The truth

I wake up after having my usual nightmare, but when I open my eyes, I did not see my room full of books but a panorama full of trees. I was on the outskirts of the village lying in the middle of the road. A few seconds later, I remembered why I was there. I lost the fight with Kase when I was trying to help Oliver. Oliver! Where is Oliver? I woke up with pain in my body from Kase's blows and saw Oliver lying ****.

I ran to where he was and when I saw him. He was severely hurt with a swollen and bloody face. Fabe is an asshole.

"Oliver, wake up! Can you hear me?"

After a while of trying to get Oliver to react, he finally opened his eyes.

"Darx... W-What happened?"

"Don't worry about that now. You have to get your wounds treated."

"Looks like we got a good beating. Ha-hah..., Ouch!"

Despite being a mess, Oliver doesn't seem depressed. I helped Oliver to get up and help him to walk. We went to his house so that his injuries could be treated, but we walked quite slowly since we were both injured. As we walked at a slow pace, we had time to talk.

"Did you see Darx? I managed to land a good punch in Fabe's face. I'm sure I gave him a black eye. I knew I would lose, but I didn't want to leave the village without hitting Fabe in the face at least once."

"I saw it! You did well, Oliver."

"I haven't told you Darx, but after we stopped training in the forests, I spent more time with Emma. Several times I saw her cry, especially these days. After asking her many times, she finally told me what was wrong with her."

"She looked sick. Does it have something to do with that? I asked."

"Emma is pregnant. She is pregnant and Fabe is the father."

That reminds me of the time Amelia and I saw them in the stable having sex. It didn't seem like they were using protection, so it was most likely something recurrent.

"Emma is two months pregnant and is scared of what Fabe will do when he finds out."

"Knowing Fabe, I don't think the news will make him happy." I replied.

"I know! I told Emma that she could count on me for whatever she needs. It is painful to see that the woman you love is pregnant from your worst enemy, but I cannot leave her alone right now."

Oliver is a good guy. Hopefully soon, he finds someone who makes him happy. After a while, we finally got to Oliver's house and his parents, seeing in the state he was in, quickly came to his aid. While they were taking care of him, I thought about going to find Amelia so that she would use her healing magic. After seeing how much Amelia's magic has improved, I'm sure it will be helpful for Oliver.

After telling Oliver that I would go looking for Amelia I headed to her home because, at this time, the training with Jax must have already finished. Her home is simply the most likely place she'll be. To my surprise, Amelia was not at home, and she was not with Alice either. I saw Cal walking around the village, which indicates that she is not training with Jax either. Where are you, Amelia?

I walked around the village without finding her, so I returned to Oliver, where he looked better. He was lying in his bed asleep after his mother treated his wounds. When I saw that he was sleeping, I decided to leave for today. I went back to Amelia's house one more time to make sure she was back, and her mom told me that she had returned and was taking a bath. I wonder what Amelia was doing until so late... After saying goodbye, I went to my house where my mother was sitting at the table drinking tea.

"Darx, what happened to your face?" Mom asked.

I only have a little cut below the eye. Now that I think about it, Kase didn't hit my face too much, and he did focus on my body since he didn't want to leave a trace that we fought and for my mother to find out and risk stopping her from training him. Anyway, it's not like I want to tell my mother that I had a fight and lost.

"It's nothing. I just received a blow while training in the forest."

"Did you go alone to the forest? I told you that it is dangerous to go alone."

"I was not alone. I was with Mia."

Now that I mentioned Mia, I remembered her words from this morning. What she said about Kase and my mother being too friendly.

"How's the training going with Kase?" I asked.

"Very good! Kase is a prodigy who learns everything very quickly. Even without having a rank, Kase, strength is around a D rank. It is quite amazing."

"I see... Kase hasn't tried anything weird, right!" I asked.

"Something weird? What do you mean?"

"I-It's nothing, forget it!"

What am I worrying about? Something like that can't happen. My mother knows how to take good care of herself. I'd better go to sleep because tomorrow will be the final preparations for the festival.

In the morning I was having breakfast with my mother when Kase arrived for breakfast, acting as if nothing had happened. I didn't tell my mother anything about the fight, so I had no excuse to kick him out of the house. And the pay my mother receives for training Kase is excellent, so I don't want my personal problems with him to affect my mother's earnings.

