She grabbed his right arm, pushing it away, revealing his bleeding thumb. Her smooth, polished face turned pale the moment she witnessed her son's blood, albeit a childish cut. To a mother, even a single drop of blood meant an ocean when it belonged to her boy.

"What have you done," she said, in a quivering voice, one that carried worry and unease. "Here, let me bandage it for you."

Taking a few napkins from the bedside, she started wrapping layers upon layers of it over Aydem's thumb, stopping the blood to get out. She looked nervous while tying up his wound, yet not angry or upset at him, her expression holding guilt rather than irritation.

When done with the bandage, she held his face in her motherly touch. "Promise me, my son, to always come to me when something bad like this happens, OK? Mom will take care of it."

"I promise," Aydem said.

Thanks god, I thought I'd gone dumb, he thought.

Emine continued to talk, "You're all I have right now," she begged, on the verge of crying. "Please... please be careful!"

However, Aydem seemed so confused with the mysterious events that kept happening, failing to notice Emine's strong emotions.

But what was that? I couldn't speak. It was so frightening. Maybe something's wrong with that book? It definitely looks cursed. Still, that's the only thing I have right now.

"Why don't you go back to sleep, sweetie? I'm sure you must be—" she said, before being interrupted by a chain of ear-shattering knocks.

Again?! Aydem thought. Who is it this time, I wonder?

"Stay here," Emine told him, going down to open the door. Despite what she said, Aydem also followed her at a distance, hiding behind the wooden handrails on the second floor.

Before she could reach down the stairs, the door was broken down by a swift force, pushing it wide open to to touch the nearby wall. Five men raided the house, one of whom Aydem recognized immediately: Alicio...

Two of those men stepped back, each holding a large sharp spear to block the entrance. They possessed sturdy bodies and rough, scruffy faces, wearing a thick brown tunic over a pair of silvery pants held together by a tight russet leather belt. Their hair grew long in length and disheveled in shape, one browny in shade and the other gloomy. By looking at the softness of their shoes and hearing the footsteps, Aydem could tell that they weren't made of hard wooden clogs he and his family used to wear, which were really uncomfortable; his feet were always in pain after wearing those clogs.

The other two, staying behind Alicio, appeared in large loose white costumes, with golden trims decorating shoulders up to arms, and chest down to thighs, which completely covered their bodies from neck to ankle. It wasn't easy to tell their physique that hid beneath the wide white garments they wore. However, their necks, unlike the other two men guarding the entrance, looked slim and skinny. The two men shared almost every attribute when it came to clothing, but comparing their faces, one of them looked young, with dark hairs that reached the floor, while the other man suffered from wrinkles on his skin, with only a few strands of hair visible at the sides of his head.

Alicio stood before them in his usual glossy golden dress, extreme jewelries and golds worn around the wrists, neck, and arms. It came to Aydem as over-the-top and excessive, giving him a strong sense of distaste.

Emine looked at Alicio in shock and anger, standing at the bottom of the stairs next to Aydem's room. Meanwhile, Aydem watched the events unfold from the upstairs.

"Who are you?" Emine shouted angrily. "Get out of my house! Right now!"

"I'm afraid we cannot," Alicio responded. "We have permission to search this house."

They talked like they had never met. Alicio kept his composure while Emine was heavily discomposed, failing to hide her unsettled expression.

"It's trespassing!" she exclaimed. "Why are you here? What do you want?"

"You've been accused of witchery, woman!" one of the men in white said, "There are eye witnesses who say you've been performing dark magic in your husband's absence."

The man's voice was tuneful, not too sharp or too loose, but rather balanced, harmonious in pitch, bearing a sweetness that made those words resonate with beauty and brilliance, yet it held resent and contempt in nature, penetrating her with hostility.

The other man in white also started speaking, holding the same pleasant-sounding, yet ill-intentioned voice, "Your neighbors claim they hear strange voices and see red lights coming from here at midnight. It can be an implication of studying dark arts."

