SYOV 50 🛖

Chapter 50

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Crape Myrtle Fever.

Like chickenpox or measles in Korea, it was a terrifying epidemic that could become fatal if treatment was delayed.

However, if patients took medicine regularly during the early stages, they recovered quickly.

After that, they became immune and would never catch it again.

That was why, for the people of this world, Crape Myrtle Fever was considered a rite of passage that everyone experienced once during childhood.

‘But that may no longer be true.’

The newspaper reported that the number of Crape Myrtle Fever patients in the southern region was rapidly increasing.

A disease that could be cured quickly with early treatment…

Was spreading simply because people couldn’t obtain that cheap medicine.

“Phew…”

I quickly took a deep breath.

‘Getting angry won’t solve anything.’

I did my best to calm the rage rising inside me.

But this damn situation made no sense at all, and one question after another filled my mind.

‘Just what is the Emperor trying to—’

Then I stopped myself.

“…Don’t look for a reason.”

As I slowly opened my tightly shut eyes, I made up my mind.

No matter what insane thing the Emperor did from now on…

I would stop trying to understand his reasons.

‘He’s a natural disaster. You can’t understand someone who’s gone beyond human reason with ordinary common sense.’

So instead…

I had to observe him.

I needed to carefully watch the Emperor’s actions and words to uncover what he was really planning.

As soon as I changed the way I thought…

My mind became much clearer.

‘To the Emperor… being the Emperor is only a means to an end.’

Everything happening now could only damage the Emperor’s reputation.

Yet he continued doing bizarre things without caring.

That meant his goal wasn’t to strengthen his political power.

‘What does it mean that none of the nobles are stopping him?’

I should probably figure out the different noble factions.

Right now, my mind was working better than ever.

I didn’t even want to move.

So I leaned against the well and continued organizing my thoughts.

‘What has the Emperor done until now?’

The abnormal distribution of medicinal herbs.

Summoning demons and angels.

Experiments to create immortal human weapons.

The destruction of the Clavis family.

‘Framing innocent people, sending them into exile, making them dig up the vacant lands… collecting those things…’

And…

He wanted to obtain me.

Tap.

Tap.

The fingers resting on the warm ground moved on their own.

‘People always want more than what they already have. That’s only natural. Just like wanting to escape poverty… or wanting a promotion.’

The Emperor already possessed the highest position a human could have.

‘He’s rich, and with Clavis gone, he’s practically the greatest person alive.’

So…

What was he trying to obtain?

I rested the back of my head against the well and blankly looked up at the blue sky.

Just looking at it eased the frustration building inside me.

“The Emperor is such a damn bastard…”

The words escaped my mouth without me even thinking.

“Do you want to become a god or something?”

Antema Territory.

Located in the northeastern region, it was an industrial city.

Although the land was barren, its wide, flat bedrock made it an ideal place to build factories.

From the Deste Territory…

It took four to five days by carriage.

Only one full day by train.

“We can’t travel by carriage.”

Verity had insisted from the beginning that we absolutely had to travel by train.

“Horses get tired, so they’d have to rest along the way. We’d also need to stay at inns or camp overnight.”

“That actually sounds kind of fun.”

“But every time we stop, we could run into Imperial Knights or people connected to the Empire. It’s best to reduce every possible risk.”

“Then isn’t the train dangerous too?”

A train was an enclosed space.

If something happened, we wouldn’t even be able to escape.

Hearing my argument…

Verity waved his finger with an annoyingly confident smile.

“Miss, you really worry about everything. If an inspection happens, we’ll just throw them off the train each time. At that speed, they’ll stay unconscious for a day or two.”

“Wouldn’t that become permanent sleep in the worst-case scenario?”

“The best lullaby possible.”

“…I’ll just make sure to keep wearing the cloak that hides my presence.”

Anyway…

Until we managed to get the train tickets…

Life continued as usual.

But a heavy tension had already settled over the village.

‘Maybe I shouldn’t have said that during the meeting…’

After that day…

The villagers threw themselves into training with incredible determination.

I hadn’t intended to make everyone feel rushed.

So I felt guilty.

But the adults thought differently.

“Hebenia, this isn’t your fault.”

“If anything, we’ve been too relaxed until now. We were trying to ignore the reality we’re living in and ended up relying on you too much.”

“If the Emperor finds out we’re still alive, he’ll definitely try to kill us somehow.”

“So the least we can do is become strong enough to protect ourselves.”

At first…

I thought they were only saying that to comfort me.

The thought kept bothering me.

But those worries quickly disappeared.

The villagers were far more determined than I had expected.

Their enthusiasm was incredible.

Training in the Primitive Forest had originally been held every three or four days.

Now…

It happened every single day.

There were even so many participants that we had to divide the training into morning and afternoon sessions.

And Poppi and Chuchu played a huge role in making that possible.

Thanks to the collars with the keys given to them by the Long-Haired Lord…

The villagers could now enter and leave the Primitive Forest even without me.

“I wonder how they’re doing…”

Would they really be able to train without Verity and me?

