Empress Natsume ✓

LVIII

Yuta tried to open his heavy lids with difficulty. It took him a lot of time to clear his blurry sight.

He was surprised to find himself lying on a soft beddings in a fancy room. His wounds were bandaged properly, a quilt is covering his body, warming him up from the cold weather. He feels so much better than before, can't believe that he's still alive after he got slashed twice, it almost felt that his bones were also slashed. A candle is at the side of the bed on the rosewood square table. It's the night already.

The window of the room he's in is slightly opened and a wind blew a snow in. Seems like it's heavily snowing outside, he steps a foot in on the cold floor and stood up, walking towards the window.

He opened it, the small houses that were blanket in snow greeted his sight. Seems like he's back in the Takahiro village.

It feels good to do something heroic by a villain like him. This should be written by a historian, he let out a chuckle. He actually feels ridiculous, he was never the one to act like a hero.

Come to think of it, now that he's here, he should ask for a compensation, the damage is not that small in the first place. That's just the way he is, believing in the saying that there's no such thing as 'free' in this world, yet for some reason he doesn't want to ask for it. Only wanting to go away from here and start a new life with himself, maybe he'll become a villain again for his living and greed. The question is where to go?

With no money, only a sword, a layer of clothes, and a straw shoes. With an ambition to become a man in power to make those people pay who step all over him, what can he do? Maybe he'll rob some innocent civilians on the road who worked hard for their money.

"Esteemed guest, it's cold outside, you should close the window. It's not good for your health, you have not yet fully recovered from your fever"

He has had a fever too?

Yuta closed the window and turned around. A female servant around her mid thirties is standing by the door, carrying a tray of food. She put it down on the round low table in the middle of the room.

"Thank you for saving our young lady"

The servant said, prostrating to the ground in gratefulness. Finding himself in this situation, Yuta doesn't know what to do. He has never received a bow like this to thank someone, many people bowed to him to spare their lives but not like this.

He awkwardly stood there, clearing his throat.

"It's nothing"

Are the only words that came out of his mouth. The servant raised her head and sincerely smiled at him.

"You're a good man"

A sentence that pierce him like an arrow. A good man? Since when did he became a good man?

Being with that girl is really toxic, it won't do him any good. A good man will be taken advantage of, if he becomes a good man, is he going to become a lowly farmer? Or with a sense of patriotism he'll risk his life and go to war? The thing is he never belonged to any state, he doesn't know where he was born and who are his parents. Such a lowly life.

He can only be a bandit even without his group.

Yuta decided that he will leave as soon as possible. But with this heavy snow and strong wind, he can't leave yet. He will wait tomorrow and if the wind and snow is still strong, he will still leave. Staying here will only bring trouble to himself.

That night, although he's still having his nightmare. He slept comfortably for the first time in his life.

Before the dawn breaks, Yuta decided to leave. Though the snow and wind is not that strong compared before, it's still freezing cold.