《Eulalia's Adventure》 Prologue ¡°Ne~ Keichi, what¡¯s up with this pic?¡± ¡°Lemme see, lemme see¡­ uwaaah!¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t he look idiotic?¡± ¡°He does! Ahahaha!¡± My best friend along with 3 girls came to school and showed a picture to my classmates. He had a very big smile on his face as everyone got to see the photo of me. Since that day, everyone started to look at me differently. Some of them even started calling me names and vandalizing my desk, which I would clean before classes start. One time, I tried locking myself in my room. Only to have a teacher come into my house and he, along with my parents dragged me back to school. The adults seem to be unaware of the bullying, I experienced. Ahh, how blissful it is when you¡¯re ignorant. The day I came back to school, my classmates opened their eyes wide and my supposed best friend made a conniving smile as he stared at me. Since locking myself inside my room was a failure, despair overcame me. Up till graduation, the bullying I had undergone when I was still an elementary student didn¡¯t stop. As the day went by, their intensity had increased. During middle school, I was very excited and planned to go to a faraway place, where nobody knew me. I desperately begged my mother and father to send me there, and thankfully, it got through to them. They decided to send me to a private school and although it was expensive, as long as I did well in that school, my parents would support me. While humming a catchy tune, I entered my classroom and sat on a chair near the window filled with happy emotions. Since today was the first day of school, there wasn¡¯t any seat plan yet, so we students are able to sit anywhere we want. Minutes passed by and one by one, my new classmates entered the classroom with cheerful smile. Everybody had a conversation partner and with big smiles, they were cheerfully discussing their expectations of this school. I became excited, every time a student entered the classroom, but a person who looked familiar entered the room. This person was a former classmate and one of my supposed best friends¡¯ peer. My world turned gray the second he stepped in and started surveying the room. When he saw me, a big smile was plastered on his face. Time slowed down and his mouth moved as he mumbled something under his breath. ¡®T-H-I-S-W-I-L-L-B-E-F-U-N¡¯ Those were the words I read from his lips. I became apathetic of my surroundings and the day just passed on, with me despairing on the outlook of my middle school life. When classes were over, he slammed his palm on top of my desk and surrounded me with the friends he just made. All of them had very broad smile, you could see that they were all excited. They surrounded me as I sat on my chair and called me to the back of the gym. I didn¡¯t bother resisting and just went with the flow. I was already used to their bullying and just let them do their deed to me. Around 10 students went along with them and punched, kicked, and stole my money from me. Once they were satisfied with their violence, they left me on the crouching on the ground. They laughed as they walked away from the gym. Once their silhouettes were gone, I stood up from the ground and picked my school materials which littered the ground. My notebooks where torn, pencils were snapped, and textbooks were either shredded or doodled. Like my entire body, they vandalized every one of my things. Placing the last of it inside of my battered bag, I dragged my aching body to the school gates. I didn¡¯t know how much time had passed, but judging from the night sky, I thought that it was half past six in the afternoon. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Along the way back of my home, I spotted an individual walk in shaky steps. This was the only path back to my home with no turns or detours to choose. If I had to go home, I had to get past this person that looked suspicious. Since I wanted to go home and play games to relieve some of the frustrations, I¡¯ve accumulated. I decided to pass him with big strides. The nearer I got to the person, the more sinister he felt. When I was finally 3 steps near him, the man lunged at me. He too was too fast for me to avoid and as a result, I collided with him. ¡°Heh?¡± I stared at the man and saw him make a savage smile. There was a mad color painting his eyes and as he licked his lips, he removed his hand and revealing a bloodstained knife. I became confused and looked down on my stomach. Red liquid flowed down from my stomach and stained my uniform. For a few seconds, I stared blankly at the wound. A sudden gush of pain woke me up from my daze. I unconsciously crouched down and with panicked movements; I covered my wound with my two hands. ¡°Hahaha! Tough luck kid, you just had to meet me while I was in a bad mood. I¡¯ll have you entertain me for a while.¡± The man kicked used his foot to remove my hands from the wound before stepping on it. He had a joyous expression as he heard my moans so pain. ¡°Please¡­ please, don¡¯t kill me¡­ what did I do to deserve this?¡± The man ignored my pleas as he punched my face with greater force and at the end he stabbed my heart. He stood up and left me on the ground. In my fading consciousness, my life flashed before my eyes. From childhood till now and although my life was short, the pain and suffering I experienced was worth a life time. I think that from the moment I met him, my supposed best friend, was the day my life would turn for the worst. I got bullied, humiliated and got neglected during my time in elementary. Even my first day of middle school took a turn for the worst, when a friend of my supposed best friend came into my class room. I was an unfortunate and unlucky person to have met them; even my death was due to an unfortunate meeting. In my last moments, the only regret that I had was only one. If I hadn¡¯t blindly believed on the bonds I had superficially made with people I had just made, then my life wouldn¡¯t have become like this. If I were ever to be reborn, I will never blindly trust on someone again. A few moments later, the strength of my body disappeared together with my consciousness. I took my last breath on an alleyway, dying like a stray dog. ### Well, though I said I''ll rewrite everything starting from the prologue till chapter 38, I"ve stumbled upon a wonderful button on the forums under my moderation. It was the sof delete button. It took me a while to get used to it and finally deleted every chapter. Now all that''s left is to slowly post the revised chapter. :D Well, since this series have been on Hiatus, I''m expecting that there wouldn''t be that many readers here. Just like on Eu''s Journey. XD Well, for now I''ll upload the prologue and chapter 1 for today. I think that only the 590 people who followed and the 201 people who favorited this series will know of this, LOL... Now off to the changes: I''ve changed everything in the prologue except for the best friend and the 3 girls. They''re relevant. Hmm... Oh yeah, I''ve also revealed his name here instead of censoring it... LOL Well that''s the only changes I''ve made here Chapter 1: Eulalia ¡°Hey! Come back here, you little thief!!!¡± A man holding a stick was chasing after me. When I looked back to see how the person was doing, I quickly returned my gaze forward and gripped the pieces of fruits tighter. The man who was chasing me was the owner of the fruit stall and the things I carried were the products he sold. ¡°When I get my hands on you, you¡¯ll wish you were dead!¡± When I heard his shout from my back, I increased my speed while avoiding people along the sidewalk. A smile surfaced on my face when I saw the entrance of the backstreet up ahead, this was an alleyway I was used to and grew up in. I was quite confident that I could lose him when I entered that place. ¡°Damn kid!¡± ¡°Watch where you¡¯re going!¡± Complaints resounded all around me as I hastily avoided the crowd. I continued to run until I arrived at the front of the entranced and entered it with quick steps. Once I had arrived at the narrow alley, I quickly turned left and then right. Repeating this turns, I arrived to a place where a lots of crates were stockpiled. I jumped in between a pile of crates and hugged my legs. Taptaptap* As the sound of footsteps got nearer, the fear of getting beaten up gripped my heart. ¡°Shit, where the hell did that damned brat go.¡± When I heard the sound of his voice, I slowed my breathing down and stopped moving. Even after a few minutes, the man still didn¡¯t give up in searching for me. ¡°¡­ Kya!¡± I accidentally made a strange voice and hurriedly covered my mouth with both of my hands when I saw his feet in front of me. ¡°I think I just heard her voice¡­ what the¡­ it was just a rat.¡± Taptaptap* The man¡¯s footstep slowly got further away. I waited till the sound of tapping was gone before I crawled out from my hiding spot. ¡°Haa~ that was quite dangerous¡­¡± I breathed a sigh of relief and crouched down on the floor. A piece of fruit which was red and round rolled in front of me. Seeing that food, I quickly grabbed it with my two hands and voraciously ate it. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve eaten a meal that satisfying¡­ Fuu~¡± Today, I managed to eat 3 pieces of that fruit today. Having that amount of food eaten in a day was already considered a luxury for me. Yawn* ¡°¡­ after eating that amount of food¡­ and getting chased around by that vendor¡­ as expected, I¡¯ve become quite exhausted¡­ might as well take a small nap here before going back home.¡± Lying down on the floor of the warehouse, I closed my eyes and let my consciousness fade away. Even though it was cold and very rough sleeping here, I had already gotten used to it. Ever since my mother had died 2 years ago, my neighbors from the slums invaded my home and stole everything. Although my mother was buried a day after her death, those people didn¡¯t even have any guilty conscience as they did it. Throughout that time, I continued to plead not to steal anything from my home. The men who saw me kicked me away and spitted on my face as they continued to do their deed. When it was night time, I who was left alone in the world, cried myself to sleep. I didn¡¯t blame the neighbors for what they did, nor did I curse god for the things I experienced. They were only doing it just to survive. I, who knew that, couldn¡¯t blame any of them because even I know how hard it is to survive here. Here in the slums, you¡¯re already considered lucky if you¡¯re able to eat once or twice a day. Everyone here was living a very difficult life and when a chance appears, we would grab it. Even if that chance came from a child who lost its own parents¡­ like me. This was an everyday occurrence here; this happening to me was nothing special. Many children who were orphaned due to circumstances didn¡¯t have any time to mourn for the loss of our parents. If we did mourn for them, we wouldn¡¯t have the chance to live on the next day. The tears I had shed that time was for saying goodbye to my mother for the last time and also, because I was frustrated by my own weakness, A tear fell from my cheeks as I remembered that day. I have learned to steal, deceive, and exploit people since then. I didn¡¯t regret the things I¡¯ve learned, all of them were necessary for me to survive. Though I keep telling those things to myself to calm emotions, my guilty conscience would always pop up in my mind whenever I try to sleep. After a few minutes of forcibly closing my eyes, I had finally entered into the land of dreams. [Huh? What is this?] When I thought I was asleep, I suddenly found myself floating in a dark place. In front of me, I was seeing things I¡¯ve never seen before. Tall building reaching out towards the sky, writings I haven¡¯t seen before and boxes with wheels that turned by without any help from a horse. At the edge of my view, I spotted a boy who looked very depressed. This boy¡¯s head was down and his shoulders were slumped. He walked towards on a road and was headed towards a building. ¡°Just what did I do to deserve this?¡± [Just what did I do to deserve this?] Even though this was the first time I had seen this boy. I spoke in unison with him the moment he saw the building called school. Here, his day was gonna start the same as usual. He¡¯ll be bullied by the entire class without the teacher even knowing it. [Eh?] Question marks started floating around my head. [Why do I know of this?] Since pondering of things I didn¡¯t know about was useless, I decided to shift my gaze towards the boy named Keichi Acever. ¡°¡­¡± Keichi was standing in front of the school entrance, but instead of looking at the building, he was staring at me. I met his gaze with mine and for what seemed like an eternity, he silently stood there, watching me. Out of nowhere, my head suddenly felt like it was splitting apart. [A¡ªAhh!] I wanted somebody to help me¡­ but from whom? The only people who were here were Keichi and me. [Wait¡­ I¡¯m Keichi¡­ then who are you?] The Keichi look alike that stood in front of me became distorted. His image continued to change between a short girl which had silver hair and red eyes to a boy with black hair and black eyes. When the image of it finally became concrete, it took the form of a short girl of around a 100 cm with white hair that reached up to her hips. It was then and there that I realized the true identity of the creature in front of me. [You are me¡­ no that¡¯s wrong¡­ You were me.] ¡°Yes, I was you but now you are me¡± As I spoke those words, the pain in my head disappeared. Everything became clear as I fixed my gaze at it. I opened my mouth to it and continued. [You are dead and I am alive.] ¡°Yes, I am dead and you are alive.¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. [I was Keichi Acever but now I am Eulalia.] ¡°Yes, you are Eulalia and I am also Eulalia.¡± Eulalia who stood in front of me walked to me in very small steps. As if she was walking on water, every step she did, made ripples with blue lines on the darkness. I also stopped floating and stood on the darkness. When Eulalia was within arm¡¯s reach, she grabbed both of my hands and twined her fingers with mine. I didn¡¯t make any resistance to what she did and allowed her to pull me. She closed her eyes as I approached her and when our brows met, all the things I¡¯ve learned and experienced as Keichi Acever flowed into me. All the happiness and sadness I¡¯ve experienced as Keichi Acever became vividly clear. Eulalia suddenly separated her brow from mine and showed me a smile. No, the form she took right now was Keichi. Keichi, was 10 cm taller than me, Eulalia. So to see his smile, I had to look up to him. ¡°I¡¯ll be within you, Keichi/Eulalia.