The Serpent of Paradise - Chapter 13

The distant sound of birdsong. The scent of dried herbs brushing past the tip of her nose. The feel of soft fabric wrapped pleasantly around her body. Feeling a comfort she’d never experienced before, Anastasia slowly opened her eyes.

The moment she saw the dazzling sunlight, Anastasia squeezed her eyes shut again. Why is there so much sunlight….

‘Sunlight?’

That can’t be. The only sunlight in her room was a single ray that came through a hole. It had never flooded in so brightly that it hurt her eyes.

‘Am I outside?’

But she couldn’t hear the wind or the chirping of insects. Besides, there was no way it could be this comfortable and soft outside. She’d made a makeshift bed in the chapel by gathering fallen leaves and covering them with an old cloth, but even that wasn’t this comfortable. Then where is she?

Anastasia carefully opened her eyes little by little. As her eyes gradually adjusted to the light, the blurry shapes became clear. What Anastasia saw was a picture painted in beautiful colors. Even without an explanation, she could tell what it depicted. A large tree in the middle of a flower garden. Red fruit growing from it. Naked people beneath it, happily smiling as they shared the fruit. It was a painting of paradise. So Anastasia smiled.

‘This must be paradise.’

Perhaps it was a picture painted for people like her who didn’t know where they were. If so, paradise truly was a kind place. If it had been written in words, those who couldn’t read, like her, wouldn’t have known where they were.

‘Then… am I dead?’

Was that why she’d come to such a wonderful place? Why hadn’t God guided her here sooner? If she’d known she would come to a place like this when she died, she would have ended her life long ago….

‘No. They said those who take their own lives can’t go to paradise.’

Resentment toward God began to bloom within her. Why had He established such a law? Even if humans were born with sin, why did they have to endure hardship and suffering before they could finally come here….

Feeling her vision begin to blur, Anastasia shook her head. She couldn’t do this. How could she resent God as soon as she arrived in paradise? How could she harbor such irreverent thoughts toward the being who had brought her here?

Anastasia reached out to the side. She wanted to look around this place as soon as possible. Just then, her hand closed around something.

“…A book?”

A book lay beside her. Anastasia was even more moved. Paradise was a place that gave her everything she wanted.

Anastasia fumbled for the book and brought it into her arms. She still couldn’t read the words written on the cover. Just as she grew dejected by the fact that she still couldn’t read even after coming to paradise, she noticed bandages wrapped around the fingers clutching the book. Bandages? Why are these….

At that moment, several memories surfaced in her mind.

Night had fallen, and she’d come out of the basement. She’d wrapped her injured foot with strips torn from clothes she’d outgrown, then put on the only shoe she had left. Fortunately, no one else had come down to the basement, so she hadn’t encountered anyone while passing through the corridor. All she had to do was go straight up the servants’ stairs and leave the mansion….

Gulp.

The smell of food drifting from the kitchen stopped Anastasia in her tracks. Even though she knew she shouldn’t, her body moved toward the kitchen on its own. Anastasia hid behind the corner and peered into the kitchen. Everyone was bustling around, preparing food. Once the chef plated it, the maids carried it upstairs.

The moment the rich aroma wafted after the retreating maids, saliva pooled in her mouth as her jaw throbbed so fiercely that it tingled. Her throat stiffened, making it difficult even to swallow dryly.

Normally, she would have merely smelled it and continued on her way, but for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to leave today.

Anastasia’s gaze went to the food in a servant’s hands. It wasn’t something she normally saw in the kitchen. It was clearly something fine meant for the guests.

‘I want to eat it.’

Murmuring to herself, Anastasia clenched her hand tightly. The shard of the bowl she hadn’t managed to remove sent pain shooting through her body and made her brain tingle.

‘It’s all a sin.’

The seven sins committed by humans. Wasn’t gluttony one of them? Her father had repeatedly said so when she was young, refusing to let her eat more than one potato. He said that feeling pleasure from eating was itself a sin. So even when she wanted more, she always endured it. But… why is everyone else… committing sins….

A sorrow greater than her hunger surged through her. Anastasia tightened her fingers again. The stronger pain finally allowed her to turn her gaze elsewhere.

