episode_0019

The shopping street located in the center of Frauwa, the faces of everyone walking around the shopping street to buy or sell things are full of energy. The wide square right next to it is bustling with citizens who have come out to rest, and a large stone statue in the middle of it, modeled after the old founding heroes, seems to look down on the citizens of the prosperous city of Frauwa.

And in between, a group of heterogeneous expressions mixed in. They gathered together, each hiding something in their arms, each sweating coldly and looking at each other. When they finally exchanged signals that they were standing in their assigned positions as they had decided in advance, a young woman who looked to be in her twenties was the first to firmly close her lips in determination, take out the flag she had been hiding in her arms, wave it, and shout.

“Long live King Arshul! Know that Heaven will punish disloyal subjects! ”

A flag with the same pattern as the one engraved on the mantle of the stone statue. It was the same pattern as the symbol of the Arsul dynasty that had been based in Frauah for five centuries. The first shout became the fuse, and people from all over the square waved flags with the same pattern, each of different sizes, above their heads and shouted slogans. When other people who saw this gathered around with interest, the protesters began to sing Frauah’s song, which not only Frauah people but also rural people like Ray would know. The voices of the songs overlapped one by one, and the volume gradually grew louder.

“It’s noisy outside?”

Mila pricks up her ears as the noise coming from the square seems to seep into the room.

“Hmm… . I think this is better.”

“I told you an hour ago that I think that’s better.”

Mila sighs as she watches Ray finally pick up the belt she had chosen first and take it to the clerk. After picking up the other belts lying on the floor one by one and putting them back on the display stand, Ray, who has finished paying, approaches her holding an envelope wrapped in a flashy ribbon in one hand.

“But do you know exactly where your mother is?”

“You said you were a groom. Wouldn’t it be possible to meet you if you went to the place where most grooms gather?”

Who would call him a country bumpkin? Mila is shocked by the fact that he followed her to find her mother just because he was a coachman, without even knowing the exact address.

“Do you know how big Fraua is? There are ten post stations… Ugh?! I’m sorry… .”

As soon as he opens the door and goes out, Mila bumps into Ray’s shoulder and hugs him gently before turning her head. A woman staggering with her face terrified and her clothes covered in blood bumps into Mila and falls down.

“… What is this.”

Why didn’t I notice that the shouts I heard outside had suddenly turned into terrible screams? People running away from the square and soldiers chasing them were all tangled up together, creating chaos. The shoulder of the shirt that had collided with the fallen woman was stained red.

“Milla… … ? What’s going on?”

“Hey, shit… .”

Mila grabs Ray’s hand and starts running in the opposite direction without thinking.

“Mi, Ms. Mila?!”

Ray, who was dying trying to keep up with the situation with his short legs, held on tightly to the belt he had bought as a gift for his mother.

“Never fall! If you miss, you die!”

Mila shouted, tucking her hair into the rag. She clasped her hands together tightly in case they fell off.

When they reached the intersection of the shopping district, which was tightly packed like a checkerboard, they realized that the situation was more serious than they had thought. The royal flag was rolling on the ground, soaked in blood, and soldiers with bloodless faces were stabbing people with their spears. It was a complete mess. The two ran away from the fallen people and soldiers. When they saw a narrow alley with little traffic between the buildings, Mila led Ray into it.

“Why are you attacking people?”

“Whew… I guess I’ve lost my mind.”

“… Does that have to do with me being so scared all day? You know something, right?… Aaaah! ”

Right behind Mila, who was standing with her back to the street, a woman with a long spear stuck in her back stumbled and fell to the ground with a loud crash. Ray met her lifeless, miserable face and eyes.

“… I’ll run a little more. Even if it’s hard, just hold on a little longer. ”

As the screams grew closer, Mila took a deep breath and ran out into the street, holding Ray’s hand tightly again. Running and running like crazy, when the person who had been running away in front of her ran into a store, Mila pushed open the door of a restaurant on the opposite street and led Ray inside.

“Haa… , Phew… Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Heh… … Heh. Heh… . I, I’m okay… .”

Ray, who still seemed to be unable to recover from the shock of seeing someone being stabbed in the eye, answered with a trembling voice. Inside the store, there were not only them, but also people who had waved flags in the square, people who had participated out of curiosity, or people who had simply escaped after being caught up in the situation, all holding their breath with tense expressions.

