Chapter 5
When it came to Vievari’s coming of age ceremony, there were several stages. The most important to the people of Vievari was the hunting aspect, where one proved their strength. But there was also what they called the ‘Final Night’.
It was called that because it was held on the last day of the coming of age ceremony.
It wasn’t actually that big of a deal. Most men were able to pass through it easily without any issue.
The majority of men were married before their coming of age ceremonies, and so it was not difficult for one to find a woman to sleep with on the Final Night. They could always just do it with their wives.
However, it was a bit of a problem for men who were struggling to get married.
[Rise] “Never.”
[Old Man] “Just think about it. The chief was in a hurry, so he raised the payment. If you sleep with his youngest son on that night, he’ll give you six gold coins. You always said you needed six, right? And even after that, if you stick with him, he’ll give you thirty.”
[Rise] “I would never!”
[Old Man] “You said you needed the money.”
[Rise] “I won’t! Don’t you ever repeat that!”
She stood up quickly, but just as she shouted—
[Rise] “Huh…?”
The world around her shook, and her legs buckled.
[Old Man] “That worked surprisingly fast.”
The wizened herbalist approached her with a slimy smile.
[Old Man] “They say that after taking just one of these, after a week, you won’t be able to live without it. It’s a bit pricey since they use it to tame prostitutes in the capital, but whatever. The chief paid me well.”
Rise fell to the floor.
So that’s what it was. She knew it was suspicious.
[Old Man] “Don’t look at me like that. This is all your fault, you know. You kept stubbornly holding onto that witch girl when you could just as easily give birth to another child. Come here. Sit until the chief arrives.”
The old herbalist reached down, struggling to lift up Rise’s collapsed body with his paltry strength. But as he did, he ran his wrinkled hands across her backside, snaking them around to grope her chest.
He thought he may as well take the chance to enjoy himself before handing her over.
[Rise] “Karin……”
[Old Man] “There’s already a wagon outside ready to take her. The troupe in the village was interested in purchasing a heathen child, and I received a notable payment for her already. They must have plenty of uses in mind for her.”
The herbalist sat Rise down in a chair, gasping as he did. She was a lightweight woman, but he was an old man, and he didn’t have much strength to begin with.
[Old Man] “Let us enjoy ourselves in the meantime. Rather than sleeping with that fool straight away……”
Thwack—
Right then, Rise threw up her foot and kicked him the hardest she could, right in the crotch.
[Rise] “You sick bastard!”
Rise jumped up from her chair.
And turning her head to the side, she spat out the unmelted candy onto the floor, causing it to roll across the floor. She was lucky she listened to that gut feeling of hers, biting down on the candy on one side of her mouth to keep herself from eating it.
[Rise] “Just die!”
Once he was kneeled over on the floor, Rise gave him another hard kick for good measure, hearing him let out a pained groan. Turning to the door, Rise immediately ran out.
The herbalist wouldn’t have known this, but most poisons didn’t work on Rise. That included a lot of paralyzing drugs as well. As if she’d been consuming them her entire life, Rise had a much higher resistance to all poisons in comparison to most.
When initially consumed, the poison might work for a short time, but sooner or later, her body would turn back to normal.
[Rise] “Karin!”
Rise desperately called Karin’s name. Pushing through, that was when she noticed a group of individuals moving through an empty alleyway, dressed in robes of red. They were carrying something, pushing it into a wagon.
It was Karin.
[Rise] “Put her down!”
The troupe members looked shaken by Rise’s sudden scream.
[Man] “What? We’ve already paid……”
Thwack—
Rise threw herself forward, kicking right towards the leg of the person holding Karin. He was so stunned that he immediately dropped her, her little body thudding against the ground with a loud and hard impact as she slipped from his grasp.
Searching through her pockets, Rise grabbed the very thing she couldn’t use on that wolf.
It’s here!
She popped off the lid, throwing it with all her strength at the men approaching her, and a large plume of white powder scattered into the air.
[Man] “Agh! My eyes, my eyes!”
[Man] “Augh, cough! Wha, cough, what is this!?”
Two men dropped to the ground, rolling in pain as they were covered in powder. With this amount, they wouldn’t be able to stand for hours.
We have to get away!
She thought the villagers were acting strangely, but this!?
She didn’t know the chief had it in him to try and drug her so they could force her to sleep with his son for his coming of age. And then he tried to sell Karin to top it all off.
And they call themselves believers of God!
