# Chapter 49
Gaebe shouted in a booming voice. The eyes of everyone nearby turned to him. I stopped in my tracks at those stares.
“This constant rain. It’s because of that traitor!”
Belatedly, Jack also stopped walking and looked back at me standing a short distance away. Now everyone’s gaze shifted from Gaebe to me. I froze under all those eyes.
“He’s incurred the Goddess’s wrath! It’s because that traitor is here!”
At Gaebe’s words, people looked between me and the man in confusion. There he goes again. A small voice was heard from somewhere.
“It’s obvious! Since that guy came to our village, there have been signs. Don’t you remember how the Knights kept coming around despite never caring about us before?”
My fingertips trembled violently. I was the only one who knew why the Knights kept disturbing Winterishe.
Rite was at home. So it was indeed my responsibility.
“There’s an epidemic in Moran, the war never ends. Mages are disappearing more and more.”
Now he started bringing up matters that had nothing to do with Winterishe. People’s whispers gradually grew louder. Even those who had been dismissive of the man, clicking their tongues at him, were beginning to waver. Doubt tinged their voices.
Maybe… it could be true… who knows… The murmurs invaded my ears haphazardly. An isolated, backward area. A place where the only gossip was about how the neighbor’s kid drew a map on their blanket. A place where people had to live in fear of monsters lurking everywhere their whole lives. The strange phenomena that had appeared in such a place, combined with the blasphemous rumors about the Emperor, were making people anxious.
My eyes met Jack’s, who was standing a few steps away. His green eyes, clouded with confusion, wavered greatly when they met mine, then stopped.
“Arden.”
Jack took large strides to approach me. His voice was low so others couldn’t hear.
“Let’s go. Before more people gather.”
Jack grabbed my wrist and pulled. I was practically dragged along before coming to the same conclusion as Jack and following him, watching his back.
What should we do then? Drive him out? Where to? Where would you send someone who’s already been exiled? The people’s murmurs became increasingly distinct.
“We need to drive him out of the village right now!”
Gaebe continued to point at me and yell. There was no need to drive me out. I didn’t live in this village anyway. I never had a house in Winterishe to begin with. Though I was a criminal, I had interacted with the villagers, but I was thoroughly an outsider, an isolated existence that couldn’t mix in. That was by my own choice. Nevertheless, indignation welled up inside me. Where exactly were they trying to drive me out to? The Winter Forest didn’t belong to anyone. It was a place no one wanted to claim.
“Why are you looking at me like that? What are you going to do with that look?”
When our eyes met again, Gaebe gritted his teeth. His excessive behavior made him look more like someone who was scared. A person who thinks they’re being threatened is unpredictable. Jack noticed this and quickened his pace.
More people gathered. The street became chaotic. Just as a cold hand was about to wrap around my hand instead of my wrist, an external force roughly separated my hand from Jack’s.
“Get a grip, people.”
Though he had his hat pulled down low, I could see purple eyes standing close to me. The warmth of another hand touching mine felt lukewarm. It seemed his fever had subsided somewhat.
“Has a few days of rain made everyone lose their minds?”
Deep blue eyes hidden in the shadows took in the villagers. Despite living nearby, these were people I’d never properly faced. The child who had always been busy hiding and fabricating lies now stood between me and the people, opening his mouth.
“You’ve been calling him whenever you needed something and using him, and now what?”
“……”
“Arden fixed that street lamp, and all the lamps in each of your homes were made by Arden, but after using them all this time, now you’re telling him to leave?”
“……”
“If he leaves? Can you handle what comes after?”
Yet you’ll shamelessly look for him again when you need him. Rite’s voice grew louder. I needed to stop Rite who had stepped forward in front of the people, but it didn’t feel real. With a dazed mind, I stared at the large hand gradually tightening its grip on mine.
Gaebe’s finger pointed at Rite.
“And who are you?”
“Who am I?”
Rite turned his head to look at me briefly.
“Just a passerby who has nothing to do with this.”
