Chapter 7
Bang!!
“The mother and child are the same. Damn it!”
Count Neibel slammed the door open so hard it nearly broke and stormed away, stomping his feet. Watching from a little distance, Rigel glared at the man’s back while cursing quietly. Then he turned his eyes toward the half-open door. Inside, sitting on the sofa, was the girl who had just spoken to the count. Rigel recalled their conversation.
“My mother always said, being old is not something to brag about.”
“…What?”
“She said what matters is how you grow old. To be mature, you have to follow some rules. Don’t boast about your age, don’t talk down to people just because they’re young, don’t always talk about money, and don’t shout without reason.”
“You… are you saying that to me?”
“Of course not. My mother just said there are many adults who don’t act their age. And listening to every word from such people isn’t always right. Ah, but this has nothing to do with the noble and mature Count Neibel. Your words are always right. How could a child like me interfere in adults’ matters?”
The girl shook her head with a playful, guilty face, as if truly apologizing.
“What you said today, Count, I’ll be sure to tell my mother. Every word of it.”
That was the end of it. For some reason, just hearing the word mother made the angry count suddenly calm down. After that, he still shouted a few times, but it wasn’t like before. Finally, unable to hold his temper, he jumped up and stormed off.
‘He thought she’d bow her head and stay down…’ Rigel thought.
The girl didn’t stab with sharp words. She scratched softly, in a way the other person wouldn’t notice right away—until later, when he realized he’d been mocked. Looking straight at him and saying exactly what she wanted left a deep impression on Rigel.
“Kik-kik—”
Hearing laughter inside, Rigel turned his head. The girl was grinning like a mischievous child, as if the whole thing was just a game of tag.
“What are you doing there?”
The voice came from behind. Rigel froze. Two guards of the Kalstadt estate, lightly armed but carrying swords, were walking toward him.
“What are you looking at?”
“Isn’t he that kid? The one the viscountess brought in….”
“Oh, the slave?”
The guards chuckled. A slave wandering freely around Kalstadt castle was unthinkable to them. But since his owner was a noble, they couldn’t just treat him carelessly.
Still, Rigel’s body stiffened. Even though he had done nothing wrong, he remembered the cruel people who had abused him before. He stepped back, his sharp eyes glaring at the guards.
“What’s in your hand? A handkerchief?”
“Slaves don’t carry things like that. Looks stolen. Maybe the young lady’s?”
“…She gave it to me.”
“Young lady gave you a handkerchief? You expect us to believe that?”
The guards laughed.
“This is why slaves are useless. Bad habits. Give them a little kindness, and they steal.”
“I didn’t steal it.”
“Yeah, right.”
One of the guards frowned at Rigel’s sharp eyes.
“Look at him. He’s glaring. Should we fix his manners before the viscountess comes back?”
“Calm down, we’re on duty.”
“Calm down? Slaves never know their place. Look at those eyes. If he stole, he should bow and beg, not glare.”
The first guard seemed to hate slaves more than most.
“Trash like this are rotten from birth. His mother must’ve been the same—filthy slave blood.”
Rigel tried to ignore the insults, but that last part made his blood boil.
“That’s too much…” the other guard muttered.
“Take it back,” Rigel said.
The guard laughed and grabbed Rigel by the collar, lifting him.
“What did you say?”
Even while being held up, Rigel’s eyes grew sharper, as if ready to bite.
“You’re a slave. A slave who even tried to bite his owner. And you dare look at me with those eyes? Look down!”
“Stop it,” the other guard said.
“Stop what? He’s a slave acting cocky. I’m teaching him.”
The guard sneered.
“Even his mother must have thrown him away. Who would keep such trash?”
“Shut up…” Rigel growled.
“What was that? Say it again.”
The guard leaned his ear close, mocking.
“I said shut up!!”
Rigel sank his teeth into the guard’s ear.
“Aaaghhh!!”
The guard screamed, dropping him. Rigel hit the ground, scrambled up, and ran. But his small body couldn’t outrun a grown man. In seconds, he was caught again, lifted by the neck.
“This brat bit me! That’s self-defense!”
“Let me go!!”
“Stop, he belongs to the viscountess! What if you hurt him?”
“She’ll understand if I give him one punch. He bit me!”
The other guard, used to scenes like this, gave up and walked away.
Rigel still glared fiercely, which only made the angry guard worse. He raised his fist.
“One punch. That’s all.”
But then, he froze. He heard a calm, curious voice.
“That punch—you were going to throw it with that fist?”
Both guards turned. A pair of red jewel-like eyes shone from nearby.
“M-Milady?”
Elena smiled sweetly.
“Go ahead. Show me. I really want to see how you’ll do it.”
Later…
“Forgive us, young lady.”
The captain of the guards, Lorend, bowed his head. Behind him, the two guards had been disarmed and were trembling as they bent low.
I glanced at Rigel, who was covered in a blanket, head bowed. Just earlier, I had been proud of myself for defeating greedy Count Neibel in a battle of words, thinking I could be like Mother. But then I saw the guards chasing Rigel, grabbing his neck, ready to punch a child with no guilt at all.
‘…Strange.’
Mother always said the world was beautiful. Rainbows after the rain, children laughing in the square, parents loving their kids. But what I just saw was nothing like that.
Was this really a beautiful world? Or had I just been a fool who only knew books?
“Elena.”
I looked up. My teacher, Erkiel, was standing over me with a gentle smile.
“These are not things you should face yet.”
He always knew what I was thinking. He had raised me and taught me more than my parents. His words calmed my confusion.
“I’ll take care of the guards. Please just look after the boy.”
Erkiel was the kind of man who always carried my burdens.
“No. I’ll do it.”
I had to. I was a Kalstadt. I had trained since I was five for this. Even if I was only ten, I could do my duty.
“As acting representative, I order this: the guard who tried to use violence is dismissed. The one who ignored it and walked away is suspended without pay for three months.”
“What? But young lady, they didn’t actually…”
“They didn’t?”
Lorend flinched. If I hadn’t stepped in, Rigel would’ve been hit. The guard acted too naturally, as if it wasn’t the first time.
“They didn’t do nothing. They simply couldn’t—because I stopped them.”
“Still, young lady, the boy behaved suspiciously. He even bit one of them. It was an accident caused by that.”
“I appreciate their work, but they went too far.”
“Please reconsider. If you punish them so harshly, the guards may lose their will to act.”
I watched Lorend. He clearly wanted to protect his men. Admirable, in a way.
“Captain Lorend.”
“Yes, young lady.”
“You say this now because I made the decision. If my mother had given the same order, would you have argued as much?”
“…What?”
The thought that he was ignoring me just because I was a child sank deep into my heart.
“Captain, tell me honestly.”
I tilted my head and smiled softly.
“Do you think I called you here because I needed your help?”
