Chapter 4

[Rise] “I don’t get it.”

But it didn’t matter. He was someone she would never meet ever again anyway. More importantly, Rise started counting the days they had left until they could leave this village.

In six months, the bridge leading to the Imperial territory would open. It would be the first time the bridge would open to the public in three years.

No matter what it cost, she had to cross the bridge on that day. Once they paid the toll, they’d be able to go into the Imperial territory and live in peace.

The toll was four gold coins for adults and two for children, which meant Rise and Karin needed a total of six gold coins in order to pass. At present, they had five saved up.

Once we’re in Imperial territory, Karin and I can live comfortably.

The people of Vievari looked down on and rejected those from the east, like Karin. A few years ago, the king passed a royal order that banned hate crimes and intolerance against them, but words on a piece of paper did little to stop anything.

When those of darker skin appeared, people would slowly move to avoid or ignore them. Some would even mockingly block their noses and move away as if they stunk.

But Imperial territory was different.

They were much closer to the eastern continent than this place, and so eastern folk would easily cross into Imperial territory and casually exist within its capital. After she learned that, Rise started desperately saving money to go.

We have to hurry and leave this village.

This village was the first place they settled after leaving the refugee camp.

It was nice enough, and Rise liked how the surrounding mountains had plenty of good herbs, but the villages were not kind enough to accept her knowing she had Karin with her.

With no other choice, they settled in an abandoned cottage on the outskirts of the village, and already a year had passed. A year of living like a stranger in this town. But there was a problem.

The villagers’ gazes towards her and Karin were starting to turn strange.

What on earth could they be thinking?

But she knew that those looks weren’t a good thing. If it were possible, she would want to leave as soon as they could, but they had nowhere else to go. The bridge wouldn’t open for another six months, so whether she liked it or not, they had to stay here until then.

Besides, where else could we possibly go?

Their predicament wouldn’t change even if they went somewhere else for the time being.

The village would be different, but the stares and unwelcoming glares would not change. It would be better just to stay here where she had access to many expensive herbs and save money while she had the ability.

That was when she thought of the Duke’s mansion. She wondered, would they be safe from the scrutiny of the villagers there?

What am I talking about?

Rise shook her head in surprise at her own thoughts.

Her work there was already over, so she would never be able to set foot in that place again. She thought it would be nice if she could’ve shown it to Karin at least once, but it wasn’t somewhere they could go just to sate their curiosity.

[Karin] “Rise, are you not coming? I’m going on ahead!”

[Rise] “No, I’m coming! Karin, let’s go together!”

Hearing Karin’s voice calling to her from outside, Rise quickly went out the front door. As the two of them hurried up the mountain path, unbeknownst to them, someone was watching them from afar.

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Once every eight days, everyone would be exempt from their work for the sake of religious observation, and on those days, the village would be exceptionally noisy.

On that day, believers from the church in the capital would come to pray at the village hall. People would attend the prayer, waiting for their turn from morning all the way until evening to confess their sins to God, entering the new week with a clean soul and body.

Out of all the people, there were three main types who were not allowed to attend.

First were those who worked at the butchers or hired executioners. They were disallowed because they were people who made a living off of death.

The second were those who had already confessed their sins on numerous occasions, only to continue sinning while disobeying the warnings given to them by God. The bad eggs among the village were considered a part of this category.

And the third group were those who were not included as part of the village populus.

Rise and Karin belonged in the third category.

They lived in the outskirts, just near the entrance to the forest, in a small cottage. They lived like exiles, ignored and unaccepted as citizens of this town.

When they first arrived, the people immediately took notice of the young and beautiful Rise, and welcomed her with open arms.

However, the moment they noticed Karin behind her, they pulled back. She was a heathen child—a witch, and thus could not be accepted.

They all thought that if they warned Rise enough, she would abandon Karin and come to live with them, but Rise ignored them without any hesitation, and before long, settled in the abandoned hunting cottage on the outskirts.

The people were not happy about it, but at the same time, they couldn’t say anything since it was technically beyond the boundaries of their village.

[Rise] “Let’s go, Karin.”

Covering her face with a hood, Rise walked along the back alley with quickened steps. Karin followed behind her, pulling her hood further over her face. They were carrying a lot, and the trek from the mountain path was long. They were barely able to wipe away their sweat as they carried on.

