Chp 5

Upon returning to the smithy, he received a blow to his cheek and was asked where he dared to play around. His head was squeezed several times, but he made no excuses. He’s not sure what type of anger he would receive shall he go around telling the truth.

The knight who was in charge of the castle’s security didn’t seem like a violent person but there’s nothing wrong with being too careful. Riftan stealthily swore at the blacksmith and went back to shoveling charcoal and grinding bellows.

However, despite the smoldering heat in the smithy, his body grew increasingly cold by each passing moment. He stretched his fingers and clasped his hand, closing and opening it repeatedly, trying to focus his blurry vision. Beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead and his breath started getting shorter.

He suddenly recalled that he had sucked the venom out of the girl’s forearm. Although he spat it right away, he seemed to have swallowed the ones that remained inside his mouth. He sat on a rock and thumped on his chest as his lungs felt stuffy and his breathing got thinner.

A loud scream rang in his ears.

“This damn child! If you don’t want to work, then f*ck off!”

He looked up wearily, seeing the blacksmith’s reddish face then began to move his arms mechanically. He doesn’t know where he got the strength from to continue, by the time he managed to finish cleaning up, the sun was setting.

Riftan barely managed to return to their dilapidated hut whilst staggering, not bothering to wash his face or hands that were stained with black charcoal. As he opened the door, the cold silence greeted him.

Weakly leaning against the door frame, he looked at the bed made of wood plank, the fireless furnace, the slightly inclined dining table, and the bucket for drinking water. There was no sign of life in their house. As soon as his stepfather finished his work in the fields, he goes straight to get a drink while his mother watches the sunset on the hill as she did every day.

Riftan fell on the straw bed. He thought of going to a healer and pay with the silver coins in his pocket, but he could not move his limbs. He didn’t even have the strength to light a fire in the furnace, what more to visit a healer.

His teeth rattled as he covered his pulled the blanket over his head. Loneliness sunk to his bones, thinking that he might actually die like this.

What the hell am I doing stupid things for? The girl will receive the best treatments and will be meticulously taken care of by dozens of her maids. On the other hand, he’s someone who would never receive care from his family, let alone treatment for his illness. I don’t know who should be worried for who.

He swore at himself for doing something useless. However, the twisted judgement against himself disappeared upon remembering the girl’s little limbs hanging around his neck and her round face drenched in tears.

What if you die like this?…I was going to die doing rigorous labor all my life anyway.

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To die because of saving the precious girl is a heroic act. Although nobody will know.

Riftan rubbed his sore eyes and closed them tightly.

At one point, he seems to have lost his mind as he woke up to a cool touch against his face. At first sight, a woman’s face, filled with worry, came to his hazy vision. He thought he was dreaming.

His mother, who constantly avoided looking into his eyes, gazed at him with eyes full of anxiety, muttering as she wiped his dark face with a damp towel. He didn’t understand what she was saying as his ears ringed, and the words sounded like a buzz.

He blinked his eyes that felt hot like fireballs. His body felt like a block of ice, but his head felt like it was burning. F*cking monster got me good. Damn it…

“This is medicinal herbs. Try and eat even a little.”

He could barely understand what his mother was saying. He weakly lifted his head and swallowed a few gulps of the lukewarm liquid. However, he couldn’t push the substance down his system and puked all of it back up. His mother was taken aback and wiped his mouth with a cloth. Her gentle touched felt as if he was half in fantasy.

He couldn’t remember the last time she touched him. He hated how she looked at him like she has been painfully stoked with an iron skewer whenever they made an eye contact, so he constantly tried to avoid it.

“Hang in there. I’m boiling another one.”

She laid him back down on the bed and quickly walked to the fireplace. Seeing her care for him made him feel a little better as it always seemed like he didn’t have an ounce of affection for him. Riftan held that thought in his head and closed his eyes.

***

After suffering two full days, his body felt lighter, and the chill went away like a lie. Seeing him getting up from the bed and washing his face, his stepfather bluntly spoke.

“We have nothing to pay the rent and tax.”

He then opened a flask of cheap ale that he carries around and took a swig. Riftan pretended to be deaf to his words and after wiping the water off his face, ate a bowl of porridge.

He seemed to have gained his appetite back, so he probably won’t die like his stepfather said. As he scoffed at his miserable life, he heard his stepfather speak again in an indifferent tone.

“If you’re feeling better, go back to working in the smithy. I talked to them, telling them you were ill. Although, they complained on how they’re going to make use of a sick boy.”

He looked helplessly at the man, who was staring at the floor.

“It will be difficult to go back to work since you rested only for a while after your illness. I know everyone will be hard on you. Still, you must endure it and learn. If you do not want to live this way your whole life, then you better do it.”

Riftan avoided the man’s eyes. His stepfather struggled all his life with heavy burdens on his shoulders, Riftan didn’t drink poison but his chest felt stuffy as if he had. He jumped from his seat and wore a shabby robe over his back, covering his ***** torso.

“I was planning to go anyway.”

He then strode towards the door, his mother silently poking the firewood in the furnace until he was out of the hut. Riftan glanced over his shoulder and began to hike up the hill.

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He was amazed at how his body had the strength to move despite being bedridden for two full days as he crossed two hills at once and passed through the castle gates.

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