ASDEF 10

Chapter 10

A short distance away from the village’s bustling district, there was a low hill.

If you wandered aimlessly past the low-hanging clouds and fog that shrouded the place, you would come across a small log cabin with a narrow attic on the second floor.

I had been lost in thought for a while, looking over some papers, when I started walking, my footsteps crunching on the rustling leaves.

Before long, I arrived at the cabin.

I pushed open the creaking, lid-covered door.

It was dark inside. Only a single candle was lit in the kitchen.

As I entered, about a dozen squeaking rats vanished in an instant.

Soon, Mrs. Eva came out from the kitchen to greet me, her face much brighter than it had been that morning.

“So, Sophy! You must have brought some food today, right?”

Before I could even open my mouth, she snatched my bag and opened it.

Her face crumpled upon seeing the contents.

“Who are you supposed to feed this to!”

“The owner’s been watching me like a hawk lately.”

“Ha, just look at that worthless man. Who does he think made his business successful?!”

“Something happened today, so…”

“Never mind that. Still, this should be enough to feed the younger ones.”

Mrs. Eva took the giant turtle soup I had smuggled out without the owner knowing and headed into the kitchen.

Even in the kitchen, she continued muttering her anger to herself.

“Just wait until the contract is over. I’ll get double the pay from the owner next door, move there, and make sure that bastard’s business goes under!”

I was the one doing the work, so why was this stepmother of mine always the one causing a ruckus?

I shook my head with a bitter expression.

Growl.

I hadn’t had a proper meal myself, but she didn’t seem to worry about me at all.

I felt foolish for having even the slightest expectation, so I quickly headed towards my father’s room.

I glanced sideways at Mrs. Eva, who was frantically eating the soup in the kitchen, and secretly pulled out a piece of bread from my pocket.

A piece of bread I’d received from the bakery owner across the way on my way here.

I quickly tore the bread and put it into my father’s mouth.

“Father, please eat quickly. You haven’t been able to eat properly these past few days, being outside.”

“Hack, Sophy…”

“I have my own, so don’t worry and eat.”

I clutched my growling stomach and managed a faint smile.

My father, who had been coughing continuously in front of me, looked at me with pitiful eyes.

“This worthless father only makes his child suffer. Don’t ever forgive me for this.”

“What do you mean worthless? You ended up like this because of me.”

“That was an accident.”

“How is saving me during the war an accident?”

“You… Alright. How are you these days? Regarding your memories of the past.”

“Still nothing. But you’ve already told me everything, Father. Even about the scar on my thigh.”

I pointed to my right thigh and gave an awkward smile. Of course, this too was an act to avoid any suspicion.

Truthfully, after being possessed, I often fumbled around because I couldn’t recall Sophy’s memories. Fortunately, my father attributed it to the aftereffects of the evacuation during the war and let it slide each time.

My father reached out and lightly placed his hand on mine. Then, in a very low voice, he said:

“Sophy, leave this place.”

His words made my pupils tremble.

How did he know I was thinking of doing just that…

“With your abilities, you could survive on your own even if you left here. I would understand even if you left… Hack, hack!”

“Father!”

I supported him.

Truth be told, I had thought about it. From the day I was possessed until now, in my imagination, I had run away from this place hundreds, thousands of times.

But unfortunately, every time I imagined it, the me in that imagination regretted it. Because of my sick father I couldn’t shake off, and my hungry younger siblings.

How could I leave such pitiful people behind and go alone?

Even if this was a novel, and I was just an extra with no mention, it was a matter of basic human decency.

I didn’t move an inch from my father’s side until he calmed down. Even when Mrs. Eva heard his coughing and came to berate me, I let it all go in one ear and out the other.

Only after my father had fallen asleep did I quietly rise and head to the narrow attic on the second floor.

A windowless room covered in dust.

I sat down right there. And Daniel’s proposal came to mind again.

‘If you accept the contract, come to Burston Station on the first train tomorrow morning.’

If I were to leave this place, I wouldn’t see my father or siblings for at least a year.

“Snap out of it. Does my being here even make things better?”

Thinking about it again, this wasn’t something I needed to agonize over.

I hurriedly found what little candle remained and lit it. Then I took out some paper and carefully wrote a letter.

—

[Father, I’ve found work at a very nice house and will be staying there for about a year. They say I’ll have a warm place to sleep and all the delicious food I can eat.

Once I get my pay, I’ll be sure to send it here.

Whatever you do, don’t give the money to Stepmother when you receive it. This is a secret, but Stepmother already took six months’ worth of my salary in advance and spent it on gambling.

For the sake of the children, please, if at all possible, cut ties with Stepmother quickly.]

I looked at the letter with a satisfied gaze, then folded it neatly and set it aside.

I resolved to secretly give it to my father at dawn the next day before I left.

A carriage stopped in front of Burston Station in the clear, fresh morning air.

The carriage door opened, and Daniel, wearing a grey frock coat, slowly stepped out, revealing his brown enamel leather shoes.

With his handsome, unruffled, and neat appearance, passersby couldn’t help but steal glances at him.

Behind him, a butler around his age, who was taller than Daniel, followed closely.

Willie, with his amiable looks and a bow tie that suited him well, kept glancing at his master’s mood.

“Master, do you really think she will come? I mean, the young lady. It was an unreasonable request, after all.”

In response to Willie’s question, Daniel gave no answer, only looking at the empty train station.

As Willie said, he had made an unreasonable request of her. He had proposed out of the blue without considering the risks she would have to endure, so it would be difficult for her to easily accept.

Willie spoke cautiously, a worried look on his face.

“Even if the young lady does come, I’m worried about how we’ll deceive His Lordship and Miss Elisa’s eyes. It was only possible last time because the meeting was short.”

“…”

“This is why I opposed it, sir. If you had just pushed for marriage with a plausible young lady, we wouldn’t have these worries. I wonder if it was a mistake to accept the Fiels family’s request…”

As Willie continued to chatter endlessly, Daniel finally lowered his gaze to look at him.

“Rather than that, the biggest problem is that you figured out the plan. For someone who’s usually so clueless.”

At his master’s sharp gaze, cold sweat trickled down Willie’s forehead.

But soon, he stiffly raised his head and placed his hand on his chest.

“How could you say such a hurtful thing? The one who helped divert suspicion by constantly praising the young lady to His Lordship was me, you know.”

“Father just thinks you know me quite well.”

“Thinks? Anyway. According to information from His Lordship’s personal maid, after Miss Fiels left, he summoned the head butler and immediately ordered an investigation into the Fiels family.”

“I figured.”

Unlike the excited Willie, Daniel didn’t move his gaze from the train station, as if he had expected this development.

“You had prepared for it, so it went smoothly, but since that day, he’s been interrogating only me endlessly, you know? Asking, in short, why I brought that young lady.”

“He’s a man with too much time on his hands.”

“His Lordship never liked Miss Helé from the start. And he’s always worried that you might get into trouble because of the Saintess candidate who has to participate in perilous battles.”