“Hey, this wench is passing out!” One of the guys dragging me shouted as he struck my cheek red.

My eyes twitched. Sharp pain spread throughout and a throbbing sensation was left behind. I would have cupped my face to soothe the pain; if only my hands were free.

But no, these two men were tugging on my arms as they forced me to come with them.

My eyes flickered to a complete darkness for a brief moment.

Soon, it was as if weariness slowly began to eat at me. It was like an increasing number of metal balls are continuously being chained to my feet. Much so, that I am unable to take a single step. I only made it this far by dragging one after the other.

Even my lungs started to act up, I couldn’t even draw a complete breath. I felt an involuntary reflex in my chest rise up to my throat as I belched nothing. My lungs were craving more air and my mouth was seeking water.

I wasn’t sure if it was because of all the sudden running that I did, or if it was because I was walking barefoot with my feet covered in bruises - my feet started to feel numb.

I couldn’t walk anymore.

It probably wouldn’t have been this worse if I didn’t break my straw sandals trying to run from the mob. Or if they even tried to hold back stoning a lady.

Hah. What a laughable situation I’m in!

“Dammit. She has the nerve to make us carry her?” I could barely make out what they’ve said. “We should just end her like she did to Geneva’s kid.”

Are they really going to kill me?

“Fucking bitch, if you can’t walk, then crawl!” My left flank was being kicked repeatedly.

Damn, that hurts. I’m no stranger to pain, I admit, but I don’t want to die.

I don’t want to die like this!

I need to catch whatever that was that killed that child. That shadow that claimed Autumn’s life.

Kiel and I went here to investigate something, so maybe I stumbled upon the heart of the case. It was just unfortunate that Autumn became a casualty even before we started looking into things.

Autumn? The little girl? How did I -

I was suddenly reminded of the time that I blurted out Ser Michael’s name, even without him telling me what his name was.

And this big fat sadistic asshole kicking me, I think his name is George. The other one who seems hesitant to act aggressively seems like a Boris to me.

Great, I’m starting to lose consciousness and all I can do is name people.

“Hey, George. You should stop, we need to wait for the priestess who will be assigned to Raj to judge her. Look, she’s barely awake.” The skinny one tugged on George’s arm.

“Tssss. Such a sourpuss,” said George, breaking loose from his grasp.

Ugh. I need to get a hold of myself. This is not the time to lie down!

Even if I’m in such a compromising situation, it won’t help me if I continued like this. I need to get myself together somehow.

It was my weakness - the reason that Autumn died.

If only I knew more about myself and my abilities... If I do have them.

I need to be strong.

I want to be able to stand up and walk.

I felt the ground giving me a push and in an instant, I miraculously regained energy to walk.

“What the - so she can walk? She looked dead tired earlier.” The skinny man had a puzzled look on his face.

“Who the fuck cares, at least we don’t have to carry her all the way to the plaza.”

They chained my limbs to a statue that looked like a woman with undistinguished features. It seems we have arrived at the town plaza.

The men said that the town priestess will be returning tomorrow morning so they’re keeping me here for the night as they didn’t have a holding cell and they didn’t want me killing their kids or cursing them.

For some time, people kept throwing stones at me or calling me horrible names. I just sat by the statue clutching my knees and tucking my head in while trying my best not to shed tears.

I failed for the most part.

My resolve earlier crumbled into dust.

It wasn’t too long before all that I felt was a mix of cold, pain, and hunger.

The townsfolk has scattered like leaves blown by the wind as they went back to their own homes. They seemed to have settled down and preferred giving in to sleep rather than keeping an eye on a criminal.

At long last, the plaza emptied at the dead of the night.

A strong wind blew and all of a sudden, darkness befell the town. The lamps and the torches that lit the town’s streets and homes went out and the peerless moon was covered by thick clouds.

“Rinya.” Another gust of cold wind blew towards me and graciously carried Kiel’s voice with it. Not a moment later, a pair of strong lean arms wrapped around me from behind. “I’m sorry.”

