Episode 15
“Wicked woman!”
“Kill that witch!”
“Spit!”
Someone spat toward Luiji.
That was the signal—people began rushing at her.
“Quick, tie her to the stake and burn her!”
“No, stop!”
A young woman who had arrived late, holding her niece in her arms, screamed.
“Waaahhh!”
The baby in her arms burst into tears.
“She’s a witch! The witch’s sister and child!”
“Catch them! Grab them and burn them together!”
Rough hands from the villagers reached toward the woman.
The young woman clutched her niece tightly.
As if holding the struggling baby still would save them.
It was hot.
The flames rising in the square blazed as if reaching the moon.
The tears streaming endlessly down her cheeks.
The warmth of the baby writhing in her arms.
It was so hot it felt like she would burn to death.
“Anyone… please.”
The young woman begged.
“Someone, please help us!”
At that moment—
A sharp, dignified voice rang out.
“Who dares perform a witch hunt on the lands of Peyron?”
A figure stepped forward toward the flames, their long robe fluttering.
❀ ❀ ❀
The one who stepped forward before the execution stake was Leia.
Seeing the sisters and the baby crying in such a miserable state made her so furious that her hair felt like it would stand on end.
These were kind people who had taken in and cared for them when they were stranded.
Just before parting, they had waved and smiled.
Helix, standing beside her, whispered.
“Leia, calm down. There’s no need to invoke the kingdom’s name like that.”
“That bastard is invoking the name of God. We need to counter with something big too.”
Leia gritted her teeth and muttered quietly.
Just moments ago—
When Leia asked if they would come with her, Luiji had replied:
She was deeply grateful, but she could not leave the village where she was born and raised, and where her husband was buried.
So they had decided to return first and send a token of gratitude later—but who would have expected something like this to be happening?
“Good thing I looked back and saw the flames. If not, we wouldn’t have known.”
Leia glared at the priest.
She had suspected he was up to something, but to think he would try to kill people with such a method.
“Uh….”
The villagers froze in confusion at the sudden appearance of the robed man and woman speaking like nobles.
Taking advantage of the moment, Leia approached Luiji and took her hand.
“Stand up.”
Drip.
Tears fell from Luiji’s vacant eyes.
“Don’t cry now. You can cry as much as you want later.”
Leia said firmly and waited as Luiji straightened her clothes.
Then she turned to the villagers and asked sharply:
“His Majesty the King has declared that there are no practitioners of evil arts on the lands of Peyron. Who dares falsely accuse this innocent woman of being a witch?”
It’s him.
That one.
The villagers pointed at the priest with timid gestures and eyes.
The stunned priest quickly came to his senses.
“W-whether I know which noble house you belong to or not… the will of the secular world and the will of the divine are different. That woman is indeed a witch!”
He was quick with his tongue.
“So that’s how he’s been branding a mother as a witch?”
Leia suppressed her anger and asked coldly:
“Is that so? Then what is your reason for being certain she is a witch?”
“Because monsters have threatened the village because of that woman!”
“And what proof do you have that it’s her fault?”
There was none.
But he couldn’t back down now.
Just as he had done with the villagers, the priest spouted nonsense—that monsters had increased since Luiji’s husband died.
Leia cut him off.
“Not even worth listening to. Monsters are rampant not just here, but across the entire northern region. How do you explain that?”
“Th-that is…!”
Unable to respond, the villagers began to feel something was off.
Now that they thought about it, the situation had escalated too suddenly.
Out of nowhere, a young widow had been accused of witchcraft.
They had been frightened with talk of monsters.
It had all been claims made solely by the priest.
The villagers began whispering.
“Now that I think about it, didn’t the priest target Luiji?”
“I remember now. Last time, I think he even said he wanted her as his mistress! I thought I misheard!”
“Wait… didn’t Luiji’s husband die because of something that priest did?”
Murmur, murmur.
The atmosphere began to shift.
As the villagers looked at him with suspicion, cold sweat trickled down the priest’s back.
Cornered, he shouted loudly:
“Look at that witch’s face!”
“What about her face?”
“That pretty face! She’s definitely a witch! She must have groomed herself like that to seduce men!”
“What the hell?”
Leia snapped back in anger.
“So you’re saying she’s a witch because she’s beautiful?”
She threw off her robe’s hood. Long platinum-blonde hair cascaded down like a waterfall.
“Then what does that make me? A great witch?”
❀ ❀ ❀
Her long platinum hair scattered smoothly like a halo framed by the flames.
Her slender figure was elegant, and her revealed face made everyone hold their breath.
Her overwhelming beauty stunned everyone present.
“…Are you a goddess?”
Luiji asked, hands clasped together.
Leia shook her head.
“I am Leia Peart, daughter of the Duke House of Peart.”
The priest’s jaw dropped.
So did the villagers’.
