’t just perfectly conceal her appearance—it also altered her voice, completely hiding her identity.
Once she became certain no one could recognize her, Elisha began to genuinely enjoy the exhibitionist walks. On some nights she would even wander every corner of the red-light district wearing the mask, deliberately letting the cloak fall open to teasingly reveal her breasts and nipples as she strolled with Seong-il.
After savoring the gazes of strangers long enough to become fully aroused, they would slip into a quiet alley and frantically entwine their bodies.
After spending quite a long time enjoying these pleasurable days with Elisha, the next morning Seong-il washed up, ate breakfast, and headed for the Night Dancer.
“Ah~ Welcome, young master.”
Pirina greeted him with a bright smile she didn’t even try to hide. Seong-il returned the smile just as widely and naturally pulled her into his arms. At first she had been conscious of onlookers, but the staff inside the brothel had long since realized that Seong-il was Pirina’s lover. They simply smiled and looked away as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Hmm? You’re not resisting at all anymore?”
“Hehe… Everyone who needs to know already knows. What’s the point of hiding it?”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. Besides, no one thinks it’s strange.”
Seong-il tilted his head slightly at her words.
“They don’t think it’s strange…?”
“Not at all. I may be the madam here, but I’m still only in my early twenties. It wouldn’t be weird for me to have a boyfriend around my age, would it?”
“That’s true. Wait—early twenties?!”
Pirina frowned at his surprised outburst.
“What… do you mean by that, young master?”
Oh no!
Realizing he had asked a dangerous question born from sudden curiosity, Seong-il began desperately explaining himself.
“Th-that’s not what I meant! I wasn’t implying anything bad!”
“Hmmm…?”
Pirina’s smile stiffened as she glared at him with narrowed eyes. Seong-il felt cold sweat running down his back as he continued his frantic explanation.
“I just thought… running a place of this caliber would normally require many years of experience, no matter how talented you are… so I assumed you might be a little… older. Haha…”
Though the answer still displeased her, Pirina’s expression softened at his desperate attempt to make amends. She began to explain.
“Well… I suppose that makes sense. Even though I started working at fourteen…”
“Building a business like this in just eight years is quite impressive.”
When she spoke about her business with clear pride, Seong-il’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Y-you built all this in only eight years? Where on earth did you get the capital…?”
Pirina took his arm and naturally led him into a private room as she began telling him about her past.
“It just sort of happened while I was doing this and that. At first I ran away from an orphanage where I was being abused and ended up on the streets. I sold my body to survive the hunger, day after day.”
“Then, fortunately, the kind owner of a tavern took notice of me. I started working there as a waitress and was finally able to stop selling myself. I scraped by, just managing to eat.”
“It was quite an interesting place. Street thugs, sailors, day laborers, idlers, prostitutes…”
She looked up at the ceiling, closed her eyes slightly, and continued her recollection.
“It was a hard, rough environment, but surprisingly warm. People who were struggling helped and comforted each other.”
“And the tavern owner…”
“She was the first person who taught me what family really meant.”
“That adults could be someone to rely on. That they didn’t have to be people who only exploited or abused you.”
Then Pirina turned to look at Seong-il, her expression growing serious.
“I lived like that—relatively happily—for about three years. Then one incident happened.”
“What was it?”
With an expression he had never seen before—one completely devoid of emotion—Pirina answered.
“A guild war.”
“A guild war…?”
She nodded and continued.
“It was a war started when the so-called ‘capital nobles’—newly risen nobles who bought their titles from ruined aristocrats with money—sponsored emerging thief guilds to seize control of Adenheim’s underworld.”
“Since it was a back-alley conflict, bloody battles broke out every single day in the ports, taverns, red-light districts, and slums.”
“Of course, that meant powerless, poor lower-class people like us died in droves. And then…”
Pirina’s voice trailed off. She quietly touched the pendant hanging around her neck before continuing.
“The newly risen thugs began harassing the taverns and prostitutes. They demanded bodies and tribute, saying they’d become our pimps.”
“Naturally, the powerless women asked the guild they’d been paying protection money to for help. They did come… but the situation only got worse.”
“Those bastards made ‘examples’ of people. They would rape or kill helpless women in the middle of the night.”
“The authorities ignored the poor and powerless, paying no attention to their deaths. While the terrified prostitutes were sobbing, one woman reached out to them.”
Seong-il listened with great interest and asked, “Don’t tell me…?”
Pirina smiled faintly and answered.
“That’s right. It was the tavern owner. That hot-tempered, meddlesome woman.”
“She took the frightened prostitutes into the empty rooms of her tavern and began gathering connections to protect them.”
“When word spread, more prostitutes, debt-ridden gamblers, unaffiliated thugs, and others began gathering around her.”
“The appearance of a third focal point caused both the old and new thief guilds to panic.”
“A variable that could break the balance of power had appeared. Both guilds grew tense, but they reacted differently.”
“Hendrick, the current guild master of our guild—known as ‘Black Eyes’—approached the tavern owner with goodwill. As a longtime resident of Adenheim, he understood she hadn’t risen up to threaten his authority. She was simply trying to help the pitiful.”
“But the rookie leader of the new thief guild was different. He viewed the owner’s actions as insolent rebellion from the weak and sent his thugs to launch a surprise attack.”
“And… well… as you can probably guess. Our group—numerous but powerless—suffered a one-sided massacre.”
“From late night until dawn, so many people died. And the tavern owner who threw herself in front of them to protect everyone…”
She took a deep breath, steadied her emotions, and continued.
“I’d rather not describe exactly how brutally she was killed.”
“That evening, she secretly hid me in the underground cellar, pressed the pendant into my hand, said ‘See you tomorrow,’ and then died horribly.”
“And the next day… everything changed.”
Seong-il, completely absorbed in the story, looked into her eyes and asked, “What happened?”
“That day became the turning point that shattered the balance of power.”
“…Why?”
Pirina shrugged.
“How should I put it… a martyr, perhaps? A powerless middle-aged woman had thrown her entire body into protecting the poor and died for it. What do you think people would do? Usually it splits into two reactions.”
“Run away. Or become furious.”
“These were people who had nothing left to lose but their lives. When news of the tavern owner’s miserable death spread, their reason began to fly out the window.”
“‘We’re mayflies who could die any day anyway. Since it’s come to this, let’s at least get revenge for the owner before we die.’”
“And I was the same. I remember burying my face in her body and crying like a madwoman. I screamed that I would kill every last one of those bastards.”
A faint madness flickered across Pirina’s face as she spoke. For a brief moment, even Seong-il felt overwhelmed by the intensity radiating from her.
“After that, the prostitutes, the thugs from small organizations connected to them, the laborers, the poor who had lost their families—they all began gathering around me.”
“Burning with rage, we began our revenge using the only methods available to us.”