Sigrid

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

Sigrid Ankertna looked down at the round barrel.

Soon, when the guillotine blade fell, her head would drop into that container.

Sigrid raised her head.

She had lived by the rules.

She had lived righteously.

No matter what others did, she had followed the rules.

She had been loyal to the Empire like a dog.

But why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why did she have to kneel here like this?

She bit her lip.

“Execute!”

At the same time, Sigrid felt her vision spin. The approaching bottom of the wooden barrel, and then darkness.

“Ugh!”

Struggling, she bolted upright in bed.

“Huff, haa, haa, haa.”

Covered in cold sweat, Sigrid touched her neck. It was attached. Properly.

“What…?”

The afterlife?

Sigrid pushed aside the rough blanket and got up from the old bed.

This small 4-pyeong room was all she had.

Sigrid fumbled for the light switch and pushed open the window. The old wooden frame rattled heavily as it opened.

As the cold air flowed in, Sigrid took a deep breath.

‘Is this what the afterlife is like?’

It’s exactly the same as where she used to live?

Even the surrounding scenery was no different.

With the window open, Sigrid took out a chipped teacup and teapot. Even the objects were the same.

Confusion maintains habits. Without even realizing she was confused, Sigrid thought.

‘It’s surprisingly no different from reality.’

It didn’t even feel like the afterlife. She lit a small burner to heat water for tea and took out some cheap tea leaves to make hot tea.

‘Tastes bad…’

She thought vaguely as she drank the tea.

‘To have my head cut off and then wake up in my room. And now I’m drinking tea like this.’

It seemed like a ridiculous joke.

Why had she lived like this, hoarding all that gold and silver? If she was going to die like that anyway, she should have indulged in some luxury.

She lived like this because she thought a frugal life was proper for a knight. Sigrid slowly drank her tea while looking out the dark window.

Isn’t this a bit unfair?

Nowhere did it say that people would live in the afterlife as they had lived. Does that mean a king would live in a palace even after death? And those from the slums would live in slums even after death…

Thinking of the slums, Sigrid let out a small groan. There were slums in the capital, and they had all been cleaned out. She was the one who had done it.

It was the virtue of a knight to naturally follow the Emperor’s orders; the master’s orders were absolute.

She had blocked the entrances, set fires, and cut down all those who tried to escape. She had also killed all the knights and soldiers who protested that it was not something humans should do. Death was the only punishment for insubordination. Wasn’t that obvious?

A knight is the Emperor’s tool.

‘That’s what I thought. Until the Emperor passed the blame onto that tool.’

Sigrid touched her neck again. It felt like her head could roll off at any moment. After finishing her tea, she got up.

She wanted to know how identical this afterlife was to the mortal world. No, at least if this was the underworld, she wanted to find the god of the underworld and ask. Did I commit such a great sin?

She opened the wardrobe to change from her nightclothes into everyday clothes. The wardrobe was also worn out, with one leg shorter than the others, propped up by a piece of wood. One of the doors was broken and would fall off if not opened carefully, but Sigrid had developed a knack for opening it well now.

There were three sets of clothes in the wardrobe.

A ceremonial uniform, and two shirts and two pairs of pants.

‘Come to think of it, Morris told me to buy some clothes.’

Sigrid smiled faintly, thinking of her friend. He was one of the friends who had tried to get her out of prison until the very end.

‘I didn’t expect him to come.’

After the slum incident, quite a few of her friends had left her, but some of them came to visit her in prison. They believed in her innocence. Morris was one of them.

After changing into everyday clothes, Sigrid put on her boots. Then, opening the door and stepping out, she saw an old, dark corridor. It was a multi-family housing area in one part of the capital. The wooden floor of the corridor was so worn out that it creaked, making it impossible for the people living here not to know when someone was passing through the corridor. But Sigrid skillfully walked across that floor without making a sound.

‘It’s exactly the same.’

It really is exactly the same. Nothing is different from the mortal world. Is this what the afterlife is like?

Sigrid felt the urge to smack the theologians on the back of their heads as she stood in front of the building.

‘It’s curfew time.’

Is it okay to go out because it’s the afterlife? Or is it not allowed because it’s curfew time?

After hesitating for a moment, Sigrid began to walk. Who cares if it’s curfew time or whatever?

She would welcome it if the messengers of the underworld came out.

