In a World without God

Chapter 7

Hypocrisy and false authority crumbled. It became smaller than a pebble in the river and scattered like garbage.

The chariots stopped, and people rushed out of the mansion, but no one cried out, "What is happening!" Such a reaction was embarrassing because the scene was so outrageous.

The glorious gates of the esteemed Fey family were nowhere to be seen. The dust amid the debris made it difficult to guess what the original structure was.

A boy stood in the center of the rubble, sheathing his sword and smiling. Someone noticed the smile and shouted.

"It's him! Cursed bloodline! A descendant of Ygraine has defaced the gates of the glorious House of Fey!"

But not many people responded, and rightly so. The gates of the House of Fey had been cut to pieces with a few strokes of the sword. Thick marble had been piled high in arches, and molten iron had been used to decorate them. The strongest wood from the northern coniferous forests of the continent had been chosen for the door. How could a descendant of a witch who couldn't even use a spell cut it to pieces?

The people murmured. They looked around to see if there was another cause. Some wondered if there had been a landslide.

Then Kishi shouted. "That's right, this bastard broke the gate, I saw it with my own two eyes!"

Hearing that, an old man with graying hair approached Edulis and asked. "Is it true what he says, that you broke down the gate?"

Edulis was nonchalant. He answered casually as if answering a question about what he had for lunch.

"Yes, I did. I did."

At that, the crowd was enraged.

"Let's kill him! Let's hang him in the square!"

"Let's burn him! Let's chop up his charred body and use it as fertilizer!"

"Let's cut off his limbs and put them in a cattle pen!"

For a moment, Edulis laughed. She remembered Ygraine's words. She could still hear his nagging voice in her head.

- Captain Bosha always thinks two or three moves ahead, but that's it. He never looks four or five moves ahead. He doesn't look far enough, and that's what puts him in danger, isn't it?

He wonders if Ygraine would have said the same thing if she were here, but even if she could see ten moves ahead, Edulis would have done the same thing.

If he were to pass through the gates, he would break down the gates and throw himself to his death. That is the way of the Bosha.

***

Ygrainne always said. Love people. No matter who throws stones at you or runs at you with a knife, wrap your arms around them in love.

Bosha frowned every time she heard those words. Once, in a fit of rage, he snapped at Ygrainne.

- Why don't you tell me to love the parents who threw me out?

- Yes, that's right, you should love them too. Ygrainne replied.

- Ha! How lovely of them! Giving me every opportunity to become demon food! Who wouldn't want to grow up with that kind of opportunity, would they?

When Bosha scoffed, Ygraine ran her slender fingers through Bosha's hair. Then, as if soothing a young boy, he said, "Loving others is for Commander Borha himself. If you look at the world with hatred, Captain Bosha's heart will always be burned by the flames of hatred. The flames will consume his heart, and his soul, and eventually take control of his body."