Chapter 82

“Everything is visible…”

The children seemed unaware that everything could be seen from above. Vivian stifled a laugh as she watched the children awkwardly trying to hide and forcefully closed the stiff window before leaving the room.

Vivian went to the room next door, where Tia and Charlotte were staying, to check on Tia’s wound treatment. 

Tia, perhaps relieved, fell asleep immediately after her wound was treated. After confirming Tia was asleep, Vivian asked Charlotte to look after her and quietly left the room. 

As Vivian descended the stairs, Rayden, who had been talking with the innkeeper on the first floor, approached her. 

“Tia is fine. Fortunately, there was some hemostatic and ointment available, so we applied it and she fell asleep.”

After Vivian’s explanation, Rayden sighed in relief and said that with the innkeeper’s help, they were able to find someone to repair the carriage, and they should be able to leave for the gate early tomorrow morning.

“I’ll take a walk for a bit.”

Having heard all the reports, Vivian looked towards the inn’s entrance. Rayden scratched his head with a troubled expression.

“We did a brief check, but with a small number of people, it can’t be considered thorough. So, please stay inside.”

At Rayden’s concern, the innkeeper laughed heartily with his hands on his hips.

“The only dangerous thing in this village is me! If you’re worried, just stay around the inn.”

Vivian laughed at the innkeeper’s words and promised Rayden she would only stay near the inn. Rayden, with an unwilling expression, stepped back as if he had no choice.

As Vivian stepped outside the inn, she looked around. Glancing at the place where the children had hidden earlier, Vivian covered her mouth to suppress a laugh.

Seeing a shoe sticking out from behind a barrel, Vivian approached slowly.

“Are you curious about me?”

At Vivian’s voice, a little girl peeked her head out.

“Yes!”

As the girl responded, a boy who seemed to be her brother grabbed her by the neck and pulled her back inside.

“Be quiet!”

Vivian chuckled at the sight and squatted down, gathering her dress to meet their eye level.

“Do you want this?”

Seeing the four candies wrapped in pink paper on Vivian’s palm, the children leaned forward.

“Can we eat it?”

The girl who first answered Vivian asked her brother. The boy, a head taller than the girl, looked between the candies and his sister and nodded slightly.

The girl with short, braided hair smiled brightly and took all the candies from Vivian’s hand. She handed them out to the other children and finally gave the last one to her brother before quickly unwrapping the candy.

“You should say thank you.”

Before the candy could enter her small mouth, her brother grabbed her wrist to stop her.

“Th-thank you.”

Watching her brother’s cues, the girl bowed her head and thanked Vivian. The other children who received strawberry candies also thanked her in turn, and Vivian smiled softly as she stood up.

“Do you live here?”

“Yes!”

The child, who was amazed by the candy’s taste, answered while holding her cheek with her tiny fern-like hands.

“We live over there.”

One of the four children pointed to three small houses not far from the inn.

“Where are your parents?”

“They all went to work.”

The girl’s brother pointed to the base of a high mountain behind the inn. It seemed this village survived by gathering things from the mountain.

“But…”

Feeling a tug on her dress, Vivian looked down to see the girl looking up at her with sparkling eyes.

“Are you a high-ranking person, pretty sister?”

Vivian shrugged her shoulders with a smile, trying to suppress her laughter at the innocent question.

“Bear Uncle said so. He said a noble guest would come to Bear Uncle’s house today.”

Vivian recalled the innkeeper who laughed heartily, thinking of the term “Bear Uncle.”

“Do you mean the owner of this place?”

“Yes. Bear Uncle is the owner here.”

Vivian’s guess was correct. The children had come up with a perfect nickname. The children, each with a candy in their mouth, seemed to let down their guard due to the sweetness and gathered closer to Vivian.

Curious about the rare outsider, the children expressed their curiosity freely.

“Where are you going?”

“How long will you be here?”

“Did you come alone, pretty sister?”

As Vivian answered the children’s barrage of questions one by one, the inn door suddenly swung open.

“Aha! The kids have gathered here.”

As Bear Uncle appeared, the children giggled and hid behind Vivian.

“Since it’s such a remote village, they can’t hide their curiosity when they see new faces. The guests we get at the inn are usually just traders coming to the mountain occasionally. Haha.”

Again, the innkeeper laughed heartily, his mouth wide open. The children giggled and covered their ears at his booming laughter.

“There was a wizard here recently!”

One child shouted proudly, and the other children nodded vigorously in agreement.

Vivian showed interest at the mention of a wizard, and the children all chimed in with their own stories.

An older wizard had visited the village around sunset, and with the help of a local returning from the mountain, he stayed at the inn for a night.

The innkeeper, wearing an apron that didn’t suit him, added with a satisfied look at Vivian and the children.

Before settling in this village, the innkeeper had been a mercenary and realized the visitor was a wizard after seeing his belongings.