The streets are deserted, the soldiers are forming ranks again, and a black-haired woman stands in the middle of the street, mounted on a gray-haired horse.

“The loyal citizens of Fraua are requested to hand over the ringleaders who have disrupted the order of the country immediately, as ordered by the Governor.”

“… … .”

The still quiet shopping street, not a single door opens. Mila, who was leaning against the window and listening to the sounds coming from outside, made eye contact with a person on the other side of the store window. He, too, had a nervous look on his face, which was wet with blood and sweat.

“… I gave you a chance to prove your loyalty. I guess you can consider yourself to be on the same page as the rebels.”

At the gesture of a woman on horseback, five or six soldiers break down the tightly closed store door and enter. People scream, and the sound of something breaking and shattering. A little later, the armor and spear tips of the soldiers walking out of the store are covered in eerie red stains. Mila’s face, watching this from the window, is distorted with fear and anger. Everyone inside the store begins to think that the people with weapons are out of their minds, and the store doors on the street open one by one, and people rush out and start running in the opposite direction of the soldiers.

Mila and Ray, avoiding the soldiers chasing people fiercely, turned and arrived at another shopping street. Mila desperately grabbed the doorknob and shook it, hoping that a door might open. As the soldiers’ shouts were heard from the alleyway, Mila pulled the handle with all her might, revealing a staircase leading to the basement. Mila looked up and read the sign, “Vegetable Store.” The store was already empty, but it seemed that they had forgotten to lock the basement storage room in their haste. Mila pulled Ray into her arms and threw herself down the stairs, rolling down.

“Augh… . Huh… .”

“Milla…? Are you okay?”

“Shhhh…! If you get caught, it’s over… .”

As she held her breath in the dark warehouse filled with the fragrant scent of vegetables, the only sound she could hear was the sound of people running around outside. The Eastern forces, who had already been showing signs of trouble, had done something and now were terrorizing Fraua. Mila couldn’t believe that the current situation was going the worst way she had expected. She had only planned to stay here for a short while, so how did this happen? However, she didn’t feel like blaming the boy in her arms, who could be said to be the main reason all her plans were ruined. Rather, she felt relieved that she had protected him even in that hectic moment. Didn’t he rely on her so much?

They can even break down a closed store door and come in, so how could an underground warehouse be safe? Mila carefully placed Ray, who was in her arms, down beside her, then jumped up and started feeling around. Around the stairs, a faint ray of sunlight filtered in from the wooden door, allowing her to distinguish objects, but as she went deeper, she had to rely solely on her sense of touch to figure out which was the wall and which was the wooden box containing the vegetables.

Judging from the loud noises earlier, the warehouse might be bigger than expected. Mila thought it would be safer to hide behind these vegetable boxes than right under the stairs.

“I have to hide deeper. Just wait a minute.”

Ray was about to crawl towards Mila, who was rustling something inside, when he vaguely thought he saw a latch on the cellar door.

“That door…! It needs to be locked… .”

Still trying to calm his pounding heart, he carefully climbs up the stairs one by one without making a sound. Then he slowly brings his hand closer to the door, and when he thinks he just touched it lightly, the warehouse door creaks open. As soon as Ray realizes that it was not he who opened the door, but a soldier whose armor was splattered with blood, he freezes in place.

“… … .”

A cat-faced woman staring at Ray with a creepily expressionless face. She tilts her head, then the corners of her mouth turn up into a smirk.

‘Christie…?’

“Ray, are you there? It’s okay if you come now.”

The timing was ironic, and Mila’s voice was heard from down the stairs. Ray gulped in horror, while Christie stared back and forth between the direction of the sound and Ray’s face, her face still fixed on a meaningless smile.

The moment Ray opened his trembling lips slightly and was about to say something, Christie pulled Ray close and covered his lips with hers.

‘… …?!’

Before he could even understand what was happening, her tongue entered his mouth, licking every nook and cranny as if trying to mark every deep part of his mouth. Ray could not resist and could only accept it.

Ten seconds or so passed, which felt like an eternity to Ray, and when she had satisfied herself, she grabbed Ray’s chin and pulled her lips away, but Ray was speechless and unable to say anything.

Then she smiles at him again, jumps up, and kicks the door slamming shut.

“It seems like there’s no one here.”

Her voice could be heard through the thin door.