Chapter 316: Burn Her
’What exactly was taken from Clementine? It was a faint orange hue, which must be why I was able to see it.’
’That must be the reason I could see it.’
’Was it goodwill?’
’Or life force?’
"Faye, what are you looking at?"
"Sister, don’t you think Clementine out in the yard seems a little different than before?"
Her sister got off the swing and walked toward the outside, but Clementine just turned and left.
She watched Clementine’s retreating figure, lost in thought.
The house didn’t just look new; a lot of things had been added, too. For instance, the kitchen was suddenly full of food.
But for dinner, all that was on the table was mushroom soup again.
"Sister, can’t we eat the other food?" Faye Yardley asked, looking up after a delicious mouthful of mushroom soup.
Her sister smiled faintly. "Are you craving something else, Faye? You shouldn’t eat other things too often, though. It would be terrible if you got a stomachache."
"I know, Sister."
Of course, she didn’t understand, but that didn’t stop Faye Yardley from saying what her sister wanted to hear to keep her in a good mood.
Sure enough, as long as she acted like an obedient little sister, her older sister would be happy, and the whole atmosphere of the house would improve.
That night, as she was sleeping, she suddenly heard a CRACK from outside the window—the sound of someone snapping a dry branch.
"Who’s there?!"
Her sister scrambled out of bed, turning to find Faye Yardley also sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
Of course, there was no reply from outside, but the night was destined to be anything but peaceful.
Every household lit candles, and soon many people were streaming out of their homes with torches, heading toward the village entrance.
While her sister went to look out the window, Faye Yardley ran to the kitchen and pulled a torch directly from her backpack. The sudden light caused the intruder to leap out of the kitchen window, leaving behind a flash of orange.
"Thief, stop!"
Her sister took off after the figure, and Faye Yardley quickly followed, chasing out of the kitchen with her torch held high.
They lost them.
When Faye Yardley caught up to her sister, she found her standing silently at the mouth of a village alley.
"Sister, what’s wrong?"
"It’s nothing. Something must have happened in the village. Let’s go to the entrance and see."
When they arrived at the village entrance, a large crowd had formed a circle, clamoring to burn a girl with disheveled hair who was tied to a stake next to a pyre.
Clementine?!
Faye Yardley’s eyes went wide. ’The villagers want to burn Clementine to death? Why?’
Then she heard villagers shouting that Clementine was a monster because she had suddenly grown old and ugly.
Clementine’s hair was being pulled, forcing her face upward. Her face, once that of a beautiful young girl, had indeed transformed into the withered, desiccated face of an old crone. But it was only her face.
The rest of her body was still normal.
’If Clementine is here, then who was that flash of orange that jumped out of our kitchen window?’
"Burn her! Burn her..."
Faye Yardley wanted to speak up, to say that this didn’t warrant burning someone to death, but her sister grabbed her by the wrist and started dragging her back home.
"Sis, Sis... They’re..."
"Shut up!"
Faye Yardley immediately snapped her mouth shut and began to wonder what she had missed.
’It’s so strange. Where’s the old Witch? Even though I only scanned the villagers briefly, I’m sure I didn’t miss anyone. The old Witch wasn’t among them.’
’Did she steal Clementine’s youth?’
’It’s all so very strange.’
Faye Yardley stumbled as her sister dragged her along, but she obediently kept her mouth shut.
She could already tell that her sister genuinely cared for her, or at least, she had up until now.
’At home, I can’t eat anything but mushroom soup. When I leave the house, I can eat things made by Grandma Hayes, and I can eat the red apricots grown by the old hedgehog, but that seems to be it.’
Clementine had brought fresh oranges twice, but both times, her sister had given them to Grandma Hayes.
She sorted through the limited clues she had in her mind.
But Faye Yardley had to admit, aside from her good luck, she really didn’t have a knack for solving mysteries.
’Oh well. In any case, I’m certain my sister wasn’t the one to go after Clementine.’
Huh???
Faye Yardley looked at her sister’s long hair, which revealed a purplish tint in the torchlight, and a chill rose in her heart. ’The night Ace was here, my sister left on her own, and she was different when she came back.’
’She still cares for me, but it’s just not the same.’
’Should I find a chance to go to Grandma Hayes’s house?’
’Damn it. She said it was right at the foot of that mountain. When my sister pointed it out, I could see it, but when she wasn’t pointing, I couldn’t see it at all.’
’This Fairy Tale World is even harder to deal with than the World of Ocean Survival.’
’Speaking of which, can the items I’ve obtained even be used here?’
Early the next morning, the two sisters received an invitation to a ball.
Two formal gowns were delivered along with it.
Faye Yardley chose a light blue cocktail dress, leaving the long, bright red gown for her sister.
Just yesterday she was wondering if the items she’d obtained were useless, but today, she pulled a pair of crystal shoes from her backpack for her sister to wear, and her sister didn’t question it in the slightest.
The ball was that evening.
A carriage would come to pick them up at dusk.
So after trying them on, they both changed back into their regular clothes.
After finishing her mushroom soup, Faye Yardley was watering the roses in the yard when she overheard some passing villagers say that although they hadn’t burned Clementine yesterday, they had driven her out of the village.
’Faye Yardley really wanted to ask them why they did it. After all, when there was an old Witch in the village before, they weren’t this agitated. Burning her or driving her out—was that really necessary?’
Just as she was thinking this, the stooped old Witch came walking toward their house, leaning on her cane.
Today she was no longer dressed in all black; she had an orange silk scarf wrapped around her neck.
Faye Yardley watched her approach, wary, but didn’t say hello.
"Is your sister home?"
Her voice today didn’t sound as hoarse and unpleasant as it had before.
Her sister came out of the house and looked at the old Witch outside the yard with a face full of disgust. "What are you doing here? Didn’t you already have Clementine driven away?"
The old Witch’s gaze lingered on her sister for a long moment before shifting to Faye Yardley, who was focused on her watering. This immediately infuriated her sister, who warned, "If you dare try anything with my sister, I’ll break every bone in your old body."
"Relax, relax. I won’t do anything to Faye. After all, the child is a bit too simple-minded."
Faye Yardley heard that and wasn’t sure if she should be happy or angry.
By the time the old Witch left, she still hadn’t heard what she had come to see her sister for.
Her sister huffed, then warned Faye Yardley, "Next time you see her, stay far away. That old crone isn’t right in the head."
"I know. I’ll stay far, far away."