episode_0028

I… had seen Marvin Mister’s memories.

He had secretly entered Merid Aunt’s house at night, pressed her down, and assaulted her. He had pulled down his pants, exposed himself, and forcibly penetrated the woman’s body. The sensation of that horrific memory and physical pleasure, wildly mixed, remained exactly as it was in my body.

Thud. I shook off Marvin Mister’s hand and stood up.

“I-I’m fine. I can go by myself.” “Are you sure? You look really unsteady.” Marvin Mister followed, showing concern, but I didn’t want to hear any of it.

“Alright, then. When you’re fully recovered, let’s definitely play together next time.” “……Yes.” Marvin Mister went back downstairs.

He immediately ran to Olivia Aunt. He was smiling broadly and dancing. He felt unfamiliar. He was so unfamiliar it was frightening.

Olivia Aunt held her baby without a care in the world. She looked at her husband with happy eyes and smiled. And a little distance away from there… Merid Aunt sat with her arms crossed. Her deep blue eyes… gazed wistfully at Marvin Mister.

“……” Normally, I wouldn’t have thought anything of it. I would have simply enjoyed looking at the happy scene of the villagers. But not anymore. I had learned the truth.

I quickly averted my eyes from the ugliness and ran wildly. To escape. To get even a little further away.

“Gasp-. Gasp-. Ugh!” I felt like vomiting. It was fortunate that I had managed to keep my mouth shut and run out then. I truly wanted to praise myself.

Our village was small. It was so insignificant compared to Teildon that everyone knew each other well. Among them, the most noticeable person was Marvin Mister. He was a person who could handle almost all tasks effortlessly, so Marvin Mister’s help was always necessary for any work.

Merid Aunt too. Although some disliked her because of her prickly personality. She took charge of everything from cooking and raising livestock to selling goods in the lower village.

But what if I told Olivia Aunt what I had seen? No. That wouldn’t do. Even with just Ruyef gone, the bridge construction became problematic, causing difficulties. If those two people were gone, it would be no different from the entire village being dismantled.

But… Squeeze! My fist clenched tightly.

…Olivia Aunt was just too pitiful. She had even given birth to a baby. She had been at home all day caring for the baby. She had praised her husband so much. But Marvin Mister had been embracing Merid Aunt.

Even though I had seen it all, I couldn’t say anything. No, rather, I was an accomplice. Because deep down, I was hoping that Marvin Mister’s affair would never be discovered.

If it was to protect the village.

“……” Was that why the Village Head-nim had holed himself up in his cabin, remaining silent? To avoid seeing such ugly pasts of the villagers? …I understood. I understood why it was called both ‘immense power’ and a ‘curse’.

If I could use what I saw as a weakness. Marvin Mister and Merid Aunt would no longer be able to say anything to me. Like the nobles of Deseo who had cowered before the Village Head-nim. It meant I had gained tremendous power to control people at will.

However, if that happened… we could never return to our previous relationship. We wouldn’t be able to talk with smiles or dance harmoniously. They would treat me like they treated the Village Head-nim, with fear.

It was painful. So much so that being forced into a choice by Teildon’s lord felt laughable. The current choice was even more difficult and confusing.

“Hoo…” Following my breath as it escaped, I raised my head. Before I knew it, I had arrived at Tia’s house.

I didn’t know why I had come here. Even though I knew Tia had gone down to the lower village. Perhaps I sought comfort, as my feet had naturally led me here.

I wanted to see Tia. I wanted to talk. I wanted to confide and share this worry that was too heavy to bear alone. Though it was a bit late, should I go down to the lower village?

The moment I made that decision. I saw the tightly closed wooden door.

“……” A thought, “No way,” crossed my mind. Slowly, I reached out my hand and placed it on the firmly locked wooden door.

Rustle. Time shifted. When I opened my eyes again, I was looking at someone. It was Ruyef.

I realized immediately. I was now seeing ‘Tia’s past’.

