At the entrance to the village, even the smell seemed shabby.

“Who goes there!”

A voice dropped from atop the watchtower where torch smoke flickered. The deep, phlegmy voice sounded like that of a middle-aged free man. I stopped abruptly outside the wooden palisade. Had my footsteps on the dirt road been so loud? The sentry was truly skilled, I marveled, to detect my approaching presence without even looking out.

I took a light breath. Craning my neck toward the watchtower, I called back.

“And who are you?”

“Me?”

“Yes! You!”

The sentry fell silent, seeming perplexed by my attitude and question. Only the yellow torchlight flickered like a human shadow atop the bewildered watchtower. I did not wait long for the man’s response. Hey, you pitiful commoner! I called out with cupped hands.

“When a man stands before a noble lady, he should state his own name before asking for hers!”

I didn’t bother to suppress the smirk rising to my lips.

Even now looking back, my whole body was overflowing with some long-pent-up mischief or spirit at that moment. Even the night air gently biting my skin felt like a symbol of freedom, making me tremble pleasantly – any obstacle was merely an exciting plaything to me. To the point where I have no excuse if you call it the recklessness of a bumpkin. I hugged my goosebump-covered arms as I waited for the sentry’s response. Beneath a childlike, burning elation, I exhaled a cool breath.

After a short while, a large head poked out from behind the embrasure, so worn and crumbled its original shape was hard to discern. The sentry raised his torch above the embrasure as if to closely examine the intruder’s appearance. Thanks to this, I too could clearly see his gruff face.

The man’s face, with some cloth-like headgear pressed down tightly, was thickly overgrown with dark bristly beard, and his suspicious gaze, which created crow’s feet by his nostrils, was scrutinizing me quite thoroughly. Though eyes alone would suffice, why on earth was he sniffing like that? I laughed with a deflating sound.

The sentry’s eyes and mannerisms looked just like a dimwitted animal to me.

“…Hey!”

I called to the sentry, gently narrowing my eyes. The man’s head, which had been glaring fiercely at me, twitched.

“You, what are you looking at?”

“…What?”

In the dim torchlight, the sentry raised his thick eyebrows. Unable to grasp my intent, he seemed quite disgruntled. Still smiling, I narrowed my eyes at him.

“Do you think you can determine my identity just by staring so intently?”

“…”

“Even if I revealed it myself, you might not believe it. So how could you possibly know just by looking?”

“…”

“Are you that confident?”

As I gradually pressed him, the sentry blinked his bulging eyes like a cow. His eyes seemed to say, “What on earth are you talking about?”

“Even without telling you each syllable of my long name, you’ll end up opening the gate anyway. So why not just do your pitiful job properly now, like a docile sheep?”

I could feel the mischievous delight I hadn’t fully suppressed flowing freely past my lips. The sentry now seemed quite flustered. I clearly saw the red flush of anger spreading across the bridge of his nose.

How refreshingly toy-like he looked, making an increasingly foolish expression each time I mocked him. I could not contain my fluttering heart. On this early winter night, my chest felt so passionately hot despite the cool north wind, it was almost chilling.

At that moment.

“Are you a witch?”

The sentry suddenly shouted.

“I’ve got it! You wench! You’re a witch, aren’t you?”

By now his voice was full of certainty. For some reason, it was also a thoroughly angry voice. His complexion, alone flushed red as if he’d fallen into a pot of stew, looked like he was shivering. Having absolutely no idea what he meant, I tilted my head once and called out:

“Where exactly are you looking to say such a stupid thing?”

“I can tell just by looking at your clothes!”

My clothes?

For a moment I was at a loss for words. Bewildered at myself, I could only stare at the man’s face. Perhaps my mouth hung slightly open. What was wrong with my attire?

I had forgotten that in the brief time it took to walk to the village entrance, I had casually shed the outer garments that had layered my body. I’m not sure. Perhaps at that time, undressing was such a natural act for me that I didn’t even consciously register it.

As if I didn’t exist in this world, no, as if I alone filled the whole world, I wanted to melt into it passionately. For that reason, it was only after several more seconds passed that I unconsciously looked down at my feet. Ah, this…

Only when I discovered the hem of my white skirt fluttering above my bare ankles did I fully understand the man’s misunderstanding. He’s right. It would be harder not to think of a witch upon seeing a woman standing on the roadside in her underclothes in the dead of night…

The laughter…

“…Ha!”

