LnD | Chapter 5

She appeared to be in her early to mid-thirties, with blonde hair. She wore numerous piercings like a passionate biker, had tattoos all over her left arm, and wore a black sleeveless leather vest.

She seemed more suited to riding a massive motorcycle down the dusty roads of Texas than staying elegantly in Linhart’s noble mansion.

She was glaring at Si-ron with eyes that seemed to say she had found the perfect target for her frustration, showing no intention of letting the delivery mistake slide.

Damn, acting skills. I need my acting skills.

Si-ron took a deep breath to heighten his emotions, as if he were suffering from unbearable guilt. The strange pressure he felt since entering the gate weighed even more heavily on him as the woman approached. Momentarily losing focus, Si-ron quickly regained his composure.

“I’m so sorry. You must have been waiting a long time, what should I do?”

As Si-ron unexpectedly approached within her personal space, the woman’s fierce eyes showed a flicker of surprise.

“I spilled one of the two curry sets due to my mistake during delivery. The remaining one is fine, so if you start eating, I’ll quickly bring a new one and some complimentary items.”

Si-ron looked at the woman with eyes full of concern. His eyes were transparent, like dew, filled with moisture. The woman, momentarily speechless at Si-ron’s pleading, anxious face, took a short breath, then regained her composure and accepted the bag with trembling hands.

“It’s fine. One is enough. I’m not in a situation to eat right now anyway.”

Noticing the woman’s calmed demeanor, Si-ron added with a face that seemed to be dying of guilt.

“Thank you. Oh, no. I’m really sorry. If you order again, I’ll give you lots of complimentary items.”

“Yes, please do.”

Si-ron smiled gently at the woman, who stood there staring at him with a stern face, then turned and left the mansion. As soon as he heard the sound of the gate automatically locking behind him, Si-ron’s smiling face hardened.

The pressure he felt since entering the mansion disappeared as if it were a lie. However, the uncomfortable feeling didn’t easily fade. Si-ron pressed his palm against his overly reactive heart. Even though the delivery mistake was resolved smoothly, he just wanted to escape from there quickly.

Looking up at the high walls with anxious eyes, Si-ron got back on his motorcycle to return to the restaurant. As he rode through the luxurious mansion complex of Linhart, gradually regaining his composure, Si-ron recalled the tired face of the woman.

“I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before.”

It was strange. It was definitely a new face, yet it didn’t feel unfamiliar.

Anna, dazed by the unexpected appearance of a handsome young man, stared blankly at the closed gate. Despite having dated countless handsome men, the delivery guy from the curry shop was a fresh face she had never experienced before.

His anxious expression, filled with worry, suited him much better than a smile. He had a face that made you want to falsely accuse him and make him cry in sorrow. If he had a scab on his lips from a forced kiss, it would be perfect—a fragile beauty on his face.

Realizing she had momentarily forgotten reality, mesmerized by the man’s face, Anna let out a hollow laugh.

“Well, in this crappy life, there should be small events like this.”

She carelessly placed the curry she received on the floor, then rummaged through her pockets for a cigarette and lighter. Her hands trembled so much that it was difficult to light the cigarette. The flame barely touched the tip of the cigarette, and Anna inhaled it desperately, like someone gasping for oxygen after escaping underwater.

After finishing one, she lit another, and then another. As she chain-smoked, the trembling subsided, the tension eased, and her mind became hazy. Feeling slightly dizzy, she took the damn curry and went inside the house.

The house was deathly silent. The man who used to greet Anna energetically like a dog welcoming its owner was lying in the living room. Without even glancing at the man sprawled in the middle of the living room, she headed to the kitchen.

The state of the curry in the bag was miserable. The inside of the bag was a mess with spilled curry. One of the two sets was intact, but even that had curry on the bottom. Normally, she would have ignored the spilled curry and complained to the restaurant owner about the incompetent delivery guy.

But Anna had no energy to cook, nor was she in the mood to order something new. Most importantly, she felt ravenous, as if she might collapse from hunger.

She quickly devoured the curry with a large soup spoon and stared blankly at the pattern on the opposite wall. She flinched when a chillingly cheerful bell sound broke the silence.

[Sulhansa Jackson]

It was a call from Jackson Cliff, a member of the Bargas City group therapy session <People Who Overcame Sadness>, abbreviated as Sulhansa. Anna had been absent from the Sulhansa meetings for two months, yet Jackson continued to reach out to her.

Sulhansa Jackson: Anna, please answer. You need to be with people when times are tough. We will always be on your side. 3:11 PM

A message from Jackson appeared on the screen. Anna’s face hardened at the most unreliable encouragement in the world. But soon, her stern face crumbled into a pitiful one.

“We can overcome it. Let’s shout it again. I can overcome it.”

She muttered like a mad person, pleading. She could overcome it. Hadn’t she endured for the past seven years by brainwashing herself with forced belief? She would surely get through this ordeal as well.

Repeating to herself endlessly, Anna suddenly flinched. Feeling as if she had bitten into a lemon, she quickly sent a text message to someone else.

[Me: Do I have to live like this forever? Is there no other way to alleviate the symptoms?]

Anna sent a message to dealer H, and the reply came immediately.

[Dealer H: If you need an anesthetic refill, click the link.
※This is a one-time link. Click it just before purchase. :-)]

The reply, like an automatic response, offered no solutions. Moreover, the smiling emoticon felt like a mockery and insult to Anna’s wrong choices and character. Trembling with anger, she checked the follow-up message with a distorted gaze.

Dealer H sent a one-time link to the anesthetic purchase page. Based on previous experience, clicking the link would open a shopping page where transactions could only be made with cryptocurrency.

The items sold on the shopping site were simple. A purple ampoule containing an anesthetic, an illegally modified revolver with a silencer, anesthetic darts with enough anesthetic to knock out a bear in one shot, and ampoule-type anesthetics. Just four items.

Just an hour ago, Anna McCarthy had fired an anesthetic dart. The target was her younger brother, Louis McCarthy, who was twelve years younger than her. She, who became a police officer for her family, had aimed a gun at her only blood relative.

The revolver was loaded with anesthetic darts, each capable of taking down a 10-foot bear with a single shot. In a panic, Anna fired madly at Louis, who had turned into a frenzied beast, and three out of six darts hit the mark.

Louis lay motionless on the floor, like a corpse. Having been hit by three anesthetic darts meant for bears, he might be dead. Watching her brother’s lifeless form, tears poured from Anna’s eyes like a flood.

Just an hour ago, the siblings were having an ordinary day. Until Louis McCarthy lost his mind and tried to attack his sister, Anna McCarthy, it was a peaceful afternoon.

The siblings, who had no talent for cooking, mostly relied on delivery food for their meals. Today, they craved something particularly spicy and stimulating, so they expanded their search range across the river to the Riverland area and placed an order at a highly-rated curry shop.

But less than a minute after ordering, Louis’s condition changed drastically. As he breathed heavily and his shoulders heaved, Anna reached out in concern, only for Louis to glare at her with eyes full of shame and anger, as if she had molested him.

With a flushed face, labored breathing, and eyes filled with contempt and rage, Anna realized that this was her brother’s rut cycle, as dealer H had mentioned.