A strong shock, one I had never easily felt in my life, crashed through my head.
Like diluted red paint soaking a canvas, fresh blood slowly dripping from my head created a small picture on the floor.
“■■,■■■??”
“■■■ ■,■■!”
Beeeee, a sharp noise made my ears spin.
With my vision shaking and legs limp, I had no choice but to just sit down.
Still, my tightly clenched fist did splendidly accomplish its original purpose of removing the cloth from Sia’s mouth.
Though it was my own body, I wanted to commend it.
The cool tears on the ground were enough to cool my hot head from the impact.
Sighing softly, I experienced that incomplete sensation in my body.
“■슨 ■■, 하는■■ㅡ!!!!”
“You’re just wrecking the village, right?”
As my hearing gradually returned, I started to grasp their conversation bit by bit.
It seemed they had concluded I was the ‘culprit’ of some incident and believed I was behind the current situation.
Of course, I still didn’t know the reason why they thought of me as the culprit or why the treatment of Sia didn’t seem much different from that of a culprit like me.
What was certain was that they had lured me out with Sia as bait.
I desperately held my throbbing head and curled my body, trying to endure the pain.
“…Ah…Aah…It hurts…”
“—Do you feel pain too? That’s quite interesting.”
Thud, thud.
Like some emotionless creature, the cold, mechanical footsteps echoed in my ears.
An old man, with neatly arranged white whiskers, pushed through the people surrounding Sia and me and revealed himself.
Despite his seemingly kind appearance, there was no mercy to be found in the old man’s words.
No, he might be cruel to enemies, but he was exceptionally kind to allies, perhaps.
When I turned my head to look, I could see a hatred so full it almost overflowed from his eyes.
“Elli!!! Rumi, get me out! Get me out!!!”
“So, is this child really a witch, Rumi? I had my doubts when you lured her here alone, but you did well.”
“….Yes, Chief. This child is a witch.”
Well, I expected that.
It seemed Rumi had planned everything to tie up Sia and lure me.
By the way, ‘witch’… It’s been a long time since I’ve been called that.
I used to be called that a lot in the past.
“According to the records, there’s a unique mark on witches. Check it out.”
“…..Yes.”
Crack, Rumi’s hand grabbed my hair that Elli always praised.
As the scalp was pulled, I strained my limp legs to force myself upright.
My scream and Sia’s crying at seeing my miserable state mixed together, filling the forest.
“Kyaaaaaah!!! Ah…It…hurts….Aah, it hurts!”
“….I won’t say I’m sorry.”
“Rumi, you’re not like this! Please, please don’t do this!!!”
“—No, it has to be done.”
But my resistance, unable to move like Sia, tied up, was just a cute little rebellion.
To someone with a strong belief more precious than their life, such resistance was nothing but a hindrance.
They wouldn’t care about the sacrifices they had to endure.
“No…Don’t…Stop, Rumi!!!”
“…….”
Flick, flick.
Despite my plea to stop, Rumi’s delicate fingers effortlessly tore my clothes apart.
With a high-pitched sound, the fabric ripped along the seams, soon rendering my upper clothes nothing but rags.
And ultimately, it was revealed.
“….Huh..!!”
“—This is…”
“The witch’s…mark…!!”
Swish.
The cold winter wind, untouched by any fabric, tickled my bare upper body.
As if unable to see something they shouldn’t, everyone surrounding me gasped in horror.
And Sia, kneeling right in front of me, was no exception.
No.
Rather, that shock was reflected even more fiercely on her face.
For a moment, silence fell.
While everyone struggled to find words in response to the horrifying scar, the old man, referred to as the Chief, was the first to rouse from his thoughts and approach me.
“…This doesn’t need to be questioned… But I’ll ask you anyway. Are you a ‘witch’?”
“….Witch…?”
“I’m asking if you’re the ‘witch’ who cast a huge curse on our village, ruined the crops, sang strange songs, and shattered the holy relics, plunging the people into despair.”
Now, his voice seemed to boil with hatred.
He mentioned the bizarre incidents occurring in the village and asked if I was the cause of all their misfortunes.
I shook my unresponsive head, trying to deny it.
With that movement, fresh blood dripped from my head.
“…I…don’t…know…I’m…not a…bad…kid…”
“…Hmm, are you denying it?”
I denied the accusations.
Isn’t it obvious? I hadn’t done anything wrong.
But it seemed the Chief found my response unsatisfactory, glaring at Sia, who was crying in front of me.
When his gaze turned towards Sia, Rumi, who was holding my head up, flinched.
Oh dear?
