episode_0174

“Hmm.” Ruyef seemed to have a rough idea. He nodded silently and replied. “I’ll wait here. Don’t be too late.”

“Alright.”

I immediately headed into the eastern village. My footsteps led me to the house where Tia and Fosao had lived.

Thump. Thump. As I ascended the strangely familiar hill path, houses clustered together appeared. Among them, a very familiar house came into view.

“……” When I saw the house in reality, a place I had only seen in memory fragments, my indifferent heart suddenly felt a pang and trembled.

A neat garden and beautifully trimmed flowers. Even the delicate touches throughout the house that only her meticulous hands could achieve. It wasn’t Brizedon, but a strange village I was visiting for the first time. Tia’s traces left here… they felt truly awkward yet so deeply missed.

Rustle. I entered the garden and approached the back door. A pot made of mud was placed there.

Although it was an empty pot without a single flower, I knew the meaning of this pot placed next to the stairs. I pushed the pot aside and dug into the ground with my hands. The soil was soft and easily dug up. After digging a little more, a small box appeared, and when I opened the lid, a small key was revealed.

I put the soil and pot back in place and was about to leave with only the key.

“Who are you?” I turned my head at the familiar voice. A woman stood about ten paces away.

She looked familiar. Was her name Rodya? She was the one who had treated Tia kindly when she first moved in.

Fortunately, it seemed she hadn’t seen me digging yet. I dusted off my pants.

“I’m just a traveler.” “Ah, is that so.”

She looked at me with a worried expression, then gazed up at Tia’s house. What happened to the villagers after that? Had they heard of Tia’s whereabouts? I grew curious.

“Did something happen to this house?” “Well…” Rodya cast her eyes down.

“If you’re asking because you’re looking for ‘them,’ it would be best to give up.”

I couldn’t help but be surprised. It felt as if she had read my thoughts, sending a shiver down my spine, but soon I realized it was a misunderstanding. From her heavily guarded gaze, I could infer that many had sought Tia and Fosao’s whereabouts even before.

I didn’t even need to search my memories to know. The soldiers who had missed them by a hair’s breadth must have rummaged through the house for clues, and the lord of Gordburg must have fully grasped how the situation unfolded.

…But for a house where ‘Tia the Murderer’ lived, it was too perfectly preserved. As if Tia had lived there until yesterday and then fled. Though more than a month had passed between memory and reality, everything remained just as it was. How could this be?

I leaned my arm on the fence and said, “If you say ‘looking for them,’ it means the homeowners here left a long time ago.”

“Ah…”

“Despite that, the house and garden are well-maintained. Is there a reason for that?” Rodya glared at me fiercely. That wasn’t… hostility towards me for acting like I knew everything. She was feeling great discomfort with my act of leaning on ‘this house’s’ fence.

“Take your hands off immediately. It’s the lord’s command that no one is to approach that house.”

So that’s how it is. Rodya was guarding this house. And the one who ordered it was the lord of Gordburg.

Tia had been called a ‘saint’ here, at least. Perhaps the reason Marvin Ahjussi couldn’t immediately appear with soldiers was because the lord responded lukewarmly. No, maybe he didn’t even believe the rumor that Tia was wanted as a murderer in Tailden.

Whether she was a murderer or the culprit who set fire to the warehouse, they needed to somehow capture Tia and interrogate her about all the circumstances, but she had already departed far away. So, Tia is not a criminal of Gordburg, at least not yet. To leave an opportunity for the saint to return and explain herself someday, the lord left this place as it was.

“I understand.”

It was vast. What Tia left behind in this village was too significant. Looking back, it was a truly short time. At most, from late winter to early spring. Barely two months. But Tia left an indelible and powerful impression in the hearts of the villagers.

Rodya, who had always spoken with a warm voice when talking to Tia, now spoke to me with a cold and stern voice. “There’s nothing more to say. Go back, stranger.”

I looked around. Before I knew it, several villagers were around me. Some were people I remembered. But their eyes were very dark and chilling. There was nothing I could do in the face of the residents’ complete rejection.

The moment I lowered my gaze to turn away, I saw the sign carved in front of the entrance. ‘Fosao Modaless’ ‘Tia Modaless’

…Ah, I see. These people remembered. Tia and Fosao. They remembered the two who had formed a happy family in front of everyone.

Not ‘Tia Anshier’ of Brizedon. They knew ‘Tia Modaless’ of Gordburg.

“……” It felt as if the blood was draining from my body. These people didn’t know Ritsu. To the people of Gordburg, I was just a threatening stranger.

