As if she had brought up some memory that she didn't want to be remembered the most, her body trembled slightly.

She seemed to want to make a move, but she didn't do anything.

Maybe it's because she can't move.

"Are you okay?" Xiu looked at the girl who seemed to be in fear, "There is still a wound under the bandage, don't move." ”

The girl gradually calmed down. She nodded in response.

"Victoria." She said.

"What?" Xiu didn't understand.

"My name is Victoria. I don't have a surname, just an ordinary commoner. She said, "You told me your name in the morning, but I didn't tell you. Because your last name strikes me as a little unbelievable that I was negligent. ”

"Is Kaslana amazing?"

"Nope." Victoria turned her head slightly, squirming the pillow, "I can't believe that there are Kaslana's people in this place... I thought you were all born strong warriors. ”

"I've let you down." Xiu leaned against the wall and turned his head to look at the window. But instead of the familiar night sky, he saw a plank.

He remembered that it wasn't summer, not a night to stay up with Otto. The windows didn't open because of the cold wind. Even when the night is opened, there are no stars, but thick clouds.

"Yes, but," Victoria smiled softly, "I think it's a pleasure." ”

"Can my weakness make you happy?" Xiu looked at her a little unhappily.

The light in the room was not bright, and it was difficult for Xiu to see her face clearly, and she could only see her green eyes smiling when she looked at Xiu.

Victoria did not answer this question.

"I'll go ahead and talk to you about us," Victoria squirmed, her lips a little chapped, "our immediate instructor is Deemert. More than a dozen of us... In fact, it is more than a dozen people left. ”

Xiu was silent for a while, "What about the others?" ”

"Dead. He failed to complete his mission and was tortured to death by Dimert. She looked at Xiu with a stiff and numb smile, "In front of all of us." ”

Xiu's hand clenched for a moment.

"Until then, he would tell the child that she was going to be killed, and then call her to the dungeon and bring us all together. You know, everyone who knew they were going to be killed by him didn't dare to resist in the end. Let him kill himself little by little. ”

Xiu's fists tightened and tightened, and his gloves "creaked" as they were clenched.

"So do you think we can take advantage of the loopholes like you?" She looked at Xiu with contempt in her eyes, "Chief Gerald allowed you to do this, but Dimert will kill us directly." In the most painful way. ”

"Didn't you think about resisting?" Xiu's voice became low and hoarse, and he could hear that something was suppressed in his heart. Even he was startled by such a voice.

"Can you resist Gerald?" Victoria said lightly.

Xiu's words were choked.

"In Dimert's hands, you can't even react. Because the more you struggle, the more excited he becomes. The more miserable you scream, the more pleasant he becomes... Only when you are as unresponsive as a piece of wood will he find it boring and lose interest in you. Victoria said indifferently as if it wasn't her business.

The two did not speak again for a long, long time. Xiu sat at the head of the bed, his forehead propped up on his palm, not knowing what he was thinking. Victoria looked at the ceiling quietly.

Outside the window, the cold wind was whistling endlessly, and it was fierce for a while, and maybe even because the wind was too strong, a trace of cold wind poured in and blew on Xiu's body from time to time.

An icy chill rose from behind and grew heavier. This made him shudder.

Or perhaps, it's not this gust of wind that is really cold.

"Is this all you have to go?" Xiu said unwillingly.

"Perhaps."

"Can't it be changed?"

Change? Victoria silently recited the word in her mind.

She laughed coldly and sarcastically.

"Help me lift the covers." She said.

"What?" Xiu couldn't understand "It's cold, you..."

"I know, help me lift the covers." Victoria with unquestionable firmness.

Xiu had no choice but to grab the quilt and slowly lift it, but halfway through it, he slammed it back.

She was not wearing any clothes on her body, and what Xiu saw was a pair of smooth and round legs.

"Why do you want to cover it back?"

"You... You're not wearing clothes. ”

"Just for that reason?" Victoria looked at Xiu numbly, "Dimert has seen it I don't know how many times, all of us have been naked. I wouldn't care about that. Now I want you to lift it. ”

Xiu frowned.

"If you're a knight," said Victoria, a little vaguely, "don't look at my legs!" ”

Shuichi gritted his teeth and lifted the quilt.