“Kiel, you’re here...” My eyes that were still swollen from crying began to tear up once more. My hands grabbed onto his arms tightly as I tried to turn my head to have a look at him. But it was to no avail, he rested his head on my upper back so I only saw his black hair that almost melted into the darkness.

“I was so worried.” His voice was shaky, but it didn’t falter as much as his vulnerable embrace. “I shouldn’t have let you out of my sight.”

“I’m okay, Kiel. I’m sorry, I ran out on my own.” I turned my body around to face him. He was kneeling on both legs. “I didn’t mean to worry you-“

Clink.

The chains on my hands hit one another. I looked back at Kiel and he had a dark expression on this face with his eyes struck with seeping anger and disgust - like he is ready to jump someone and kill them with whatever means necessary.

“Those damn humans.” He breathed under gritted teeth. “I’m gonna end them.”

I panicked, my hands then found his broad shoulders, trying to convince him otherwise. “N-No, you don’t have to do that!”

I thought that it was impossible for any of them to live if he decided to end them.

I then looked away and found the faint silver glimmer in the sky.

My hands slowly found their way back to me as I held one over my chest. “It’s true, what they did to me was loathsome. But what happened to Autumn was even more horrendous.”

“I wish I could’ve done something. If I did, she wouldn’t have died... Her innocence wouldn’t have faded away into nothingness.” His good-looking face started to blur out as my eyes continued to water. “If I really am the God here, how can I be so fucking useless?!”

“Shhhh.” He pulled me into his arms and patted my head. “You don’t have to blame yourself. Nor do you have to doubt yourself. You’re still in your human form and you can’t remember much so you don’t know how to access your divine power whilst being in a mortal body. That’s how it is right now, but we will do something about it.”

I pulled myself away from him and gazed into those blues that seemed to glow beautifully, even with the lack of light from the moon above. They were nowhere as scary as they looked earlier.

“Then you also shouldn’t spout nonsense like killing the townsfolk. They are just scared of something beyond their wits. It’s easier for them to believe that what they saw or heard was true. Fear is such a fearful thing. I don’t hate them because of that.”

He sighed lightly before a grin surfaced into his features. “You disappear for twelve thousand years and come back still professing your love for the people. Typical Rinya. I’m so disappointed in you.”

He crafted bright rays of sunshine with the curve in his thin lips, despite the darkness that governed the crown of his head and the shadows of the night. His smile was so sweet that I doubted that he was disappointed in the slightest.

Kiel’s tenderness was slowly swept away by a cool night breeze. He now had a serious look in his features as his eyes focused the chains then the bruises on my body, until they settled on my own pair.

“What would you have me do about this situation, my Queen?” He placed his gloved hand across his heart. “You can easily be freed from those shackles with just one command.”

“I...” I didn’t know what to say and ended up shifting restlessly on the cold plaza floor.

Surely I wanted to be able to sleep comfortably. Anyone would’ve wanted the easy way out.

But if I asked Kiel to free me, how would the people react? Would we really be able to probe further and find the killer if the they would be more hostile towards us?

I need to clear my name. Only then can we look into things further. For that to happen, I need to get through the night outside. I need to convince the priestess of my innocence and ask her aid to look for the culprit.

“I don’t want you to release me.” I spoke with earnestness, with resolve burning from my eyes.

“I see.” He closed his eyes slowly and breathed deeply before opening them once more. “If that is what you wish, then so be it.”

“I heard that the priestess coming over has just been anointed. It would’ve been easier if it was someone who has been in service for at least a decade, but it seems all of them have been summoned by the council of Yorden to convene at Emro in the west. That event in itself is unusual, but we first need to wrap things up here. This priestess may not be able to recognize your divinity within that body of yours, but we need to convince her somehow.”

“I figured you won’t ask me to help you escape so I brought these.” His dark locks almost covered his eyes as he looked down with his surprisingly long eyelashes. His hands went into his pockets and brought out something wrapped in a white cloth along with a small flask with clear liquid. “It’s not much but it should help with the thirst and the hunger.”

