The Hidden Truth Event

The sun was climbing higher in the sky as I approached my hometown on the horseback. I reflexively spurred the horse faster, eager to see my mom again after almost a year. Though this was the first time I came back home, I still remembered the way there, as my mom often took me to the capital when we were living together. My heart was pounding wildly the closer I got to the village.

“It’s just right up ahead…!” I murmured as the horse slowed down to a trot while climbing the slope of a hill.

Akagawa Village was built on the plain at the foot of a small hill and it thrived on being a farming village that supplied food to the capital city. The horse finally reached the top of the hill and started picking up its speed again.

“There it is…!” I raised my face in anticipation, but what I saw was completely different from what I remembered. “Huh…? Why…?”

Instead of a thriving small farming village, what I saw was an abandoned village. Its buildings were half-collapsed and beaten down by the weather. Wild plants grew uncontrollable, even encroaching on the houses’ wreckage. There wasn’t even a shred of the village that I knew left.

“What…What happened here…?” I muttered in a daze. Then I realized something important. “Mom! What happened to Mom?!”

I pushed the horse to race toward the village’s entrance before leaping down and rushed into the village. All that I could think of was making sure that my mom was safe and sound.

My feet naturally traced the path that I always took every day for fifteen years I’d spent living here. I passed through the collapsed house of the seamstress aunt who always gave me some candies and looked after me like her own niece. I turned the corner with the burned down house of the cranky grandpa who taught me everything I knew about farming. I raced past the house of my childhood friend, who always acted tough but cried harder than anyone when I left the village. Until eventually my feet stopped in front of my house.

Or what was left of it.

“Mom…” I stared at the remaining wreckage of a burned-down house, refusing to believe that the house that I was born into, the house full of warm memories with my mom, was already gone. “Mom, where are you?! Mom! Can you hear me?! Where are you?!”

I stepped into the house, shouting and yelling on top of my lungs.

“MOM!!!”

*****

After shouting and crying out like a lost child until my throat was sore, I had finally calmed down enough to start thinking rationally. The village had been abandoned for quite a while because of an incident of some sort, most likely one related to fire. My mom was definitely still alive, seeing that she still regularly sent me letters every month. But she never told me about the fire or her new location. She was so quiet about it to the point it was unnatural. Was it because she didn’t want me to worry? Or could it be…?

Another possibility came to mind, one that sent chills down my spine.

Could it be that my mom was—?

“Hey! Is anyone here?!”

That shout snapped me out of my thoughts. I quickly turned around and saw a lone man walking around the village, holding the rein of my horse.

“Ah!” I gasped, realizing that I’d forgotten to tie the horse when I leaped down its back.

Hearing my voice, the man turned around and spotted me. Judging from his clothes and the big, heavy backpack on his back, he was some sort of travelling peddler who went from village to village, selling daily necessities and buying the village’s specialty products.

“Hey little lady, is this your horse?” The peddler asked once he’d gotten close enough. “I found him wandering outside the village and got worried. What are you doing in this abandoned place?”

“Y-Yes, it’s my horse, thank you for taking it with you.” I took over the rein and bowed to the man. “Um, do you know what happen to this village? I happened to come across this place and got curious.” I looked up at him, wearing my best innocent face.

“Ah, is that so?”

Fortunately, the peddler was good-natured enough not to suspect a thing.

“I guess the capital people really didn’t hear anything, huh? This village was long abandoned ever since it was burned down in a big fire incident.” The peddler scratched his head with a wistful look. “I frequently visit this village, you see. The people here is nice, and they sell quality vegetables as well. It gave me a big shock when I heard the village was burned down—along with all of its people. No one survived the great fire.”

All colors drained from my face when I heard his last sentence.

“When…?!” I stepped closer and grabbed his shoulders. “When did this incident happen?!”

“H-Huh?” The peddler was taken aback by the intensity in my expression, but he still answered properly. “Hmm…if memory serves, I think it’s been almost a year. Ah, right! It happened early this year—on the spring season.”

Thud!

Upon hearing that answer, my knees gave out and I slumped to the ground.

“Aah…in the end, what I fear the most becomes reality.”

Droplet of tears fell down my cheek and wetted the ground as I silently cried my heart out. I grieved the loss of the people that raised me and lamented my own stupidity for averting my eyes from the truth.

Actually, I knew.

I knew that my mom’s letters were written oddly refined for a commoner.

I knew it was strange that my father limited the amount of letter that I could write every month.

I knew it was unnatural how strongly he objected to me visiting my mom.

But I closed my eyes, covered my ears, and pretended that everything was alright.

