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Chapter 107: Execution by Fire (1)
The trial proceeded calmly.
The townspeople were not as agitated as they had been the day before.
Jedrick knelt on the ground, looking around at the people in the square.
There were fewer people than yesterday.
Quite a number had chosen not to attend the trial.
His mother was nowhere to be seen.
‘Is she angry at her son for failing to act on what he said yesterday?’
Normally, that would have been the obvious conclusion.
But after what Ikarum had told him earlier, he began to think differently.
‘Or is it because she can’t bear to watch her son’s final moments?’
On one side stood the three chieftains and the elders.
Sao was there as well.
He avoided making eye contact with Jedrick.
Jedrick's arms were tied behind his back again.
At first, he could sit in that position without much difficulty.
But as the trial went on, it became impossible to keep his upper body upright, and he had to lie down on the ground.
The cold surface pressing against his wounded face felt oddly refreshing, almost relieving.
He wanted to see where Damion was, but at the same time, he didn’t want to see him at all.
‘Would things have been different if I had spoken sooner? Should I have put everything else aside and said this first?’
Memories of all the moments when he failed to speak up flooded his mind.
The reasons he hadn’t spoken, and the overwhelming regret that he should have, consumed him.
Ikarum spoke in a furious tone, detailing Jedrick’s crimes.
He didn’t want to hear it, but fortunately, the words blurred into an indistinct noise, making it difficult to make out the details.
The accusations were clear enough, though—he had violated a southern woman, and for that, he had to be executed.
Jedrick was given a chance to defend himself.
But no words came out.
There was only one thing he could say: I didn’t force her… But in a case of rape, a man claiming he did not use force was never considered proof of innocence.
There was no point in saying it.
His silence was taken as an admission of guilt.
Charlon did not appear in the square.
It was common in such trials for the female victim not to be present.
Instead, her family or husband—who "owned" her—was expected to speak on her behalf.
Jedrick had expected Rusef to step forward.
But for some reason, Damion was given the right to speak instead.
Damion said nothing.
That, too, was taken as agreement with Ikarum’s accusations.
Finally, Sao stood and spoke.
“The elders and chieftains unanimously expel him from Elhorn.”
Jedrick understood Sao’s decision.
It was the only logical course of action.
It meant that the conquerors would not be executing an Elhorn warrior but merely punishing an ordinary villager.
It was a solution that allowed both sides to feel at ease.
At last, Ikarum called out,
“We will now proceed to a vote.”
Lying on the ground, Jedrick couldn’t see the result.
He didn’t need to.
And he didn’t have to wait long.
“It is unanimous. Jedrick is guilty and will be executed by fire.”
‘Burned at the stake? I’m not a witch…’
So that was why they had been stacking wood in the square.
Jedrick felt disappointed.
A beheading would have been better.
At the same time, he felt relief.
At least Charlon wouldn’t have to see this.
* * *
Charlon clung to Rusef’s hand as he donned his armor like a warrior preparing for battle.
“Rusef, please stop this. Jeje didn’t force himself on me.”
She had spent the entire night waiting for him, unable to sleep.
She had been trapped inside, unable to see anyone, and now that her brother had finally appeared, she grabbed hold of him the moment she saw him.
Charlon released all the emotions she had been holding back.
“Please stop it. Jeje—no, Jedrick—is innocent. It was all my…”
“I know.”
Rusef spoke calmly.
“You knew?”
“Yes. You gave your heart to that man long ago. That’s why I tried to keep you away from him… I shouldn’t have entrusted this to Count Vadio.”
Charlon didn’t understand what he meant by entrusted, but she was relieved that he knew the truth.
“Then you can testify, right? If it wasn’t forced, then it was just something that happened between the two of us—”
“Just something?”
Rusef let out a bitter sigh.
“Do you still not understand what you’ve done? You’ve disgraced our family.”
He had always been the one to cling to her, while she had been the one to push him away.
Now, it was the opposite.
“How can you be so thoughtless? You let your lust cloud your judgment! Or was it because you visited that heretic temple yesterday? Did it drive you mad?”
“No! I’m completely sane.”
“Enough. That man will stand trial and be executed. I won’t interfere. In fact, that’s the best thing for that so-called great chieftain. Because if it were up to me, I would make him die in the most painful way I know.”
“Please, Rusef.”
Charlon sobbed.
“If you won’t save him… just kill me instead.”
Rusef had always been weak against her tears.
Ever since they were children, if she cried and begged, he would always give in.
He had given up his favorite apple pie for her, carried her on his back for long distances, and even defended her against their strict mother.
But now, he didn’t.
He didn’t even look at her tears.
“Say no more. We’re returning to Born.”
“The army? The negotiations aren’t over yet. We should stay a little longer—”
“Since when did you care about that?”
Rusef’s voice was ice-cold.
Just yesterday, Rusef had often muttered to himself about how there was much that Count Vadio owed in exchange for leaving Born's army behind.
But then, that meeting had been abruptly cut short.
That meant that Rusef was now abandoning all those rights and leaving.