The villagers were always so condescending whenever they went to the prayers on the day of rest.
—’Should come at no surprise they can’t go to the prayer. They’re too dirty, so washing away their sins is impossible. Just like beasts, I say.’
Remembering that nonsense, Rise bit her lip.
They went to confess and wash away their sins every week, just to go off and do something like this?
Rise went to carry Karin on her back. Even if that drug didn’t incapacitate her like it was supposed to, it was still a foreign substance in her system, so she wasn’t feeling her best. Her hands were weak, and Karin kept slipping out of her grasp.
[Rise] “Karin…Karin! You have to wake up!”
As soon as she tasted that drug, she knew what kind of herbs they used.
If she could just make it back to the cottage, she could make an antidote. She needed to make it as soon as possible, get Karin to wake up, and then they could leave this village. If they managed to get to the forest, then she could—
[???] “Over there!”
But Rise’s hopes were cruelly destroyed. Just as she was about to try and escape, she heard voices calling out from behind her.
Of course. This was everyone.
The chief couldn’t have been the only one who was a part of this little plot. The entire village must have worked in tandem.
Rise ran with every ounce of her strength, but she was closer to her limit than she thought.
[Rise] “Ah!”
Running, Rise’s body tumbled onto the ground with a loud thud. A villager chasing her down had thrown a rock at her, knocking out her leg. When she fell, she dropped Karin, and perhaps it was because of the shock, but Karin let out a groan and opened her eyes.
[Rise] “Karin!”
[Karin] “Ri..se……you……”
Rise pulled herself to Karin, pulling her body close in a hug.
What do I do?
She had no more powder left in her bag, and there were so many people just behind her.
[Man] “Why do you keep making things difficult?”
The man standing at the front of the mob spat out while swinging a wooden club.
As he swung it, it splintered the air with a cracking noise, and he did it deliberately close to their faces, terrifying Karin. She dug into Rise’s arms, hiding her face in her chest.
[Man] “As long as you listen carefully, you’ll make things easier for both you and us.”
Rise looked around.
Villagers were appearing out of the woodwork, gathering in droves. On each of their faces were vastly different expressions.
The people standing near the front of the crowd were smiling and laughing, some sadistically and others like they were annoyed. Meanwhile, those near the back looked troubled, maybe even regretful.
But the thing they both had in common was that none of them stepped forward to help Rise.
[Man] “Everyone out of the way. The chief is here.”
A murmur spread through the crowd. As they parted, the chief appeared through the people, and just as one might expect, just behind him was his youngest son—attached to him like a foal that couldn’t walk by himself.
[Chief] “When I went to the apothecary, all I found was an old herbalist, dead on the ground while holding his crotch.”
The chief clicked his tongue, glancing down at Rise on the ground.
[Chief] “You have quite the temper. No wonder my son just can’t get enough of you. You’ll be a vicious one to tame during the first night.”
Crouching down, the chief tapped Rise’s cheek with his hand.
[Chief] “The drugs I brought from the capital don’t seem to work very well. I paid handsomely to make sure you wouldn’t get hurt during all of this, but it looks like that was a waste of money. I should’ve just dragged you there right from the start.”
[Rise] “…..Bastard.”
[Chief] “You should speak more politely. That isn’t the kind of tone you should be taking with the man who will be your father-in-law.”
[Rise] “Who would ever want to marry your son?”
[Chief] “Your opinion has nothing to do with this. All the villagers have already made their decisions.”
At those words, Rise glanced at the villagers again. All the ladies she saw that were around the same age as her turned their heads away.
None of the maidens within the village wanted to marry the chief’s son, but he kept putting pressure on them. That was when all of them made their choice.
In order to make it stop, someone had to be sacrificed.
[Rise] “I’d rather die than sleep with your son.”
[Chief] “I wonder how long that drive of yours will last. You, take her away.”
Once the chief made his order, a couple of the able bodied men rushed forward, grabbing at Rise and Karin, tearing them apart.
[Rise] “No! Let go!”
But no matter how she tried to struggle and rebel, she could not push against the strength of a group of men.
They pinned Rise down onto the ground, grabbing Karin like she weighed nothing and tossing her to the side like she was a package. The men from the troupe came to take her, but that was just when the strength of the one pushing Rise down weakened for just a moment.
And Rise didn’t miss that chance, kicking at the leg that was stepping on her.
[Man] “Agh!”
