Lloyd snorted in response, glaring down at Noah's motionless body.
"That's a lie," he said sharply, his voice dripping with disbelief. "This trash is clearly pretending."
His lips twisted into a faint sneer as he took a step forward, his boots splashing lightly against the damp ground. "You think I'd fall for that?"
He clicked his tongue in annoyance, before moving closer.
"Get up," he said coldly, his tone cutting through the air like a blade. "We're not done yet."
He kicked Noah's side—not as hard as before, but still enough to make the sound of impact echo faintly in the quiet forest.
Noah's body rocked slightly from the force, his arm shifting a little as it hit the ground again, but there was no sound. No reaction. No movement that hinted at life.
Lloyd frowned, his irritation deepening.
"Hey," he said again, kicking him a second time, a bit harder this time. "I said get up."
Still nothing.
Noah's body stayed completely still, his chest not rising, his pale face expressionless. His half-open eyes stared blankly at the muddy ground, lifeless and unblinking.
Lloyd's brows furrowed. He stopped kicking and stared at Noah for a long, tense moment.
The wind rustled faintly through the trees above, causing a few leaves to fall and land quietly beside them.
He bent down slowly, lowering himself until his face was close to Noah's.
His expression had shifted from anger to mild confusion. He could see the blood dried along Noah's cheek, the cut that had stopped bleeding. There was no movement in his chest.
Lloyd hesitated for a moment before leaning in even closer. He placed two fingers just above Noah's nose, waiting for the faintest sign of breath. His heart gave a single uneasy thump when he felt nothing.
He waited longer, his jaw tightening. Still nothing.
He pressed his hand against Noah's neck, feeling for a pulse—but there was none.
The skin was cold and slightly damp from the rain, but it didn't have the warmth of life anymore.
His eyes slowly widened, realization creeping across his face. Just like the other boy had said… Noah really wasn't breathing.
For a moment, Lloyd didn't move. His breath hitched faintly, and his hand hovered awkwardly in midair. The sound of his own heartbeat grew louder in his ears.
Then he gasped, suddenly stumbling backward. His feet slipped slightly in the mud, and he barely managed to regain his balance.
His chest rose and fell unevenly as he stared at Noah's body with wide, stunned eyes.
He didn't want to believe it. He couldn't.
The boy on his right was still frozen in place, pale and trembling.
The other one—the third of them—looked around in confusion, his face twisting slightly as he tried to understand what was happening.
"Hey…" the third boy said slowly, his voice uncertain. "What's going on, guys?"
He took a hesitant step forward, looking from one to the other. "What's this about him… not breathing?"
Neither of them answered, too shaken by what just happened to even speak.
Lloyd's lips parted slightly, but no sound came out.
His gaze remained locked on Noah's body, and for the first time since the beating started, there was no anger in his eyes—just confusion, shock, and a strange kind of fear that made his chest tighten.
He bit his lip hard, drawing a small line of blood, but he didn't even notice. His breathing was uneven.
'He's dead…' he thought to himself, his thoughts racing chaotically. 'He's dead… he really is dead!'
The words echoed endlessly in his mind, crashing into one another like waves. He didn't even know what to think anymore. His entire chest felt hollow, cold, and his heart wouldn't stop pounding.
'What did I just do…?' he thought, his pupils dilating slightly. 'Did I really… kill him?'
His thoughts turned chaotic in that instant.
Images of what had just happened flashed rapidly in his mind — Noah's face, the way he coughed up blood, the sound of the last kick, the moment he hit the tree.
It all played back over and over like an endless nightmare. His stomach twisted painfully, and for a brief second, guilt began to rise in his chest.
But then, something inside him snapped.
He suddenly smirked faintly, his lips curling upward even though his heart was still racing.
'Why am I so worried anyway?' he thought to himself. 'Sure, I didn't mean to kill him, but… even if he dies, who would care?'
The smirk grew a little wider, though his eyes remained empty.
'No one would,' he told himself silently, gripping his arm tightly to stop his hands from shaking. 'No one cares about trash like him. It's not like anyone's going to cry for him. He's just some useless nobody.'
He exhaled slowly, trying to steady himself. The cold, creeping panic that had filled him moments ago began to fade slightly, replaced by a strange, detached calm. His thoughts grew sharper, colder.
'I'm the son of the freaking Count!' he reminded himself, his father's voice echoing faintly in his head. 'I can do whatever I want… that's what Father always says.'
His eyes slowly narrowed, and a faint, bitter chuckle escaped his lips.
'That's right,' he thought. 'That's what power means. I can do what I want—and no one will stop me.'
He looked back down at Noah's lifeless body, his earlier fear now buried under layers of arrogance and self-assurance.
His eyes shone with a cold glint as a dark thought crept into his mind.
'He's dead… but he's trash,' Lloyd thought to himself. 'So his life doesn't matter anyway. He was nothing before, and he'll be nothing now. No one's going to care if some trash disappears.'
He exhaled through his nose quietly, the faint trace of a smirk still lingering on his lips.
'I'll just come up with a lie,' he thought calmly. 'No one's going to know the truth.'
He turned his head slowly toward the other two boys, his cold gaze settling on them.
"You two," he said coldly.
The sound of his voice made both boys flinch.
They turned toward him almost immediately, their faces pale, their eyes wide.
Their minds were still in disarray from what had just happened. They couldn't think clearly—everything felt like a blur.
The third boy's lips trembled slightly as if he wanted to say something, but no words came out.
Both of them shuddered under Lloyd's gaze.