Chapter 16
What kind of place the south was, how she could survive. If she tried, what kind of effort would she need to make? The life of sitting still like a piece of furniture was over.
The south would be as dynamic as the scorching sun, and there was no place for her worth or value there.
‘If only Yasamin had asked me to do that thing, at least then I’d have some value.’
But that’s not it either.
Even though she had entered into a subjugation contract, there was nothing in it that benefited him. So eventually, if he grew tired of her, she would be discarded. In a place swarming with infected.
“Please explain the ruling class of the south.”
Her head felt like it was going to explode from all the thoughts. She had never felt so alive in her entire life.
In any case, today she had survived, and it seemed like Yasamin would protect her for now. For the time being.
If that’s the case… then she might as well do what she does best.
“You and they are in a symbiotic relationship, right? Like the king and the duke’s family….”
“It’s a bit complicated, but that’s the gist of it.”
“I understand. The… the desire to help is real, though…”
A faint sense of responsibility weighed down on her chest. It wasn’t the responsibility toward the people of Wilkeron. The ones who had been treated like trash, discarded, cursed as heretics, and ignored all this time.
The ones who had been thoroughly disregarded in Wilkeron.
‘Just like me.’
She wanted to know more about the people of the south. She was good at learning. Maybe knowing something could help her.
“You don’t need to do anything. Just stay cute like you are now.”
“But if I run into something… Eltan said… just now, he said that they betrayed us.”
When she stubbornly mumbled, Yasamin’s movement suddenly stopped. For a moment, her heart dropped, thinking she might have crossed a line, and Siren immediately bit her tongue.
She shouldn’t act recklessly just because he’s being lenient. This man is scary.
But Yasamin didn’t show any anger toward her. He just picked up the firestarter again and stirred the firewood.
“Eltan is saying useless things. I should tear his mouth off.”
“D-don’t do that!”
However, her resolve lasted less than a second.
At the mention of tearing his mouth off, she was horrified and shook as she cried out. Her voice, sounding like a fleeing rabbit, made Yasamin chuckle and ruffle Siren’s hair.
“Oh? You can raise your voice too?”
“No… I didn’t mean to…”
She hadn’t meant to shout. It was just… just imagining it was too terrible. Eltan hadn’t done anything wrong.
“Did Eltan teach you the southern myth?”
“I-I already know. The king of Wilkeron kidnapped Aquafuran…”
“That’s when all this hell started. You know it well.”
Yasamin chuckled.
It wasn’t her fault, but it would be hard to escape responsibility. From the moment she was born, everything that entered her mouth, everything she drank and wore, was provided by Wilkeron.
Even though the quality was poor.
“The ones who support me the most are those who serve Kalik.”
“The male god of the moon…”
“Yeah. They believe I’m the reincarnation of Kalik. Fools.”
Could that actually be true?
Siren couldn’t bring herself to say it aloud, but she silently thought to herself. If there was a male god of the moon in this world, it might be this platinum-haired man.
‘What extended from his arm earlier was definitely bone.’
It had pierced through the flesh, but now, it was as though nothing had happened. His arm, filled with muscles, showed no trace of any wound, which was truly astonishing.
‘I’ve never heard of anyone like that. Skin tearing and bones jutting out, using them as weapons.’ If that were common in the south, he wouldn’t be revered.
“Anyway, the reason I attacked Wilkeron was partly because of the revenge of the southern people, but also because of that ancient myth. A prophecy was delivered to the priests of the three tribes.”
“A prophecy?”
“To summarize, the reincarnation of Aquafuran is said to be in the king’s castle of Wilkeron. It was something that would make the Aquafuran tribe, who believe that myth fanatically, stir in excitement. It was also something the kalik tribe, who always wanted to advance north, would welcome. The only tribe that opposed it was the Nu tribe. They’re so conservative.”
The way he spoke, in such a matter-of-fact tone, made it sound like a fairy tale an old grandmother might tell a child in a temple.
Then again, was anything she’d seen or heard so far ordinary?
For her, it was just about accepting and learning.
“Even now, in that castle, the subordinates and the Aquafuran tribe are probably picking out women with blue eyes. Once they’ve chosen, they’ll take them to the south.”
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