Chapter 40

Ben arrived faster than he expected, he got off his horse and tie it in the back of Cersinia’s house, and headed straight to the door. He was walking so fast that mud splashed in all directions. But what he saw when he got in made him feel dizzy.

“I couldn’t stop her…since I know how Cersinia feels.” May cried.

When Ben realized that Cersinia wasn’t in the house, his anxiety and nervousness reached their peak. He felt like his head was about to explode, he couldn’t believe she went out alone. He was scared that what happened in the square last time would happen again, he was scared to lose her so he ran out of the house to find her.

* * *

“He left?”

“T-That’s right!”

A passerby, who was accidentally caught by Cersinia, informed her of Goredon’s whereabouts. Cersinia looked at the house with a disappointed expression. As if to prove what the stranger was saying, old furniture was laying around in the yard of the small house.

‘What in the hell is this…?’

Her face stiffened. She couldn’t believe that Goredon left.

‘Then who the hell will clear up the situation?’

Charles! She had to meet him! The person who made all of this happen. Cersinia hurried to the dungeon where Charles was imprisoned, where she once was imprisoned too after being falsely accused.

“Wha…what are you going to do to find him…?”

Cersinia stopped in her tracks upon hearing a passerby talking.

“What did you just say?”

When he made eye contact with Cersinia, the passerby bowed his head. He was trembling in fear as if he was facing the devil himself, but he did not hide the hatred in his eyes.

“What did you just say?”

“Argh!”

Cersinia asked once again, but he shuddered and ran away as if he witnessed a murder. Left alone in front of Goredon’s empty house, Cersinia ruffled her hair in annoyance. Her lips were raised in a pout, she was getting sick and tired of being treated like a monster and not a person. She will let go of neither Goredon nor Charles if she catches them, and she will clear the situation and make them apologize in front of everyone so that everybody would stop despising and insulting her.

“Ah.”

As she was getting even more annoyed, her body got reeled from a sudden strong force. It almost made her fall, but she quickly balanced herself. It seemed like something heavy hit her leg.

“What’s that?”

Cersinia’s displeased gaze turned downward. A child who was running around playing with his friends hit her leg and her butt. It hurt quite a bit, so the boy was about to cry.

“Hold it.”

She was annoyed but still got worried about the child who was smaller and weaker than her, so she reached out her hand to him out of pity.

“Hiiiik!”

The child made a strange sound. Perhaps he recognized Cersinia since his face turned white at her movement. His lips were trembling, and instead of apologizing, she received an unpleasant reaction from the child.

“I-It’s the witch!”

Cersinia eyebrows twitched.

“Argh! Runaway!”

The group, who had stopped running because they were worried about the boy who had fallen, quickly ran away after seeing Cersinia.

“Uh…”.

The boy was now left alone, and he looked frightened. He tried to crawl while facing Cersinia but he was struggling to get out of this place because of his small feet, which were now covered in mud. She automatically frowned at the bitterness she felt.

“G-Go away!”

Cersinia choked up. The child looked terrified. No matter how much she was familiar with being rejected or being treated with contempt, his clear and open rejection hurt. So she calmly withdrew her hand from the child, who was still struggling to escape. She had no desire to help someone who showed her so much hatred.

“Argh! This witch, go away!”

Puck.

A strong frictional sound separates the two of them. Cersinia frowned at the pain she felt on her forehead. In front of her foot laid the sharp stone thrown by the boy. A hot liquid then ran down from her forehead to her cheeks. She lifted her hand to her cheeks then looked at them, they were stained with blood.

“T-This witch! Go away!”

The bewildered child cried out once again when he saw that she was bleeding thinking she would want to harm him. All he could think about was that a terrible witch would catch him, draw his blood, cut his flesh and burn him.

“U-Uaaaah!”

Everything was just an illusion and delusion on his part, but he still ran away without looking back. Cersinia patted her wound and fumbled with her fingers. She could feel the blood running down from near her eyebrows, just above her eyes. If the rock would’ve hit her a little bit lower it would’ve hit her in the eye.

“Ha…”

She snickered. Her heart, which has subsided coldly, heated up like a flame.

“That crazy witch, was it not enough to burn our food storage? Now you even target children?!”

“Isn’t she supposed to be burned again right now?”

Big round eyes that looked like they could pop out of their socket, sharp teeth exposed grinding against each other, looks filled with a mixture of hatred and criticism were all Cersinia could see around her. Their gaze was sharper than needles and stabbed her without mercy. The disparaging words soon came after, hitting her like thunderbolts.

‘How many times do I have to hear it?’

Cersinia’s body was trembling with uncontrollable anger. A faint heat rose from her body.

‘What did I do wrong?’

She wondered if they were like this because they needed to blame someone for the food storage burning.

‘How much longer do I have to be patient?’

“It’s really disgusting. Take a look. She’s really funny.”

Cersinia’s head slowly turned to the giggle, which contained mockery.

‘She must be around 20 years old.’

The woman with freckles on her youthful face looked at Cersinia excitedly as if this current situation was entertaining.

“…”

‘How far should I endure it? I was upset that no one realized that I was holding it in.’

She felt as if she was suffocating. She was being framed for something she didn’t do, and she was being treated like a monster. The fear, the mocking, the contempt, and the hatred aimed at her were all unfair. The stopper, which was blocking the lump accumulated in her heart, began to shake. It was hard and sturdy but it still managed to crack, and everything inside was shaking like volcanoes. If she lets her guard down just a little, everything she endured so far will pour out.

“Just go die.”

The freckled woman murmured, eyes filled with hatred and disgust. She had an arrogant and frivolous smirk plastered on her face.

“Just die.”

“Die already.”

“Die.”

The same voice echoed several times in Cersinia’s ears. And at that moment, all hell broke loose in her heart. The cold air before was now hot, and those who had been making noises, had their eyes wide open. And as chills ran down their spines and their nerve cells were shaking, they started to shut up one by one. All eyes focused on Cersinia.

Cersinia’s warm crimson eyes had suddenly turned blood red. No one was able to utter a single word. Bright red blood ran down Cersinia’s cheek and dripped down. When the thick drops of blood touched the dry soil, small flames rose and disappeared on the spot. As if proving that her uncontrollably strong mana had dissolved in her blood, the places where the blood fell were stained in a dark red color. Similar to the mana she was emitting.

The villagers covered their mouths, some from shock others to avoid breathing too loud. They were all trembling and looked like they were facing the most ferocious monster in the world. They were witnessing something that they’ve never seen before. They all wanted to run away but were glued in place as if there were invisible shackles holding them down. It was getting difficult for them to breathe as the scorching heat increased.

“Gasp.”

“Uurgh!”

As the wind became hotter everyone feared of being burned alive. They were all panting and collapsing, but only one person was fine. Cersinia was standing leisurely alone, glancing slowly at the crowd.

‘Kill them all.’

‘Why are you hesitating? If you kill them all, no one will be able to underestimate you.’

An unidentified voice said. She felt like she was hypnotized and all she could do was hear the voice not only in her ears but also in her head and heart. Cersinia felt weird, she could see herself walk in a dream but her mind went blank and her eyes closed. The event that happened three years ago in the cabin seems to repeat itself.

“It’s okay.”

Soon after, the red lips opened, and a low, dry voice stretched out with heat.