"It's you. I knew trouble was bound to follow. If it weren't for you, my mom wouldn't have abandoned me like this for a week. I've never been alone without her, and now I'm stuck with someone I can't stand. Want to hear something? I truly despise you. My hatred for you started the day we first met. You didn't even bother acknowledging me back then." Seutsui's voice trembled with a mixture of sadness and resentment. She lashed out at Edward, brushing away her ceaseless tears as she poured out her emotions.
She began hurling harsh blows into his chest. If it were anyone else, they might have broken into tears in response to Seutsui's unexpectedly rude behavior. However, Edward found himself conflicted. Despite her current anger, he couldn't shake the memory of Seutsui always smiling when she was with others. The violence from Seutsui wasn't surprising to him at all, perhaps because he understood how difficult it was for her to be separated from her mother. Yet, the resentment directed towards him was somewhat disheartening. It annoyed him.
Edward seized Seutsui by the elbow, drawing her closer, and firmly held both sides of her upper arm to make her face him directly. Seutsui resisted, attempting to push him away, as it was not the opportune moment for a friendly conversation with someone she harbored such disdain for. Despite her initial efforts, she eventually ceased struggling. The futility of her attempts, coupled with the realization that it wasn't Edward's fault that her mother had departed, led her to surrender. She relented and allowed Edward to offer his consolation
"Sh...Sh...it's okay. Just rely on me" Edward whispered soothingly as he hugged her gently, yet firmly, his hand gently caressing her back.
Even though the idea of relying on him wasn't particularly appealing to her, Seutsui found an unexpected sense of safety and comfort in Edward's words. But the notion of being told to "rely on him" grated on her nerves.
She promptly shoved him away.
Seutsui's defiance crackled in the air like lightning as she shoved Edward away, her voice a sharp rebuke slicing through the night.
"Don't talk to me that way," she snapped, her eyes flashing with defiance. "I don't want you anywhere near my cottage."
But Edward, undeterred, seized her hand with a rough grip, his own frustration bubbling to the surface.
"What? Would you rather stay alone? Is that it, Seutsui?" His voice was edged with a mixture of anger and desperation.
"Yes," she hesitated, her resolve faltering for a moment.
"Besides I will not be anywhere near that cottage anyways because you will come to my house with me. You need to stay with me, Seutsui," Edward insisted, his tone firm.
But Seutsui's patience snapped like a taut bowstring. "I said NO!" she howled, her voice echoing through the night.
"Did it look like I was asking?" he smirked. "Go and change, Seutsui. Don't make me drag you there," he insisted firmly.
Her lips shifted into a frown, tears still streaming down her face, a mixture of frustration and sadness evident in her eyes.
"Listen, Seutsui," Edward's tone carried a weight of authority, his gaze commanding her attention. "You must heed my words, understand?" His features softened slightly, a playful glint dancing in his eyes as he continued, "Especially considering your penchant for finding trouble when it comes to clothing" It was an unusual attempt to lighten the atmosphere, a departure from his usual demeanor.
Normally, he cared little for others' perceptions of him, but now, with her, he sought to reveal a different aspect of himself, one at odds with his usual aloofness. Yet, he grappled with conflicting emotions, unsure of how to reconcile his true nature with this newfound desire to connect.
Seutsui's cheeks burned with embarrassment as she glanced down at her nightgown, her arms folding protectively across her chest. With a swift turn, she fled towards her cottage, her cheeks aflame with humiliation
***
After a long journey, Anipe and Saitous reached a village seemed where there were only peasants. The carriage was jiggling due to the unrepaired village roads leading to the Gemhill. The king always has turned a deaf ear to the poor. So he only maintained the main roads that were used by the nobles and the king.
The sun was too hot to bear. The entire road was covered with a fog-like cloud of dust. The most unbearable thing of all was the shaking cart like an earthquake. Anipe felt herself getting sick and vertiginous. She was not far from puking her breakfast out in the carriage, which was the last thing she wanted now. She tried holding up her breath to avoid this intolerable agony. Using the cart as a support Anipe leaned against it as she squealed.
Saitous turned his head only to look at Anipe's disgruntled expression. She was mumbling something under her breath that he couldn't understand.
"What?" Saitous asked while decelerating the carriage with a perturb.
"Stop the..." Letting a long breath out, Anipe howled.
