Chapter 032
“I… I must be dead.”
Though my body felt too heavy and my head throbbed as if it would split, it was a reasonable assumption.
Apple was startled and denied it.
“What are you talking about?”
“If I weren’t dead, you wouldn’t be here.”
It was an expulsion order issued by Sioden himself, no less.
No one was bold enough to bring someone banished by the lord into the castle.
It was more plausible that I was dead and in the afterlife, seeing an apparition of Apple.
Apple placed the water glass on the bedside table and stiffened her face. In a low voice, she said,
“…Lord Raslet summoned me back.”
The way she spoke of Sioden made me realize that Apple wasn’t a figment of the afterlife; she was real.
Apple didn’t like Sioden. Initially, she showed him respect as my husband, but as my relationship with him worsened, her dislike grew.
Sioden.
I had seen him before I fell asleep—why was that?
As I slowly pieced together my memories, the situation I was in began to return to me.
Merwen, who had gone down to the Ethel territory, was attacked by remnants of the defeated nation and taken hostage. A lottery was held to choose someone to rescue her.
My name was drawn, and I was taken hostage by Acel instead of Merwen. The deadline was approaching, and I was dragged to the castle walls.
Recalling the sheer drop below me from the top of the walls and the tearing sound of leather as it ripped through the air—the terror of that moment sent a shiver down my spine.
Apple draped a shawl over my shoulders. Holding onto it, I looked up at her.
“Apple, I was whipped.”
My body ached as if it were being split in two; I truly thought I was going to die.
Suddenly, I realized that despite such severe injuries, I felt no pain.
I hastily reached behind me to touch my back. I felt neither the usual heat nor pain that accompanies a wound.
I felt only one thing beneath my nightclothes.
Rough, long, and stretching downwards… something very much like a scar.
Frantically tracing this scar-like thing, I explained to Apple.
“I… I was really in pain. I was really hurt…”
My heart pounded at the thought that even Apple might think I was lying. Gasping for breath, Apple gently grasped my shoulder.
“Miss, please calm down.”
Apple hugged me. She stroked my back, avoiding the area that felt like a scar.
“The wound has healed. There’s a scar, but it’s all healed.”
“How… how is that possible…?”
Apple fell silent for a moment before answering.
“Lord Raslet cut down the family tree.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
“That’s impossible.”
I truly couldn’t believe it.
“Sioden cut down the Glasyr because of me?”
In my haste, I swung my legs off the bed, and Apple cried out.
“Miss! You mustn’t move yet!”
“I’ll just go and see the tree. I have to see it with my own eyes…”
That seemed the only way I could even begin to process things.
I slipped on the slippers by the bed and walked towards the door. My legs were shaky and my head throbbed, but it was better than accepting that the Glasyr was cut down because of me.
Apple hurried after me, blocking me from the approaching knights as I opened the door. It was fortunate; I wasn’t close to the knights.
Apple draped a fur over my shoulders as I lowered my head to avoid people’s gazes.
“Let’s go back to the room. If you catch a cold…”
Apple had a point. I had only opened the door, but the chill in the hallway made me instinctively shrink back.
“I’ll just check the Glasyr.”
As I said this, trembling, Apple put her arm around my shoulders. She hugged me as if trying to give me warmth, but her body was also trembling. It seemed to stem from anxiety rather than the cold.
I felt I might be scaring Apple.
Apple was expelled from the castle before Merwen’s tree died, so she didn’t know the details. She wouldn’t understand why I was so concerned about the Glasyr.
I explained haltingly, clinging to Apple.
“Apple, a few months ago, Sioden took me to the family forest.”
“……What?”
“He didn’t have bad intentions. Someone killed Merwen’s tree, and there was evidence that I was the culprit…”
It wasn’t really me, but what did that matter?
“Sioden was really angry that time.”
The memory was still vivid. The moment he grabbed my wrist and walked forward without looking back, the way he pressed me to be honest, even just once.
“But there’s no way he used the remaining Glasyr because of me.”
No, there’s no way.
Even so, I wanted to confirm if the tree was safe. It was only natural. I might have to take responsibility for killing the Glasyr—not one, but two—and I couldn’t just stand idly by.
Apple seemed to understand to some extent. She pulled away from me and looked me in the face.
Her mouth was twisted as if she were suppressing anger.
Apple asked,
“I understand, Miss. You want to see what happened to the tree, right?”
When I nodded, Apple hesitated for a moment before saying,
“Then let’s go quickly.”
Apple fastened my fur coat and pulled out gloves from her pocket, putting them on my hands. She must have packed them along with the coat.
I said as I followed her, taking my hand and starting to walk.
“You should put something on too. It’s cold.”
Apple shook her head, her mouth still tight.
“I’m fine.”
Though the outside air was bitterly cold, I trudged on, driven by my determination to see the Glasyr.
But when we reached the forest, a problem arose.
The forest where the Glasyr grew was guarded by knights, as always.
When I was taken by Sioden, there was no need to pass through them—Sioden was the lord.
But Apple and I wouldn’t be allowed to enter the forest without permission.
I stopped, unable to approach the entrance, and Apple said, noticing my hesitation.
“Miss, let’s quickly check the tree and go back. It’s cold.”
“W-wait, the knights…”
What if they go and tell Sioden?
No, just my presence near the forest would reach Sioden. I have so many accusations against me.
And I actually admitted to them.
What if Sioden misunderstands this?
He already thinks I harmed Merwen’s Glasyr. If he hears that I was lurking near the forest, he might think I’m trying to kill the last remaining tree.
No, no. Apple said Sioden cut down the Glasyr. That’s why my wounds healed, she said.
The proof was that my aching back was now fine, except for the scar-like thing I could feel. Everything else was normal.
So, perhaps there’s nothing inside that forest to cause me any more misunderstandings?
Does that mean I killed both Merwen’s Glasyr and Sioden’s?
As I stood there in confusion, the knights spotted me and approached.
I saw an overlay of the knight who had opened the letter I sent to Sioden.
Even though I knew he had only been doing his duty, I had nightmares for a while afterwards, dreams of the castle servants reading my letter and scrutinizing it for flaws.
Noticing my tension, Apple asked,
“Miss, what’s wrong?”
My grip on Apple’s hand tightened involuntarily. I was scared, no matter how hard I tried not to be.
Let’s just go back. I can’t enter that forest anyway.
I wanted to explain the situation to Apple, even with something close to that, but I couldn’t speak.
I just took a step back, and then someone called my name from behind.
“Iella!”
Startled, I turned around to see Sioden running towards me. He hadn’t even put on his coat, apparently hurrying out.
His face, as he looked at me, was contorted in anger. He seemed to think I had approached the forest with malicious intent.
“I—it’s a misunderstanding, I…”
Before I could even formulate an excuse, Sioden approached swiftly and gently took my hand.
I was bewildered.
Whenever Sioden was angry before, he grabbed my wrist.
As if he was worried that even the slightest touch of our hands would cause me to overstep my boundaries.
But now, Sioden was holding my hand far more gently than usual.
Too surprised to speak, I just blinked, and Sioden said kindly,
“Your body isn’t in a state to be moving around. Tell me what you need, and I’ll take care of it. Go inside for now.”
He gently pulled my hand. I smelled iron from his collar—a strangely sharp, metallic scent.
I recognized the smell. As I searched my memory, I recalled Iswen, who had interrogated people on my father’s orders, also had a similar scent.
I belatedly noticed that he was wearing his formal attire.
Sioden wore formal attire when dealing with official matters. Meaning, usually when interrogating criminals.
And I had always been the criminal in his eyes.
EstelleStars
Thank you for the translation!