[Karin] “Hah….so hot.”

Then, just across the roofs of some of the buildings, she heard the raucous cheers of the people.

—”Amazing! Again! Show us again!”

—”For only a single coin, many more amazing tricks will be yours to see!”

This time, the rest day coincided with the visit of the talent troupe that came along every two months. With a dazed look on her face, Karin stared up at the sky, up and over the tall roofs after hearing the cheers of the people.

But they couldn’t go. They were traveling through the back alleys precisely because they couldn’t afford to be seen, doing what they could to avoid the eyes of the people.

[Karin] “It sounds like fun.”

Karin was a mature little girl, but at times like this, it was a very sad reminder of just how young she truly was.

Rise felt so guilty seeing Karin like this. The villagers’ treatment of her never allowed her even the smallest freedom of going and watching the visiting talent troupe.

I think it might be difficult to go and watch them from behind.

That wouldn’t be possible today. She was getting the feeling they needed to return home as soon as possible.

The atmosphere of the villagers had been getting strange as of late. Normally, not a soul would pass by the cottage where they lived, but nowadays, she was catching sight of more and more people passing through.

They would act as though they’d taken a wrong turn, glancing at Karin and Rise before turning away.

Their eyes were unsettling, and the look within them was one that Rise recognized from before—the eyes of those who would sometimes come to the refugee camp, in the market of buying and selling people.

And when people were desperate, begging for even the smallest slice of bread, they were easy pickings. They’d come through and nab young women from among the beggars, throwing them into the wagon.

That was the look Rise recognized in the eyes of the villagers.

[Rise] “Let’s hurry, Karin.”

[Karin] “…..Okay.”

Like she was disappointed, Karin slowly turned her head away, going to pick up the bag she had set down on the ground—a leather satchel filled to the brim with a variety of dried herbs.

As the season slowly melted into summer, they were able to increase the amount of herbs they harvested. What they were carrying now was significantly greater than their usual yield, and to top it all off, she discovered the root the herbalist told her to keep an eye out for in the mountains. Their income for the week was certainly going to be impressive this time.

At this rate, we’ll have enough before you know it.

Her work at the Duke’s mansion granted her more money than she expected. Just a little bit more and she’d have enough to pay the toll across the bridge.

I hope he doesn’t come around again, Rise thought as she remembered a certain someone.

Among the men that would often show their faces around their cottage these days, one of them was the youngest son of the village chief.

A short conversation was all that was necessary to know that he was not a man of great intelligence. In fact, his intelligence was seriously and probably concerningly low. As such, not a single woman in the village wished to marry him.

Even if the chief was a well off man, some things just couldn’t be tolerated for any amount of money.

No woman in her right mind would ever wish to marry a man like that, who would freely take his pants down and pee wherever he happened to be—who leered and grabbed at women and reeked because he couldn’t be bothered to wash properly.

And as if that wasn’t enough, the chief had other, more capable sons. As the youngest, he would not even receive any property in comparison to his two older brothers.

When Rise first came to this village, the idea was brought up that she should be the one to be his wife.

Unbelievable.

It was awful just thinking about it. Even if she had basically nothing, leaving her hometown and ending up here of all places, arriving with no family and no parents, there was a limit to the kinds of things she was willing to tolerate.

She would sooner die than marry such a man. A man who even had the audacity to ask her to sell Karin.

—’I can find someone who will pay well.’

A man who would ask a woman to sell her daughter without even batting an eye.

And then, he spoke even more words to her. Words so heinous, they alone were enough to fill her with disgust. He approached her two days ago, speaking to Rise in a tone that made her shudder.

—’Ri….se….you’re so pretty…..’

Seeing the gross look in his eyes, Rise stepped back. Though he hadn’t come around since being bitten by a snake near Rise’s home a while back, at the time, he looked at Rise was drool forming near his mouth.

—’O, once you’re….my wife….I can do whatever I want to you……..To that face….to those legs… and that chest……’

As much as she would’ve loved to, she could not pass his words off as momentary nonsense, brought about by his failing mind.

After that, she knew they needed to leave soon, and that’s what she told Karin. They couldn’t let others know they were preparing to leave, so they packed little by little every day, pretending that all was well on the outside as they moved their things.

