MTD 2

“Alright! Shall we start the day with energy today?”

The morning sunlight pours in through the window.

Checking the sunny weather outside, I grabbed my laundry and headed outside.

Since I’m the only one left in the village, I have to do the laundry myself, even if it’s almost the size of my body.

Suddenly, memories of a year ago when all the villagers disappeared come to mind.

“Uncle Parnel! Uncle Amos! Aunt Piolet!”

Even though it was the rainy season, there was no sign of anyone responding. Every house I checked was empty, including Uncle Zimmer’s.

“Uncle……! Where did you go? Uncle Zimmer!!!”

The rain was coming down harder and harder, and without finding a single villager, I had to return home.

That’s when I noticed things I hadn’t seen in my hurry to leave.

A bag of dried meat, seemingly made from the hunt that Uncle Zimmer caught, was in the yard. Traps, probably set by Uncle Panel, were placed around the house to prevent the intrusion of wild animals. And a crocheted dress, undoubtedly the work of Aunt Piolet, and  Uncle Amer’s study key were on the table.

Did something urgent come up somewhere?

Looking at the items left by my neighbors, I decided to wait for their return.

One day, two days, a month… It’s been a whole year since everyone left, leaving only me in this village.

Initially, I thought they’d be back soon, but as time passed, I sometimes felt a sense of loneliness.

How could they leave a child alone and empty the village for so long!

‘If it wasn’t for ‘that friend’ I made, who wasn’t a villager, I might have cried every day because…… I was so lonely.’

Anyway, the only thing I can do…

After barely hanging out the clean laundry, I hugged a red beet the size of my forearm from the field and pulled it out with all my might, thinking about the situation.

‘Only food reserves are essential!’

Red beets, when preserved, can last up to three years, and with high caloric content, a small amount can sustain for a long time. The best method is drying and making them into a loop, with a storage period of up to ten years.

‘If I can survive this difficult famine for the next five years, there should be no problem.’

The reason I’m diligently stocking up on food is precisely for the ‘five-year famine during Parmes’s tyrannical period.’

During this period, it was the poor citizens who suffered the most, with numerous people starving to death.

To be honest, the famine wasn’t Parmes’s fault, but the resentment of the people was directed at the tyrant Parmes nonetheless.

Parmes, in his tyrannical manner, executed rebellious nobles and citizens in the city…

It was chaos. Anyway, a catastrophic time awaits everyone.

As a child, I don’t have the power to prevent this tragedy. On the contrary, it might be easier for the countryside to endure than the city. So, I planned to continue living here until the famine ended, preparing by making red beet rings.

It would be a little lonely, maybe a lot lonely.

So today, I spent the whole day making red beet circles and doing household chores.

As I dozed off, my little hands shriveled up from the day’s labor, I was awakened by a sound outside.

Knock-.

“……Did I hear that wrong?”

When I tried to close my eyes again in the eerily quiet atmosphere, knocking sounds echoed outside the door.

Knock-Knock-Knock-Knock-Knock♪

This knocking sounded like……!

The sound was familiar and nostalgic, and without thinking, I flung open the front door.

And with the sight of a large hand through the crack of the door, I lost consciousness.

☁⊹₊┈ㆍ┈ ▫ ┈ㆍ🌱ㆍ┈ ▫ ┈ㆍ┈₊⊹☁

“……Wake up.”

After a while, I finally regained consciousness.

“…Where am I…?”

With my eyes covered by a cloth, making it impossible to see ahead, someone grabbed my hand and pulled me up.

Then, my feet touched a smooth and hard stone floor.

I’m sure I heard ‘the signal’ and opened the door, but……. Am I being kidnapped?

“Sir… Who are you?”

About to lower the cloth covering my eyes, I hesitated, wondering if the one who abducted me might be in sight.

It could become more complicated if I saw their faces.

“We intended to welcome you politely, but the situation did not permit it. Please forgive us; it was a necessary procedure to approach him. Please understand.”

It was a polite and neat voice, suitable for a knight or someone about to make a noble speech.

