Limapheus’s eyes widened, surprised. He had never seen Ben act like this before.

‘The person who always acted like he wasn’t interested in anything changes so much…’

Ben’s gaze was so vicious that it made chills run down his spine. Limapheus tried to hide his surprise and swallowed dryly.

‘Does he even know that just by saying that this could be equivalent to treason?’

Even if he knew, Limapheus thought it wouldn’t change anything.

‘How can he be blinded by a woman as if she was his master?’

At that thought, Limapheus got even more curious about the mysterious woman.

“All right, all right.”

Limapheus raised his hands as an act of surrender. But it was just for today since he was sure that he would definitely get a chance to meet her.

“I understand. It will be dealt with, within today.”

Ben then calmed down.

“Ho…”

The Crown Prince was so dumbfounded he couldn’t do anything else but smirk. Ben really had a lot of guts, since he dared come at dawn and ask him to take care of this matter today. And because this is some very important matter, he’ll have to take care of it by today, which means that he has to see the Emperor as soon as dawn breaks. At the thought of his busy day, Limapheus’s head started to hurt. Frustrated, the Crown Prince ruffled his hair wildly, light blonde hair fell lazily on his forehead.

“I should get going.”

Ben turned around without hesitation. He had no more energy to deal with the Crown Prince nor did he want to waste time. As he impatiently headed towards the door, Limapheus watched him walk away while stroking his chin. He was suspicious since Ben walked as if he had hidden gold in his house and he couldn’t leave them unattended for too long.

“Cersinia…”

rom what he remembered that was the name he read in the report he received.

‘Alex saved a woman who was about to be burned at stake. Somehow, the future seemed to be interesting.’

* * *

“Are you sure you have to go?”

May’s feet trembled since she was getting anxious. Cersinia, who was wearing a black robe, patted May’s shoulder, as a means to reassure her that everything would be fine.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“But…”

“It’s so unfair to leave like this.”

Since she was right, May pursed her lips at Cersinia’s words. May knew better than anyone else that Cersinia would be fine since she managed to stay strong even while being falsely accused and humiliated. But she couldn’t help but worry.“I will go with you…”

May wept and grabbed the hem of Cersinia’s robe.

“It’s faster for me to go alone. And am I the one who’s going to suffer?”

May shook her head quickly not wanting to think about Cersinia suffering. She knew Cersinia’s character and abilities, so she knew she would be fine but…

“What if many people tried to attack you?”

“I’m going to run away before that.”

If that happened, Cersinia would simply deal with it, but she had to lie to May who was already worried. She was well prepared. She tightly pressed her hat on her robe because time was flying by.

“You have to be careful.”

May carefully tucked Cersinia’s hair into the robe so that it could not be seen.

“Yes, I’ll be back. Make sure to lock the door.”

Cersinia stepped out of her house, and saw that the path was clear. The rain that had been falling had finally stopped, and she was now able to leave her house. There were two reasons why Cersinia needed to come out, even though everybody was against her. First to meet Goredon and pull the truth out of him and second, if her guess was correct, she’ll go see Charles, who plotted everything.

‘I still can’t forget. No, I’ll never forget it for the rest of my life.’

The spiteful eyes of countless people who tried to burn her.

“I’m so upset.”

She bit her lower lip. First, she had to meet Goredon. She pressed her hat deeper onto her head. She intended to go there as quietly as possible without revealing her identity. Because of the rain, the path was muddy, and there was garbage everywhere, from papers to any type of item. Among them, a small button stood out.

‘Button…’

Cersinia recalled what happened last night. The red wounds on Ben’s back, she never saw any wounds of those kinds in her entire life, and they were not mentioned in the novel.

“What is it…”

‘What the hell happened…’

How painful must it have been for Ben to bear those wounds. She let out a deep sigh. The thought of Ben in pain was so clear in her mind, that she started frowning without realizing.

‘He won’t tell me, so I’ll have to find it out on my own. But let’s take care of the village situation first.’

The wind was so strong that the hem of Cersinia’s robe fluttered at every step she took. The wind was cold enough to give her goosebumps and the smell of autumn filled her nose. Cersinia fixed her hat that was threatening to fall because of the strong wind, but it didn’t prevent a few strands of her hair from letting loose and fluttering in the wind. Her hair looked like an unforgettable winter sunset.

“I-Isn’t that the witch?”

“Look at her walking around shamelessly.”

As expected, those who saw her hair recognized immediately and seemed like they could help to bad mouth her. Their critics flew with the wind, which allowed Cersinia to clearly hear them.‘I am walking around shamelessly?’

Those words made her blood boil and it hurt her pride even more that she had to walk like a criminal while she was innocent.

‘Why me? I didn’t do anything wrong, so why should I hide?’

At that thought, she immediately took off her hat. She didn’t do something wrong nor want to act like a criminal, and even if she knew they’d recognize her even with the hat on, she didn’t want to run away.

‘I’m going to keep my head high since I didn’t do anything wrong.’

Her firm gaze swept her surroundings as if daring them to say something else. But it all became quiet, all the whispering ceased, they were all cowards who were unable to tell what they thought straight to someone’s face.

“Hiik!”

Everyone who made eye contact with her suddenly became contemplative and avoided her gaze. They all feared her as if she was the Grim Reaper.

“Tsk.”

Cersinia clicked her tongue at their cowardice. She didn’t even start what she had to do but she was already tired. She just wanted to get things done and go back home. Her red hair fluttered in the wind and it made her look like the war goddess standing on a battlefield. Upon sensing her confidence, those who were avoiding her gaze gritted their teeth.

* * *

Ben rode non-stop, he wanted to see her as soon as possible. He had a lot of work but he pushed them all for later. He must have been tired from riding back and forth from the village to the capital but he didn’t let it show. Rather, he looked more energetic and started riding faster. But his horse was tired, and darkness was slowly spreading. Right now the sunset was of an intense red which reminded him of Cersinia’s eyes.

Ben then remembered Cersinia’s confused expression when she saw the wounds. She obviously didn’t believe his excuses but he didn’t have any other choices. He didn’t want to lie to her but he didn’t want to share his pain with her, he didn’t want her to be worried or sad, he only wanted her to be smiling. That’s why he went back and forth from the village to the capital without a wink of sleep.

“I miss you.”

He imagined her smiling sweetly, she had the same smile as three years ago. Ben pulled strongly at the reins he was holding. He had to go faster even if it’s a little bit.

“Hiiieek!”

The horse which was running smoothly suddenly nickered. Ben resisted recoiling as the horse bounced forward. His forearms swelled greatly as he gripped the reins tightly.

“Shh. It’s okay.”

He patted the horse and calmed it down. The horse, struggling with its forelimbs and breathing heavily, gradually regained stability at his touch. Ben got off the horse right away. After stepping on the ground with a heavy thud, he approached to see what made the horse scared.

“Fox?”

It was a dead red fox laying in the middle of the forest road, its eyes were closed and its blood formed a pond around it. Instantly after seeing the cuts on the fox’s body, a strange anxiety crept up and struck him, it made his body hair standstill. Ben then placed the fox under a tree and covered it with fallen leaves he found on the ground.

“Let’s go.”

He got on the horse again but this time rode faster.

‘Why does the red fox’s fur remind me of Cersinia?’

He got goosebumps all over his body. It felt like something unimaginable would happen.

‘No…No. It’s just my imagination or the lack of sleep.’

He had to see her with his own eye to calm his rising anxiety, he had to confirm himself that she was safe. He crossed the forest at full speed without hesitation, his black hair was fluttering in the wind like his horse’s black mane. He needed to see Cersinia…fast.