The severed head of the dead man was wrapped in cloth and placed alongside his body by his comrades. One of them, either particularly close to the deceased or harboring a deep grudge against my mother, seemed unable to control her rage. The woman, dressed like an adventurer, spewed curses at me, vowing to kill me.

Despite the frantic attempts of her companions to restrain her, she wouldn't stop.

"I'll kill you! I swear, Helga, I'll kill you!"

I’m not Helga.

But nobody seemed interested in correcting her. I had said I wasn't Helga just a while ago, but none of the dead man's comrades seemed to believe me. It looked like they were all convinced that I was her.

Do I really look that much like my mother?

Well, we do look similar.

But I'm a full head taller than her, and my build is much broader.

Plus, I'm twenty-three, and my mother is in her mid-forties. The age difference alone should make it obvious that I look much younger than she does.

Could it be that I look old already?

Feeling a little depressed at the thought, I let out a long sigh, which seemed to have been interpreted differently by the group. They cried out, their voices sounding almost like screams.

"Stop it!"

"It's over already! He was the one who attacked first!"

"Do you want all of us to die too? If you want to die, do it alone!"

The woman, however, seemed completely deaf to her companions' words, her hand moving to unsheathe her weapon.

Seeing the situation growing worse, Jenny, the guild staff member, spoke to the guard.

"I'd like to escort him to the guild. Can we go in first?"

The eldest-looking guard nodded.

"Yes... please do. If you don’t, we might end up with two bodies here. Sigh..."

I was the one who should be sighing.

It wasn't as if I wanted to kill anyone.

Jenny glanced at the dead adventurer’s comrades, then turned to me, speaking hurriedly.

"There’s an entry toll to get into the city—twelve lira, or one silver coin. Do you have money on you? If you don’t, I can pay it for now."

It seemed that the currency here was called "lira."

I took out my coins.

"Will this work?"

"That's not lira; it's copper coins. Two coppers make up one lira. If you don’t have enough..."

"Oh, I wasn’t familiar with the currency. I haven’t had much need to use money since I arrived here."

I took a silver coin from my pouch and handed it to the guard. I might have been confused about the lira, but a silver coin was unmistakable.

The guard took the money with a tired expression and stepped aside.

"Please, go right in."

Despite me skipping the line, there were no complaints.

As we passed through the city gates, I was struck by the sheer thickness of the wall. It felt like you could fit an entire house inside the walls. The sensation of walking through the entrance was akin to stepping into a cave.

I suppose it makes sense.

With guards patrolling up and down the walls, the structure would naturally need that kind of thickness.

It reminded me of entering an old palace back on Earth. I hadn’t gone to one since childhood, and my memory of it was vague at best. But still, the feeling was quite different between the fortress walls here and the ones I had seen in the East. While those structures were clearly products of human ingenuity, the walls here felt almost primordial, as if the rawness of nature itself had been piled up to create them.

They were crude, but powerful.

Past the gate, a series of tightly packed buildings lined the road. There was virtually no space between them—each structure seemed to cling desperately to the next, as if suffocating in the overcrowded city. The entire city felt like a tangled mass of buildings and narrow alleys.

It was just like the medieval slums I had seen in movies.

"Impressive," I muttered without realizing it. Jenny must have interpreted my comment as a compliment, as she looked a bit proud, her chin lifting slightly.

"We may be a remote city, but we're actually quite prosperous. We’re the closest city to the Demon Forest, and there are a lot of valuable beasts around."

"I see."

When I smiled faintly, Jenny’s pride seemed to grow, and she continued.

"Our guild has one of the highest numbers of adventurers in the country. Because of that, many traders who want high-quality furs or rare goods come here."

It seemed this was what one might call a trading city. With traders coming here often, there were plenty of escort jobs, and being close to the Demon Forest also meant more work related to the forest.

The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

That was good news.

I could stay here for a while and earn some money.

The city wasn't built on a flat plain but rather on a slight incline, so the roads twisted and curved.

"The guild is near the central plaza. We’ve still got quite a ways to go," Jenny explained.

The city wasn’t as big as Seoul or even Gyeonggi Province, but it was still spacious. There were also carriages and carts that people used for transportation.

We chatted a bit as we walked, and suddenly we emerged into an open space.

"This is the central plaza. There are several plazas in the city, but this is the largest and busiest," Jenny said, her voice nearly drowned out by the noise of the crowd.

A large group had gathered in one area, cheering enthusiastically. In the middle of that crowd, there was a man and a woman.

Thanks to my height, I could see what was going on, but a shorter person would have only seen the backs of others.

The woman appeared to be dancing. Her flowing garments twirled, and her arms and legs occasionally rose dramatically into the air.

It seemed like something straight out of Arabian Nights.

"What’s that?" I asked.

"Oh, that’s a bard. They've been performing here for a few days now."

"..."

Seeing my expression, Jenny smiled.

"I watched briefly before. They’re quite skilled. Would you like to watch?"

"Would that be alright?"

"Of course. Since you're cooperative, things are going much smoother, and we have a bit of time."

When she said I was cooperative, I understood she didn’t just mean in terms of language. I didn’t know what other Enorthos people were like, but from the stories of kidnappings and my mother’s behavior, they seemed rather violent. Maybe she found me easygoing and obedient, and that made things easier.

I thought it might be a bit difficult to push through the crowd, but when I stepped forward, the people parted before me like the sea.

Sigh, it’s complicated.

Seeing me, the spectators went quiet, and even the dancer froze in place. The man playing the instrument, however, continued playing, the melody drifting through the air.

