Chapter 71: The Weight Of Silence
Earlier...
—Knight Order's Prison—
Eska stood in front of the Knight Order's Prison, the cold wind brushing against her cheeks. Her eyes, pale and tired from sleepless nights, stared at the door ahead, but despite everything, a soft smile played on her lips. After all the pain, after all the sacrifices, this moment felt like a flicker of hope to her.
"Finally... they're going to release my Caelum." Her heart fluttered, but her expression soon shifted, the smile faltering. A shadow passed through her gaze. "But… how am I supposed to face him now? After everything... will he even look at me the same way?"
She clenched her fists tight, her nails digging into her palm. Her body trembled slightly. She wiped away a tear with the back of her hand and inhaled deeply, steadying her breath. "I'll tell him everything. He deserves to know. Even if it means he'll hate me for it. Still, can he forgive me?"
With hesitant steps, she walked into the building. Every footstep echoed in her mind louder than the last. Her heart beat faster, a mix of fear and longing battling inside her chest.
When she rounded the corner, her steps halted. Her breath caught in her throat. There he was.
Caelum.
He stood at the long counter, his posture tense, a few strands of messy black hair clinging to his forehead. His once-proud figure looked thinner now, worn out. His shirt was old and stained, clinging to his frame. Thin, fresh bruises marked his neck and the edges of his collarbone, cruel reminders of what he had endured.
Eska's eyes widened. She couldn't stop herself, her body moved on its own. "C-Caelum!" she called softly, her voice cracking as tears gathered in her eyes.
Caelum finished signing something with dried, bloody fingers. Then, slowly, he turned to face her.
Their eyes met.
His gaze, once so warm and full of mischief, was empty now. The dark circles beneath his eyes were heavy. He looked like someone who had stopped dreaming a long time ago.
Eska couldn't hold back any longer. She rushed to him and threw her arms around his broken body.
"I'm sorry..." she sobbed against his chest. "Caelum, I'm so sorry. I tried. I tried everything. But I couldn't... I couldn't protect you. You suffered because of me..."
Caelum didn't move. His arms hung limp at his sides. A long silence passed before he muttered, emotionless, "Eska... we should go now."
He peeled her off him with slow, stiff movements, then grabbed her hand tightly and started walking.
Outside, the air was warmer. Brighter. But not for them. Eska's hand, which had been gently reaching for his, froze. Her fingers trembled before she slowly pulled them back, as if burned by the space between them.
"Wait… Caelum, I… I need to tell you something first. Please." Her voice was quiet, fragile. Barely enough to catch him before he walked off.
He stopped. But he didn't turn to look at her. "Can't it wait until we're home?" he said flatly. Like she was a stranger.
"No." She flinched at her own voice, too loud, too desperate. "No, it can't. You… you have to know now. Please hear me out."
A tense pause. Then, reluctantly, Caelum turned. His face didn't show concern. Only suspicion. Tiredness. A flicker of annoyance in his narrowed eyes. "What is it?"
Eska's throat was tight. Her hands were trembling again. She gripped her skirt to hide it. Her lips opened… but no words came. She had rehearsed this. A hundred times in her mind. None of those versions ever felt this terrifying.
"W-while… while you were in prison," she began, almost choking on each word, "I—I had to give myself… to a Knight. To save you."
The silence that followed was unnatural. Heavy. Like the world itself was holding its breath.
Caelum's face didn't change at first. But his eyes, his eyes darkened. Subtly, but unmistakably. "What did you say?"
His voice was too calm. Too flat. Eska felt her knees weaken. She stepped forward. "I didn't want to! I had no choice! He said if I didn't… if I didn't, he'd kill you... please, Caelum, please believe me…"
She fell to her knees. Her voice cracked as tears spilled freely down her face. "I'm sorry. I'm really… really sorry…"
THUD!
The slap came so fast, so hard, she didn't even see it coming. A flash of heat burst across her cheek as her head snapped sideways, hair whipping through the air. Gasps came from somewhere. Pedestrians. Onlookers.
Eska hit the ground with a small cry, catching herself on one hand. She blinked, stunned. Her cheek throbbed. But she didn't cry out. Not for the pain. Her lips trembled.
And slowly… she reached for his hand. "Hit me more…" she whispered. "If it makes you feel better. If it takes the pain away… I probably deserve it."
Caelum looked down at her, face twisted in fury. His fist was clenched so hard that blood trickled from where his nails dug into his palm.
"You… bitch," he spat. His voice cracked, trembling, not with sorrow, but rage. "You fucking slut."
