Chapter 131
The four of them, carrying their bags, stopped on the steep mountain trail, nearly vertical, to catch their breath. Behind them, a crimson sunset had already begun to spread across the sky like fire.
Raphaella, whose short legs had been causing her to lag behind, was now perched on Bill’s back.
“Huff… Huff… Gili, are you sure this is the right way?”
Linda, out of breath, exhaled clouds of mist as she asked.
“Yes. The third peak has the steepest slope in this mountain range, but it’s also the fastest way to cross the mountains.”
Gili pointed toward the distant ridgeline and added an explanation.
“Merchants usually take the path between the first and second peaks because it’s the widest and flattest. But if you go that way, it takes about fifteen days. By carriage, even longer.”
“That’s right. Everyone goes that way because it’s safe.”
“Exactly. That’s why this path is only known to those who live in these mountains. No one would know that you could cross this range in thirty hours.”
“If we hadn’t had Gili guiding us, we would have taken that long route. Thanks to you, we learned the shortcut. For someone your age, your sense of direction is amazing.”
“Oh, it’s nothing… I just naturally learned it from traveling with my father to sell goods since I was little.”
Gili scratched her head, embarrassed by Linda’s compliment. Raphaella, seeing Gili’s reddened cheeks, laughed brightly.
While Raphaella and Gili exchanged smiles, Linda gave a subtle glance toward Bill, who gave a barely noticeable nod in return.
“Come on, let’s climb with all our strength. The sun is already setting.”
“Are you sure, ma’am? You look really winded…”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me, just lead the way.”
“Understood.”
Gili continued up the mountain path, followed by Raphaella and Linda. The slope was so steep that they had to move almost like four-legged animals.
“Uncle Bill?”
Raphaella noticed that Bill, who had been behind, wasn’t following. Bill responded from behind a thick tree.
“I’ll just relieve myself and catch up in a moment.”
“Okay. Be careful and come quickly!”
“Got it.”
As Raphaella followed Gili up the mountain, Bill pulled a dagger hidden at his ankle from under his pants.
Scrape, scrape. He quickly carved marks into the tree. Using ribbons would be too obvious and easy to lose, so he chose to carve arrow-shaped marks into the trees instead. These marks formed a trail along the shortest path that Gili was guiding them on.
When Bill quickly caught up to the group, Raphaella suddenly reached out.
“Uncle, there’s sawdust stuck in your hair.”
“Ah, thanks.”
“Even adults get dirty sometimes, huh? Uncle, you’re cute.”
Raphaella held up the sawdust she had removed, smiling brightly. Bill’s eyebrows twitched at the innocent laughter of the child. Seeing Bill’s eyes, slightly clouded with guilt, Raphaella misinterpreted it as anger from being teased.
“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to tease you… I know it’s not right to call an adult cute…”
Bill’s large hand approached the hesitant Raphaella. His hand, hard like a pot lid, gently ruffled her hair.
“It’s fine.”
Bill no longer had the heart to look at Raphaella’s pure face, so he silently turned, offering his back.
Raphaella hopped up and was carried. Bill’s back was wide and solid, and its warmth was enough to chase away the mountain’s chill, which she found incredibly comforting. Counting the scattered white hairs on his head was also amusing.
Bill wasn’t one for warm conversations like Linda, but his gruff exterior hid a quiet kindness.
Carrying Raphaella, Bill silently followed Gili and Linda up the mountain.
“Uncle.”
“Yes?”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead and sleep if you want. I’m busy.”
“Just one thing!”
“……”
One thing Raphaella had learned in the month she had been with Bill: his silence often meant agreement.
She giggled and hugged his neck even tighter.
“Um… if…”
“Not this ‘what if’ game again.”
“It’s fun.”
“Fun? I don’t understand why you bother imagining things that won’t happen. It’s annoying.”