Tia spoke in a lively voice.

[You want me to tell you the password? Hmm… that’s a bit tricky. Then the password loses its meaning, doesn’t it? H-huh?! You’re not planning to just walk into my room, are you-?!]

[Stop talking nonsense. Do I look like Ritsu to you? Like I’d sneak into a girl’s house at night. And what would he think if I lingered here just to meet you? I don’t want any unnecessary misunderstandings, so it’s better for me to just work inside this house.]

At Ruyef’s sharp retort, she scratched her cheek.

[Hehehe-. That’s true. Ugh… but I haven’t even told Ritsu the password yet-.]

[Yet? Haven’t you two already seen everything there is to see of each other?]

[No, we haven’t! What do you think of our good Ritsu?!]

[…Then tell him the password too. He’s just overly suspicious. I hate anything troublesome.]

[That’s- I have my own plans. Anyway! I’ll tell you.]

She made a loud declaration. Tia touched a piece of the wooden door.

[Okay. Like this. Watch the number of wood blocks carefully. Leave the very front empty, then two…]

Clack, clack. She moved the wood blocks and carefully fit them into the grooves, one by one. Ruyef, who had been quietly watching, nodded as if he understood.

[Empty, two, empty, two. Easier than I thought.]

[Actually, if it’s too simple, people often don’t figure it out.]

[…Is the date the rule, by any chance?]

[Oh-. Not bad!]

[February 2nd? Does that have some meaning?]

[Of course it does! It’s my ‘birthday’!]

[…Tsk. How boring. If your birthday is the password, that guy will figure it out quickly too.]

Then Tia’s voice became incredibly excited.

[Right, right? That’s why I deliberately hadn’t told Ritsu. If it were Ritsu, he’d probably get it in one try and then scold me, saying, ‘Why is this password so easy?’-. Then I’d change the password back to that date. And whenever Ritsu and I have an anniversary, I plan to keep changing it then-. Isn’t that fun?]

[Sure. You two just keep playing nicely together-.]

Ruyef opened the wooden door with a look that said he’d heard enough. The memory ended there.

“……” I returned to reality.

Slide. I moved my hand and grasped a wood block on the wooden door.

And just as I had seen in the memory, I stacked them up one by one. Empty. Two. Empty. Two. February 2nd. Tia’s birthday. So that was the meaning.

Unlike her expectations, I… hadn’t noticed it at all. Because I had thought it would be a much more difficult and complex password.

The moment I stacked the last wood block. Clunk. The wood blocks stacked in the groove tumbled down and mixed. And the door that had never opened for me, finally opened.

Thump. Thump. I slowly ascended the stairs.

As I opened the entrance door and stepped inside, Tia’s pleasant scent greeted me. It felt as if it was warmly embracing my frozen heart. All my strength drained away. It was the ultimate coziness and comfort, a complete disconnection from the world.

My legs felt numb, so I sat in a chair. On the desk, I saw . Had she read all that volume? Its cover was neatly closed and stood upright. Feeling nostalgic, I gently stroked the book once.

Whoosh! Now, I was naturally entering the past. It was an unusual ability. Sometimes illusions would just shimmer even if I didn’t want them to, and if I wished for a specific moment, it would show me that place.

For example, if I thought of the memories of this object, the ‘book’. I could see it from when the book was first made. The hands of a scribe diligently making copies. Going a bit further, the faces of the laborers loading this book onto a ship. The process of it passing through someone’s hands at the loading dock, being packaged, loaded onto a carriage, then held by someone else’s hands, delivered to Teacher Bin-nim and my hands, and finally arriving at Tia.

I could see that long period briefly compressed and summarized. If I wanted to see it in more detail, I could instantly jump to that point. It felt like becoming a spirit that could freely traverse time.

There was also something else that was both marvelous and terrifying. It was that I could know all the thoughts, emotions, and sensations of the people who had touched the ‘book’.

