Chapter 9 Part 2

Irina deliberately talked about the rumors that could be attached to her, pretending to be nonchalant. She believed that if she came on this strong, Olga would be horrified and say, “No! Miss, it’s not like that!” and tell her that the rumors weren’t a big deal.

However, Olga’s expression only darkened. Only then did Irina realize that she had taken this situation too lightly.

Just as she was about to blame herself for being foolish, Olga’s mouth opened.

“Miss…they say you’re a witch.”

“What?”

Irina doubted her ears. She hoped that she had misheard Olga. But looking at Olga’s expression, as if she was about to burst into tears at any moment, she had to admit that she had heard correctly.

Her stomach churned, her chest felt tight, and it was hard to breathe. Her head throbbed, and she even felt dizzy.

“I’m a witch…?”

“…Yes, miss.”

When asked again, Olga answered in a calm voice. She wanted to stay calm, but she couldn’t calm her frantically beating heart. It was to the point where she wondered if her heart would really burst.

In the Asilin Empire where she lived, witches were something that had to be eradicated. Of course, due to the nature of witches, there was rarely a chance of being suspected of being a witch, but once someone was rumored to be a witch, not only the person involved, but also the family itself, would often fall into ruin.

“Why me? How? There must be a reason!”

Since the safety of a person could not be guaranteed once they were labeled a witch, rumors of being a witch should not be spread easily.

The person who first spread the rumor that she was a witch had to pay a heavy price for spreading false information if the subject of the rumor was not a witch. Therefore, without considerable evidence, no one could carelessly talk about someone else being a witch.

“They say you turned straw into gold, Miss. And stones too.”

Irina was speechless at Olga’s answer. She couldn’t deny it.

Of course, if you went deeper, it was Rumpel who turned straw and stones into gold, but to those who didn’t know the truth, it was true that Irina had made gold.

“Miss, why don’t you say anything…? You didn’t really turn straw and stones into gold. So let’s find the person who spread such ridiculous rumors…”

“Olga.”

“…Yes, Miss.”

Olga, sensing something strange in her calm voice, replied cautiously. She also looked at Irina’s face. Irina sighed briefly and then continued.

“That rumor is true.”

“What?! Really, did you really make gold, Miss? How could such…”

“It’s absurd. I know. But Olga, there’s a separate truth to it.”

Irina finally felt that the time had come to talk about Rumpel. Because she couldn’t explain this situation without talking about Rumpel.

“Actually…when the emperor ordered me to make gold, I met a man in the tower.”

“A man…?”

Looking at Olga’s still confused face, Irina slowly told her about Rumpel. The more she heard about Rumpel, the more Olga’s expression was filled with astonishment.

A mysterious man who was invisible to other people’s eyes and only visible to her. Moreover, a man who turned straw and stones into gold and could appear suddenly anywhere. But even he, a mysterious man, didn’t know who he was.

Of course, she couldn’t tell her everything. For example, it was a secret that in exchange for receiving Rumpel’s help, she had to pay a price by having to bear him a child.

“…Miss.”

“It sounds crazy, but it’s true. Olga, I’m not crazy at all. Everything I just told you is all true, without a single lie.”

Irina spoke first before Olga treated her like a crazy person. Then, Olga was speechless for a while, only moving her lips. Then, as if something had occurred to her, she looked at Irina with a worried expression.

“If what you say is true, Miss…is that person really safe? There’s no reason for a man with such strange powers to suddenly help you. Without anything in return.”

“…..”

Irina was speechless at the sharp point. She knew how strange it sounded to Olga, even though she thought it was suspicious herself. But telling her that she had to bear a child in exchange for Rumpel’s help was strange in itself.

At that time, the situation was so urgent that she had no choice but to follow Rumpel’s words, but thinking about it again, it was needless to say how immoral and illegal it was to give birth to a child.

Fortunately, she now liked Rumpel, and he liked her too, but she still felt uneasy about having a child for him.

Moreover, Irina was always curious about what would happen to the child after she gave birth, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask Rumpel. It was because she wasn’t confident that she could handle it if the answer was not good for the child.

But she couldn’t break the contract because she had risked her life as collateral. She couldn’t do anything, and if she found out about a reality she couldn’t handle, she really didn’t know what to do.

So Irina was always curious, but she was careful not to mention the child to Rumpel.

“Is there more to it than what you told me?”

“…..”

Olga noticed something strange in Irina’s complicated expression. Irina didn’t know what to say or how to say it, so she couldn’t say anything.

“I understand… If you’re having trouble, miss, I won’t ask any more questions. There’s a more urgent problem than that.”

She was right. They had to find the person who spread the rumors. But if the person who saw her made gold, she was at a loss as to how to explain this situation.

Could it be the person who was there? The people who saw the gold inside the tower?

If so, why didn’t they spread the rumor sooner and only now? Why now? Just after she rejected the Emperor’s marriage proposal?

When she thought about this, Irina felt like she knew who spread the rumor. There was no definite proof, but all the circumstances were telling her.

“We need to find out who spread the witch rumor. Anyway, you’re not a witch, so you have to clear that up.”

“…I think I know who spread the rumor.”

“Who?”

Olga, who was about to grab the person who spread the rumor and shake them, narrowed her eyes.

On the contrary, Irina became calm. She had a hunch who spread the rumor. Then, she found her composure again.

Of course, she didn’t feel better or happier. Rather, after admitting that there was no way, she was half resigned. Once she gave up, there was nothing complicated or confusing.

“The Emperor.”

“Yes?”

“The Emperor did it.”

Irina smiled bitterly.

The Emperor already knew how to manipulate people with rumors. He had already seen and knew how helpless people become in the face of rumors that spread from mouth to mouth.

He must have thought that he had seen the effects of rumors. So he must have committed a similar act this time.

When Irina rejected his marriage proposal and declared that she would take the oath of the Goddess Asilin, a way to tie Irina down would have been needed.

Anyone accused of being a witch could not enter the sacred temple until the accusation was completely cleared.

The Emperor used this point to prevent Irina from entering the temple, and thereby prevent her from even taking the oath of the Goddess Asilin.

If it was really the Emperor who spread this rumor, he would let the rumor spread further until he got what he wanted, and he would drive Irina to a dead end.

“…Isn’t he crazy?! No, even so, how could he do such a thing…”

Olga stomped her feet as she became angry. Although she fully understood her feelings, Irina smiled slightly and hugged Olga in her arms.