Chapter 47
Donghui carefully looked over the tailors lined up before her, standing in a neat row like students waiting to have their homework checked.
They ranged in age from their mid-teens to early twenties, and after such a long journey, they all looked thoroughly exhausted.
Dark circles drooped all the way down to their cheekbones, as if they might fall asleep the moment their heads touched a pillow—yet the worry brimming in their eyes was impossible to hide.
The eight young tailors studied the young lord standing before them with anxious expressions.
“Why? Are you worried you’ll end up working hard for nothing and not even get paid?”
At the lord’s blunt question, the eight round heads dropped in unison, as if on cue.
Donghui had no intention of scolding them.
If she were in their shoes, her own steps to this place would also have been weighed down by anxiety.
They’d probably chosen to come to Grace Territory as a last resort, clutching at straws because there was nowhere else willing to take them.
That straw, I’ll turn into a golden lifeline for you.
After once more taking in the tailors’ faces—dry and lifeless as parched straw—Donghui turned to Handsome.
“You’ve come a long way, so rest well today and start work tomorrow. Honestly, I’d like to give you until the day after tomorrow, but as you know, winter is coming fast. If you don’t hurry, the children will be very cold.”
She thought that there was no point in giving them a long explanation now—they wouldn’t believe it anyway—so she decided to just let them rest for the time being.
Watching them awkwardly bow their heads, still trying to gauge the situation, she smiled brightly and turned to leave.
That was when it happened.
“Aaaahhh!”
A sudden scream rang out, and everyone nearby whipped their heads toward the source of the noise.
“What’s going on?!”
The first to react were the knights who had come along with the baggage carts.
They had made it here without incident, and now, right at the end, something seemed to have gone wrong.
“T-There’s a corpse in that bag!”
“What?”
The coachman, who had driven the cart loaded with the tailors’ luggage, pointed with trembling fingers.
Only then did one of the knights notice a small arm poking out from between the large bags. In an instant, he vaulted up onto the cart.
All eyes fixed on the half-open bag.
The knight swept a sharp gaze over the tailors, quickly picking out a girl whose face had gone just as pale as the supposed corpse. He gestured to a nearby knight, who immediately forced the trembling girl to her knees. The knight atop the cart flung open the bag completely.
Thud!
The old bag split apart like a ripe watermelon at the slightest touch.
Instead of baggage, out rolled what looked like the body of a boy of about five years old. No—what everyone thought was a corpse suddenly blinked groggily, as if just waking up, then caught sight of an armored knight glaring down at him and let out a wail.
“Waaaaah! Noonaaaaaa!”
The scrawny boy had a surprisingly strong set of lungs.
The moment he cried, the kneeling girl collapsed forward, pressing her forehead to the ground as she pleaded desperately.
“Please, just this once—please forgive me. I couldn’t possibly leave my brother behind. I knew I wasn’t supposed to… but please, have mercy.”
She shook like a sinner awaiting execution, hands clasped tightly together.
Donghui instantly grasped the situation and gave an order to the knight who was standing there looking dumbfounded.
“Bring the child here.”
“Huuuuh! I’m sorry! Please don’t punish my noona!”
Even now, the boy’s first concern was for his sister.
When the knight lifted him down from the cart, the girl stopped crying at once and looked between her brother and the knight, eyes wide with fear.
“You too, come here.”
Donghui beckoned to the tear-streaked girl.
She shot to her feet and rushed over to where the knight was holding her brother. The boy leaned toward her, reaching out his thin arms as far as he could.
When the knight glanced at Donghui as if for permission, she nodded.
In an instant, the boy was in his sister’s arms. He buried his face in her bony shoulder and trembled, still crying.
The girl hugged him tightly, murmuring reassurance.
“It’s okay. I’ll protect you. It’s okay.”
Her voice shook like that of a frightened lamb, sounding anything but okay.
“Is he your brother?”
Donghui asked as gently as she could. The two clung to each other as if they were the only ones left in the world.
Thinking of how they must have spent the whole journey in constant fear of being discovered made Donghui’s chest ache.
“I’m truly sorry. I wasn’t trying to deceive you, my lord. I’ll do anything you tell me—just please, let my brother live here with me.”
