chapter 25

“Cersinia…”

“Umm…”

Cersinia, who had been sleeping all day, turned her body over as if annoyed by May’s voice. She was about to fall asleep again.

‘What else are you trying to bother me with?’

Cersinia buried her face on the pillow.

“Cersinia!”

May shook Cersinia, who seemed to have no intention of waking up. Her body shook around.

“Ah, why the hell?”

She thought May would just let it go for today. Cersinia opened her eyes with a frown.

“The atmosphere outside is weird…”

“What’s wrong in the middle of the night?”

“I think someone is coming to our house…”

May was shaking her body slightly with a terrified expression on her face. Cersinia quickly got up. ‘Who is coming to our house at this time?’

“Who is coming?”

“T-There…”

May’s finger pointing out the window trembled. Cersinia looked out the window. Dozens of lights were coming closer. Along with the lights, there were also heavy footsteps that shook the ground.

“What is that?”

Cersinia’s eyes widened. She got up, rose up from her bed and went near the window. She could see flames flickering. Dozens of lights flickering back and forth in line with people’s steps. It was not difficult to tell that they were torches.

“W-What could it be…”

May grabbed Cersinia’s hem tightly. Her face turned white like a blank sheet of paper, scared of the situation. Cersinia patted her hand a couple of times before turning to leave her room.

“Ah! No!”

May strongly pulled the hem of Cersinia.

“I should check it out. It seems they are coming to see me.”

She could feel the flames coming closer and closer. The moonlight that colored the room as if embroidered disappeared. Only crimson light, which ate up the feeble moonlight, was dominating her house. She could see the flames approaching like a demon. She needed to know why they’re coming to her house.

“Don’t leave the room.”

It took quite a while for Cersinia to get out of May’s grasp. She headed to the front door, leaving May behind, who begged her not to go with a frightened face.

The sound of footsteps louder than the sound heard in the room came from outside the door. There was also the sound of buzzing people. Cersinia took a small deep breath then opened the front door.

“That’s the witch!”

When someone spotted Cersinia, they shouted. People’s eyes poured to her at once. She felt a dozen eyes staring at her with a sharp look. Faced with quite painful gazes, she proudly spread her shoulders. She doesn’t know what’s going on, but she has to be confident in times like this.

“That wicked witch!”

Some of them looked like they would throw the torches they were holding at Cersinia at any moment. Despite their threatening behaviour, Cersinia didn’t blink. Considering the number of people coming in, she didn’t think it was an ordinary thing. When she roughly counted with her eyes, she could see more than 20 people.

Cersinia reached behind her back to close the slightly open front door. She’s afraid that May would be harmed. Then she looked at the approaching people. All of them had their eyes brimmed with anger. She glanced at them slowly, then crumpled her face when she saw the man at the forefront.

‘F*ck.’

She saw Charles walking towards her with a mean smile. It was then that Cersinia found out that Charles was the main culprit behind all this. Her eyes were shining significantly.

* * *

“Did you think you could hide it! You witch!”

Charles’s high-pitched voice rang loudly. There was madness in his eyes.

“T-That witch is trying to starve us!”

The villagers standing behind Charles shouted. At those words, Cersinia’s eyebrows rose in a slanted line.

‘Starve?’

She immediately remembered that the food warehouse caught fire. And she noticed that the approaching people were staring at her as if they wanted to kill her.

‘Are they accused me who set the food warehouse on fire?’

Obviously, their leader was the one who did that, and she was curious to see how he would say that she had set the fire. Charles stood in front of Cersinia. He smiled meanly, believing that she would soon bend in front of him.

“I knew in the first place that you were the one who caused this trouble.”

“What are you saying right now?”

Cersinia snorted. He must have thought that she would be scared if he threatened her using the crowd. It was an absurd thought.

“Tell me why you came in the middle of the night.”

Her unkind eyes turned to Charles. Charles gritted his teeth as he looked at Cersinia, who was still unaware of her situation. At this point, she should appear a little embarrassed, but her expression stayed the same. He didn’t like the way she looked down on him. Charles didn’t want to be humiliated in front of the villagers this time. He had not yet forgotten the insult he suffered at the market. He shouted to get away from the disgrace of that day.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know that you set fire to the food warehouse!”

