Chapter 4
The snake was there one moment, heavy and warm in Yuta's arms as he carefully applied the healing herbs to its wound. The next moment, his hands were empty, grasping at nothing but air.
Yuta blinked, staring at his empty palms in shock. The massive serpent had simply… vanished. Not slithered away—vanished, like it had never been there at all. He looked around frantically, searching the strange, luminescent forest for any sign of the beautiful creature.
When he blinked again, the otherworldly trees were gone.
He was back in the familiar woods near his village, sitting on the soft earth where he'd collapsed after running from his aunt's house. The twisted, spiral trees with their shimmering leaves had disappeared, replaced by the ordinary pines and oaks he'd known since childhood.
"What…" Yuta whispered, touching his face to make sure he was real, that he was awake.
Was that some kind of dream? A hallucination brought on by stress and exhaustion? But when he looked down at his shirt, he saw the torn strips of fabric missing from the hem—the same pieces he'd used to bandage the snake's wound. His fingers were still stained green from crushing herbs.
It had been real. Somehow, impossibly real.
His racing thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone crashing through the underbrush. Bera, the chief maid from his uncle's household, emerged from between the trees. She was a warm-looking, middle-aged woman with kind eyes and a figure softened by years of tasting her own cooking. More importantly, she was the only person who knew about Yuta's secret refuge in the woods.
"Young master!" she called, her face creased with worry. "You have to come back quickly!"
"Bera?" Yuta scrambled to his feet, brushing dirt and leaves from his clothes. "What's wrong? You look terrified."
"The situation at home is not good," Bera said, wringing her hands. "Your cousin Riko's engagement has been called off, and…" She hesitated, her kind face crumpling with sympathy. "And you're being blamed for it."
Yuta felt the blood drain from his face. "What? That's impossible! I've been here the whole time, I haven't even seen—"
"I know, child, I know." Bera reached out to squeeze his hand. "But we need to go now. I'll explain everything on the way, but if you don't come back soon, your aunt might do something we'll all regret."
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The moment Yuta stepped through the front door, Riko launched herself at him like a wild animal. Her perfectly arranged hair was disheveled, her face red and blotchy from crying, and her eyes blazed with a fury that made Yuta step back in alarm.
"You witch!" she screeched, her nails raking across his cheek before he could dodge. "How dare you! How dare you show your face here after what you've done!"
"Sister, please calm down," Eren said, grabbing Riko's arms and trying to pull her away from Yuta. At nineteen, he was the gentlest of his cousins, the only one who'd ever shown Yuta real kindness.
Riko whirled on him with vicious intensity. "Wow, just wow! What a brother I have!" Her voice dripped with bitter sarcasm. "My engagement was destroyed because of this wench, and you're still protecting him?"
"Riko, that's enough," Eren said firmly, though Yuta could see the uncertainty in his eyes.
Heavy footsteps on the stairs announced the arrival of Aunt Ursula and Uncle Darius. Ursula's face was twisted with fury, while Uncle Darius looked uncomfortable, his usual jovial demeanor replaced by grim disappointment.
"So you've finally shown your true colors, you little snake," Ursula hissed, descending the stairs like an avenging spirit. "You dare steal your cousin's fiancé?"
Yuta felt the world tilting around him. "Please, Aunt, I swear I didn't do anything! I haven't even been home—I was in the woods all day!"
"Then explain this!" Uncle Darius's voice boomed through the house. "Explain why Sura came here this morning and called off the engagement!"
Yuta's mouth opened and closed soundlessly. Sura had called off the engagement? But why would he blame him for it?
"Do you know what he said?" Uncle Darius continued, his face growing redder with each word. "He said he couldn't marry Riko because he was in love with someone else. With you! He claimed you two had been meeting in secret, that you'd confessed your feelings to each other!"
The accusation hit Yuta hard. "Uncle, please, you have to believe me—that's not true! He was lying! I would never—"
"Stop it!" Riko yanked hard on Yuta's hair, making him cry out in pain. "Just stop lying! Everyone knows you've been jealous of me since we were children!"
Eren stepped forward again, his face pale but determined. "This doesn't make sense. Yuta wouldn't—"
"Don't you dare defend him!" Riko snarled at her brother. "Whose side are you on?"
"Enough!" Ursula's voice cut through the chaos like a whip. "I've heard enough lies for one day. You're leaving this house right now, and you're never coming back!"