We can’t leave right away, though.

She was hoping they could stay in this village until the last possible moment. The bridge to the Imperial territory wouldn’t open for a while, and again, where else could they even go?

The village was a place where they could take shelter to avoid wild animals and the rain. And though it was just a formality, there was also the neighborhood watch, so unscrupulous individuals could not approach them easily.

So before going to the Imperial territory, this place was the safest place there was for the two of them.

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[Rise] “Anyone home?”

Right when Rise opened the door, the first thing that could be noticed was the smell of boiling herbs and old dust. Karin immediately frowned at the stench. She knew by now that this smell could only be achieved by storing the herbs improperly.

Rise and Karin’s cottage had way more herbs stored than this, but their place always smelled so nice and refreshing—very different from this disgusting smell.

[Old Man] “Oh, it’s you.”

From within, an old man walked out, stifling a cough. He was the owner of this place, and the local mixer of herbal medicine.

Rise would be able to handle these herbs way better than this kind of guy, Karin indignantly thought, though she didn’t say that out loud for obvious reasons. Even within the village, people already knew that.

Especially the ladies of the village. Many of them preferred to visit Rise for their medicinal herb needs in order to avoid prying eyes. Most notably it was because this old man had a penchant for inappropriately touching them under the guise of ‘being a doctor’.

[Rise] “I brought your weekly herbs.”

[Old Man] “Ah, put it here.”

Unlike he usually did, he did not move to inspect the herbs.

That was definitely strange. Normally, he would look them over once, then twice, trying to find flaws and imperfections within the herbs, looking for any excuse to cut the price.

Hesitant, the owner suddenly turned to the side, opening up a drawer. Then, he took out what looked to be something wrapped in pretty, colorful paper.

[Old Man] “This is for you. Eat it.”

He was handing it to Karin.

[Karin] “. . .”

[Old Man] “It’s a fruit candy I bought from the capital. It’s very valuable and expensive. You’ll never get another chance to try something like this.”

Like he said, a soft fruity smell emanated from the bag in front of Karin. It was so enticing that Karin was momentarily distracted by it before coming to her senses and hiding behind Rise.

[Rise] “What’s going on?”

[Old Man] “Oh, it’s nothing. I just got it for you since you work so hard to gather herbs. There’s no need to be so wary.”

I know you to be quite the penny pinching old man, so excuse me for finding all of this to be a little sudden and suspicious.

She thought that, but she knew she couldn’t say it. The owner was insistent with trying to give it to Karin. She didn’t know what his plan was, but nothing good would come from provoking him and earning his anger, so she gently urged Karin to take it.

[Karin] “……Thank you.”

[Old Man] “Okay. You should go out now. I have something I need to say to Rise. Eat the candy properly.”

[Rise] “What is it?’

[Old Man] “It’s nothing bad, so just listen.”

Rise turned and winked at Karin. Somehow, she was getting the sense she wouldn’t want Karin to have to hear whatever this old herbalist was going to say.

Seeing Rise’s wink, Karin nodded, leaving out the back door.

[Rise] “What’s going on?”

[Old Man] “Too…impatient. Sit down. Eat one, too.”

He was acting so friendly that Rise felt even more put off by him. He was always the type to nitpick every little thing in an attempt to cheapen their herbs and pay less, so obviously she was struggling to believe this sudden stroke of kindness from him.

He was definitely up to something.

Rize looked down at the candy he had handed her. It was beautiful in color and smelled very sweet. It was definitely the kind of candy she would have reached out to get for herself if she could.

Looking down at the candy for a very long time, Rise popped it into her mouth.

It was so sweet, it made her tongue sting.

[Old Man] “The son of the village chief. You know the one, right? The youngest.”

[Rise] “………What about him?’

[Old Man] “Apparently he still hasn’t had his coming of age ceremony.”

A coming of age ceremony. Any man who failed to follow through with it would be extremely limited with what they could do in this country.

[Old Man] “So, the chief said he wanted to ask you a favor. It’s about the final day of the coming of age.”

Just as she thought. That was what this old man wanted to talk to her about.

Already, she could feel a sensation akin to a bug crawling across her skin.

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