Chapter 002
In the carriage heading home.
Ivan was devouring the bread the woman had permitted him to eat, lost in deep thought.
Why on earth does she want to go to our house?
Does she plan to catch my mom and dad at home, tell them what I committed today, and then teach me a lesson?
He stole a glance.
It seems this fool, who possesses money, also possesses surplus time.
Of course, even if we reach the house, she won’t find a mother or a father.
A small house located at the farthest edge of the village, in a narrow alley within a red-light district.
When she sees that, she will wear that pained face again.
If I told her that, because there is no mother or father, I stayed in this house alone, starving for a long time…
Would I look miserable enough?
She is the one who generously paid ninety rocs out of pity,
So if I play my cards right and win her over, I won’t suffer from hunger for a while.
The woman, whose brows were furrowed as if deep in thought, felt his gaze and turned toward him.
“Eat slowly, Ivan.”
She said, wiping the cream stuck to his lips.
Ivan nodded as if he understood, but he couldn’t eat as slowly as she asked.
The bread that mountain-like man gave him wasn’t like the old, hard bread he had tried to steal.
How could there be bread in the world this soft and sweet?
“Do you want to drink some milk?”
Ivan nodded, his mouth greedily stuffed with the sweet bread.
The woman wiped his hands with a handkerchief she was holding, then handed him a bottle of milk.
He began to drink thirstily, casting side-long glances at her once more.
He stole a look.
What did this woman say to make that pig give him bread and apologize too?
“Do you want another one?”
When their eyes met, the woman raised the bag of bread slightly and asked him.
“Thank you.”
Ivan smiled shyly and nodded, so she placed another delicious bread in his hand.
It seemed that was the last one, as she folded the bag carefully.
He was about to bite the bread, then hesitated for a moment.
“Here, you eat.”
After a short thought, he held the bread out toward her.
“You haven’t eaten anything.”
“But Ivan, if you give me this, won’t you be hungry?”
She asked him in a low voice, hesitating before taking it.
“I’m fine. Go ahead.”
There was no point in being greedy for a single loaf, only for it to make others dislike him.
Adults always tend to give more to the good child, not the cunning one.
“Alright. Thank you.”
She gave him a faint smile.
Even though the bread, in truth, belonged to her in the first place.
Truly… she was a strange woman.
Ivan was skilled at reading people, but this time, questions were crowding his mind.
What did she say to that man?
And why does she want to go to his house?
The woman bit into the stuffed bread, and Ivan watched her out of the corner of his eye while questions raced through his mind.
However, the question that eventually dominated him was one.
If she had given that ugly man ninety rocs, how much would she give him—the good, miserable one?
He began to calculate in silence.
* * *
After a long journey, the carriage left the main road and entered a rough dirt path.
“Are you tired?”
Ivan’s head swayed with the vibration of the carriage, and the woman noticed, gently taking his shoulder and asking him.
“Do you want to sleep for a bit?”
His eyelids had gone beyond his control, nearly closing on their own.
It had been three days since he had slept properly.
And he wished to drift off immediately.
But if he slept now, he wouldn’t wake up at the right time.
He shook his head and pinched the back of his hand hard.
“No, I must stay awake and get off at Marqueo.”
“…I will wake you when we arrive.”
Before he could object, she leaned him against her leg.
There was space in the carriage due to the lack of passengers.
But as soon as he lay on her leg, his eyes widened even more.
What is this?
He looked at her from below as she ran her fingers through his hair.
It was strange.
They had only met today, so why was she treating him with such intimacy?
And why wasn’t she asking him anything?
She didn’t ask about his parents, or the reason he was alone in the capital’s market.
He looked into her eyes, which were sunken with worry, then forced his eyes shut, cutting off the stream of questions.
As those warm touches continued, his breathing began to calm…
Then he suddenly opened his eyes at a faint whisper.
“Ivan, your mom will try to do her best.”
He was startled by words he didn’t understand, but he closed his eyes again, surrendering to her hand that patted his head.
* * *
When Ivan arrived at his house after walking four hours from Marqueo,
Dawn had reached its depth, such that even the drunks had returned to their homes.
His beaten body was screaming in pain, and his eyes, which hadn’t woken up well, closed of their own accord.
“Here, our house.”
He opened the door after turning the handle several times.
The house was as he had left it.
Scattered trash, a rotten smell, darkness, and cold.
And his mother wasn’t there.
She hadn’t come.
And it seemed she would be gone longer this time.
Perhaps she found a suitable man.
“…”
He almost turned to the woman behind him, then decided against it.
He knew he should take the money, but everything felt exhausting.
He was tired, angry, as if his hair was standing on end from the sheer distress.
If she’s going to leave, let her.
He entered the house as usual and lay down in the middle of the cold.
He had come to the capital searching for his mother, and in the end, he remained alone.
His mother…
He couldn’t hold onto her.
* * *
Was this a punishment for delaying my job hunt and being preoccupied with novels?
What usually begins with ‘I woke up in a strange place’ has happened to me.
But the difference is that the place wasn’t a ceiling, but the ground of a road.
To be thrown into this world without any information!
If I hadn’t met Ivan, I would have been a vagrant.
Well, let’s assume my ignorance of the original novel is a shortcoming of mine.
And I’ve moved past the issue of the mysterious possession.
But the reasons for grumbling are still many.
Houses huddled together in a narrow alley, a staircase on the verge of collapsing, and then our house.
I didn’t expect to be a princess, but to be from the lowest classes of the slums?
And when I remembered that I had to care for a child, the future looked even darker.
“Ah… truly…”
I looked at the house again, despite knowing it wouldn’t change.
A floor covered in trash, and an unbearable smell.
Nevertheless, the child lay down indifferently.
His small, thin back was contracting before me.
It was clear how he had lived, and how his mother had treated him.
A child raised neglected, without care.
And that is why he watches every word, afraid.
“…Alright.”
I stopped grumbling.
For when I saw him, it seemed that was the right thing to do.
Besides, complaining won’t change anything.
First, I have to know where I am, and what is happening in this novel.
So that I know what will happen and how we will face it.
At the very least, I don’t want Ivan to see me as his previous mother.
I banished her image from my mind and set my resolve.
I looked at his small back, then stood up and slapped my thighs.
My body ached from the long walk, but I breathed deeply and rolled up my sleeves.
“Slowly, let’s do it step by step.”
If I want to live with him, I have to clean up this trash first.
