The Seed Thief

“You should have seen it. No matter how much they hit her, she didn’t make a single sound. It’s like she doesn’t even feel pain.”

At their words, Lulu glanced down at her own arm. The arm bound by iron chains was, from months of not eating properly, as thin as a tree branch.

But beyond being dry, there wasn’t a single mark from the beatings she’d received yesterday.

When Lulu had collapsed at the old woman’s house and opened her eyes again, she found herself in a strange, unfamiliar place. Towering stone walls. A vast plaza, unlike anything she’d seen in the forest. And strange people dressed in a variety of clothes.

She was chained, her arms and legs bound to a wooden stake.

They’d asked her many questions. Her name, her age—those she could answer. But then they’d moved on to things she couldn’t comprehend.

“Is it true that you conspired with the enemy?”

“Did you kidnap those villagers for your magic rituals?”

“Did you steal the tax shipment from Solbury?”

To such questions, Lulu had replied honestly that she didn’t know. She couldn’t even understand their questions in the first place. Frustrated, the most robust among them approached with whips and clubs and struck her, sending her sprawling.

She’d been terrified at first, instinctively shielding her belly. But then… nothing. She felt pressure, the force of their blows, but no pain.

Realizing their attacks had no effect, they grew more agitated, their words became a torrent of insults. Then, they resorted to different tactics. No water, no food.

When she tried to drink the rainwater that dripped through a crack in the ceiling, they dragged her underground and locked her away.

‘How long has it been…?’

She couldn’t tell if it was day or night because there was no sky. Lulu had given up trying to keep track of time. It was meaningless anyway.

From the guards’ conversations, she learned that she was imprisoned beneath the city and that the people here were determined to see her dead.

She also learned other things. The kingdom this city belonged to had been embroiled in a great war with another nation and the former rebel faction. Because of this, the royal family suffered a major blow, but fortunately, the king’s brother, leading the entire army, had turned the tide of the war.

However, what she learned wasn’t just about the human situation. Lulu looked across at the empty prison cell opposite her. Just a few days ago, a woman had been there. As thin as Lulu, with injuries all over her body.

At first, the woman flinched at the sight of Lulu and retreated to the corner of her cell. Then, perhaps out of boredom, she started talking.

Lulu had been wary at first, but there was nothing to do in this prison and the woman was not making a fuss like the old woman in the forest, Lulu eventually let her guard down.

After a few exchanges, the woman sighed.

“Where on earth have you been living? You’re completely clueless… And to think you’re even pregnant… No, that man you were with was trash.”

Lulu bristled at the insult. She might be a fool, but she wouldn’t tolerate anyone speaking ill of Er. The woman let out a long, weary sigh.

“It might be too late, but listen to me. People…”

The woman taught Lulu about the world that Er had never taught her. Betrayal, blackmail, framing. And many other terrible things a person can go through.

Initially, Lulu had struggled to understand. But as she remained imprisoned, occasionally dragged out and brought back, Lulu quickly learned what human society was like, and what she needed to be wary of, from the gazes and attitudes of the people and the words they spat.

Why they hated her, what their words meant, and what it meant when their gazes lingered on her chest or between her legs, and how disgusting it was.

As she learned the darkest truths of this world, a question arose in Lulu’s mind.

“Why didn’t Er tell me about this?”

It wasn’t a question she expected an answer to. After all, she didn’t even know where Er was.

The woman in the opposite cell let out a bitter laugh.

“It was easier to keep you naive. Or maybe…”

“Or maybe?”

“…he didn’t want to show you this dirty side.”

“….”

The woman didn’t say anything more, covering herself with a dirty rag and falling asleep. The next day, she was dragged out and never returned. No one explained, but Lulu knew this was another form of death.

Thinking of the woman, Lulu quietly touched the ring on her finger out of habit.

It was fortunate that her hand had been injured before the crow returned her mana. Unlike her other body parts, the broken and untreated finger was bruised and swollen, making it impossible to remove the ring worn on it.

