Chapter 13 - Desiring Freedom (2/2)

Ronée saw Nabel from Bell. For a moment, she reminisced about their childhood promise that he would come back, but she immediately erased it from her mind. The child, who said he would be back soon, was late. It’s been ten years since she started expecting his return even though she said she wouldn’t.

Ronée closed her eyes. This year, she turned 27 years old.

***

“Where are the heretics?”

The Wizards of the God’s Crest entered the mansion. While Count Rieda and Lady Countess treated them with great care, knights rushed into Ronée’s room.

“You’ll be dragged out anyway when the sorcerers arrive. Is there any reason to stay here?”

The knights laughed at Ronée to their heart’s content. Now that the sorcerers from the temple had officially come, they thought that no matter how many foxes she had, she still would not be able to endure.

It was the moment they had been waiting for ten years.

“Lady…” The maid, Ryne, was at a loss.

Ronée looked out of the window. Oblivious to her wretched situation, the sun was brightly shining across the clear skies.

It would be better to walk out than to be dragged out, Ronée thought, raising herself up.

”Don’t you want to go out?” The voice of Nabel she remembered was still young. He’d be an adult now. She recalled his voice again, wondering how he looked now.

I want to go out, too. Ronée gazed out of the window once more. That was the first time in her twenty-seven-year-old life. Can we get out of here?

The Rieda family was the leading family of numerous knights and wizards. It was too much for her alone. Until now, she had been told to behave at the temple, which prevented her death. However, orders had already been issued to kill her if she resisted violently.

“If the devil resists strongly, cleanse it.”

Ronée’s father accepted the order from the temple with a look of regret.

What they said was quite a spectacle.

”It’ll take a long time to recreate your daughter, but… you are still young, wouldn’t it be all right?”

Ronée’s stepmother, now in her late thirties, could not hide her laughter at the remark. That day, Ronée completely abandoned her personal affection for the two after hearing their conversation. Besides, it was already thinner than a thread.

“……” Still, I couldn’t get out. No, I couldn’t get out.

Since then, they’ve been acting like they could kill Ronée somehow.

“If you try to escape with all your might, we won’t hesitate to do anything cruel on the other side,” they would say.

But Ronée still desired to leave. It was better than being treated like a demon and going to the temple anyway.