“The problem is with all of you.”

The person who slowly walked out from among the crowd was Zimmer.

“You, who are you to blame us! Are you even from our village? Looking like a beggar!”

However, people didn’t seem to recognize that it was Zimmer, and their confusion only intensified.

“What, a beggar? Do you really not know who I am?”

Despite the insult, Zimmer stood upright without caring, and people murmured while examining him closely.

“You, aren’t you Zimmer? Where on earth have you been? I thought you were dead.”

Then Luther, who had been standing to one side, stepped forward with an excited face and grabbed Zimmer’s hand.

“Zimmer? That person is that Zimmer?”

“Who’s Zimmer?”

“You know, the one who used to be the village chief…”

“That’s right. I’m that Zimmer.”

Zimmer shouted with a voice filled with years of anger and pain.

“You surely haven’t forgotten that too, have you? On the day the typhoon came, I left my son behind to try to stop the flooding alone, trying to save all of you. I trusted you. That even without me, the villagers would protect my son. But when I returned, my son was collapsed on the cold ground. None of you looked after the child, and in the end, I lost everything.”

At Zimmer’s words, the entire area fell silent. Some bowed their heads in apparent shame, while others still looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

“I didn’t expect thanks, and it was something I wanted to do. But what did you do? After my son died, I went from village chief to homeless, living day by day just to survive. No one remembered me. Regardless of who I had been in the past, I had simply become a discarded existence.”

He paused for a moment and took a deep breath. He seemed to be trying to suppress his rising emotions.

“Still, on my son’s death anniversary… for the strawberries that child had wanted to eat so much, I sought you out. But none of you helped me. Everyone turned away from me. Only Rudis extended her hand to me. Without expecting anything in return. Every year, she consistently got me strawberries even for my humble gestures of gratitude. That Rudis, you point fingers at her calling her a witch? If you’re looking for someone who really deserves to be cursed, look in a mirror. Don’t look in the wrong places!”

Zimmer’s voice, mixed with indignation, filled the plaza. Young children asked adults what event Zimmer was talking about, and older people covered their faces and sighed.

Only then did an atmosphere of self-blame and regret begin to circulate among the people.

Zimmer slowly approached Rudis and firmly grasped both her hands. His hands were rough and trembling endlessly.

“I’m sorry. I think I’ve been mean to you all this time. Even during this typhoon, I knew you were doing it out of concern for me.”

“No.”

Rudis quietly shook her head. While firmly holding Zimmer’s hands, she spoke with a forced smile.

“Right. You saved me during this typhoon too, didn’t you? When I saw that silver-haired man who was with you recently, I understood. On the day I lost consciousness in the forest, I thought I had dreamed it… but apparently not. You protected me.”

Silver hair? Noah?

Rudis froze for a moment. Then she recalled that day.

The days when she had forcibly pressed the cabin key into Zimmer’s hands despite his protests that it wasn’t necessary, and still worried about him just in case. Even when the typhoon was raging, Zimmer’s safety had occupied a corner of her mind.

How happy she had been to see Zimmer appear safely. But it had been thanks to Noah.

Noah’s personality was consistent. Then and now, he maintained the same cold attitude. That Noah, who possessed the most powerful divine power yet despised helping people, had helped Zimmer without Rudis even asking.

Rudis’s eyes grew hot.

Even while saying he disliked it, Noah had ultimately been helping like this from behind. Worried that Rudis might be sad. Concerned that she might regret something. Even if he didn’t tell her directly, she could feel that he cared about Rudis.

…Of course, after the typhoon passed, he would have erased memories and kicked him out. Still, that was enough.

“Thank you. Really, thank you.”

“Yes.”

Rudis accepted Zimmer’s gratitude somewhat bewildered. Just when a warm atmosphere was beginning to settle in, suddenly an ominous shout came from one side of the plaza.

“If, if she’s not a witch!”

