Chapter 3

“Why do you always play alone?”

“…No one wants to play with me. They say I’m like a noble, so they think I’m annoying.”

“What mean kids! Then let’s play together.”

003

Deprivation (Part 2)

I didn’t know why such an absurd thing had happened.

Just a moment ago, reuniting with Anne was the biggest worry of my life. But now, a problem incomparable to that was shaking me.

Physically.

The Holy Army attacking our village—how does that make any sense?

“Ugh! These evil minions!”

“Annihilate them! Fight bravely!”

“Grant peace to the unsavable souls.”

The symphony of violence and screams erupting from all directions. The clashing of swords, the splattering of blood. My chest ached from the sound of my heartbeat, louder than the hooves of horses.

For a moment, I was dazed, and all escape routes were blocked. I crouched in a corner, waiting for the inevitable doom. My senses became unnervingly sharp, and I could vividly feel the unpleasant presence approaching.

Bang! A soldier’s boot kicked down the flimsy door. The soldier who stepped inside was a head taller than me, clad in seamless silver armor.

I thought of quickly ambushing him and escaping—but that absurd plan vanished from my mind as soon as it appeared. How could I, unarmed and untrained, take down such a brute?

All I could do was squeeze into the farthest corner, hold my breath, and pray that this moment would pass unnoticed.

Thud. Thud.

The soldier moved slowly and heavily around the house. From his actions, it seemed he had suspicions but no certainty.

“Earlier, I thought I saw someone here…”

My heartbeat was so loud I feared it would give me away. My chest tightened, and I stiffened like a corpse, waiting for this bloodless time to pass.

Fortunately, the soldier didn’t seem to find me. He moved around the house like a well-fed predator, eventually turning as if he had found nothing. He was about to leave…

Crack.

Something under his foot shattered. Straw flew, and the contents scattered messily everywhere.

A doll.

Please don’t notice, please don’t know anything. Just leave. Please, please.

But if there really was a god in this world, he would surely side with those more faithful to him.

“Here you are.”

The next moment, a rough hand shattered the hiding spot and dragged me up.

My neck was choked. I couldn’t breathe. Splinters of wood scratched my body as I struggled desperately to live. The soldier subdued me effortlessly, like holding a kitten by the scruff.

“P-please… spare me…”

“Found you. A filthy heretic’s lackey.”

The soldier’s eyes were filled with incomprehensible, fierce hostility. The eyes of a fanatic, unmoved by pathetic pleas or pity.

His spirit was as unyielding as his armor. Despite my flailing limbs hitting him, he didn’t flinch. With one hand, he lifted me and choked me. An absurd strength.

“Begging for your life? How many have died at the hands of heretics like you, unable to return to Ailim’s embrace?”

I’m not a heretic.

I’m just ordinary, insignificant, and so I had to let go of even the person I loved. A pitiful human who never overstepped their bounds.

But no excuse could escape my choked throat. The world darkened, and just before the thread of life snapped…

Thud. The soldier released his grip.

“Gasp! Hah, hah…”

Before I could feel the pain of the fall, I gasped for air as soon as I was free. My neck throbbed as if bruised, but the air I swallowed was so sweet.

Am I alive? Just as I began to harbor such vain hope…

Swoosh. The low hum of a sword.

“Disgusting and shameless wretch! If you have another life, may you atone then.”

A shadow loomed over me as I crouched. The warrior, with a gleaming sword drawn against the sun, looked like a judge from a holy painting.

The sword’s tip pointed straight at my neck. The intent was so direct, it silenced any argument I might have had. Without hesitation, the iron lightning struck down toward me.

I’m… going to die…

Boom!

And then, a storm hit.

The overwhelming force sent both me and the seemingly invincible soldier flying like fallen leaves. Amid the rising dust and my dizzy mind, I struggled to grasp what had happened.

What just happened? A disaster-like violence. Something had smashed through the wall of the house, sending us flying like toys.