¡± [I¡¯ll be with you, Keichi/Eulalia.] Blinding light overflowed and dispelled the darkness which surrounded us. I closed my eyes to stop the light from it would make me blind, despite it being a dream. ¡°Haaa¡­ Haaa¡­ Haaa¡­¡± I opened my eyes and found the familiar roof of the warehouse I slept in. Standing up from the floor, I exited from the place. The sky had been dyed orange and it was becoming cold. Rubbing my shoulders, I trotted my way back to the street. When I exited the backstreets, my eyes opened wide from the scene that greeted my eyes. Before Keichi¡¯s memories merged with mine, I was quite bored of the scene that greeted me. But now, everything looked and felt different. The buildings were made of blocks of stone and wood, making it scene appear to be a painting about the Middle Ages. Carriages, Coaches and Wagons were pulled by horses. Even the dresses of the people were the same as what the peasants wore in the Middle Ages. My heart was filled with awe. I walked along the crowds and stared at how the humans lived in this world. Along the way, I saw some men who were equipped with swords and staves. I was curious as to why some of them carried staves and was shocked at the site of the things they did. A ball of fire was floating on his hand, it was something science could never explain of. In other words, what the man was doing was ¡®Magic¡¯! It was very shocking for me who had just recovered my memories. According to the memories which had just awakened, magic only existed in fantasy in my previous life. When I woke up from my daze, I was surrounded by a bunch of people who wore armors and had swords dangling on their waists. ¡°You brat! You dare block our Lords path!¡± I directed my gaze at the source of the voice, I saw a man with light brown hair and blue eyes unsheathing his sword. I only stared at the man not moving an inch. With practiced motion the man raised his sword above his head. ¡°Oi brat, move it or I¡¯ll kill you.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll really kill you if you don¡¯t move it!¡± ¡°¡­¡± A vein popped up from the man¡¯s temple and swung the sword down with an irritated face. Fwoosh* Just when the sword made penetrated the skin of my neck, the force suddenly stopped. A small amount of blood traveled from the blade and dripped to the ground. I made a small smile as I felt the slight pain from my neck and single mindedly stared at the baffled man¡¯s face. ¡°Stop what you¡¯re doing Leo. You¡¯re making a scene in the middle of the road.¡± A deep crisp voice was heard from the back of the man named Leo. Leo quickly removed the sword from my neck and made way for the person behind him. ¡°Even though you were about to die, the eyes you have at that moment held a very strong will. Young girl, may I know your name?¡± A tall man who height was around 190 cm faced me. He had deep wrinkles on his face and his blue eyes showed his deep intellect. The garb he wore loosely fitted his body and the sleeves on his arms dangled about in the wind. His purple dress looked very expensive and was filled with intricate engravings of a phoenix. Judging from the clothes that he wore, this man was a ¡®Nobleman¡¯. With a smile that only a granddaughter could love, the Old Nobleman reached out his hand. I stared at the hand of the man and thought what he was planning on doing. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Young girl, this old man only wants to know your name.¡± ¡°(Well, there¡¯s no harm in giving out my name.) Kei-- ¡­ Eulalia.¡± Although I stuttered and almost gave out the name of my previous life, it seemed like the nobleman didn¡¯t notice it as he was nodding if he understood something. ¡°I see, so your name is Eulalia. What a lovely name. It suits you quite well, Young girl.¡± I knitted my brow as I heard his flattery, but since he is a noble, it¡¯s better to at least show him some sliver of sincerity. I placed my right foot at the back, pinching an imaginary skirt and lifted it to the front before making a bow. What I was doing to the old man was a curtsy, it was a greeting made by girls in the middle ages. Since I¡¯m now a girl, it wasn¡¯t exactly unpleasant to do this. ¡°Thank you for the compliment, Dear Sir.¡± ¡°Hoo~ you seem to know proper etiquette, Eulalia.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just copying the things I see on the streets, Dear Sir.¡± The nobleman looked around the streets and made a smile as he understood the meaning of my words. ¡°It¡¯s quite a waste to have a child as sharp as you waste here¡­ okay, I¡¯ve decided. Eulalia, you are hereby my maidservant.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°You should feel honored that Lord Stuart has made you into his servant, you damn brat!¡± Peasants like me are under the mercy of nobles. No matter what they do or ask, we are always obliged to accept whatever they did. Since I have no choice but to accept this request, I shifted my gaze to the soldier who kept calling me a brat and made a small sigh. ¡°¡­ Then I¡¯ll be in your care¡­ Lord Stuart.¡± ### Haha! It''s me again! Well, I''ve posted the revised version of chapter 1 and titled it Eulalia. I suck at giving titles so bear with it. Hmm... Oh yeah the changes... Well, I added a glimpse of Eulalia''s life before the return of her memories, showed how her memories awakened in the dream instead of just saying ''I saw in my dream'', and also placed Stuart and Leo here... LOL Oh yeah, this chapter was a congregation of chapter 1, 2, and 3 in the previous version. :D Hmm... I don''t think most of you remember them cause I was on Hiatus and it''s boring to explain it so I''ll stop here. LOL See you tomorrow, I''ll upload the next revised chapter then
Yatta~ View count was resetted! I''m back to 7 or something. Chapter 2: Life in the castle (T^T) I opened my eyes and saw an unfamiliar ceiling. Its color was gray and was made out of stone. Thinking that I must¡¯ve been dreaming, I turned to my side only to be assaulted by a blunt pain from the back of my head. ¡°Hmm? So you¡¯re finally awake, little girl.¡± Hearing a new voice from my right side, I fixed my gaze to my right and found a young woman sitting on a wooden chair. She had hazel hair tied into a bundle on her left side and wore a black dress with a white apron. When I met her nut-brown eyes, a smile floated on her face as she stood up and approached me. ¡°How are you feeling? Does it still hurt?¡± She placed her hand on my head and started combing my hair with her fingers. Still feeling a bit disoriented, I knitted my brows and gave her a questioning glance. ¡°You don¡¯t remember what happened yesterday?¡± I tilted my head to the side and nodded to her words when I tried to recall the events that led to this. ¡°¡­ I can¡¯t remember.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± The woman made a troubled face and placed the hand that was stroking my hair to her cheek. ¡°¡­ can you tell me what happened?¡± ¡°Hmm, well I wasn¡¯t told not to tell you anything. Do you remember becoming our Lord¡¯s maidservant, young girl?¡± I nodded at the woman¡¯s words. ¡°Young girl, after you were accepted by our Lord and started following after him, a fruit merchant with bloodshot eyes suddenly approached you and started striking you.¡± I contemplated on the words spoken by the young woman and remembered the events that transpired. The fruit merchant, who approached me back then, was the same person who chased me because I stole some of his products. ¡°I see¡­ thank you very much¡­ um.¡± ¡°Tina¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°Then you can also call me, Eulalia, Tina.¡± I lowered my head to Tina to show the sincerity of my thanks. This person must¡¯ve sat there as I lay unconscious on this bed was what I had thought. The impression she left me was a kind hearted lady. ¡°Don¡¯t think about it, Eulalia. I was only here for a few minutes.¡± Tina waved one of her hands as she helped me stand up from the bed. She pushed a pair of clothes to me and said, ¡°Even though you¡¯ve just recovered, you¡¯re now a full-fledged servant of our Lord. You¡¯re still new here, so I¡¯ve been assigned to show you what you¡¯re supposed to do. Hurry up and get changed, Eulalia. We have a lot of ground to cover up.¡±, before exiting the room. I stood frozen in place for a few moments and stared at the clothes I was given. Spreading them in front of my eyes, I discovered that these were the same garments Tina wore. Though there were some differences, like the number of frills and the size of the clothes. If one were to look at them objectively, it was a mini-sized version of her clothes. ¡°Haa~ might as well wear them.¡± Clumsily wearing the dress and the apron, I walked out of the room when I was done changing. Tina stood there with a big smile and presented a black head band with white frills to me. Thinking that it was still part of the uniform, I humbly accepted the band and preceded our tour. ¡°Listen to me Eulalia, we servants are tasked to clean the rooms of castle and cook for the soldiers. The chefs that stay here are only tasked to cook for our Lord, so it¡¯s expected that they aren¡¯t doing anything most of the time.¡± While walking up the stairway which was lit by torches that was hung on the stone walls. Tina explained to me the things I needed to learn as a servant. When we exited from the dark staircase, I was greeted with a site that left me speechless. A hallway which seemed to be endless was burned into my sight. On one side, giant paintings of people hung on the right side of the wall. The other side had stained glasses that encompassed the 7 colors of the rainbow. The light that passed through them dyed the entire hallway with different colors and gave it a majestic feeling. ¡°Fufu, it¡¯s still too early to be surprised, Eulalia.¡± With a small laughter, Tina walked on the hallway, under the different colored rays of sunlight. Seeing her figure becoming smaller, I woke up from my daze and followed her. Entering room after room, what Tina said earlier was indeed true. The rooms were decorated in various ornaments and were either laced or engraved by gold. I was at awe whenever I saw the quality of every room and within me, the intensity of the raging flames of anger would also increase. (If they had spent the money they have towards development, then my mother wouldn¡¯t have died like that... and I wouldn¡¯t have experienced a life much more miserable than my previous life.) The day went by like this and when Tina saw that the light of the sun turning orange, she stopped walking and faced me. Clapping her hands once she told me to explore the castle by myself if I ever have free time, since by tomorrow, Tina would go back to her duties and I will also have to start my work then. Though I¡¯m quite anxious about cooking, I was quite confident in my cleaning skills because of the memories I had from my previous life. Going back to the room that only contained a wooden chair and a bed, Tina told me one last thing before we separated. ¡°I almost forgot, Eulalia, from time to time you may hear some screams during night.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ that¡¯s because some soldiers are either interrogating or torturing captives.¡± ¡°¡­ I see. (Hmmm, as expected of this world.) After she spoke those words, Tina closed the door. Her footsteps soon disappeared and when I had confirmed she had left, I started thinking what my life as a servant of this castle would be. ¡°As we passed some servants and soldiers when Tina was showing me around, the eyes most of them had contained anger and hostility.¡± I reminisced the time I spent the afternoon and along with the anger I felt whenever I see a luxurious room, a feeling of resignation would always float up whenever we passed people. ¡°Haa~ as expected, even in this life and in that life, I am destined to live a life of being hated by others.¡± Fancying that line of thought, I crept to my bed and closed my eyes. ### 2 years has passed since I became a servant in this castle. As I started my life here, I was met with hostility by my co-workers. The reason was because I embarrassed the Lord when he hired me from the slums. Even if they know it wasn''t exactly my fault but his for suddenly picking me up. I was still subjected to such glares. Although they were doing all of this to me, I found it quite comfortable living here. It¡¯s because the way they showed hostility to me, they didn¡¯t harass or do anything to me. They didn¡¯t ruin the objects I cleaned, nor did they increase my workload out of spite. So living here was quite comfortable compared to my previous lives. ¡°Eulalia! Here let me help you clean the garden!¡± A boy with golden hair and cerulean eyes approached me and started sweeping the leaves beside me. He wore leather armor on top of his tunic while a small sword dangled on his waist. What¡¯s also really surprising was that this boy had a striking resemblance to me in my previous life. ¡°Keith, are you sure? I think it¡¯s better for you act like the others and avoid me.¡± The name of the boy was Keith and he, like me, was also 12 years old. He was one of the very few people who would approach me as open like this. Like me, he was also a person from the slums which our Lord picked up on a whim. ¡°No worries, Eulalia. You¡¯re on your period right? Isn¡¯t your stomach painful?¡± ¡°Where¡¯d you hear that?¡± I narrowed my eyes as I stared at Keith. He started waving his hands around and told me he hear it from one of the maids. Though it¡¯s true that I¡¯m having cramps due to my period, it really feels uncomfortable when somebody says it to me. Since I was now a girl, having periods is normal, so it didn¡¯t surprise me greatly when I first experienced my menstruation a few months back. ¡°Haa~ stop worrying. I¡¯ve experience more painful things.¡± Keith made a complicated face when he heard my words and although he wanted to pry further, I gave him a glance that made him refrain. ### ¡°Hmm, Ne~ Eulalia, did you know that Miss Barbara has left the mansion.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± A few minutes after Keith started helping me clean the garden. He became bored and started an idle chatter with me. ¡°You don¡¯t know who Miss Barbara is, Eulalia?¡± ¡°Nope and don¡¯t start describing her, Keith. Even if you do, I won¡¯t even recognize her.¡± ¡°¡­ I see.¡± Keith made a sad face and continued cleaning his side of the garden. Seeing him like that, I remembered the circumstances that I had in my previous life. Although that person whom I¡¯ve thought of as a best friend had betrayed me, it doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ve stopped trusting people. What did change because of that was my ability to develop trust in people and also, as a result I would cherish the people I¡¯ve started trusting. Like my parents in the previous life. In this life, Keith had become somebody who was quite important to me. The 2 years I had spent here, he was the only one who¡¯d help me whenever I was assigned to work alone. When I had a fever, he would skip his training and stay by my side till I got better. Keith was like a big brother I never had and because of the things he had did for me, I have started trusting him. ¡°Eulalia?¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Is something wrong, you¡¯ve been staring at me blankly for a while now¡­¡± ¡°(Since when did he notice I was looking at him?) Ah, it¡¯s nothing Keith. I was just thinking how you look very similar to a person I once knew.¡± ¡°Is that person someone you care?¡± Keith¡¯s face was pale as he asked me that question. Though I don¡¯t know why he was worrying over something like that, it seemed like my words hurt him. So I gave him a smile and told him a little bit of the truth. ¡°Keith, that person was somebody who I had spent a lifetime with. Though he no longer exists in this world, I still believe that he¡¯s still alive here, in my heart.¡± ¡°¡­ I¡¯m sorry for making you remember something unpleasant, Eulalia.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t unpleasant at all, Keith.