She’d overheard the guards talking, gossiping about the old woman and her son. They’d claimed the ring as their own, demanding that it be cut from Lulu’s finger after she was executed.

At that, Lulu used all the remaining mana to cast a spell on the ring. The once shiny, beautiful ring became a dull, scratched ring.

However, the flame-shaped ornament on top remained, only its color faded.

The woman across from her, seeing Lulu cherish the ring, had advised her to turn it inward to hide that ornament from the guards. Otherwise, they might take it away.

‘He said this proves we’re married… ’

Now she understood. She couldn’t use the ring to find Er. Here, everything related to her would be treated the same way she was.

If she showed the ring and asked them to find Er, he might be dragged here as well. The woman had repeatedly said that Er had only played with her and abandoned her, but Lulu refused to believe it.

Perhaps it was fear. Fear that if she did find him, if he saw her like this, imprisoned and reviled, he would turn on her, too. He would spit insults and curses, just like everyone else.

In her heart, she told herself over and over that Er wasn’t like that, but the truth about people, as taught by the strange woman, continued to shake her belief.

Days passed. Then, one day, Lulu overheard the guards, who tossed her trash-like food once a day, speaking in excited voices.

“The war ended faster than expected.”

“It’s all thanks to His Highness the Prince. He was already renowned as a knight of the temple.”

“I heard we were at a great disadvantage at the beginning. Because of the mages, right?”

“That’s what I heard. They knew the Prince would be the biggest obstacle, so they sent all their mages to attack him directly. Thanks to his swift response, we were able to counterattack, but I heard countless people died? Of course, the enemy suffered far greater losses.”

“I heard that too. He was known to be ruthless during the first rebellion, but this time it was truly terrifying. He executed anyone they captured without trial. Said he didn’t need prisoners.”

“So that’s why the lord’s finally decided to deal with the witch.”

“What do you mean?”

Lulu’s breath caught in her throat. They were talking about her. She strained to hear every word.

“He was keeping her alive, trying to force a confession so he could put her on trial and burn her at the stake. But she keeps insisting she’s innocent. It’s become a nuisance.”

“Ah.”

The guard made a short sound of understanding.

“So he’s going to blame everything on her.”

“Exactly. And I don’t know why, but the Prince is on his way here quickly. They say the lord is planning a public execution, right in front of the Prince.”

“When is he arriving?”

“Soon. Tomorrow, maybe the day after.”

“Good riddance. That means we’re finally done babysitting this freak. The war’s over, so we can finally relax.”

The chattering voices of the guards faded away. Lulu sat quietly, fiddling with the ring.

‘So I’m finally going to die.’

She felt strangely detached, numbed by exhaustion and despair. She missed the forest. The open sky, the fresh air, the quiet…

‘Was I wrong?’

Maybe she should have stayed alone, contenting with what the forest witch left behind. She’d been greedy, wanting more. She’d brought Ervandas here, clung to him, begged him for a child.

If she hadn’t been so selfish, if she’d lived a solitary life like the forest witch, quietly fading into dust when her time came…would things be different? Would she still be in her forest, her scarecrow, crow, and golem still by her side?

Lulu looked down at her belly.

She’d lost everything—the forest, the witch’s legacy, her friends…and all she had to show for it was this child, this life growing inside her. Had it all been worth it?

Rage, sudden and fierce, surged through her, directed at the child she carried.

She groped around the floor of her cell. She couldn’t move far with her hands and feet bound, but she managed to find a rock, half the size of her palm, in a crevice on the floor. Testing its edge, she gripped it tightly, the sharpest point facing her belly.

Her chained hand rose. Should she strike? Would it die then? No, maybe it should die.

The woman had told her that they called her a witch unjustly, but maybe the woman had been wrong. Maybe she was truly a witch. After all, she had used power no one else possessed. Maybe that’s why Er hadn’t returned.

And what about the child she carried? Would it be a witch, too? Evil, greedy, a bringer of misery, just like people said witches were?

Her already deeply troubled mind clouded her reason. She tightened her grip on the rock. Just as Lulu was about to strike her own belly, a forgotten memory flashed before her eyes.