Stepping forward steadily, Sigrid started walking towards the Imperial Palace. Wouldn’t the king of the underworld live in the Imperial Palace? As she was walking, she heard the sound of a whistle.

“You there! Stop!”

Sigrid stopped. Turning around, she saw two capital guards with spears walking towards her.

“What are you doing out during curfew!”

“Show your registration.”

Sigrid was puzzled by the two men’s words.

“Registration?”

As she tilted her head, the expressions of the two men became even more hostile. Are they talking about the registration from the mortal world? Or the one from the afterlife? If it’s from the afterlife, she hasn’t received it yet.

“A suspicious person.”

“Let’s go to the guard station.”

Although it was a commanding tone, Sigrid nodded and followed obediently. It didn’t matter where they went, as long as it was a place with public authority.

Sigrid was surprised when she arrived at the guard station.

“Lady Ankertna?”

“Captain Amu? Are you dead too?”

Amu, the captain of the capital guard, was sitting in the guard room. It was exactly the same as usual. Amu, confused by Sigrid’s strange words, said:

“Dead? I’m perfectly alive. No, more importantly, what happened to you?”

It’s common knowledge that this female knight never breaks the law. If she violated curfew, there must have been a good reason, Amu thought, grateful that the two guards who brought Sigrid weren’t cut by her hand. If she had a valid reason and the two had stopped her, Sigrid wouldn’t have spared them.

“No, I’m sure I died with my head cut off on the guillotine.”

Sigrid mumbled softly, lost in confusion. Amu laughed awkwardly and said:

“Did you perhaps have a dream? Lady Sigrid on the guillotine, there’s no nightmare worse than that.”

“A dream?”

Sigrid stared blankly at Amu. This veteran guard captain in his mid-forties, with laugh lines around his eyes and mouth, didn’t look like he was dreaming or dead at all.

“Lady Ankertna?”

Amu called her again when Sigrid remained silent. Her condition didn’t seem normal at all. Sigrid shook her head.

“No, it wasn’t a dream.”

It couldn’t have been a dream. There was no way it could have been a dream. Even now, she could vividly feel the pain of having her Aura Core forcibly excavated…

Sigrid covered her face with both hands.

‘What’s going on? What exactly happened? Is this a dream? Was that a dream? Which is it?’

Amu asked in confusion:

“Lady Ankertna? Are you alright? Should I call Lord Deforest?”

Sigrid lifted her head at those words.

“Morris…? But he’s not… in the capital… he went on a wandering journey…”

He had returned when he heard the news of her execution.

“Not in the capital? He’s working in the same knight order as you right now, isn’t he?”

As Amu spoke carefully, Sigrid stared at him with her mouth agape. Amu was now starting to get anxious, seeing this prim and taciturn female knight with such an expression for the first time.

‘Did she take drugs or alcohol? No, she’s not the type to do that.’

“I’ll call Lord Morris now.”

Amu gestured to the guards who had brought Sigrid to send a message. Then he offered her a chair, and Sigrid sat down in a daze.

‘Morris and I in the same knight order? That was 5 years ago?’

As she sat in confusion, Amu offered her a cup of tea. Sigrid looked up and took the cup.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing, just cheap tea.”

Amu observed her. There seemed to be no abnormality in her pupils or breathing, so it didn’t appear that she had taken any drugs or alcohol after all. What could have happened to this invincible female knight?

Sigrid took a sip of tea and smiled faintly. He called it cheap tea, but it was better than what she had. As she was slowly emptying the cup, Morris entered with the guards. Given the hour, it was clear he had come straight from bed. His black hair was all messed up, his shirt was full of wrinkles. His pants and boots looked hastily put on as well. Sigrid felt a sense of dissonance as she looked at his face.

Morris who had returned from his wandering journey had a scar on his face. But this Morris…

‘He’s younger?’

His face somehow looked tighter and smoother.

“Sigrid? Are you okay?”

Morris asked, squinting his eyes. When he heard that she had violated curfew and been taken to the guard station, Morris thought it was some kind of playful bet among the knights.

But when the guards earnestly insisted it was true and even mentioned Amu’s name, Morris realized it wasn’t a joke. So he rushed over, and there was Sigrid, looking somehow out of it, unlike her usual self, staring at him.

“What’s wrong?”

“Morris…”

“What? What is it?”

“How old are you?”

What are you― Even as he thought this, Morris answered obediently.

“Twenty-five.”

