Chapter 13
“The soup tastes really good. Eat it before it gets cold.”
I awkwardly smiled, hiding the back of my hand that still tingled from where his lips had touched it. Sir Barren nodded shyly, a small smile on his face.
What is happening right now? Could it be that I somehow got involved with a paladin?
I leaned against the closed door in the hallway, dazed. I could feel my heart beating a little faster.
Yes… this is it. This is exactly the kind of romance fantasy I’d been hoping for.
“But… dating a paladin is a bit…”
…difficult, isn’t it? I pressed my chest to calm my pounding heart. From somewhere came a sound like rushing water, a soothing, flowing noise.
“…Rain?”
Looking at the arched window at the end of the hallway, rain was pouring down. Now that I noticed, it was darker than it had been before I entered Sir Barren’s room.
Maybe the heat outside is finally subsiding. I watched the thick raindrops tap against the window before turning my head.
“Umm… Marie unnie, what are you doing there?”
Hearing someone, I looked back to see Rita standing with the rabbit doll I had given her, rubbing her eyes. Her small belly poked out slightly, probably from enjoying the meal.
“Rita, are you sleepy?”
“Yes…”
The child, now freed from extreme circumstances, looked completely peaceful. Seeing her like this, I couldn’t help but smile genuinely for the first time in a while.
“Alright, then how about a nap? You must be exhausted from everything so far.”
“Hehe. Okay!”
As we passed Sir Barren’s bedroom, Rita stretched out her tiny hand. Naturally, we held hands and headed toward my room.
The downpour that started in the afternoon continued into the next day. I, too, must have been slightly tense from welcoming new companions, because I slept deeply through the night without waking even once.
“Are you awake?”
While I was still enjoying the drowsy feeling of not being fully awake, Rita, who had woken up earlier than me, came running over.
“Yes. Did you sleep well?”
“Yes, thanks to you. But this house is really strange. Until yesterday, I was searching for drinking water among the ashes, and now I can bathe in hot water…”
“That’s because it’s enchanted. My father had anticipated that a day like this would come.”
I patted Rita’s head and spoke the words I had read in my journal. Her violet eyes sparkled as she looked around.
“Unnie, I’ll do my best. Please don’t chase me away from here.”
“Oh my, who would chase you away? You’re practically my little sister now.”
This wasn’t some meaningless game of playing family. Having lost all my parents before even graduating college, I had longed for a family of my own.
When I was little, I used to beg my mother to give me a younger sibling. Somehow, in another world, I ended up with one.
“I’ll follow Marie unnie like you were my real sister. Please take care of me.”
Rita bowed politely. Somehow, her manners seemed like the survival skills of someone raised in the apocalypse.
But surely a child this young wouldn’t think that cunningly. After surviving a bizarre world and experiencing countless things, I had learned to doubt even the smallest gestures.
Speaking of which, yesterday Rita had cried out, “Mom, unnie!” I couldn’t bring myself to ask after her family’s wellbeing when I had gone outside briefly.
“By the way, it’s raining a lot today too.”
“It’s so strange. Until yesterday it was suffocatingly hot… but today it feels chilly.”
Rita hugged her rabbit doll tightly, shivering. The mansion was wonderful in many ways, but the lack of modern heating was noticeable.
Well, considering the yard outside had collapsed and we were living in such an intact house, I really shouldn’t complain.
“Cold? Should we put on some outerwear?”
I ruffled my messy hair and rummaged through the wardrobe. Stepping out of bed, I shivered from the chill in the hallway and grabbed two cardigans—one for Rita, one for myself.
“You need to get up too, little one. No sleeping in.”
“Rita, will this fit you?”
Rita was scolding the cat that had burrowed deep into the blankets, sticking only its head out. The cat yawned defiantly and snuggled even deeper into the covers.
“Oh, come on!”
I draped a bright yellow cardigan over Rita’s shoulders. Its sleeves reached her forearms, so it should fit well enough.
“Wow! Unnie, this color is so pretty! The red cardigan suits you too.”
“How cute.”
“Hehe.”
Is this how it feels to have a little sister? The bleakness and despair I had felt when I first woke here had completely vanished.
Feeling slightly hungry, I held Rita’s hand and stepped out of the bedroom.
Rumble.
No sooner had we closed the door than a flash of lightning lit the sky, followed by the delayed roar of thunder.
“Ah! Scared me!”
Rita clung to my side, frightened. Unlike the warm bedroom, the hallway suddenly felt like winter.
Is this what the apocalypse is like? The temperature changing so drastically overnight…
“Good morning, butler grandpa.”
I greeted Eugene Grandpa, who was emerging from an empty room with a broom.
“Good morning, Miss Marie. Thanks to you, I was able to sleep comfortably on a soft bed last night.”
“That’s good. But what were you doing?”
“Since you allowed me to use the extra room yesterday… I was cleaning. After all, the archbishop couldn’t very well stay in the same room as us, could he?”
Grandpa laughed awkwardly. Even so, the archbishop himself was probably the one insisting on a separate room.
“The archbishop asks for too much, even as a guest.”
“He was even mentioned as the next cardinal before the world became a firestorm…”
“And he doesn’t even have holy power, right?”
Grandpa laughed it off, unwilling to directly insult the archbishop. But just then, cutting through the rain, a commotion erupted somewhere.
“What’s that sound?”
“It sounds like the archbishop…”
As soon as we heard it, we ran down the stairs.
“Should beasts even live in the same space as humans? Drive them out immediately and light a fire in the fireplace! Ugh, the smell of animals makes it unbearable! And why has it gotten so cold? Hmph!”
The exact location was the parlor next to the entrance. The horses, sensing our presence, whinnied pitifully.
But why was the archbishop causing such a ruckus first thing in the morning? Weren’t those horses brought by him?
They were smart enough to even relieve themselves in the greenhouse, instinctively knowing their waste would become valuable fertilizer.
“Hey, servant! Are your ears blocked?”
The parlor door was wide open, so we could observe the scene. The archbishop, standing in the center of the spacious room, apron and headdress on, was scolding Killian, who was dusting.
Killian, however, completely ignored him as if he didn’t exist.
“Marie?”
Killian’s face, previously expressionless while dusting, softened and his features changed, looking like a completely different person.
I had thought it before—Killian really is beautiful when he smiles. He looks terrifying when serious, though.
But the archbishop… commanding a man who looks terrifying so confidently… what is that about?
“Oh! The mistress is finally here! I have so much to say to my lady.”
The archbishop’s face shone with self-satisfied grease from his excessive rest. I tried to grimace in disgust but caught myself.
“What do you mean? But first, Killian is my exclusive servant. Please don’t try to use him at your leisure.”
“But isn’t he the only one I can command? Ahem!”
Embarrassed, the archbishop cleared his throat.
“Besides, I couldn’t sleep well last night. Sir Barren took the bed, so I had to nap curled up on the sofa.”
“And Grandpa Eugene?”
“Ah, that scrawny old man? What do I care about some lowly creature? Anyway, I’m not in good condition, so tell that servant to light the fireplace immediately.”
Some nerve… I couldn’t hide my disgust any longer and let it show.
“Enough already.”
“What did you just say?”
I sighed, about to pass the archbishop, when—
Bang!
He grabbed my wrist and slammed me against the wall.