The Duke House of Peart—one of the most renowned noble houses in the Kingdom of Peyron, known even in these remote mountains!
The village chief rushed forward and knelt.
“T-this humble place is honored by your presence…!”
“You’re lying! Why would the Duke’s daughter be in a place like this?” the priest shouted.
“That woman must be a great witch as she claimed!”
Leia considered incinerating his head with a fireball.
But she restrained herself.
Using magic here might cause Luiji—whom she had just saved—to be accused of witchcraft again.
Still, she needed to suppress that priest somehow.
Thud.
Someone poked her arm as she hesitated. It was Helix, still standing behind her with his hood up.
His eyes said:
“Leave it to me.”
Leia nodded slightly.
Receiving her consent, Helix reached out naturally.
Swoosh.
He pulled her hood back over her silver hair.
“There’s no need to keep your esteemed face exposed for long.”
He spoke respectfully in a low voice, then swept his gaze over the gathered villagers.
After the initial shock and awe, some of them had begun looking at Leia with desire, but quickly lowered their heads.
Step.
Satisfied that his warning had landed, Helix stepped forward.
“How dare you speak so rudely to the young lady?”
He said in a low tone.
“Were it not for her merciful nature, I would have torn out your tongue as an example…”
Helix glared at the priest.
Dealing with such a vile man was something even he, as a guardian, would gladly do.
Stomp, stomp.
He approached the priest and lifted him by the head as if pulling up a radish.
“Y-you—gaaah!”
The priest, dangling in the air by his hair, struggled.
“Let me go! The gods will not let you get away with this!”
“Is that all the wrath your god can muster?”
Helix said calmly.
“This is the wrath of the Duke House.”
Shake, shake, shake.
The priest was violently shaken in all directions while being held by his hair.
“Ugh! Gah! Urk!”
“Endure it. The Duke’s wrath is not over yet.”
“Gyaaah!!”
❀ ❀ ❀
“…Huh.”
Prince Patrick was watching from behind the bushes.
He had sent a guide to investigate after seeing flames rising in the village, and the report he received was unexpected.
The priest was attempting to burn a witch at the stake.
A witch hunt.
It had been prohibited by the king due to the large number of innocent victims.
“We must stop it.”
They couldn’t allow an innocent woman to burn to death.
After much deliberation, the prince had hidden himself with a guide and a small strike team, planning to intervene at the right moment.
“Sir Peart, if that woman is tied to the stake, rescue her.”
“And while we’re at it, shouldn’t we take out that priest and escape?”
“…Just save the woman.”
But then, Leia Peart had suddenly appeared.
She swiftly and boldly subdued the priest and cleared the woman’s name.
The man beside him, Ruyan, had looked ready to rush out the moment Leia revealed her face, but after seeing her handling of the situation, he now wore a proud expression.
“…You really are quite the doting brother.”
“Our Leia deserves it. Didn’t you see? How clever, bold, beautiful, and flawless she is!”
“You’re right.”
Patrick Prince honestly felt impressed.
Her courage to save a woman falsely accused before a crowd.
Her logical composure in dealing with the priest.
If she had been a man instead of a noble lady, he would have wanted her as one of his closest aides on the spot.
“Regrettable, isn’t it?”
Ruyan stared at the prince intently.
“…Why are you agreeing with me while glaring like that?”
“It’s nothing.”
Ruyan looked away from the prince’s profile.
He didn’t like how the prince’s eyes sparkled while looking at his younger sister, but there was something else more concerning.
He turned his gaze toward Leia. The tall, hooded man beside her, who was mercilessly shaking the priest, felt unfamiliar.
Ruyan narrowed his eyes.
“Was there someone like that in the knights?”
No matter how he looked, it was someone he had never seen before, yet he seemed quite close to Leia.
“Who is that guy?”
❀ ❀ ❀
After rescuing Luiji from the witch hunt, Leia and Helix escorted the sisters back home.
The two sisters bowed deeply.
“We are indebted to you beyond what we can ever repay.”
“You already have.”
Leia pointed at the bowl of potato stew still on the table.
“I was helped too. I simply returned the favor because I could.”
“Lady Leia…!”
“Leia.”
Helix, who had been quietly standing nearby, spoke.
“Your manner of speaking is a bit different from usual.”
“Hm. I tried adopting a more noble tone.”
There were times like this.
She sometimes got too immersed in playing the role of a “noble of dignity and grandeur,” unable to get out of character.
“A noble tone?”
“There are times when I need it. Speaking like you, Helix, tends to work quite well.”
Helix asked, confused:
“Is it necessary to act that way? You are a high noble yourself.”
“Even among high nobles, there are people who try to look down on young women.”
At her words, the sisters looked at Leia.
A shiver ran through them.
Their eyes were filled with strong empathy.
They looked at Leia, then at each other, and finally made a decision.
“Lady Leia, we would like to repay even a small portion of your kindness.”
