episode_0160

The clear and distinct name was heard.

At that moment, something surged up from deep within my buried memories. It was as if, in the world’s largest library, a dusty, forgotten book suddenly tumbled to the floor and opened.

I remembered.

Eilli.

That woman was a prostitute Tia had met at the Tribute Caravan seven months ago.

Among the prostitutes, she was tender-hearted and showed a lot of anxiety, so those around her had to pay special attention to her.

But one day, Eilli disappeared. Tia went up the mountain to find her.

…And there, I first met Fosao.

After the bandit ambush, I didn’t know what became of the Tribute Caravan. Tia tried to find out if they were alive or dead, but ultimately, only despair returned.

Even after that, in no memory, did I find news about ‘the Tribute Caravan’s aftermath.’

They probably all died. I concluded that and didn’t think about it anymore.

But… a survivor of that incident was right before my eyes.

As a deranged prostitute, being dragged by her colleagues.

“Ruyef. Wait a moment.”

I didn’t know why I did it either.

I simply ran straight towards her with the thought that I had to grab her arm.

Thud.

When I snatched Eilli’s emaciated wrist.

Seven months ago.

I felt the memories from that time flooding in.

“…!”

*Whoosh!*

***

Tailedon’s brothel instantly vanished, and Eilli appeared, walking deep in a mountain.

[Pant- pant-.]

A repulsive breathing sound, immediately recognizable.

Fosao was leading her, slowly climbing the mountain.

Eilli asked with an anxious gaze.

[Um… is there really medicine here that can heal wounds?]

[Hehe. I, I may look like this, but I, I know my herbs well.]

[Screech!]

*Rustle.*

A pile of dirt poured onto Eilli’s worn-out shoes.

The mountain’s slope was quite steep. It was nothing to someone like me, born and raised in the mountains, but it was an extremely arduous task for an ordinary village farm girl.

[Um… aren’t we going too deep?]

[This is just the fo, foothills. Hehe. Ju, just a little further.]

Saying that, Fosao extended his fat hand, as if asking her to take it.

Eilli hesitated but had no choice but to take his hand to climb the rock.

*Flash!*

A black light flashed.

Eilli at the time wouldn’t have been able to see it. But I knew what it was.

Fosao had peeked into ‘Eilli’s memories’ during that brief moment of holding hands.

[Ugh…!]

Sure enough, he squirmed and exhaled with a hiccup.

Eilli didn’t notice. She pulled her hand away immediately, as if she didn’t want to touch Fosao for even a moment longer.

[Hehehe.]

A repulsive laugh escaped his lips as he twisted them into a grin. From long experience, I knew from that laugh what kind of memory Fosao had glimpsed.

He had undoubtedly… seen ‘Tia.’

And the reason he brought Eilli deep into the mountains like this was to lure Tia, who could easily navigate the mountains, to follow him.

Fosao, climbing the mountain, suddenly stopped before a wide rock.

[He, here.]

[…?!]

Eilli looked around.

He said ‘here,’ but there was nothing visible. Only ground covered entirely in fallen leaves, and no Rubus herbs or anything similar.

*Whoosh!*

As an eerie wind blew over the ridge, Eilli finally sensed something was wrong.

Clutching her collar tightly, she asked with a trembling voice.

[Here, you say?]

[Uh-huh.]

[There aren’t any herbs… here.]

[J, just wait there.]

Terrified, Eilli stepped backward.

[Something’s wrong. Let’s just go back, okay?]

[… .]

But there was no answer.

She looked up at Fosao. His face was almost hidden by the deep shadows of the sunset, but his black eyes, gleaming within the shadows, were clearly visible.

Having dealt with many men in bed, Eilli recognized it. The seething desire that overwhelmed a woman’s naked body.

It was the look of a man about to violate a woman.

[Ah…]

The poor prostitute immediately turned and began to run. Her arms were scratched by bushes, and she ran wildly, not knowing where she was going. What made it even more terrifying was that Fosao neither clarified the misunderstanding nor ran after her to stop her.

How long had she been running? When she suddenly realized she was lost, darkness was slowly falling over the mountain.

Eilli, utterly terrified, kept circling the area. As she wandered, a welcome voice suddenly reached her.

[Eilli Unnie!]

It was Tia.

[Tia! Over here!]

Eilli frantically ran towards the source of the voice.

Tia was climbing up there.

As a pure girl, still unblemished…

[P-please, help me!]

[What happened?]

[A strange man… asked for help, so I followed him for a bit, but suddenly it felt like we’d come too deep… I got scared and tried to run, but it was too dark to see the way…]

[Calm down, Unnie. You see it there, right?]

[Y-yes… I see it.]

[You can go down that way. Be careful not to slip.]

[Thank you, Tia. …But what about you?]

