IDEFYEM - Chapter 45
Black Man, I'll Do Everything For You Except Marriage!
Ten years ago now.
Sarah was living as the daughter of an ordinary peasant. A life so far removed from things like magic and society.
She was a poor, ordinary life led by the two of them and their single mother. Oh, three if you include Lili, the dog who was picked up on the side of the road one day and became a member of the family.
Sometimes, like ordinary girls, she felt bored with life in the countryside. It would be a lie if she said that sometimes she didn't want to run out into the open world.
But before going to bed, when she felt her mother's lips on her forehead and the dog's warmth warming her side, everything became okay.
So Sarah always endured.
And the pig-like face of the Lord's son, who habitually teases her. The sticky stares and dark smiles that always followed her when she helped out with the fieldwork.
Sarah wasn't angry, but she wasn't giving in to power either. She always maintains a straight face despite all kinds of insulting suggestions and rude behavior.
Did that seem so disturbing to the Lord's son?
So much so that she wants to ruthlessly break it, dirty it, and destroy it.
Thinking back on that time, Sarah still didn't know and was confused. How should she have acted and how could she have prevented that tragedy?
The day Sarah went looking for her dog Lili, didn't come back from her usual walk.
Sarah had an ominous feeling that was definitely different from usual.
While searching the entire village like catching a mouse, a thought suddenly occurred to her and she ran to the hill. A place where the Lord's son and his gang of delinquent friends always played together.
The ominous premonition came true, and they were there abusing the puppy.
"Yes, this is that woman's dog! She looks just like her owner and has a nasty personality."
"If we do this, she will realize her mistake and become obedient."
The squeal of a puppy and the giggling laughter of the Lord's son. The sound of men mocking a helpless girl and a dog. Sarah rushed in between them to embrace Lili.
"Stop it! Please, please stop... !"
Despite her desperate pleas, the men did not stop kicking at Lili. Sarah was half-conscious, and her body violently resisted being held. She couldn't even remember what she did during that process.
Suddenly, Sarah felt something caught on her fingertips, and her surroundings became cold. When she looked up, she saw that the Lord's son had a wound on his cheek that looked like it had been made by a fingernail.
The men who had ignored Sarah's pleas became as quiet as a lie. He looked at Sarah like he was looking at a crazy person.
They were playing a light prank, and they seemed to firmly believe that Sarah was the one who had do ne something outside of common sense.
Sarah lowered her head blankly and looked at her shaking hands.
They harmed her family, violently grabbed her shoulders, and shook her. She was the only one being punished.
Because of his status as a nobleman, which can only be proven with a paper document.
Sarah was locked in the dungeon of the Lord's castle that night for wounding the nobleman's body.
"Please, have mercy...! My child is only 15 years old!"
Her mother prayed, but there was no way a commoner's plea would reach the Lord's ears. The villagers only whispered among themselves, fearing the Lord's retaliation.
Early that morning, the Lord's son came to the basement with his face heavily bandaged. And he began to scare Sarah, who was shivering on the cold floor.
He said he could drag her around town like a dog, humiliate her, beat her, or even hang her.
'I will give you one last chance, so choose to become my mistress instead.'
After hearing that, Sarah burst out laughing and was not afraid.
"Among them, the punishment of becoming your mistress is the most terrible."
Sarah answered and turned around, lying down on the cold stone floor. Although she committed it recklessly, her heart was racing with fear of the future.
Still, she didn't want to be seen with her scared eyes.
The Lord's son soon turned red and blue and left the prison. And after a while, loud laughter was heard from the room next to Sarah.
At first, Sarah thought it was a hallucination, and it sent shivers down her spine, but after listening closely, it wasn't the case.
The unidentified laughter soon died down, and soon speaking began to be heard.
"I liked you, kid."
"..."
"I will get out of here soon. I'll take you with me then."
Wow, he really is a crazy person. Sarah thought and decided to ignore the voice.
"You don't believe me."
The voice muttered a little later.
She felt pity for someone who was trapped here and may have had mental problems. Right now, Sarah couldn't afford to take care of anyone else other than herself.
As the neglect continued, the voice on the other side of the bars laughed even louder and asked:
"Have you ever seen magic, kid?"
"What is that...."
As soon as he finished speaking, the solid iron bars began to melt. It seemed as if the solid-looking iron bar had turned into butter in an instant.
