Franklin and Anna decided to run away after 10 days.
They also planned their escape routes and where to go.
Now, they just hoped to escape without being caught.
But...
Hope is the cruelest illusion, not because it deceives, but because it makes suffering last longer.
Just like that, nine days passed without any incident, and only one day was left before their escape. But an unexpected visitor came to the county.
He was an old man, around the same age as Count Gradano, the man Franklin and his mother had served.
Franklin didn't think much about it. He stayed focused on their original plan and kept preparing.
Just then, his friend, who was also a slave, rushed to him, He was breathing heavily and said something that made Franklin freeze.
"Franklin, the Count has ordered ten beautiful slave girls to be brought to him.... and one of them is your Anna."
Upon hearing this, Franklin's eyes turned blood red. The veins on his face bulged with anger.
Without a second thought, he grabbed a sickle and rushed to face the Count.
Drrrmp drrrmp..
Franklin ran as fast as he could. His heart raced wildly, and he felt a sharp pain in his chest, like thousands of arrows piercing his heart one by one.
His friend had told him that the Count had taken Anna to the guest mansion, so Franklin hurried there.
When Franklin arrived, he saw guards in front of the mansion. He was very angry, but he knew he could not fight them.
So, he went around to the back, climbed over the wall, and quietly got inside through a window.
He then went straight to the most fancy room in the mansion, thinking the Count would be there.
When he got closer, he saw some guards standing outside the door. They pressed their ears against it, listening closely to the sounds coming from inside.
Franklin's heart began beating even faster.
Badum....Badum....Badum....
"Hey! What are you doing here?" one of the guards shouted when he noticed Franklin.
"Who let this slave in?" another asked.
"Ohhh… I think he knows one of the slaves inside." a guard smirked.
"Hahaha, is that so?"
"Did you come to hear your mummy scream? Hahaha"
"Come here, listen to this, you might recognise the voices" one guard said, licking his tongue in a disgusting way.
"Hahaha! Hey, slave, just get lost. Our lord is having his best day today."
"Man, I wish I had that potion too," another guard added.
"What, you having trouble down there too? Hahaha!"
Their voices were full of mockery, and their eyes looked dirty and cruel.
However, Franklin stayed silent as he walked toward the door.
"Hey, hey! Get lost. This isn't a place for you"
Franklin stopped in front of a guard, while the guards kept mocking him.
Then, without a word, Franklin suddenly swung his sickle. The blade sliced clean through a guard's neck.
Slash! Splurt!
The guard's head flew off, and blood gushed from his body.
!!!!!
Everyone stopped laughing and froze in shock
Then Franklin started attacking mindlessly. He swung his sickle, cutting down many guards.
The guards were stronger than him, but because it happened so suddenly, many couldn't react in time and were killed.
"You bastard!" one guard swung his sword, but it was too late. That guard's hand was already cut off.
"Aaaaaaaa"
Slice! Slash! Slash!
In just a few seconds, the area in front of the room was covered in blood.
Then a strong guard hit Franklin in the face and made him fall back.
Crash
The guard kept hitting him, and Franklin could only take the hits.
Just then,
Creak!
The door to the room opened, and a half naked old man came out.
"What is going on, you fools?"
The old man was none other than Count Gradano, the head of the family and the current Count.
"My lord, please forgive us." the man who had punched Franklin answered quickly. "A slave suddenly attacked us. It happened so fast that some of our guards were killed."
Count Gradano narrowed his eyes and stared at Franklin with sharp eyes.
Meanwhile, Franklin lay on the ground, covered in blood.
He didn't look at Count Gradano because he was shocked by what he was seeing inside the room.
The room was filled with a pink mist that smelled strange and errie.
There was a large bed in the center of the room.
On the bed lay the old guest who came today. He was naked and looked annoyed by the chaos Franklin had caused.
Four or five girls were on the bed, crying in pain.
The other slave girls lay unconscious on the floor. Franklin couldn't tell if they were just unconscious or if they were already dead.
Franklin felt disgusted seeing the twisted desires of those two old men.
They were abusing ten slave girls, and some of them might already be dead. Thus, He realized how cruel humans could truly be.
In the middle of the chaos, Franklin's eyes desperately searched for Anna.
She was one of the beautiful slaves, and his friend had told him she was here.
Ba..dum! Ba..dum!
As he was looking for her, his heart was pounding wildly.
Please, God... not my Anna. Please, please, please...
His thoughts raced out of control, and he felt like his heart would burst the moment he saw her.
But thankfully, she wasn't there.
He should have felt relief, but instead, he felt empty.
Where is she?
She was supposed to be here. So why wasn't she...
Just as Franklin was confused, the Count kicked his head.
"You damn maggot! How dare you disturb me, you filthy slave!"
The Count kept kicking him. He wasn't a mana user, so his kicks were normal but still painful.
"Take this bastard and throw him in jail." the Count ordered the guards.
The guards quickly grabbed Franklin by the shoulders and dragged him out of the hallway, then out of the mansion.
As they were taking Franklin to the slave cell, he saw someone standing under a tree.
It was his friend, the one who told him about Anna.
Franklin looked at him, confused.
His friend was smiling in a strange way. The corner of his mouth stretched all the way to his ear.
Don't tell me…
As he realized the reason behind his smile, his eyes went wide.
His friend then whispered something in a low voice,
"If she can't be mine, then I won't let her be anyone else's."