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Chapter 27
Shelly’s outburst made the people look uneasy.
The herbal shop grandfather clicked his tongue briefly.
“Shelly, that’s all just your speculation. You can’t go around saying things like that!”
“Grandfather, it’s not speculation! That’s exactly how it was! Everyone who was with me saw it too. The monster followed that kid!”
At her words, several people nodded in agreement.
The crowd slowly began to side with Shelly.
Seeing their reaction, she said with a hardened expression,
“We can’t let that child enter this village. It’s obvious another monster will follow and come into the village as well.”
At her firm tone, one by one, the villagers agreed that she was right.
The herbal shop grandfather felt distressed.
That child was already being ostracized by the village and living deep in the forest—now, on top of that, they were misunderstanding her.
He kept trying to stop them, insisting it was a hasty judgment, but instead the people began accusing even him, saying he had been bewitched by a witch.
Only then did the grandfather realize the villagers hadn’t changed at all.
In the end, he gave up trying to persuade them.
“You will definitely regret this.”
But they didn’t listen to him.
With a troubled expression, the grandfather turned around and headed back to the herbal shop.
The next morning, Juhee woke up early, took her basket of herbs, and headed toward the village.
But something felt off.
There wasn’t a single person on the street.
As she sensed movement and turned her head, a door slammed shut with a loud bang.
Rowen seemed to notice it too.
“Juhee, something feels strange. Should we come back another time?”
“…No. We still have to come.”
But suddenly, people rushed out and blocked her path.
And they weren’t empty-handed—they were holding farming tools.
“What…?”
Rowen frowned and stepped in front of Juhee.
The man at the front spoke hesitantly.
“W-witch! Get out of this village right now!”
At his words, Juhee let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
The people brandished their tools threateningly.
“It’s your fault a monster came down to the village yesterday! If it weren’t for you, none of this would’ve happened!”
Shelly stepped forward and shouted.
Juhee found the situation absurd.
She pushed Rowen aside and took a step forward, causing the people to flinch and step back.
“So you’re saying yesterday’s incident was my fault?”
“Yes! It’s because you came here! So don’t ever come back to this village!”
Juhee’s eyes darkened.
She had expected the villagers to remain cold even after showing her a bit of kindness—but she hadn’t expected it to be this simple-minded.
Her gaze shifted to Shelly.
Shelly flinched and hid among the crowd.
Even if she denied it, no one would believe her now.
Fear and contempt were clearly mixed in their eyes.
Juhee couldn’t understand this situation.
She didn’t know what she had done wrong to deserve such rejection.
As she said nothing in denial, the people began to chatter, insisting it was true.
Listening quietly, Juhee finally spoke.
“So if I say I didn’t do it… would you believe me?”
The surroundings fell silent.
People exchanged glances and closed their mouths tightly.
It was infuriating.
“Gnome.”
Juhee muttered softly, and the ground beneath the villagers suddenly caved in.
“Ahhh! What is this!”
“T-the witch is cursing us!”
They were trapped in the sinking ground, unable to move.
“Undine.”
With cold eyes, Juhee summoned Undine.
Immediately, icy water poured down onto their heads.
“Kyaa!”
“Help us!”
Amid their screams, Juhee muttered,
“It’s not even deadly. Why are they so dramatic?”
Fear deeply filled their eyes as they looked at her.
But Juhee ignored them, dropped the herb basket as if tossing it aside, and turned away.
Rowen hurriedly followed behind her.
“Juhee, are you okay?”
“Don’t follow me. You’re getting in the way.”
She stopped and looked at him.
The moment he saw her eyes, he froze.
They had once held a bit of warmth—but now they were cold again.
“Juhee, I mean…”
“If Your Majesty stays with me, you might get hurt too. So go back.”
But Rowen didn’t listen.
He followed her quietly, though he didn’t offer comfort.
Strangely, that was better.
Empty reassurance that things would clear up quickly would’ve been worse.
Right now, the urgent problem was survival.
Even going to a neighboring village to buy supplies required two full days of travel without rest on Ru.
She needed a solution.
Meanwhile, Rowen tried persuading her again.
“Juhee, you can’t keep living here like this. How about coming to the palace with me? What if people come looking for you? I’m worried.”
Juhee looked at Mel.
Mel looked very distressed and sad.
That night, Juhee went on a night walk with Mel up the hill.
Mel, sitting on her shoulder, spoke.
—Juhee, I think it would be better to follow Rowen.
“Mel.”
—We don’t have a choice right now… What if people come to hurt you like Rowen said?
Mel sat down and began crying loudly.
Hesitating, Juhee whispered,
“…If I go, you’ll be left alone.”
—I’ll be fine. I was alone before you came too. So if it’s because of me, you can go.
Mel wiped her tears.
Juhee gently held out her hand, and Mel climbed onto it.
“It’s not forever. Just for a while. I’ll come back later.”
—…Okay.
Juhee lowered her head and kissed Mel lightly on the forehead.
If the villagers hadn’t suddenly turned on her, she would have stayed.
They talked through the night.
The next morning, Juhee said to Rowen,
“I’ll accept your offer.”
“…Really?”
Rowen smiled brightly.
“You made the right decision, Juhee. I’ll take care of everything in the palace. You just need to come as you are.”
Juhee nodded slowly.
If the heroine appeared, she planned to leave the palace immediately and settle in a quiet house on the outskirts of the capital.
She would live there and occasionally visit Mel in the forest.
“However, I want to take Ru with me.”
“Do whatever you want. I wouldn’t object.”
She planned to travel to the capital riding Ru instead of a horse.
The next morning, she prepared to leave.
Ru appeared in the forest and licked her hand.
“Ru.”
At her call, Ru’s white ears perked up.
She bent slightly to meet its eyes.
“Ru, I’m going to the capital tomorrow. Will you come with me?”
Ru let out a short “kurr” as if agreeing.
Mel said,
—Of course it’s coming. I want to go too…
Mel sighed and clung to Ru’s back.
After patting Ru’s soft fur, Juhee left.
There wasn’t much to pack.
She didn’t own anything important—just a few clothes she had bought since possessing this body.
“How long does it take to get to the capital?”
“About two weeks. If you travel slowly, it might take longer, but winter is coming soon, so we can’t delay.”
Juhee packed a thick winter coat.
She couldn’t even properly say goodbye to the herbal shop grandfather since she wasn’t allowed into the village.
Then Rowen approached her.
“I’ll go down to the village briefly. The knights are waiting there.”
“Could you tell the herbal shop grandfather that I’m going to the capital?”
“Of course.”
Rowen smiled and left.
Juhee called Ru, and Rowen mounted him.
“Please tell him that Juhee is not my name—tell him I’m Airil.”
“…Understood.”
Rowen entered the village.
The atmosphere was still tense.
He clicked his tongue as he glanced at the villagers before heading to the herbal shop.
“Is anyone here?”
“Who is it?”
The door opened after some rustling.
Rowen greeted the grandfather with a polite smile.
“Hello, grandfather.”
“Oh, you! What brings you here? Are you hurt?”
“No, I came to deliver a message.”
At Rowen’s words, the grandfather tilted his head.
“Ju—no, Airil is planning to leave this place. I came to tell you that.”
“I see… so it has come to that.”
The grandfather nodded slowly.
“It’s not strange that she’s leaving.”
“Airil asked me to thank you for everything…”
The grandfather smiled warmly.
“Tell Airil to travel safely.”
“Pardon?”
“Aren’t you going with her?”
“I… yes. How did you know?”
“Call it an old man’s intuition.”
The grandfather burst into a hearty laugh.
