~ Chapter : 19 ~
If Roa Cavendish were to see her like this, she might laugh at her.
Let her laugh.
Ritia rolled up her sleeves, determined to secure that position no matter what.
But another obstacle soon appeared.
“G-Greetings! To think the noble young lady of House Mont would come all the way to a place like this…! If there is anything at all you wish to command, please tell me!”
Since no noble lady had ever volunteered to serve here before, the man summoned by Serry bowed deeply, as if he were seeing something he should not.
The man introduced himself as James, the administrator of the slums. He had a rather intimidating appearance.
Rather than managing the area, he looked like someone who ruled and controlled it through sheer force.
Even so, the moment Ritia spoke, he looked ready to do her laundry or pick up trash in her place.
Only after sending away the man—who clearly wasn’t listening to reason—did the surrounding scenery finally come into focus again.
‘It’s not like something huge will change just because of me. Still… there must be at least one thing I can do.’
Thanks to all the effort she had put into currying favor, the funds that had once been tightly restricted were now available in abundance. Before leaving, she could inspect the area more thoroughly, donate extra money to places that were badly damaged, or help cover the children’s medical expenses.
It might seem a bit like showing off, but it wasn’t money being wasted, so it was fine.
Honestly, the fact that it came straight out of Duke Mont’s pocket made her want to spend it this way even more.
Ritia started with the simplest task—the one right in front of her.
She decided to clear away the trash that was cluttering the streets.
About three hours passed.
Without properly resting, bending and straightening her back over and over, Ritia managed to clean a surprisingly large area.
At first, the moment she bent down to pick up a single piece of trash, chaos broke out around her.
Serry looked like she was about to faint trying to stop her, and even the guards and maids pleaded with her to stop.
“Then wouldn’t it be better if we all did it together?
If you’re going to spend time stopping me, we could just pick up more trash and be done faster.
Father might not like it, but he won’t hate it either.”
After that, everyone who had been following Ritia stopped trying to stop her and began picking up trash themselves.
She asked Emilia separately, pressing gold coins into her hands, to buy armfuls of snacks the children could eat.
This was the first time she had ever moved her body enough to break a sweat.
Her breathing reached her throat, yet she couldn’t stop smiling. What was so funny about this?
Foolishly enough, she felt more grateful for this new life—earned by moving her own body—than she ever did when she had been treated like a princess.
“Miss, I brought them! Haah… I tried to buy as much as possible, so it’s a bit a lot.”
“Oh? How much—ah…!”
Behind the out-of-breath Emilia was a cart loaded with goods.
When Ritia had said she hoped it would be enough to fill their stomachs, Emilia had brought an entire cart.
“You told me to buy as much as I could…!”
“Thank you. You did great. We should give it to the children first.”
The cart was filled with bread, sweets, and even water containers.
The stench had already faded somewhat thanks to the cleaning, but as sweet, savory smells spread through the air, children who had been watching like stray kittens from afar began to peek out.
They were curious, yet too afraid to come closer.
Earlier, one child had tried to approach Ritia, only to be stopped by an older child.
Don’t go.
Do you want to die?
The scolding voice still rang clearly in her ears.
“Come here. It’s okay to come. You can take whatever you want to eat.”
Ritia beckoned gently with her hand, coaxing them over.
But the children grew even more wary and retreated further back.
“The young lady is telling you to come.”
Serry spoke stiffly to the children, almost like a threat.
“That’ll just scare them more. If you’re going to do that, both of you get back on the carriage.”
“I’m sorry, miss.”
“I’m sorry…”
Even the guard knight tried to bring the children over, and Ritia had to stop him again.
“Kids, I’m not scary. I’m from that village over there. My name is Ritia.”
“……”
“If you’re scared of me, big sister, let’s call more friends. I’ll leave this here, so you can share and take as much as you want, okay?”
She smiled warmly at the girl standing in front.
The girl had stood out to her for a while now—she wore the cleanest clothes among the children and kept looking after the younger ones.
Listening closely, Ritia heard things like “I hope you don’t go” and “I’ll come again tomorrow.”
She didn’t seem like a child from this neighborhood.
Thinking she might be something like the leader of the alley, Ritia spoke to her. The sharp-eyed girl stepped a little closer.
Ritia, excited like a shop owner greeting her first customer, picked up a piece of bread.