¡± The color of Keith¡¯s face returned and with a smile on his face, he resumed cleaning the garden. ### An hour has passed and right now, I held two glasses of water with both of my hands. One was for me and the other was for Keith, who was resting under the shade of a tree. ¡°Thanks Eulalia. I think that it would¡¯ve been better if I were the one who fetched the water.¡± ¡°What are you talking about, Keith? After how fast you were cleaning, do you even have the spare energy to go to the kitchen and back here?¡± ¡°¡­ but.¡± ¡°Consider this as my thanks for the help you did.¡± ¡°If you put it that way, then I won¡¯t be able to refuse, Eulalia.¡± Accepting the cup of glass in from my hand, he drank all of the water in one go and returned the glass to me with a smile. I was surprised at how fast he drank the water and thought how amazing it as. ¡°(Even in my previous life, I wasn¡¯t able to copy what he did just now.) Keith, is it okay for me to sit near you?¡± ¡°S-sure¡­ sure¡­ here.¡± Keith started panicking when he heard me and moved a bit to the side while patting the place he previously sat. I became curious as to why he was acting like that, but refrained from questioning him. Entrusting my weight to the back of the tree as I sat, I opened a basket that I prepared beforehand and gave one of its contents to Keith. ¡°Here, Keith.¡± ¡°Thanks, Eulalia.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± As Keith bit on the sandwich, his eyes widened greatly. ¡°Mmm! It¡¯s really great, Eulalia! This ¡®Ham Sandwich¡¯ you made is really delicious! I wonder why the maids and the chefs don¡¯t allow you to make food for others.¡± ¡°They said that it was preposterous to combine vegetables, meat and bread together, Keith.¡± ¡°They just haven¡¯t tasted it yet!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fret over it too much, Keith. I¡¯m already happy having a meal with you.¡± In my past life, I used to spend meals together with my family but never with friends. Nobody would ever like to eat together with me and instead, they would throw my lunch away or steal my money. Eating together with Keith like this was a fresh experience for me. ¡°(Eating together with friends really is great!) Tell me if you want more, Keith. There are lots more where that came from.¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Keith ate 10 sandwiches from the basket before he was satisfied. The appetite he had was really monstrous, even though the sandwiches were quite big, he was able to eat a lot of it. I even had a hard time finishing 2 and if I compare it to my previous life, eating a sandwich as large as the ones I made here, at most I would only be able to finish 5. ¡°You sure eat a lot, Keith.¡± ¡°It¡¯s cause they were delicious and was made by you, Eulalia.¡± ¡°Thanks for the compliment, Keith. Here, wipe your face with this napkin.¡± Keith accepted the napkin from my hands with a red face and while muttering something under his breath he started wiping his face with the napkin. ¡°I think, it¡¯s about time for me to go back to work. Keith, I think that you should also go back to your post, wouldn¡¯t you be scolded by Leo if he found out that you weren¡¯t there?¡± Keith frowned the moment he heard Leo¡¯s name. He stood up and patted his pants before making a serious face as he confronted me. ¡°Eulalia, I have something important to tell you.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°It concerns the war against neighboring country in the west.¡± ¡°You mean, Wendilia?¡± ¡°Yes¡­ the front lines are steadily getting pushed back, Eulalia.¡± ¡°Uh-huh.¡± ¡°So I wanna tell you something Eulalia. Will you¡­ escape from this place?¡± ¡°What about you, Keith?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ I¡¯m indebted to the Lord for taking me out from the slums, Eulalia. So I have to stay here, even if it means my death¡­ it¡¯s the only thing I can do to repay our Lord.¡± ¡°Is that so? Then I refuse, Keith.¡± Keith¡¯s jaw dropped to the ground the moment he heard my refusal. I made a small laugh as I realized that he wasn¡¯t expecting my refusal. The reason why he was able to tell me to escape was because he knows that unlike him, I¡¯m not all that loyal to the Lord. He even knows that I¡¯m harboring some hatred against him, not because he was a tyrant, but because of other factors. ¡°Why, Eulalia!?¡± ¡°You really don¡¯t know, Keith? Well, I¡¯ll tell you anyway. As you know, like you I also grew up from the slums and am an orphan like you. Almost everyone here either hates me or is angry at me, if it weren¡¯t for a certain person, I would¡¯ve escaped from his places a long time ago.¡± Keith¡¯s face became red when he heard my speech. ¡°(Why are you embarrassed, Keith? I don¡¯t think my words were embarrassing.) And if you tell me I¡¯d die if I were to stay here, then its fine, Keith. I¡¯m not afraid of dying, I¡¯m more afraid of losing somebody I¡¯ve come to trust more than that.¡± Since I had memories of my past life, I wasn¡¯t all that afraid of dying. ¡°But! But! Eulalia!¡± I became slightly annoyed from all his buts, so I placed a finger on his mouth to silence him. ¡°Let¡¯s end this discussion for now, Keith. I will never leave this place if you won¡¯t leave with me and that¡¯s final ok.¡± After saying those words, I headed back to the castle and ignored Keith¡¯s words. At night, like always, I was called again by Lord Stuart. For two years, it... has always been like this. ### High there, it''s KK_Akatsuki! Bringing to you a revised chapter of Eulalia''s Adventure. Since the changes are quite obvious I won''t make a list here. ^^ Instead, I''ll tell you why I was able to return earlier than expected. The reasons is quite simple, living in the moutains where even loading Baka-Tsuki took 30 mins in my tablet was hell. So a few weeks after staying there, I decided to beg to my friends till they gave in and went down. Though I''m not staying at my hometown but am instead staying at my relatives home which is 2 cities away from there. :D Hope this clears up some things to those who don''t know why.
My Hibiki just became Verniy! When I remodeled here, I suddenly remembered my previous Hibiki that sank and decided to dig through some videos on youtube. I''ll share the video about it to you guys. Chapter 3: Behind Closed Doors (-_-") A month has passed since Keith told me to leave Lord Stuart¡¯s Castle. Since then, Keith had stopped talking about it. It made me quite happy, yet somehow deep inside, I was a bit angry. I thought that this was due to a rebound effect of my current memories converging with those of my previous life and stopped pursuing the matter. It was April 23rd, a sunny Friday morning. Every Friday and Saturday, I was relieved from work and allowed to do anything I wanted during those days. In this world, months, days and years had names which were different from the ones in my memories. Learning about them required me to go to a school which was reserved exclusively for nobility; I decided to use the calendar in my memories. By the way, the first day of this calendar is the time when I had first worked here. ¡°¡­ 20¡­ 21¡­ 22¡­ 23¡­¡± ¡°Eulalia¡­ as I expected, you¡¯re here.¡± I stopped swinging my wooden stick the moment I heard Keith¡¯s voice. ¡°How¡¯d you know I was here?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been doing this since that day last year. Did you think I wouldn¡¯t know?¡± A year ago, as I walking along the corridors of the castle, a few soldiers that were patrolling saw me and came closer. Knowing that no one would help me if they went and started harassing me, they gathered around me and treated me as if I was an object for entertainment. The bucket of water I was carrying was taken from me and its content was poured all over me. Unlike the maids, who restrained their resentment, the bored soldiers surrounding me weren¡¯t. Instead of being passively aggressive, they wanted to be more open and active. They leered at me with lecherous eyes and laughed as they saw me soaked in water. Since they were stronger than me, even if it was one on one, I decided to endure their harassments and wait for them to get bored. Just when one of the soldiers was about to grab my shoulder, Keith suddenly appeared between us. I couldn¡¯t see his face at that time but the pressure he emitted from his back was enough to distort their faces in fear. They started whispering amongst themselves and left us. Although he was reassuring me that nothing bad was gonna happen to him, just because he openly defended me, his words held little to no weight, so I decided to check up from time to time on him for a few days. I noticed that Keith''s training was getting harsher and more strict. The exercises he did were twice, no, thrice the number of what other trainees did. Though he continued telling me that what he was experiencing was normal, I was secretly blaming myself for what he had to endure. Since that day, I decided to use all of my free time to practice with the sword and become stronger. Despite the fact that, that level of harassment was nothing noteworthy, compared to what had happened to me in my previous life, seeing it happen to a person I held dear, my heart felt like it was being pierced by a stake. It turned into my drive to get stronger, so that the next time a similar incident were to happen, Keith wouldn¡¯t have to suffer because of my weakness. ¡°Eulalia¡­ what¡¯s the point of you doing that anyway? I¡¯ve always been curious about it.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°That repetitive swinging motion you do all day.¡± ¡°Ohhh¡­ that~ well, there¡¯s really no deeper meaning to it. I¡¯m just doing it to relieve my stress. (I¡¯m lying, Keith. I¡¯m so sorry.)¡± I was actually copying what a swordsman was doing in a movie I once saw. But because I didn¡¯t know the exact reason as to why he was doing that and how he became stronger because of it, I couldn¡¯t tell him anything. Besides, I don¡¯t want Keith to know that I was doing it for him. ¡°Really?¡± Keith slowly went closer to me and his hand grabbed both of my shoulders. He silently stared at my eyes as he awaited for my answer. ¡°It¡¯s true!¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s fine¡­¡± Keith''s face was so near, that I could practically feel his breath brush my cheeks. His breath was so ticklish that it became a bit uncomfortable. ¡°Umm.. Keith¡­ you¡¯re really close¡­¡± When I uttered that phrase to him, his face quickly became beet red and fell on his back. ¡°Why¡¯d you fall? I didn¡¯t do anything?¡± He held his head down while quietly muttering something to himself. I tilted my head to the side and reached my hand out to him. ¡°Need help?¡± ¡°¡­ thanks¡­¡± Keith accepted my hand and had me help him stand up. As he regained his standing position, a gust of wind blew through my hair. So I closed my eyes and used my hand to keep my hair from covering my face. When the wind died down, I slowly opened my eyes and found Keith showing a very pale face. I shifted my gaze to where he was looking and saw a scene that would put anyone in despair. A large army marched along the plains in rows so tight, not even a single speck of green could be seen in this usually lush landscape. Their sheer number made the earth tremble with each step. Five banners were spread across them, they had symbols of a black dragon, climbing towards the sky. ¡°50¡­ thousand?¡± Keith muttered those words under his breath, showing a disheartened expression. ¡°I have to go back quickl--¡± Before he could finish his sentence, I grabbed his right arm and stopped him from leaving. I lowered my gaze and stared at the ground, strengthening my grip. ¡°Eulalia¡­ please let go¡­ I need to go there quickly.¡± I shook my head to his words. ¡°... Please.¡± ¡°No¡­ Keith, don¡¯t go. If you do, then you¡¯ll surely die¡­ there¡¯s no way you can survive.¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. I raised my face and locked my eyes with his. He made a puzzled expression as he relaxed his body and stood in front of me. ¡°Eulalia, aren¡¯t you grateful to our Lord? Didn¡¯t he give us a roof over our heads and meals for our stomach? Although I know that you don¡¯t really like him¡­ In the past I refrained from asking¡­ but now the situation is different. Eulalia¡­ why don¡¯t you like our Lord? Why are you so spiteful of him?¡± ¡°You¡¯re only able to say that cause you don¡¯t know what he really is¡­¡± He gave me a skeptical look and urged me to continue with his eyes. ¡°... I guess it¡¯s better to show you.¡± I started untying the ribbon on top of my chest and slowly removed the upper part of my clothes. Keith became flustered because of it and tried to stop me, but I still continued. I took a deep breathe and showed him my back when the last of my clothes was removed. Of course I held my front covered from his eyes, even I know that what I was doing is really embarrassing. ¡°This¡­ what is this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the reason why he picks up people from the slums, Keith. Do you really think that there¡¯s such a person who does something like this out of the goodness of their heart?¡± A warm hand traced my bare back and followed the lines of the wounds that crisscrossed over my back. ¡°Are you saying that our Lord did this to you?¡± I gave him a small nod. ¡°When has he been doing this to you, Eulalia?!¡± ¡°Even if you ask me when¡­ he started torturing me the week after I had arrived in the mansion.¡± ¡°Why!?¡± ¡°Even I don¡¯t know the answer to that question, Keith.¡± I took a glimpse at him over my shoulder and noticed that he was showing a very dejected look. He ground his teeth and tightened his fists until blood was dripping from his palms. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me any of this?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want you to know¡­ besides, I¡¯m already used to this.¡± ¡°... used to it? How can anyone get used to it!?¡± If you experience something like this every night, I think anyone can become apathetic to it. Although at the first time and in the first few weeks, the experience was quite painful. As the days went by, my pain threshold increased with every session. Now that I think about it, the very reason why my room was near the dungeons was for this, huh. ¡°I didn¡¯t want your face to be filled with anger. (If I showed it you beforehand, then your blood would have rushed up your head, making you forget reason and run to him. If you did that, surely you would die.) ¡°... how painful were they? Just how many times were you whipped?¡± ¡°I lost count and I gradually got used to the pain. (Well, yours were also included here.)¡± There was a day where Lord Stuart became bored of abusing me because I was getting indifferent. He remembered that Keith was a person who I got along with and told me that he would torture him in front of me. I couldn¡¯t take that, so I begged him not to bring him here and even made a deal with him. That was why there wasn¡¯t a night that I didn¡¯t spend in the dungeons. Even though I experienced hell every night for the past two years, the time I¡¯ve spent with the person who was my friend made everything worth it. So I was quite happy during those days. Although it felt really ironic to me that Keith idolized the Lord, because he didn¡¯t know who Lord Stuart really was. ¡°Kuh!¡± Contrary to my expectations, Keith started running towards the castle. I thought for sure that he would be swayed to run away after he saw the wounds on my back. ¡°(Is his admiration that deep?) Wait! Are you still gonna go back and serve him!?¡± ¡°After seeing that? Of course not!¡± ¡°Then why!?¡± ¡°For revenge!