I felt that everything about me was denied overnight.
Witch hunting and Coup d"etat that started with the gem of immortality, the truth about my parents" death, contract with the Prince"s life as compensation, Emerald"s lifespan…
The truth hidden behind the shadow of the world is ugly and repulsive.
Just what were my 20 years worth for?
The nights during my childhood when I slept hungry, the blood and sweat I shed in order to become the knight, even the days I endured for the Prince"s and Emerald"s happiness were crushed to the pieces.
The feeling of numbness is much stronger than the hatred.
I feel like an idiot.
My parents, who died after getting betrayed by the crown prince of their homeland, would definitely feel disappointed looking at the current me. Just how terribly unfilial am I? I wish I had died without being born after all.
Prince Rain. My pitiful master who was made to shoulder a secret contract, unable to notice the King"s plots.
What kind of face would he make if he found out everything?
He told me that my father was a n.o.ble knight, but it was his father who led such a knight towards his death.
I wonder what would happen if I told him so?
…..I"m sure we wouldn"t be able to trust each other like before.
No, the Prince probably did not trust me that much since the start.
Why did he not tell me about Emerald"s lifespan? Is it because the “ignorance is bliss”?
If I knew about Emerald"s lifespan, I would surely advise him to let her rest. Did he keep silent because that would be troublesome?
Because it would be a problem if he couldn"t use Emerald"s power of precognition.
Surely that must be the case. Prince Rain has inherited the dirty blood of Mistria"s royal family.
Wrong. That"s wrong, isn"t it?
….In truth, I understand that hating the Prince is unreasonable.
That person is a royalty. There is a gap in social status between us. It"s impossible for us to establish an equal trusting relationship. Just how conceited was I?
He carries a heavy responsibility as the next King.
The life of one person and the peace of all people of Mistria. It"s obvious which one he would choose. He"s in a position where he would have to make a decision even if he had to deceive himself.
It"s most likely because I can"t discern things calmly like that, that the Prince was unable to reveal about Emerald.
I can"t blame him.
Ah, the most pitiful is Emerald.
Even now, she must still be dreaming about a happy life with the Prince without knowing anything.
There"s no doubt that she"s waiting for a new prediction to come and save her from the predicament, believing that she will leave the confinement one day.
….Even though there already isn"t any happiness for her other than being inside of her room.
If you truly love Emerald, you must go and save her.
You can"t let her stay in the castle of a despicable King. In order to not let her be used by anyone again, spread the truth, bring her out of the castle even if you need to use the force and escape somewhere far away. Protect her at any cost and devote your heart to her so she could live a happier life than anyone despite her short lifespan. Isn"t that what the true knight is?!…..
But I can"t move.
I have neither the courage to tell her to choose me instead of the Prince, nor confidence to give her the bigger happiness than she currently has or the resolve to reveal everything to her and push her into the despair. I"m the worst.
Such a pathetic man does not deserve to be called a knight. Even if I die, I can"t say that I love Emerald.
『Even if you find out the truth, there is nothing you can do.』
She was right.
What can the current me possibly do?
For what should I live from now on――?
“…………..”
I was woken up by children"s laughter. I wonder if they"re playing tag? The fun atmosphere is transmitted from outside the window but because of the curtain, I can"t see anything.
I absent-mindedly looked around the room.
It"s a room I don"t recognize. Apart from the bed I was sleeping on, I can only see a desk with a chair and a closet.
On top of the desk, there is only the Witch Killer and a small luggage. There are almost no signs of somebody living here.
I noticed a red ribbon bound around the index finger on my right hand. I wonder if it"s somebody"s prank? I unraveled it silently and dropped at the bedside.
My head was heavy and my body felt sluggish.
But I didn"t seem to have a fever and there wasn"t any place that especially hurt. It"s probably anemia or dehydration. From last night ―― though even if I say that, it"s not certain how many days have pa.s.sed, I"ve put almost nothing in my mouth.
The last thing I remember is being about to enter the forest.
I was told by that woman to get off the horse and as soon my feet touched the ground, my vision started to turn round and round.
“So you woke up, Will? how do you feel?”
“…there"s no way I could feel well.”
Sonia came into the room, wearing a relaxing one-piece dress, completely getting rid of her traveling clothes. She held a lantern in one hand. Why is it that somehow she has a radiant look?
“You"ve been continuously anxious for 5 days, after all. Both your mind and the body were on the limit.