He handed them over to me and I hurriedly dug into the bread.

“Thank you-“ When I looked up, however, Kiel was nowhere to be found.

The bread slowly regained its brown color as the moonlight shone once more. The fires that lit the houses returned and burned relentlessly through the rest of the cloudless night.

I don’t understand Kiel, nor do I know much about him. I wonder what kind of relationship we’ve had before.

Master and servant? Queen and subject? Goddess and worshipper?

From what I have observed - which is still quite limited at this point - he looked like a mysterious guy who only seemed to act when anything has something to do with me.

But it’s confusing. One moment he’s detached and enigmatic, other times he’s zealous and overprotective.

Does he hold romantic feelings towards me?

I looked around before shielding my face with my hands; it was not too soon after that when I felt blood rush to my cheeks.

That’s probably not the case! He’s just an overzealous devout who tend to express his faith with skinship! He is a Holy Saint after all!

Okay, I’ll stop thinking about such things and just focus on coming up with a way on how to win my case. And that’s only the beginning, I need to bring justice to Autumn’s death.

What should I do? What must I say? How can I convince the priestess of Raj?

I ended up drifting to sleep without having a plan at hand.

When I awoke, there were already some people in the plaza: Some were pointing at me, others were whispering.

I sat up and noticed a brown cloak slide down to the floor. The white cloth and the water flask was missing as well.

Kiel.

I unexpectedly felt good despite sleeping on the floor. It didn’t hurt anywhere. I suppose having that cloak as a blanket helped heaps.

I stretched my arms and legs and the chains happily clinked along. I then tried to comb through my hair with my fingers. It would be a waste not to at least look presentable, even with a lovely face like the one I have in this world.

“Look at that shameless woman. How can she pretend like she didn’t kill sweet Autumn!”

“What did she do with the heart though?”

“She probably ate it. Blood was all over her! A wicked sorceress who feeds off of children’s innocence!”

“Ah, maybe that’s why she looked so radiant despite sleeping outside.”

A twisted smile played on my face. Come on, you can insult me better than that.

Not soon after, I heard footsteps from behind me.

George was back with a wide grin on his face. “Did you miss me?”

“You shouldn’t mess around, George. The priestess will arrive any time soon.” Boris placed a scrawny hand on the big guy’s shoulder. “And everyone is here too-“

“No.” I answered with a straight face, and the reply I got from them was a surprised look on their faces. This was the first time I spoke to the two of them ever since they dragged me from the alley. “Why would I miss your ugly face, fatso?”

He snapped. “Why you...”

Crap, I shouldn’t have provoked him.

“You bitch!!! I’ll kill you!” He was about to kick me when he stopped midway.

“You shouldn’t even be joking about killing.” A third man’s voice spoke. “My Goddess upholds life among others.”

I couldn’t believe my eyes, is it safe for him to show others that we knew each other? He might be dragged into this!

“Stop preachin’ you little shit.” George turned towards him and drew his long sword, but the man was quick enough to push the sword back into its scabbard.

“Must you resort to violence? I won’t tolerate any more of this.”

I wanted to call his name, but my throat has betrayed me.

The townsfolk were giving nervous glances at one another.

“Do you know this woman, traveler?” Another voice loomed in.

Everyone’s attention shifted from the scene towards the source of the dulcet sound.

It belonged to a woman, who probably was in her late twenties.

Her face was hidden by a white paper fan which she then folded before handing it over to an attendant, revealing a honey-coloured beauty with alluring cyan eyes that went well with long blue-gray strands that bended and flowed with the wind.

She wore a snow-coloured garment that hugged her arms and went straight down to her ankles. It had ornate buttons that ran until her waist until it is covered by a blue loosely-tied knotted belt that barely moved with each careful step she took.

The woman looked at Kiel passively before shifting her gaze at me.

Is she the priestess of Raj?