Eska didn't even blink.
"How dare you lie to me?" he snarled.
"Lie—? I didn't—!"
"You wanted to fuck him, didn't you? Why the fuck are you lying to me..." His voice was louder now. People were watching.
Eska's lips parted. She looked at him in disbelief. "What…?" she breathed.
"You're telling me you did it for me? Don't give me that bullshit. You're not some noble martyr," he hissed. "You wanted it. You enjoyed it. You just want me to feel bad for you now."
"No! Caelum, n-no... please—"
THUD!
Another slap, this time harder. Her other cheek lit up in pain. She stumbled but stayed standing on her knees.
"Don't lie to my face!" His voice was cracking now, something unhinged in his tone. His breathing was shallow.
"You think I wouldn't find out the truth? Unfortunately for you, I already have. How could you—" His voice dropped, fists clenching even tighter.
"I—I don't know who told you all of that... Was it that knight? Whatever he said... it was all lies. Please, trust me, Caelum... he lied to you. Trust me!"
"Lies. Lies. Lies. Lies. Lies." he whispered slowly, as if unaware of what he was even supposed to do. "You know what I've heard? That you're the one who stole the relic. You blamed everything on me, because you wanted that bastard. How could you? Eska... how could you...?"
Eska's eyes widened. The world dropped out from under her. "No…" she whispered. "No, I didn't! I swear I didn't—!"
"Shut up!" he barked, eyes wild now. "You took it. You set me up. Then you slept with that bastard and pretended you were some helpless angel. You betrayed me. You fucking betrayed me."
"That's not true!" she screamed, sobbing now. "I never—! I was cornered! He had me! I didn't have a choice—!"
"Cornered, what a fucking bullshit?"His jaw twitched, and the skin on his face twisted into an empty laugh. "Hahaha, you just needed a reason!" he snarled. "You couldn't even wait, could you? You just spread your fucking legs the moment someone gave you attention."
That broke her completely. Never in her life had she thought she'd hear something like that from her own husband. Her chest tightened so fast, it felt like she couldn't breathe. She didn't know what to say to him now. She just looked up at him, stunned. "I didn't…" she whispered.
"If you didn't love me anymore, you should've just said it! If I were failed to make you happy then you could've told me." Caelum roared. "I would've let you go for my failures. I would've signed the fucking divorce papers and walked away."
"I didn't want to leave you!" she sobbed. "I thought... I thought I was saving you—!"
"Don't give me that crap!" he growled. "You ruined me. Left me to rot. To go insane in a dark hole while you played house with some bastard!"
"I love you…" she whimpered.
"No, you fucking don't."
Eska shook her head rapidly, desperate, broken. "I do! I've always—"
"You never loved anyone but yourself."
He lunged forward, seizing her bound hair and yanking her upright so abruptly that a gasp escaped her lips. His eyes, emptied of all life, locked onto hers as if the man before her was no longer himself. "Tell me why, Eska. Tell me why you did it."
"I just… I just wanted to protect you! I wanted to bring you back! I gave up everything, everything, because I couldn't lose you!"
"And you think that justifies anything?" he sneered. "You think being a whore and a liar makes you a fucking hero?"
"I'm not a liar! I'm not!" she screamed, clawing at his hands. "He lied to you! He told you things that aren't true!"
"No. They told me everything. They showed me everything, the papers and all of it. You sold me out. You fucking sold me out."
She froze. "Papers…? What kind of papers? No, I never—?"
"SHUT. UP." He shoved her back. She stumbled and fell on her hands.
"I should've let them execute me," he muttered. "Would've been easier than looking at you ever again. I feel sick just looking at you now… Sick… Gross…"
"Caelum…" her voice was hoarse now. "Please listen… please… that's not me… that's not who I am…"
He turned away. His fists clenched, his entire body shaking. His lips trembled. But his voice, when it came, was cold. "I loved you more than anything." A pause. "But maybe you never existed at all."
"I just… I just wanted to save you!" she cried. "I never wanted to lose you! I thought… I thought you'd understand!"
"Understand?" he laughed, a bitter, broken sound. "You betrayed me. You ruined me. You left me alone to rot in that cell! And now you want what... sympathy? Forgiveness?"
"N-no, that's not—" her voice broke her heart wasn't in her anymore. Her head downard. "How can I explain everything to you? Tell me what should I have to do will you believe me, Caelum?"
He stood there, towering above her, his breaths harsh, uneven. A storm was brewing in his eyes... no, not a storm, something darker. Something broken.