The two of them switched talking back and forth. "And of course, one of our fellow priests said he has seen you creating voodoo dolls and puppets in the forest and carrying them into your house. Truthful to the gods, we may never lie."

"Finally, the man before you is Alicio Aristo Eraldim, son of the chief of this town. He's an honorable man. He bears witness to the fact that you were trying to seduce him, even though you're already engaged."

Hearing that, she raised her brows in disruption, attempting to speak, but before she could utter any words, the other man continued speaking.

"Trying to persuade such a noble man with good heart and cheat on your husband is, in and of itself, a huge sin. However, today we're not here for that reason. Mr. Eraldim says you've used sorcery to threaten him, dare he ever speak out."

"None of that is true!" she finally managed to talk between their rants. "I've not done anything of the sort."

"There's a lot of testimony against you, woman. Still, we cannot persecute you without actual tangible evidence, but this amount of ocular evidence is enough to let us investigate your personal house."

Emine was left speechless, irritated so visibly that even Aydem could sense her heat, furnished by her frustration.

"If you're indeed innocent, then there won't be a problem if we search this place, right?"

"You're coming to my house at this hour to disturb us like this. There's nothing right with that!"

"We had no choice, woman. Did you expect us to warn you? So you could hide the evidence before we arrive?"

Emine kept arguing with the priests, protesting their trespassing and fighting against the accusations.

"Your honors," Alicio said, interrupting them, turning to the two priests behind him, "you may begin."

Following what he said, the men in white robes began searching the house, starting from the hall by examining every single inch of the place, even going as far as inspecting the holes in the wall, or checking the floor for trapdoors, to looking into Aydem's room and going down into the cellar.

At the same time, Emine stood there, right before Alicio, giving him a fierce, burning glare, which carried such a hotness that would set any living being on fire. In return, Alicio looked at her in a calm, serious manner, holding no visible strong emotions.

"I just found something."

The voice came from Aydem's room, where the long-haired priest was performing his search. He got out with a hefty, large brownish book, presenting it to the elderly priest. "Ooh," he gasped, eyes widening in astonishment, "that must be... There's no doubt about it. This is the Tome of Tongues and Titles!"

"What is that?" the young priest asked, looking disinterested.

"I will tell you later. Tell me, where did you find it?"

"In that room, under the bed."

The old priest came close to Emine, staring at her. "Is that your room?"

"No," she responded, her voice quivering, "it's my son's room."

The older priest stroked his chin, his astonished expression growing into a contemplative one.

"Is that an evidence?" the young priest asked.

"Well, technically no, but finding it here is definitely weird. Some sorcery might be behind it."

"So... it's not an evidence?"

"No, it's not. We have to search harder."

They had already inspected everything in the first floor, even the bathroom located to the left of the stairs.

"All right, let's go explore the second floor."

As the priests started to move up, they noticed Aydem, confused, standing behind the handrails, and so did Emine. She was taken aback, knitting her brows in concern.

Before the priests could go up, Emine ran up the stairs to embrace Aydem in her arms.

"Sweetie, I told you to stay in the room." she said. "Let's go down now. Everything will be alright."

Emine stepped down the stairs while holding Aydem in her arms, his face rested on her right shoulder.

The elder priest, while holding the large book in his arms, went first, as the young man followed him to the second floor. With Emine's room being the only place there, they stepped inside to check for any sign of possible witchery or dark magic.

Aydem, in his mother's arms, could only hear disarranging sounds coming from the upstairs. He followed the events carefully, being aware of the situation.

Apparently, it's one of Alicio's schemes. But accusing her of being a witch? Seriously? Where are we living? In medieval ages?

In his three years of living in this town, he didn't hear or see anyone being accused of such acts even once or someone executed because of it. There was a small square before the chief's house at the middle of the town, where criminals would get executed in public. Robberies, albeit extremely uncommon, still occurred, and were punished by death, which surprised Aydem the first time he heard about it. He thought death penalty was too harsh for a crime of that level.