But knights wouldn’t be involved with child abductors, would they?

Polite, my foot!

“Cough, cough. I-I have a respiratory illness. Cough, cough. I might, cough, die soon.”

I pretended to be sick, desperately trying to buy time, but the men paid no heed and continued to lead me.

Judging by the sensation from the hard floor alone, I could tell this wasn’t Galnem. It was a city.

“Aren’t you feeling sorry for me?! Please spare my life!”

No matter what I said, they remained silent, as if bound by some agreement.

Regardless of my desperate act, my mind was filled with tragic scenarios, from being sold to a salt mine to catching shrimp.

Where is there a novel reincarnator who hasn’t even enjoyed a tea party, but getting sold as a slave at the age of eleven? Ugh!

Thud-

After walking for a long time on the hard floor, we came to a stop in the middle of nowhere.

I was blindfolded, but I could see that it was daylight and that it was quite bright in here.

It’s also a fairly grand space, judging by the echoing footsteps.

“The lady is…….”

I was taken aback by the words of the man behind me.

Kidnapped, dragged here, and now calling me lady?

“You will meet… a great person. Please prepare your heart.”

A great villain, a great kidnapper, a great slave trader… Whichever I imagined, it was horrifying.

Not too long after, I couldn’t help but huddle my small shoulders pitifully.

While being brought here, I hadn’t felt the oppressive atmosphere, but suddenly, it overwhelmed me.

‘What… is this?’

I could hear the people next to me gradually moving back.

The sound of steady, regular footsteps.

And then someone stepped in front of me.

It was the sound of one man’s heavy footsteps.

“…….”

I was too frightened to untie the cloth over my eyes with my own hands.

However, at that moment, another presence approached from the front, and a sensation brushed against me like the back of a hand, accompanied by the sound of fabric slowly unraveling.

I involuntarily tensed my shoulders, and in that moment, the black covering in front of my eyes fell away with a soft thud.

“…….”

I had been blindfolded for so long that I couldn’t see clearly right away.

However, amidst the blur, I could sense that this was a magnificent space.

It seemed like the office of a high noble or even royalty…

And standing in front of me was a tall figure with brilliant silver hair, who slowly lowered his arm.

The rustling sound from his clothes hinted at lightweight armor. I focused my gaze, exerting effort to see the man’s face.

Gradually, the contours of the man’s face emerged into my field of vision.

Beautiful silver hair and blazing red eyes.

“……!”

I slowly opened my mouth.

But no sound escaped my open mouth.

Perhaps because I was too surprised.

The man’s red lips curled into a slight smile.

It was only after a while that I opened my eyes wide and shouted.

“Uncle Zimmer?!!!”

Even though the color of the hair and eyes were different, there was no doubt that the man in front of me was Uncle Zimmer.

With a straight and high nose like the blade of a sword, cold eyes, and a sharply defined jawline, Uncle Zimmer’s appearance never failed to impress.

But why is Uncle Zimmer wearing a …… crown?

I raised my gaze to the top of his head in confusion.

“…….”

He opened his mouth as if he’d caught my thought.

“You look surprised, Arinel.”

He reached out and stroked my head.

A comforting and warm touch that had always reassured me in the face of any worries or concerns.

I feel like this is Uncle Zimmer……. But the man in front of me doesn’t look like him.

His hair, eyes, and even his aura are different.

How did this happen?

My heart was pounding.

The man slowly opened his lips.

“I hope you’re still happy. The reason I’ve moved up the plan was that I couldn’t bear to see Arinel suffer any longer.”

I couldn’t understand what he was talking about.

“I know it’s late, but let me reintroduce myself. My real name is…”

The story goes that a certain tyrant rebelled and became Ruler of Albreon.

He was a cruel and beautiful ruler, and those who assisted him in extending the era of tyranny were terrifying figures to the people.

“…Parmes Aslet, the Emperor.”

Parmes—

Parmes Aslet—

Parmes Aslet, the Emperor—

In the abyss of my darkness, his name echoed repeatedly, resonating within me.

“……!!!!”

The tyrant?!?!