Night Monarch's Cannon Fodder Bride-Chapter 51: Trapped In Nightmare

Taunting shadows swam across her vision as thick dark tar slithered beneath her ribs.

Severine couldn’t tell whether the darkness was invading her or blooming from her already rotting chest.

Invisible restraints bound her limbs, forcing her to endure the brunt of countless needles driving into her heart.

A bead of sweat rolled down her temple, slipping into her dark hair.

She opened her mouth to scream—to beg for help—but her lips remained sealed. Not even a whisper escaped.

Minutes? Hours?

Time had lost meaning to her senses. She struggled against the unseen bonds, yet they only tightened, biting deeper into her skin.

A heavy shadow fell on her, and her lungs constricted.

The darkness had taken the shape of a massive silver serpent, its dark green slits gleaming as it prepared to sink its fangs into her flesh.

No!

A sharp cry tore through her chest, only to get stuck in her strangled throat. Pale gray pupils dilated as she struggled to take in another breath.

Hiss.

A forked tongue danced in the air. It let out a hissing noise as it inched forward, tasting the fear in the air.

The saturated dread in the air between them thrilled the serpent further.

Despair surged through every bone in Severine’s body until the pad of her finger finally managed to move.

The illusion of restraint shattered, leaving her utterly depleted.

Huff. Huff.

Gasping, she forced her heavy eyelids open only to be greeted by pitch-black darkness. Her body stiffened, and a tremor ran down her spine.

Am I still stuck in a dream?

She blinked in a trance.

Boom!

A roar of thunder split the dark sky, and the half-hidden windows behind the dark curtains rattled.

A blinding streak of silver lightning followed, illuminating her surroundings for a brief second.

Ah, I am in my dorm.

A wave of relief washed over her. She pushed herself up from the bed, patting the small bedside table.

What a strange nightmare, she mused, bringing the glass to her lips.

The half-filled glass was drained in seconds.

Sigh.

She didn’t lie back down to sleep, or rather, she didn’t dare to fall asleep again.

The lingering sensation of helplessness, of enduring pain without resistance, still made her heart pound violently against her ribs.

"It’s fine. It’s fine," she murmured, patting her chest."I am fine..."

The rumbling in the sky intensified.

She removed the duvet. Her bare feet touched the carpet before she moved toward the curtains.

Since the entire room wasn’t carpeted, she soon stepped onto the bare floor. The chill seeped from her soles to her body, jolting her fully awake.

Whoosh.

The curtains slid to both sides, revealing the darkness dotted by silver streaks.

The sky wasn’t what it should be at five in the morning.

It’s going to rain...

She stood there until her legs nearly went numb before finally tearing her vacant gaze away.

It didn’t take her long to freshen up for the sunrise. Then, after putting on her white shirt, she smoothed out its nonexistent wrinkles.

A silver pattern embroidered along the edges of the collar brushed against her fingers, reminding her again that there was someone with golden markings on his clothes she needed to serve.... yet again.

She stared at her reflection in the mirror.

Gradually, the corner of her lips started to curl up ever so slightly. The face of a pale doll came to life before that smile dulled again.

I despise conflicts. But I also don’t wish to be someone’s puppet.

She had delivered two meals to Emmett the previous day—morning and evening

All the while, a plan was forming in her mind.

Before she died, she wanted to give Damien, Emily, and Emmett an unforgettable experience. And for that to work, she needed a few days.

After all, such a special gift couldn’t be created without careful preparation.

Hence, serving Emmett a few more times hadn’t bothered her much.

Ding! Boom!

A loud roar, which rattled all the windows, followed soon after the notification from her phone.

From the frequency of lightning, it was as if the god of thunder was angry.

She grabbed her phone from the table beside the couch. After last night’s work, she was too exhausted to shut the laptop, let alone care about her phone. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Many messages lit up on the app.

Closing the laptop, she plopped onto the couch, her fingers tapping on the screen.

Most of the notices were from Alina, who had started to send her some absurd videos from other social media platforms.

Then there were Samuel’s reports regarding the situation of their recent projects. At the bottom of the list were Damien’s two messages from days ago, along with Emmett’s inquiry regarding his "late evening snack" and nothing else.

It was also from the time when she was resting in Luminor Manor.

Just from that, one could more or less conclude that Emmett’s priority was only himself.

"The app is strangely lively."

She ignored them once again and clicked on the top-most box.

Isabella must be up early to send a message at this hour.

It either meant that she was in a rather good state and had plenty of sleep the last night, or that it was the worst and she couldn’t sleep a wink.

None favored her.

Without her prior nervousness, she read it. As she reached the end of the message, the faint lift of her lips slowly faded.

How could you... Am I worth only this much in your eyes?

The words on the screen seemed to squirm and then—

Crack.

The screen dulled, turning dark, and many small cracks appeared on it. Her phone had shattered from her strong grip.

"Huh? How can this be?"

She hadn’t even realized she was applying force.

A spark of excitement mixed with disbelief shone in her gray eyes. In their depths, bright yellow embers seemed to flicker.

Her lips quivered into a barely perceptible tilt.

Maybe, just maybe, it wasn’t all that hopeless after all?