“The evidence?” Cersinia’s voice was plain and devoid of any emotion. She seemed too lazy to deal with it.

“I have a witness that saw you!”

Charles responded angrily. He wasn’t dumb enough to come without a witness.

“Witness? Did they see me set on fire?”

“Goredon!”

Goredon, who had been hiding, was forced to walk out with a girl holding his hand, at Charles’s call. Goredon stood next to Charles, holding his child, who was tightly clinging to his leg in one of his arms.

“Tell us what you saw.”

“That’s…”

Goredon hesitated, reading the atmosphere. Charles looked at Goredon’s daughter sharply. Seeing it, Goredon shuddered and hugged his child even more.

“Yesterday, while on patrol I witnessed the food warehouse burning.”

Cersinia stared at them. Goredon was wrapping his arm around his child to protect her, and Charles was threateningly pressuring Goredon. She didn’t really know what happened but could make a general idea of the situation.

“Goredon. Who was the culprit you saw?”

When asked by Charles, Goredon swallowed hard and raised a trembling finger toward Cersinia.

“That evil witch!”

“Catch the witch and burn her at stake!”

When Goredon stretched his fingers towards Cersinia, people got angry. And she felt their anger immediately.

“Are you still going to act like you didn’t know about it?”

A triumphant smile appeared on Charles’s lips.

“Did you really see me?”

Cersinia’s sharp eyes scrutinized Goredon thoroughly. He was trembling, not even making eye contact, like a person who was lying.

“B-Black…Something b-black…”

“What? So your evidence is that this something black you are talking about is me?”

“Did you think I wouldn’t know you’re a witch!”

Charles, who felt Goredon was being pushed back, stepped forward to help. He couldn’t scatter ashes on already cooked rice.

TL note: It refers to ruining almost finished work.

“Witch?”

“ Have you forgotten the incident at the Aren cabin?”

Cersinia’s shut up at Charles’s words that caught her off guard. How could she forget the cabin that she burned down with Viscount Montene?

‘How did he find out about that day?’

Maybe he heard it from a rumor. Cersinia’s face hardened at the unexpected development. Charles’s face was thrilled to see Cersinia with her mouth closed. The sense of triumph that he had been waiting for penetrated his body, creating a thrilling shiver.

‘That man was right.’

The man that trembled as he looked at Cersinia and called her a witch and monster.

“This bitch is a witch! An evil witch who burned a cabin with her magic in her old village!”

“Let’s catch her right now!”

Now he doesn’t need Goredon’s testimony. Charles firmly believed that the goddess of victory was on his side from the moment she shut her mouth. Goredon got goosebumps all over his body when he saw Charles smiling like a madman. He quickly took his daughter in his arms and left.

Charles thought this was enough but at that time.

“Cersinia was with me last night!”

“May!”

The closed front door suddenly opened, and May, with a broom, popped out. Cersinia’s face looked frustrated. She really wanted May to stay still, but May didn’t do that.

“What?”

Charles stared at May.

‘Come to think of it, I overlooked that a woman was living with Cersinia.’

“The fire broke out last night! Yesterday, Cersinia was in this house with me all night!”

The villagers murmured. They were asking each other what had happened. Charles couldn’t let it slide like this, so he shouted.

“S-She’s on the same side with her. Catch them!”

“Don’t touch me!”

May threatened them by swinging the broom she was holding. It was a bold act, but her face was pale. The villagers that were surrounding took two steps back when May swung the broom.

Charles rolled his eyes, chewing his lips. Apparently, Cersinia didn’t want to use her magic, so the situation became difficult . When Charles saw May wielding a broom the same size as his height, his eyes lit up. He thought of a way to catch Cersinia calmly. Charles immediately beckoned to those standing behind him. At Charles’s instructions, men with strong build captured May, who wielded a broom at once. They were a step ahead of Cersinia, who tried to stop them.

“Let me go!”

May was caught by the men’s hands and struggled.

“What are you doing right now?” Cersinia’s face was cold.