I convinced myself that my mom was still alive, and she always sent me letters every month. I convinced myself that the kind village people who raised me were still living their life to the fullest. I convinced myself that my childhood friend, who said he wanted to be a knight, would someday pass the knight's entrance test and come meet me again in the capital.

But I couldn’t run away from the truth forever.

The truth was…

My mom was already dead.

My village was burned down.

The letters that I received each month were fake.

And the person responsible for all of those was my own father—Himemiya Tatsuo.

“H-Hey! Are you okay?! Little lady, are you hurt somewhere?!” The peddler fussed over me, clearly flustered because I suddenly burst into tears.

“Akari!!”

My body froze when I heard that voice. I slowly raised my face and wiped my teary eyes. The person that called my name just now ran over to me, shoving the peddler aside and inspecting me with frantic eyes.

“Onii…sama…” I whispered weakly.

“Akari, are you alright?! Why did you end up here?! Did this man kidnap you and take you here?!” Fuyuhiro swirled around and glared accusingly at the peddler, who paled and shook his head frantically.

“Onii-sama…” I tugged at his sleeve, and he quickly returned his attention to me.

“Akari, it’s alright. Your brother is here, and Otou-sama will be here soon.” Fuyuhiro spoke soothingly as he helped me to my feet. “You’ll be okay—”

“Onii-sama, did you know?” I interrupted his sentence.

“Huh?” Fuyuhiro looked at me in surprise.

I stood wobbly on my feet. I felt like collapsing at any moment, but it was far better for me to stand on my own than relying on my brother. No—it was time for me to stop relying on other people.

“Onii-sama, did you know that this village was burned down this spring? That no one survived the fire—including my mom? Despite so, her letters still keep coming every month. And when I left this village in spring, the village is still intact and everyone is in good health—don’t you think it’s strange that the village caught fire as soon as I left? What do you think, Onii-sama?”

I kept my head down, not once looking at him while I peppered him with difficult questions. Before, I was too afraid of losing my place and everyone’s affection to ask such questions. But now, knowing that I lost my mom and my village because I kept avoiding the truth, I never wanted to make the same mistake again.

“Akari…” Fuyuhiro murmured my name.

I held my breath, waiting for the moment of truth when he confessed everything. However, what came out of his mouth was—

“We’re going home now.”

Fuyuhiro seized my wrist and began dragging me with him. His grip was as strong as steel, sending chills down my spine.

“N-No! Let me go! Answer my question, Onii-sama…!”

“Yeah, it’s true.”

I was struggling to get away when he suddenly answered.

“H-Huh…?” My feet came to a stop.

Fuyuhiro stopped walking to look back at me. His sky-blue eyes, the same shade as mine, seemed as cold as the winter sky.

“Otou-sama ordered that the village was burned down once you left to hide your origin. No one who knew who you were as a commoner can stay alive. Of course, it includes your mother. However, you kept pestering Otou-sama to send letters to your mother, so Otou-sama took it upon himself to write the letters for you. Does that answer satisfy you?” Fuyuhiro answered dispassionately.

I staggered on my feet, feeling the urge to cover my ears and erase the memory of what I’d just heard. But I stood my ground and gritted my teeth. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t look away from the truth anymore.

“Why…Why would you go so far?! My mom and the village people are innocent! Why did they have to die just because they raised me?!” I balled my fist and began punching my brother.

Fuyuhiro calmly received my punches, using magic to reinforce his body and rendering my punch useless. “A Himemiya must always be perfect. We must not show any flaws nor make any mistake. Your past is your flaw—therefore, they have to be eliminated.” He stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Y-You…You monster!” I screamed. “How could you?!”

“You can call me whatever you want, but it won’t change the fact that you’re going back with me.” Fuyuhiro began walking once again, dragging me with him.

“No! I’m not going back with you! I don’t want to live with monsters like you! Let me go! Someone, help me!” I resisted him with everything I had, but Fuyuhiro’s magic was on a class of its own, and he had no trouble shutting my meager resistance down.

“Right! Magic!” My eyes grew wide when I remembered that I also possessed the same power. “If I use magic, I can escape—”

“Akari! There you are!”

The booming voice of my father came from outside the village. He was galloping on his horse, followed by several knights, and he headed straight to us. His presence distracted Fuyuhiro’s attention for a moment, providing me with the precious opportunity.

“I’m not going back with you!”

I used my own magic to strengthen my body, easily yanking my hand away from his grip. Fuyuhiro was stunned when I overpowered his magic, something that he probably never experienced from someone younger than him.

“My home is here, and you’ve taken it away from me!”

My eyes blazed with anger and hatred as I took in the sight of my father’s panicked face and my brother’s dumbfounded expression.

“I will never, ever forgive you!”

With that last sentence, my body disappeared from existence.