I guess yes, I am currently living in a setting similar to those times. But still, doesn't this dude love her? Making a witch out of her in public eye is just too much. If these people punish theft by death, one can just imagine what they would do with a witch. Would someone really do that to their beloved?

Although Emine had rejected Alicio's love, Aydem couldn't wrap his head around Alicio's wicked actions, failing to justify it by that reason alone. I think he said something about 'making our lives a living hell' or something, yet doesn't he want her at the end? If she gets burned in public, wouldn't that defeat the whole purpose?

He took a look at Alicio's cold, neutral looks, an impassive face, blank as it could get, which totally differed from the first time he had met him, when he came as enthusiastic and gave Aydem a warm glance, one that fathers usually give to their sons.

There's also another problem. Sure, he's powerful and rich, and his father is literally the king of this place, but it is not enough to literally accuse someone of being a witch and get away with it, right? Like, shouldn't the priests be undeterred by those pressures? They are following the truth, after all. At least, my new daddy thinks so. Everyone must know Alicio wants Emine, right? It just seems so obvious. Why wouldn't they notice it? They should easily see through his schemes.

The priests hardly came out of their temple, so Aydem didn't see them often when he would get out with his mother, one of the only times he could gather information about the town with his own eyes since Emine couldn't leave her son alone in the house, having no choice but to bring along her son. Apart from those moments, Aydem never left their home to wander around in the streets. After all, he was only a three-year-old; who knows what would happen to him.

During these years, Aydem gathered every information a three-year-old could possibly get, which, to his eyes, was useless. I don't care about the stupid affairs of this town. I have to get the hell out of here, somehow.

He usually spotted at most fifteen guards and watchmen protecting the streets at night, most of them guarding the chief's house even during the day, which also functioned as the local prison and the treasury. The two muscular men, who blocked the entrance, wore the same uniform as the town guards. They weren't engaged in what was going on, being completely stone-faced and motionless in their place.

There was some other guy who came and gave us the food. Didn't Emine also call him 'father'? If that guy was also a priest, then they must be on our side. Why are those two with Alicio then? Something doesn't make sense here.

Looking right into Alicio's colds looks, while being in his mother's arms, Aydem held a confused expression, but judging by the extreme chaos residing within him, his soft, childlike countenance didn't allow much to get out.

A witch, seriously? he thought. Aydem would protest against that accusation immediately if he was questioned about it. Albeit natural for a son to protect his mother, that wasn't the reason behind it.

He had lived three years in that house, being always beside Emine, either as a fragile infant or a child. Against a newborn baby, all the acts break down. Even the most cautious people would let their inner emotions go loose in presence of a weak child, who wouldn't even remember anything happening at the moment in the future. After all, what's a better time? An empty room and one with an infant both hold the same number of ears.

Surely, if she were to be a witch, I'd come to know about it by now.

That thought couldn't be more true, but the testimony of a 3-year-old boy was as much worth as that of a mad man.

Anyways, there's not anything they can find here, so everything's just fine.

A sudden sense of realization struck his mind.

Well, they found that one book I hid under my bed, but that's got nothing to do with witchery. That's how I just learned to read. The old dude seemed interested in it. He's not going to leave here with that, is he? That's just theft!

Aydem felt guilty about caring more about that book than his mother literally being accused of witchery.

But that's it. I just have to find a way to get that book back from him when their search is over. I still haven't finished it.

The book, he thought again. There was also another one, upstairs...

One look up, towards Emine's room located up the stairs, and one look down to his bandaged thumb, was enough to evoke the picture of a dark book lurking in his thoughts.

Oh no, how could I forget...

With the sound of steps coming out from Emine's room, he felt frozen in her arms, skin growing pale and eyes growing wide.

The priests came down, the elder man keeping the same hefty tome in his arms as the younger one held an enticing black book.

