Chapter 17

The world began to spin. Artua hurled the portrait away. His breathing, which had briefly stabilized, had long since grown erratic again. Above all, his ears ached beyond belief. Vanessa laughed without pause, not the least bit tired. Even with his vision blurred, Artua trembled with humiliation at being mocked by a slave. In a fit of rage, Artua grabbed Vanessa by the neck, but he couldn’t get a proper grip. Not only could he barely exert any force in his hands, but even amidst the madness, Vanessa was beautiful.