episode_0054

The rain poured down.

The sky had now turned completely dark.

I went to the aristocratic district.

I read the signboard and headed towards a place called Robert’s.

Between large mansions.

At the end of the street, there was a house so large and beautiful it defied comparison.

It was vast and grand enough to be called a palace.

The crest of a white wolf was visible.

The name engraved beneath it.

‘Robert’.

This was it, Robert-nim’s mansion… the one I had been invited to.

“……”

I peered inside through the thin iron bars.

Countless people were gathered in the garden.

They wore black clothes and dresses, holding black umbrellas.

They were speaking something in solemn voices.

Thud. Thud.

A group of knights came, carrying something.

It was a coffin.

“You there! Come out right now!”

The guards protecting the mansion rushed towards me.

The coffin lid slowly opened.

Though I was far away, I wanted to watch until the very end.

The final moments of the Knight-nim who had been kind to me.

The guards roughly pushed me away.

I gripped the iron bars tightly and resisted.

“Robert-nim…!”

But I couldn’t see his final appearance.

The guards picked me up and threw me into a puddle of water collected on the street.

Splash!

My clothes were completely soaked.

The guards spat at me, saying they wouldn’t leave me alone if they saw me again.

The rain poured down.

The rain intensified.

I walked aimlessly through the streets.

People stared at me with strange eyes.

It hurt.

My chest felt as though it had been pierced, and I wept profusely.

The cold rain simply washed them away.

“Extra! Extra!”

In the middle of the street, a boy was selling newspapers.

No one wanted to buy a newspaper, as people were sheltering from the rain.

“Excuse me…”

“Yes. It’s 10 silver!”

“Is it… true that the tribute convoy was annihilated?”

“……”

The boy looked down at me with a cold expression.

“Among the dead… were there any women?”

“Buy the newspaper and see for yourself. It’s 10 silver.”

He didn’t answer.

He just told me to buy the newspaper.

I rummaged through my pockets.

The bar’s guards had taken all the gold coins but left the silver ones.

Exactly 6 silver.

This was the last of the money I had left.

“This is all I have…”

When I handed him the 6 silver, the boy clicked his tongue.

I barely managed to receive a newspaper, almost completely soaked in rainwater.

I unfolded the wet paper.

The ink was smudged, but I could read a little.

[Tribute Convoy Annihilated. Acquisition Ceremony Canceled. Estimated Minimum Damages: 111,052 Gold, 76 Silver, 86 Copper. Below, Tribute List…]

The entire newspaper was filled with details about what items comprised the tribute.

Each item was listed with its monetary equivalent.

Even a single apple from Goldburg.

However, there was no mention of ‘people’.

Only Robert-nim’s name and a few soldiers under his command were listed as dead.

How many casualties there were, whether they were male or female.

None of that was noted.

The only thing the newspaper meticulously detailed was the amount of damage.

Or the losses incurred due to the cancellation of the acquisition ceremony.

Crunch!

I crumpled the newspaper and threw it onto the ground.

The rain continued for a long time.

I squatted at the edge of the eaves.

Robert-nim’s face came to mind.

I recalled the memory of us riding white horses together, galloping across the plains.

The butter and hardtack we shared.

And even the honest feelings he had confided.

I remembered all the faces of the courtesan unnies.

Madam. Eilli Unnie.

We all spent the nights laughing together, relying on each other as we followed the tribute convoy.

Everyone had a dream.

They had said they wanted to get jobs as maids upon arriving in Deseo.

They said if they earned a lot of money, they wanted to open their own shops.

Robert-nim had invited me to his mansion.

If I had accepted that invitation, I could have had tea with Robert-nim, talked about my Teacher-nim, and heard tales of the glorious knight’s exploits on the battlefields of old.

However, their dreams had withered.

Everyone had died.

They remained in this empty heart.

Only I remembered.

“……”

I lifted my head.

The news of the tribute convoy’s annihilation had spread.

But Deseo had not changed in the slightest.

The cackling of an unknown courtesan with a man.

The lewd moans emanating from the lodging.

The snores of a beggar collapsed in the alleyway.

The tired footsteps of men with slumped shoulders heading to work.

No one in the city knew of their deaths, nor did they care to know, nor did they try to remember.

The more terrifying and cold reality was…

That the very people who had been ‘alive’ just a few days ago… were now buried beneath numbers that assigned value to the tribute, their names not even known.

“Ritsu.”

I clutched my necklace tightly.

I miss you. I miss you so much.

Hold me and comfort me.

I want to be held in Ritsu’s warm embrace and act childishly.

I missed Breezedon.

If I had wings, I’d fly back to my hometown right now.

“Mom…”

I took out Mom’s keepsake, Rose Shabelle, and hugged it.

It was the only piece of metal I could lean on.

If I didn’t lean my body against this sturdy iron, I felt I would collapse from exhaustion.

I was so cold, hungry, and exhausted.

The beggars who came one by one to escape the rain seemed to be in the same situation.

They lay haphazardly on the ground, curling up their bodies.

They looked at me strangely, but soon lost interest.

After all, everyone on this ground was in the same plight.

“Haa…”

I rested my head on the sword wedged between my legs and fell into a deep sleep.

***

Clatter-clatter.

I opened my eyes to the sound of a carriage passing by on the street.

It was morning.

The rain that had poured all night long had finally stopped.

I got up.

Somehow, my body felt lighter than usual.

Feeling an emptiness, I looked down and finally realized.

“……Huh?”

It wasn’t there.

Rose Shabelle.

The weight I always carried at my waist was gone.

I had clearly hugged it to my chest last night when I slept.

I scanned my surroundings.