“Tch…”
Bill had also learned Raphaella’s conversational habits. Being a child, she often let her imagination run wild, starting every topic with “what if,” hence the nickname “what if game.”
Over the past month, to entertain her games, Bill had fought dragons as a hero, become a fish, and even been executed as a noble—most scenarios taken from the fairy tales Raphaella had read.
Bill’s life was already tough enough just surviving each day; using his rarely-needed imagination for Raphaella’s games was exhausting.
Yet, he couldn’t bear to see Raphaella sulking, so he always answered in the end.
Today was no exception.
Even without seeing her face, Bill could tell Raphaella was pouting, hearing her frustrated little snorts tickle his ear. A slight upward twitch appeared on the corner of his mouth beneath his thick beard.
“Pull those lips back in.”
“Hmph. I’m not sticking them out!”
“Ahem. So, what is it this time?”
“I don’t know.”
“As long as it’s not about descending to the Demon Realm, I’ll answer.”
“…Really?”
“Yes.”
“This time it’s not the Demon Realm! Really!”
“Go ahead, tell me.”
“Well… um, what if…”
Raphaella hesitated for a moment before continuing.
“What if… my brother and I had been born as Bill Uncle and Linda Aunt’s children?”
“……”
“Then we wouldn’t have gone through all this trouble, right? We’d have grown up happily, always eating Aunt Linda’s delicious meals, and riding on your warm back every day, Uncle?”
“……I don’t know.”
“Ah! I don’t mean we hated our real parents! I miss my parents in heaven too, but… I was just thinking… if we were born in your house, we wouldn’t have lost our parents, and you and Aunt wouldn’t have lost a child… that’s all.”
“……”
“If that had happened… we could have been happy without losing anything.”
Bill’s lips pressed tightly together.
Today’s question was unusually difficult. The “married couple” story itself was a lie. He had never been married, never had children, and the “blacksmith” story was false—he was actually a knight serving the royal family.
The deep question from a child struck him sharply in the chest.
“Ahem……”
Bill remained silent for a long while. Raphaella worried she had made a mistake. It wasn’t as though she had been away from her parents for long, yet she wondered if she had touched a painful nerve with her question.
Still, she was curious.
What would it have been like to have a family without anyone losing anyone? It would have been peaceful and happy. Why hadn’t God prevented the hardships they faced? Why hadn’t He saved people?
“Uncle, why did God let us go through this? The books say He protects humans… did we live so far away He couldn’t see us?”
“…I don’t know.”
“I prayed hard since I was little… maybe my voice was too small for Him to hear. So from now on, I’ll pray louder.”
“…I see.”
Every word Raphaella spoke felt like an icy spike to Bill. If they weren’t climbing a snow-packed mountain that swallowed their feet, his discomfort and awkward expressions would have been obvious.
He glanced ahead at Gili and Linda, and tried to suppress the emotional stir Raphaella had awakened in him, focusing on his duty.
Raphaella placed her small, red-cold hands on Bill’s frozen ears to warm them.
“If you had been my dad, Uncle Bill, I would have been happy.”
“…Don’t flatter me.”
“I mean it! I know you secretly like me too.”
“Like? I just tolerate it because Linda wants to spend time together.”
“Why do adults lie about weird things?”
“Ahem.”
“If you didn’t like me, you wouldn’t have made this for me either.”
Raphaella pulled a small wooden carving from her pocket and held it out for Bill to see. She liked fairies, and he had carved it for her.
“…Anyone could have made that.”
“Still, I’m the only one with a fairy-shaped one, right?”
“……”
“See? You like me, Uncle.”
Raphaella placed the carving back in her pocket, cupped her hands, and blew to warm them. Then she wrapped her warm hands around Bill’s ears again.
“Thank you.”
Bill pretended not to hear. He didn’t know how to respond to her heartfelt words. The warmth from her tiny hands felt almost like a punishment.
All he could do was silently climb the mountain, holding her more firmly in his arms.
