The Girl Wants to Be Murdered

TL/Editor: Butter Cat

Status: 4/week mon-thurs

Illustrations: none

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〈 Chapter 40 〉 Chapter 40. Betrayal.

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It was a torch.

Drip, drip.

Burning oil dripped from the cloth, falling to the ground, one drop at a time.

"It's the witch—!!"

"....Tch."

"....Ah... Aaah..."

The shout of the person who found me. And at the same time, the narrow alley I was in was instantly blocked off by a surge of people.

The flames they carried illuminated the dark alley, even though the sun hadn't risen yet, bathing it in a crimson glow.

It was an overwhelming change, hard to believe it was caused by a single person's shout.

As what seemed like a hundred villagers marched towards me in formation, I could only whimper softly and hide behind Rumi.

No matter how hard I tried to be brave, my true nature was that of a coward.

"R..Rumi...!"

"....Han."

I wanted to ask her if this was a joke, if so then she had gone too far.

But the stark fear and disgust in their eyes told me that this situation was beyond a mere 'joke'.

Witch, hunt.

The words rolled off my tongue, slowly swirling in my mouth.

What, hunt?

What did I do?

I was just living my life, desperately trying to survive, like always....!!

One step, another step.

My back hunched lower and lower with each step they took towards me.

All I could do was look at Rumi, standing in front of me, with pleading eyes.

"—Han, listen carefully."

"....Y-Yes...Yes!"

A glimmer of hope.

A faint glimmer of hope appeared on my face.

Rumi's words brought me a sense of relief.

She had said before that she had a way to resolve this.

Yes, she must have a solution.

Rumi, the only person in this village I trusted, the only person who wouldn't harm me.

Because I believed that—

"—Stay put."

"....Huh?"

Thud.

When Rumi said those words to me, my hand still clinging to hers.

With a small shock, our hands separated and I watched Rumi’s body, which had been in front of me, distance itself from me.

When the villagers, as if waiting for that moment, charged towards me like a herd of angry bulls and grabbed me.

I couldn't think.

"Ru....mi...?"

"—Good job, Rumi!!"

Crunch.

I was just pushed to the ground, my whole body bound with ropes so I couldn't move.

A dirty, foul-smelling cloth was stuffed into my mouth, making it hard to breathe, suffocating me.

".....—?"

*Why,* I muttered the word that couldn't escape my lips.

I could only stare blankly at Rumi.

Hoping that she would say something.

Hoping that she would tell me this was all a plan.

Hoping that she would tell me this was all a lie.

I desperately wished for it.

"......."

But Rumi didn't say anything to me.

She just gave me a cold smile, chilling me to the bone.

**

"Ha ha! Rumi, you brought the witch here so she couldn't escape!!"

"........"

"You're not cursed or anything, are you? I heard that witches leave behind nasty curses when they're in danger."

I was surrounded by torches, their flames threatening to engulf me, my body bound and restrained.

The ropes tightened painfully with the slightest movement, my mouth gagged with a thick cloth.

The stench that filled my nostrils with every breath.

This, was torture.

"......!!"

"—Don't move!"

With every small movement, the glares and shouts directed at me grew colder.

It was all unbearable, but—

"...It's okay, nothing happened, Village Head."

"Ha ha, that's good to hear!!"

The most painful thing was the bitter betrayal of the friend I had trusted.

"......"

Rumi, why?

Why did you, abandon me like this?

Were you just like them after all?

Were you just using me, looking down on me, pretending to be my friend?

Thoughts, even though they have no form, transformed into sharp blades and pierced my heart.

More than the tightening ropes, more than the painful stones thrown by some of the villagers, the pain of being abandoned by the person I had trusted was unbearable.

At this moment, I was so grateful for the innkeeper's skill in gagging me with that cloth.

If my mouth were free.

I would have bitten my tongue and died.

"—We found the witch, as you requested, Village Head."

"Yes, you brought her here, Rumi. Your bravery will be remembered for generations to come. Ha ha!"

If I could cry tears of blood, I would.

If I could tear out my heart and show them, a heart riddled with knife wounds, I would.

If I could pry open my brain and erase my memories, I would do it a thousand times over.

That's how agonizing her betrayal was.

"—No."

"......!!"

That's why, when her denial came, I rejoiced.

Drip, drip, like a long-awaited rain after a drought.

The parched earth, my heart, cracked and dry, began to absorb the small raindrops.

But it was a mistake.

A small amount of water falling on cracked earth only widens the fissures.

I didn't know that.

I was, truly foolish.

"—I found the [real] witch."

"....What are you talking about, Rumi?"

Rumi's confession.

The villagers were thrown into confusion.

Those who had been throwing stones at me, those who had held their torches close as if to burn me alive, all turned to look at Rumi with disbelief.

As if they couldn't believe it.

As if they couldn't accept it.

"It's obvious, isn't it? There's no way that dimwit could cast such a powerful curse."