It wasn’t there.

I overturned wooden barrels and searched the entire alleyway.

It wasn’t there.

“…No.”

Just before falling asleep, there had been many vagrants around.

They were people who had gathered to escape the rain.

In that case…

“No… Please tell me it’s not true…”

I shook my head violently, not wanting to believe it.

A suffocating feeling rose up to my throat.

Someone stole it.

My only sword… not just any sword, but the one Mom left me!

“Haa… haa…”

I ran through the streets, searching.

My breath was ragged.

I checked each person who had a sword at their waist.

No. Not that one either.

Rose Shabelle was a sword with a blade as white as snow.

Its hilt was reinforced with red iron, and its grip was wrapped in white cloth.

It was a uniquely distinctive shortsword, so I could recognize it at a glance.

…But it was nowhere to be seen.

Could they have sold it? If so, they would have sold it to a weapon shop.

I immediately ran to the weapon shop and asked if anyone had sold a shortsword.

Everyone shook their heads.

No one at the blacksmith’s knew anything either.

“Please…”

Gritting my teeth, I searched throughout the entire city.

I went to the guard post and reported the theft, but they paid no attention.

They merely replied that they might look into it if I paid around 30 gold.

The sun set with no progress.

I returned to the alleyway.

I leaned on my knees and caught my breath.

“…It’s gone.”

Could I have been mistaken?

Perhaps… it might still be there.

Or some kind person might have put it back.

I returned with such hopes.

But it wasn’t there.

“Ah…”

Only now did the reality sink in.

That I would never find that sword again.

Because I was so foolish.

I realized I had lost Mom’s keepsake forever.

Thud.

I leaned against a wooden barrel as if collapsing.

I hadn’t eaten anything all day.

My throat was also terribly dry.

Rain from the night before still pooled on top of the rotten wooden barrel.

Without thinking, I put my mouth to the pooled water and quenched my thirst.

Now I had nothing left to lose.

I simply lay down on the ground and closed my eyes.

***

The next day.

My stomach ached as if it were tearing.

I couldn’t work.

Though I hadn’t intended to work from the start.

I had absolutely no strength, so I spent the entire day lying on the roadside.

That was the best I could do.

When I came to my senses, Ritsu was standing before me.

“Ritsu?”

Ritsu didn’t say anything, but seemed very angry.

“Ritsu, I’m sorry… Are you angry, Ritsu… is that why you’re giving me this trial? Because I made a mistake. If only I hadn’t dragged you in there… right?”

I begged Ritsu.

“I’m sorry. So please save me. Save me…”

Ritsu didn’t answer.

Only turned his back and walked away somewhere.

I didn’t even have the strength to hold on.

That night.

It rained again.

Vagrants walked into the alleyway.

They said something to me.

I didn’t want to listen.

“Have some.”

They held out something to me, curled up as I was.

A fragrant scent.

A scent so good it could drive one mad.

It was bread.

I snatched it and immediately put it in my mouth.

They gave me more bread, as if amused.

I took it all and chewed it.

“Heh heh… you eat well.”

“Why are you in a place like this? A young kid.”

“Were you abandoned?”

I nodded.

The men laughed.

“We’re all in the same boat. We’ve all been abandoned by the city. It must have been hard for you. I understand.”

As they spoke, they reached out and stroked my hair.

“Come on, forget all your troubles now. Let’s enjoy ourselves together, alright?”

The hand traced down my neck to my shoulder.

I shifted my gaze.

All the other people were looking down at me.

“Good girl, aren’t you?”

A sinister laugh.

Gleaming eyes.

I tried to raise my arm to push his hand away.

“……?!”

My body wouldn’t move.

The bread I was holding also fell to the ground.

It was as if my body had become rigid…

When I lost my balance and fell, a beggar supported me.

A foul stench wafted strongly.

“Oh dear. You’re weak. Heh heh… That drug really worked.”

“Heh heh…”

They grabbed my pants.

They tried to forcefully undress me.

I wanted to scream, but no sound came out.

They covered my mouth and pulled out a small knife beside my neck.

“Just enjoy it quietly. Don’t resist.”

The man grabbed my shirt and roughly tore it.

Rip!

The moment my chest was exposed before them.

I bit hard into the finger covering my mouth.

Crunch!

“Aargh—!!”

I have to live.

“H-help me!”

I screamed with all my might.

I quickly stood up.

I felt heavy. I didn’t know what drug they had given me, but my limbs felt like they were filled with sand.

“Quick, grab that bitch!”

The vagrants rushed at me.

I swung my clenched fist hard at the face of the man who ran at me.

Thwack!

One was hit and fell back.

Immediately after, a man swung a knife.

Thrust!

“……!”

A hot sensation pierced my skin.

When the embedded knife was pulled out, warm blood streamed down my left arm.

The startled vagrant dropped the knife.

“Ah, no… this is…”

“Damn it! It’s the guards! Run!”

Suddenly, guards burst into the alley.

The men frantically fled to the opposite street.

“Ah…”

Bright red blood bloomed in drops on the rain-soaked ground.

I took out a bandage from my belt.

The bandage imbued with Ritsu’s blood.

I had no choice but to use even this.

I tightly wrapped it around my left arm, tied a knot, picked up the dropped knife, and cut the end.

It’s dangerous here. I have to… I have to go somewhere else quickly.

I staggered to a corner of the city.

People murmured as they saw me.

Finally, I reached the base of the city wall.

There was no one here.

It was hard to control my body, so I collapsed to the ground.

The effects of the drug were still coursing through my body.

“Haa…”

Unable to move a muscle.

My eyes slowly closed.