The Devil Who Breaks My Neck

“It wasn’t originally yours, so don’t feel wronged.”

Before leaving the castle, Ezekiel took the gold ring from Charlotte, who offered to see him off. That beautiful ring with a clear Serpence pattern……. Charlotte said no, as Herace did in the past, but the results were the same. Even though it was obviously in her hands, Ezekiel’s order deprived her of everything.

“He doesn’t give me anything I should have…… He took away what I had to take care of the woman who is clearly dead!”

“Mother.”

Miguel gently called his mother and touched her shoulder, who was whining with his small hands. Charlotte raised her head slightly, and the child said, bending his large gold eyes beautifully.

“You can’t be upset about that. You’re stubborn, and Father is stubborn, too. You are in trouble because of your delusions and excessive greed. And the duchess is not dead. She’s alive and well.”

“You, you!”

Charlotte raised her head roughly and shouted. She didn’t feel strange about her son, Miguel, who seemed to know everything. Instead, she sprang to her feet and began growling, venting all the emotions she had been suppressing.

“She’s dead! Dead! That’s why he hasn’t found her yet!”

“…….”

“Your mother is me! The ring is mine! The duchess’ seat is mine, too! It’s all mine!”

Miguel squinted at his mother, who was acting almost, no, like a madwoman. The child, who stuck out his tongue and licked his lips slightly, looked as if he was eating delicious candy. The child took a slow breath and closed his eyes, enduring his mother’s tantrum.

“But why! Why is he doing this to me? Why does he keep taking my things away!”

Charlotte kept shouting to particularly no one and throwing things away. But her rant did not leak out, and all the objects facing the floor were somehow intact.

It was a bizarre sight to anyone. However, neither the child sitting on the bed nor the woman running wild in her suppressed emotions responded to the abnormal phenomenon.

Charlotte, who had been in a daze for a while, stopped acting at some point. She ran and grabbed her son’s hand again.

“You…… Miguel, if you grow up to be a successor…… Then….”

“…….”

“Everyone will look up to me, right? I’ll look at you as a duchess. Isn’t that right?”

Miguel only tilted his head as if he were troubled by his pathetic mother’s words. Charlotte clasped her son’s hand as if pleading. Only then did the child nod with a pretty smile.

“Ah…”

“Don’t worry and get a good night’s sleep. You’d be ashamed if the servants and maids saw your appearance like this.”

Little hands wandered around Charlotte’s eyes. She followed the child’s touch and collapsed on her knees again.

“That’s right. I can’t show this to the servants. Because I’m going to be the duchess.”

Charlotte, who mumbled blankly, closed her eyes with her head leaning against the seat where Miguel sat. Miguel looked at the ornaments on his mother’s sleeping hair and picked up a large ruby. He put the gem in his mind and chewed up the red solid gem before mumbling.

“…… of course, it will happen if you are alive until then, Mother.”

****

A bundle of white lilies drawn along the pattern of the temple was exquisite as if they would immediately emit incense. The work of Herace was comparable to the work of a craftsman. The priestess Yulina mumbled, with a gaze of admiration.

“Thank you again. The goddess will repay your sincerity.”

Herace, who blushed at the compliment, put her hands together and bent down. There was no word, but her shy smile and a slightly red face clearly showed how happy she was.

“You are always a beautiful believer.”

Yulina looked at Herace’s face glistening with joy and admired it without realising it. She should have already gotten used to it, but the woman in front of her was always surprisingly beautiful whenever she saw her.

‘How could her husband, who left his wife at the hands of the Goddess, close his eyes properly to reset…… Oh, what an unholy thought. Goddess, forgive me.’

Surprised by her impure words, priestess Yulina hurriedly reached into the white conquering sleeve. With the sound of a small bag jingling, it gently landed on Herace’s white hand.

“I’m sorry that the price is always low for your skills.”

“No, I am always grateful, Priestess.”

Herace, who took the bag, smiled brightly. It wasn’t too heavy, but this will not only help them prepare for the upcoming winter, but she’ll be able to feed Erzen a meat stew this evening. Herace put the bag in her arms and looked at the little child who held her hand.

When Herace looked at Erzen, Yulina naturally looked at the child. She greeted Erzen, who held Herace’s hand tightly, with a benevolent face.

“Come to think of it, I forgot our young believer, yes. Erzen, how have you been?”

Yulina’s voice was full of fondness for the child. However, Erzen buried his face deep in Herace’s skirt, and peeped out only one side to look at Yulina, who was trying to find what was so embarrassing. Blue eyes that resemble his mother sparkled with the child’s unique innocence.

