The next day, they bid farewell to Dominic and the villagers and made their way back. Their travels on the way was uneventful, however every small village they passed, they were treated as if they were heros. Word had already spread of their victory and the people of Ceco treated them better than when they first passed through.
In the small village of Caru, Emmy and the rest of the soldiers have settled down in a small inn called Resting Heart Inn. It was run by a young couple, who recently bought the inn from an old couple who ran it for 30 years before retiring.
A knock on the door brought Emmy’s thoughts back to her surroundings as a feminine voice came through the thin wooden door.
“Lady Emmy, it is Sanna.” The young woman said. “May I come in?”
Emmy raised her right eyebrow to question the young lady’s intentions. It was already so late at night, why would the young owner of Restinng Heart Inn come knocking on her door.
“Enter.” Emmy said.
Inside of the small room, the fire burned brightly in the fireplace and the window was opened slightly to let a cool breeze flow through. The bed was still made, as if Emmy had not lied down in it and the hot bowl of water had turned cold a long time ago. The only thing out of place was the rag next to the bowl of water, as if Emmy just washed her hands and face and dried it with the rag. Other than that, nothing inside of the room was touched.
Sanna opened the door and saw Emmy sitting down at the small table that was placed next to the wall. Her back was to the fireplace and had a full view of the door. Her cold green eyes made Sanna shiver as she forced a smile and closed the door after her.
“I brought more blankets for you, just in case you got cold later tonight.” Sanna said as she placed the blanket on top of the bed. “I also brought you an extra towel for tomorrow morning, so you can use it after you washed up.”
“Thank you.” Emmy said as she watched Sanna closely. Her senses were heightened the moment Sanna knocked on her door.
“Is there anything else that you need Lady Emmy?” Sanna asked as she turned to Emmy.
“No.” Emmy said as she watched Sanna carefully. Her senses were telling her that Sanna was not someone to treat lightly.
Sanna smiled widen as she took a step forward.
“May I ask you something, Lady Emmy?” Sanna asked as she stepped another step closer towards Emmy.
“You may.” Emmy said as she slowly unleashed her magic.
“Why is it that the world is so against you?” Sanna asked.
“Beats me.”
“I don’t know how you can stand it. You must have great mental fortitude to keep on living. If I was you, I would have killed myself a long time ago.” Sanna told her as she took another step towards Emmy. “If the whole world blamed me for their bad luck, their mistakes, their disasters. I would have taken my own life to prove my innocence.”
“Good thing you’re not me.” Emmy told Sanna. “Why would I kill myself to prove my innocence? I would rather be the villain that they made me become, then that way, they will truly know what suffering is.”
“What do you mean?” Sanna asked as she became alert to the magic that suddenly surrounded her. It suddenly bound her to the spot that she stood. She was only ten steps away from Emmy. Had she made one more step, Emmy would have been within her reach of a physical attack.
“The moment we walked into this inn, did you think I didn’t hear the rumors about me?” Emmy asked her.
“W-what rumors?” Sanna asked as she forced herself to walk forward, however she could not move at all.
Emmy smiled at Sanna that gave Sanna a fright. It was a smile that wasn’t a smile.
“The one where I like to steal handsome men from their wives and seduce them to leave their loved ones.” Emmy told her. “Seeing how your handsome husband is someone who fits that rumor, you have already spread out the word that I have seduced your husband into my bed and you have caught us fornicating. And when you came to confront us, I killed your husband to spite you and injured you to suppress you.”
Sanna’s face drained all of the color of her face and became white with fright. How could Emmy know of this knowledge, she had just told the lie to the working maids in Resting Heart Inn not twenty minutes ago.
“There’s no reason to lie to me.” Emmy told her. “I know everything.”
“How did you find out?” Sanna asked. “Who told you?”
“Told me? Ha! Wouldn’t you like to know?” Emmy said as she sat up straighter in her chair. “You have been having an affair with Mr. Benger, the baker and want to use me and my bad reputation to cover the fact that you and your lover killed your husband.”
Emmy snickered a Sanna. “After killing your husband, you came here to set me up while Mr. Benger runs to go get “witnesses”.”
Sanna’s eyes panicked for a moment before she settled down. She made herself breath slowly as her mouth slowly chanted a spell. The magic vibrated within the room as her magic pushed against Emmy’s magic.
“You will let me go.” Sanna commanded as her magic flowed out of her. Her spell came forward and wrapped itself around Emmy. “You will do everything I say.”