Chapter 8

The town, which was an hour away by carriage, was bustling with people. Worried I’d get separated from Aria, I held her hand tight.

“Are we in a crowd of beasts or something?” my sister quipped, noticing how wary I was of the mass of passersby threatening to bump into her.

I playfully posed as if I was her bodyguard. “Stay back, my lady! I’ll take care of this situation.”

Aria giggled, saying I was being childish. I laughed along, but at the bottom of my heart I felt guilty. Her cheeks were flushed and the corners of her mouth hadn’t drooped once since we’d arrived.

If I had known she would enjoy this kind of outing, I would’ve suggested we do it more often. Regrets always came too late.

It took a lot more than money to raise a child. I needed to work to provide for her, but I knew how lonely she would get as she waited for me to come home. That had always made me feel guilty.

“I should be by her side so she won’t feel lonely... But…” I had always turned a blind eye, with the excuse that I was too busy. I wasn’t a good older sister at all.

“Is something wrong?” Aria asked, tilting her head. While I was thinking, I had stopped in my tracks and wrapped my arms around her.

With a lump in my throat, I whispered, “I promise I’ll make you happy.”

Just hold on, Aria. Your happiness is right around the corner. She would just have to meet Count Freya, then she could have her happily ever after. That was how it went in the novel.

I wanted her to become the adopted daughter of the count, who was one of the richest men in the empire. I wanted her to live in a luxurious manor, dine on the best cuisine, and be beloved by everyone. I wanted her to live a life so blissful that she could forget about me.

“But I’m already happy,” she whispered.

I closed my eyes as she smiled warmly and hugged me back.

That couldn’t be possible. There was no way she was happy living a life where she had to wait alone for her secretive, gloomy sister to come back home. In the idyllic happiness I wanted for her, there was no space for me. She was perfect, and I was not.

I may fall to the lowest of lows once I let you go... But I don’t mind, as long as you’re happy.

That was the last wish of a child who had stopped praying a long time ago.

***

“But I can still walk around!”

“I know. I’m the one who needs a rest.”

I shrugged at Aria. She looked back and forth between me and the cafe’s window, unsure of what to do.

It wasn’t good for my frail sister to spend too much time outdoors. She had lost her breath not long after we had come to town, so I had decided we needed to stop into a teahouse for a break.

I led Aria to a sunny window seat. It was a bit late in the afternoon, so the teahouse was quiet inside.

“What do you want to drink? I’ll go order.”

At my question, Aria roughly straightened her skirt and began to read the menu. Even while wearing a ruffled dress that had long since gone out of style, she looked as soft and delicate as a spring fairy.

I wish I could get her some better clothes. I bit my lip as my guilty thoughts began to emerge again.

Aria was wearing the cheap and frilly sky-blue dress that I had given her for her twelfth birthday. It was three years ago, the day I had finished a twenty-day-long beast-slaying expedition. Actually, the whole reason I had gone on the expedition was because I wanted to buy my sister a nice gift.

I wanted to give it to her before her birthday ended at midnight. In the middle of the night I had run downtown, still wearing my bloodstained clothes and probably looking like I had murdered several people. I had begged Mr. Paul, the boutique owner, to sell me a dress.

I was lucky he knows me. Surprised at my appearance, he handed over a dress with no further questions. It was as if he had guessed I had a good reason behind my desperate plea.

I remember walking home, carefully cradling the wrapped dress that twenty long days of being trampled by beasts had bought me. I was ashamed of my appearance. I had been horribly wounded and felt miserable. Even after all that hard work and all the blood I had shed, I could only afford a single dress.

Worst of all, I hadn’t been able to be there for her birthday.

“Cass?”

I recalled the moment I walked in and saw my sister sitting at the table. In front of her was a plate of food that had long gone cold. Upon hearing the door open, she had tucked away her loneliness and smiled—until she saw the state I was in, at which point she crumbled into a mess.

With her light blue eyes staring at me, I couldn’t make excuses. I had carefully set down the bloodstained gift box in front of her.

“I’m glad you’re my sister. I’m sorry this is all I can give you.”

I don’t remember the expression on my face in that moment. Was I smiling or crying? My face may have just been blank.

Stunned, Aria had moved her trembling hand to the box without a word. When she opened it, she broke down in tears.

“Who asked you to buy something like this? I don’t need it... I don’t want presents or my health! You always make me the bad guy, you always make me miserable. Sure, I’ve imagined dancing in a pretty dress. I’ve dreamed about being healthy and walking around outside like everyone else!”

“Aria...”

“But I don’t want those things if you have to suffer! I didn’t want any of this!”

