Episode 19
***
The long-awaited harvest festival had finally arrived. The front yard of Chief Hobard’s house was bustling with villagers. They had prepared food so plentiful that the table looked ready to break, and everyone gathered to share dinner together. Sitting at the center, Hobard raised a glass of apple wine high.
“For Leclere Village!”
In the cheerful atmosphere, Ranie chewed on her meat with a somewhat somber face. She couldn’t taste it at all. In fact, she wasn’t even sure whether the meat was going down her mouth or her nose.
Her mind was filled with the image of Celine crying bitterly in the alley. That day, Celine had returned as if nothing had happened. She brushed off her slightly red eyes, saying it was just because she was tired.
“Come on, you should eat too. You’ve been looking after your child and probably haven’t eaten properly. Times like this are when you need to eat well.”
“……Yes.”
Celine sat among the villagers, awkwardly sipping her drink. She wasn’t one to handle alcohol well, so it was unusual to see her drinking today.
‘Is it really okay to leave her like that?’
In the novel, there were many moments where Celine struggled with the wounds left by her husband. But even when she suffered, she would soon stand back up, pretending to be fine—just like now.
She never had the time to heal properly. Because there was always someone beside her that she needed to take care of.
……How did Celine overcome her pain in the novel again?
Ranie tried to recall the story in detail for the first time in a while. Time passed as she did, and the sky darkened. Before long, Lilia sat next to her mother, nodding off to sleep.
When Celine bent down to carry her daughter on her back, Ranie put down her food and did it for her.
“I can—”
“I’ll carry her. It’ll be faster that way.”
Ranie, being stronger than the frail Celine, was the better choice. Celine hesitated briefly before smiling faintly and agreeing.
“Grandma, I’ll take Lilia home.”
“Be careful, dear.”
With Hilde’s permission, Ranie left the chief’s yard with Celine. Lilia, who had been nodding off, soon fell completely asleep on Ranie’s back.
The walk to Celine’s house wasn’t far, but for Ranie, it felt unusually long today.
‘What did we usually talk about before……?’
They used to chat about trivial things easily, but ever since the day they went to the market, things had felt awkward. As if they had gone back to the early days of their acquaintance.
Ranie’s mind raced for something to say when Celine broke the silence first.
“Ranie, you’re such a strange person.”
“……In what sense?”
“In many ways. I thought I understood people quite well, but I still can’t figure you out.”
Was that a compliment? Or an insult?
Unable to gauge her tone, Ranie hesitated before replying.
“Someone like me is probably pretty common, you know?”
“Not many people are like you—someone who never asks anything.”
Ranie flinched. She almost tripped over her own feet. Her heart pounded violently. Standing still for about three seconds, she forced herself to walk again, pretending nothing had happened. Thankfully, she only staggered slightly—Lilia didn’t wake.
‘What did she mean by that? Did she notice that I was watching her that day?’
She hadn’t done anything wrong, yet she was nervous. Ranie stayed quiet to keep her voice from trembling.
The truth was, she didn’t ask questions because she already knew everything about Celine—her past, and what she would go through in the future. There was no point in bringing up pain she already understood.
Just as she was about to change the topic to lighten the mood, Celine said something unexpected.
“My husband was a cold man.”
“…….”
“He didn’t know how to care for people. It was as if he saw everyone in the world as his enemy.”
It was the first time Celine had ever mentioned her husband. Startled, Ranie stopped walking and watched her from behind. Celine took a few more steps before stopping too, then continued in a calm voice.
“I hated him.”
“……Celine.”
“I came here because I hated him. I’d wanted to run away for so long. I thought that if I ran far enough, one day I wouldn’t hate him anymore… that I’d just live for my own happiness.”
“…….”
“But it wasn’t like that. I still hate him. And I feel like I’m still trapped in that time.”
Her final words came with a long sigh—not so much in sorrow, but in resignation.
‘I… I can’t say anything.’
She felt she should say something, but her lips wouldn’t move.
Should she tell her that happiness would come soon if she endured a bit longer?
Or that the past was behind her, and she needed to overcome it?
None of those words would reach Celine, and even to Ranie, they sounded terrible.
“Hmm… I hope you don’t take it too heavily. I just wanted to tell you someday because I really like you, Ranie.”
Suddenly, the first line of the novel Celine Grewell came to her mind.
Celine Grewell’s life was unfortunate.
Thinking back now, the very first sentence had been a strong spoiler. It implied from the start that her life would be filled with misfortune and struggle.
She had loved that novel. And she had loved Celine, its protagonist. She admired her strength—the way she kept going, even when the world seemed to turn entirely against her.
‘But now…….’
The Celine before her felt different from the one she knew. The light that once filled her golden eyes when she moved to the village six years ago was gone.
“Ranie, please be happy.”
The words sounded as though Celine herself wasn’t.
“What about you, Celine? Aren’t you happy?”
“I don’t know. Whether I am or not. I came to this village to find happiness, but… am I happy now?”
“……You have Lilia.”
The warmth of the sleeping child on her back radiated through her. Despite the noise of their conversation, Lilia slept soundly, murmuring softly, “Mom…”
Even in her dreams, she called for her mother. Such a loving child. And yet, even with a daughter like that by her side…
Celine only smiled faintly instead of answering. That was the last thing they said to each other.
A meaningless stretch of time passed, and a week after the harvest festival—
Celine left the village. Leaving Lilia behind.
That morning, Ranie’s mood had sunk to the bottom. Ever since the festival, she’d spent many sleepless nights, dark circles shadowing her eyes. Letting out a huge yawn, she gazed out the window.
It was raining heavily since dawn. Rain wasn’t unusual in the south, but given her mood, it felt like the worst possible weather.
She flopped onto her bed, burying her face into the pillow. Exhausted, yet unable to sleep, she felt like she might die from fatigue.
‘Something’s going wrong.’
Of course, the reason she couldn’t sleep was the conversation she’d had with Celine a week ago. That night, after returning home, she’d spent hours writing down the events of the novel, afraid she might forget something.
Her memory was fine. If anything was wrong, it was Celine’s behavior—which had diverged from the story.
In the novel, Celine didn’t just hate her husband. Once, she had loved him deeply. That unreciprocated love had turned to resentment over time.
Her love for him was evident even early in the book. Though she ran away, she never changed her name. Somewhere inside, she still wished he would come find her.
‘Even now, she hasn’t changed her name. That means she still loves him… so why does this feel so wrong?’
Ranie groaned softly. The thoughts spun endlessly without answers, and her head felt ready to burst.
Thud, thud. Amid the sound of rain came another noise—a knocking sound.
‘Maybe it’s just the wind?’
It could have been. Who would visit in weather like this? Thinking that, Ranie stayed still. But again—thud, thud.
Sensing something strange, she staggered out of bed and headed for the door.
“Who’s… Lilia?!”
As she cracked the door open, she saw Lilia soaked from head to toe in the rain. Shocked, Ranie quickly pulled her inside. She grabbed a towel, dried the girl’s wet hair, and knelt to meet her eyes. The child was silently crying.
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