¡± Spoiler : Kk: Hmm¡­ Yep, this is good. Eu: What¡¯s good, Kk-sama? Kk: I think I was able to make the flow of this chapter good. Eu: That¡¯s nice¡­ btw Kk-sama, can I ask you a question? Kk: Sure? Eu: Why did you torture me here? Kk: ¡­ Eu: I can understand why I was bullied in my previous life¡­ but torturing me every night for 2 years? Kk-sama¡­ do you hate me? Kk: Of course not! Why would I hate you!? Eu: Read the chapter, Kk-sama¡­ Kk: There¡¯s a reason for it! Eu: Really? Kk: Really!! Eu: Could you tell me? Kk: Then I¡¯d be spoiling the readers¡­ though I think some of them are able to guess why already. Eu: You could whisper it to me. Kk: ¡­ Haa~ You win¡­ whisper* whisper* whisper* Eu: Kk-sama Kk: Hmmm? Eu: Please just die! Kk: This is one of the reasons why I did it to you!!! It¡¯s because you¡¯re always doing this to me! Eu: This and that are two different matters, Kk-sama. Kk: Huh? Eu: You don¡¯t even hate it, right? Kk: Who even likes getting tortured!? Eulalia points Kk. Kk: Are you implying that I¡¯m a masochist!? Eu: Uh-huh Kk: ¡­ Swoosh* A knife hits Kk_Akatsuki¡¯s right flank. Kk: Uggh¡­ Eu: Since you like getting hurt so much, I¡¯ll kill you, then revive you at the hospital, and kill you again. Kk: ¡­ Eu: Don¡¯t worry, those deaths will be painless. Kk_Akatsuki runs away* Eu: You¡¯re not getting away! Eulalia chases after Kk_Akatsuki* Chapter 4: Revelations Part 1 I am Stuart Jonas of Hiltherheight, an Earl of a bountiful land in the southwestern region of the country of Celestines. As the lord over 5,000 soldiers, I was a powerful Earl, dominating that province. One day, I received a letter that contained the order to move my troops to the frontlines. The order was for me to go to the western part this country and subjugate the bandits there, as well as defending the region. It was an unreasonable command where I would have to send all of my forces to the western front and leave my territory without any soldiers. So I decided to go to the capital to have an audience with King Henry the 20th and discuss about this matter. When I arrived at the capital, I wasted no time and went straight to the royal castle. Thankfully, the king showed understanding to my pleas and accepted my request to send only 1,500 soldiers. He sent word to other nobles near me to also deploy their soldiers to that region. After everything was done, I, along with my guards proceeded to return to my castle. Although I was able to convince the king, cooperating with the other nobles was another matter altogether. Most of them wanted to reduce my power and obtain dominance in that region. None of them would willingly send their soldiers, even if the king ordered it. Because the king knew of this, he dumped the responsibility of rallying their soldiers onto me. This was of course a very stressful job. I wanted to find a way where I would be able to relieve all the stress I was accumulating. Luckily, a girl with a beautiful silver hair and red eyes that contained an unbending will appeared before me. She was a ragged dirty girl, but she exuded a very regal atmosphere, even when Leo, my best guard, swung a sword at her neck. A desire to break her will and make her submit to me sprouted within me, so I decided to take her in to my castle. BAnd because she was a commoner, she was unable to refuse any of my orders. Making sure she won¡¯t run away from me, I gave her a fake smile that showed generosity and goodwill. When I told her to become my servant, the girl made a sigh before accepting my request. That sigh of her felt as if she was already used to all the unreasonableness of the world and because she couldn¡¯t fight against it, she had decided to just go with the flow of fate and accept whatever may happen, regardless of the result and conclusion. ¡°(She seems to be a very interesting child¡­ I can¡¯t wait to see how she will look after one night.)¡± Right after that, a commotion occurred where a fruit merchant suddenly appeared before the girl and smacked her head. It would¡¯ve been very troublesome if the girl were to die because of it, so I decided to intervene and stop the merchant. When he learned that the girl came under my wing, his eyes made a sparkle and demanded reparations for the food she had stolen from me. Since it was just a measly 50 copper coins, I gave him a silver coin which made him very happy. I then approached the girl and discovered a very interesting phenomenon occur to her. ¡°(It seems like this girl will be able to withstand my sessions for a long time¡­ excellent.) Leo, carry this girl to our carriage and have a maid nurse her back to health.¡± Leo grimaced his face before saluting to me. ¡°As you command, Milord.¡± A week has passed and my desk had a stack of papers on it. What was written on them were complaints, requests and negotiations from several of people. The most numerous papers were the letters that the surrounding nobles sent to me. All of them contained their refusal to send soldiers to the western front. I reached my limit and decided to have the girl go to the dungeon room at night. When night fell, I proceeded to the dungeons and saw the girl standing before the door with a puzzled expression. She stood at attention with her feet closed and her hands placed in front of her. As she saw me approaching her, the girl made a curtsy and bowed her head to me. When she met her eyes with mine, I could see that she was harboring some hostility to me. Seeing her like that, a vicious smile floated on my face and ordered some of the soldiers to grab her hands and restrained her to the dungeon. The sight of her struggling free felt really satisfying. She was bound to chains and was now dangling inside the room. I had a soldier undress her body as I took had some soldiers get the tools I would need. While I waited for the tools, I observed the situation unfolding in front of me. It was very surprising to see the girl make a deadpan face as the soldier stripped her. The expression she made disgusted him out, so he quickly undressed her and walked away after it was done. I approached the girl with small steps and held her chin with my hand. I wanted to see if she still possessed the same eyes she had back then even after she was being submitted to such treatment. My heart leapt in joy when I saw that she still possessed a strong will. ¡°Do you know why you¡¯re here?¡± ¡°¡­¡± The girl didn¡¯t answer my question and diverted her eyes elsewhere. Feeling pleased because of her defiant attitude, I smacked the girl¡¯s right cheek with my free hand. A red mark that had the same shape as my palm formed on her cheek. It felt very satisfying doing that and because I wanted her to despair, I asked her again. ¡°Do you know why you¡¯re here?¡± ¡°¡­ No.¡± Although the girl was still not looking at me, this time she answered my question. ¡°Do you wanna know why you¡¯re here?¡± ¡°¡­ No.¡± I punched the girls stomach and told her that she could only reply ¡®yes¡¯ to my questions. Even though I already know the answer, I still repeated the same question. ¡°Do you wanna know why you¡¯re here?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes¡­ please tell me.¡± I smiled and answered her. ¡°It¡¯s very simple, little girl¡­ the reason why you¡¯re here is to become my play thing. Not in a sexual meaning okay, I¡¯m not into little girls. I wanted something that I could use as an outlet for my stress and that¡¯s where you come in, little girl.¡± After hearing my words, the girl finally looked at me and with a very small voice she asked, ¡°Why¡­ me?¡± ¡°Coincidence.¡± The girl¡¯s eyes widened at my answer and a feeling of hopelessness invaded her eyes. Right at that moment, the soldier I sent to get the tools needed for my fun. When she saw those objects lining up in front of her, She started squirming on her spot and tried to escape. Seeing her like that really made me happy. ¡°... No¡­ no!... why! Even here.¡± The girl started muttering nonsense as she continued to make futile movements. I ignored her for now and approached one of the tools. I decided to use the whip first and tested it in front of her eyes first. Crack* The whip made a very satisfying noise and approached the girl¡¯s back. Crack* ¡°Kaa!¡± I whipped her back and heard her moan in pain and like the time when she was being beaten up by the merchant, her wounds were healing quite rapidly. Seeing that my eyes weren¡¯t lying to me, I continued to whip her. Her back, front, legs, and arms, I continued to torture her until she lost consciousness, all the while she continued to scream in pain. As she fell to the ground when the soldier loosened her bindings I ordered the soldier to carry her back to her room. Feeling uplifted after letting all of my pent up stress, I walked back to my study and returned to my room. Since then, I continued to call the girl to the dungeon and tortured her every night. Although she thought that I was had a healer heal her after every session, I didn¡¯t correct her from that misunderstanding. In fact, it was more convenient that she didn¡¯t know of her power. From time to time, I would change my approach on torturing her. Sometimes, I had some of her co-workers experience what she did, only to have them die halfway. On other times, I would brand her or carve her body using a knife. I didn¡¯t hit her vital parts whenever I carved her, her power was still unknown to me and she might die. She was still very useful, so killing her would only make very troublesome. There was a time where she got used to the pain and her expression would become flat, even though what she was experiencing could drive other people insane. It troubled me greatly so I had some of the soldiers follow her and learn if she had anybody important to her. When the soldiers reported to me that there was a person who was capable of making her smile, despite the treatment the other servants subjected her to, I was highly delighted. That night, I decided to use this to threaten her. Life returned to her previously dead eyes. Her expression became more vivid and the flat expression she formerly had seemed as if it were an elaborate act. Tears fell down from her cheeks and she continued to beg me to spare him. Of course I wasn¡¯t planning on killing that young boy, he was a very exceptional and talented boy. I was only using it as an empty bluff to make things fun and it worked wonders. Everything that happened after that night felt the same during the same time. Now, because one of her precious people was a hostage, her will to endure my tortures got stronger. That boy seemed to be very precious to her, because he was able to make her smile and was important enough to break her act. Since that night, my abuses escalated by a step, but because she was a monster with inhuman regenerative powers, she was still able to survive them. ¡°Milord, a force of 50,000 soldiers from Wendelia have been confirmed by the scouts. Their destination seems to be this place.¡± ¡°I see¡­ quickly scramble the knights and soldiers. Strengthen the gates and have the archers go to their positions. As for the mages, have them create a defensive barrier around the castle. Kill any that collapse from mana exhaustion, we don¡¯t need anybody useless in this defense.¡± ¡°As you command!¡± The soldier who gave me the report quickly ran out of my study. Moments later, the sound of bells rang throughout the castle. Soldiers scrambled and horses galloped everywhere. Archers position themselves on the ramparts and the mages that were stationed on various places started casting large barriers. I didn¡¯t know how magic works, but the sight of those giant symbols floating up in the air felt very secure. Though it looked very irritating to see different patterns, but as long as they properly do their job I won¡¯t say anything about it. Bang* As I continued to stare at my soldiers running about, the door to my study suddenly slammed open. I fixed my gaze at the intruder and discovered a young boy with golden blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes. What was even more surprising was that this boy was the very same boy who was so close to my plaything. I think his name was¡­ ¡°Keith! What are you doing here!? Didn¡¯t you hear the alarm? Quickly get back to your post!¡± Leo, who was one of my guards, shouted at the boy. ¡°(So his name was Keith.) Quickly state your business boy, can¡¯t you see that by wasting your time here, you are creating opportunities for the enemies to strike.¡± When I spoke those words, the boy gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with hostility and his body emitted a heavy pressure of killing intent. Though this boy was still small, the amount of killing intent he directed towards me was almost at the same level as a veteran soldier. I smiled and accepted it all. ¡°(Did the girl tell him of what I did to her? Interesting, though I¡¯ll need to punish her later for this.)¡± As I thought of what I would do to punish the girl, the boy unsheathed his sword and charged towards me. Leo, who was by my side, locked his sword with the boy¡¯s. Part 2 -Keith- ¡°Keith, have gone mad!? Why are you attacking our Lord? What did he do to warrant your hostility?¡± ¡°What did he do? You¡¯re asking me what he did after seeing the scars on her back!?¡± I jumped backwards and disengaged from my former comrade, Leo. ¡°Are you talking about the wounds on that thing?¡± ¡°Did you know about it?¡± ¡°Know about it? I saw how our Lord gave her those wounds. Did you think that I, one of our Lord¡¯s guard, wouldn¡¯t know about it?¡± I gnashed my teeth when I heard that he allowed that person torture Eulalia. She was a very kind and beautiful girl, why would these people want to see her suffer? ¡°Sir Leo¡­ did you know that the food she makes is very delicious.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Did you know, that even though people ignored her or were even outright rude to her, she endured all of those just because I was here¡­ what did she even do to deserve this treatment!¡± I gripped my sword tighter and charged towards Leo. He prepared to meet my sword, but at the last moment, I used my fist and punched him in the face. This made him stumble backwards and by using this chance, I slashed his arms turning him into a cripple. ¡°You think that you can win against me just because I¡¯m younger?¡± I wonder why, but even though I was fighting against a person who was my former comrade, I felt no remorse in cutting off his arms. ¡°Arrghh!!!¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.Leo, who lost both of his arms made a desperate attempt and charged towards me. Ironically, because of all the training my colleagues have given me because I was her ally, I became better and stronger than most of the soldiers inside this castle. As long as it¡¯s one-on-one, I was confident that I would be victorious. As Leo continued to charge towards me, I made a step to the side and used the handle of my sword to strike his head. Though he deserves death for abusing Eulalia, I was still grateful to him for training me. So I still felt reluctant to kill him. Clap* Clap* Clap* As Leo lost consciousness and fell to the ground, the sound of clapping resounded through the room. I turned my gaze towards the source and found our Lord. The person who had tortured Eulalia every night. The main target for my revenge. ¡°You truly are a skilled child. I¡¯m very happy that such a person is a part of my army.¡± I gave him a snort before replying to his words. ¡°I¡¯m not under you anymore¡­ and it¡¯s all because you made her suffer every night!