She had started hurling anything she could lay her hands on. It didn’t hurt to be hit with random objects, but I felt like my heart was breaking into pieces.

Once she finally stopped pelting me with objects and had fallen onto the floor, I took her in my arms. She was sobbing with frustration.

“It’s what I want, Aria. It’s the path I chose.”

It was the same answer I had always given her. Use me all you want. I’m willing to work myself to the bone for you.

That day, she cried until there was no more moisture left in her body. But she never asked why I had come back in that awful state or how I had managed to buy a dress she knew we couldn’t afford. She had just hung the dress in our closet and gave it a conflicted look from time to time.

Maybe I should buy her something nicer before she goes to Count Freya’s, I thought as I surveyed the old, faded dress. Of course, Aria would be given better clothes at the Freya Mansion, but I still wanted to give her one last present.

It was no longer so impossible since I was earning more than I used to. Normally, ninety percent of my earnings go toward buying Fairy Forest Elixir. But now that I knew how to cure Aria’s illness, I didn’t have to spend money on her medicine. I could buy her something better. This time I’ll get her the most expensive dress.

I smiled gently at my sister, who was still reading the menu. In the sunlight, she looked like a work of art.

“Have you decided?” I asked.

Aria gently folded the menu. “Yes, I’ll have a coffee.”

“I’ll go order. Be right back.”

I hesitated for a moment before rising from my seat and heading to the counter.

“A cup of coffee and a strawberry parfait, please.”

I only drank coffee, but I knew Aria liked strawberries. When I looked at the menu, I had noticed coffee was the cheapest option, while the strawberry parfait was twice its price.

It’s all my fault. Kids shouldn’t have to worry about such things. We had always been so poor that Aria was naturally thinking about our finances.

I looked out the window to steady my mixed feelings. Outside, it was an ordinary scene of people rushing by on a peaceful yet bustling street. It was picture-perfect—except for one thing. Across the street, some lunatic was trying to drag a noblewoman down an alley.

What the— My eyes widened at the unusual sight. Has it become a trend to be in dire need of rescue right in front of my eyes?

***

I knew something for certain: I wasn’t a kindhearted person. Mire the mercenary had been deemed a hero, but no matter how much I wanted to accept it, the word just didn’t suit me.

In these kinds of cases, however...

“Aria.”

“Yes? Are our drinks ready?” She looked puzzled.

I put a hand on her head gently and whispered, “I’m going to head out for a minute. Go ahead and start without me, I’ll be right back.”

She still looked confused. I smiled at her and turned away.

“Cass...”

She grabbed my arm. Her hand was so tiny that I could snap it in a heartbeat if I wanted.

When she said my name I reflexively turned and focused on her, like a dog drooling at the sound of a bell. “Yes? I’m listening”

Aria bit her lip hard as I leaned down to face her. She seemed to be thinking about what to say. As I waited for her answer, I kept glancing toward the window.

She finally opened her mouth. “You’ll be quick, right? You won’t get hurt?”

She clearly wanted to ask what I was about to do. It stung that the only answers she wanted were the ones I couldn’t give her.

Someday, I’ll tell you everything. I stroked her hair, imagining a day that seemed like it would never come. “It will be fine. I won’t get hurt and I’ll be back before the coffee gets cold.”

Aria nodded. I smiled at her and quickly made my way out of the cafe.

I walked normally until I was out of her range of vision, but as soon as I stepped into the alley where the noblewoman and man had vanished, I released a burst of mana and dashed forward. My black cloak billowed in the wind.

There’s a dead end this way. Before reaching my destination, I stopped and dug into my sack.

In case something happens... I pulled my hood over my head and donned my black mask. I also made sure to slip on the magic-infused ring that changed my voice.

“Release me, I said! How dare a dirty commoner lay hands on me?! Do you know who I am?!”

“Hic! I don’t care... Hic! Who you are! You’re gonna die anyway!”

As I approached the end of the alleyway, maniacal laughter bounced off my eardrums.

There’s someone watching... but it should be fine. I frowned, feeling the presence of someone strong on the opposite side of the alley wall.

I ignored it to assess the situation. A woman in a luxurious dress was being restrained by a man. His eyelids were drooping and he reeked of alcohol.

I didn’t need to see anything else. I frowned in disgust. These drunken and disorderly assholes are everywhere.

I shouldn’t kill him, though. I stopped my hand from instinctively reaching for my sword and instead fumbled through my sack. I needed something I could use to beat this man to a pulp, but not to his death. I wrapped my fingers around something cool, solid, and lightweight, and pulled it out of the bag.

You again? It was my trusty iron pipe.