Apparently, only a few hours seemed to have pa.s.sed after I fainted.
Sonia slightly sat down on a bed so I stood up. The decoction she handed to me seemed fishy, but I still decided to be obedient and drink it. If she wanted to do something to me, she would do it anytime while I was sleeping and I don"t care about whatever is done to me anymore.
I had already fallen into despair.
“This place is…”
“My house. From today on this is your room, Will. You can use it however you want. We can buy anything missing when we go shopping next time…Welcome to Cucurouge.”
Cucurouge, the village of the witches.
I have heard what kind of place it is from the Prince.
Originally, the witches used to cope themselves up in the mountains and engrossed themselves into researching magic, not a.s.sociating with neither the other witches nor the human villages, with exceptions of going there to welcome their disciples. Perhaps, the witches are made out to be villains often in the old tales, because of the eeriness of not knowing anything about what they do.
Due to the change of the era, there appeared some who joined the earthly life and married human males. Although initially they were avoided, people welcomed their vast knowledge about the medicine and magical beasts and the witches were gradually accepted.
However, because of the witch hunt 20 years ago, a crack appeared between the witches and the people of Mistria.
Previous King made a proclamation urging the citizens to hand over the witches. If anyone covered for a witch, they would be crucified and apparently, there were also some regions that took the initiative to lynch the witches because of that.
Betrayed by their neighbors, the witches who barely escaped alive, gathered under the Savior Alonia, hoping to live peacefully.
They couldn"t go back to the people of Mistria, but after getting used to living in the city, they couldn"t go back to the mountains either. So they created a village for the witches in a place close to the human town and the weak decided to band together and defend themselves.
That place was Cucurouge.
If Alonia, the Witch of Salvation, was there, the humans wouldn"t be able to drive them out that easily either. Rather, they would be treated even kindly than before. Alonia too, reached out her hand, unable to refuse her brethren seeking help. Currently, they have already reconciled with the people of Mistria and it seems that the witches from Cucurouge are also acquainted with the lord of Azurite.
Some people even say that Cucurouge is a symbol of friendship between the witches and Mistria.
But now that I have found out the truth, it"s doubtful whether that"s true or not.
…..Though I couldn"t care less about such a thing.
“I haven"t lived anywhere else so I can"t compare it to anything, but the life here is very good. You can relax in nature and if you go on a little excursion, you can enjoy yourself in the capital of Azurite. It might be a countryside life but it"s not boring. You will like it too, Will.”
“….Are you asking me, whose parents were killed by the witches and who has killed the witches, if I like the village of the witches?”
“Will, you are misunderstanding the witches. Not everyone is evil like my mother or the culprit behind the mystery incidents. Besides, you have only killed the evil witches, right?”
That"s right. I was a knight who adhered to the law. That"s why I only killed the witches which were involved in crimes. But I"m not a knight anymore. And while I"m at it, my mental state is unstable too.
“Is it not dangerous to leave the current me in this village? There"s no way of knowing what I would do.”
Saying that it would be okay as long I had self-awareness and laughing, Sonia poked my cheeks.
“At any rate, you"ve really become sulky, Will. Well~ it can"t be helped, I guess. It"s not my place to say anything because I was the one who brought you with me at the meeting, but last night you must have been the most unfortunate man on the continent. But there was no other way to tell the truth to you.”
That, I can understand.
If I heard the same story only from Sonia, I would have most likely not believed it.
It was because Sednyl ―― The King"s Aide I know very well, was there that I was able to acknowledge that it was not a joke.
It"s impossible for Sonia and the King to have collaborated in order to deceive me. After all, there"s no merit in going out of your way to create a scandal about yourself.
Last night"s story was undoubtedly true.
I brushed away Sonia"s hand and sighed.
“Did you pity me for serving the royal family without knowing anything? Is that why you didn"t kill me last night?”
Sonia knew the truth about my parents" death. In other words, she had already recognized me at the marriage ceremony and deliberately designed me as her servant.
Watching from the sidelines, it must have seemed very foolish. I, who served the son of one enemy, but burned with hatred for the daughter of the other.
“Yeah, you are truly pitiful, Will. You"ve made a lot of efforts and tried your best, so dying without being reciprocated for anything would be just too much. There is a limit to just how miserable one can be. I couldn"t ignore you.”