Sigrid swallowed hard. Then it really is 5 years ago. Sigrid put down her teacup and hurriedly began to roll up her shirt.

“Sigrid?! What are you doing!”

A flustered Morris tried to pull her shirt back down, but Sigrid was relentless. Her slim waist was exposed to everyone. Looking over her shoulder at her side, Sigrid touched that area absent-mindedly and said:

“The scar is gone.”

“What?”

“Here, there should be a big sword wound… from fighting Beramund…”

“Beramund? Why would you fight that bastard? Hey, Sigrid, are you okay?”

“Morris.”

“Yeah?”

“Morris Deforest.”

“What?”

“What year is it in the Imperial calendar…?”

“300.”

Sigrid felt her mind go blank.

It really is 5 years ago.

‘What’s going on? I’m sure I died. Did I come back after dying? To the past? How?’

Morris was starting to worry now. She didn’t seem normal at all.

“Sigrid?”

His voice lowered and softened. At his call, Sigrid slowly blinked as if focusing and looked up at Morris. Those beautiful crimson eyes that always inspired awe, eyes that would normally be emotionless, were now filled with confusion.

“Are you okay? What happened?”

“I―”

Sigrid opened her mouth and then closed it. She leaned forward, almost falling onto Morris. It was an action she would never do normally, so Morris stiffened. He was starting to wonder if this might be some creature disguised as her.

“Sigrid Ankertna?”

Sigrid took a deep breath. His body was warm and firm. She could clearly hear his heart beating. Is this reality? Am I alive? The next moment, Sigrid lifted her head abruptly.

“Alkerto.”

“What?”

“Is Alkerto alive?”

“Of course he’s alive.”

Morris slowly examined Sigrid. He was starting to become certain that she had either fallen under some spell or that something was wrong with her.

“Sigrid, first, calm down. Have you had contact with any strange people?”

“What?”

“A magician or a witch, or have you eaten any strange food? Did you go down an unusual path?”

“That…”

Sigrid started to speak but then stopped. She swallowed.

“No, I’m sorry. I just had a very realistic dream.”

“A dream?”

“Yes, I’m sorry for causing trouble. I apologize for the inconvenience.”

Speaking suddenly in a calm tone, she looked even more suspicious to Morris, who narrowed his eyes as he looked at Sigrid. Sigrid smiled awkwardly at his gaze.

“I’m really fine. I should go home and get some sleep. Oh, I can’t go out because of the curfew, right? In that case, I’ll have to impose on the makeshift lodgings here.”

Amu was startled by those words. The ‘makeshift lodgings’ here were the ‘detention cells’.

“No, not at all. You can move even during curfew if accompanied by a guard. We’ll escort you home, Lady Ankertna.”

Morris nodded and said:

“My house is closer, so stay at my place for the night.”

Morris wanted to keep her in his sight for the night, as he still couldn’t feel at ease. Sigrid shook her head.

“No, I’ll just go to my house. It’s more comfortable there.”

“That would double the work for the guards.”

Morris subtly appealed to her sense of duty, and at those words, Sigrid hesitated with an “Ah, is that so?” before nodding. She didn’t want to cause any more trouble to the guard station than this.

“Alright then.”

Escorted by one guard, Sigrid headed to Morris’s house with him.

As the second son of a viscount family, he had received a knighthood and left his family to live in an official residence in the capital.

Even though it was called an official residence, it was incomparable to Sigrid’s home. It was a proper house, occupying an entire building, with four servants.

As they opened the front door and entered, a cozy living room space unfolded. It wasn’t as luxurious as the high-end residential area in the 1st District where the Imperial Palace was located, but it was still a proper house in the 2nd District.

“Come in.”

“Excuse me.”

As they entered the living room, Morris let out a long yawn, and Sigrid apologized.

“I’m sorry for waking you up for nothing. You should go to sleep soon, you have to go to work tomorrow.”

“It’s fine.”

Morris shrugged. Sigrid carefully pressed her foot on the soft carpet on the floor. The fireplace was elaborately decorated, and the candleholders on the walls, though simple, were properly made of hammered brass. Morris spoke to her as she looked around:

“I bought it all properly with my salary.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You’re always going on about luxury and whatnot. Talking about a knight’s duty and all that.”

Translator’s Note:

Schedule: 4 chapter/week, Monday-Wednesday-Friday-Sunday.