¡± ¡°Is that so? Such a shame to lose such a skilled person.¡± I raised my sword and readied my stance so that I could charge at him anytime. ¡°Before I kill you, may I know the reason why you abused her?¡± ¡°... why? It¡¯s very simple actually. The reason why I did those things to her was because she was the perfect thing to relieve my stress on.¡± I gnashed my teeth and calmed my nerves, it was still not time to kill him yet. There were still many things I want to ask him¡­ and also do to him. I wanted to give this person the most painful death I could imagine, as a reward for what he did to Eulalia. ¡°Some people say that the best way to relieve your stress is by letting it all out on something. Who knew that it was actually true! Every time I whipped her and heard her scream, it felt very satisfying and fulfilling!¡± ¡°You¡¯re a sick bastard. I can¡¯t believe I once adored you.¡± After learning what he did to her, I became disillusioned about him. I thought that he was a very kind Lord, who was fair to everyone. He was hardworking and liked to improve the quality of life for those under his rule. He even made an orphanage for the children who lost their parents because of the war. This person would even gladly give a mother and her child a home to live in. He did so many things for the people under him. I thought that there must¡¯ve been a reason why he was doing those things to Eulalia. Somewhere within me, I still believed in him. That he didn¡¯t know what was happening to her. That there was a different person who was doing those things to her. ¡°(There¡¯s no way such a kind-hearted person like him was able to those things to her.)¡± It turned out that I was wrong, at this time I regretted ever asking him for the reason. ¡°It would¡¯ve been better for me if I hadn¡¯t heard it. So die!¡± I kicked the floor and raised my sword above my head and dashed to him. ¡°It won¡¯t be me that¡¯ll do the dying though¡­¡± At that moment, soldiers flooded into the room and held me down. ¡®Just how did they know about this? Nobody except me and him should¡¯ve been near this place.¡¯ I turned my gaze towards the door and found Leo laying there. Some of the soldiers that didn¡¯t hold me down gathered around him and were treating his injuries. It was also at that exact moment when a person with silver hair and red eyes came inside the room. The person that came inside was, Eulalia. ¡°Keith!¡± Part 3 -Eulalia- When I saw Keith¡¯s figure disappearing as he ran towards the castle. I hurriedly dressed myself and ran after him. Even though the clothes were still very loose and some of the buttons weren¡¯t properly inserted, I still chased after him. He was the very first friend I had made since I regained my memories. I wanted to treasure him more. I wanted to spend time with him more. I wanted to talk to him more. He was the very reason why the past two years became bearable. I was greatly indebted to him, I was really happy that he became my friend. I don¡¯t care what I¡¯d experience, as long as I get to spend time with him, everything would be fine. Even if I was tortured every night and got treated like dirt by everyone, as long as he remained my friend, everything would have been fine! Clang* Clang* Clang* The alarm which signalled to prepare for an enemy attack resounded within the castle. Everyone became frantic and started running around everywhere. Since all of them were very busy, not one of them paid any attention to my disheveled look. Which in this situation, was quite a blessing. ¡°Was showing him some of the wounds that weren¡¯t healed by magic the wrong move? Oh God, please¡­ I don¡¯t care if everyone else abuses me¡­ Please just let Keith live!¡± I continued to run down the long hallway and when I was finally near the Lord¡¯s study, I saw a lot of soldiers enter the room. When I got closer, I saw a person who looked quite familiar, lie on the ground with his hands cut off. Imagining a blood bath occurring all because of my rash decision, I increased my speed a bit more. When I arrived, I saw three soldiers holding Keith down and the remaining ones, guard the Lord while some treated Leo. ¡°Keith!¡± ¡°... Eulalia?¡± I quickly tried to approach him, but was captured by the soldiers that should¡¯ve been guarding the Lord. ¡°Bastards! Let go of her!!!¡± ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you quite the selfish child. First you want to kill me, now you want them to listen to your words?¡± Keith gritted his teeth as he angrily stared at the Lord. He slowly went closer to Keith and picked up his sword from the floor. Then, as if taunting me, the Lord raised his sword in front of Keith. ¡°No! Please! Anything but that! Please don¡¯t kill him! I¡¯ll do anything¡­ even if I¡¯m locked up inside the dungeon for the rest of my life¡­ please just don¡¯t kill him.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ it would¡¯ve been interesting to see your reaction once I¡¯ve killed this boy, but I came up with a better idea.¡± The Lord lowered his sword and drew closer to me. He had a big smile on his face, this smile was the same smile he would have everytime he¡¯d torture me. It was a sickening smile that seemed to take pleasure in seeing me experience pain. ¡°Because I need to punish the boy for trying to kill me, I¡¯ll need to show him what you really are. After he sees that, I wonder what kind of expression he¡¯ll make.¡± All of a sudden the Lord thrust his sword towards me, the place he aimed for was my stomach. Like in my previous life, I died because I was stabbed in the stomach when I tried to walk past a suspicious guy ¡°Ughhh!¡± It felt ironic that I was gonna die in this life with the same wound that I started out with in my previous life. Unlike the knife the murderer used, the sword was dull and badly maintained, so I experienced a lot of pain the moment it entered my body. ¡°Eulalia!!!¡± ¡°Kukuku¡­ nice expression boy. Now, you¡¯ll see what this girl really is.¡± ¡°Kuhh!¡± The Lord used the embedded sword to torment me before slowly removing it. The moment the sword was removed, a lot of blood gushed out of my body and spilled onto the floor. Even my mouth tasted like iron and I felt drool escaping from my lips. A few moments later, while my hands were held by the soldiers, I vomited blood. He then started slashing my body, creating lots of shallow wounds all over me. ¡°You bastard!! I¡¯ll kill you! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± All throughout this time, Keith continued to curse the Lord while he was being held down by the three soldiers. His strength must have been quite something, because he was able to escape their hold by squirming under them and freeing a hand. He then used that hand to grabbed a sword that dangled on the waist of one of the soldiers but was denied and had the hand binded by another soldier. ¡°This is the best part boy, look at the wounds I inflicted.¡± At that moment, as my consciousness started to get hazy, I saw Keith open his eyes wide at me. I couldn''t understand his reaction, so I decided to look at the wounds myself. I saw something a normal human shouldn¡¯t possess. My wounds were closing at a very fast rate and some of the wounds I had were gone, it was as if they weren¡¯t there from the start. Since I wasn¡¯t able to look at my own body whenever the Lord would torture me, this was the very first time I had seen this myself. The wounds, which I thought were healed by magic, were in fact closed by my strong regenerative ability. It was as if I was a¡­ ¡°Monster! See boy, this girl isn¡¯t a human being! She¡¯s a monster that wears the skin of a human¡­. So tell me boy, are you still gonna say that you''re gonna protect this monster?¡± Keith didn¡¯t answer for a while. His silence as he stared at me made me very anxious. Then he gently smiled as he stared at me and said, ¡°I don¡¯t care even if she¡¯s a monster to you¡­ she¡¯s still a very important person to me. I will still protect her, even if she became the enemy of the world, I¡¯d still be her ally.¡± ¡°(To think he treasured our friendship this much¡­ You really are a true friend, Keith.)¡± Even though most of my wounds were healed, I could still feel a lot of pain in my stomach. ¡°Wrong words, boy.¡± The Lord directed his eyes towards one of the soldiers and it made a nod when he met his gaze. The soldier walked closer to Keith and unsheathed his sword in front of him. He raised its sword and with swung it down towards Keith¡¯s neck. ¡°No!!!¡± Even though it was painful to breathe, I used all of my remaining strength in that scream. In that instant, time slowed down and the world became monochrome. Everything except for Keith and the sword that was slowly moving towards his neck disappeared from my view. At this moment, my mind became blank and a voice resounded within my head. This voice sounded very nostalgic, this was a voice I used to have in my previous life. A string of words floated on my head and with nothing else to cling on, I recited it under my breath. [I, the mother of a race that has yet to exist, implore the power the sleeps within me,fulfill my desires.] As I spoke those words, the blood that was spilled on the floor shone and flew towards Keith and protected him. Klang* ¡°What the!¡± Using the surprise of the soldiers, I imagined the blood becoming blades and flying towards all the soldiers, including the Lord. As the blood turned into what I desired, I coughed blood and fell to the floor. Without me being able to confirm if the people inside the room had died, I lost consciousness. -A/N- Spoiler : Before you start talking about how different Lord Stuart become in this series. Stop for a moment and remember how in the previous series, he started creating monster and walked on the the path into becoming a demon lord as a result. Also, remember how he was a commander of the rebels in the original. So I still sticked to his original character design and only made a few tweaks. Eulalia was only able to see His side as a torturer, so that should explain how prejudiced I made it. Hopefully, I was able to make it work well. Writing in a first person view while sticking the knowledge and vision an MC should have is hard work. I mean, as a writer of a story, you already know what the person in your story really is. The only problem is that because this story is in the 1st POV, I have to write in a way that it is biased and prejudiced¡­ so yeah~ Hahaha Hopefully, the change of POV I made in part 2 was enough to subtly give you a peek of what the Lord appeared to the people who adored him. This is very useful for the future chapters. Hehehe All men have different faces when talking to others, some may see you as this, others may see you as that and some stuff like that. I tried writing this chapter without ending it in a cliffhanger in the end, only to have it backfire¡­ LOL. Oh yeah... I added a sentence or two in the previous chapter since what you all said did make sense. That explains the emoticons (-_-") and (T^T)... LOL Well, that¡¯s all for now~ PS, I can''t make a good name for this chapter... so please suggest me a good name... hehehe
RAWR!!!! Chapter 5: Escape Part 1 I had expected to die full of regrets the moment Lord Stuart signaled one of the soldiers to cut off my neck. In my supposed last moments, I burned Eulalia¡¯s image into my mind, one last time before I had to depart from the world, only to have born witness to something unnatural. She had used magic just now, the ability to create miracles. The moment the sword was about to make contact with my neck, Eulalia¡¯s eyes suddenly showed a reddish glow as she murmured something under her breath. The blood she spilt on the floor floated up and quickly stopped the sword. Klang* A metallic sound rang through the room, stunning not just me but even Lord Stuart and all the soldiers who saw the blood. The instant the sound died down, the blood that had protected me separated and turned into 20 floating swords. Those swords then flew towards all of the people inside the room, stabbing them before they could react. Even our Lord wasn¡¯t spared from this fate. ¡°¡­!¡± When I saw her falling down to the floor, my body quickly reacted, catching her. Even when my mind was stunned from shock of the incident that had occurred in front of me, my body would still react and protect her. Hehe¡­ it really does seem like my feelings for her aren¡¯t just superficial. I would sometimes wonder when I started feeling like this and whenever I did it, my mind would just go around in circles. ¡°Are you okay, Eulalia?¡± I tried asking her if she was okay, only to find out that she had lost consciousness. Looking around her body, it seems like almost all of her injuries have vanished. I let out a sigh of relief and place her hands on her stomach before I lifted her up and carried her like a princess. ¡°Eh?¡± The moment my gaze fell on her abdomen, I discovered that the stab wound inflicted to her by our Lord didn¡¯t close. Blood was still dripping out of the wound and on further observation, the color of her skin was getting paler and paler. ¡°Milor¡ªKyaaaaa!!!¡± As I was about to start treating Eulalia¡¯s wound, I suddenly heard a high pitched scream. Turning my gaze towards the source, I found a woman with hazelnut colored hair that reached up to her shoulders. She had sharp upturned eyes and wore the same clothes as Eulalia. The face she was making was one of fear and anger. Thinking that it would be dangerous to stay here any longer, I ran towards the door and increased my speed when I reached the hallways. I looked outside for a moment and saw that one of the barriers had been befallen by an uncountable number of cracks. Though I don¡¯t really know how magic works, seeing those cracks gave me a very bad premonition. ¡°Have they begun their siege?! Shit!¡± I continued running along the hallway and down a flight of stairs as I carried Eulalia. Avoiding panicked maids, scrambling soldiers and other obstacles, I increased my speed whenever I took a quick look at Eulalia¡¯s worsening condition. I decided to leave through the kitchen because I thought I wouldn¡¯t encounter soldiers there, because it was located in the back. What I saw the moment I ran out of the door, was a long file of soldiers guarding the entrance. At first I decided to stop and wait for them to leave, but because I couldn¡¯t stay here any longer thanks to the risk of the maid reporting what happened with the Lord to others, I decided to just run through them. ¡°What!?¡± ¡°Where are you going!?¡± Ignoring the shouts of the soldiers, I dashed through their lines, moving between their gaps and escaping their capture. When I saw a soldier unsheathing his sword and making a stance to stop me, I resolved myself to continue my sprint. Slamming my back against the soldier to protect Eulalia, his body became a makeshift ram and busted the wooden door in the castle walls open. ¡°Great!¡± Even with all my training and skills, busting a door open like that was something that was normally impossible for me. But because my mind was filled with nothing but escaping from this castle, my common sense was turned off and a rush of adrenaline circulated within my body. I continued to run even when I was outside the castle. When I decided to stop running, I was already quite a long distance away from the castle and was now overlooking it from the top of a hill. The place where we were staying was still dangerous because of the risk of getting caught up in the crossfire was high, but because I was getting tired, I decided to stop for a moment before continuing my escape. I placed Eulalia under the shade of a nearby tree and started thinking what to do. ¡°Her bleeding still hasn¡¯t stopped! Lord Stuart said that any wound inflicted to her would heal! Then why hasn¡¯t this wound healed!