Then, without warning, he spat on her again. The warm spit hit her cheek and slid slowly down to her chin. She flinched but didn't wipe it away. Just sat there, frozen.
"There's no need for an explanation," Caelum hissed, voice low and trembling with rage. His fingers twitched near his waist, his hands unsure where to go, like his own body didn't know what it wanted.
He shook his head a few times, almost like he was trying to shake something off. His voice grew louder. "You already lost. Your stupid little plan failed. What, did you really think you could twist my sympathy? Use the fact I once cared for you as a shield?! You fucking bitch."
"C-Caelum, please… listen to me—"
She took a hesitant crawl forward, but he stepped in first. Fast. Too fast. He loomed over her, his shadow spilling across her trembling form. Her gaze, still fixed on the ground, flicked upward for only a heartbeat before dropping again. She couldn't meet his eyes. She couldn't recognize them anymore.
But her eyes, her eyes were wet. She wanted to say something. Anything. But her voice wouldn't come. She was choking on her words, on the pain, on disbelief.
Then Caelum suddenly grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked it upward, jerking her head back.
"H-Honey…" she whispered. It came out cracked. Her throat felt dry, like dust and ashes had settled in it.
He didn't respond. Just dragged her by the hair, forcing her onto the stone path, her knees scraping against the rough ground. Her skin screamed in pain with every inch, but her mind was somewhere else.
It wasn't the pain that mattered. It was him. She didn't resist. Couldn't. She just kept looking at him with wide, confused eyes.
"Why…?"
He stopped where a few people had gathered, onlookers now frozen in disbelief.
Then, as if discarding trash, he let go of her hair and shoved her forward. She stumbled, landed hard on her side. Her body ached, her pride in pieces. A few whispers sparked in the small crowd.
The shame was unbearable. But more than the pain, more than the humiliation, it was the fact that it was him. Her husband. The one she had once trusted with every fragile piece of her heart.
And now he was spitting on her like she was filth. Her eyes flickered up again, full of disbelief, full of agony.
Then he leaned in, grabbing the collar of her dress with one hand, the fabric stretching together.
"Look!" he shouted, turning to the crowd. "This is my so-called wife."
Her heart sank. "Please, Caelum... don't do this," she pleaded, her voice small and breaking. Then, catching the glint of a smirk beneath those hollow eyes, it didn't take her long to realize what he was doing. "Y-you can't... I'm your—"
Before she could finish, he ripped her dress down the middle with brute force. The sound of tearing fabric pierced the air. From chest to torso, her skin was suddenly bare, vulnerable, exposed. Red scratch marks crisscrossed her ribs like silent wounds screaming for help.
She gasped, arms flying up instinctively to shield herself. They wrapped tightly around her chest as her body curled in on itself like a wounded animal.
"W-why…?" she whimpered, not even loud enough for most to hear.
Caelum grinned, grinned, his smile cold and cruel. "You all want to know what she did, huh? This slut set me up. Had another man in her bed and tried to kill me off like I was nothing."
Her eyes widened. "Y-you're wrong! I didn't—!"
He bent down, grabbing her wrist, trying to pull her hands away from her body. "What? Now you're shy? Didn't hesitate to spread your fucking legs for him, did you?! But now, in front of a few strangers, you're embarrassed?"
She gasped again, trying to pull away, holding herself tighter.
"Oh, wait," he sneered, voice dripping with venom. "Didn't you say you did it for me? That all of this was out of love, huh?"
She was silent. Her lips trembled. Her whole body shook like a leaf in the storm.
"Then do it," he said, eyes darkening. "Show me your love, right here. Right now. Prove it."
She didn't speak. She couldn't. Because the man standing in front of her wasn't him. This wasn't Caelum. This wasn't the man who held her hands when she was scared, who kissed her tears away, who whispered promises under the moonlight. That man was gone. Now there was only a monster wearing his face.
"N-no," she said quietly. Her voice was almost a breath. "I won't."
He scoffed, loud and sharp. "See that? A fucking liar. That's what she is."
He turned back to the crowd, spreading his arms wide. "And how should we treat a liar?!"
People hesitated. Some looked away. Others stepped forward. Then he shouted, "As of now, I divorce this bitch. Right here. Right now. In front of all of you. From this moment, we're strangers. No more pretending."
His words felt like a blade shoved into her chest. Eska just stared ahead, blank. Her thoughts stopped. Her surroundings blurred. The pain... she couldn't feel it anymore.