The man was caught off guard, grabbing at his sore leg as he jumped back. The wooden club he was holding thumped down onto the ground, and Rise clamored to reach it. The moment she had it tightly in her grasp, she charged forward, swinging wildly right at the men taking Karin.
Thwip—
She clearly wasn’t playing around, and this was no mere threat. Instinctively, they all ducked down.
[Men] “Wh, what!?”
And when they saw what followed, they immediately doubted their eyes.
This was a woman that was attacking them, right? The swing didn’t even hit them because they’d moved out of the way just in the nick of time.
And yet, the fabric covering of the wagon just behind them had been torn horizontally in the exact same arch as the woman’s swing. Staring at it, cut as if it had been sliced by something sharp, they couldn’t even close their mouths.
What the hell, they all thought.
Sometimes, people heard stories. They would tell tales of famous knights who had become so strong with their blades that they could cut their opponents with their sword without even touching them.
But the person standing in front of them was no legendary knight, but a poor woman. And what she held in her hands was not a blade, but a piece of wood! This should not have been possible, but how else could they explain what had just happened?
[Chief] “Tch, you’re really intent on getting on my nerves right until the end. I don’t care if she gets hurt, just tie her up.”
[Son] “Oh no, don’t hurt her. Her face is pretty, so don’t muck it up.”
When the chief said that, his son jumped up like a frog, waving around his hands.
[Chief] “Heh, you’re planning on dealing with your future wife now? Fine, tie her up but leave her face alone! Try not to mess her up too bad.”
[Son] “Don’t worry.”
Rise bit her lip. She tried swinging the club like she did before, but nothing happened. All that could be heard was the weak sound of biting wind.
[Men] “Get her!”
And before she realized it, the crowd of men honed in on her. In just a second, the club had been ripped from her hands and thrown to the side, her body forced onto the ground. One of the men pushed down her legs as she struggled, binding both feet and hands with thick ropes.
[Rise] “Let go! Karin! Karin!”
[Chief] “Take her daughter away quickly. Never bring her back to this village.”
[Man] “Oh, is that so? Well, that’s fine. Even though her skin is dark, I’m sure there are plenty who would be willing to indulge in her since she’s so soft. Once we take her away, it’s doubtful she’ll ever see the sunlight again.”
The chief smiled at the troupe members’ sickly words, looking just as sickly satisfied.
[Chief] “Then, shall we have a wedding right away?”
[Rise] “You sick—!”
[Chief] “Once you spend a night with your husband, your spirit will be much more flexible. Do as you please today. As a man, you have every right to her.”
The chief patted his son on the shoulder, and only at a time like this did the ever foolish man realize what his father was saying. With a twisted grin, he stared at Rise as he fiddled with his pants.
[Rise] “Karin! Please! Please stop! Karin!”
But Rise’s eyes were pinned only on the wagon owned by the men from the troupe, just about to leave. She screamed but not a single person tried to help, not a soul willing to be on Rise’s side as her eyes burned.
Please! Someone help! Anyone!
Right then—
[???] “Hey!”
Just as the horses were apart to depart, something startled it and it raised up its legs. The wagon it was attached to shook violently, and the sudden shocking sound stunned the people, catching everyone’s attention.
It came out of nowhere.
A black horse with a shiny coat, and well groomed mane, atop which was a man.
[???] “What’s happening here?”
The man sitting on the horse stared down at the villagers with a cold expression on his face, but none could answer his question, all of them far too surprised by his sudden appearance. With what kind of man he was, no one dared to shout at him.
A well kept steed, luxurious looking clothing, and a harness that looked perfectly crafted. But more than that, this man exuded a natural sense of arrogance and pride, as though he were looking down on everyone and everything—the kind of air that forced everyone to bow their heads.
It didn’t matter who looked at him, he was clearly of a status that mere villagers could not even begin to speak to.
[Chief] “Who are you?”
But despite the people’s trepidation, the chief stepped forward.
[Chief] “What sort of nobleman could you be to intervene with our village’s business?”
At this point, it would’ve been better for the villagers to carefully watch their tongues rather than potentially say something foolish or insulting. Knowing that, the chief decided to speak on behalf of everyone.
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But then, his eyes widened the second he asked his question.
He should have known something was strange.
This was a man with black hair. Any time the occasional noble passed through their town, they would often have hair of a similar color, so he thought this would be no different, but the second he got closer, what he was met with was a pair of deeply black eyes glaring down at him.
And there was only one person in this country who had black hair and eyes that wasn’t the king.
[Chief] “No….Duke Erte…….?”