North x Northwest

Side story 2 – Edgar’s Chapter 1: The Forest

Headnote: warning for excessive violence and gore. 

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Edgar knew it too. If the Ruwa tribe draws the attention of the Empire’s upper class, they will be turned into sex slaves rather than field slaves. 

‘It isn’t too difficult to predict…’

He ran away from the plaza after he got a sense of the situation. 

‘Seeing that there are so many highly ranked officers present in the raid, it seems like this is a planned attack.’

Rape was more common than slaughter on the plaza which had fires raging everywhere. The Ruwa tribe were caught beneath them, men and women of all ages.

Edgar closed his eyes at the terrible sight and thought only of Murasha. 

‘I have to find her.’

Thankfully, Murasha’s house wasn’t far. Edgar ran, hoping she wasn’t already on the plaza. 

‘It’s around the time they teach the children at home…’

His breath was high up his throat and he prayed to a god he didn’t believe in. Hoping that this was all a terrible dream, that nothing had happened and that it had been a normal day like any other…

“Murasha!”

It was quieter in her area, the tragedy could only be heard from afar for now. With his sword drawn, Edgar crossed the backyard and entered the house. The first thing he saw in the living room was a big bloodstain and blood smears similar to drag marks. 

‘These are clear signs of excessive bleeding…’

He rushed further inside, clutching the hilt of the sword. When a faint sob was heard, Edgar turned toward the kitchen.

In the middle of the darkness, he noticed a vague figure in the corner. Although she couldn’t be seen clearly, Edgar was certain it was her. A while back he had dug out a space in the wall for her to hide in if something horrific like this would ever happen.

‘She must have remembered it based on the way she hunched and concealed herself in front of it.’

He dashed over to Murasha and hugged her. Startled by the sudden intruder, she screamed and struggled violently. Edgar hastily covered her mouth and made eye contact, it was then that he noticed her petrified crimson eyes.

“Shh, it’s me.”

“Ed, Edgar?”

Edgar nodded silently. Only then did her crimson eyes well up with tears and she buried her face covered in blood and tears into his arms. Not only her face, but also her clothes and hair were stained with red. Edgar, who was holding her shoulders, tried to hoist her up.

“We have to get out of here.”

“I can’t…”

“..?”

Murasha shoved him away and flailed her hands over the wall while looking at him. She was frantically waving her hands in front of the movable part, which from the outside didn’t even look like there was a space hidden behind it.

“…The door won’t close…”

It was natural that it couldn’t be locked from the outside because its latch was on the inside. Edgar pushed the fake wall aside. The dragmarks, which started from the living room and continued under the wall, stopped at a body. Judging from the dried blood, the dead body had been dragged from the living room and pushed into the wall. Edgar looked at the open eyes and a hollow mouth. The body had a very familiar face…

‘…Murasha’s mother.’

Edgar closed the door and covered Murasha’s unfocused eyes. Despite her struggles from condemnation, he lifted her. Murasha flailed her hands and feet for a moment, but quickly became limp. Edgar left the building while wrapping his arms over the fainted girl’s back. 

Screams and imperial language could be heard nearby. The area that had been unoccupied when he ran in was suddenly crowded, and he was forced to return to the plaza.

The closer they got to the centre, the intenser the heat became. The red blaze of the fire was at its peak in the middle of the plaza. The source was the burning temple, with corpses scattered in front of it. Edgar, who thought it was fortunate that there were no high-ranked officers at the plaza anymore, found a figure standing tall in front of the temple.

It was the priest.

The man, with a body struck with dozens of arrows, shouted something like a curse.

“…Everyone will die! Everyone’s going to die!…”

As though in answer, the flames behind him shook ferociously. The priest appeared to be consumed by lunacy as he stood with his back to the blazing flames rising out of the massive temple. Edgar met his glowing red eyes, which were streaming with blood. The old man pursed his lips, looking like he was speaking to him. But instead of words, he spat forth blood. At the same time, the flames from the temple’s entrance enveloped the priest in an instant…

***

In the end, Edgar managed to board the fleet leaving the Western Continent. It was only a matter of time before Murasha was discovered by the Marquess as the latter came searching for his grandson in haste. Surprised, the marquess commented on the situation.

