Chapter 9
The future in which I ran away after emptying out all of Lamia’s assets had become a little unclear. Before that, how was I supposed to avoid getting beaten to death? It probably wouldn’t even take two weeks for Nickel’s anger to cool down.
I tapped my lips lightly with one hand and fell into thought, trying to figure out how to break this deadlock. Seeing that Ian was also silent, he must have been worrying about the same thing.
Chirr, chirr…
In the meantime, the sound of summer insects briefly filled the gap.
At the end of the silence, Ian lifted his head. His eyes, reflecting the moonlight, were a dark violet—an oddly mesmerizing color. As I stared straight into them, he opened his mouth.
“First… let’s go to our place.”
Ian held out his hand. It was the first time I’d seen him show this much consideration, when he was usually so brusque.
Guess I look pretty pitiful.
And in this situation, his sympathy was welcome. After a short hesitation, I gladly took the hand he offered.
In his prickly voice, Ian asked,
“…What? Why are you smiling like that?”
I kept the answer to that question to myself.
Somehow, I felt like I’d remember this moment for a long time.
The back that stepped in front of me without hesitation, and the hand he willingly offered despite his worries.
“Just… because I’m grateful.”
“…It’s nothing.”
Even in that curt reply, Ian looked a little embarrassed.
There was a time when I’d felt a bit bitter, realizing that even in a world I’d been reborn into, I wasn’t the protagonist.
But I couldn’t help accepting his sense of justice, when he was willing to reach out even to someone like me—just an annoying girl.
You really are the protagonist I liked so much.
We walked along the forest path without talking any further. Maybe it was because of the boy striding confidently ahead, or because the moonlight was unusually bright. Either way, the forest at midnight wasn’t scary at all—in fact, the soft crunch of dirt underfoot sounded pleasantly rhythmic.
“I’m back.”
“You’re late. I was about to go look for you, thinking you’d lost your way.”
As Ian opened the cabin door and greeted him casually, Chiron’s voice came from inside.
“We ran into a bit of trouble.”
While Ian replied evenly, I paced nervously outside, clutching my head.
Now that I was actually standing in front of the cabin, I couldn’t bring myself to go in.
Who would welcome an uninvited guest barging in at night? Let alone a useless burden who’d been kicked out of her home.
“The noise outside… is that the guest you brought?”
But Chiron quickly noticed my presence. His guarded voice was colder than before, making me swallow hard.
“…What are you doing out there?”
Ian, about to step inside, stopped short when he saw me shrinking back from the door, and made a baffled face. Then he reached out, took my hand, and pulled me back toward the doorway.
Lowering my eyes as far as they’d go, as if to express my embarrassment and apology, I poked my head inside.
“Um, sir….”
“Aisa? At this hour, what’s…?”
You send your disciple on an errand in the middle of the night, and he comes back with a lump attached.
That was probably the look on his face. When our eyes met, Chiron seemed momentarily at a loss for words. He had been wiping dishes with a dry cloth, and slowly looked the two of us over.
Seeing how awkward we both looked, Chiron asked with an ambiguous expression,
“You two didn’t fight, did you?”
“It’s not like that.”
Ian denied it quickly. I nearly burst out laughing at such an absurd question, but clenched my teeth and barely held it in.
“Honestly, what on earth did you get up to during such a short errand? More importantly, Aisa, don’t just stand there—come in.”
Chiron motioned with his hand from where he sat. I glanced at Ian, then at Chiron, and stepped into the cabin.
Thud.
The door closed behind me.
Ian crossed the room familiarly and perched on a low chair, tugging off his boot laces. I just stood there awkwardly, rolling my eyes around to take in my surroundings.
The cabin looked shabby on the outside, with its ill-fitting door and mossy walls, but the inside was fairly clean and cozy.
Some of the flooring and a few pieces of furniture even looked brand new—probably repaired over several days.
The uneven shelves were crammed with all kinds of household items, and a single oil lamp on a roughly split-log table cast a warm glow over the whole place.
It smelled of dry grass, giving the room a gentle, welcoming feel.
It’s so peaceful….
Even after finishing my appraisal, I still couldn’t find the right thing to say and just fidgeted. Chiron spoke first, offering me a seat.
“Sit down. It’s the first time we’ve had a guest this late at night, and I don’t really have anything suitable to offer you…”
“No! It’s fine. I’m the one who should be sorry for coming like this.”
I waved my hands quickly. Chiron smiled gently as if to reassure me and shifted his gaze to Ian.
“So, you said something came up?”
“Yes, Master.”
“But you shouldn’t just bring a girl home without thinking. The same goes for you, Aisa. Of course, we wouldn’t harm you, but you never know what kind of danger there could be.”
A brief but reasonable scolding followed. I nodded silently at his worried words, but Ian opened his mouth with a somewhat aggrieved look.
“I know that much. But leaving her there looked even more dangerous, so I didn’t have a choice.”
Ian grumbled. Sure enough, in front of Chiron, he acted like a boy his age.
“There?” Chiron echoed.
I slipped into the conversation.
“He means my house.”
“Your house?”
“Yes.”
“Didn’t you go back early today? What happened in the meantime?”
“Well, I’m staying at my aunt’s place… and when my uncle drinks, he hits me. Today he even called his friends over and they’re drinking heavily.”
Of course, Nickel did it even when he was sober, but still.
Blurting it all out quickly, as if it were better to get hit first, I saw Chiron’s face turn shocked.
“When I heard shouting outside and went in, he was raising his hand against Aisa,” Ian added in a flat tone.
“Like he said, Ian came to deliver the basket and took me out with him. But once I left the house, I didn’t really have anywhere to go…”
“I suggested we come here together.”
Thankfully, Ian kept finishing my sentences as my voice trailed off.
At the intensely personal family story he’d heard in the dead of night, Chiron’s expression hardened.
Seeing him look flustered and troubled, I wilted, stared at the edge of the table, and muttered,
“I’m sorry for showing up out of nowhere.”
Silence settled over the cabin again.
Taking advantage of the quiet, I worked my brain hard. Judging from their personalities so far, at least for tonight I probably wouldn’t be kicked out into the drizzle.
But what about tomorrow? If I went back home, I could clearly picture my future—getting my hair yanked and thrown to the floor. There was one way to get around that, but…
I bit my lip.
Trying to stir pity in people who already have hard lives… I really have no shame.
But what choice did I have? Putting out the fire right in front of me came first.
“Could you at least let me stay just for tonight? I’ll leave as soon as the sun comes up tomorrow…”
Even to my own ears, the quaver I added to my voice sounded pretty pitiful.
Above my bowed head, I heard Chiron’s low voice.
“It seems we’ll need something to drink.”
Sighing as he stood up, Chiron patted my head as he always did. I could see the pity in his warm, brown eyes.
Soon, a cup of warmed milk was pressed into my hands, and a thin blanket was draped over my shoulders.
Meeting the two pairs of eyes watching me intently, I slowly opened my mouth and began to tell them about my short life so far.
Silvia’s death, Lamia’s mistreatment, Nickel’s violence. I went into especially detailed explanations about Nickel, more than anything else, to draw out as much sympathy as possible.
I was afraid to go back to Lamia’s house, and they were righteous, kind people, as proven in the novel.
Right now, I needed someone’s protection.
I’d rather not get beaten to death in the new life I’d been given.