But she couldn't help finishing her sentence. She threw up all over not only on herself but also on Saitous's clothes.
"Ew..." Saitous gave Anipe a loathing look.
At last, the cart was stopped. Even though Saitous had an abhorrence look on his face before, in no time he was patting Anipe's back with a concern that Anipe had never expected. After that, an awkward silence fell over them. Tons of expressions fleeted through Anipe's face without knowing what to do to dwindle the awkwardness.
Anipe swiftly disembarked from the cart.
"I'm fine," Anipe mumbled, giving Saitous a gloomy expression of embarrassment.
Before Saitous could utter a word, they sensed a set of eyes on them. A group of village boys had gathered, jeering at Anipe. But as Saitous shot them an angry gesture, the boys scattered like frightened kittens, leaving Anipe to burst into laughter.
"You two better clean yourselves up," a sharp voice said behind them.
They both turned promptly to identify the owner of the hoarse voice. It belonged to an elderly man in his 80s, with grizzled hair and a beard that seemed to have a life of its own. His tattered clothes raised doubts about their ability to shield him from the cold at night. In his right hand, he clutched a wooden staff, the tool of choice given that his left hand appeared paralyzed.
"Could you please guide us to some place where we can wash ourselves up?" Saitous asked politely after a moment of scrutinizing the old, shuddering body.
The old man slowly turned around and started sauntering without a word. Anipe and Saitous could do nothing but look at the old man, bewildered until the old man beckoned them to come.
In the next moment, they found themselves in front of a well. Anipe peered down, finding only a meager trickle of water at the well's bottom. After they had washed their clothes, the old man gestured toward a path leading to a modest cottage, guiding them with a silent yet hospitable demeanor.
"You can rest a little if you want," he said, pointing towards the cottage nestled down the narrow sand road, sandwiched between small cottages and trees.
Anipe and Saitous were too exhausted to decline the old man's offer, so they obediently started walking. As they strolled down the road, villagers began to gather on both sides, an unusual sight. All eyes were fixated on them, with the villagers standing on tiptoes, eager to catch a good look at the two weary guests
Approaching the cottage, all they could notice was how shabby it was, just like the other cottages along the road they had passed. It was not fit for human habitation. As they went inside, the old man leaned his staff into his right thigh, sitting on a straw pile that was stacked in the shape of a chair.
"Don't worry about the carriage. It will be safe with all those people around," the old man mumbled with a trembling voice.
Saitous turned to the old man as he arranged another pile of hay for Anipe.
"Thank you for offering us a place, but why are all these people living like this? I'm not trying to be rude, but I mean it would have been really hard to live in a place like this," Saitous gave a sympathetic smile.
"Oh! Young man, you know nothing. They are not living like this. They are forced to live like this," he wailed.
"Forced? How could someone possibly be forced to live like this?" Saitous said dismissively.
"Oh! Of course, it is possible when we have a great ruler like King Adelio," he said in irony as he got his anger out of control.
"Six years ago, our village was one of the most prosperous, but after our faithful leader, King Baron, died, everything went upside down. That King Adelio robbed us of all our assets, stole our trade rights, took many little girls from the village as slaves, recruited the youth to join the army, ruining their young lives, and killed those who refused to join," he continued, his voice laden with the weight of the profound shock in his heart.
Saitous felt his face getting tense with rage as he listened to the old man.
"But still, he is not satisfied. His excessive tax burden is placed on our shoulders even now." the old man sobbed.
All the incidents from that fateful night six years ago began to resurface in front of his eyes like haunting hallucinations. Saitous was on the brink of a panic attack, the memories threatening to overwhelm him. Fortunately, he was jolted from his spiraling thoughts by Anipe's awakening voice.
"Our village was also destroyed because of him. But not as much as yours. Obviously, your village was specifically targeted," said Anipe.
"Most of the late king's faithful subjects were from our village. So not long after Adelio's treachery, our villagers initiated a rebellion. However, we failed due to a lack of trained personnel and weapons. Half of our people perished, and others were imprisoned. Only a few managed to stay behind," he sighed heavily.
Anipe looked astonished, as she had never known something like this happened after she left with Suetsui.
"Water flows from the lowlands. As always, the poor suffer under unwise rulers," the old man mused, placing a hand on his forehead in resignation.
Hearing those words, a familiar realization swept across Anipe's mind. It was only then that she recognized exactly who this old man was.