The tavern, The Woman in the Wheat Field, was noisier than usual.
The topic of discussion among the villagers gathered there was undoubtedly the story of Julius and his beautiful wife, who had returned home after ten years.
Priestess Emily, now the only priestess in the village, was kicking a brick in the alley in front of the inn.
‘That damn old man, Brukin. He threw all the responsibilities of the church to me and run away.’
It wasn’t like she couldn’t go inside, it was because she was avoiding it willingly.
Emily sat down on the broken wall, took one of her c!garettes out of her pocket, lit it, and a small flame flickered. It was said that the reason Krail lived with a c!garette constantly in his mouth was because he had seen this side of Emily since he was young. This side of her always made her seem tough and cool, so it wasn’t a bad image to follow for the child, making him want to imitate it as well.
Taking a deep drag and exhaling the sm0ke, Emily thought about Julius’s wife, whom she had seen earlier.
Although she was dressed simply and frugally, her light brown hair and pretty face had an intense charm that made even cheap clothes look luxurious, and her deep eyes, like the vast ocean, made you feel as if you were being drawn in.
And that bothered Emily.
At first glance, she seemed like a neat and beautiful wife, and her personality appeared bright and lively. Yet, when Emily looked into her eyes, there was a suffocating, sticky, and cloudy feeling that couldn’t be explained.
Something was off, but she had no way of knowing what. Julius had chosen her, so there was clearly no problem with her. Still, Emily’s distraught mind was growing increasingly anxious.
Tonight was the first village drinking party in a long time, and it would be simple enough to check things out secretly.
Emily Lidina had come to Kente Village twelve years ago, driven by her admiration for the war hero Brukin. She was also a teacher who had taught Julius, Krail, and Thalia how to use their powers. When she had been active in the capital, her specialty was devil-hunting. And she was a one of the best in the field.
As the night grew lively, Emily sensed the growing interest in Julius and his wife as they walked by.
Thalia, blinded by love, looked as if her eyes were half-glazed, while Julius smiled softly, walking arm in arm with his wife.
There was nothing wrong with being cautious. After all, isn’t there a saying that you should tap on a stone bridge before crossing it? Back in the day, even Brukin, still in his prime, had lived by those words.
***
[Congratulations on Julius’ wedding!]
As Emily walked toward the inn, the phrase written on the large piece of cloth slowly came into view, and it was truly spectacular.
Cecile giggled when she saw Julius walking next to her, arms crossed and keeping pace.
“My husband’s hometown is much more interesting than what I heard!” Cecile exclaimed.
“Thank you,” Julius replied, uncrossing his arms and smiling brightly.
Next to him, Thalia smiled with a dangerous expression.
“Huh? Who is that person?” Cecile asked, tilting her head as she pointed to Priestess Emily, who was smoking a c!garette on the collapsed wall nearby. Her appearance was rough, different from the neat and elegant image she usually projected.
“That’s Priestess Emily. You can think of her as my mother.”
“Oh, mother-in-law? I’ll go and greet the others!” Cecile said before dashing away at a speed too quick to stop.
Emily watched Cecile approach, bow and start to chatter with everyone. She stayed near the tavern, as drinking with Emily would be disastrous. Though Emily looked alright, she knew she had to be cautious.
“…When did you meet your wife?” Thalia’s sudden question erased Julius’s presence.
“We met as if it were fate on the first day I arrived in the capital. At first, she was just a cute friend, but before I knew it, she became everything to me,” Julius shrugged and smiled brightly.
Thalia looked closely into his eyes, but his sad-looking eyes didn’t seem to be smiling at all.
***
“Come on! A toast to Julius and his beautiful wife!”
“Cheers!”
The glasses were lifted with a loud shout from Baker Finn, and Cecile stared at the glass in front of her with an expectant face. She lifted the glass, sniffed it, and took a sip of beer, followed by a long swig.
The villagers, amused by her pompous but cute actions, applauded and cheered.
“This is the Kente beer I’ve heard so much about! I’m glad I followed you, honey!” Cecile exclaimed, grabbing Julius’s arm and shaking it playfully.
One of the older women, hesitantly watching, spoke up, “How on earth did Miss Cecile come to marry Julius?”
Cecile carefully placed her glass on the table and paused for a moment. Feeling the eyes and ears of the villagers on her, she soon began her tale, words flowing like bombs.
“It was a sunny spring day,” she started.
“Oh, oh!” the villagers responded in unison.
“It was a day when the flowers were blooming beautifully. I was walking down the street, thinking I’d go see the flowers, but I didn’t know!”
“Well!”
“He was slowly walking toward me!”
“Oh?”
“I was lost, and when he asked me where the training center for prospective inquisitors was, I closed my eyes, grabbed his hand, and dragged him away. I told him—”
“Oh my!”
“To my shame, I fell in love with him at first sight. It felt like a prince had suddenly appeared before my eyes.”
At that moment, the trio of mayoral muscle men, in charge of village security, grabbed Julius by the collar and started shaking him.
“You b*stard! Did you save a country in your past life?”
“I’ve been working hard all my life so I could marry my wife!” Julius stammered.
“You’re abandoning Thalia! You traitor!”
Julius looked at Cecile with an embarrassed expression, but she had no intention of stopping her tale.
Meanwhile, Thalia watched the scene with a calm smile.
“So, who proposed first?” one of the villagers asked.
“I proposed first, hehe,” Cecile admitted with a giggle.
“What did you say to make Julius fall for you? How did you capture his heart?”
Everyone leaned in to hear Cecile’s response.
“I just called Julius in front of a big tree on a moonlit night and said something.” She smiled alluringly and gently caressed her stomach. “I think my stomach will rise soon, so take responsibility.”
The villagers fell silent. Julius had already closed his eyes, pretending to be dead, and soon everyone rushed to him, playfully beating him in a group.
Emily, filling her glass with alcohol, tapped Thalia on the shoulder.
There was no reaction. Unfortunately, Thalia seemed to have fainted while standing.
Cecile watched the playful assault on Julius with a cheerful smile.
Emily sat down gently next to her.
“That was an interesting story. Julius really was lucky, hehe,” Emily remarked, sitting beside Cecile with a glass of wine, smiling softly at Julius.
“He was a wonderful man I didn’t want to miss, hehe.”
“But it was a little strange, wasn’t it?” Emily said, her tone shifting.
“…Hmm?” Cecile responded.
“For some reason, it felt like you were telling something you heard from someone else.”
No answer came back. Cecile’s cloudy eyes remained calm.
“Heh, just kidding. Have a drink here.” Emily lightly tapped her shoulder and handed Cecile a drink.
The flowing alcohol reflected in her blue eyes as the delicious, poisonous drink neared close to Cecile.