Chapter 04…
False Accusation
“Kuuna. It seems you sold a potion filled with poison under the guise of medicine.”
At first, Kuna didn’t understand what she was being told.
Just a minute earlier.
Perhaps fortunately, after Sharyleen left, no more customers came seeking potions, and the evening bell rang.
It was when Kuna stood up, thinking it was about time to close the shop.
Before the sound of the bell had even faded, men forced their way into the narrow shop.
They were two of the strongest men in the village, known as troublemakers. They carried no weapons, but their presence alone was enough to intimidate Kuna, a fifteen-year-old girl.
Behind them appeared the elderly village chief, leaning on a cane.
—And it was he who uttered those unbelievable words: “poisoned potion.”
After freezing for a while, Kuna finally managed to speak.
“…What are you talking about?”
Suppressing her trembling, she forced the words out from deep in her throat.
She didn’t understand what was happening, but she knew staying silent would put her at a disadvantage.
At that moment, the old wooden door slammed open repeatedly with a bang.
“Don’t act dumb, Kuna!”
“Sharyleen… I told you to stay home, didn’t I?”
The village chief sighed in exasperation, but Sharyleen did not back down.
She looked completely different from the afternoon—glaring fiercely at Kuna.
However, Kuna’s attention was drawn less to Sharyleen and more to the man who entered with her.
“Brother?”
Dorf—Kuna’s non-blood-related older brother.
Seeing Dorf, her senior in alchemy, Kuna felt momentary relief, but soon narrowed her eyes in suspicion.
Dorf did not approach her. He did not respond.
Instead, he supported Sharyleen’s shoulder and looked awkwardly up at the ceiling.
A bad feeling crept into Kuna’s chest.
Sharyleen raised something above her head—a completely empty bottle.
The cap was yellow.
“This happened today at noon. You sold me this yellow-capped potion, didn’t you?”
“…I did sell it, but…”
“I gave it to Roy this morning. He had been feeling unwell since earlier today.”
Roy was the name of Sharyleen’s pet dog.
A scruffy gray-haired dog with round eyes. Sharyleen had bought him after begging the village chief when a traveling merchant brought him in—but she quickly grew bored of caring for him and began neglecting him.
Tied up with rope and chain, unable to go for walks, Roy always looked bored—but whenever Kuna passed by, he would happily wag his tail.
Kuna would quietly wave back so no one would notice.
“How much do you think Roy suffered because of you?”
“…No way…”
The color drained from Kuna’s face.
“Roy died, foaming at the mouth! Because you sold him a poisoned potion!”
Sharyleen pointed her finger directly at Kuna’s face.
Her beautiful eyes—envied by every girl in the village and admired by every man—were red.
Even the tear streaks on her cheeks were clearly visible, evoking sympathy.
But Kuna was not fooled.
“…You!”
Kuna leapt over the counter and tried to grab Sharyleen.
But the men pinned her to the floor.
Her arms were grabbed, her body slammed down. Pain surged through her entire body, but Kuna still struggled.
“…You…! You killed Roy!”
Kuna was certain of it. This was Sharyleen’s scheme to frame her.
Dorf’s potions had all been bought up by villagers beforehand so he wouldn’t be able to defend himself.
Sharyleen bought Kuna’s potion, poisoned it, and then fed it to her own dog.
That would explain everything that had happened today.
(That vicious woman… all for something so trivial!)
Dorf remained silent, pale-faced.
Sharyleen clung to his arm as if seeking affection.
“What are you talking about? That’s my line.”
“I would never kill Roy!”
“Of course not. You were trying to kill me.”
Kuna’s breath stopped.
Ignoring the village chief’s attempts to intervene, Sharyleen crouched down right beside Kuna.
Looking up at her with murderous eyes, Sharyleen gazed down as if pitying her.
“Honestly, I do feel a little sorry for you. I know you’ve always been jealous of me.”
“…”
“Of course I’m beautiful. You’re a foundling, ugly, and unlikeable. So you tried to poison me out of jealousy.”
“…What?”
Realizing the meaning of those words, Kuna’s face turned bright red.
What an insult. For an apothecary, there could be no greater humiliation.
“…So you’re saying I poisoned you out of jealousy?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I’ve never once been jealous of someone like you.”
Murmurs spread through the shop.
The village chief frowned deeply at Kuna’s defiant tone.
Sharyleen sighed.
She once again held up the empty bottle boldly.
“In this pharmacy, Dorf and Kuna both make potions, right? The cap colors are different so you can tell them apart. Dorf’s are blue, Kuna’s are yellow. Isn’t that right, Dorf?”
“…Ah… yeah.”
“And the potion I gave Roy had a yellow cap, as you can see.”
Kuna stared at the bottle and spoke slowly, carefully.
“…Yes, the bottles are used in this shop, but that doesn’t prove anything. They’re not rare—you can get them anywhere. Anyone could sneak into the preparation room and steal a cap.”
No one spoke.
Kuna gritted her teeth. The atmosphere in the room had already labeled her as the culprit.
Roy’s death had shaken her, making her lose composure—but from the beginning, she had already been cast as the criminal.
Sensing victory, Sharyleen’s lips curled into a smile.
“…Enough. Take Kuna away.”
The men forced Kuna to her feet.
With her arms twisted behind her back, she shouted desperately.
“Village chief, I didn’t put poison in any medicine! As an apothecary, I would never do such a thing!”
The village chief sighed deeply.
In the end, only one dog had died. Sharyleen insisted, but there was no solid proof either way. He hesitated over how to settle it.
After thinking, he made his decision.
“Punish Kuna with whipping. Ten strikes.”
“Grandfather.”
Sharyleen clasped her hands and looked at him with moist eyes.
It was a heartfelt plea from his beloved granddaughter. After a pause, the village chief revised his judgment.
“Continue until she confesses.”
“…!”
Kuna was speechless.
To her, those words were almost a death sentence.
“Take her away.”
Lifted by the two men, Kuna was dragged out.
The strength difference was overwhelming. She screamed at the top of her lungs.
“Brother, help me! I didn’t do anything!”
Twisting her neck, she called out to Dorf again and again.
Kuna was indeed a failure as an apothecary. She couldn’t do things as well as Dorf. She wasn’t even a real asset to the shop.
Even so, she had worked tirelessly every day—tending herbs, preparing medicines, enduring training.
She would never do something as foolish as poisoning a potion out of personal feelings. Dorf should understand that.
“Bro—”
But in betrayal of that hope—
Dorf looked away.
As if Kuna didn’t even exist, he turned his back coldly.
At last, Kuna understood.
She had been abandoned—even by her only family.
Sharyleen, who had chased after Kuna out of the shop, deliberately tossed the potion bottle.
It struck Kuna’s small back and fell to the ground.
Only the sound of shattered glass echoed through the dusk.
