Chapter — 04
To keep her face from getting tanned by the sun, she had deliberately chosen a hat with a wide brim and long ribbons.
Because of that, people couldn’t recognize her face. Even so, Maria looked restless.
“Maria! Are you embarrassed by me?”
“Well, that is…”
Without waiting for Maria’s answer, Rosebell walked wherever her feet led her.
The street looked no different from scenes in a medieval movie. Everything people needed for daily life—food, clothing, shelter—was there.
“There are so many delicious things in the world!”
“Pardon?”
Maria was startled by Rosebell’s loud voice. Saying something like that was strange for someone who had barely ever left her territory.
It was an odd remark, but Rosebell suddenly started running, and Maria had no time to think. She just followed.
“Where are you go—huff… ah… wait—huff…”
Maria struggled to keep up with Rosebell’s sudden sprint.
The reason Rosebell rushed forward was simple.
She had seen a group of big, rough-looking people tearing the robe off a silver-haired boy who was clearly trying to hide himself, then throwing stones at him.
The silver hair stood out, but more than that, throwing stones at a person was simply unforgivable.
“Cursed brat!”
“Die! If you stay alive, we’ll be cursed too!”
What Rosebell saw was pure evil.
Evil pretending to be innocent.
Because it wasn’t calculated but emotional, it was even more frightening. Rosebell took a deep breath and walked closer.
The one standing in the middle seemed to be the leader. She ran with all her strength, aiming to slam her elbow into his side.
Thud!
The sound wasn’t a light hit—it was a heavy thud. Rosebell paused for a moment, surprised, but the expressions of everyone except the fallen boy were priceless.
“Y-you! What are you?!”
“What do you think I am? A human being. How dare you brats breathe violence and discrimination like it’s nothing! Is that what your parents taught you?!”
Rosebell shouted, but the six pairs of eyes trembled in shock.
“H-hey! R-run! That must be the crazy person Mom warned us about!”
“A cursed brat and now a crazy woman—what do we do?!”
Rosebell seriously considered beating them all up. Since her face wasn’t recognizable anyway, hitting a few more wouldn’t suddenly give her a reputation as a violent noble lady.
“Who are you calling crazy?! Say one more word, and I’ll make you end up like your friend over there!”
She meant it.
Maybe even street punks cared about their friends. They helped the fallen boy up and ran away as fast as they could.
An awkward silence settled over the alley with only two people left.
“Ahem… What’s your name?”
She had stepped in because she felt sorry for him, but there had to be a reason people called him cursed.
“…Ren.”
“What? I can’t hear you.”
Rosebell asked again, but the boy seemed too injured to speak clearly.
“It’s Aren! Those idiots threw stones at me, and it hurts just to breathe! Why do I have to say it twice?!”
At that moment, Rosebell found herself believing once again that humans were inherently bad.
“You’re awfully rude to someone who helped you.”
“Did I beg you to save me?”
“If I hadn’t stepped in, you’d have broken ribs—or worse, a cracked skull. Judging by how you look, it doesn’t seem like you’ve been eating or washing properly either.”
Aren pressed his lips tightly together. He couldn’t deny it, which only made him more irritated.
“You heard them. A cursed kid. A kid abandoned by his parents because they were scared. That’s me.”
“I didn’t ask that far.”
Rosebell thought he was saying things he didn’t need to say. In novels, people like this usually turned out to be villains or possessed great power.
But that only mattered to the protagonist. To her, he was irrelevant to her goal, so it would be better to end things here.
Grrr—
“Hm?”
The loud sound of a growling stomach stopped her from leaving.
“W-what! People get hungry!”
“Why do you keep explaining things no one asked? You really should talk less.”
“…Go away.”
He snapped back out of embarrassment, bristling like a stray cat.
Rosebell said nothing and left the alley.
Fortunately, there was a bakery nearby. She bought bread and a bottle of milk.
She thought he might be gone when she returned. But his injuries must have been too severe for him to move.
“Eat.”
“I don’t need it.”