Sarah, seeing an incredible sight, took a deep breath and opened her eyes wide. Soon the identity of the voice speaking to her was revealed.
An old man with wrinkles, a wizard who would later become Sarah's teacher.
It was the beginning of a terrible relationship.
***
"It's my life that you saved, so you can use it however you want. First of all, let's leave this village."
"Uh, I'll bring my mom. I can't her leave alone."
"That's not allowed. I am taking you because you are useful, but I cannot increase our military family."
Sarah knew that she couldn't stay in the village because she was hated by the Lord and committed a prison escape. But being told that she had to leave alone was a shock to the fifteen-year-old girl.
"Then I'll come back and say my last goodbye. She's right there!"
The wizard nodded after thinking about it, and Sarah, fearing that he might change his mind, ran towards her with bare feet.
"Mom, mom!"
Sarah shouted several times and knocked hard on the door.
'Please stay home, please be able to see your face...!'
As if that earnest wish had been granted, the door burst open. When her mother came out, looking haggard as if she had stayed up all night, Sarah was hugged tightly.
"How on earth did you...?"
"I'm sorry, Mom. I'm so sorry."
Sarah managed to explain the situation she was in in a voice that wasn't coming out properly.
She met a wizard in the next room of the prison, and he offered to take her away.
Sarah thought that her mother, who had lived a more ordinary life than her, might faint. However, her mother remained calm, as if she was showing maternal instinct at the edge of a cliff.
She must have known that there was no other way than to run away right now. Her mother hugged Sarah with her firm, warm hands and comforted her.
"Yeah, I know what you mean. Everything is fine. You did well, my daughter."
In fact, Sarah was afraid the whole way home. She's afraid that her mother will blame her and blame her for doing something reckless because of just one animal.
But her mother spoke as if she knew everything about her heart.
"I will always be here with your younger sister, Lili, so you can come back at any time."
If she had known it would be the last time, Sarah would have done anything to stay longer.
However, Sarah continued to move forward without knowing what the future would hold.
***
The teacher said that he recognized Sarah's talent from the first time he saw her. Innate magic, a brilliant mind, and a memory that doesn't need to be taught twice.
She became a wizard's disciple and continued to improve her skills.
The teacher lived the life of a fugitive and a wanderer, always being chased by many people who were against him.
Looking at the details of the request he was taking on, she thought it was worth it.
Sarah, who had vaguely imagined helping people with magic, continued to experience difficult days. She protested in her own way, but what came back was words that were close to threats.
The wizard, who acted somewhat kind in the beginning, became eccentric as time went by.
"If you keep doing this, I won't be able to mail your mother a letter."
"If you don't want to go back to your hometown forever, keep rebelling!"
Sarah was afraid that she might never be able to see her mother again, so she forced herself to endure it. Sarah did what her teacher told her to do even though she knew it was wrong.
Doing difficult chores and running errands, sometimes even devouring one's own body and pretending to be the teacher's experiment.
That wasn't all. Sarah's teacher was very extravagant, so he had to have whatever he wanted, and he often went to gambling houses.
It was Sarah's responsibility to do all the cleaning. From fifteen to seventeen. It was a difficult day, but there was a thought that gave her the motivation to persevere.
One day, Sarah will become independent from her teacher and return to her hometown as a full-fledged wizard. And she planned to bring her mother to the capital and build a nice house for them to live together.
But the world did not even allow Sarah to have hope.
One day, there was a loud knock on the door of the cabin they were using as a temporary shelter.
"Here... I came here after hearing that you were living there! Turn yourself in!"
It was obvious. It could be someone who has debts from a gambling den or someone who holds a grudge against their teacher.
As always, Sarah acted calmly and started packing her things. However, the teacher's behavior that day was a little different from usual.
"You stay. I will go through that passage first and check the situation before coming back."
The teacher used to make a back door in his residence so that he could escape at any time. Sarah was puzzled, but she thought he was a person with a lot of temperament, so Sarah nodded.
A few dozen minutes after that.
Sarah, anxious about the rattling door that seemed as if it would fall apart, approached the secret passage to check her teacher's location. And soon she realized that the door was blocked from the other side by someone.
"Probably not, I guess..."
No matter how many times Sarah knocked on the back door, it wouldn't open, and soon an acrid smell began to sting her nose. Sarah soon remembered something she didn't want to remember.
Flame magic was the teacher's specialty.
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