9th Grade Civil Servant In Another World Chapter 205 - Eve (3)

Eve wanted to stop thinking.

But her fast and precise mind wouldn’t let her go. She couldn’t stem the flow of consciousness on her own.

Like a waterfall, thoughts poured out mercilessly. The flimsy magazine article reconstructed Eve’s entire worldview. In that fleeting moment, she understood her whole life, and immediately regretted it.

She wished she had never known such a truth.

They were ‘false prophets’ branded with excommunication by the Pope himself.

While pretending to lead ordinary faithful lives in God’s name, they served demons in secret.

It wasn’t merely a difference in doctrinal interpretation. They were madmen who went around preaching that the world would end. Though their scale was small, their harm was great, so churches nationwide had expelled all the demon cult followers on orders from His Holiness the Pope. The woman known as their leader had escaped from prison just before her execution and disappeared.

And long years had passed.

During the hellish final days of the kingdom and the revolutionary period that claimed countless victims. Through those terrible times, people had clung to apocalyptic beliefs. As their congregation rapidly swelled, the leader evaded the eyes of weakened public authority and led her followers to settle in a secret land.

The article didn’t contain every detail of the situation. But Eve could sufficiently guess the activities of this bizarre religion, the evil deeds her grandmother had committed.

Her head throbbed and she felt dizzy. Her stomach churned as if she might vomit. Eve crouched in front of the wagon, clutching the magazine and sobbing.

She wanted to ask her grandmother. Why she had made a kidnapped child her successor. Whether she truly was a hero born with the fate to save the world.

When the merchant returned, she would have to ask him to take her away from this village. No, he would refuse. Should she hide in his cargo? Could she hide for several days?

Her brain felt like it was overheating and about to explode, countless thoughts shaking her head like an earthquake, worrying her unnecessarily.

She waited a long time until she could regain her reason. One hour, two hours? And then she suddenly realized.

Come to think of it, he was too late.

She wiped away her tears, hid the magazine in her clothes, and ran toward the temple.

The moon had already risen halfway up the sky. No matter what important meeting it was, it couldn’t last this long.

Her light body cut through the night air. The dim light leaking from the temple flickered more as she approached. Human shadows moved too. Eve, who had been running furiously, gradually slowed down. She crouched to make no sound and stealthily approached the temple.

It was called a temple, but it was just a slightly large house built of wood. As the years passed, the timber had split, leaving many gaps that let in wind during winter.

After catching her breath, Eve pressed herself against the wall and brought her eye to a crack. She could dimly see inside.

A large spherical idol.

People gathered before it.

Grandmother swaying as if dancing while watching them.

Grandmother was waving the cloth used for dancing while saying something.

“God does not forgive betrayers.”

Her voice, always gentle and warm, was cold as ice.

One of the adults standing menacingly as if guarding grandmother respectfully stepped forward and accepted the cloth. Then he moved to the center of the temple.

Eve nearly gasped in shock.

As people scattered, the central space of the temple was revealed. Several adults were firmly holding the struggling body of the merchant. Without hesitation, the man wrapped the cloth around the merchant’s neck and pulled hard.

“Uuuuuugh!”

Her whole body froze. A creepy feeling like bugs crawling on her skin. Eve regretted once again. She shouldn’t have touched that magazine.

The merchant, who had been struggling and writhing with his face turning bright red, soon went limp. With a short thud, he collapsed onto the floor and moved no more.

“Oh God…”

People clasped their hands and muttered prayers. A prayer announcing they had executed a betrayer and asking for blessings.

“There’s no time. Move up the festival.”

Grandmother, looking down at him, took back the cloth and gave her orders. Eve backed away and fled.

She tried to leave somehow.

She had never driven a wagon, but she could ride a horse, couldn’t she? If she got on a horse and whipped it as she’d seen in books, wouldn’t it run?

But Eve stopped short at the lakeside before even reaching the forest. Adults carrying lanterns were emerging from the temple and walking steadily toward her.

After trembling and looking around briefly, Eve sank down by the water. There was only one path, nowhere to escape.

“Lady Eve.”

The woman with a lantern tilted her head and approached, looking down at Eve.

“Why are you in such a place?”

“Grandmother told me to go out for a while, but I didn’t know where to go, and the moon was so bright…”

Eve stood up and held out handfuls of flowers, smiling.

“I wanted to give these to Grandmother as a gift.”

Fidgeting, she had picked flowers blooming by the waterside to make flower rings. The woman looked at Eve with moved, moist eyes.

“They’re very beautiful. She’ll surely be delighted. But she might worry, so please go in now. I’ll escort you.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Eve followed the woman toward the temple. Glancing back, she saw the two men who had been with the woman walking toward the forest after seeing them off.

When Eve arrived at the annex, she tore the magazine to shreds and burned it in the fireplace. Down to the very scraps.

***

The next day, the wagon was gone.

The adults said the merchant had left early. The children were disappointed, but that was all.

‘What should I do? What?’

Eve thought. She thought and thought and thought again.

During doctrine recitation time. During dance time. During bedtime story time. At every moment, whenever she saw Grandmother’s gentle smile, she would snap to attention. It felt like waking up with a whoosh.

‘I have to escape!’

She had to escape from this village full of madmen. But when? How?

Money wasn’t used in this village. The only thing she could steal to take with her was food. She didn’t even have confidence she could survive by escaping into that dense, dark forest.

Some children had wandered through the forest out of curiosity about the outside world. When they were caught, they were beaten until their bottoms were like rags.

“It was huge, sooooo huge!”

“The path was faint too. You guys could never find it! You might get eaten by bears or wolves!”

She had once overheard those kids bragging about their adventures.

