We Were Born Free and Independent

"Heh, a bunch of idiots. They can't even keep their own homes in order, yet they dare dream of competing with me?"

Thinking of his affairs with several married women in the village, the village chief could not help feeling smug.

Among those people, some husbands were still in the dark, while others had noticed something but could only swallow their anger.

What could they do? He was the village chief!

Behind him stood the Drum Island royal family, and above the royal family stood the World Government. These ignorant peasants did not even dare entertain the slightest thought of resistance!

The village chief grew even smugger, humming a tune and swaying his head as he walked home.

As he approached his own luxurious wooden house, the village chief faintly heard a high-pitched, melodious sound that stirred the heart.

The sound made the already restless village chief's imagination run even wilder.

"Which bastard is so impressive? He has strength like a bull and never seems to run out of it."

The village chief muttered indignantly, unwilling to face the jealousy rising within him.

He was impressive too, all right?

Wait!

All of a sudden, the village chief realized that, as the most powerful man in the village, his house stood alone, with no other homes nearby.

That meant the sound could only be coming from his own house!

"Oh no!"

The village chief's breathing abruptly quickened, his face becoming incomparably twisted as he hurried toward his luxurious wooden house.

When he reached the door, he took out his key and shakily jabbed at the lock several times before finally getting it into the keyhole. Then he shoved the door open.

The moment the door opened, the hazy sounds became crystal clear, and the sight before him struck his heart like a heavy hammer.

The sky had fallen!

On the sofa, his wife and that pretty boy named John were indulging themselves to the fullest, one before and one behind.

Even when they saw him enter, they did not stop. Instead, they moved even more fiercely, as if taunting him.

"You damned beast! You actually dared force my wife!"

Bloodshot veins spread across the village chief's pupils. His eyes reddened as he pointed furiously at John, his towering rage nearly grinding his teeth to pieces.

John grinned, stuck out his tongue in a wild smile, and raised a hand to slap the pale, round curve wrapped in flesh-colored stockings.

"Tell him whether I forced you."

"N-No... don't, don't look!"

"I told you to tell him!"

John raised his hand and slapped her again, using a little more force this time.

"Ah! I... I did it willingly. Forgive me!"

"What do you mean, willingly? You invited me in. You were the one who asked for it!"

"Say it again!"

"Ah! You're awful!"

"What do you mean, awful? You need to clear my name on this matter. I've never forced a single one of them."

"On the contrary, I'm the one who was forced and taken advantage of!"

"Ah! Beast, I'll kill you!"

The unbearable humiliation instantly drove the village chief mad. Clawing wildly, he lunged at the adulterous pair on the sofa.

However, John merely glared at him. A streak of purple lightning flashed from his pupils and instantly struck the village chief, sending him collapsing to the floor.

The powerful current made the village chief lose control of his body. He could only watch everything happen helplessly, unable to stop it.

"You... what did you do to him?"

"Nothing. Let's continue."

That night was incomparably long.

The following afternoon

Vanessa suddenly jolted awake from her sleep. When she raised her head, she discovered that she had been sleeping on the sofa beneath a blanket.

She wanted to sit up, but her body felt as though it had fallen apart. Not only could she not muster any strength, but even the slightest movement hurt.

Still, she forced herself upright and turned her head from side to side, searching the living room.

"You're awake. Have something to eat."

John emerged from the kitchen carrying a tray. He sat on the edge of the sofa and handed Vanessa milk, bacon, and bread.

Vanessa did not take them. Instead, she stared at the man before her with resentment and complicated emotions.

"We shouldn't have done that."

"Wasn't it what you asked for?"

John did not yield in the slightest as he met Vanessa's gaze. Though he spoke in the form of a question, he sounded completely justified.

Vanessa bit her lip, feeling endlessly wronged, yet not knowing where to begin.

She truly had lost her mind last night. Even when that man returned and caught them, she had been so immersed in pleasure that she could not pull herself free.

Wait!

"Where is he? He's the finance minister's younger brother. He won't let us go. We need to run!"

"Don't worry. He's over there."

John gestured toward a corner of the living room.

Vanessa looked in that direction and saw a vague figure sitting in the shadows beyond the sunlight streaming in through the window.

If she had not looked carefully, she would not have noticed him at all.

Looking more closely now, Vanessa saw the man who had used his power to force her into marriage.

But strangely, although the hateful man was not tied up, he sat obediently on the floor.

His eyes were dull, his face expressionless, and drool ran from his open mouth, as though he had become an idiot.

"What... happened to him?"

"I merely gave him a 'prefrontal lobotomy' and erased his sinful soul."

"A prefrontal lobotomy?!" Vanessa's eyes widened sharply.

As Drum Island was renowned for its advanced medicine, she naturally knew a little medical knowledge as well.

The prefrontal lobe was a crucial area of the brain responsible for decision-making, emotional regulation, and social behavior. If it was removed, a person could become emotionally indifferent, cognitively impaired, and undergo personality changes.

They could even lose the ability to care for themselves!

In a sense, someone whose prefrontal lobe had been removed truly could be said to have lost their soul and become a walking corpse.

"Then we need to leave Drum Island quickly. If his brother finds out, he'll definitely kill us!"

Vanessa felt no regret for the man who had forcibly taken her. She only wanted to see the vast world outside with John.

However, John shook his head.

"No need. His brother's sinful soul will be taken away too. We can claim it's some hereditary family illness, or that they were cursed or something."

As he spoke, John set the tray on the coffee table and raised a hand to brush aside the hair over Vanessa's forehead.

"You don't need to leave your hometown. You can continue living here."

"But I want to leave with you." Vanessa tightly grasped John's hand, her beautiful eyes full of pleading.

John had told her last night that he was leaving.

It was because she had thought she might never see him again that she had decided to have one final night of revelry with him.

"Vanessa."

John kissed Vanessa on the forehead, his voice gentle.

"Every one of us was born a free and independent individual. As long as two people love each other, there's no need to cling together."

"Stay here. Without that hateful monkey, your life will no longer be so stifling."

"Even if you run into trouble you can't solve, you can go to Alice for help."

"What is your relationship with Alice?"

Vanessa had not listened to any of what he said before that. Her attention was entirely fixed on "Alice."

John smiled helplessly and explained seriously.

"Friends. Ordinary friends."

Hearing that, Vanessa breathed a sigh of relief and reluctantly clutched John.

"Then you have to come see me often."

"..."

John left.

And on that very day, a bolt of lightning struck the palace atop Drum Mountain, the main peak. Before everyone's eyes, the finance minister was blasted into ashes.