As the aftermath settled, the figure became visible. Smaller than me, but with a sturdy build, clad in armor more ornate than the soldier’s, adorned with a blazing red cross.

A menacing figure, like thorns sprouting or blood congealing. As the soldier staggered to pick up his sword, a clear voice, mismatched with the terrifying appearance, rang out.

“Stop.”

The soldier dropped the sword he had pointed at me. The figure kicked it away and stood between us, as if shielding me.

My heart swelled with vain hope again. Maybe, just maybe…

Could they be here to save me?

That hope expanded to its limit as the figure turned to me and removed their helmet.

“An…ne?”

It was hard to believe, but that was the reality I faced.

A girl, slightly sweaty but still breathtakingly beautiful. Her deep blue eyes looked down at me with an unreadable expression.

Her face was familiar yet strange. Perhaps the situation made it feel even more so.

The girl, who once hesitated to even crush a bug, now had a cold, hard expression. The cool flames in her eyes were unmistakable—the eyes of a fanatic.

But my survival instinct denied what I felt. I staggered toward her, half-crawling.

“What… what’s going on? The villagers, they…”

“I couldn’t find one.”

“…What?”

An absurd answer, carrying a meaning I didn’t want to understand.

“Louis.”

Anne called my name softly. For that moment, she was the Anne I knew. Kind, beautiful, and shining—a little star descended to earth.

Then what was the menacing armor she wore? The small storm she had stirred? The iron mace she wielded, creating craters in the corner of the house.

Her smile was all too familiar. She asked casually, as if inquiring about my well-being.

“Where’s your fiancée?”

The truth I didn’t want to acknowledge slammed into my head.

Even as a country bumpkin, I had some experience from reading books and traveling to the city. The cross was a symbol only members of the Religious Order could use, and the sword-shaped cross belonged to the Holy Army, the Order’s direct military force.

The menacing, thorny red cross was the symbol of the most notorious group within the Order.

“Why…?”

“Hmm?”

“Why are you asking…? What are you planning to do?”

Anne just smiled without answering.

Instead, my gaze turned to the remote corner. The iron mace Anne had thrown was covered in dust and wood splinters, dripping with some black liquid—yet it still gleamed. Like her smile.

“Don’t worry, Louis.”

Anne reached out and gently stroked my hair. A light touch that was once part of our daily life.

But now, all I felt was the cold, sticky touch of her iron gauntlet.

“You won’t be harmed.”

To me, those words sounded slightly different. Only me.

“I… I don’t know…”

“Are you lying to me too? That’s disappointing.”

The reality that pushed me to my limits, no longer allowing doubt or denial, smiled prettily.

The person before me was an Anne I didn’t know. A heretic inquisitor clad in menacing armor, wielding a destructive mace, carrying out slaughter. Yet her face, aside from being more mature, still bore traces of the girl from my childhood.

I wanted to ask, what changed you so much?

And if you’ve changed, why are you still the same to me?

“I… really don’t know. And…”

“Hmm?”

“If I knew, what would you…?”

Anne tilted her head and asked again. Her clear voice, devoid of anger or malice, only instilled fear in me.

“Are you siding with another woman in front of me?”

Any answer felt wrong, so I stayed silent. Whatever meaning she took from my silence, Anne’s smile slowly faded.

“If you don’t want to answer, that’s fine.”

“I… I really…”

“Yeah, I believe you.”

She didn’t seem to believe me at all. Anne bent down and stroked my cheek as if petting an animal. But unlike the affectionate touch, her face was eerily expressionless.

“Louis is a coward, but when it comes to protecting someone dear, you’re braver than anyone. It’s always been that way.”

I knew she was misunderstanding terribly, but I wasn’t given a chance to explain.

Thud. Something hit the back of my head. It wasn’t a beheading, but the blunt impact drained the strength from my body, and the world blurred.

Before my eyes fully closed, the last thing I saw was the cold back of the heretic inquisitor, donning her helmet and giving orders to her subordinates.

“Take him away.”