No, no, no! I'm an idiot! I should've hidden it somewhere safe! They've found it!

"Could please explain to us what this is?" the elder priest asked, looking at Emine.

"I don't know..." she responded, holding Aydem tightly in her embrace.

"This thing emits an evil aura," the young priest said, appearing disturbed. "I can feel darkness being emitted from within."

Opening the book, he revealed the papers soaked in blood.

"This is the work of the devil!" the old man shouted. "We found this unholy book under your bed, and you're telling us you've got nothing to do with it?"

"This... I don't know anything about it. This is the first time I've seen it!"

"Do you expect us to believe you, woman, with all the evidence that's laid out against you?"

"Look at this," he brought forth the book, "this is vividly witchery! It reeks of dark arts and sorcery!"

Emine stayed quiet, appearing as confused as the priests who kept glaring at her with their hot, furious looks.

"What is this blood over these pages? What innocent child of gods have you sacrificed to accomplish your evil goals?"

"I've not done anything of the sort! This thing doesn't belong here!"

"Silence," the old priest yelled at her, "woman! No... you wicked witch!"

Aydem could feel her grasp getting tighter on his body, stepping back from where the priests stood. Surprisingly, Alicio also looked shocked, an expression that hadn't become visible on his face on that night as long as Aydem could recall.

"Please, honors," Alicio said, "don't judge so quickly. It could be planted under her bed without she knowing about it."

"Such an honorable man," the elder man spoke, "she's threatened you, and you're still acting noble and out of good will."

"I've brought you here because I was worried of her as a fellow citizen. It could be the case that someone else has put that dark item in this place. She could be innocent. However, as I have bore witness to the threats she's given me, it's possible that she's possessed or controlled by another evil being."

"Hmm, you are indeed correct, my lord. That's definitely a possibility."

"But who could do that? There is no evidence of demonic possession. On the other hand, the evidence against her is extremely overwhelming."

"That's true. However, we're dealing with the supernatural. If the forces behind these schemes are strong, they can hide their presence and wrongfully make us convict her as a witch."

"Seems plausible to me..."

For a moment, Alicio wore a contemplative face. He then said, "Why don't we check the blood on those pages? It might belong to the demon who's controlling her."

"All right, let me see..."

The young priest touched the bloody surface of the paper, his fingers becoming bright, emitting a warm vermilion light.

That's magic! Aydem thought. It was the first time he had seen such a magical phenomenon.

Red shiny sparkles began filling the air around him, sitting on his small hand and covering his bandaged thumb.

"The blood belongs to... the child?" the elder man said. The younger one stayed silent, as did Emine, whose face had grown pale, her hands shaking while holding Aydem with her whole body quivering in place.

Following the events to that point, Aydem was scared too. All of his possible, prosperous future life could be destroyed right then, and as a child, there was nothing he could do about it. In fact, speaking out and defending himself could make the situation even worse.

Alicio was also dumbfounded. Aydem couldn't tell if that was an act or not. A long silence dominated the room, with Alicio finally starting the talk. "Ah, well, I guess we have to search harder to find who—"

The elder priest interrupted him, "I taste darkness in this blood. This child! He could be the demon you were talking about! Perhaps, it has affected the mother by planting its demonic roots in her."

"I agree," the young priest said, "there's an air associated with this child that bothers me quite a bit."

"Eh... perhaps the boy is also pos—"

Alicio's words were cut short once more, as the elder priest raised his voice.

"So this little demon has corrupted the mother's soul? Such an atrocity!"

No, no, no, no, NO! Please no! I don't want to die just yet! I'm just a child! Why is this happening to me? If I speak, they're gonna get even more suspicious. How did things get this far? Shouldn't their suspicion be focused on her? They were misled by what that evil man Alicio just said. I need a plan to get out of this situation quickly without making things worse. Yes, I know what to do. I should make it seem as if she's the witch and I'm the victim here. That's the only way!