novelraw Chapter 295
Chapter 295
Chapter 295
The prison was dark and smelled musty.
Sometimes there were squeaking sounds of mice, but Cellinne wasn't afraid.
She only hoped her family had gone far enough to evade the guards' pursuit.
And she was half certain.
The guards wouldn't be able to catch up to the carriage that left at dawn.
Father drove the carriage really skillfully, and mother had good eyesight and could see far.
Even when her heart felt like it would tear apart because of the punishment she would receive,
When she imagined her family crossing into Aquilonia, her heart settled like a calm lake.
Yes, they were Rom. A people as free as the wind. But Rom's honor was never as light as the wind.She hadn't done anything wrong.
Like that, Cellinne sat upright in the corner of the prison.
She didn't touch even a piece of stinking bread or a drop of rotten water.
In the darkness that shrouded the prison, someone asked her.
[Is it fine to die like this?]
"It doesn't matter. I didn't do anything shameful."
[Do you really think so?]
"Yes."
[Do you also think everything will return to the right path with your death?]
"That's right. I'm the only one who did wrong. I can't let my family get involved in this."
[Some people take gold too heavy to carry on their shoulders into their graves. On the other hand, some deaths aren't worth even half a coin.]
"What does that mean? Who are you?"
[......]
No answer came.
She found it strange, but didn't think to identify the owner of that voice.
The sun slowly set and the sky was dyed violet-blue.
When the evening star faintly rose through the palm-sized window high up,
She wondered if today too would pass by with her life preserved like this.
Surely when the guards heard about her, she would receive punishment like 'being torn limb from limb' or 'being devoured by starving dogs.'
Or maybe it was taking time to devise an even more vicious punishment.
Just as she was thinking that, she heard someone climbing the stairs.
Cellinne tried to ignore it, thinking it was a guard coming to throw her another detestable piece of bread,
But unexpectedly, the people who entered were the large guard captain and his subordinates following him.
-Still alive with a calm face after killing my subordinate. I was worried you might bite your tongue and commit suicide.
-......
-Ho. Won't you answer?
-I have nothing to say to the likes of you.
-Really? Then this might change the conversation a bit. Hey, bring it!
When the guard captain gestured, a soldier carrying a heavy sack approached.
The stained sack was turned upside down and heavy things poured onto the floor.
One, two, three... nine.
The guard captain kicked what was rolling at his feet and laughed loudly.
-I could only hunt when I returned to my domain. It was very enjoyable to have such fun! The way they jumped around like deer hit by arrows.
-Hahaha, the Captain's archery skills are truly unmatched! Aren't you a master archer who can hit even distant wolves? A few withered Rom tribesmen were nothing.
-That's right. Isn't this a different kind of fun from fox hunting? You really are amazing, Captain!
A faint smell of blood wafted from them as they chattered noisily.
Cellinne couldn't move inside the prison, facing the noisy guards and captain.
The guard captain sneered at her as she sat there dazed.
-Who would have thought I'd dispose of nine savages who secretly crossed the border for Aquilonia's safety. Thank you for helping greatly with my promotion.
-The Captain will surely be promoted. Please don't forget us when you go to the capital!
-Captain, what should we do with the remaining one? She doesn't seem to be of age yet.
-She's a 'criminal' who murdered a border guard. For trash like this, there's no humanitarian mercy regardless of age. Burn her at the stake when dawn breaks tomorrow.
-Yes!
They left with much commotion, flattering with all sorts of compliments about 'good liquor coming in' and 'when you're promoted and go to the capital, the knights raised delicately there will prostrate themselves,'
As if they would lick even the guard captain's buttocks.
Only after they disappeared did Cellinne crawl over to the iron bars.
She reached her hand through but couldn't reach where she wanted.
Tears fell drop by drop onto the dry floor, leaving dark marks.
"M-mom. Dad. Sister."
No one answered. The commotion that had filled the prison just moments before was gone.
Cellinne was alone.
"Ah, aah,"
Her throat choked up. She couldn't speak anymore.
No matter how much she reached, those who couldn't be reached couldn't stay with Cellinne.
She struck the iron bars with her fist. The noisy metal sounds and noise rang out several times, but no one came up.
"Why, why..."
She was the one who did wrong.
She was the only one who needed to be punished.
But then, but then why exactly.
"Why, why!"
Why had they pursued the carriage?
Why had they aimed arrows at those who were fleeing?