“When the kids were watching with sparkling eyes, he snapped his fingers and made flames. Haha.”

The children, remembering the event, laughed cheerfully like larks, following the innkeeper’s lead.

“A good wizard.”

Vivian thought of Aitor’s playful smile.

“I don’t know if he’s a good wizard, but he seemed a bit shady. In the morning, when I went to check, he had disappeared, leaving only money behind, and the room was empty…”

The innkeeper scratched his beard as if something didn’t sit right with him. At that moment, Rayden stepped outside the inn.

When another large man appeared along with the innkeeper, the children scattered again.

“It’s because of you, Rayden.”

Vivian grumbled, looking at the spot where the children had been moments before. Rayden scratched his head, unsure of what he had done wrong.

“Is there anything this place needs?”

Recalling the children’s faces, Vivian asked the innkeeper. Being a small village, there were bound to be inconveniences.

Wanting to help the cheerful children in any way, Vivian asked, and the innkeeper smiled broadly, revealing his well-aligned teeth.

“If a noble person like you says so, I won’t hesitate to speak up.”

Crossing his thick arms, the innkeeper looked up at the mountain behind the inn and let out a big breath.

“This mountain is a precious asset to this village. But it’s always dangerous because the mountain is so rugged. If a doctor could visit this place even once a month, it would be a great help to the villagers.”

The village was quite far from the nearest place with a doctor. People endured illnesses, often worsening them.

Vivian thought of the public medical system currently being promoted and decided to find a way to extend its benefits even to such remote places.

“I’ll do my best.”

At Vivian’s promise, the innkeeper, seeming embarrassed, scratched the back of his head with his large hand, thanking her, even if it was just words.

Night quickly descended on the village close to the mountain. The sun set rapidly, and with the air becoming noticeably colder, Vivian, feeling concerned, visited Tia’s room.

Fortunately, Tia seemed fine, and upon returning to her room, Vivian sorted out the medicine she had brought for emergencies, leaving behind what Tia wouldn’t need.

There was no precious magic stone lantern here.

Relying on a small flame on a candle, Vivian organized the medicine and took out a book she had packed just in case.

‘Bang, bang.’

While focused on reading, Vivian was startled by the sound of the strong wind hitting the window.

Approaching the window, Vivian looked outside. It was a night where the stars and moon were hidden behind clouds, with all light vanished.

Seeing nothing, Vivian, feeling uneasy, closed the old but clean curtains. As she meticulously closed the curtains without leaving a gap, she turned around.

“Shh.”

A man with a black cloak hood pulled down to his nose stood right behind Vivian. Quickly covering Vivian’s mouth, the man pushed her against the wall and twisted his lips into a smile.

“It would be wise to quietly come with me. That way, you might save at least one precious life.”

Too shocked to even breathe, Vivian realized that the person covering her mouth was Tristan.

How could this person be here? And why was he trying to take me away? 

Vivian quickly began to think.

At that moment, an item on top of the dresser in Vivian’s room, which she had thought was a simple decoration, sparkled. The light quickly enveloped Vivian.

As the blinding light passed through Vivian, making it impossible to open her eyes, she felt her feet lift off the ground, and the wind tangled her hair.

And then came silence.

“Open your eyes.”

At the rough voice, Vivian opened her tightly shut eyes.

A dim place. Vivian quickly realized that it was not the small village inn room where she had been.

Though her eyes, not yet adjusted to the darkness, worked hard to see, she couldn’t guess where she was.

The smell of musty dust, the faint scent of rotting wood, and the soft sound of an unknown bird seemed particularly loud.

“Now, as a hostage, you should fulfill your role. Don’t move. Otherwise, you’ll only end up with a wound on your thin wrist.”

Tristan said as he tied Vivian’s wrists with a rope.

“…Where is this place?”

Vivian asked as she diligently looked around.

Tristan, who had tightly tied the knot on her wrist, looked up. His face was still obscured by the hat covering half of it.

Tristan chuckled at Vivian’s question and sat her on a worn-out sofa.

“It seems you know who I am. As expected, Vivian Dinever, you are smart as the rumors say.”

Tristan lifted his hand and removed the black hood from his cloak.

A snake-like person.

Upon seeing Tristan’s face, Vivian thought of a snake. His dull gray eyes were insidiously sharp. With slanted eyes, a sharp nose, a small stature, and a gaunt body.

Though not large, he was a person who exuded a dangerous aura.

Vivian understood why Aitor had been worried and opposed her meeting with Tristan.

“You’re surprisingly fearless. It’s a reaction one wouldn’t expect from a noble lady who’s been kidnapped.”

His voice, mixed with a metallic tone, tormented Vivian’s ears.

“Even now… It’s not too late, so why not take me back to where I was?”

“Haha! Hahaha.”

At Vivian’s words, Tristan laughed, opening his unusually large mouth. After laughing for a while, Tristan stepped closer to the worn-out chair where Vivian was sitting.