Everything was denied. Everything I knew was rejected. In this world. The fact that there were more people who knew the memories of Tia and Fosao… than people who knew the beautiful memories between Tia and me…. How was I supposed to accept this?

Thump! Their gazes followed me until I turned and made my way out.

I wanted to flee. I wanted to escape from those who remembered ‘Tia Modaless’ as quickly as possible. This place was contaminated ground. Every step felt like my toes were rotting away.

How far had I run? Ruyef, who was waiting, frowned as he saw me dripping with sweat. “Ritsu? Did something happen?” “Huff— huff—.” Wiping the sweat from my chin, I vowed. Never again. I would never set foot in that place again.

* * *

We went down to the market. To open a safe. Although it was called a ‘safe,’ it wasn’t the kind commonly known. In Gordburg, many merchants traveled long distances, making it difficult to carry gold coins, so a safe place to entrust their assets was needed. This was that safe. And Fosao’s left-behind assets were entrusted here.

“I’ve come to withdraw money.” I showed the key to the safekeeper. He took the key and opened a tightly sealed box. The sound of money being scooped up was heard, and then a sack of platinum coins was placed before me.

“After deducting the fee. Here it is.” Untying the sack, it looked to be roughly 300 gold. In this village, where money wasn’t particularly needed, I could guess how diligently Tia had saved. Perhaps this fund… was saved so that Fosao could raise his child, who would soon be born, after he could no longer work due to old age.

“Thank you.” I simply returned the key. Neither I, nor the original owner, would ever need to come back for it again.

Next, I visited the general store and purchased a Roseshabel for 50 gold. To prepare for the journey ahead, I ate a hearty meal, paid for lodging, and even secured a carriage to leave Gordburg.

Our destination… was Tailden again. The direction Tia headed after leaving the East Gate was towards there.

As we were just leaving Gordburg by carriage, Ruyef listened to my story and asked, “But wasn’t Tia not in Tailden?”

“She went in that direction, but she wouldn’t have gone to Tailden itself.” Logically, if someone is chasing you, it’s correct to escape in the opposite direction. If you want to survive, you need to put as much distance as possible between you and them, leaving no trace. However, Tia fled in the direction of Tailden instead. I don’t know if it was because that was the only way out, or if she had made another plan in the interim. Ultimately, we had no choice but to return there.

Ruyef let out a sigh. “Was it a wasted trip?” “No, Oppa.” Marie pointed to the Roseshabel wrapped around my waist. “We got Tia Unnie’s sword back. I think that alone means we gained something.”

Ruyef looked at me with a gaze that asked, *Is that really so?* …I was sorry, but I wasn’t in the mood to answer. I just wanted to rest my hand on the Roseshabel’s scabbard and think quietly. Being like this, it felt as if I was remembering when I learned swordsmanship from Tia. It felt a little, like my mood was improving.

About a day later, we finally returned to Tailden. Unlike when we had left with difficulty, hidden in a garbage sack, we were able to pass through the gate easily. Since we said we came from Gordburg, they didn’t cause any trouble. As soon as we got out of the carriage, Marie said, “Somehow… the atmosphere feels a little different.”

She was right. The desolate and eerie feeling from when we left was nowhere to be found. Far more people were visible than before, and it was even bustling. The laughter of children and the vibrant energy pervading the market. It was as if Tailden had regained its former appearance.

“What happened?” There was only one reason for such a sudden increase in people. “The expedition is over.” While we were away in Gordburg, Lord Kintop of Tailden had returned. That’s why a welcoming feast was in full swing.

For them, it was good news enough to hold a festival, but not for us. The fact that more people knew our faces meant that preparations to track Tia would become even harder. If we hadn’t covered our heads and mouths with hats and scarves, we might have been discovered immediately.

“First, let’s find a safe place.” Should we go back to Aunt Lily? Or would it be better to track our next destination instead? As I walked along, pondering these questions, it happened.

Thump. “Ouch!” Marie, who was following behind me, bumped into someone.

“Oh. I’m sorry.” It was a woman wearing a hood. She glanced at us indifferently, then suddenly her expression became strange, and she froze. Surely. Had she recognized us?

At the very moment Ruyef, with the same thought, stepped in front of Marie to block her, Swish—. The woman, who had been frozen with a blank expression, removed her hood. A very familiar face was there.

“Is it… you all?” “Merid Imo?”

Though her face was so emaciated that I almost didn’t recognize her, We all remembered and recognized her. A person from Brizedon.