¡± I realized that I didn¡¯t know how to treat a wound to the stomach. We were instead trained on how to reduce the pain we experience once we¡¯re pierced and fight till the end. Normally when in a battle, once a soldier was inflicted with a fatal wound like the one Eulalia has, he would be abandoned and left to die, but I could never do that to her. ¡°¡­ a¡­¡± As I was panicking, I noticed her mouth twitching. It looked like she was trying to tell me something so I tried placing my ear near her mouth. Suddenly, I was pulled by Eulalia¡¯s hand and a painful stimulus was felt from my neck. Gulp* Gulp* Gulp* The sound of someone swallowing a liquid was heard. I tried to remove Eulalia from me but I couldn¡¯t do it because she was already hurt, if I were to push her away from me, her injury may become more severe. She continued to drink my blood for a while and stopped only when I was starting to feel dizzy. She then fell towards my chest and the rhythmical sound of peaceful sleeping entered my ears. I slowly placed her on the ground and checked if she was still bleeding. ¡°Haaa~ Thank goodness, it stopped¡­ even the color of her skin went back to normal. Did she recover because she drank my blood?¡± As I said that, I placed my hand on top of my nape where bit me and strangely there was no wound on my neck. I only felt a slight dizziness and weakness which acted as proof that I was suffering from blood loss. I slowly sat on a tree and guarded her as she slept. Part 2 I woke up and felt the itchy feeling that grass would make when your skin is touching it. Opening my eyes, I discovered that I wasn¡¯t inside the castle nor was I inside the dungeon. Instead, the place I woke up in was the forest behind the castle. Surveying my surroundings, I discovered that it was already night and that Keith was sleeping on a tree. I stood up from where I slept and walked towards him. Brushing his bangs aside, I saw him blissfully sleeping. ¡°Now that I think about it¡­ how did we end up outside? The last thing I remember was that Keith was gonna die¡­ then¡­ what? Did he overpower the people who held him down and escape?¡± Concluding that that was what had happened, I began to focus my thoughts on assessing my body. Hiding behind a tree, I took off my clothes and started examining myself. ¡°There are no wounds on my arms and legs. Even the stab wound I had was healed¡­ am I really a monster?¡± Thinking about what the Lord said, I started getting suspicious about my own identity. ¡°(I remember how I lived in my previous life¡­ no matter how bad my injuries are¡­ they would heal by themselves¡­) It does seem that I truly am a monster¡­ hehe, I don¡¯t even know if I should be happy learning about this.¡± I raised my head and looked at the moon that hung in the night sky. On my right, there was a faint glow of orange that shone brightly. ¡°It seems like the siege hasn¡¯t ended yet¡­ I wonder if they can hold it.¡± Rustle* Rustle* I heard the sound of rustling leaves behind me, so I turned my gaze towards it and found Keith stepping out through the bushes. ¡°... Eulalia are you oka-- wahhh! Why are you naked!?¡± Keith covered his eyes and turned his back to me. I looked down on my body and discovered that I still hadn¡¯t dressed myself. ¡°(I had the memories of a man in my previous life, so I wasn¡¯t that embarrassed when saw me naked¡­ but it¡¯s not like not I can tell him that.) Sorry! I¡¯ll put on some clothes!¡± I started putting on the clothes I hanged on the branches. ¡°I¡¯m done, you can look again.¡± With sluggish movements, he turned his body and faced me. ¡°Are you really okay? You¡¯re not in pain anymore? Are there any problems with your body?¡± He rapidly started asking me lots of questions with a panicked expression. It looked like he really worried about me, making me smile inwardly. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°I¡¯m okay¡­ I¡¯m not in pain and I¡¯m not having any immediate problems.¡± I showed him my arm which was wounded by Lord Stuart¡¯s sword while I had been caught. While I was talking, I also decided to tell him some of my thoughts. ¡°It was your fault that I was caught, we would¡¯ve escaped more smoothly if you didn¡¯t let the blood rush to your head.¡± ¡°... I¡¯m sorry.¡± Now that we were safe, my anger towards his rash behavior was the first thing I could think of. But the moment I saw his sad expression, all that anger was blown away. ¡°It¡¯s good that you''re reflecting on it. (I¡¯m really soft to him, huh.)¡± I thought that maybe it would be for the better if we went our separate ways. Even though he said that he¡¯d be my ally even if the world becomes my enemy, I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯d feel uncomfortable if he had to stay close to a monster like me. Thinking about the prospect of never seeing him again made me want to cry, so I turned my back to him. ¡°... Keith.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s better if we split up¡­ you don¡¯t like staying with a monster like me, right?¡± Thud* The instant I spoke those words, a loud sound was heard behind me. ¡°What!? Who told you that!?¡± ¡°No one did¡­ I just feel that that¡¯d be the case if you continued to stay with me.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that even if the world becomes my enemy, I¡¯d still be your ally!? You don¡¯t believe me!?¡± I hugged my shoulders and shook my head. ¡°I believe you¡­ I was actually happy when you said that to me.¡± The moment I said those words, silence ruled the atmosphere between us. A breeze swept through the grass creating a rustling sound around us. The moment it died down, Keith broke the silence. ¡°Then are you saying you don¡¯t like me?¡± ¡°Of course I do!¡± Feeling angry at his conclusion, I turned my face to him. When my eyes met his, a shocked expression could be seen on his face. ¡°(Ah, I let him see my crying face.)¡± Because I was a bullied child in my previous life, I disliked being seen by others when I cry, as it felt like showing weakness. Even though I had painful experiences in the past, he was the first person, besides my family in my previous life, who saw me while crying. I felt awkward so I started walking away from him. After walking for maybe five steps, a hand suddenly grasped my right arm. I didn¡¯t need to look to know who grabbed me, so I didn¡¯t face the culprit when I sternly told him to let go. ¡°No, do you think I¡¯d let you go alone and live the rest of my life in comfort while you''re miserable somewhere?¡± ¡°It¡¯s for the better! We¡¯re still young, so it¡¯s natural that you think impulsively like that, but would you think the same 5 years later? 10 years later?¡± He strengthened his grip and shouted, ¡°I¡¯m not being impulsive! I¡¯d still stand by my promise, no matter how many years will pass!¡± ¡°You¡¯re just saying that!¡± ¡°Then how can I prove to you that I¡¯m not lying!?¡± As he said that, I stopped struggling against his grip and started thinking. The image of a story I once read in my previous life went through my mind and without thinking it through, I told him to copy it. ¡°... then kneel down before me and kiss the back of my hand. Then make an everlasting oath with the moon and the stars as the witness.¡± Without missing a beat, he quickly walked in front of me and did what I told him to. ¡°I swear upon the moonlight that I will forever stay besides you and the moment you die will also be the moment I die.¡± As if it was prearranged, the moonlight shone only on us while darkness covered our surroundings. His appearance became clear and I saw him make a serious expression as he stood in front of me. When I saw him make such a face it felt a bit unfair, because I felt really embarrassed by what he just did. I also felt really awkward and confused as to why I asked him to do that. But because he was so serious when he made that exaggerated oath, I didn¡¯t move my face away from him and smiled awkwardly. ¡°We won¡¯t know if that¡¯d truly happen though.¡± ¡°No, it will. I¡¯ll make what I swore a reality¡± Part 3 The castle walls were crumbling outside and fire burnt everything they protected. Shouts and screams of men reverberated in the atmosphere around me I sat in front of the room where the dead body of my life¡¯s benefactor lay. I don¡¯t know how much time had passed, but I didn¡¯t stop staring at it. This man was the person who saved me from the slums. He accepted me into his castle and made me into a servant who worked for him. There were also others like me when we arrived. Ever since I became his servant, my life had become really happy. I was told by the other servants that he was a very noble person. He was kind to those under his rule and helped those who were in need. I also believed that what they said was true because I was one of those whom he helped. My days passed blissfully like this and I sincerely hoped that it would continue. But life isn¡¯t always that easy. One day when I was told to call our Lord to the front lines of the castle to defend it, a horrific scene lay before my eyes. I became paralyzed, I swam my eyes around the room and saw a boy with blonde hair and cerulean blue eyes hugging an unconscious silver-haired girl. Seeing that silver-hair, I quickly realize who the murderer was. That girl was the one who was frequently talked about by my co-workers. Like how she embarrassed the Lord at the time when she was hired. She was even seen staring at him with hostility. I wanted to scream for help but my voice wouldn¡¯t come out from my mouth. I only sat in front of the room and saw the boy carry the girl in his arms. He quickly sprinted out of the room and through the hallways. A few seconds later, his silhouette disappeared from my view. Since then, I only sat here, staring at my Lord¡¯s dead body. Our sSoldiers ignored my existence and continued to run behind me. Even the enemy soldiers were the same. A day has passed and the castle has fallen to the enemies¡¯ hand. I was led around by a stranger and along with the other maids, we were gathered in the courtyard. A bit further from us, I saw a burning mountain of dead bodies that were piled on top of one another. ¡°These are all the civilians that remained?¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± A man with pink hair, who was riding a horse stopped in front of us. He wore expensive clothing and had several medals dangling on his chest. I thought that this person surely was the leader of this army. He got off his horse and circled around us, inspecting us. The moment I met his eyes, he started shouting to a nearby soldier. ¡°Set them free! We¡¯re not like those barbaric nobles of Celestine who¡¯d plunder our women the moment they capture our city!¡± ¡°As you command.¡± By his words, the soldiers that rounded us up reluctantly let us go. The others bewilderedly started walking towards the gate but I only stood in place. I didn¡¯t avert my eyes from him and neither did he. ¡°Kid, you have the eyes that seemed to have lost the meaning of their existence.¡± As he continued to stare at me, his eyes suddenly widened. Even though he made such a reaction, I was still unmoved and just silently stared at him. ¡°...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what this place meant to you, but because I was the one who took this place from you, feel free to exact your revenge on me. I¡¯ll always be ready anytime. Just be sure that you''re also ready to die by then¡± The man then presented me with a sword when he finished talking. ¡°(Revenge? That¡¯s right¡­ that girl took the life of my benefactor, so it should be alright to also do that to her¡­ this person in front of me didn¡¯t take away this place, it was her. She deserves to die for what she did!) ¡­ no.¡± Though I said no, I accepted the presented sword and followed the other servants who were walking towards the gate. ¡°Sir¡­ is it alright to just give her that sword?¡± ¡°Because of today, she has become an avenger. I was sure that the target of her revenge was me, so I presented her with a sword to fight me, but it seems that I¡¯m wrong.¡± ¡°What do you mean, sir.¡± ¡°Her target is someone else¡­ that¡¯s why she only took the sword and walked away.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid that the person who¡¯s become her target won¡¯t experience a peaceful death¡­ I just hope that her target isn¡¯t one of us.¡± **** Sorry, no sudden plot twists~
Yawn~ Good night Chapter 6: Setting Destinations After that embarrassing episode, Keith suddenly collapsed in front of me. It seemed that the escape he did while he carried me was very tiring. Since sleeping without a pillow may hurt his neck, I gave him a lap pillow. Throughout the night, as he slept, I thought about where and what we should do. ¡°I never thought we¡¯d run away like this¡­ I wonder where we should go.¡± In the south, where the climate was warmer, there¡¯s a possibility of finding a beach. In the north, there was a country where beastmen and the like exist. In the west, a school that teaches people magic existed. The east was no good because it was currently at war against Celestines. ¡°The beach sounds good, so is meeting a beastman¡­ but I¡¯ve always been curious about magic.¡± I continued stroking Keith¡¯s hair as I thought of our future. ¡°If we¡¯re talking about magic, there¡¯s flying magic, teleportation magic and stuff like that. Isn¡¯t that pretty convenient?¡± I remembered some of the show that featured magic in my previous life. I felt that it was the most useful out of the three, so I decided to go west and enroll in the magic school together with Keith. ¡°Now our only problem is food and water for our travel.¡± ¡°¡­ Don¡¯t worry¡­.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± I was surprised when I heard Keith answer me, but I found out that he was still asleep. ¡°Hehe¡­ I never thought you had a habit like this.¡± *** Morning came and Keith woke up with a really surprised face. ¡°D-did I fall asleep?¡± ¡°Nn, you did. You head was really heavy you know.¡± ¡°Heh?¡± He became silent for a few moments. When he finally discovered what he was using as a pillow, he quickly stood up. He was really red up to his ears. ¡°S-sorry!¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t a problem.¡± I slowly stood up and dusted the dirt off my clothes. Keith started breathing deeply and when he was finally calm, he asked me a question while diverting his gaze. ¡°Uhh, do you have any destinations?¡± ¡°Nn¡­ well, let¡¯s go west. I heard that there¡¯s a school for magic there.¡± ¡°Ahh, you wanna go to Austeria?¡± I nodded to his question with gusto. He then placed his hand on his chin and started muttering something. ¡°We can go there, but we¡¯d need to go through a mountain pass. It¡¯ll take a year to travel from here to there.¡± ¡°That¡¯s quite far. How¡¯d you know?¡± Keith raised his face and stared at the sun for a few moments before he answered me. ¡°It was part of the training. We were told to memorize distances between cities so that we¡¯d manage to come back here if ever we were separated.¡± ¡°Hee~, your training seems tough. I¡¯m amazed you managed to do all those.¡± Keith panicked and started moving his hands before he ran away. ¡°Where are you going!?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to gather and hunt for food!