[I’m going to find out who that man is.]

No. Tia.

You shouldn’t have found out who that man was.

From that moment on… you had fallen into a trap.

But Eilli, who could not possibly know that fact, pointed upwards as if tattling.

[He’s over there! He was a stammering, fat man.]

[Ah. Haa…]

Tia held her head.

[I’ll follow right after. Please go down first.]

[Okay. Got it. Tia, you’ll come quickly too, right?]

[Yes!]

Tia said that with a bright smile.

But that promise ultimately went unfulfilled.

Eilli looked.

Who could have known that Tia’s back, climbing deeper into the mountain, was the last she would see of her, and that it was the moment the worst possible fate began to unfold…?

She safely descended to the Tribute Caravan as Tia had kindly instructed. When the disappeared Eilli reappeared, the madam sternly admonished her for going somewhere without a word.

[Where did Tia go?]

[She said she’d go teach that man a lesson…]

[Oh dear. I did ask her to teach someone a lesson if anything happened. But it’s too late now…]

The madam spoke worriedly but soon shook her head.

[Well, if it’s her, she’ll probably come back on her own quickly.]

Before long, the prostitutes lit a bonfire and gathered closely, beginning to sing.

It was the night the long journey of the Tribute Caravan was drawing to a close. As everyone sang, filled with excitement and hopes for a new life that would unfold in Deseo.

An event that shattered everything occurred.

*Whoosh!*

A flaming arrow, flying out of nowhere, lodged itself in a wagon.

[…?!]

The singing stopped, and at the moment everyone stared at it in silence.

[Roaring!]

[Screaming!]

Monsters began to leap out from the pitch-black darkness with tremendous roars.

Eilli, who had just escaped that terrifying mountain, screamed when she saw them.

[Screeeech!]

Smashed.

Someone’s head was split in two by a bandit’s axe, and blood splattered.

The prostitutes screamed and fled. Eilli froze at the terrifying sound of arrows sticking everywhere, unable to move.

It was too dark to distinguish anything about the situation. The knights and soldiers who were supposed to protect the Tribute Caravan were nowhere to be seen, and there were only horrific screams and spreading flames.

*Flap!*

Startled horses suddenly bolted, kicking over wagons.

And the weakly broken wagon fell directly onto Eilli as she fled.

[Screech!]

She was buried under a pile of falling boxes. She struggled with all her might to push them off, but her weak forearms couldn’t free her.

Eilli, whimpering, soon realized that her struggles were meaningless. Before long, even the screams and animal cries had faded.

From the occasional voices of the bandits, she could only guess that the entire situation was already over.

The bandits began to gather.

She held her breath inside the box and listened to their conversation.

[We’ve captured Robert.]

*Thud.*

Something was thrown among the bandits. Robert’s armor was visible under the torchlight. From its stillness, it seemed his life had already ended.

A man who appeared to be the leader held a torch and examined the corpse for a long time. However, it seemed too severely damaged for him to recognize, so he asked.

[Are you sure it’s him?]

[Yes. He was the one who fled on a white horse.]

[Then what about ‘Albert’?]

Albert.

I had heard and knew the name well.

Tia’s father.

There are many people named Albert in the world. But somehow… I had a gut feeling that the ‘Albert’ the bandits were talking about wasn’t someone else.

And after hearing the soldiers’ subsequent excuses, I became even more certain.

[Even after capturing and asking a few, no one knows about that man.]

[What did you say?]

[We couldn’t even interrogate them asking if the man who disappeared 14 years ago was suddenly here…]

[Silence!]

The leader kicked Robert’s corpse and shouted.

[Are you saying His Majesty lied to us?! That ring was definitely Albert’s! That man is coming to Deseo! I don’t care if you bring me the head of someone who just looks similar. Find him now!]

[Yes!]

The bandits scattered.

***

“Hey! Snap out of it!”

Ruyef’s voice shook my head.

I snapped my head up to find my hand tightly gripping Eilli’s arm.

*Thwack!*

I immediately let go, but I had gripped her so tightly during that fleeting moment of seeing the memories that a deep red mark was left on her arm.

“…”

Eilli stared at me with a blank expression. She didn’t recognize me.

Of course. This woman and I… had never even met in the first place.

The prostitutes snapped at me.

“We said we’re sorry. Why, is there a problem?”

“No… there isn’t.”

They pulled Eilli into the shop.

Until the door closed and she completely disappeared. She was still looking at me.

Ruyef pushed my back.

“…Let’s go. There isn’t much time.”

It’s a tragic fate.

Someone had gone mad, and someone had lost a loved one.

But after I and that woman faced each other in such a miserable state, there was one fact I discovered.

That this fate, whose origin was unknown, was all Fosao’s plan.