Why had they chased and killed those who wanted to live, and claimed as trophies those who must have begged to be spared?
Why,
hadn't she thought that far?
Her hand slipped from the iron bars.
Facing nine pairs of empty eyes, she raised her face dirtied with tears.
She hadn't done anything wrong. They hadn't done anything wrong.
Mother used to say like a habit.
They were the Rom people.
Just as stories passed from mouth to mouth, dances remained only as fantasies.
Rom too would come and go freely like the wind without putting down roots in one place.
Ah, her beloved family.
Was this the end they had to face?
Rom who had to wander without even a piece of land to set foot on with peace of mind, not even a handful to cultivate crops.
Was such a death all that came from trying to protect their pride?
No matter how much they struggled to remain as honorable Rom, the world didn't see them that way.
Their honor was as light as dust, destined to be trampled by any beast's kick.
They coveted what was weak but took it without respecting it.
Then what should she do?
She was a proud Rom. She knew thousands of stories that would keep anyone awake and even more beautiful dances.
Why didn't such things protect them?
Mother, father, sister.
Why didn't anyone protect them?
The moon rose high beyond the prison window and stopped there.
Frozen at the most painful time preserved in her memory,
Cellinne embraced herself with hands torn and bleeding.
As if in a cradle, slowly rocking back and forth, the vitality was disappearing from Cellinne's green eyes.
Behind Cellinne, who was panting from pain and tears, a shadow whispered.
[Poor, weak thing. When you run out to escape the fox digging a rabbit hole, there's a wolf. How pitiful that livestock without an owner has nowhere to appeal even when their flesh is torn apart.]
"......"
[You must want revenge. You must want to bite their throats right now and receive as much blood as the tears you've shed.]
"Get lost."
[But what can you do with weak arms and legs? What can you do? Protecting your petty dignity?]
"I said get lost!"
A bubbling sound was faintly heard.
Black mud bubbled through the cracks in the prison floor.
The mud climbed up her feet as if it had consciousness and caressed her shins.
[Or spend your whole life atoning here?]
"Please be quiet, please, please!"
[Weak and pathetic life. Cheap life not worth half a fairy tale. Remember the dead. This is your sin and the only price you must pay.]
"I did nothing wrong."
[You want to believe that.]
The mud that flowed out of the prison wrapped around each of the heads rolling around pitifully.
It was a movement as gentle and tender as a skilled mortician's touch.
She looked at the black, damp mud wrapping around her legs, knees, waist and body, then looked at the nine heads.
It would have been nice if this were a dream.
If so, she would have forgotten all such things and sung songs while feeling the cool wind and the vibration of a running carriage.
That time seemed to feel like very long ago.
Even though it was just a few days ago.
Why did it feel like such a long time had passed?
-Knock knock knock.
What was it she had wanted to protect?
She wanted to turn back time. She wanted to go back to that time and run away with everyone.
-Creeak.
The door opened, and someone entered the prison covered in mud.
It was too dark to see well, but the voice was young and the outline of the head was faintly red.
[This body's believer has tried that several times. But it doesn't seem very satisfying.]
"...Who?"
Was it a guard? She had never seen such a young guard.
Whether Cellinne straightened up and was wary or not, the young man tilted his head slightly as if hearing a sound from afar.
[Ah, to speak like the believer... I understand. Isn't this the first time this body has entered another human's mental image besides the believer? I said I understand. Just trust this body. This body can do amazing method acting. What? Don't talk like a young Korean? If you're annoyed, come out and challenge this body to a real fight. Still, you can rest assured. Unlike someone, I won't pull a cheat-delete.]
The young man who had been babbling incomprehensible things coughed and approached the prison.
He with his characteristic indifferent gaze spoke.
[I've regressed several times but it wasn't much good.]
"Wh-what are you talking about?"
[You thought you wanted to go back, right? That's not much good. It's the worst method of tormenting yourself while troubling those around you. Listen to someone with experience.]
"Who are you? How exactly did you get in here? Do you know me?"
[Of course I know y- ah, I see.]
The young man looked around.
The mud that filled everywhere like leeches or disgusting life forms,
And the young man who saw the prison's brutal scenery glimpsed beneath it finally looked at Cellinne.
[You wouldn't know at this age. But look, Cellinne. How old are you now?]
"I, I'm ten..."
[I don't think so.]
The young man flicked his finger upward once.
Cellinne gasped. Though nothing seemed different, her body felt strangely heavy.