¡± ¡°Is that so? Be careful ok!¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Seeing his silhouette getting smaller and smaller, I started thinking about other things. (Hmm, since his very skillful, it seems like food and water won¡¯t be a problem. Then the only thing we need is money huh.) I searched my pockets if I managed to carry any and discovered that I only had 4 copper coins. Though every country has their own measurements for Gold to Silver to Copper. In Celestines, 1 gold is equal to 100 silver coins and 1 silver coins is equal to 50 copper coins. ¡°This is enough to buy us food and lunch in a town¡­ I wonder how much Keith managed to bring.¡± I sat under a shade for a few minutes until Keith came back with some fruits and berries. Since he picked them, they must be safe, so I cleaned it using my sleeves before taking a bite. ¡°Then, can we go to Austeria to learn magic?¡± ¡°Yep, but do we have the money to learn?¡± I nodded to his question and swallowed a mouthful of fruits. ¡°As we travel, we¡¯ll sell the things you hunted to some merchants. Once we¡¯ve arrived at Austeria, we¡¯ll negotiate with them and become working students.¡± ¡°But will they accept?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really know.¡± The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Eh?¡± I could understand why Keith was anxious. Even I wasn¡¯t sure if this method would work, but because we won¡¯t lose anything even if we failed. I decided to gamble our chances. ¡°We¡¯ll know once we get there. For now, let¡¯s get going while the day is still early.¡± I stood up and started walking forward. ¡°Ummm¡­ Eulalia, Austeria is the other.¡± I looked at Keith and found him pointing in an opposite direction. Who¡¯d blame me if I was going the wrong way anyway, I¡¯m not some survivalist. I¡¯ve only been a bullied student in my previous life and a slum girl who became a servant in this one. So I¡¯m not ashamed. Turning 180 degrees, I followed Keith while he was trying his best not to laugh. *** We continued walking for hours and there was still no sign of human civilization. ¡°Hey, are there any villages nearby?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I don¡¯t really know.¡± Keith answered my question half-heartedly as he swung his sword to clear away the vegetation. I didn¡¯t become angry at him for answering me that way cause he was busy. ¡°I thought finding the way back was part of your training? How come you don¡¯t know if there¡¯s a nearby village?¡± ¡°Well, for one thing¡­ we aren¡¯t following the main road for traveling, so I don¡¯t really know where we are.¡± My eyes became wide when I heard his answer. ¡°Then, aren¡¯t we lost!?¡± ¡°¡­ not really, I generally know where Austeria is.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I quickly moved in front of Keith to stop him. I stared into his eyes as I waited for his answer. ¡°Really!¡± Keith replied to me with quite a red face as he slowly backed away from me. As he backed away, I saw him diverting his gaze away from me. ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you meeting your eyes with mine?¡± ¡°N-nothing¡­¡± I narrowed my eyes and emitted a threatening aura to him. ¡°You¡¯re lying! We¡¯re lost aren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°I said that we¡¯re not lost!¡± ¡°Then tell me why you know where Austeria is?¡± Keith pointed his finger to the sun in response to my interrogation. I scowled and stared at the sky. ¡°Umm, the sun rises up from the east. Using that, I managed to learn where it is.¡± It took me a while before I understood his answer. Discovering that I was wrong, I quickly apologized to him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I was just really insecure¡­ it¡¯s my first time traveling through a forest.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay¡­ it¡¯s my first time too.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Since he was moving so naturally, I thought that he was already used to moving through a forest. ¡°It¡¯s cause I¡¯ve been training.¡± I covered my face with my hand and started laughing. ¡°Hahaha¡­ I can¡¯t believe it¡­ I thought you were already a veteran¡­ haha¡­¡± Keith became red and started scratching the back of his head. After a few minutes of laughing, I finally managed to calm down. ¡°Then I¡¯ll believe in you, Keith. Show me the results of you training.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± As he replied to my request with an enthusiastic shout, I was really glad that he was a friend I could show all my good sides and bad sides. Being this open to somebody feels really great. Spoiler : Hey there, I''m back... I could post any stories last week due to some festivities relating to Easter. ^^ Also, I''m really happy that I''m finished with those five heavy chapters. In the original, it was Chapter 29 to 31. From Kidnapping to With the moon and the lake. ^^ Since, I''m done with those heavy ones, I can finally rest easy. Though I was a bit hurt in the last comment of chapter 5, but what he does say was true and I know that I was at fault... T^T Well, that''s it for now, btw, I''m gonna post a chapter everyday for nor. I don''t know when my chapters would become irregular again though :D Chapter 7: Traveling together It¡¯s been seven days ever since we¡¯ve escaped from Lord Stuart. We easily got used to living in the wilderness, which is quite surprising. I think the reason is because I¡¯m quite used to eating small portions of food and living here is much better than in the slums. There was a time when Keith barbecued a lizard he caught. He had a very hesitant face during that time because he thought I¡¯d be disgusted by it. But when he saw me eating it with gusto, he became really surprised and stifled a small laugh. As for gathering and searching for water, I¡¯m quite useless. From time to time while Keith gathers food, he would come back with a canteen full of water. And, even though, seven days had passed, I never found it empty. So I asked him where he was gathering water from and he answered, ¡°There are some things in this world that¡¯s better not known.¡± Honestly, his answer really scared me and stopped my curiosity. However, from time to time, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder where he gather¡¯s it. Our schedule for sleeping is also quite uniform. We¡¯d decide to start setting up camp when we see that the sun was starting to set. The first one who¡¯d sleep would be Keith, he says that it¡¯d be better if he would guard when it¡¯s late because it was dangerous. Considering that he was stronger than me, I decided to accept his suggestion. On the eighth day, we finally exited the forest and were now walking on a proper road. After walking for a while, the two of us stopped at a crossroad. ¡°Which is nearer to a town? The left or the right?¡± ¡°Leave it to me!¡± Keith unsheathed his sword and made it stand. He quickly removed his hands from the sword and let it fall. ¡°Yosh! It says right! Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡°Nonono. I refuse.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I gave myself a facepalm as Keith made an expression that he doesn¡¯t understand why I refused. ¡°It¡¯s better if we wait here for a caravan or a peddler to pass by.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t even know when they¡¯ll come, so why wait?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like we¡¯re in a hurry or anything and besides¡­¡± ¡°Besides?¡± Keith picked up his sword and sheathed it into the scabbard. He then crossed his arms as he waited for me. ¡°I¡¯m tired of walking.¡± ¡°If you say so.¡± I approached a nearby tree and sat there. I then beckoned Keith to place his head on my lap. ¡°I-it¡¯s fine¡­ I¡¯ll just lie on the ground.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to?¡± His face became beet red and his actions became strangely stiff. ¡°It¡¯s not like I don¡¯t want to¡­¡± ¡°Then stop dawdling around and come here!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Keith slowly approached me with weird movements. Every time his right leg stepped forward, his right hand would also follow and the same goes for his left hands. What¡¯s more, the way he moved his body looked like he was a poorly oiled robot. When he sat beside me, he started sweating profusely and his eyes were rapidly swimming from left to right. I became a bit impatient, so grabbed his neck and forcefully placed his head on my lap. ¡°It¡¯s not like this is the first time right?¡± With my left hand, I started stroking his messy hair. ¡°This is very embarrassing¡­¡± ¡°What¡¯s there to be embarrassed about? We¡¯re the only people here.¡± Keith was really red and if I looked closely, I could see steam coming out from his ears. ¡°But still¡­¡± ¡°This is just skinship, Keith. Skinship.¡± (Doesn¡¯t he know that skinship is a really great way to deepen the bonds between friends?) If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I continued stroking his hair and after a few minutes, the sound of snoring drifted in the air. ¡°Did he think I wouldn¡¯t notice? Hmph¡­¡± For the past days, he has been the one who¡¯d gather food and water. So I was pretty sure that he was really tired, but because he would say that it was nothing, I had been searching for a way to make him rest. And thanks to the crossroad, I was able to make an excuse to have him rest. *** As the sun rose to its highest peak, the sound of wooden wheels clattering as it turned along the road. I turned my head around and found a small wagon heading towards us. When I returned my gaze to Keith, I discovered that he was already awake. ¡°It¡¯d be good if we could hitch a ride.¡± ¡°What if he wants some compensation?¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll trade some of the rabbits you¡¯ve skinned.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave it to you, Eulalia.¡± ¡°Un...¡± I stood up from the tree and walked closer to the road while I waved my hands around exaggeratedly. ¡°Oy Mister! Can we hitch a ride?¡± ¡°Hnn?¡± The wagon stopped in front of us. Now that he was close, I was able to see how the driver looked like. He was a man who was in his mid-30s. His hair was dyed brown and his eyes were dark. While he was wearing a loose tunic, it wasn¡¯t able to hide his slightly muscular body. ¡°Why are two children here?¡± ¡°We¡¯re young travelers, Mister.¡± ¡°I see.¡± The man then observed me from head to toe before moving his eyes to Keith who stood beside me. ¡°You said if you wanted to ride on my wagon, right?¡± ¡°Uh-huh.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be free though¡­¡± ¡°Do you want us to pay you?¡± The man waved his hand in response to my question. ¡°Ahh, nono. I¡¯m not the kind of guy who¡¯d make children pay him.¡± ¡°Then what do you want in return?¡± ¡°I could use some help from that young lad there to unload my cargo once I¡¯ve reached the town.¡± I turned my head to Keith and asked him if it was okay. He nodded his head as a show that it was okay. ¡°Then hop on the back!¡± ¡°Thanks, Mister.¡± The two of us then circled around the back of the wagon and found that his cargo 30 sacks of wheat. It seemed like he was delivering it to a village and not selling it. Keith who was taller jumped first before helping me climb up. The wagon started traveling along the road. With the sound of the horse¡¯s steps coupled with the relaxing breeze, I started becoming sleepy. ¡°Keith¡­ sorry¡­ it¡¯s your turn¡­¡± ¡°Heh?¡± Without waiting for his response, I placed my head on his knees. ¡°Wha-wah-wah!¡± ¡°Fufu¡± I made a small laugh as I heard his panicked voice near my ear. After a while, he finally became quite and I could feel that his hand was stroking my hair. It was very gentle and comfortable. (Now that I think about it¡­ isn¡¯t this the first time he gave me a lap pillow?) That was my last thought I before I fell asleep. Spoiler : Next Chapter.... the famined village! quite obvious huh? Chapter 8: Augre Village 1 I, Keith, am riding on a wagon towards a village. And somehow, Eulalia is sleeping defenselessly on my lap. I was startled when she suddenly placed her head there, but because she looked really tired, I didn¡¯t push her away. (Eulalia¡¯s hair looks so silky¡­ I wonder how they feel?) I suddenly had that thought when I saw her silky white hair. Placing my hand on her hair, my palm was assaulted by a very pleasurable sensation. (Uwaaah! It¡¯s so soft!) I combed her hair with utmost care so that she wouldn¡¯t wake up. ¡°Are you siblings, boy?¡± ¡°Eh!? Ah! Yes.¡± (Damn it! I¡¯m such an idiot! Why¡¯d I say yes!? We¡¯re not siblings.) Because I got startled by the old man¡¯s question, I let out a positive answer. ¡°Is that so¡­ that so¡­ she¡¯s quite a lovely younger sister. You better protect her.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± He made a loud laugh as he continued to drive the wagon. ¡°Can I ask why the two of you are traveling? There¡¯s gotta be a reason¡­ the two of you are still so young.¡± ¡°¡­¡± I was tempted to tell him why, but the words wouldn¡¯t come out of my throat. ¡°No answer huh? Then I won¡¯t pry anymore.¡± ¡°¡­ thanks¡± That was the only word I could tell him. Since then, we didn¡¯t talk to each other until we had arrived at the village. ### ¡°Eulalia¡­ wake up¡­ we¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Nn?¡± I lightly shook Eulalia. She slowly opened her eyes and surveyed the surroundings. Though I said we had arrived, the place where we had stopped was actually the outskirts of the village. ¡°Where¡¯s this?¡± She now sat on the wagon while rubbing her left eye. I jumped on the wagon. The old man approached us. ¡°This place is the village of Augre.¡± ¡°Hee~¡± Eulalia made a weird sound to express that she understood what he said. I then helped her off the wagon and started helping the old man unload his cargo. ¡°Ne~ mister, can I ask you a question?¡± ¡°Hm? Go ahead.¡± ¡°Why do you carry so much wheat? Isn¡¯t this a bit too much for you?¡± The man made a sad expression as he answered her as we continued to unload the sacks from the wagon and carrying it to a storage house. ¡°It¡¯s to feed the villagers.¡± ¡°Why? Doesn¡¯t this village have a farm?¡± She tilted her head as she continued to question him. As for me, I continued carrying the sacks of the wagon. ¡°The harvest was poor because we angered the gods. Because of that, we have lost his blessings for a good harvest.¡± Eulalia raised one of her eyebrows and decided to change the topic. ¡°I forgot to thank you for letting us ride your wagon.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me, little miss. I received the fee from that kid.¡± He used his chin to point in my direction as I placed the last of the sack in the storage house. I then stood behind Eulalia and faced the old man. ¡°So where are you two gonna sleep? There isn¡¯t an inn in this village.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t!?¡± Eulalia made a very shocked face as she exclaimed at the man¡¯s declaration. It took quite a while before she managed to regain her composure. ¡°Haaa~ it seems we¡¯ll still spend our night in the wilderness, Keith.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not a problem for me though, but are you okay with it?¡± ¡°Nn.¡± ¡°Oioi, wait a minute you two!¡± Just when we were about to leave the place, the old man suddenly raised his voice and stopped us. ¡°My conscience can¡¯t take it if I leave two children alone in the wilderness. So I have a suggestion.