Chapter 35
Angel
As the day she was to leave for the Empire drew near, Sena resigned from the hotel.
She left the dormitory and, for the time being, hid herself away in an apartment in the royal capital.
Curled up beneath the covers in the apartment’s bed as if fleeing from the world, Sena drifted into memories.
The swell of her belly had grown noticeable enough that hiding it was becoming difficult.
Still uncertain whether her decision was truly the right one, the anxiety of moving to an unfamiliar land weighed heavily on her.
Her physical condition had been at its worst, but in the intervals between bouts of illness, she somehow endured by relying on the goddess’s sacred magic.
Pain, nausea, violent mood swings, and worsening health.
At first, the goddess’s miracles had shown no effect at all. But when Sena shifted her thinking—deciding she wanted to do something for the child and to prioritize the new life over herself—the miracles gradually began to help her.
She could no longer work with the same perfect health and ferocity she had before becoming pregnant, but even so, she pushed herself to keep up with the demanding duties of a cleaner.
When the time came to move into the apartment and Roasso offered to help carry her belongings, Sena shrugged apologetically and said,
“I only have one bag’s worth of things.”
“Where did you leave the rest? All that life you’ve lived.”
“Who knows? Maybe I left it somewhere I can’t really talk about.”
By the time half a year had passed, Sena had begun to grasp the proper distance between herself and Roasso.
He never sought a romantic relationship or a convenient physical one. Instead, he supported her as a workplace superior, as someone from the same homeland, as a fellow immigrant discriminated against in the Kingdom, and as a friend.
What helped her the most was that he never demanded she reveal her past.
He showed no particular interest in the history of Sena, who had emigrated from the Empire to the Kingdom while still a teenager.
Everyone carries a past of their own.
Once, after work, the two of them shared a meal together.
At that time, Roasso told her that he had married young, but his wife had passed away, and that he still loved her even now. He even took out a photograph he kept carefully tucked away in his wallet and showed it to her.
The woman in the picture had black hair much like his, tawny eyes, and an air of quiet intelligence.
Looking at the photo, Sena thought how utterly different she was from the woman she saw in the mirror every morning.
Desperate just to survive, she had always pushed aside thoughts of beauty or elegance. Her own face was perpetually worn down, devoid of even a hint of happiness.
But the woman in the photograph looked deeply content and fulfilled.
It spoke of a marriage rich in trust, a truly good relationship between husband and wife.
“She’s beautiful,” Sena said.
“Isn’t she? My wife. She still is, even now.”
“Still…?”
Unlike Sena, who couldn’t drink alcohol, Roasso was fairly drunk at the time.
Thinking it was a rather cruel question, yet wanting to test how close they had become, Sena spoke again.
“So you weren’t after me?”
“Me, after you? Don’t be ridiculous. If I’d had a child, they’d be about your age by now. If I’d had one, that is.”
“I’m sorry. That was a bad joke.”
“It’s fine. Because we’re close, there are even people at work spreading rumors that the child might be mine.”
Her breath caught in her throat.
She hadn’t realized she was causing him that much trouble.
No matter what, Sena was still just Sena. Given her age, she was already at her limit simply thinking about herself and the child growing inside her.
“I had no idea it had come to that…”
“You didn’t know, right? Just pretend you don’t. There’s no truth to it anyway. Still—”
“Still what, Roasso?”
“The world can be merciless to a woman on her own. Especially one as young as you. Whether you come with me or not—take your time and think it over. I won’t force you.”
“You’re right. I’ll think about it properly.”
If she was going to trouble even unrelated people, she felt strongly that she should leave.
The guilt of running away—from Robert, from Roasso—nearly ruined the pleasant mood of their dinner.
But he stopped her beforehand with a firm word.
“Disappearing from someone who says you’re not a burden—that’s about the cruelest betrayal there is. I’m not saying it’s betrayal exactly, but at this point, we’re accomplices in a sense. You can use me. And I’ll use you so I can return to the Empire and work there—using you as part of my job. As boss and subordinate.”
“You make it sound like a threat.”
“A threat? No. Just a bad friend. That sounds nicer, doesn’t it?”
Laughing as he said that, perhaps in good spirits, he drained another cup of alcohol.
Some men reveal all sorts of hidden natures once alcohol is involved, but Roasso was a mild one.
He wasn’t nearly as strong a drinker as he thought.
That night as well, on the ride back to the dormitory they shared, he was already breathing softly in sleep.
Somewhere along the way, Sena had begun to see traces of her late father in Roasso.
Over the course of six months, her doubts about whether she could trust him turned into certainty, and Sena left the apartment behind and returned to the Empire.
With his support, she gave birth in a hospital to a baby boy.
At first, his hair and eyes were black, but after some time they shifted to blue, and then changed again to a deep crimson.
Such hair and eye colors were rare in the Kingdom, but in the Empire it was said that those blessed by the spirits of sky and water were often born with similar traits. Because of that, Roasso paid little mind to the question of who the father was.
At the birth of the child, Roasso broke into a smile as though a grandchild of his own had been born, offering heartfelt congratulations.
Accepting his offer had truly been the right choice. From the bottom of her heart, Sena was grateful to him.
Sena named the child Dino, taking the name from her late husband.
Some time after giving birth, once her health had stabilized, Roasso honored their agreement and appointed Sena as head of the hall staff at her new workplace.
A new job, a new environment, new people, and new relationships to build.
About six years later, Dino enrolled in an elementary academy run by the temple of the war goddess Raffiné—a place deeply connected to Sena.
Dino loved to sing, and his voice was deep and richly resonant.
After joining the temple choir, he sang hymns to the goddess alongside the girls.
On a summer festival night, during a choral performance held at the temple, Dino revealed a voice as clear as crystal.
It led the gathered worshippers into a profound sense of gratitude toward the goddess.
Whether it was the price of such high praise, or the will of the goddess herself—
Ironically, by becoming known for his appearance, Dino’s existence was revealed to the royal family of the Kingdom—an existence Sena had desperately tried to keep hidden all this time.