The bard's instrument resembled a guitar, but with softer curves. The sound was also similar to that of a guitar, but it seemed to carry a melancholic note.

Eventually, the dancer snapped out of her trance, swaying her body once more.

The bard, who had initially looked frightened upon seeing me, closed his eyes and began to sing in a gentle voice.

"Ah... Ah... My beloved, my beloved, where have you gone... The beautiful Klaus sheds tears of sorrow, stepping over the blood of his wife and lover..."

The song was sorrowful, matching perfectly with the instrument’s melody. Perhaps because the bard put so much emotion into it, the song tugged at my heart.

I placed my hand on my chest, where my heart thumped, slowly.

The melody was hauntingly beautiful, the lyrics poignant.

But... something about it was strange.

Apparently, a barbarian named Helga had kidnapped a man named Klaus, the heir of a ducal family.

And she had killed his escorts, his lovers... all of them.

My father’s name was Ogen, but this story had to be about my parents.

"Oh, how tragic, how tragic, the gods weep, and red tears flow to form a river... Many brave men risked their lives to rescue him, but none returned... Oh, how tragic, how tragic, all fell under Helga's axe, their blood flowing like a river, mixing with the tears of the gods..."

As the bard sang, the dancer began walking around the audience with a small box. When she held it out to someone, they would either put a coin inside or look away awkwardly.

I expected her to approach me as well, but she seemed to avoid me entirely, moving instead to other parts of the crowd.

But that wasn't important.

What mattered was the content of the song I had just heard.

I turned to Jenny, who had tears welling up in her eyes.

"Um... That song... is it true? Or just a made-up tale?"

Jenny looked startled as she glanced up at me.

"Oh, right. You wouldn’t know since this is your first time in this country, Mr. Rafa."

She sighed softly.

"There is some exaggeration and fabrication, but it's largely true. It all happened over twenty years ago. The most powerful family in our country is the Duke of Valther, and Klaus, the man mentioned in the song, was their heir."

Father, you were a part of an incredibly powerful family.

But you never showed it at home.

Or maybe you couldn't.

The dancer came back around, and Jenny took out a coin.

The dancer cautiously glanced at me, hurriedly extended the box to collect the coin, and then quickly moved away.

She must not have dared to ask me directly.

Inspired by the bard’s song, Rella began chirping from atop my head. Some people glanced up at her, but given my height, they probably couldn’t see the bird.

Jenny also seemed curious, casting glances at my head every so often, but she made no mention of Rella. Instead, she continued talking about the tragic incident involving the ducal family, her shoulders hunching.

"The entire country was in an uproar after it happened. The Duke’s family formed a hunting party, as did other noble families. But most of those hunting parties never returned. Many were lost wandering the Demon Forest or killed by beasts. But there were also stories that nearly half of the deaths were at Helga's hands."

The moment I heard that, I thought it was a lie.

I had lived in that forest for as long as I could remember, and I had never seen a hunting party or even a human shadow.

But... could it have been true?

I searched through my childhood memories.

Weren't there times when we suddenly had strange clothing at home?

I distinctly remembered Mother sewing those clothes into garments for Father, herself, and me.

And what about that bread that appeared on our table one day—something that couldn't be found in the forest?

Or that spice that suddenly showed up?

Mother rarely left the house for long, but there were times when she didn’t return for two or three days.

Hadn't she smelled strongly of blood during those times?

I had thought it was animal blood, but was it really?

Jenny shook her head and spoke again.

"The Duke's family still has a bounty out. So does the family of the woman Helga killed. It’s more about preserving their family’s honor than personal vendetta..."

I didn’t hear the rest of her words.

This is dangerous.

If it were discovered that I was Helga's son, enemies would be everywhere.

It wasn’t as if I could just lie and say I wasn’t related to her, not when I looked so much like her.

What was I supposed to do now?

"Mr. Rafa, are you alright?" Jenny asked, looking at me with concern.

My face was probably either pale or flushed.

"Y-Yes, I'm fine. My stomach just feels a bit uneasy."

"Oh dear, did you eat something bad? That’s unusual—Enorthos people are known for their strong stomachs..." Jenny squinted, as if recalling a fond memory, then smiled a little wistfully.

"Alright, let me show you to a lodging. Since it's your first time here, I recommend the lodging affiliated with our guild. It’s a bit cramped since you’d be sharing a room, but it’s cheap. Fortunately, it’s not too crowded right now, so you should have plenty of space."

Jenny began to walk with long strides.

"Can you hold on a bit longer? We should probably head to the guild first and register you."

"Yes, I can manage."

I answered absently, following behind her.

My mind was filled with questions directed at my mother.

Mother, what were you thinking? Killing people, kidnapping—it’s just not right.

But then, a strange thought struck me.

The events may have happened, but was it truly the way they described?

Even with exaggerations and lies, a pig cannot become an eagle.

But was it really true?

Had Father really been kidnapped, just as they said?

From what I knew, my parents seemed like a normal couple.

Mother clearly loved Father a lot—that much was obvious even to me—but other than that, they were just a typical husband and wife.

Father never seemed like someone who had lost a beloved wife and mistress and was now living as a captive.

If I had gone through something like that, I would never be able to smile like that.

Father didn’t smile often, but on those rare occasions when he genuinely did, he looked truly happy.

"…"

Something just didn't add up.

I need to ask them. Once I meet my parents again, I have to ask what really happened.

Even if everyone else in the world believed a lie, I needed to know the truth.

Suddenly, I remembered what Father had said before I left home.

"Rafa, when you leave this forest, think carefully about why I chose to live here. There is a reason we raised you here."

But Father, that is something you have to tell me.

I can't figure it out on my own.