Chapter 22 – Chapter 2: Bad Hand – 2
“… !”
At this point, it was clear.
What I just did was not something I did without knowing.
Tia… It’s clearly done on purpose.
Why?
“Uh, over there… Tia?”
“Huh?”
“That… I think her hands are in a bit of a dangerous position…”
“Ah.”
Even though I said that on purpose.
Instead, he dug deeper and started caressing.
Gently brushing up my precious places and hardened pillars…
On the contrary, he asks with a harmless face.
“Don’t men feel good when they do this?”
“… ?!”
Tia?
How on earth do you know that? Did your aunts teach you?
Oh, no. I only touched it slightly, but why does it feel so sensitive?
What is Tia’s touch… It was blatant.
As if I was trying to figure out where I would feel good. Dig deeper.
Shit. Something big happened… ! Coming up.
As I continued to be gently stimulated by her warm hands, I was now swelling uncontrollably.
I was so embarrassed that I pulled her back.
“No. Well, still… Something like this…”
“Oh sorry… I hated it… ?”
No. It was so good.
To the extent that I want to ask to touch it myself.
… But I don’t think it should be like this ‘now.’
I held both of Tia’s hands tightly.
Don’t let him be disappointed or embarrassed. I advised in the most gentle voice possible.
“I prefer just holding your hand. And I don’t think it’s too late to do this after the baptism.”
“Then… After the baptism, can you do it?”
Tia looked at me with slightly shy eyes.
Her heart is pounding
Why?
It feels so unrealistic to talk about this.
We didn’t often make sexual contact or joke.
Because there was a desire to be considerate of each other.
The villagers say that we bathe together, but the last time we actually bathed together was when we were 9 years old, and we haven’t even seen underwear since.
The most dangerous thing I’ve done recently was drying wet clothes together. We briefly kissed at the lake of promise. Or maybe I just happened to catch a glimpse of her breasts a few days ago.
So this ‘blatant’ act was bound to be embarrassing.
Is it okay after baptism? I don’t know what to say to the same question.
According to the village rules, you can freely date after the baptism ceremony…
Perhaps light affection would be okay at that time?
I managed to put my head together and answer.
“To be exact, it would be after ‘marriage.’ But I promised to marry you anyway, and I think Shinryong will turn a blind eye to it even if it’s a little early. So, until the baptism. “You can just wait until then, right?”
“… Yes!”
Tia held my hand tightly with both of her hands.
Phew. I think it went over okay somehow.
Hwiiing-.
The bitter winter wind hits the window.
Come to think of it, it’s almost the baptism ceremony.
The day when I go beyond just holding her hand like this and hug Tia and whisper that I love her all night long.
It wasn’t far.
* * *
“Now… “You mean?”
“Okay.”
Aunt Mary de nodded her head.
A lightly snowy night.
While I was quietly reading, Aunt Merid came to visit.
Since she came without warning at night, I thought it wasn’t just business, but it turned out to be true.
“Ritz. A lot of elderly people are unwell. Marvin told us not to bully her, so we all stayed quiet, but I think she’ll be afraid if she stays like this, so I’m telling her this too. Please understand.”
“I know.”
Aunt Merid’s request was simple.
He asked me to return to the pharmacy right away.
I didn’t know either.
I was asleep all fall.
As winter approaches, it is the time when the elderly are most vulnerable, and since they have not received proper nursing care during that time, it was expected that medical problems would arise.
So, I deliberately tried to get motivated, but it was fatal when I suddenly became unwell and had to lie down in the hospital bed again.
After listening to it, it seemed like I wasn’t the only one who was sick.
It can’t be helped.
Since I am feeling better, I think I should resume work as soon as possible, starting tomorrow.
“Like I said, I’ll be at the pharmacy starting tomorrow. “I’m sorry I couldn’t go to the doctor for a while.”
“No. “I’m sorry for asking too much of you when you’re in pain, Ritz.”
“It’s something I have to do. “What?”
Nodding her head, Aunt Mary went to her window and drew down her curtains.
She also looked around to see who was around, as if she was about to say something secret.
After a while, her aunt quietly opened her mouth.
“Ritz.”
“Yes?”
“What do you think of Tia?”
“… “What do you think?”
“It’s because I’m worried.”
It was a serious voice.
Her aunt’s serious expression made me a little nervous, too.
“Tia… “There are bad stories going around among people these days.”
“That can’t be right.”
“No. Really. I hear gossip a lot these days. There was a bit of a commotion in the village below.”
After all, Brisden is just a small town where people live.
There could be as many stories about peeling pumpkin seeds behind the scenes.
Just as I disliked Ruev so much, it was common for us to exchange such back-and-forth gossip when our personalities did not match.
But I just couldn’t believe that the target was ‘Tia’.
Even though Tia has had a lot of accidents in the past, no one hates her because of her bright and lively personality.
Tia was also polite to her elders, and she never caused any serious problems, so she was loved.
… I’ve had a few serious accidents recently.
Sure enough, Aunt Merid said.
“Do you know that there is almost no firewood to survive this winter? It almost looks like the warehouse is empty. Now that Ruyev has run away, the elders are busy digging up wood. “You’ve completely given up on other things?”
“…”
“But since that wasn’t enough, there was even talk of using the wood for the bridge piers to be built next spring as firewood.”
“That’s a bit serious.”
I’ve been chopping down and collecting a lot of trees for half a year to do mountain road expansion work.
If you use it this winter, next year’s schedule will be greatly disrupted.
Uncle Marvin said he had already made contracts with woodworkers from other villages.
If this was canceled, the damage the village would suffer was enormous.
