Chapter 49

A heavy sound rang through the silence.

Klang.

After Cersinia finished, she let the sword fall on the floor. She stared at Charles, who had collapsed with a dull expression.

“Ah, huh, huuh…”

Charles took a breath. Surprised that he was still breathing and didn’t feel any pain, he quickly opened his eyes and checked his condition. His skin was still intact, no cuts or blood were seen. The sword had only cut through his clothes. Relieved, Charles’s pants got wet and the ground around him too.

“Charles, you…!”

The villagers, who opened their eyes to see what was going on, hissed in shock at Charles’s mistake.

“Ah, ah…”

Charles’s face paled when he realized that he had made a mistake. Cersinia was looking down at, a very relieved but white as a sheet of paper, Charles with a sincerely disgusted face.

“N-No. I… I didn’t do that…”

Charles struggled to get up from the ground he had soaked. He was so ashamed and humiliated that he wanted to hide somewhere, but his hands and feet were tied, so he couldn’t escape. His shameless acts were now revealed to the public.

“Eww…”

“N-No…It wasn’t me.”

Charles vigorously shook his head with a blurry vision. It seemed like everyone was pointing fingers and sneering at him.

“Oh my God, look at him, he became like that just because of a woman…”

The eyes that looked down on him made him feel crushed. Their mocking gazes and laughter came so loudly that it made him difficult to breathe.

“Are you okay with this?”

In the end, Ben looked at Cersinia, who couldn’t cut him and asked her.

“He’s not even worth getting blood on our hands.”

Cersinia turned around to give a last warning to Charles, who was gaping like a fish with water.

“Don’t ever appear in front of me again. If you do, I’ll really kill you then.”

She thought that if she killed him, it would make the lumps that had accumulated so far go away, but she knew it was definitely not like that. Cersinia didn’t want him to die so easily, it would be giving him a way of getting away with everything while she suffered. She wished Charles to pay for his sins for a long time, and go through everything she went through.

“Ben, I don’t want to get involved with them anymore.”

Her anger, that had risen from their unwavering attitudes, cooled down. She wanted to ask what she was doing wrong and wanted to receive an apology from them. She wanted to see them apologize and repented for their sins.

But everything was in vain since the villagers didn’t sincerely apologize. They didn’t even seem to know what they did wrong. They blurred out a fake apology just to escape the punishment.

Cersinia felt that it was unfair that her life was being swayed by those who had no conscience. So she didn’t want to hear any news about their end. She didn’t want to show mercy to them. She wanted to forget the things that happened in this village and erase their existence from her life. It would probably be impossible but she wanted to do so.

“If that’s what you want, I will gladly take care of it,” Ben said to her.

Cersinia met their pleading gazes, but she completely turned her back away from them. Her repressed feelings wanted to burn them all but she was exhausted. She didn’t want to waste any more time dealing with them.

“Clean up,” Ben commanded his soldiers.

They dragged the sinners away. Charles gasped and murmured throughout the drag. He wasn’t the only one; the Chief and other villagers struggled to walk with their devastated faces realizing it was already too late to turn back.

“What a relief.”

May, who was silently watching the situation, approached Cersinia. Contrary to her worries, she was relieved by how the situation turned out. Tears flowed down from her eyes, like a fountain that never dries up. It was tears of relief.

“I’m sorry. Because of me, you-”

“No! Why would it be Cersinia’s fault! It’s because of those people…”

May vigorously shook her head. At the sight, Cersinia gently smiled and stroked May’s arm.

“They will never encounter Cersinia again in their lifetime. I will make sure they pay for their sins for the rest of their life.”

“Thank you, Ben.” Cersinia’s face softened.

Everything would be fine since Ben would make sure of it. She knew that, without Ben, they would’ve never admitted their sins. It was obvious that they would’ve continued to pretend not to know until the end and eventually drive Cersinia down. Since it would’ve been easier to blame it all on one person.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help you sooner.”

His gaze turned to Cersinia’s wound. If he had come earlier, she wouldn’t have been hurt. His eyes were red from crying.

“It was obviously their fault.”

Cersinia shook her head towards Ben, who felt guilty even though it wasn’t his fault. In the end the only thing left from this situation was the wounds on her heart. And this thought she felt a corner of her heart twist.

“Yes.”

Ben nodded slightly, relaxing his distorted expression. Cersinia smiled faintly at him, her worries now gone.

“This village soon will be destroyed.”

“I see.”

Cersinia thought it was a good thing, because it meant that she wouldn’t need to worry about someone else being the victim of this village. Cersinia wanted to go somewhere where no one knew her, to a place no one looked at her with contempt and disgust.

“If you haven’t decided on your destination yet…” Ben spoke his words carefully.

Cersinia knew what he was going to say next. The words that he has talked about once before.

“Would you like to go to the capital with me?”

Since she had only thought of leaving this village and didn’t have a detailed plan, she had no exact place in mind to settle down.

“Capital?”

May, who was next to Cersinia, asked with glistening eyes. May had never been to the capital, so she was very curious about that place.

“How about choosing the destination while staying in the capital? You will be welcome to stay in the capital. If that’s the case, I would be very happy. Ah, of course, I’m fine with wherever Cersinia wants to go.”

Ben nervously said when Cersinia didn’t answer. He wanted her to quickly give him an answer, whether it was positive or negative, but she stayed quiet. But after a few moments, Cersinia mumbled nervously.

“Capital…”

Her nervous voice fell into silence. She had already decided that she wouldn’t go up to the capital, but there was nothing wrong with what Ben suggested. Since she hadn’t decided on a destination yet, it would be better for her to stay in the capital in the meantime and figure out what would be her next move. And the thought of going to the capital weirdly made her heart pound.

“Cersinia, can we go to the capital?”

May was begging earnestly with her face. She held Cersinia’s hand and shook it like a child begging their parents for candy. Cersinia thought deepened more when May begged like that. The capital was a place she had never been to, so no one would know about her. Ben was eager to persuade her but quietly waited for her answer. A few seconds felt as long as decades. Cersinia tapped her fingers in nervousness.

‘It will be okay since I won’t be staying for a while.’

Since she stayed quiet and didn’t do anything for three years, the situation must have changed a lot from the original story. There won’t be a problem if she goes to the capital for a while.

‘It wouldn’t be a bad idea to visit the capital at least once.’

And Cersinia was curious about Ben’s wounds. He hasn’t told her about his wounds yet. She didn’t know what happened to him for the past three years and was also getting curious about his past, which wasn’t revealed in the novel. Countless things happened to him during the three years he was away from her.

“Okay.” Cersinia agreed while nodding, making up her mind.

“Yay!” May excitedly said while clapping and smiling at Cersinia’s positive reply.

Ben’s face brightened up as he also got overjoyed. He couldn’t hide the smile that came straight from his fluttering heart. His unchanging pear blossom smile always appeared only for Cersinia.