At first…

I waited for them with equal parts curiosity and worry.

“I hope my dogs aren’t bullying everyone…”

“Miss, I really admire how strict you are, even toward your own family.”

“They bite me too.”

“By the way, why did they bite you this morning?”

“Libby Unni boiled some beef tenderloin for them. It looked delicious, so I secretly stole a few pieces.”

“…Honestly, I think I’d growl at you too.”

Just then…

The barrier opened, and the villagers returned.

Poppi and Chuchu ran happily toward me with light, refreshed steps.

“Ha… Huff…!”

“Ugh…!”

“I’m… going to die…”

The villagers, on the other hand…

Collapsed onto the dirt the moment they entered the village and fell asleep as if they had fainted.

Even so…

Once they woke up, everyone gave positive reviews.

“I almost died, but Duke Poppi saved me.”

“The monsters ran away with their tails between their legs.”

“They only brought monsters suitable for our level…”

“Well… technically there aren’t any monsters at our level.”

Ian explained the details.

“It was similar to Verity’s training… but also completely different.”

“How?”

“With Verity’s training, you always know you’re safe. He can communicate with us, so he corrects our posture and bad habits every moment we fight.”

In other words…

It was efficient because he corrected them immediately.

“But Duke Poppi and Duke Chuchu are completely wild.”

“Wild?”

“You don’t have time to think about what you’re doing. You just move. It doesn’t matter if it’s messy or clumsy. Instinct comes before reason.”

Ian had realized something important.

“Verity has been teaching us while constantly looking out for us.”

“My efforts have finally been recognized…!”

Deeply moved, Verity’s eyes became watery.

“Surely I’m at least better than a couple of dogs?”

“Grrr!”

“Rrrr!”

Poppi and Chuchu each grabbed one leg of Verity’s pants with their mouths and shook him violently.

Thanks to how hard everyone was working together…

I finally felt like I had strong support behind me.

“By the way, who are you taking with you?”

Ian asked as soon as we entered the house.

“Hmm…”

When I hesitated…

Ian’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Wait… you’re not planning to leave me behind, are you?”

“Oppa, you’re the first person Verity and I chose.”

“That’s more like it!”

Ian clenched his fist in triumph.

The muscles in his arms had grown much larger than before, stretching the thin fabric of his clothes until they looked ready to tear.

“It could be dangerous. Why are you so happy?”

“Because it means I can finally be useful.”

“Libby Unni said the same thing. Now you’re saying it too? You’ve all been helping from the very beginning.”

“This is different.”

“…”

Honestly…

It wasn’t as though I couldn’t understand how they felt.

To them…

Everything I was doing probably looked like a little child desperately trying to build a village and protect everyone all by herself.

‘I’m only doing this because I want to.’

I just wanted all of us to stay together and live happily in this village forever.

That selfish wish was my only reason.

So whenever everyone treated it as though I was sacrificing myself…

I couldn’t help feeling guilty.

“Then… besides me?”

“Besides Oppa…”

At that moment—

BOOM!!

A massive explosion came from upstairs.

It was immediately followed by the sound of wood and stones collapsing.

Ian and Verity rushed over and pulled me into their arms to protect me.

Instinctively, I closed the space around us and raised a barrier.

“What in the—!”

The three of us looked up in horror.

As the thick dust slowly cleared…

A huge hole in the ceiling came into view.

The debris that had fallen during the explosion slid harmlessly down my round barrier.

The blood drained from my face.

“…L-Libby Unni!”

She was upstairs!

Just as I tried to run toward her…

Ian and Verity immediately grabbed me and held me back.

Poppi and Chuchu also bit the hem of my skirt and pulled.

“It’s dangerous! The ceiling could collapse again! Get outside right now!”

“We’ll check on Lady Libby! You stay with the dogs—!”

“Ahhh! Is everyone alright?”

A familiar voice suddenly interrupted us.

“Cough! Cough! Ugh… it burns…!”

The person who appeared through the hole in the ceiling…

Was Libby.

Her entire body was covered in black soot.

“Are you alright? What happened?”

Ian shouted.

Libby gave an embarrassed smile.

“I was practicing magic… and the flame suddenly became much bigger…”

“What?”

Soon…

Voices could be heard outside as well.

The villagers had rushed over after hearing the explosion.

For everyone’s safety…

Our whole family stepped outside.

As soon as we opened the doors and windows…

The smoke and burnt smell quickly drifted away.

“I’m sorry! Is everyone alright?”

Libby apologized first before checking on us.

Fortunately…

None of us had been injured.

Only then did she finally relax and explain what had happened.

“I only used the minimum amount of mana needed to cast basic fire magic.”

“But suddenly the color of the flame changed… and it became unbelievably hot.”

She couldn’t control that heat.

The spell became unstable.

And that caused the explosion.

“…The color changed?”

Verity narrowed one eye.

Then his expression turned serious.

“What color did it change into?”

“A-Ah… well…”

Libby hesitated before quietly answering,

“It… became a little whiter…”