He controlled himself not to look down, but when he saw Victoria's upper body, he couldn't help but knock his head.

In the firelight, Victoria's wheat-colored skin was a dull yellow, and the white bandage tightly wrapped around the towering chest, but it was also a little stretched, and a small piece of flesh broke out of the edge of the bandage.

The bandages almost completely bound her upper body, but bright red, dark red scars could still be seen in the little exposed. Farther away are Victoria's slender and rounded thighs, slender but shapely calves. No matter how far away, it is impossible to see clearly because of the dim light of the fire.

Didn't I see the scars on her body during the day? That's what she wants me to see!

Xiu was a little ashamed.

"It's ugly, isn't it." Victoria wanted to take her eyes off herself, but she couldn't.

"Every time I touch my belly, it feels like I'm touching the dirt, this criss-crossing scar, this scarred flesh... It's really ugly. But when I touched them again, I was glad I was still alive. Later, I didn't think it was a big deal. Right now... It's been a long time since I've felt anything wrong. She looked at Xiu, whose eyes were changing little by little, "These are the proof that I want to change." Every strip, every lane, every piece, every layer, is. ”

"The first scar was I was there to protect a younger sister. She made a mistake, I spoke for her, and then I suffered the same punishment as her... Pieces of red-hot iron pressed against us. ”

"Second, I think what Dimmert said makes a lot of sense, and I refute it. Five long needles were pierced in the stomach. You are not allowed to take it down for ten days. For ten days, I continued to complete my training with my top blessed. She looked into Xiu's eyes tightly, "You know what, the needle is almost impossible to pull out." It's almost stuck in my body. Do you know how I got over those 10 days? Victoria said without any emotion, as if she were simply telling a story, "The blood never stopped. The blood was flowing all the time. If you don't wipe it, I can't wipe it off. Later, I realized that I don't need to wipe it, because it will still flow if I wipe it. Later, the blood clotted into a blood scab. ”

"Thirdly, someone cried at night. I'm comforting her, but I can't help her. In that environment, we were all imprisoned on various charges, and of course we were very afraid. He couldn't stop crying. When Dimert came, I said it was me. I spent that night in the torture cell. He didn't know how many lashes he had beaten me in one night. I don't remember exactly. ”

Xiu looked down at Victoria. There was a complicated look in his eyes.

"I thought I was pitiful, miserable. Now, it seems, that's not the beginning. ”

She sighed, "You know what? Later..."

Xiu didn't let her say any more. Because it was only for a short while, Victoria's body began to tremble slightly. He closed the quilt and covered it tightly, leaving no gaps.

"You..."Victoria looked at Xiu, and there was a faint hint of ridicule in Mu Ran's words, "Are you shy?" ”

"No, it's beautiful. With such a beautiful body, I don't think I'll look at it for too long. Xiu responded with a smile.

"Good-looking? Do you have the same aesthetic as Dimert? Victoria looked at Xiu's smile, trying to see something in it that he was trying to say.

"No, I'm completely different from him... You tell your story, but for the rest, I don't think you need to say it. Because I know that every scar here means you're protecting a companion... At least you and your companions have suffered the same pain. Xiu gently pressed the quilt. No, it's the punishment I want to refute. If I didn't resist, if I didn't refute, I wouldn't have these things, I just..."

"You don't have any traces of friendship either. You don't have all the stables anymore. You must know that every strip and vertical here is a trace of what you have left to protect your companions. Xiu interrupted Victoria's words, "The more scars you have, the more you will endure." This is... Proof of the nobility of the heart. How can such a scar be ugly? Xiu finally thought of a word he had recently learned and used it in this sentence.

Victoria's emerald eyes were printed with Xiu's figure, as if to examine "Are you comforting me?" ”

"Something nice is something to be protected, right?" Xiu said.

Victoria didn't answer, still staring at Xiu closely.

"I read a quote in a book, don't show your best things to others. Because if you see too much, it won't be precious. Victoria, you can't afford to make cheap what you once wanted to protect. So, your body can't be shown to others casually. Because it's your most precious thing. Xiu pressed the quilt tightly and looked into Victoria's eyes tightly, "You know?" ”

Victoria watched Xiu for a long, long time.

Finally nodded.