The scribe pondered ‘What should I eat for dinner tonight?’ while writing in the book. Teacher Bin-nim also thought ‘When will Tia come down?’ while receiving the book. Knowing that I could even peek into people’s innermost thoughts like this, it truly felt like being a god, but…

However, the longer I stayed in the illusion, the more I felt my own existence, ‘I’, gradually fade. It was as if I was becoming identical to the ‘protagonist of the memory’.

That feeling was terrifyingly eerie, so I couldn’t stay long and had to quickly exit.

“Father… you gave me something too incredible.” Although I couldn’t intervene in past events and could only observe. Within the ‘memory illusion’, anything was possible for me. I could know facts I didn’t know, and I could even become the master of the memory.

“Then…” Shall I take a look at ‘Tia’s memories’ left within this book, ?

I lit a candle and stroked the book.

Whoosh! The illusion of Tia, sitting at the desk, appeared.

[Hmm-.] The Tia of the past rested her chin in her hand, diligently rolling her eyes from side to side. She would read quietly, then let out a small laugh at certain parts. She would also lie prone on the bed and read, or use the book as a pillow to sleep.

“Hmph.” Her appearance was so ordinary and cute that it made me chuckle. I watched for quite some time, but there was nothing particularly special, so I returned to reality.

And I checked the lit candle.

“Time hasn’t flowed.” I discovered another unexpected fact. No matter how long I stayed in the memory illusion, real-world time flowed slowly. The candle I had lit showed almost no difference in length before entering and after returning from the memory illusion. In other words, only a little time had passed.

Good. Now that I knew real-world time flowed slowly. …This time, shall I leisurely examine other memories?

I put down and lightly touched Tia’s bed.

Whoosh! Simultaneously with entering the memory. Ruyef’s sigh could be heard.

[Hoo-. Hey, Tia!] Ruyef wiped sweat from his brow and called out to Tia, who was in the backyard. Tia, who had been practicing swordsmanship outside, came indoors.

[Huh? Why did you call me? …Ah! You’ve already finished making the bed?] [Yeah.] [Alright!]

Tia soared and landed on the bed. She rolled around with a happy expression.

[Haa- it’s so soft. And it’s huge!] [Your parents’ bed was originally a double, so I just took apart the frame and rebuilt it.]

[Ruyef, you lie down here too! It’s comfy and nice!] [……] Tia patted the spot next to her, but Ruyef turned away curtly.

[I’m done with my work, so I’m leaving.] [Ugh-. Oh! You worked hard, so share these with Marie. They’re wild berries I picked yesterday.]

[I’ll accept those gratefully.] [And Ritsu seems busy lately because he’s looking for herbs. Is there any way we can help him?]

Ruyef paused for a moment.

[I don’t know.] [Please- think with me-. Lately Ritsu keeps saying he’s busy, so we hardly have any time together-.]

[…Don’t drag me into your lovey-dovey stuff.]

Ruyef let out a short sigh and stroked his prickly beard.

[Well, I heard there are many herbs beyond the restricted zone. The Behemoths… the elders say that place is alright.]

[Behemoths?! But I can’t go there yet?]

[If you ask the Village Head-nim, he’ll probably allow it. Ritsu is both the only doctor and the Village Head-nim’s son. For his sake, he’ll be understanding. You can go and try talking to him.]

[Ugh- Somehow I feel like the Village Head-nim won’t listen to me… Anyway, got it! I’ll try talking to him!] Tia cheered brightly.

The memory ended there.

“Ah…” I clutched my head. So that was it? The reason Tia tried to go to Behemoths was to help me? The intention was good, but.

At that time… what on earth happened at Behemoths?

Creak. I immediately opened the wardrobe. In one corner, I saw Tia’s hiking cloak. It was an old cloak she no longer used.

I touched the edge of the cloak. And to trace back the memories, I closed my eyes.

Whoosh! I could see it. The day Tia went to Behemoths with Ruyef.