“Erzen, say hello to the priestess.”

“It’s all right. I haven’t seen him in a long time, so he’s shy.”

When Herace called the child in a stern voice, priestess Yulina waved her hand. She knew it from looking at the child that he was no more than two years old. The beautiful and pretty child resembling his mother was as shy as the appearance of a soft-looking child.

“Erzen, come on.”

Herace had firm eyes despite Yulina’s dissuasion. Erzen looked up at his stern-faced mother, pouted his lips, and hesitatingly came forward. Cute shoes that fit the child’s small feet gathered in the front and made a cute shape.

“……Hello, Priestess.”

His voice was so small that no one could hear it if they didn’t pay attention, but Herace gently patted the child’s head as if he had done well. Erzen smiled at his mother’s compliment and clung to Herace’s legs again. The way he rubbed his face against his mother’s skirt was so cute that the priest Yulina looked at him with a pleased face and untied the cloth bag hanging from her waist.

“Then please help me for this time’s work, too. I told you last time, but it’s going to be used for pretty important things.”

“Don’t worry. Thank you for trusting me. I’ll bring it to you as soon as possible.”

Herace nodded, looking sideways at the expensive gold thread and fabric in her hand. The work entrusted by the temple this time was highly remunerated as the materials were expensive.

‘I can take a break from work earlier than I expected.’

After finishing this and preparing for the winter, she’ll play with Erzen all day. On a snowy day, they will have a snowball fight and then tell the child a lot of stories.

Thinking of such a smooth future, Herace gently swept Erzen’s cheek, which was attached to her skirt. The child rubbed his face on his mother’s hand and acted childish.

“Then we’ll be going back.”

As Herace bent down, Erzen also greeted Yulina and held his mother’s hand tightly. Yulina gathered her hands as if praying and nodded her head slowly.

“Yes, take good care of yourself. May the Goddess’ protection…….”

However, the greeting of the priestess did not end. Yulina was about to say farewell to Herace’s when she heard people buzzing outside as if there was a disturbance in the village just below the temple on the hill. There was also a pretty loud shout from the middle of the crowd, so the three of them naturally headed down the hill.

“That man is…”

Priestess Yulina blurred her words when she saw the figure of a young man at the centre of the disturbance, to be exact. Herace, who was looking at the man following the priestess’ gaze, looked at the carriage behind the horse with wary eyes. High-end wagons and deer antlers on the roof of the wagon that didn’t go with these valleys…….

‘………why would noblemen come to this town?’

The owner of that carriage was obviously a nobleman. The deer horn decoration, which cannot be hung carelessly, proved it. As the crown shape was used only by the imperial family, the owl shape was used only by high-ranking officials, and the lily shape was used only by priests. The deer horn decoration was a felony if it was used by a person who was not allowed or given permission by the Emperor only to the nobles of a certain status.

Herace asked in a dark voice.

“Who is he?”

****

“Mom, I’m hungry.”

The child began to fret at the delayed lunch hour. While walking gently to soothe Erzen, Herace picked up a wild flower by the side of the road and held it to Erzen. It must have been hard to carry him under the heavy weight, but Herace was happy to feel her child was growing healthily.

“Yes, Erzen. Let’s go home quickly. I’ll go and cook something delicious for you.”

Originally, she would have arrived home and finished their meal. But Herace stayed in the temple for a few more hours, making excuses. She could have gone down right away, but she didn’t want to run into the man on the horse and the group.

‘By this time, he must have left the town.’

The man looked good even though she saw him from a distance. His glossy brown hair and neat appearance as the hair of a riding horse did not match such a small village.

“He was the youngest son of the lord around here. He came back from the capital. I’ve heard that…… He wouldn’t walk in a town like this all the time. I only know his face because I’ve seen it a few times at prayer time.”

But that made her more wary. Unlike the villagers who did not even know her existence, let alone her face, any aristocrat who stayed in the capital might know her face. Besides, even if he didn’t know her, Herace didn’t want to face the local government. It was because of the many bad experiences she had in the past.

‘……it’s okay. No need to worry.’

Herace shook her head which has been assuming various situations. It’s been years since she left the capital. And what happened after leaving the castle was just because of some bad people. It was not good to be anxious and suspicious about something that didn’t even happen.

Herace fixed Erzen in her arms and moved again. The road in front wasn’t steep, but it was downhill, so Herace’s steps were cautious.