Chapter 114

I got ready, so I could leave Minurd early in the morning. I told him that I could go on my own, but the prince insisted on taking me to the old castle. He told me things that were very unusual for an Alinchan to know.

“When you go to Hwen, it would be best for you to not tell them where you are from. I don’t think many of them know much about Nadvien, but I am sure that they do not think kindly of us, the ‘pagans,’ who took away their holy land. Oh, and just in case, you should be very careful of the Hwenian Royal.”

Was this really what the Goddess wanted for me? I didn’t know. I replied to the prince, “You needn’t worry about me, your highness. You know I always keep my mouth shut.”

“But you never know what might happen. Someday, you might learn to speak fluent Hwenian. Maybe you will also become a famous soldier…”

We were walking, and it took us a long time to realize that Fatima, who was supposed to be with us, was way behind us because she couldn’t keep up. The prince continued to explain, “I heard that Sapain Elkara Miser was originally the Hwenian emperor’s son-in-law, but his family betrayed the kingdom, which caused the death of the princess. This is why his name cannot be said out loud in Hwen.”

Ha! I remembered the mad prophet babbling about a “mission,” but I didn’t say anything. Although I did not like him, I assumed that something terrible must have happened to the prophet for him to turn mad. The prince added, “So until the next generation of the royal family takes control, you should…”

Just then, we heard Fatima screaming from behind.

“Arrgghh!”

I turned around and asked in shock, “What the…! Hey, woman! Why would you scream like that?”

“Argh… I can’t go on anymore. I just can’t. Your highness! You too, Innocent One! You two are too mean.”

Camille seemed surprised. He walked back uphill to find the girl, who was sitting on the ground. Her knees were bleeding as if she slipped and fell. I also noticed that she was bleeding from another reason as well.

“Umm… Fatima…!”

“No! You shouldn’t touch me!”

She yelled at the prince, who was trying to help her stand up. I guess she didn’t want him to touch her because of the blood curse, but something felt different. Fatima seemed less energetic than usual, and suddenly, I realized why.

“Argh… I hate you all. I hate the priestess too! I can’t do this! Men are so stupid! They believe that touching our blood will curse them. You wanted me to be here because you think the soldiers will think twice before coming close to a girl in the middle of her period, right? The priestess said the same thing, but do you have any idea how hard and tiring it is for me!?”

“…”

“Just think about it! Use your common sense! I am bleeding here, so why would you think it’s a good idea to use a bleeding girl like this? Men are so stupid… To believe such a strange superstition… Do you even know how this belief started? It was to protect us, women. We are at our weakest during our monthly bleeding, so by making men believe this, women were able to protect themselves!”

Was that really it? The prince and I didn’t know what to say. Although we understood what she was trying to say, this wasn’t the time for us to stop. While the girl continued to cry loudly, we could hear the soldiers from Minurd getting closer to us.

“Hey, I can hear something over there!”

“What could it be? It doesn’t sound like animals, right? Gosh, if the traitors got this far, I guess they are clearly trying to escape Minurd, right? The one who killed the Goddess…”

“This path is so disgusting…”

We could hear the soldiers talking, and the girl finally stopped screaming. She buried her face on her knees, and I didn’t know what to do. We needed her if the soldiers found us.

Thankfully, the sounds of the soldiers faded away, which meant that they passed us by to another direction. I still heard their conversation.

“Dammit… Where the hell is Eriez!?”

“Could it be that he sided with the prince?”

“No way!”

I listened to them quietly and realized that there was still one thing that kept my heart heavy.

Eriez.

Where was he now? Could it be that he died with the other soldiers when that giant stone door slammed close? Did he not escape that horrible place? I was sure I saw him move far away from the door, though… Even if he got caught, he should have gotten hurt but not killed.

Besides, I didn’t see his body at all, so he had to be alive. If he was, where could he be…

“Juya.”

I didn’t have to try to guess anymore. As if he could hear my thoughts, someone came out from the bushes behind us. I knew he was an experienced scout, so it wasn’t a surprise that he has been waiting for us here for a long time.

I flinched in shock when I heard his voice. It felt too surreal. Slowly, I whispered his name, “Eri…”