The villagers gathered across the bridge, anxiously gazing toward the forest.
At the center stood Noel’s parents.
Over the past few months, dimensional rifts had been appearing frequently, so the villagers had grown accustomed to such incidents. They knew Henry would step in and handle things.
But this time, they knew Noel had gone into the forest. There was no way they could go about their daily lives in peace.
When Noel’s mother and father, exhausted from trying to search the forest themselves, insisted on going back in, the villagers reassured and consoled them.
“Don’t worry too much. Noel will be fine.”
“Exactly! And we’ve got Henry in our village, don’t we? Didn’t that boy save you once before? I’m sure Noel will be safe too.”
“Ah, over there!”
Just then, one of the village children waiting with them pointed beyond the bridge.
From the direction of the forest, four figures appeared.
Noticing Noel among them, his parents’ faces lit up with relief.
“Noel!”
“Mom! Dad!”
Noel ran into their arms.
Tears streamed down his parents’ faces as they held their unharmed son close.
“Oh, Goddess, thank you, thank you…”
As the emotional reunion unfolded, the villagers turned their attention to Elsez, Astaire, and Henry approaching from behind.
“But… why is Henry—?”
Henry was bound with ropes.
Noticing the villagers’ stares, Henry’s face flickered with unease before he lowered his head.
Elsez silently watched him.
For him, this moment must be a more terrible punishment than death itself.
The moment when he, once a hero to those he loved, fell into disgrace as a villain.
Elsez addressed the villagers.
“Henry Rivette is an accomplice of the group responsible for the recent dimensional rifts near the village. Accordingly, the criminal will be transported to the Holy Kingdom for—”
“That can’t be… That’s impossible. You must be mistaken. Henry has worked tirelessly, day and night, to protect our village.”
“That’s right! Henry has done so much for us!”
“Henry, no matter what anyone says, we believe in you. You, of all people, would never do such a thing.”
The villagers placed unwavering trust in Henry.
But the more they defended him, the lower Henry hung his head.
Elsez bit her lip, thinking about the shock and pain they would soon face.
Then, in a voice low enough for only Henry to hear, she murmured,
“Henry Rivette, open your eyes and look.”
“……”
“And remember this—just how much your pathetic pretense has hurt the very people who believed in you.”
The villagers, who had been so sure Henry could never be guilty, began to waver when he remained silent.
An elderly woman stepped forward, speaking gently as if coaxing him.
“Henry, say something, dear. We believe in you. You are a child of our village, our hero.”
Just as Henry remained frozen in silence—
“T-That woman! She’s the villain! That woman is the one who went into the forest, and then—the noise! I-I saw it!”
A stable hand suddenly burst from the crowd, pointing at Elsez and shouting.
“She—she caused the accident at the construction site on purpose! She’s in league with that priest!”
“…What?”
Just moments ago, the villagers had shown Elsez and Astaire respect. Now, doubt clouded their eyes.
Elsez furrowed her brows.
Unlike Henry, that stable hand had no heroic ideals.
He was just a common man, desperately trying to shift the blame before his own role in Henry’s crimes was exposed.
But his claims were baseless.
With just a bit of rational thought, the villagers should be able to realize that Elsez and Astaire could not possibly be behind the incidents that had been happening for months.
But they trust Henry completely. It’s easier to doubt outsiders than to question him.
As expected, the villagers turned on Elsez.
“Is what Dean just said true?”
Elsez parted her lips slightly but then fell silent.
There was no proof that Henry had helped open the dimensional rifts. No matter what she said, the villagers wouldn’t believe her.
Because that was the only way for Henry to remain innocent.
Elsez kept her eyes on Henry, who only continued to hang his head.
Astaire stepped forward.
“This woman is here to resolve this incident, not the one behind the events that have been occurring.”
Elsez stared blankly at Astaire’s back as he shielded her.
“I am Cardinal Astaire Belcastel of the Artes Empire. As a servant of the Goddess, I stake my name in guarantee.”
“The Cardinal…?”
“Why would the Cardinal of the Empire be here in our village…?”
The villagers murmured in confusion at Astaire’s revelation.
Sensing the shifting atmosphere, the stable hand hurriedly objected.
“L-Lies! How can we believe that?”
There was no way to prove Astaire’s identity.
A tiny village in a foreign country, far from the empire, would have no reason to recognize his face.
Though he was clad in priestly robes, that alone was not proof.
Astaire’s expression hardened as he turned to the stable hand.
The man flinched under Astaire’s piercing gaze but quickly pressed on.
“A-And that woman—she even keeps a monster with her! S-She’s the one behind all this, no doubt about it!”
“She keeps a monster?”
“Y-Yeah, I saw it too! That lady carries around a doll monster!”
At a child’s testimony, the villagers’ trust wavered once more.
Elsez stared blankly at their eyes, now brimming with hostility.
So this is what would happen if they found out I was a Demon God.
I’ve done nothing wrong.
No—I’ve even risked myself to save them.
But just because I carry the power of a Demon God, am I not even allowed to defend myself?
Just then, something wriggled in her cloak’s pocket, followed by Luti’s subdued voice.
“Human… I’ll hide in the button.”
He had clearly overheard everything—how people were turning against Elsez because of him.
A moment later, Luti’s dark mist slipped into one of her cloak’s buttons.
Meanwhile, Henry’s gaze wavered as he watched the villagers turn against Elsez.
Then—
“That’s a lie.”
Noel stepped forward.
He pointed at the stable hand and declared,
“That guy is lying.”
Opening his mouth to continue, Noel hesitated for a moment before turning to Henry.
The child’s eyes met those of the fallen hero he had once idolized—someone he had once wanted to protect, even if it meant crossing the line.
Seeing Henry’s turmoil, Noel looked at him sadly before turning back to the villagers.
“Henry tried to kill me. That lady and that man saved me.”
“Is that true, Noel?”
Noel nodded firmly before looking at Elsez.
She stared at him in a daze.
In the child’s unwavering gaze was absolute trust.
If even one person stands by me…
If even one person believes in me…
That one person could be enough to change everyone’s minds.
Like a pebble cast into a still lake.
Noel’s words began to sway public opinion once more. The villagers’ trust shifted back toward Elsez and Astaire.
Growing desperate, the stable hand rushed to Henry, who had remained silent.
“H-Henry! Say something! T-Tell them these people are framing you! That you’re innocent! W-We were just trying to protect the village—”
“…Stop, Dean.”
Seeing Henry’s defeated expression, the stable hand fell into despair.
Like a man pushed off a cliff, his hopelessness twisted into fury—fury at the one who had driven him to this point.
Snarling, he lunged at Elsez.
“Y-You witch! You ruined our village—!”
But the moment he reached for Elsez’s arm—
A blue magical barrier flared between them, shielding her.
At the same time, a hand, radiating silent fury, seized the stable hand’s wrist with a bone-crushing grip.
It was Astaire.
“Ugh…!”
Before the man could even react to the pain—
A dagger flew through the air and embedded itself deep in his thigh.
Then, from opposite directions, two voices rang out simultaneously.
“That’s far enough.”
From where the dagger had been thrown stood Tezette, flanked by Holy Knights.
And from the other side—Rashiel and Cassian had arrived.
Comments (0)