Skin and Bones

So hungry… so hungry…

Allen really wanted to eat something.

With one hundred gold coins, Allen ate a total of ten meals.

These ten meals could be described as painfully long.

Over nearly a month of travel, she ate only ten times.

Even tens of millions in wealth would slowly be drained under the exploitation of s*ave traders.

Let alone a mere one hundred gold coins.

Surviving for this many days was already a miracle.

She knew very well that her body probably could not withstand even a single bout of hunger.

Long-term malnutrition had left her body nothing but skin and bones.

When she reached her limit, she would choose to compromise, handing over ten silver coins and eating wildly for one meal.

Even though it was only black bread and plain water, it still stirred a faint sense of happiness in Allen.

At least she was still alive.

“Finished… it’s finished…”

Allen thought in fear.

Every time this thought surfaced, she would touch the crystal coins hidden in the felt, warmed by her body heat.

Only then did she feel a little reassured.

But as time passed, the crystal coins continued to dwindle.

Finally, one day…

The thing Allen never wanted to see happened.

The destination had not yet been reached, but the money was gone.

From the day the gold coins were used up, Allen never ate again.

It had already been three days without food.

This was the longest she had ever endured.

Yet the captain seemed to have forgotten about her entirely.

He did not ask even once, leaving her to fend for herself.

Finally, when Allen felt she was about to pass out, she could not help but speak to the leader.

“I’m hungry…”

The voice was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz.

Naturally, it was not heard at the front of the caravan.

Allen had not spoken for a long time.

When she heard her own hoarse voice, she did not react at first.

This sound, like rotting wood grinding together, was clearly not her own.

It was more like the moan of someone on the brink of death.

Allen froze.

She wanted to cry, but not a single tear would fall.

What should have been shed was already gone.

“I want… food!”

She forced out the words hoarsely, then immediately broke into uncontrollable coughing.

The captain finally heard her and leapt onto the wagon.

It was not that he had not heard before.

Rather, Allen’s voice simply was not like this.

The captain had even thought it was the sound of a branch snapping.

“Where’s the money?”

The leader climbed onto the cage wagon and leaned close to Allen.

“It’s long gone… gone… not even a little left…”

Allen squeezed out the words in that dry, branch-scraping voice.

So it really had been Allen shouting earlier.

“Tsk…”

The captain clicked his tongue, looking thoughtful.

That terrifying plan resurfaced in his mind.

This was the perfect chance to put it into action.

“Food costs money~”

“I’m hungry…”

“You know I’m a businessman.

I don’t do deals without profit.”

The leader said.

“I have nothing left.

I just want a sip of water… that’s enough.”

Allen spoke without thinking, voicing her true desire.

At this moment, she lay sprawled in the cage like a shriveled sponge.

She looked as if she truly lacked water, wilted and collapsed on the floor.

The cage itself was placed inside the wagon.

She still wanted to live.

The captain had guessed correctly.

Allen’s emotions were strangely stable.

She showed no intention of suicide or resistance.

Neither servile nor defiant.

This made things easy to understand.

She must have something she could not let go of.

For example—Lilith, whom she murmured about in her sleep.

“Tsk, you really don’t listen.”

He paused, then smiled wickedly at Allen.

“How about this.

We trade item for item.”

“Give me your pocket watch.

It looks valuable.

I’ll count it as three meals for you.”

From the very beginning, he already knew.

The person in that projected scroll image was Lilith.

“No!”

Using all her strength, she let out a roar that someone starving should not have been able to produce.

She shouted at the captain.

The group photo in that pocket watch was her only anchor.

Like a lighthouse in the dark.

Taking it away was no different from taking her life.

“Tsk…”

Normally, aside from sleeping, Allen only slept.

Only occasionally would she take out the pocket watch, seemingly to check the time.

But a pocket watch could not possibly keep time for so long without being wound.

Clearly, the only thing she ever looked at was the projection on the lid.

The purpose of taking the watch was precisely that photo.

He intended to destroy it.

To make Allen abandon all lingering attachments.

So she would no longer harbor any thoughts of escape.

After all, under his meticulous calculations, Allen would not have a single chance to escape during the journey.

He knew Allen would resist.

But he had not expected such an intense reaction.

Allen, weak and limp from hunger, actually shouted with such force.

That was unexpected.

Still, this did not trouble the leader.

He knew Allen’s weakness at this moment.

Allen could starve to death at any time.

Perhaps the next time she fell asleep, she would die of hunger.

This was a situation he had carefully engineered.

A trap, waiting for Allen to step into it all the way.

There was no other reason.

At this moment, Allen was nothing but skin and bones…

There was not a trace of fat on her ribs.

Only stark ribs, lined up like fish bones.

Allen had known this herself for a long time.

Only she truly understood her condition.

The leader, however, had also anticipated it.

Aside from being led out on chains to use the toilet, she had almost no room to move.

She could only crawl within this tiny wagon compartment, no larger than a palm.

But to conserve strength, Allen could not even be bothered to crawl anymore.

Allen knew well the importance of conserving energy.

So she did everything she could to save the pitifully small amount she had left.

Normally, aside from

“I need the toilet,”

“I want food,”

“I’m hungry,”

she hardly spoke a single extra word.

To save energy, her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz.

One had to be very close to hear it.

Speaking this loudly was truly a first.

“In the future, I’ll give you leftover food.

As long as you give me the pocket watch.”

“No!”

“I beg you.

Anything is fine.

I can give you everything I have.

Just not this.

Please…”

Allen pleaded.

“Tsk.”

“Is that really the attitude you should have?”

The captain retorted.

“……”

Allen fell silent.

But she clutched the pocket watch even tighter.

She vaguely sensed hostility in the air.

Afraid he might snatch it by force.

“You know, if I wanted it, I could just take it by force.”

“Then come and take it!!”

“I just pity you…”

He paused, then continued.

“Don’t you know what you look like now…”

Seeing that brute force would not work, the leader resorted to both soft and hard tactics.

For a month, Allen had not cleaned herself.

Her once bright silver hair had lost all luster.

Sweat, grime, and oil clumped together, stiff like dried grass.

The nutritionally barren black bread had drained her skin of moisture and sheen, turning it a waxy yellow.

It was a shocking sight.

Compared to the Allen of the Demon Castle in the past, she was like a completely different person.

Allen froze and fell silent.

She knew it herself.

Her health was slipping away day by day.

She knew that her money could not sustain her for the rest of this journey…

This was clearly the leader’s trap.

Yet she had no choice but to step into it.

The leader moved swiftly.

Taking advantage of Allen’s moment of distraction, he shot out his hand like an arrow and hooked the pocket watch away.

By the time Allen reacted, the watch was already in his hand.

He opened the lid and used a dagger to pry at the crystal frame holding the photo.

“No!!”

But the leader paid no heed to Allen’s cries.

He pried at the frame knife stroke after knife stroke, as if he had not heard a thing.

Each stab felt like it was plunging into Allen’s heart.

With every twist, it felt as if her heartbeat skipped a beat.

Allen cried and screamed, pounding on the iron cage.

But it was all useless.

Finally, the crystal frame was pried off.

The scroll was easily taken out.

Then torn to shreds…

Everything was over…

Allen felt a pressure in her chest, as if she could not breathe.

And then she fainted on the spot…