"Is this everything?"
"N-no, there are still more upstairs,"
"...Are you still not feeling good? That's why I told you not to look outside," Julian said, trouble in his face.
"..."
"Is it not that? Why are you making that face then?"
"No, it's nothing," Maria replied with a slight smile.
The pair of mother and son was in their living room. The room was small, decorated with drawings hung on the walls, and bizarre-looking vases sitting atop the cabinets. Unfortunately, the decorations seemed to have lost their charm due to the piles of stuff scattered across the floor.
In the middle of that room, a few pouches and a fairly large knapsack sat on top of a table. Maria was busy stuffing her belongings into the pouches as she conversed with Julian. Unlike Maria, Julian only had a small satchel hung on his shoulder.
"Are you sure it's nothing?" Julian asked as he leaned on the wooden chair facing the table.
"Of course..."
"That's new."
"Hm? This quill...? Ah, right, I just made this three days ago," Maria said, caressing the quill in her hands. With a soft chuckle, she continued, "...Your eyes are as sharp as your father's."
Julian shut his eyes for a second. Letting out a sharp sigh, he swept his gaze across the space, which appeared to have been ravaged by burglars.
"I am not talking about that quill. I am talking about you, Maria."
"Me?" Maria said, looking clueless at her clothing.
From her memory, that dress was bought even before Julian was born.
"I did not know you could lie. Especially to me... that is new," Julian said with a disappointed smile.
"I-"
"I did not?"
"N-I...no..."
"Tell me, Maria. Is there someone who dares to threaten you for leaving? Or is it perhaps some unfinished business?"
Thinking about it, Julian did find it strange that originally, his mother was not meant to come to the capital with him. The certificate for the Trial allowed the entry of the immediate family members into the capital, yet the arrangements for his trip there never included his mother.
He found it truly strange.
Julian did not say anything afterward, only waiting for his hesitating mother to speak. Surely, it did take a fairly long time for her mother to state her concern.
"Is it going to be fine?" Maria asked in a quiet voice. Letting out a heavy sigh, she continued, "Marlion... He is the chief's son..."
Julian blinked his eyes slowly, still waiting. He waited, but soon realized that was the concern of his mother.
"Wh- pftt, the chief- pftt, haha..."
"It's not something to laugh about," Maria said sternly.
"Haha, I'm sorry... Maria, why did you lie to your child about something so insignificant? Sigh, you said you still need something from upstairs?" Julian said, shaking his head while making his way out of the living room.
He was surprised. He did not know such small matters would trouble his mother that much. It was such an insignificant matter that he did not even feel the need to reassure her.
"What do you need? Let me help bring it down here," Julian said to his somewhat frustrated-looking mother.
Creak. Creak.
The stairs creaked loudly under his steps. Making his way up, he looked at the painting hanging at his side. From bottom to top, there were drawings of him and Maria, one for each year after he was born.
Repulsive, Hatred. Pain.
'Why indeed?'
He did not know why he felt such disgusting emotions when looking at those pictures. No, he knew what the reason was. He just refused to acknowledge it.
'Right, I forgot to ask why she was not coming with me...'
Soon, they finished with their preparation for departure. Thanks to Julian's constant nagging, Maria, who was about to bring their whole house to the capital, was forced to bring with her only a single knapsack.
Both stood before their home, silently saying their farewells in their hearts.
"Julian... What about Sir Knight? Should we not inform him about this?" Maria asked, adjusting the overly-filled knapsack on her shoulder. Jumping a few times to help with the knapsack's placement, she continued, "He was supposed to bring you there in the first place, after all..."
"No, no need for that."
"Why not?" Maria, picking up a wooden box on the ground, asked.
"Why do we need to wait for him?"
"Because... It's dangerous outside...,"Maria claimed, clutching the box to her chest worriedly,
"Dangerous? Do you not trust your son right here?"
"N-no, it's not that..."
"Then, trust me. I will be safer this way," Julian said as he went and took Maria's knapsack.
Julian had a bow strapped to his back. It appeared to be fairly old, as even the body of it showed cracks here and there. A quiver strapped to his right waist, while his sword strapped to his other.
With the addition of his mother's knapsack, he successfully managed to resemble an adventurer on a long journey.
"That aside, I told you only to bring necessities, did I not?" Julian asked, looking straggly agitated.
Hearing her son's words, Maria's grasp of the wooden box tightened.
"Dearest Maria... you should learn to let go of things. Admitting you made a mistake and letting go of a mistake is never a mistake."
"Speak not of your father like that!" Maria said firmly.
"... Else? Will he finally show up to discipline this offspring of his? Oh, how I wish. I cannot wait to return this sword to him."
"..."
Seeing his mother's trembling lips, Julian felt that disgusting feeling welling inside his chest once again.
"Tch."
He did not remember emotion was that hard to rein in. Clicking his tongue, he turned around and made his way down the hill.
The hill, just like the rest of the world, could only be described as dying. There was nothing that grew taller than a knee, and the leaves of grass and scrubs were pale gray like that of ashes. Carcasses of birds and insects filled the earth, blobbing and some throbbing as if they were about to explode.
"Come closer," Julian called to Maria, who walked with her eyes locked only on her boots.
Pulling his mother down, Julian took out a piece of cloth from his satchel and wrapped it around her face. With only her mouth uncovered, Julian grabbed her hands and led her down the hill.
"Look, it's them..."
"Ha, running after all that."
"Bastard."
"Whore."
Julian ignored the mutters and whispers of the villagers as they walked down the dirty, muddy path. He faintly remembers that his family was not too well received in that village. In addition to what he just did, he understood why they bravely let their mouths loose.
Regardless, he did not care what they had to say, as Maria did not seem to hear them through the cloth around her head.
Tak.
Tak.
However, the moment pebbles and rocks started coming their way, Julian clenched the hilt of his sword. Naturally, those children scurried off to their homes, scared, cowardly like their dead fathers.
"Julian, did you say something to me?"
"No, probably just wind."
"Ah, I see... Um, but do I still need to wear this? We should be at the village already, right?"
"That would be unwise,"
"Unwise?"
"There is a corpses around. "
"C-corpse?"
"Corpses. Did you not smell tha- Well, they look new, should be from around this morning."
"..."
"It's fine, let us hurry to the village gate."
Julian was not surprised that Maria could tell they had already left the hill. Other than the sticky texture of the soil, the disgusting smell of the hill had also been replaced by a more 'human' smell. The smell of the dogs and cows' dung was the most telling, though none of them could be seen.
With his mother not dawdling in her steps, their way to the end of the village was quick and, fortunately, unobstructed. While he wanted to consider the whispering of curses as a form of obstruction, he just needed to step on the muddy path a little louder for that small problem to be settled.
"What a terrible craft. Could this thing even stop a dog?" Julian muttered as he tapped the frail-looking barricade.
"Julian, why are not using the gate?"
"Does it matter? Come on, step here, on my foot." Julian said, carefully helping his blinded mother.
Rip.
"Ah, did I rip my trousers?"
"No, it's the barricade rope. Don't worry about it."
Ignoring the figure that had been following them since the village, Julian continued to lead her mother away from the village. Since they were jumping over the barricade instead of using the gate, they had to push through overgrown weeds, which were as tall as their chest.
"Hold the knapsack, I need to use my hands," Julian said as he unsheathed his sword.
Almost immediately after Julian pulled out his sword, he felt his mother stop moving. Looking back, he saw his mother's expression had gone pale.
"Tch, it's for snake," Julian said, annoyed, clearly understanding what was going through Maria's head.
"Ah, all right... I am sorry..."
Well, that snake just happened to be human-sized.