“Oh? You don’t look that hungry if you’re worrying about pride in front of food.”
“What?”
“The stupidest thing in the world is protecting your pride over nothing. Even if it hurts your pride, eat. And if you were trying to gain sympathy by saying your parents abandoned you, sorry—but that doesn’t work on me.”
“I wasn’t thinking that!”
“Really? That’s good then. From my experience, using pity to gain attention is the same as digging your own grave.”
A bitter memory from her past life surfaced, leaving a bad taste in her mouth. It was a common mistake among young workers—sharing personal hardships, thinking honesty would earn kindness.
Only after being hurt badly did she learn how foolish that was.
“…Thanks for the bread.”
“Good. Say thanks when you’re grateful, and say no when you mean no. Of course, stupid people will think whatever they want anyway.”
At her sharp words, Aren said nothing and took a bite of the bread.
Rosebell wondered if she should stop thinking so modernly. But a worn-down office worker in her twenties couldn’t be innocent anymore.
“Finished?”
“Yeah.”
She watched him stare awkwardly at the empty bottle, then spoke.
“Do you have a place to sleep?”
“…No.”
“Then should I introduce you to a job? Before that, how old are you?”
“Really? I’m fifteen. But… aren’t you scared? They said I’m cursed.”
A knot twisted in Rosebell’s stomach.
He talked boldly for someone who didn’t even know what was truly frightening.
“You clueless kid. What’s really scary isn’t a curse—it’s unpaid wages and being forced to do all the work under an incompetent boss with no way to escape.”
Aren looked at her blankly, not understanding at all. Rosebell shuddered, thinking again how terrible it was.
“Miss! Huff… huff… huff…”
“Ah—Maria, running at your age isn’t good for your heart. Haha.”
“If you know that, you shouldn’t disappear like that!”
“Those brats were throwing stones at an innocent kid. How could I just ignore that?”
Rosebell answered calmly, watching Maria carefully in case a lecture started. Maria looked shocked to realize Rosebell had stepped in to help someone.
Seeing her expression, Rosebell let out a dry laugh. She hadn’t lived a long life, but she still remembered how reckless she used to be, which made her feel a little awkward.
“Miss…”
“Let’s take him and go back quickly!”
“What?”
“If he starts scratching his itchy head on the street, you’ll faint, Maria.”
Before Rosebell even finished speaking, Maria helped Aren to his feet. Rosebell quickly gathered his long silver hair and pulled a hood over it.
“Let’s go!”
“You said you’d introduce me to a job…”
“You’re hired at our place. Oh! Do you have some muscle? You’ll be doing a lot of digging.”
She hadn’t really intended to wait for an answer and walked ahead. Aren hesitated, wondering if he should follow her.
But judging by her strange clothes and the maid beside her, she seemed to be a noble.
“If I eat well and sleep well, I’m confident I can work hard.”
Whether it was pity or curiosity, he was grateful that she had taken his side without hesitation.
“Good. Then just eat well and sleep well. For now, keep walking. Let’s go.”
“Uh… okay.”
Aren decided she was simply a strange person. And in truth, he had nowhere else to go.
Having a roof over his head and even a piece of dry bread to eat peacefully was enough for him.
As they moved farther from town, Aren began to feel uneasy. He had nothing to lose, but he didn’t want to die.
“Um…”
“The carriage is far away!”
At the word carriage, Aren looked around. It was obvious that someone like him would never be allowed near such a carriage.
“Miss, you’re the one who said your outfit was unsuitable and that we had to walk.”
“That’s true. I’m just tired because we stayed out too long. Let’s hurry home and eat!”
Aren wondered why a noble would go out dressed so strangely. But trying to understand a noble’s intentions would be a waste of time.
Inside the carriage, it was warm. The seats were soft and plush, and a gentle fruit scent filled the air. His body relaxed almost immediately.
Nod… nod…
Aren’s head swayed once before he collapsed into deep sleep. Maria looked stunned, while Rosebell thought calmly that she should feed him well and help him gain some weight.
