Imprisoned to Love You [Edited]

♦⊱ Chapter 4 - Stranger ⊰♦

Ruka pov:

I wiped the sweat off my brow with the back of my hand as I planted seedlings in the wet ground. It was noon and the sun was directly overhead. The sun wasn't harsh since the winter season was starting to set in but it was enough to make sweat drip down the sides of my face.

The cold was more noticeable in the evenings. We had to put on extra layers of clothes to keep warm and keep the chill out of our bones. Well, I wasn't really too bothered by the weather because I enjoyed cool weather. I found it to be pleasant and perfect for reading a good book while drinking something hot.

A whole year had gone by since I came to this time period. I had given up on any hopes of going home and accustomed myself to the lifestyle here, even liking it quite a bit. I suppose it was even fine to say that I had become one amongst those of this village, a replica of them in many ways. I still missed home every now and then but it wasn't as painful as before.

Working in the fields and doing house chores had become easier. I assume my endurance had got better thanks to the routine and I didn't feel all that tired after all the work I had done over the day. I had also become a better cook, having learnt many dishes from Lady Kana. There were even times when I took care of cooking from start to finish by myself when Lady Kana was busy with other cleaning or tending to unwell villagers who came to her for treatment.

My hair had grown out to reach my hips now and I hadn't bothered to cut it. I quite liked the way it looked, actually. I usually wore it as a long braid, sometimes a ponytail and other times tied only half and left the rest open. I kept it in a braid when I worked in the fields though, so it didn't get in the way. I had received compliments from Lady Kana that I had become more beautiful, a fine young woman in her eyes. Her words had flustered me but also made me happy.

Close to nine months ago, most of the men from the village had left to fight in the war. It was not only hard to send people we cared about into danger but managing many things became difficult due to the lack of men with good physical strength. I was especially sad that Tomo kun had left since I had become rather attached to him. His presence had been reassuring to me and important, enough to feel like a part of me was being taken away when he left.

Perhaps if he was going away for only a few days, I might not have felt so uneasy but the fact that he was going to a war from where he might not ever return had filled me with more sadness and worry. It was a question of life and death, and with no way to contact them to know if they were still alive or not...it was something that left me feeling terribly uneasy. I thought of him often and prayed for his safety and the safety of all the other people fighting in the war.

Even though we were in the dark about the people of our village, we had received good news that our armies had been able to reclaim one province so our emperor had three provinces under his rule now. However, the damage the province had suffered under the rule of Lord Kurai was devastating. Many villages were suffering in poverty now, their houses destroyed, their agriculture lands dry and dead, and many tormented by illnesses.

It seemed that Lord Kurai was only interested in power and domination, wanting to rule all the lands he could conquer. Well, there were several villages that still flourished under his dictating rule, bringing in wealth and high standards of living for all its residents through business and trade. But it was not right of him to neglect the smaller villages in the provinces he ruled. They were important too and deserved a prosperous life too. Didn't the concept of 'little drops make a mighty ocean' apply here too?

Besides, each and every village, no matter how small surely had people capable of bringing prosperity in one form or another. Perhaps business and trade were the most important means of prosperity but even handicrafts, pottery, animal husbandry, and so many other small-scale occupations could bring prosperity if done right. And agriculture was the most important occupation of all – it was the only means of food in this time where storage and transport of goods to and from other countries across oceans wasn't possible without the food spoiling. Agriculture had to be given a lot of importance and it began in smaller villages that Lord Kurai was neglecting.