A serious problem that literally shakes the foundation of the plan.
In order to do something, the men climbed the mountain and dug up wood despite the blizzard.
Of course, the villagers would want to find the cause of this problem and blame it.
“Aunt Merid. But that…”
“Know. It’s Ruyev’s fault. But that guy isn’t in this town. Then who else is to blame?”
“Isn’t that too much? Tia is a victim.”
“If Tia hadn’t brought Luyev into the house, or at least if she hadn’t been caught, things wouldn’t have gotten this bad.”
“No, but…”
“It’s not just that. Ritz.”
She tried to refute the incomprehensible words, but Aunt Maryde spoke even more coldly.
“If Tia hadn’t dragged you all the way to the deep forest, the village chief and Grandma Madrina wouldn’t have passed away. “The only doctor in this town got hurt because of someone.”
“If it weren’t for Tia, I wouldn’t have woken up.”
“It’s not because of Tia.”
“… Yes?”
“It’s thanks to Deseo’s court doctor, who happened to be staying in Taildon and came rushing over when he heard the news. She treated you non-stop all day long and finally brought you back from the brink of death. Of course, she brought the antidote from Tiaga de Seo, which helped you wake up, but you should have been buried under the pine tree by now.”
“…”
The aunt crossed her arms and sighed deeply.
“Know. It hurts me to say things like this to you. Because you two are closer than anyone else. But… Think about it from our perspective too. Tia doesn’t even help her village properly, and she just ruins everything.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What do you have to be sorry for?”
“Really… “I have nothing to say.”
“Everyone has a relationship with Tia, so we haven’t said anything until now. But you are the village chief’s son. You learned the most under the village chief. So, I think you should know about the village at least as much as possible. Ritz can do anything… “The elders believe that.”
It’s difficult.
It seems that the rift between the villagers and Tia has deepened without my knowledge.
I expected it, but I didn’t know it would be this serious.
In the first place, the elders refrained from visiting me, saying they needed to rest comfortably, and Tia always came to me with a smile on her face, so she didn’t even notice.
Aunt Merid was right.
Only I can solve this problem.
“All right. “Don’t worry.”
“Thank you so much for understanding, Ritz.”
* * *
The next day.
As soon as I woke up, I went straight to the pharmacy.
She told Aunt Sherry not to worry because she was almost completely healed.
For the first time in a while, she came to her senses and devoted herself to her work.
The chronic diseases of the elderly were diverse.
First, we selected people with severe symptoms and studied what kind of medicine to prepare accordingly.
She was writing a customized recipe, checking the remaining medicinal ingredients, and thinking about how to solve the problem.
“Uh, Ritz?”
Tia came into the pharmacy.
Seeing her carrying a bag of herbs on her shoulder, I thought she came here today to make my own healing potion.
“Hello, Tia.”
“… Why is Ritz here?”
“Now I have to do my job.”
“You’re not fully healed yet, right? “You said you felt unwell yesterday as well.”
“No, it’s okay. “I feel sorry for Aunt Sherry because I’m going to lie down some more.”
“Ah…”
I closed the book I was reading.
“We need to make medicine quickly and give it to the elderly. Looks like I’ll be busy for a while.”
“Today? Oh, hey… Can’t we start tomorrow? I’m not feeling well yet… I keep coughing-.”
“There is no time to delay any longer. “There are adults in more danger than me.”
“Now, wait a minute-.”
The moment you open the barn door with the prepared medicine.
Rattling.
Something caught on my toes.
It was an empty medicine bottle.
“…”
As she slowly raised her head. A terrible scene was visible.
The barn I had cherished so dearly was a mess on the verge of collapse.
It was exactly like this when I visited Ruev’s house, where he had run away at night.
Walking around randomly with a broken medicine bottle.
The smell of something burned is vibrating, the drawers are completely scorched, and one still is unrecognizable as if it is completely broken.
It is truly reminiscent of a battlefield.
“This… “What happened?”
Surely it wasn’t this bad when I checked a few days ago?
Tia excused herself with a trembling voice.
“Sorry… That… They’re making a new recovery medicine… I made a little mistake without knowing…”
“This isn’t just ‘a little’.”
“That is…”
From jars to bowls.
No matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find anything normal.
It’s a big deal. If this happens, you can’t make medicine.
I clenched my fists without realizing it.
Anger wells up. I am reminded of Aunt Merid’s words I heard last night.
Why do you keep making such a big deal out of it and making things difficult for me?
“Tia, I’m sorry.”
“Huh…”
“These. “Please organize everything and go outside.”
“… What is the recovery medicine?”
“Don’t make it anymore. “I don’t need it.”
“…”
Tia was shaking and started cleaning up the trash scattered on the floor.
Not even a sigh comes out.
I’m so angry and embarrassed that I don’t know what to say.
“Ha-.”
Still, she managed to catch her breath and think calmly.
She came up with the positive side as if she was squeezing it out.
Isn’t this also a sign of Tia’s desperate struggle to do anything for me who was sick?
I think I was too absorbed earlier.
Although it was late, she changed her words to a softer tone.
“Thank you so much for making the medicine so far, Tia. Sincerely. I’ll take care of it from now on. You don’t have to suffer for no reason.”
“… Huh. Okay. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t do such difficult and difficult work. I heard that your aunts are very busy these days. I think it would be better to help that side.”
The guy nodded at her while showing his back.
I can hear her sniffling, perhaps because of the dust.
She left the pharmacy.
It seems like it will take a long time to finish cleaning.
She still can’t rest.
Even in this short period of time, there were countless things to do.
For Brisden. For the villagers.
… And even for Tia.
I must act.