It rose creeping up from deep in my solar plexus, tickling as it came. As if savoring that sensation of burning impatience, I pressed a fist to my lips. The tickling inside was unbearable. What was all this? What kind of reaction was this? Just over taking off some outer clothes. Ah, now…

Are you afraid of me?

“No.”

Wiping my moist eyes with a finger as I struggled to hold back laughter, I barely managed to reply. At that moment, looking at the sentry with his beard bristling stiffly, I briefly thought he looked like a cornered cat. He’s not angry. That is… fear.

“I’m not… but I do know someone similar to a witch!”

“Who is that!”

“My companion. My man! Johannes Valdemar!”

Sure enough, at my words the fierce-looking sentry hastily hunched his shoulders and hid his face below the embrasure. Then he raised his voice to ask me from behind the wall.

“Valdemar?”

“Don’t you know? That’s my surname!”

How could he not know this name? The ignorance of these backwoods villagers was not just surprising, but somewhat pitiful. With some astonishment, I closed my mouth briefly before calling out again:

“Hey, have you heard the news that a nearby inn was half-destroyed? That was all done by us siblings!”

“An inn?”

“Yes!”

“It was wrecked?”

“Yes!”

“How did that happen?”

“How… No, hey!”

My face flushed red without my realizing as I suddenly shouted. The sensual scenes from that night – Johannes’ naked body, the look in his eyes that pierced mine, the watery moans – flashed through my mind like lightning, causing my insides to instantly heat up.

“You’re a sentry, but what exactly do you know!”

“…”

“Are you bantering with me now? Even jokes need proper back-and-forth!”

I pressed the sentry as if I were a thief caught red-handed. Perhaps because my momentum was too fierce, the man now ducked his head like a stung dog. Even that appearance looked equally unsightly, so I was finally able to gather myself and organize my thoughts belatedly. I quickly lowered my face to compose both cheeks.

I can’t describe how damp and hot my skin felt against my palms. At that moment, for some reason I was even panting raggedly. In a couple days… or maybe the day after… Johannes will find my letter…

As always, thoughts of my lover ignite flames throughout my entire body. I could neither just laugh nor bring myself to cry. I was not unaware of the cruel trick I was playing on him, yet I had no intention of stopping now.

I was the true jester.

I jerked up my flustered, excited head. After shaking it violently to dispel at once the embarrassing memories of climax and secret anticipations that made my heart pound, I recalled my original purpose. To explore the village. To hide myself among those impoverished yet free crowds. To watch Johannes search for me with keen eyes, like combing for lice.

To be butchered.

I pleaded subtly.

“That’s enough…”

“…”

“Look here, you pitiful man. I’m a guest of your lord. A noblewoman out for a night stroll from Castle Pessoa. So stop arguing and let me in nicely, okay?”

The sentry’s head finally rose slowly. After fiddling with his lips, half-hidden by the embrasure, for a while, he stammered:

“Do you… have a Pessoa nameplate?”

“I didn’t keep such a thing… I hadn’t originally planned to go out.”

“Then I can’t believe you!”

“…Ah!”

A sigh escaped me involuntarily. I strode up close to the thorny palisade. Gripping a protruding corner menacingly, I firmly threatened:

“Listen, if you keep opposing me like this without being the least bit amusing, instead of simply opening up, I’ll call my brother and have him smash your entire palisade to pieces! Got it? We’ll destroy it all, just like the inn!”

“…”

“…”

“…You’re mad.”

“I can hear you!”

It was then that the light illuminating the top of the watchtower suddenly dimmed. I heard someone climbing down a ladder inside the tower. There was a thud of feet landing on gravel, then the tower entrance opened. The one who came down was the sentry I’d been arguing with.

“Some crazy woman I’ve never seen or heard of… causing such a ruckus…”

“Ruckus? You exaggerate. Did I use a sword? A spear? What did I do?”

I grumbled, frowning at the light and heat illuminating my face. I heard the sentry beyond the palisade click his tongue. Roughly sticking his torch through a gap in the palisade, he said as he untied the rope:

“Seems you’re a homeless beggar. Try going downstream. It’s a place that’ll welcome a madwoman with open arms.”

“Why would they welcome a crazy woman?”

“You’ll see when you get there.”

The sentry laughed ominously.