"I don't care how much we lose. We're leaving as we are. That way, we can avoid running into Prince Damion. And once it's confirmed that you're not pregnant, I’ll ask the prince to take you back again. From the way he was talking yesterday, it seems like he'll accept you generously. If he's the same Damion I've seen at the royal court, I'm sure he will. You should be grateful."
Charlon wanted to say that she didn't want the prince to take her back, but she couldn't bring herself to speak.
She had never seen Damion's fury before, yet guilt and fear were growing inside her.
Even if things went as Rusef intended and she met Damion again, even if their political marriage proceeded as planned, she wasn't sure she could live with him.
What scared her even more was the thought that the prince might actually accept the marriage.
Charlon felt pain in her heart.
Thinking of Jedrick hurt.
Thinking of Damion hurt.
"I have no face to show my father. I swore to protect you, but I failed."
Charlon spoke in a voice that was barely audible.
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"Please, Rusef. You've always been on my side. Please, save me this time too."
Rusef nodded.
"I'm doing this to save you. If the village trial results in that man being spared, I'll kill him myself. So that you never have foolish thoughts again."
Charlon couldn't stop Rusef’s determined steps as he walked away like a soldier heading into battle.
From outside the tent, Rusef's fierce voice rang out.
"You four! Guard Charlon. No matter what excuse she gives or what she demands, don’t let her take a single step outside or meet anyone. Even if King Gallant himself comes, refuse him!"
Charlon screamed as she cried.
"Rusef, call Stuga too! I have something to say!"
There was no answer.
"Rusef!"
After a moment, one of the knights standing guard outside the tent spoke softly through the gap in the entrance.
"The commander has already left, My Lady."
"Then please, I won’t ask to leave. Just call the prince’s shadow for me. Some call him Stuga…"
"The prince’s shadow? You mean General Terdin’s shadow as well?"
Charlon caught a glimmer of hope in the knight’s calm voice.
"Yes, that’s right. Please, bring him here…"
"I'm sorry, My Lady. But as far as I know, the prince’s shadow has been imprisoned."
Charlon's eyes widened in shock.
"Imprisoned? What do you mean?"
"I'm not sure of the details. Do you know anything about this?"
One of the knights asked another, and a different voice responded.
"I'm not entirely sure, but the charge was something like murdering a noble’s young son? Though it doesn’t seem like it happened just last night…"
The first knight then calmly explained to Charlon again.
"I'm sorry, My Lady. Things on that side are quite tense right now, and I doubt the people of Triton would release him just because we ask."
Charlon took a step back and collapsed onto the floor.
She could do nothing.
She had never felt so powerless in her life.
'It's all my fault. My greed ruined everything…'
She tried not to cry, but the tears came rushing out.
And through the blurred vision caused by her tears, something flickered past.
Above the tent.
She gasped and looked up.
Nothing.
Had she imagined it?
'No, I wasn’t mistaken.'
Charlon wiped her tears away and blinked several times to clear her vision.
She needed to see clearly.
That thing had only ever appeared in the underground temple of Iktaron, beyond the snake pit, inside the cave.
She hadn’t seen it since then.
But when the ghouls swarmed in, it had appeared.
It was just invisible.
'It just appeared again.'
It vanished quickly, leaving no trace, and she hadn’t actually seen it with her eyes.
But she was certain.
"It's you, isn't it?"
Charlon whispered, making sure the knights outside wouldn't hear her.
There was no response.
It had never answered her before.
But she hoped that this time, it would do something.
"It's really you, isn't it? You appeared again, didn't you?"
Charlon kept calling out to a random spot inside the tent.
Back then, she had feared it and wished it would disappear.
But now, it was the only thing she believed would listen to her.
Now, it seemed like a fairy who could grant her wish.
"If you’re my guardian fairy, then help me."
Charlon kept looking around, hoping for some sign that it was still there.
But nothing appeared.
'It needs darkness.'
Charlon extinguished the lantern inside the tent.
But that wasn’t enough darkness.
So she pulled a blanket over herself and curled up.
Still, it wasn’t dark enough.
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No matter what she did, she couldn't recreate the deep darkness of the cave.
"Please, help me. Please, show yourself. If you’re really my guardian fairy, come out now and help me."
But nothing appeared.
Not even a hint.
Instead, the knights outside called out to her.
"Are you alright, My Lady?"
Charlon responded to the knight, but in reality, she was speaking to it.
"I'm not alright. I'm really not. So help me. Just this once, please help me."
Charlon wept.
The only ones who could hear her cries were the two knights, but they had no idea why she was crying and only stood there awkwardly.
At some point, instead of asking for help, Charlon's lips began to utter apologies.
"I'm sorry, Jedrick. I'm sorry, Damion. I'm sorry, Ram. It’s all my fault. If only I weren’t here, none of this would have happened…"
Charlon sobbed under the blanket.
'I shouldn’t have been born.'
Her mother’s voice thundered in her ears.
‘A thing like you should never have been born!’
And Charlon repeated the words of the mother she had feared and hated so much.
"I should never have been born…"
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