After waiting for a while, the servants rushed upstairs in a group. Once those remaining in the kitchen became absorbed in their work, Anastasia took the opportunity to climb the servants’ stairs. Fortunately, the door leading to the garden was wide open. Anastasia stepped into the darkness, which was as familiar as the darkness of her own room.

Squelch.

Her shoe made a wet sound. It was surely soaked with blood.

Anastasia wanted to reach the forest quickly. Though she feared the forest at night, she thought she mustn’t remain in the glittering, beautiful, and abundant manor. If she did, she felt certain she would commit a sin….

That was what she thought, but perhaps it was actually because her hunger had risen all the way to her throat. And so Anastasia made a choice she normally wouldn’t have. So Anastasia made a choice different from usual. Instead of taking the longer way around, she decided to cross the garden and head to the forest. That way, she could get there much faster.

But when she was about halfway through the garden, Anastasia regretted her choice. She’d thought no one would be in the garden at night, but people carrying lamps suddenly emerged from the mansion.

Her heart began to pound wildly. She tried to move away quickly, but if she made a sound while moving, she would be noticed more easily, so Anastasia chose to crouch down instead. That was what she was more accustomed to.

Lying flat beside a low hedge, Anastasia desperately called for God.

God, please.

The sound of footsteps turned Anastasia’s mind blank. As they drew closer, she called for God with increasing desperation. Her face, pressed flat against the ground, burned hot. The sound of her sweat dripping onto the grass seemed as loud as thunder.

‘I’m sorry.’

I coveted food. I failed to stay quietly in my room and dared to come into the garden. I was wrong. So please….

As Anastasia prayed to God, her throat tightened again. She was simply sad. Why did she always have to beg like this? Why couldn’t she hold her head high even once? Everyone else lived while giving in to their desires and committing sins, so why was she the only one who had to live so… miserably….

Normally, she wouldn’t have dared entertain such thoughts, but her feverish, muddled mind and the approaching terror gnawed away at Anastasia’s consciousness. The light and footsteps drew closer. As though they were coming straight for her. And so Anastasia made another wrong choice. She stood and began to run.

A scream rang out, followed moments later by the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. She wanted to scream, but her throat couldn’t even let out a proper breath. The approaching footsteps sounded like the beast of purgatory charging toward her. The beast that dragged anything it caught to the deepest depths, no matter what.

The moment she was caught, Anastasia begged. She begged the countess who had given her orders. God, who must be watching her. And the beast that had seized her.

Footsteps, voices, pain. As everything became too much to bear, Anastasia thought as she lost consciousness.

This is too hard….

“Ah….”

Once she recalled every last memory, Anastasia’s face turned pale. She hurriedly looked around. Familiar sights emerged in the place she’d mistaken for paradise. The ornate ceiling she’d seen on the rare occasions she was summoned inside the mansion. The familiar color of the wallpaper. And the door. This is the Edenhurst mansion.

‘Why….’

Then she should have been thrown back into her room in the basement, so why was she in such a luxurious place? While Anastasia sat there bewildered, the door opened and strangers entered.

“Do you really intend to stay here any longer before leaving…. Oh? You’re awake. Are you all right?”

At the sound of the man’s voice, Anastasia recoiled in fright. Even so, her hand snatched up the book beside her and hugged it to her chest. She tried to flee, but her body wouldn’t move properly, leaving Anastasia with no choice but to remain curled up.

Perhaps her behavior startled them. The approaching footsteps stopped. But soon, heavy footsteps drew closer. Anastasia was cautiously moving her hand, wondering whether she should pull the blanket over herself, when a voice spoke.

“That’s the book I was reading.”

“…?”

At those unexpected words, Anastasia raised her head without thinking. And found herself facing a deep blue. It was a color she remembered. Those eyes she’d seen in the forest, which she’d thought were as beautiful as Edenhurst. Though she’d still been frightened and run away, believing she would never see them again….

Anastasia stared blankly at the man, not even realizing that he had bent down to meet her gaze. His face came close enough to touch as he spoke, “Will you give it back? I haven’t finished reading it yet.”

He took hold of the book in Anastasia’s arms and spoke in a whisper, “It was quite interesting, you see.”