{ “A man who had never been interested in slavery, suddenly brings in a sex slave even before he got married?” }

When even the Marquess referred to her as Edgar’s slave, Edgar grew enraged. He remembered when they were living on the Northern Island, and how, although not paying much attention to the race there, knowing about their plight made him sad. Edgar, furious with his grandfather, exclaimed angrily at him that he would marry Murasha. His emotions were at its peak and he cried out that no one would see her as his slave if she was married to him. Hearing all that, it was only natural for the Marquess to go into a fit of rage himself.

But Edgar had no time to worry about his grandfather because Murasha started to get sick.

He initially assumed it was due to the long journey. She had never sailed or even seen a ship before, so crossing the ocean on her first voyage was naturally challenging for her. Her condition, however, didn’t improve even after several months in Roahn. Quality food, great clothes, pleasant surroundings, and Edgar’s care. Nothing could restore Murasha’s health. After two months in Roahn she even became bedridden. As Edgar was a doctor himself, he nursed her all hours of the day and night…

Edgar stared blankly at the faint face that seemed to be fading under the candlelight.

“Murasha.”

Her eyes were narrowed. Those eyes, which always glittered like jewels, had long since lost their lustre. The worn-out vitality wandered in search of something. Edgar tightly held her hand which over time had turned into nothing more than a bundle of skin and bones. With difficulty, her lips formed a smile.

“Edgar.”

“..!”

Edgar was relieved to see that Murasha remembered him this time.

“How many days have passed?”

“It has been four days.”

“…”

Recently, she started to lose consciousness only to wake up three to four days later. The pain experienced each time she awoke varied. At times, she complained of dizziness or searched for her deceased mother at others, and in some cases, she couldn’t even recall Edgar at all.

While stroking her brow, Edgar spoke.

“I’m going to visit a place called Sesbron. I have something important to do there. It won’t take long. And I’ll probably come back with some good news. In the meantime, Levi will be here for you…”

“…”

Murasha couldn’t fathom his last words and proceeded to close her eyes. Edgar paused for a moment before continuing.

“So don’t be surprised, don’t look for me… don’t worry….”

Suddenly, her figure became blurry like it had been soaked in water. Edgar frowned as he held back his tears. His fear that one day he wouldn’t be able to see her opening her eyes again, trampled on his heart. Feeling suffocated for a while, he struggled to move away from her.

Servants had prepared a horse in front of the stables. Sesbron wasn’t a short distance from Roahn, but Edgar planned to run nonstop. It had been two days since he learned that the members of the Ruwa tribe, which had been transported to Sesbron, were mysteriously dying one by one. The thread of deaths appeared to be an epidemic, and locals in Sesbron were terrified that a sex slave, who had mixed their body with its master, might carry an infectious disease.

But it certainly wasn’t an epidemic. Edgar wasn’t only close with Murasha, but with all the people of the Ruwa tribe. 

‘An epidemic, I had never seen or heard of it. However, I don’t give a damn what those locals are saying.’

Edgar intended to do autopsies on the piled-up bodies. 

‘They died after losing their strength, without any trauma. After carefully piecing together the information, I learned that the symptoms are similar to those of Murasha. That means Murasha has a treatable disease rather than a psychological ailment.’

Edgar’s heart swelled with hope.

He arrived at his residence in Sesbron within a week. Edgar had sent word to Sesbron beforehand, so upon his arrival, he could immediately head down to the basement. The bodies were laid one by one on narrow, hard wooden tables. The cellar was damp, full of rotting carcasses and creatures that were led by the decomposition. Despite all that, Edgar spent several nights in the cellar without leaving…

After falling asleep on his chair, he soon awoke and raised his heavy body. Although he was mentally and physically exhausted, what he did was fruitful. And that thought kept him going. Edgar removed the white cloth from the body next in line. The cloth that had been clinging to the dried blood fell off. 

‘All the bodies that I have examined so far have traces of whipping on their backs and thighs, but this body is particularly beaten all over… Brutal, sharp scars not only on the torso but also his arms, neck, face…’

Edgar’s throat choked. He groaned upon seeing the face.

“Chippo…”

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