At that moment, the gazes of all the people gathered in the village plaza turned toward Rudis again. The ominous murmuring gradually grew louder.

“If she’s not a witch, what else could she be! Four men. Does that make sense?”

“Four men is a bit…”

“Right, everyone saw it, didn’t they? I still haven’t received the prize I should have gotten at the harvest festival. I haven’t received anything since that Rudis entered the castle. She must have done something there.”

The sight of her returning to the village with four men seemed to have had a big impact. Four undeniably handsome men. Even Rudis would have been suspicious if she were in the villagers’ position. The murmuring voices began to grow sharper.

“She’s capable. I’m envious.”

Then someone began shouting loudly.

“Right. Not only Xenon, the most handsome man in this village, but she has other men too? Isn’t that amazing? She’s been blessed because she lives kindly.”

Among the grouped people, someone made a playful expression toward Rudis. They were strangers from the tavern, people Xenon had introduced as guild members. Rudis pressed her forehead.

“Who on earth spread the rumor about her being a witch? Are their heads empty? If they have eyes, they should look. Where else in the village is there someone as pretty and kind-looking as Rudis…”

Isn’t this too obvious? The strong will to somehow change public opinion was too blatantly revealed.

‘They’re doing that to help me, right? But why is it more embarrassing?’

It was more shameful than when people whispered while looking at her like she was a bug. To the point where she wanted to run away immediately.

“Right. What’s wrong with it? Life is short and there’s a lot to do.”

The one who spoke up timidly while clearing his throat was Colin. Bow-legged Colin. He was even dating one more person than she was.

“Right?”

At Colin’s words, multiple women blushed and agreed. They seemed to be people currently dating Colin. They wore jewelry decorations on their chests. They were gifts made from the gems Rudis had given Colin.

“Do you think that makes sense? Not one person but four people! And only with the most handsome men in the village!”

Seemingly flustered by the unexpected reaction, Meilin spoke with bulging eyes.

“Why, are you so upset because you can’t even date one of them?”

Someone’s playful remark instantly reversed the atmosphere. When laughter erupted among the people, Meilin’s face turned red.

“Come to think of it, that’s right. She confessed to Xenon and got rejected flat out, so now she’s jealous that he’s dating Rudis?”

It was Sandra who quietly added words from the middle. Only then did Rudis also look bewildered.

What? That happened? She never dreamed that Meilin liked Xenon.

Come to think of it, Xenon had subtly appealed about his popularity, and she seemed to have felt piercing gazes from behind when she and Ralph were together on Sandra and Ralph’s wedding day.

“Right. She said she was going to make kiki berry jam or something as a gift for Xenon. Didn’t she get the kiki berries by asking Rudis?”

This time Ralph, who was sticking close to Sandra’s side, chimed in.

“My goodness, then what Rudis said was true? She really submitted the kiki berries that Rudis got for her to the harvest festival?”

“That’s not right! I grow pumpkins every year for the harvest festival! Really, isn’t it strange? Kiki berries winning first place!”

“Did she use magic? Not Rudis!”

People’s gazes gradually poured toward Meilin. Meilin stepped backward in apparent panic, but once ignited, suspicion didn’t easily die down.

It was somewhat satisfying, but she didn’t want Meilin to be cornered by being branded a witch this time. After some consideration, Rudis stepped forward.

“That’s not it. I don’t know the details, but his lordship said there was some mistake with the harvest festival! Meilin didn’t use magic.”

Kaires hadn’t said that exactly… but this much should be okay, right? Just when her conscience was pricking her for lying without permission,

“That’s right. Rudis is correct.”

A heavy voice cut through the air. People all turned their heads toward the owner of the voice.

“…Your lordship?”

While everyone was murmuring, Kaires slowly revealed himself. Despite her plea for him to wear ordinary clothes, he was still in his formal uniform.

Splendid and conspicuous, in an appearance that made it impossible not to recognize him as the lord at first glance.