‘In the end, I…’

Should she wait until she became an adult? Until she grew strong, gained Grandmother’s trust, and until new merchants came and went. Was that really the only way…?

She couldn’t even organize her thoughts. Just three days after the merchant was murdered.

Suddenly a festival was held.

“Dance most beautifully today.”

Grandmother put Eve on a tall, narrow boat. For the first time, she danced on the lake. It was enchantingly beautiful with torches reflected on the water.

Waves of regret washed over her. She really, truly should never have touched that magazine. Then she would have been happy forever.

The villagers drummed and sang.

“Dear God, dear God, answer us!”

Along with the tickling smoke, she felt intoxicated as if her whole body were soaring to the sky. Disgust crept up slowly from her toes. But there was nothing she could do about it. She had no choice but to dance earnestly.

“Dear God, dear God, we offer the most precious thing!”

The moment her dress spread like a flower bud in full bloom. Grandmother pushed Eve’s back.

Splash!

Cold water enveloped her whole body and she heard what sounded like countless hoofbeats. In an instant, water filled her lungs and her whole body writhed as if convulsing. Eve sank down, down while watching the red lights reflected on the surface.

Three days ago, she should have just gotten on a horse and run away. Rather than become a sacrifice and drown like this.

“Without leaving anything behind—”

“Dear God! Help—!”

The voices from outside the water, which had been clearly audible at first, gradually grew distant. The lake thudded.

‘God, God!’

Her consciousness grew dim.

‘If only I had never been born.’

It had been such a brilliant, beautiful world. Who could have known it would turn into hell in an instant?

The water rippled. A beautiful man in pure white clothes was swimming toward her.

‘A merman?’

He grabbed Eve’s body and shot up to the surface.

“Gasp! Cough! Cough! Cough!”

In the midst of murmuring commotion, Eve, dragged onto land, vomited up tremendous amounts of water. After crying and sniffling for a long time, she finally opened her eyes.

“Um…”

A group of people were talking to each other. They all wore pure white clothes and carried swords. Next to them stood horses with glossy coats.

“That was dangerous, Captain.”

“Even with the central political scene being turbulent, you didn’t need to personally step forward to root out one heretical cult…”

“I’m the type of person who can’t be satisfied unless I handle everything with my own hands. You know that.”

“Yes, that’s why we respect you even more, but just in case…”

While blankly listening to the conversation, Eve twisted her dress, heavy with water. Then she brushed back her disheveled hair and staggered across the lakeside.

Scattered among the torches here and there were pools of blood and chunks of meat. The familiar heads and entrails of people too.

She found Grandmother’s distorted face and stopped short. Then someone lifted her body from behind.

“Little miss, you can’t wander around on your own.”

Eve was carried away by a sturdy woman. The people with swords had finished preparing to leave on horseback.

“Captain, let’s put this child to good use. Build up achievements while making your name known to the public.”

“Is there any name left to make known?”

The beautiful man on the white horse looked down at Eve and asked.

“What do you want to do? Choose. You can be free, or you can follow me.”

Eve, who had been trembling pale as a sheet, finally managed to open her mouth.

“Please… take me with you.”

The man smiled.

A smile more beautiful than God’s, one that made falling in love inevitable.

***

“Are you really just going to abandon me and leave? You’ve completely lost it.”

After the story ended. Eve said nothing and left. And it’s been several hours already that I’ve just been left abandoned like this.

I’m starting to get bored.

‘Did she go to meet Kruger? Or is she researching ways to break the blood pact? Either way, I wish she’d reach a conclusion quickly—’

I was constantly grumbling when finally the heavy stone door opened.

It was Eve Clothier.

Just like when she left, she appeared calm and neat. In her small hands she held a thick, long rope and what looked like an envelope. It would be foolish not to know what they were.

“Hey! You! What are you doing!”

She ignored my frantic screaming and hung the rope from the ceiling.

“Don’t make a stupid choice. Do you think Kruger will appreciate it? You’ll just end up not even being the tragic heroine and it’ll be over. I understand you were betrayed in love, but is that important enough to throw away your entire remaining life? Look, get your head on straight! If you’re going to die, at least curse him out first! Or just flip everything over! If you’re going to die anyway—”

I babbled in panic. But soon I was gagged and couldn’t make a sound.

Eve hadn’t put a blindfold on me. It was revenge, surely.

She put the rope around her neck. The story flowing from her pale lips was surreal.

What, what, what is she telling me to do? Is she serious? What about the secrets of the floating castle?

I shook my head desperately, but Eve smiled as she watched me. It was the first smile I’d seen, blindingly bright.

“Lucas Redan, become king.”

Her calm yet earnest last words.

Crash!

The chair toppled and Eve’s body hung in the air. Crack—the sound of cervical vertebrae breaking. Her body, which had been twitching, soon went limp.

I screamed a soundless scream.

***

I don’t know how much time has passed facing Eve’s corpse.

I can’t judge by the body’s state of decay. This room has temperature and humidity perfectly adjusted to keep me alive.

Certainly less than five days have passed. Otherwise a civil servant would have come to feed me. Considering my distorted senses, it was probably only a few hours in reality. But me, how long have I been insane?

“So you killed her too, Lucas?”

I dozed off and opened my eyes to sudden commotion.

“You probably sweet-talked her again.”

Laughter leaked from Kruger’s voice.

A civil servant picked up the suicide note that had fallen to the floor and respectfully handed it to him. Kruger’s eyes as he read the note were the same as always—cold and arrogant.

“I could never understand you, Eve.”

Kruger muttered indifferently and left the room. Before the haze was put over me again, I saw the last sentence of the letter written in dense text.

「Run away. Even if you have to make Lucas Redan king.」