In that amusing situation like a comedy, I began to fit all the puzzle pieces together.
I could understand what had happened to them.
Why Sia was tied up like this.
Why Rumi had deceived me to bring me here.
I knew everything.
Unlike a boring quiz show, shall I just answer directly?
The recent heavy snowfall, unusual weather, and freezing temperatures had created a tense atmosphere in the village.
Naturally, Sia, who was already rejected and suspected, was accused of being the culprit, the ‘witch’.
With black hair also being a symbol of ill omen, they had ample reasons for it.
But somehow, that arrow had turned towards me.
Sia wouldn’t have betrayed me, so the only remaining possibility was Rumi, who loved Sia dearly, had sold me out.
Just as I had shared my story with Rumi, she must have told them about me.
Ah.
What a tear-jerking tale of love and friendship.
As an audience member, I almost wanted to applaud how beautiful the story was.
And as expected, the protagonist didn’t seem to like the arrows of blame being directed at Sia.
She softly whispered in my ear.
“—You said your name was Alice? At this rate, Hahn will die.”
“…..Huh…?”
“You’re the witch. You’re the monster. You’re the bad kid, and you did wrong—”
She whispered that so I wouldn’t see the eyes of the villagers staring at Sia.
That I was the culprit.
To confess like that.
So that Sia could survive.
Even though Sia was looking at me and her, she unwaveringly commanded me.
Believing that being hated at this point was nothing at all.
“—Rumi!! What are you doing…You—!!”
“….I believe you understood well, Alice. You’re a smart kid.”
“……Aah…?
Nodding.
I blinked in a daze, furiously nodding along with Rumi’s words.
If asked which was more important, my life or someone else’s, I would undoubtedly say the other person’s life was more important.
Especially if that other person was a friend I cherished, I wouldn’t hesitate for a moment.
Hehe.
Sia is really blessed, isn’t she?
To have someone who loves her this much by her side is truly a precious blessing.
The people who celebrate with you when you’re happy aren’t as important as the ones who stand by you during hard times like this, someone who helps you is the relationship you must cherish.
I truly envy her.
“I…I am…the witch…I am the witch…”
“…Alice? No…Don’t say that…Don’t, Alice!!”
“—Oh.”
Sia insisted that Rumi couldn’t possibly be her true friend, that she must have many friends beyond her.
Surely, someone as smart as her wouldn’t have faced difficulties making friends.
Sia must have felt a hint of jealousy and loneliness.
That’s why she was so happy when I expressed my desire to be friends.
But Sia was mistaken.
Rumi was just a remarkably clever and insightful person.
Her icy demeanor in front of others and her constant nagging were actions fueled by her personalized thoughts.
“I’m sorry…I’m sorry…sniff…I was…wrong…”
“Indeed…Now you’re confessing to the crime…”
“—Alice, don’t say that! Don’t… Come to your senses!!”
If she were to become rejected herself, she would thereby lose her means of helping Sia forever.
She understood that she needed to take the lead in nagging so that the others’ accusations and violence toward Sia would lessen.
For that, Rumi must have bitten her lip and torn at her nails as she acted.
To the point that even the one affected wouldn’t notice, performing her best act.
As my response to her actions, I somehow knelt down and rubbed my hands and feet together, desperately pushing the blame onto myself.
“—Rumi!! You…You…!!”
“…My words were correct, weren’t they? This child is a real witch, and Hahn is just a victim of a curse.”
“Haha, I see. To notice that and solve the situation, you truly are the smartest in the village!!”
Thwack, thwack.
A rock the size of a fist flew towards me.
Perhaps fearing what the proclaimed witch might do, they started throwing objects at me, engulfed in fear.
It’s ironic that they would hurl insults at me, yet they’re the ones trembling in fear.
My head, body, legs, and chest were all aimed at—if there aren’t any rocks, then sticks, if not sticks, then dirt, if unable to collect dirt, they spit at me.
Die!!
Because of you… my child…!!
My entire year’s crops were ruined…!!
The fact that the embodiment of all misfortunes stood right in front of them gave them the perfect reason.
Fortunate enough to have a convenient scapegoat nailed down for all the blame.
Enraged, they spewed their malice towards me.
If one could express reverence for a deity that bestows luck, prosperity, and wealth as faith, perhaps the malice towards a monster that calls forth calamity could also be seen as faith.
They were believers, seekers of salvation.
Then what was I?
“Hehe.”
In the downpour of flying objects, my body cried out in pain.
The screams that pierced the heavens, and the haunting sighs of relief from the crowd.
Hearing all that, I simply smiled a small smile that no one could see.