“…Can we really eat it?”
“Of course! What do you want? Bread? There’s water too!”
“If we touch it, we’ll get scolded again.”
“Scolded…?”
“Last time someone said they’d give us bread, so we went. Roy got slapped. They said he touched it, even though he didn’t. It’ll happen again.”
“No, that’s not—”
“Don’t lie. A lady wearing clothes like yours came and did that.”
Ritia tried to persuade her further, but the child’s guard was far too strong.
Pushing any more would only deepen their fear, so Ritia decided to step back. She had already stayed longer than planned, and it was time to leave anyway.
She also couldn’t ignore the hungry stares of the children behind the girl, eyeing the bread.
Only if she moved aside would they finally be able to eat. After all, she was the one who had shown up uninvited, insisting on helping—so it was right for her to know when to step away.
“Then, my friend, I’ll leave this here. Later, share it with everyone and eat well, okay? We should get going now.”
The moment she said that, Serry and the guards looked visibly relieved, as if they’d finally been told it was time to leave.
“You didn’t mention any other plans for this morning. If it’s all right, may we escort you straight home?”
“Yes, that’s probably best. It’s awkward to schedule anything else in this state.”
“Understood. As for the additional support you mentioned earlier, we’ll deliver it through the local administrator.”
“Please make sure it doesn’t get used elsewhere.”
“We’ll confirm it personally. Please, get in.”
Serry, clearly eager to leave as soon as possible, opened the carriage door first.
Ritia, not wanting to burden everyone who had already worked so hard because of her, was just about to climb into the carriage—
“Ena!”
A child’s piercing scream rang out.
At the same time, Ritia, Serry, and Emilia all turned around.
The girl who had been speaking so sharply just moments ago was now collapsed on the ground, clutching her chest with both hands.
Ritia’s eyes widened in shock.
The name that had been shouted was clearly Ena.
Ritia immediately turned back and ran toward the child.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Serry stepped in front of her at once.
“A child has collapsed.”
“You’ll touch something filthy. You don’t need to concern yourself with this.”
“What did you say?”
“If you’re truly worried, we’ll call a healer separately.”
Behind Serry, the child was writhing as if having a seizure.
Ritia exploded in anger.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Pardon? Miss?”
“Move! A child has collapsed! Call a doctor—now!”
She shoved Serry aside and rushed to the child.
“Are you okay? Do you know what’s wrong with her?”
The children were already in tears.
“E-Ena is always sick. She gets like this every time. The healer said they don’t know why. She was fine today…”
“Ena, get up.”
“Ena, hurry, get up!”
“They said even the healer doesn’t know?”
Since this was the slums, calling a doctor would likely take time.
In desperation, Ritia decided to try using her holy power. She didn’t know if it would work on something like this, but beneficial energy wouldn’t cause harm.
She hugged the child who was clutching her chest and placed her hand near the girl’s small chest.
Please. Please. This time, please.
But as if mocking her desperation, no power came forth.
Cold sweat ran down Ritia’s back, though she couldn’t even show her panic.
“Please. Please, just once. Just this once. Let me do something useful—for once, please.”
She repeated the words like a spell to herself, desperately trying to recall the sensation of drawing out her holy power.
“Ena!”
At that moment, a deep male voice shouted from behind.
She felt the children rise and react, but Ritia focused solely on healing the child, ignoring everything else.
“Ugh…!”
Ena writhed in pain—then suddenly, power surged.
“…Ha.”
From Ritia’s fingertips, a warm current flowed out, and pale green holy light burst forth.
She didn’t know if this was proper treatment, but at least until a doctor arrived.
Ritia continued pouring holy power into the area where Ena felt pain.
The child, who had been clawing at her chest and drenched in sweat, gradually stopped moving.
For a moment, Ritia worried the girl had lost consciousness, but thankfully, Ena’s expression began to relax.
Just a little more…
At that instant, someone roughly grabbed Ritia’s arm.
“What do you think you’re doing to my sister?!”
The force was so strong that Ritia staggered.
The holy power she had finally drawn out scattered like dust.
That alone would have shocked her—but there was another reason.
“…Gondor?”
The voice that had shouted earlier—it was Gondor.
He shoved Ritia aside and pulled the girl he had called his sister into his arms.
His sister?