Then—
Thud!
His boot collided with her ribs. Her body bent unnaturally from the impact, but no sound came out of her mouth. Just a breath. Just pain.
"Tell me," he said, looking down at her like she was a bug. "What should a girl like her be punished with?"
Before he could say anything more, a sound rippled through the crowd, barely audible at first, like the wind shifting directions. Then it grew.
"Kill."
"Kill"
"Kill"
Murmurs turned sharp, their voices rising with confusion, judgment, anger. Like something dark had taken root in their hearts. And then, without warning, they turned on her.
It started with a foot. Just one. A sharp kick to her side. She gasped, but there was no time to react. Another kick followed. Then another. Some landed heavily, thudding against her ribs or slamming into her legs. Others were almost careless, yet each still stole a little more of her strength. They didn't care. No one cared.
One struck her shoulder, hard enough to jolt her to the ground if she hadn't already been halfway there. Another jabbed just below her ribs, and her body folded in on itself instinctively, but it didn't stop them.
They kept coming.
The blows rained down on her from all directions, knees, fists, heels, hitting her chest, her back, her arms when she tried to shield herself. Her skin screamed beneath the impact, and her vision spun until the world was a blur of faces and sky and pain. She couldn't even tell where one hit ended and another began. It was all just pain.
Her clothes, already torn, hung loose around her now, useless, offering no protection, no dignity. She wasn't fully exposed, not yet, but she may as well have been. The humiliation wrapped around her tighter than the tattered fabric. She wasn't a person to them anymore. Just something to throw their anger at. A thing. A doll. A ragged target.
The bruises came fast. Purple, red, black. Some swelled within seconds. Her skin split in places where the kicks landed too hard. And then the blood came. It trickled at first, then coated her like a second skin, warm and wet and sticky. It clung to her, painted her like it belonged more than she did.
She curled into herself, arms over her head, knees drawn to her chest, shaking uncontrollably. She tried to make herself smaller, invisible. As if by folding in tighter, she could vanish. Escape. Or at least not exist here. Not like this. The blows didn't stop. But her thoughts, her thoughts were louder than anything else.
"Why is this happening to me? What did I do? Is this... real? Is this actually happening?"
She couldn't tell anymore. Everything felt like a nightmare, but too vivid to be anything but the truth.
"How did he do this to me? How could he?"
Memories came unbidden, slicing through her like shards of glass.
"He used to hold me. Every single night, he held me like I was the only thing in the world. He kissed me like I mattered. Like I was everything. He'd laugh with me. Cling to me when I cooked, always pretending he needed help just so we could be close. He was always there... He told me I was his home. That I was his reason. So how did this happen?"
She sobbed, but no one heard it over the sound of kicks, shouts, and the sickening rhythm of flesh against flesh.
"Was I wrong this whole time? Was I that naive?"
Her body shook violently now, not just from pain, but from the collapse of everything she believed in.
"Is this what I deserve? Did I deserve this? Maybe I made a mistake. Maybe I should've never do that." she remembered the moment when she gave everything for him, "Maybe I should've done things differently. But I just wanted... I just wanted him to be safe. I didn't wanted to see him dead. Is it really that wrong?"
The crowd blurred. Faces turned into shapes. The sky began to fade around the edges.
"Will I even survive this? And if I do... what then? What do I have left? He was everything. My only reason to wake up. To breathe. To keep going. And now he's gone. He left me. He let them do this to me. Like I never meant anything. Like I was just a shadow, easily forgotten. Easily thrown away."
She coughed, the blood thick now. Breathing hurt. Her chest refused to rise properly.
"I don't know how to breathe anymore."
A small part of her wanted to scream. Another part wanted to beg. But most of her just wanted to disappear.
"Maybe if I sleep... Maybe if I just sleep, I won't have to feel this anymore. Maybe I won't have to remember that the only person I ever gave my heart to turned his back and let me be broken. Maybe I was wrong all along."
Her mouth tasted like metal. Blood ran from the corners of her lips, each breath more shallow than the last. Time lost meaning.
"It hurts. It hurts so much. Not just my body. Everything. My heart. My soul. I can't do this anymore. I can't endure it. I'm so tired. I want it to stop. Please, just stop. Don't hurt me anymore. Don't... Please don't."
But her lips just parted, no words lingered. She tried, but nothing came out. Instead, a few droplets of blood slipped from her eyes. She had already lost every bit of hope she had. Then—
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(Chapter Ended)
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To be continued...