Ashu’s grandfather and the village chief were both unable to continue speaking. For a moment, they were surprised by Sharti’s appearance and atmosphere, which were different from what they had imagined, and her clean face left them speechless.

Was it not because of horrific burn scars on her face that she hid it? Sharti clenched the hand she had placed on her thigh under the table. Seeing a stranger so distinctly without the hood felt unfamiliar and frightening.

Is it necessary to go this far?

From within, echoes of self-reproach for her foolishness reverberated in her ears like a young hallucination.

Thanks to that, the pounding sound of her heart, as if it would burst with fear, was buried.

“Sigh…”

Sharti slowly loosened the hand that had been clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned pale.

Sharti’s trembling crimson eyes gradually shone with a determined light.

“Five years ago, there were survivors from the Krianet royal palace.”

“…Krianet?”

The old man mumbled with furrowed eyebrows.

The village chief also had a reaction as if he had heard of it before. Given the vast number of kingdoms and tribal names, apart from Newton, it was impossible to memorize all of them. Moreover, the residents of the hidden village, cut off from the outside, were not strange for not knowing.

“The Krianet Kingdom, which became the starting point of the great war waged by the Newton Empire, burned down along with the royal palace as soon as it lost to the Newton Empire.”

Instead of elaborately explaining the history of the Krianet Kingdom, Sharti briefly conveyed its downfall.

Sharti’s expression, devoid of emotions, was silent.

It was as if a corpse was speaking, creating an illusion.

“At the time of the defeat, there was a royal bastard in the Krianet royal family, and that bastard is me.”

She did not reveal the fact that she was the doppelganger of Princess Arisviyan, who had been the Krianet princess. In any case, the only survivor from the burned palace was Sharti.

She did not disclose the deeper and more complex truth, but what she said was an indisputable fact.

“According to reason, I should have perished with the palace five years ago.”

As she couldn’t squeeze any more strength into her neck, her voice gradually diminished and trembled.

Sharti cleared her throat.

“But the destruction of the kingdom didn’t take my life; instead, it mutilated my throat and left scars on my body. I lived, but I became an existence that shouldn’t exist. On the days when I’m exposed, I face a secret more dreadful than the day itself.”

Having returned from death, it was so agonizing and terrifying that she wished to die.

Even while hiding, she always had to be prepared for death.

“But I… I wanted to live.”

More precisely, there were people who held her hand and helped her stand up, saying she could live.

It was the Viretta family.

“I wanted to live without revealing the secret, and eventually, I found a way not to get caught and learned the means to live cunningly to come this far.”

Sharti’s upright crimson eyes sparkled.
Even in fear, the courage that bloomed showed no wavering.

“I’m thankful that I didn’t die back then. I think it’s fortunate that I didn’t give up and kept living, even though it might be meaningless,” Sharti said, gently smiling as she soothed her trembling throat.

“If I were alone, I might have given up and chosen death, but there were people who helped me. I could grasp their hands and stand up.”

“…….”

“Do I have grand reasons for saving people like this?”

Knowing how remarkable it is to live without giving up.

Because she received help, she could, in turn, offer help—a simple and clear reason.

Having relieved herself of the heavy secret she had been hiding, Sharti smiled as if feeling liberated.

“…….”

The two people facing Sharti didn’t say anything.

The old man was lost in thought, and the village chief opened and closed his mouth repeatedly.

Sharti calmly waited without urging their reaction.

“Teacher…”

It was when the old man opened his mouth with a profound expression.

With a thud, the door behind the old man opened, and village officials rushed in.

…!

Sharti stood up in surprise, hastily trying to get up. However, she was already surrounded in an instant.

A sense of defeat appeared on Sharti’s face.

When Sharti was about to reveal the secret, Ren and Ashu were already leaving the village with the surveillance guards.

With no fog and good weather, they quickly ascended the mountain.

Ren wanted to keep looking back as they moved away from the village, but he suppressed the impulse to speed up his steps.

‘Finishing the task entrusted by Sharti is a priority.’

If he proved to be ineffective, he would only be demonstrating his incompetence, contrary to Sharti’s trust.

Ren hurried. He ran at a speed he couldn’t achieve when he was with Sharti.