Gaebe faltered at the appearance of the unfamiliar man. At some point, people’s whispering stopped. In the quiet street, Gaebe and Rite’s voices echoed loudly.
“Damn it, is our village that easy to push around? All kinds of strange things keep coming in and causing trouble. Drive them all out!”
“Drive them where? Someone who’s already avoiding you all and living with monsters in that cold forest.”
Rite growled, pointing in the direction of the forest. I was concerned about whether the monsters Rite mentioned referred to the ones living in the forest or himself.
People’s gazes left me and turned to Rite. The people living in this small village knew everyone down to their neighbors’ cousins. A stranger appearing in such a place was perfect for arousing their curiosity.
If someone were to notice that those deep blue eyes hidden in the shadow were purple.
Anxiously looking around at the surrounding people, I spotted a young boy among the crowd. Despite his youthful face, he was quite tall, though now shorter than Rite. It was Cal. Cal was also looking at Rite from among the people. He might really be recognized. Reason belatedly returned to my foggy mind.
“Let’s go.”
I whispered quietly so only Rite could hear. He must have heard, but Rite stubbornly stared ahead.
“Let’s go home.”
“……”
“I don’t want to stay here anymore.”
Rite, who had been standing firmly, moved his feet at those words.
Rite, who hadn’t come forward even when he saw Jack and me entering the restaurant alone, had stepped forward in front of everyone.
Those two facts confused my heart. Thinking about why Rite, who had seemed like a child putting his emotions first, had stepped forward now, made me feel a tickling somewhere inside my body, while on the other hand, I felt a sense of loss as if I were becoming infinitely smaller.
Walking through the village holding Rite’s hand, which had grown larger than mine, felt awkward. He used to be a little kid always trailing behind me. I raised my arm to pull Rite’s hat down over his head as he walked ahead. At that action, Rite looked back at me briefly but soon quickly headed toward the forest. Gaebe’s shouts gradually faded behind us.
By the time we crossed the village square and left, raindrops began to fall again. With each cold raindrop, my foggy mind cleared little by little.
Entering the edge of the forest, away from people’s gazes, I could realize the seriousness of the situation.
Did Cal recognize him? And… how much of that man’s words had Rite heard? Had he heard him shouting that I was a traitor?
“…From now on, don’t step forward like this again. What if someone recognizes you…?”
Rite, who had been holding and leading my hand, stopped and looked back at those words. Because of the sudden stop, the distance between Rite and me became very close.
“Why did that bastard just stand there?”
“What?”
“If Jack, that bastard, had stepped up, I would have stayed quiet too.”
I could see Rite’s jaw tightening. The sound of his teeth grinding was vivid.
“Why are you bringing him up now?”
“Then what should I have done there?”
“You should have just stayed still. You shouldn’t have come down to the village in the first place…”
“How could I just stand there when Arden had that kind of expression on his face?”
I wonder how I looked in Rite’s eyes. I’m not sure. I didn’t really want to know. I was afraid I might have shown a completely ungraceful and immature side as an adult.
Plin seemed like such a great adult, but I wasn’t like that at all.
“Why do you just stay silent at words like that? Why do you just endure it again when I’m not around?”
“…If I get angry at everything, I’m the only one who gets tired.”
“Then who the hell is going to stand up for Arden!”
Rite’s booming shout seeped through the sound of rain. The raindrops quickly grew in size. Before I knew it, droplets that had soaked my bangs ran down the bridge of my nose. I wiped away the rainwater with the back of my hand and looked at Rite.
“What do I gain by reacting to every single comment like that?”
“Arden’s feelings. Arden’s self-esteem. Want me to say more?”
“Those things have no value to me. I didn’t hold back because I was afraid your identity would be discovered. I just…”
“Why? Because Arden is a traitor?”
For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.
How do you know that? Did you hear it earlier? Are you disappointed in me because of it?
I had many questions, but even though I opened my mouth, no sound came out. Thinking I might have gone deaf, I raised my hand to feel my ear, but couldn’t complete the action. I was caught in Rite’s grip. The gaze pouring toward me hurt.
