From his childhood to his young adulthood, he didn’t have a chance to be a kid, unable to live with even a breath of confidence as he was constantly tossed back and forth.
It was such a pitiful life.

Because of his ill-fated life, it would be nice if he had not too bad of memories for at least a year.

From now, there was about a year left.

I couldn’t completely change Luca’s mind, but for now, I’ll plan to try my best.
I’ll take care of his meals, I’ll try to talk with him more, enjoy walks together…
For a month, I tried my best, but Luca’s sealed heart was unyielding.

In fact, he became more defensive and often ran away; it was even harder for me to see him.

But it seemed like it was tough to brush off the pain that was already inflicted upon him.

Yesterday evening, Luca suddenly got sick and suffered through the night.

He had no other option but to lay there quietly and helplessly, to the point where he couldn’t even avoid my hand.
With both body and mind so feeble, it seemed like he let his guard down even more.

Although he was moaning softly with sickly pain, he glanced towards me and let out a sigh of relief.
He couldn’t hate his only flesh and blood, and seeing that tormented me.

Thinking about Luca being so miserable at home, I was determined to gather those medicinal herbs.

“Alright, since I’m already gathering medicinal plants… I should pick more to buy some sausage.”

Meat seemed to be the best remedy when you’re sick.
Especially when you’re a child.

With that, I was motivated to collect more medicinal herbs.

***

I wonder how much time has passed since then.

The early hours of a hazy dawn passed, and the clear sun was slowly shining between the foliage.

I finally straightened my bent back.
“Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow,” a reflex moan escaped my lips.
Loud pops in rapid succession erupted from my spine that was hunched over this entire time.
As I hit my lower back with my hand, I looked down at the basket full of medicinal herbs.
“I should return to the village about now.”

Content with my efforts, I felt myself getting lighter with each step.

I rushed onto the dirt path towards the village and suddenly began to hear the clapping sound of a horse’s hooves.
As I turned around startled, a carriage was right behind me.

“Wha-, what was that?!”

It looked like the carriage was coming too close towards me, so I tried to take a step back, but tripped over my own foot.
Just like that, I fell backwards and landed on my bottom.

“Owwww…”

Of all places, why did I have to fall in the mud.
My clothes were completely ruined.

Unaware of my fall or had no intention to help, the carriage continued on its way.
When I lifted my head up, it was long gone.
I had only a moment’s glimpse of it but it looked quite fancy.
Perhaps the carriage belonged to an aristocrat who came to enjoy the festival.

‘In any case, here or there, guys who have fancy wheels seriously have awful manners.’
I really wanted to curse them out, but there was no one to curse at.
Instead, I calmed down by mumbling to myself.

I patted my dirtied clothes and trudged towards the village.
I wanted to go back home to change out my clothes, but even that time was too precious.

It was the beginning of May Day festivities, so the village already started to become crowded early in the morning.
There were people taking out and tuning their musical instruments and others were rushing to fix up their fences and finalizing last-minute details.
Between them, a lady carrying around a basket full of food loudly reminded those around her to eat.

While everyone was busy preparing for the festival, I hunched over and tried to avoid others’ eyes as I rushed over to the apothecary.

Judith’s memories remained, but even so, it made me uneasy to meet other villagers.
On top of that, I didn’t want to deal with them if they saw Judith’s sullied appearance.
I was trying my best to dodge their sights, but of course, it was impossible to be invisible.

“Oi, Judith. Did you come to find a guy again? But what’s up with you? Is that a new look?” a sneering voice asked, filled with sarcasm and curiosity.

‘Judith’ was quite infamous around the village of Emden.
She was known for wanting to be wed off to a rich man to live comfortably, a gold digger.
To be more specific, she only relied on her looks to size up potential men, but her prime marriage years passed by.
Older women who couldn’t get married early enough had a saying between them, “you became just like Judith.”

But, what’s wrong with being 27 years old?
That’s still quite young, come on.

I sighed and I stared back at them.
Those unsightly toads had smirks plastered over their faces.