Please Answer Me - Chapter 117

Bang!

As Rashid’s group burst through the inn’s door, the previously noisy dining room fell silent in an instant. Fertan recognized Rashid’s face and dropped the drink he was holding. The drunken stupor that had enveloped him vanished instantly.

“What brings you here…”

“You need to mount your horses and return to your tribe’s land immediately.”

“What?”

To Fertan, it was like a bolt from the blue for someone to suddenly appear in the middle of the night and demand they leave. However, Rashid, instead of giving a detailed explanation, turned to the innkeeper and pressed him for answers.

[Are there any other guests here?]

[No, just these folks.]

[Good.]

At Rashid’s signal, the soldiers started pushing everyone out of the inn.

Fertan finally lost his temper. “What’s the meaning of this? It’s beyond rude to treat us like this….”

But before he could finish his sentence, he found himself being dragged outside by the scruff of his neck by Rashid. Just as he was about to fight back from sheer indignation, a deafening explosion tore through the air. His body was flung into the air.

“Ugh….”

When Fertan regained his senses, he was lying in the flower bed near the inn. As he lifted his head, he saw the inn, which had just been bustling with activity, now collapsed and engulfed in flames. It was only then that Fertan realized Rashid had saved his life.

“Why…”

He was bewildered, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Why had the inn suddenly collapsed and why had this man saved him?

Soon after, he noticed the thick, acrid smoke filling the air and the unsettling glow of flames. The forest beyond the inn was now entirely ablaze, lighting up the night like day. Fires were sporadically igniting in other areas as well.

“What in the world…”

Everything had seemed perfectly normal just a few hours ago. What kind of sorcery was this?

“Riga! Fortunately, the stables are still intact!”

A soldier rushed over to inform Rashid. Rashid forcibly pulled Fertan, who was still sitting on the ground, to his feet.

“You’ve seen what’s happening with your own eyes, so I’ll skip the explanation. If you don’t want to burn to death, mount your horse and get your people out of here. Your sister has already left, so don’t worry about her.”

“Th-thank you…”

Before Fertan could fully express his gratitude, Rashid had already turned his back, moving with his men to the next location. Blood was dripping from Rashid’s arm, a result of the recent explosion. Fertan, on the other hand, had only minor scrapes and dirt on his knees and palms.

Despite what had just happened, Fertan found it hard to believe. He owed his life to Nazar Quat.

That man had rushed here specifically to save him.

***

Not long after she started riding, Rosetta saw the distant flames. She urged her horse to go faster towards them.

But she knew deep down that she couldn’t reach that place. She had already ridden for two days to get here, and it was nearly impossible to return alone. Iselle wouldn’t let her go, and even if she could, it was too late. The flames she saw now would soon engulf the entire city, and extinguishing them could take days, weeks, or even months.

Why do these things keep happening?

Rosetta gritted her teeth, tormented by the fact that all this chaos was happening because of her. She never intended to cause anyone pain, yet everything kept spiraling out of control.

Was it a mistake to leave the palace in the first place? Maybe Iselle was right, and she was the one putting everyone in danger. If she had done nothing from the start, none of this would have happened.

If only she had continued living in that stifling yet peaceful place, not thinking for herself and accepting whatever fate handed her, just as she had before.

“Leave this place before the fire spreads.”

A voice echoed in her head, reminiscent of the hallucination she had experienced while fleeing from arrows in the monster forest.

Rosetta blinked her eyes open and realized that this wasn’t the first time she had seen such flames. She had seen them in the past.

She pulled on the reins, stopping her horse at the edge of a hill. As she stood there, watching the flames spread, fragments of her memory began to resurface.

She was lying curled up in a place she recognized. She must have been around six years old, judging by her tiny hands and feet.

Rosetta realized she was in the underground of the temple, a familiar interior she had seen once before.

Everything she needed was provided there: good food, luxurious furniture, beautiful clothes.

Everything except freedom.

She couldn’t leave the place as she wished. The only door was always locked except when someone came in or out.

At first, she had pounded on the door and cried, calling for her mother and father, begging them to take her out and save her because she was scared. After some time, she realized that it was better when the door remained locked.

Whenever the door opened and the priests took her to another room, unbearable pain followed. So eventually, Rosetta found herself hoping the door would stay shut. The small flowers placed in her room and the occasional outings to the garden became her only joy.

How long had she stayed there like that? Months? Years?

One day, unusual noises broke the usual silence of the place, and a strange smell wafted in. It smelled like something burning. Realizing something was wrong, the door opened, and someone rushed in, grabbing her arm and telling her to leave quickly.

But Rosetta couldn’t just be happy to leave. She wasn’t the only one trapped there.

“What about Masha?”

Masha.

The moment she recalled that name, it was as if a bolt of lightning struck before her eyes. Memories of a long-forgotten past surged over her like a massive tidal wave. The beautiful figure of that being unfolded in her memory as if a spell had been broken.

Her jaw began to tremble slightly. Masha—it was a name she had given to her horse, but it wasn’t just that. She realized she had known that name even in the past she couldn’t remember.

My friend, my alter ego, my soul. My beloved Maiastra.

Tears welled up in her eyes, streaming down her cheeks and dripping off her chin.

They had always been together. Ever since their first meeting when he wrapped her in his wings to protect her from getting hurt after she fell from a tall tree in her childhood, he had always been by her side.

They played together, slept together, and shared countless stories. They even shared the excruciating pain of a fractured soul.

But why had she forgotten him until now? The times they shared were unforgettable.

Rosetta still couldn’t understand it. Masha, what exactly was his true nature? A being from myths, why had he been with her since childhood? And why were they imprisoned in the temple’s underground?

“Rosetta.”

As expected, Iselle quickly caught up to her. Instead of trying to restrain her as he had before, he approached and closely examined her expression.

He spoke to her in a much softer tone, “I told you. It’s already too late. Even if you go there, there’s nothing you can do.”

“I know.” Rosetta looked at the flames, lifting her chin. “I know there’s nothing I can do from here but watch the flames from this far away.”

Iselle’s relief was evident. “Then let’s go back…”

Rosetta turned to look at him. “Iselle, I’ve seen flames like that before. Haven’t I?”

At that moment, Iselle’s face, illuminated by the moonlight, stiffened into an almost eerie expression. “…What did you just say?”

“The temple was on fire, and I escaped with someone. When I emerged above ground, I saw my grandfather shooting an arrow at Masha.”

Iselle’s face now was one of complete shock.

“Was my grandfather trying to kill Masha, or was he trying to capture him and imprison him in the temple underground?”

“You… you don’t mean…”

“Either way, my grandfather’s plan failed. Because I took the arrow instead.”

The arrow intended for the bird struck Rosetta’s back as she threw herself between them. The excruciating pain from that moment still made her shudder. Rosetta finally understood how the scar on her back had come to be.

“You knew… all of this?”