Kase looks for any opportunity to praise my mother. Despite being nice to him, my mother doesn't behave differently. When it comes to working stuff, she is very serious, and all they talk about is training. Listening to them talk does not make me think that there is something strange. For my part and Kase, we ignore each other. Mother seems to know that we are not getting along and she doesn't trying to **** a conversation between us. After finishing breakfast, she and Kase started getting ready to go out.

Before leaving, Mother points to the box with ingredients that is in the corner of the kitchen and ask me to do her a favor.

"Darx, when you have time, can you take that box to Alice? Alice will make some of the food that will be served tomorrow and she will need those ingredients."

"Of course! I got this."

"Thank you! See you later."

Mother and Kase left, and I went back to my room to read for a while since I had nothing to do apart from carrying the box. A few hours passed when I remembered that I still needed to give the box to Alice. I left my room and took the box that was not very heavy and went to Alice's house.

I was about to knock on the door when I heard someone yelling inside the house. It's a man's voice, but it's not James's. The door didn't have a lock so I went in thinking that maybe they needed help. Inside was James sitting, still recovering from his legs, and Noah...?

"You have to understand me! You are the only one I can ask for help!" Noah was yelling at James.

"I am your friend. But what you're telling me is crazy." James replied.

"He stole my wife! All this time, Enzo has been lying to everyone! If we all joined together, we could get him out of this village."

"You have to accept reality, Noah. You never treat your wife well, and that's why she left you. You never heard me when I told you to stop drinking?"

Are they talking about Mr. Enzo!? They are so deep in their conversation that they haven't even noticed I'm here.

"It's all Enzo fault! I started drinking because I discovered her infidelity with him." Noah says.

"It is not too late for you. If you stop drinking and start working honestly, you can start over. Maybe that will allow you to talk to your wife again."

"I thought you would understand me. From today I don't want to see you again. I will take care of making him pay." Noah said angrily as he hit the table.

Noah angrily left the house, pushing me out of the way in the process.

"James, what's going on?" I asked.

"Darx, please follow him and don't let him do something foolish."

"O-Okay..."

I don't understand what's going on, but James looks quite concerned. So, I put down the box I was carrying with the ingredients and left the house searching for Noah. He was no longer close, but I could still see him in the distance.

Noah was heading home and when I caught up with him, he was going inside. I doubted for a few seconds if I should go inside, but in the end, I did. The house is still a mess with trash and empty bottles everywhere. Noah was looking for something among the few belongings he had on a table.

"Noah..."

"What the fuck are you doing here? Go away!" Noah answered angrily.

Noah screams at me while holding a knife that he took out from among the things. Is that what he was looking for? What the hell is he planning to do? I got a little nervous when he started to approach me, still holding the knife. I thought about drawing my sword, but I don't want things to come to that. So, I try to calm him down.

"Noah put the knife down. James sent me to try to calm you down because he's worried about you."

"If James were really worried about me, he would have helped me."

"What do you need help with? James is hurt, but if I can help you, I will try."

"I want to kill Enzo! Will you help me?"

Kill Mr. Enzo!? I said I would try to help him but not with something like that. Is it about what he told me about his wife? Still, killing someone for that is too much.

"Noah, please calm down. I know you don't like Mr. Enzo because of what you told me happened with your wife, but killing him won't solve anything."

"Do you not understand? It is not only for my wife... It is for everything he has done to me throughout all my life and not only to me but to many people. Even now, he keeps doing it, and no one seems to notice. If I don't kill Enzo, he will lead this village to ruin."

"I don't know what you mean, but why don't you tell me. I will listen to you."

It seems that Noah has calmed down and put the knife away. Noah sat in the only chair in the house and began to stare at the ceiling as if he was thinking deeply about something. After a while, he turned to see me.

"You don't know what I've had to go through... No one believes me, but I know what I'm talking about." Noah says.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I will tell you the truth, Darx, so that you can understand, who is the real dangerous."

Noah asked me to sit on a box that was next to him while he started drinking. What could have happened to him to end this way, and what does he know about Mr. Enzo that makes him hate him so much. I had many questions which I hoped would be answered when Noah began to share what he knows.

"Enzo, my wife and I have known each other since we were children. Our families worked for Enzo's family in the city, and even though Enzo was from a high social class, he treated us like friends. We spend our childhood and adolescence together.

Noah and Mr. Enzo used to be friends!? That is something that I didn't expect.

