Suddenly, a light rain began to fall over the mountains. The raindrops made soft pattering sounds as they struck the earth, gradually gathering into small puddles across the courtyard, reflecting the hazy curtain of rain hanging in the sky.
The dry, scorching ground slowly turned damp, and the entire yard became filled with the scent of wet earth mingled with rain.
Mountain roads were especially treacherous at night. The violent rain and fierce winds had snapped countless branches and slightly altered the terrain itself.
Even those familiar with the mountains would struggle to find the correct path.
After the helicopter took the little girl and her father away, the others began making their way back on foot through the dense forest, descending toward the village.
Only when they finally reached the edge of the familiar courtyard—
Half-supported by Camila, Vivienne was suddenly struck by a wave of dizziness. Her vision blurred, and the voices around her seemed to stretch endlessly, making it feel as though the entire world was spinning.
Her limbs weakened. The ribbon tied around her hair slipped loose, allowing her silky black hair to spill into the air. Every ounce of strength drained from her body in an instant, causing her to collapse forward uncontrollably.
Vivienne Blackwood slowly lowered her eyes. The faint gray beneath them faded away, leaving behind nothing but exhaustion... and relief.
Excruciating pain spread through her body.
Too tired.
I want to go home.
I want to sleep...
A sudden scream echoed in her ears, and her consciousness completely slipped into endless darkness.
"Vivienne!" Arthur Williams shouted.
This time, he managed to catch her delicate body before she hit the ground.
Arthur immediately supported the girl and lifted her into his arms, only to freeze for a moment at how little she weighed.
Too light...
Without another thought, he carried her straight into the house.
[Oh my God, she fainted!]
[After all that bleeding and climbing up and down the mountain... I seriously thought Vivienne wasn’t human. Well, guess I was wrong.]
[I hope she’ll be okay. She just saved that little girl. I hope people won’t keep attacking her afterward.]
[What? Have you all forgotten this is Vivienne herself? The woman hated by the entire internet? Just because of some pathetic acting while pretending to be sick—]
[Shut up and get lost. What exactly did Vivienne do? At most, she chased after some man, and it wasn’t even you, so why are you running your mouth? Honestly, I doubt Vivienne would ever chase after someone as ugly as you anyway. Her life is none of your business.]
[I mean, no matter how bad Vivienne Blackwood may be, it’s obvious she sacrificed a lot to save that child. Have some humanity, please.]
+1
+1
...
"Ahhh! W-What is this? Where were you all?" Emma Walker screamed in shock as a large crowd suddenly rushed into the house.
[Oh my God, I almost forgot there was another guest... Where the hell was she?]
[Uh... I saw her run into a room earlier, and she never came out afterward.]
[Damn, are you saying a life-and-death disaster happened outside and this woman didn’t even notice? She was just crying in a room the whole time because she failed at cooking?]
[I’m speechless.]
A loud ringing echoed through Vivienne Blackwood’s mind as she lay weakly on the bed.
Countless memories flooded through her thoughts like a spinning wheel. The colors before her eyes gradually faded, and even her breathing became weaker and weaker.
With her consciousness completely muddled, she could hear nothing, nor could she tell where she was or what condition she was in.
Amid the growing pain, only the fear of approaching death and the thought of completing her mission barely kept her conscious.
Because she knew that if she died here—
She would never get another chance to survive.
She would never be able to return.
Oscar Jones turned the thermometer beneath the light. The moment he saw the number displayed on it, he froze in shock, and the cold, indifferent mask on his face finally cracked.
41.
Her long hair was scattered messily across the pillow. Her delicate face possessed a sickly, fragile beauty, her cheeks flushed with an unnatural redness, while her lips were so pale they seemed almost translucent.
The girl’s gaze was unfocused and dazed, her frail condition so close to collapse that it was painful to look at.
The sight of Vivienne like this filled everyone’s hearts with an indescribable ache.
"Vivienne, can you hear me? Vivienne?"
Vivienne Blackwood showed no reaction to Arthur’s calls. Her gaze continued wandering as she stared blankly into space.
Her eyes seemed to have lost all color, turning into a dull, lifeless gray.
"Damn it, where the hell is the doctor?!"
Surprisingly, Leo Thompson—who had remained silent since the very beginning of the program—finally exploded in anger and impatience.
Then he turned toward the host standing nearby and said coldly,
"Tell your director this: if the doctor doesn’t arrive within two minutes, he won’t want to know what happens next."
At that exact moment—
Someone walked in from outside, followed by a middle-aged man carrying a medical kit.
Without saying a word, the man strode straight to the bedside. He opened the kit, took out a syringe, and calmly drew the medicine into it.
"Roll up her sleeve."
"Alright, I’ll help." Camila stepped forward and helped Vivienne Blackwood sit up against her shoulder before quickly pulling up Vivienne’s sleeve.
The instant the girl’s skin was exposed, the entire room fell silent.
Camila gasped in shock.
"Hurry. Let me give her the injection first," the doctor urged impatiently. As an experienced physician, he had seen countless wounds and illnesses before, so he remained relatively composed.
Oscar Jones turned his head to look, and his pupils contracted sharply in surprise.
Leo Thompson stared blankly for a moment. The dark aura surrounding him faded slightly, replaced by the faintest trace of hesitation.
What came into view were patchwork scars stitched across the girl’s pale, delicate arms.
Just above her wrist, rows of sutured wounds overlapped one another, crossing in jagged patterns. The uneven stitch marks barely concealed how deep the original cuts must have been.
The entire arm looked as though it had been devoured by some horrifying swarm of insects.
The doctor, who had just finished preparing the injection, lifted his gaze toward the scene and paused briefly.
"Does this child have some kind of severe psychological condition?"
Dead silence filled the room.
Arthur stared at the scars for a long time, an indescribable pain surging from deep within his chest—a pain so overwhelming he could barely breathe.
[...]
Oh my God!
[Baby... my baby, what did you do to yourself?!]
[Those scars look really old. So back then, on the mountain... it really wasn’t because of Adrian Voss. Had Vivienne been carrying these thoughts for a long time already?]
[This is terrifying... Those wounds look incredibly strange.]
[Who could hurt themselves like that? ...I think maybe...]