[A lot of time has passed since then. How old are you now?]
"Tw-twenty?"
[That's not right either. In the believer's memory, you weren't this young.]
The young man moved his finger once more with a flick.
With a feeling like her entire ribcage had been scooped out and the strange sensation of her soul leaving, Cellinne instinctively looked down at her hands.
Not just young hands, but something that seemed more mature.
Suddenly she realized her hair was hanging down long.
[Get up, Cellinne.]
"N-no."
[If you don't get up now, you'll never be able to wake up. Is that okay?]
"No, I don't want to wake up. I want to stay here."
Without knowing exactly what he was talking about, she resisted.
She felt reflexive rejection to both 'waking up' and 'going out.'
The mud was dripping from her, adding weight.
The young man watching this spoke gently.
[Well, everyone has unique tastes, so I don't care whether you sleep hugging heads or whatever. Are you satisfied with that?]
"Satisfied?"
[You who have only been trapped here might not know well, but amazing things are happening outside. Come on. Try extending your hand.]
Her hand?
She looked at the clean hand extended by the young man standing right in front of the iron bars.
It wasn't the thick, bumpy hand of a guard.
When she finally slowly, very slowly took the young man's hand,
The young man wrote smooth letters with his index finger on her palm.
[This is a night where the moon doesn't rise, a place where even time holds its breath. This is the abyss of your mind. One of the memory fragments your mind buried to protect you. But Cellinne.]
White breath rose softly.
Behind him, frost formed white on the prison's shabby walls and ice froze. Ice and snow danced in the air, drawing pictures.
[If you just leave here. If you just think you'll move time.]
Cellinne was captivated by the sight.
The white and blue snow was drawing her. The self in the picture stole keys from a guard who came to bring the last meal.
The Cellinne in the picture who opened the prison door stole torches and oil for torches.
The next moment, she saw herself escaping outside the prison. The building with the prison was engulfed in flames,
And the guards who gathered couldn't even notice Cellinne had secretly disappeared because of the sudden fire.
[You can leave here. You can meet people who will help you and start a journey to get what you want.]
The Cellinne in the picture met someone. A tall, beautiful person with long hair hanging down.
There was an arrow stuck in his shoulder.
The young man said.
[If you wish to stay here, the reality over there will become a bubble.]
"Wh-which side is reality? Which side is real?"
[That's also for you to decide. Whichever side you choose, won't it turn out as you choose? Decide. Whether you'll rot slowly here hugging your family's rolling heads.]
The young man gestured toward beyond the half-open prison door.
[Or whether you'll show them that you're alive. Either is fine.]
Mud dripped from the ceiling.
The young man's feet were getting dirty, but he didn't mind and stood there holding Cellinne's hand.
She couldn't make up her mind either way and was wavering.
To Cellinne who was staring at the young man blankly, he whispered.
[But imprisoning yourself doesn't really suit people who are free as the wind, I think.]
Ah, that's right.
She was Rom. Proud Rom.
They were masters of dance and song. Even if countless people craved Rom, when Rom wanted to leave, they had to leave.
That was Rom's privilege. Rom's right. She was Rom, people who wandered freely following the wind.
She would leave here.
She wasn't wrong. She couldn't stay like this. Because she knew she wasn't mistaken, that the people she loved were innocent.
She would leave. She would take revenge. She would chase to the ends of the world. She would never forget!
The young man smiled. Reaching his hand into the iron bars, he grabbed Cellinne's head.
[What a good human.]
-Crack.
Using the terrible sound as a signal, Cellinne screamed and opened her eyes.
But what she actually realized was that her view was strangely high.
Looking down below,
Buildings with black smoke billowing thickly,
Unextinguished fires here and there.
And she could see at a glance the collapsed building debris and streets covered in blood and black mud so thick the original color was invisible.
Someone was pulling the arm of her who was looking down at the village that had become chaos with a blank face.
-Splash.
Sticky liquid poured out.
Cellinne fell downward as she was pulled, not knowing what it was.
Her body fell on a bouncy, soft, and damp slope. It didn't hurt much, but her mind was hazy as if suffering from a bad cold.
A shadow fell over her.
Flowing red hair. Pale skin and characteristically low body temperature hands.
She hugged his neck with inexplicable relief.
"Yesung."
He hugged Cellinne tightly back.
It's okay, it's all over. I'm glad you came out.
Yesung's eyes as he murmured such words were dyed bright gray.