"Enzo was engaged to someone his family chose and when we were in our twenties, they got married. I have always been in love with my wife since we were children and I always know Enzo felt something for her too. In a way, the two of us competed for her love. Shortly after Enzo got married, I asked our childhood friend to marry me. When Enzo found out, he tried to make her his second wife. But she chose me in the end. I felt the happiest man in the world when she accepted."

To think that their story begins when they were children and has ended so badly. Watching Noah tell his story, I don't think he's lying.

"At that time, my wife and I distanced ourselves from Enzo, but we never stayed on bad terms. Soon, I opened my own business, and we lived happily for a while. We even tried to have a child, but it turns out that I was infertile. Even knowing that, my wife didn't leave me.

Noah seemed to be living a good life. How did it change?

"My misfortune started when a group of bandits began to vandalize my business. I tried to do my best to stop them. The guards ignored me and I even took the adventurer test, hoping to gain enough strength to defend my business and my wife, but I didn't receive a rank. They continued for months until I didn't have any other choice but to close my store. In a few months, we lost our house, and we were full of debts.

How can a gang of criminals harras someone for so long and not be arrested? I suppose that what my mother once told me about the corruption that exists in the city is real.

"Around that time, Enzo appeared to offer us his help. He offered us to come to live in this village and gave my wife a job at his home. I was ****, and Enzo already had two wives and two children. A boy with his first wife and a girl with the second. So I thought he would no longer be interested in my wife, and he was honestly trying to help us. When we arrived at this village, Enzo offered me this house, which I could buy in payments. My wife started working at the mansion as a maid and I started working on the farm where I met James."

So this is how they got to this village. There are many young maids in the mansion, but there is only one of similar age to Noah's. I guess it's her.

"Over time, I began to notice my wife acting weird. Until one day, I sneaked into Enzo's house and discovered them having sex. I felt pain more painful than any other I have ever felt. But all I could do was run without them noticing. I felt so betrayed. But I didn't want to lose my wife and I knew that if I confronted her, she was going to leave me for Enzo. He is rich and could give her the son that I never could. So I said nothing and just started drinking."

I can't imagine what Noah felt after seeing his wife with Mr. Enzo.

"I couldn't see her face or Enzo's without feeling anger and I started to be violent with her. I loved her so much and, at the same time, hated her with the same intensity. One day she arrived and told me that she has to go to the city with Enzo and she didn't return until after a year. And I knew why... She was pregnant."

Was she pregnant!? What happened to the baby? I didn't know that Mr. Enzo had so many children.

"She came back without a baby, but I couldn't take it anymore. I confronted her with what I knew and beat her. My wife left me soon after, and you know the rest..."

After listening to his story, I can sympathize with him more. But I still don't understand why he says that Mr. Enzo is a danger to the village.

"The bandits that attacked the village recently were looking for Enzo, and the rest of the village suffered the consequences for him."

Noah then looks intensely into my eyes and says, "I recognize those bandits. The bandits who attacked the village just recently, they used the same symbol as those who terrorized my business. I sure now that Enzo was the one who sent those bandits after me, and the help he offered me was false help to bring us here to steal my wife."

I remember that the bandits who attacked the village seemed to know Mr. Enzo. They talked to him as if they have some business. What Noah says seems to makes sense, but still, killing Mr. Enzo is not something Noah should do.

"After listening to you, I understand why you feel like that. But killing Mr. Enzo won't solve anything and will only make things worse." I said to Noah.

Noah waves dismissively at me with his hand and says, "It is impossible for you to understand, what it is to have your whole life stolen."

Noah got up and grabbed his things and walked to the door.

"Wait! Where are you going?" I asked.

"I am leaving this village, but don't be fooled by Enzo. He and his entire family are people you shouldn't trust."

"Where are you going? If you leave the village, you will have nowhere to go."

"That's my problem. Ohh, One more thing... Kase's age and the time my wife went to the city to give birth coincide. I wouldn't be surprised if Kase is his bastard."

Kase, the son of Noah's wife? Does Kase know? Every time I have more questions instead of answers.

"Please tell James that I am sorry for what I said. He is the only person who helped me sincerely and is the only true friend I ever had."

"It's not too late for you to tell him yourself."

"It's too late!!"

Noah left the house. I hope he doesn't plan to do something that he will regret later.