Usually, I would get offended and shout something like 「I don"t need your sympathy!」or 「don"t talk as if you understand me!」but I don"t have that kind of energy anymore. I covered my face with both of my hands.
“If you really pity me, release me…”
Don"t bring me to the village that Alonia created.
“Oh my, that"s a cheeky demand. Then let me ask, do you have any other places to go to?”
I had no other choice but to shut up.
I can"t return to the royal capital…I can"t return.
Having found out the truth, I have become a nuisance for the royal family. There"s no way they would keep me alive.
I don"t care about my life anymore, but as expected, I don"t really want to die by their hands. If I have to be humiliated like that, I"d rather take Witch Killer and kill myself…Oh, or I could even slash my stomach like my parents.
I don"t have any intentions to visit the Prince and Emerald in the future.
I don"t want to break Emerald"s small happiness. I hope she"ll live her remaining life peacefully. Even the love full of deception and hypocrisy given by the Prince is better than nothing.
I have no place to go or a person to trust.
“Hey Will, what do you think about me now? do you still want to kill me?”
I couldn"t answer that question well either.
When I woke up just a while ago and saw Sonia"s face, the feeling of hatred and disgust had receded quite a much. My hatred towards the King and Sednyl who have betrayed me is stronger than towards Sonia who I hated since the start. I might also be holding some doubts about Prince Rain"s actions.
Above all, the anger and disappointment towards myself are violently swirling inside of me, relatively weakening the animosity towards Sonia.
I don"t have any intentions to hold a grudge against Sonia for the attack 20 years ago. She wasn"t even born at that time, and if we are talking about the enemies" children, the Prince is the same too.
I"m even starting to think that even though she was suspected of being behind those recent mystery cases, she might have really had nothing to do with it. This is just my hunch, but I think that woman is smart enough to do her deeds well enough to not get suspected.
That being said, it"s not like I"ve let my guard down against Sonia. I don"t plan on forgiving her either.
After last night"s exchange, I found myself with a renewed sense of undescribable abhorrence towards Sonia. She seemed to be accustomed to the fighting scenes and looked like she was still hiding something. I can"t help thinking that she has done even more outrageous evil deeds.
She can"t be underestimated as 16 years old girl in any aspect. She has too much dignity.
In other words, I was scared of Sonia because I couldn"t see through her;
Though there was no way I could say that to the person herself.
“You said it yourself just a while ago, that both your heart and the mind are in chaos, right? Then stop trying to decide your future course at this moment. There"s no way you would be able to make a proper judgment, after all. I think it would be better for you to help me with cleaning the house, going on shopping or looking after the field as my servant like it was originally intended.”
I turned away from Sonia"s gentle smile.
“…Why are you concerned about me so much? What do YOU think about me?”
“I wonder if I didn"t say it before? Will"s face, voice, and personality are all my type. In addition, I would feel good after making the man who hates me serve me and taming him.”
Just to what extent is she serious? I don"t understand and it"s scary.
“If you really don"t want to work no matter what, you can just lazy around in your room, but…like that, you will be just like a pet.”
“Pet…!”
Looking at me who had become speechless, Sonia let out a chuckle.
“Oh, but that could be good too. I will dote on you. I will give you plenty of food and toys, and I will even take you out for walks. If that"s the case, it would even be better if you never recov ――”
“I-I got it. I will work. I will work so give me a job. Just spare me from the pet treatment.”
I ended up begging in spite of myself. I as a knight have died but looks like I still had a pride as a man, as a human, left.
“Is that so? then I will be counting on you from tomorrow. I will introduce you to other villagers too.”
Sonia left the room, sweetly whispering to rest well for at least today.
….s.h.i.t. This is exactly what that woman wants. I almost fainted in agony without even giving out a voice.
I"m completely dancing on top of Sonia"s palm. Everything is being seen through, my heart is being manipulated and I"m getting cornered.
Somehow, inside of me, the future objective was decided.
I must run away from Sonia"s evil hands. As if I"d let myself be kept as a pet!
—
Notes
the term for decoction is 薬湯
“….Are you asking me, whose parents were killed by the witches and who has killed the witches, if I like the village of the witches?”
Anyway, my bad for taking so long for this chapter. Gloomy weather and equally gloomy chapter didn"t help much either.
Man, what an edgy chapter. Will is just jerking off to his pitiful self and Sonia is also contributing to the pity party.
As usual, please tell me about any typos, mistranslations, weird grammar you find so I could fix it afap.