"But—"

"And this 'monster' has been here for over ten years, there's no reason for her to suddenly start causing trouble now, is there? Don't you agree, Mrs. Redao?"

"...Th-That's is true"

Rumi, with her strong charisma, swayed the hearts of the villagers in an instant.

Her eyes sparkled with conviction, her words flowed out confidently, and even without any physical evidence, it was enough to lend credibility to her claims.

But even so, perhaps because their lives, or the safety of their village, were at stake.

Some still insisted that it was my fault.

That it would be better to blame me.

That it would be better to catch the certain culprit than chase after an uncertain guess.

"But Rumi, there's no one else who could have done this except for this monster—"

"—There is."

"...What, did you say?"

"I said, there is a witch."

And those who had been arguing, were silenced.

"........"

I still didn't understand what was happening, why I was being subjected to this ordeal.

I could only vaguely guess that something had happened in the village, and the blame was being shifted onto me.

So when Rumi claimed that I wasn't the culprit, I felt relieved.

Just untie these ropes, quickly.

I don't even know what a witch is, but I'm not one.

I'll forgive you all, so can we just go back?

Because all I could think about was, I wanted to rest.

"—Recently, no, for the past two months, there's been a child who's been enticing Han."

".....What?"

I didn't foresee that my salvation would become my worst nightmare.

I didn't even imagine that this would be far more terrifying than being accused of being the culprit.

At that moment, I was shamefully relieved.

So much so that I wanted to kill myself.

"According to Han, the child lives deep in the mountains where those beasts reside, deliberately avoiding being seen by people."

"...Is that true?"

"Yes, it's true! You've seen the strange carcasses of those animals lately, haven't you? It must be the witch's doing. There's no one else. You all know that she doesn't go out at night, right?"

The story was taking a strange turn.

Those words made me forget to even breathe for a moment.

I was admittedly oblivious, and not particularly smart, but even I could understand that this situation was going awry.

What are you, talking about, Rumi?

Rumi... that's not true, is it?

It's not, right?

Rumi?

…

Stop it, now.

Stop it, I said.

I screamed those words.

".....—!!!!! ㅡㅡㅡㅡ!!!!"

"Hey!? She's going crazy!"

"—It must be the curse that the witch cast! Don't untie her gag, no matter what!"

"Uh… Uh, okay, Rumi!"

Thump, thump, I struggled, trying to break free from the ropes.

I thrashed around, screaming, trying to cause a scene, so that they wouldn't hear Rumi's words.

I crawled on the ground, I roared, I slammed my head against the dirt.

Dirt got in my eyes, and the hard, rough ground scraped mercilessly against my face, but I couldn't feel any of it.

Because the only thing I could think about was, I had to stop this madness, I had to shut Rumi's mouth.

I made a new friend.

I finally had someone precious to me.

The precious memories, shared only between me and Alice, a secret I had only told Rumi in this entire village.

"—She even said they sang together in the forest after sunset!"

"Good heavens..!! That's...."

Rumi was twisting those memories, talking about them as if they were something strange.

"It's true! Han, she's just a victim, manipulated by the witch. The real culprit, is that 'witch', isn't it?"

"....The…real.."

"If we don't kill the real witch, this will just keep happening, won't it?"

"You're right, that makes sense."

Their eyes, no longer looked at me, writhing on the ground.

They didn't react to my screams.

All the torches were raised high, pointing towards the mountainside, as if indicating they were ready to move.

All their hostility, directed towards that place.

At that moment, I realized what Rumi had meant.

When she said she had a way to resolve this.

When she said I would be okay.

I understood, so painfully, so clearly.

".....ㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡㅡ!!!!!!!"

"......The witch might have cursed Han, so keep the ropes tied tightly."

"...Uh… um, got it, Rumi."

"...Yes, let's go now."

The woman who had approached to untie my ropes, thinking the situation had been resolved and that I wasn't the culprit.

But Rumi stopped her with a firm voice.

To prevent me from defending myself.

To pin all the blame on the child.

—To save me, by sacrificing the child.

"ㅡㅡㅡㅡ!!"

What are you even talking about?

Let me go.

Untie this, I said.

You know it wasn't her, it wasn’t that child.

Why, are you doing this....!!

"ㅡㅡ,ㅡㅡ!!"

But no matter how much I screamed.

No matter how much strength I exerted, a strength I had never possessed before.

No matter how much I struggled, trying to break free from their grasp and escape.

I couldn't break the thick ropes that bound me.

"......Then, shall we all go, together?"

Whoosh, despite my pleading eyes, she turned her head away without a word.

Her hair, illuminated by the rising sun, was even redder than the flames burning beside us.

Rumi slowly walked forward, leading the villagers.

I could only watch, my movements sealed, my heart sinking.

Rumi walked through the burning crosses, raised high as if ready to march.

And behind her, the procession followed.

"—To catch the [real] witch."

A long procession of people, ready to hunt a witch.

**

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