The girl’s tears fell freely as she pressed her forehead to the ground.
“Alright.”
“…What?”
“I said alright. So stop groveling.”
The girl could only nod, stunned by the unexpected reply. There was no time to think about whether this behavior was disrespectful—she clung to that sliver of hope like a lifeline.
“Steward!”
“Yes, my lord.”
Handsome, who had been keeping an eye on things, stepped forward immediately.
“For this girl—what’s your name?”
“…Julia, my lord,” the girl answered in a husky voice before Donghui could finish.
“And your brother?”
“Eugene.”
“That’s a lovely name.”
Donghui smiled softly, stroking the boy’s thin back. He clung to his sister like a barnacle, smelling strongly of sweat and urine from hiding in that bag.
“Steward, give Julia and Eugene their own room so they can live together. Bathe the boy and get him into clean clothes before he catches something.”
“Yes! At once!”
Handsome, moved by the sight of the siblings, answered with genuine enthusiasm.
“T-Then… we can…”
“You’ll live here while you work. Together with your brother.”
“Th-thank you, my lord… Thank you so much!”
Julia’s shoulders shook as she sobbed, unable to wipe away her tears.
The tailors followed the handsome steward with hesitant, half-believing steps.
They were led to rooms once used by the old staff. Expecting around twenty people, Donghui had prepared ten rooms in advance, so there was no shortage.
The tailors were delighted with the clean, spacious accommodations.
Each room had an arched window with two beds on either side, plus a dresser for personal belongings.
The furniture wasn’t new, but it had been polished and maintained so well there was no inconvenience at all.
Two people shared each room, with most pairing off with friends they had made on the journey.
The oldest-looking tailor had a room to himself, and Julia and Eugene, thanks to Donghui’s kindness, got to share one as well.
“Wow! I really get to sleep here?”
Eugene had already asked the same question ten times, unable to believe it.
Julia beamed and nodded for the tenth time.
“That’s right! You don’t have to hide anymore! We can live here now.”
She herself had pinched her cheeks several times, trying to convince herself it wasn’t a dream. But every time, they stung—and before her was her freshly washed, neatly dressed little brother, smiling brightly.
“I love these clothes too. They’re so soft when you touch them.”
Donghui had given Eugene a few sets of the leftover clothes meant for the children of the territory. Eugene had never worn anything so fine, and at first, afraid they might wear out, he walked with his legs spread like a crab, making everyone laugh.
“Noona, are you crying?”
Eugene peered at her face with concern.
Julia quickly turned away, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
“No. I’m not.”
She smiled broadly, but more hot tears slid down her cheeks regardless.
“Noona, don’t cry, okay?”
The big eyes that had been sparkling with joy just moments ago now brimmed with tears.
“Okay. I won’t. I won’t cry.”
Julia was learning for the first time that sometimes, you could cry even when you were happy.
Julia had exceptional skill with her hands.
But at just fifteen years old, with no parents and a younger brother to care for, finding work was nearly impossible.
Eugene was a quiet child for his age, but his body was frail from not having been properly fed as a baby.
When his fever spiked, he sometimes suffered seizures, forcing Julia to drop everything and run to the clinic with him on her back. The first employer or two had been understanding, but when it kept happening, their patience wore thin. Time after time, she had been thrown out without receiving even half of the wages she had earned.
After going two days without food, she spotted the recruitment notice—and her eyes lit up.
Though the ad never mentioned bringing family, Grace was far too far away to leave her brother behind.
She had no one she could trust with him, and the thought of sending him to an orphanage was worse than death.
She sold the only winter coat she owned and bought a large, battered bag, along with hardtack and a water flask.
Afraid he might suffocate, she punched holes in the bag. Whenever the cart stopped along the way, she secretly climbed up to check on him.
Surprisingly, no one paid them much attention, and later, he was able to hide among the other baggage. But as they neared Grace Castle, she tucked him back inside the bag—only to be discovered at the last moment.
Now, all that seemed like a distant dream.
What mattered was that her brother would no longer be treated like excess baggage.
Here, he could live in safety and warmth.
And for the siblings, their happiness was only just beginning.