¡± ¡°¡°Suggestion?¡±¡± The two of us then faced his direction. ¡°Why don¡¯t the two of you spend your night at my house?¡± ¡°But will that be alright?¡± ¡°Yep!¡± ¡°¡­ but.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t say it¡¯s free, I¡¯ll properly fine you¡­ how about 3 copper coins for a night?¡± Eulalia became quiet for a while. I suddenly felt her hand grab mine before she nodded to his suggestion. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then we¡¯ll gladly accept your offer.¡± ¡°Is that so? That¡¯s good¡­ then hop on! I¡¯ll also give you guys a ride to my house.¡± When the old man turned his back to us, Eulalia suddenly placed her small mouth near my ear. ¡°I believe that you¡¯ll protect me.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± After she spoke those words to me, she let go of my hand and walked towards the wagon. I was left puzzled by the words she just spoke. ¡°Oi! Keith! Hurry up and help get on the wagon!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± I broke into a run and jumped on. ### The moment the wagon moved and entered the village. A lot of eyes were focused on Eulalia. She tried to hide behind my back, but because the stares were coming from all angles, it was really ineffective. ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ they¡¯re only staring at you because you have silver hair. That¡¯s really rare, you know.¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°Un¡­¡± I tried to reassure and ease her anxiety, but failed to do a good job. Her hands grabbed the clothes on my back and I could feel her grip tighten the longer they stared at her. After an excruciatingly long time, we finally arrived at the old man¡¯s home. I quickly jumped off the wagon and helped Eulalia off. By the way, she would jump off the wagon while closing her eyes. It would have been really dangerous if I wasn¡¯t strong enough, but I didn¡¯t reprimand her for jumping off the wagon like that. The expression she makes was really adorable and I couldn¡¯t help but like it. ¡°Oh, it may be rude, but because we¡¯re gonna stay at your home. Can we ask what your name is?¡± Eulalia asked the old man a question that came out of nowhere the moment he was gonna open his door. ¡°I forgot that I still haven¡¯t told you guys what my name was huh¡­ hahaha.¡± The old man started laughing before he folded his arms on his chest and introduced himself. ¡°My name is Max, I¡¯m the assistant to the mayor that manages this village.¡± ¡°Heeh, is that so.¡± ¡°What about the two of you? I still haven¡¯t heard your names.¡± ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s right. My name is Eulalia as for the boy beside me he¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Keith. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Max.¡± ¡°The pleasure¡¯s mine.¡± The man widened his smile more and opened the door. The two of us cautiously entered his home. Max¡¯s home had a very simple design and had a second floor. His living room had lot¡¯s of animal skins and weapons. It felt like the person who lived here was a ¡®Hunter¡¯. ¡°Don¡¯t be too cautious you two. There¡¯s no one other than me who lives here.¡± ¡°Uhh¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s true!¡± Max then walked up the stairs while we silently followed behind him. He continued walking till he reached the third door. Inserting a key through the keyhole, he unlocked the room and opened it. ¡°This¡¯ll be your room for now. Don¡¯t be so reserved and treat it like it''s yours.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± Max gave me the key and went downstair. Eulalia and I entered the room and found a bed. On its side were a drawer and an oil lamp. The windows also had a curtain. Eulalia sat on the bed while I opened the window. ¡°Are you okay now, Eulalia?¡± ¡°N-nn, maybe it¡¯s better to find a cloak before we leave this village.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, your hair attracts too much attention.¡± Eulalia closed her eyes and rested on the bed. She then placed her hand on her stomach. ¡°We still haven¡¯t eaten dinner. Let¡¯s go downstairs, I¡¯ll ask Max if it¡¯s okay for me to use the kitchen.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The two of us exited the room and headed down to the kitchen. We quickly found Max preparing the vegetables on a table. ¡°Ah!¡± ¡°Umm, Max, would it be okay if I¡¯d be the one who¡¯ll cook dinner?¡± ¡°Can you cook?¡± I gave Max a taunting smile as I said, ¡°She¡¯s really good you know!¡± ¡°Does she have the skills to back up your claims?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll exceed it.¡± I suddenly felt a painful stimulus from the back of my head. ¡°Stop it!¡± Eulalia had a really red face as she rubbed the hand she used to strike me. ¡°If she¡¯s so good, then I¡¯ll give her the reigns of the kitchen.¡± ¡°Is that okay?¡± ¡°Yep!¡± The man gave the knife to Eulalia as she took a stool and used it as a stand. Without any delay, she started peeling the vegetables one by one. Max walked out of the house and started preparing the firewood for the fire. I didn¡¯t have anything to do, so I only watched her from afar. *** That night, Max was eating the food Eulalia had prepared with a frantic face. ¡°This is really delicious! What¡¯s this food called?¡± ¡°Borscht.¡± ¡°What? Well, anyway, this borscht thing is really delicious!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t refrain from asking seconds.¡± ¡°Give me more!¡± I held out my bowl to Eulalia and with a smile I asked her to refill my bowl. ¡°Yes, yes¡­¡± She made a wry smile as she stood up and used a ladle to fill up the bowl. Giving me back my bow, I quickly started eating again. I was already sick of eating fruits every night, so eating one of Eulalia¡¯s peculiar dishes tasted more delicious and satisfying. Spoiler : Boy, this chapter was hard to make.... I was tempted for a few time to shift the pov in the middle... Anyways, this is my longest chapter yet!(Not Including chapters 1-5 cause they''re different) \(^o^)/ Chapter 9: Augre Village 2 After dinner. I was sitting on the only bed in our room while Keith stood in front of me. ¡°Hmm¡­ Keith, there¡¯s only one bed. So why don¡¯t we share it?¡± ¡°N-no!¡± ¡°Why? I wondered why he didn¡¯t want to share this bed with me. I thought if it was because I was a girl and he was a boy but dismissed this thought. Why? It was because he was my friend; I trusted that he wouldn¡¯t do anything to me even if we slept on the same bed. ¡°No means no!¡± ¡°Why are you so adamant about refusing me? Do you hate me?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± ¡°Then why?¡± Tilting my head to the side, I continued to interrogate him. ¡°¡­. It''s cause I wouldn¡¯t be to control myself if we did that.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Nothing! I¡¯m sleeping on the floor and that¡¯s final.¡± ¡°But, I¡¯ll feel bad if you do that. See, doesn¡¯t this bed look comfortable?¡± I patted the place beside mine to indicate that the bed contained cotton. Keith turned his back on me and started sleeping. I could hear the sound of snoring from my position. ¡°¡­¡± I stared at his back for a while before I covered my body with a blanket and went to bed with a grumpy mood. *** I woke up because of the sound of the chirping birds. While sitting on top of the bed, I stretched my arms high. ¡°It has been a while since I¡¯ve slept this comfortably¡­ hmm?¡± I looked at the direction where Keith slept last night and found that he wasn¡¯t there anymore. What I saw in his place was a set of clothes. I picked the clothes up and found out that it was a green colored dress and its size was quite close to mine. ¡°Now that I think about it, I haven¡¯t changed for a while huh.¡± I smiled when I thought that it was Keith who prepared this dress for me. When I was done changing my clothes, I headed downstairs and found a basket of bread with a plate of cheese on its side. I walked closer and saw Keith who was working hard in chopping the wood with an ax. Max suddenly appeared out of nowhere and waved at me. Returning his wave with an awkward smile, I started eating the bread he prepared for me. When I was done eating, I walked to the place where Keith was. ¡°Hee, you¡¯re working really hard even though it''s still early.¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t exercise at least once a day, I would become weak.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± Since I wasn¡¯t a servant anymore, I didn¡¯t have anything to do. So I sat on a chair silently overlooking Keith as he chopped wood after wood. When I judged that it was almost lunch, I stood up from my chair and headed for the kitchen. ¡°Umm, Max, is it alright if I used the kitchen again? I wanna prepare lunch.¡± ¡°Yep! Go ahead!¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± I quickly gathered the ingredients I needed and prepared lunch. *** I was washing the plates that we used for lunch while Keith and Max sat at the dinner table with a satisfied expression. ¡°You sure are lucky to have a little sister like her.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°It¡¯s cause you get to eat this kind of food every day! I¡¯d do anything just to eat this food!¡± ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯d even kill you for it! That¡¯s how delicious her food is. Man, I really envy you!¡± ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Because Max¡¯s voice was very loud, I was able to overhear what they were talking about despite being far from them. I also made a small laugh when I heard Keith¡¯s awkward laughter and wondered why Max said that I was his little sister. I didn¡¯t remember introducing myself as his little sister though. However it¡¯s too troublesome to clear up his misunderstandings, so I decided to stay quiet. When I was done washing the dishes, I approached where Keith sat. ¡°Keith, let¡¯s trade some of the things we gathered in the forest for some money. The amount we currently have won¡¯t be able to cover our future expenses.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ Umm, Max, can we borrow a cloak?¡± ¡°Cloak? Why?¡± Max sat opposite to Keith made a puzzled expression as he answered him. ¡°Eulalia¡¯s uncomfortable with crowds.¡± ¡°Is that so? Well, it¡¯s fine for me.¡± Max stood up from his seat and opened a drawer in the kitchen. ¡°Here!¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± He threw a large brown cloth to Keith. Though there were some holes in some places, it was okay as long as it can cover my hair. ¡°Then we¡¯ll be back to get our things later in the afternoon.¡± ¡°Owh!¡± I accepted the cloak that Keith gave me and used it to cover myself before walking towards the exit. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. *** The two of us were quite shocked as we walked around the village in search of a merchant. The houses were quite run down and lots of people were quite malnourished. Most of them didn¡¯t even bother to cover the holes that were in their clothes. It was as if we were back in the slums. Since the two of us grew up in the slums, I had thought that we were already quite used to this sight. However, when I moved my gaze to Keith, I saw that he was quite disturbed while looking at them. Seeing him make a face like that, made my heart ache. So I only walked quietly by his side. ¡°Eulalia, can we go to the fields for a moment. There¡¯s something I wanna see.¡± ¡°¡­ Sure.¡± Keith suddenly hastened his steps and because I didn¡¯t want to get left behind, I also tried catching up to him. The more he saw how the people lived in the village, the faster his steps became. ¡°Ahh!¡± I fell to the ground when I couldn¡¯t catch up to him any longer. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°What do we have here?¡± Some of the villagers that saw me fell down approached me. ¡°¡­. A¡ªa¡­.¡± I tried calling out to Keith, but my voice wouldn¡¯t come out. As his silhouette became smaller and smaller, a villager suddenly stood in front of me and covered my view. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°Are you hurt?¡± The villagers continued talking around me and as time continued to pass, the more insecure I felt. My only solace in this situation was the fact that my face was covered by the cloak. My hands suddenly started shaking. (I can move away from this spot, but what if I get lost? If I get lost, there could be a chance where I won¡¯t meet Keith again. If we won¡¯t meet again, then I¡¯d lose the only friend I have here.) My thoughts became erratic and were going down a spiral of negativity. Just when I was about to run away and hide in a back alley like I used to in the capital, I suddenly felt a hand holding my arm. I raised my face and found that it was Keith. ¡°¡­ Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to leave you behind.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He pulled me out of the crowd and walked to a place where there wasn¡¯t a lot of people. ¡°Did you fall down?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Are you perhaps angry?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Ummm¡­ Eulalia?¡± I didn¡¯t answer any of his questions and only stood rooted for quite some time. An awkward atmosphere suddenly enveloped the space between us. ¡°Uhh, let me go get something to wipe your body with.¡± I quickly reached out and grabbed his hand when he was about to run away. ¡°Eulalia?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go like this.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go to the fields like this so that we wouldn¡¯t be separated again.¡± ¡°Ahh¡­ un¡­ okay.¡± Through the sense of touch, I could feel that the he wasn¡¯t just an illusion that was created by my mind. The warm sensation that passed through my hand was my evidence that he was there, that he still hasn¡¯t left me and that we were still together. All the fears, anxiety and the negative thoughts that I had earlier were blown away. I strengthened my grip as we proceeded to the fields. (I won¡¯t let go of this hand again.) [¡­ lalia¡­ li¡­ Eu¡­]
I''ll reply to the last chapter''s comments here @Arphadax Eulalia is a ''she'' with memories of her past life. Just because you have memories of a past life, that doesn''t neccessarily overwrite your personality. Though you''ll have some changes. And my image of Eulalia is that of an innocent bullied girl... >: D @Naoki Well, I won''t give them too much sufferings though... but what I will do is make more cheesy situations, like in ''With the lake and the moon'' and in Chapter 5... :D And also, more chapters like this... small realizations @VesperOz Well, if you don''t work, that doesn''t necessarily mean you don''t know the recipe right? I mean I have a cousin here who''s really lazy and hasn''t entered the kitchen once and still know more recipes than me.... And the place where she experienced how to do housework were the 2 years she spent as a servant of Lord Stuart''s castle. *** Longer chapter huh... well that''d be good to cause they''re more fulfilling... but I''d need to spend 2-3 days working on it though. And I can''t guarantee that it''ll have a regular schedule... :D I''m off to dream world... goodnight Chapter 10: Augre Village 3 The two of us arrived to the field and found a very depressing scene. Places where there should¡¯ve been neat rows of plants were devoid of life. As we surveyed the area, I felt Keith tightening his grip on my hand. Looking at him, I could feel that he wanted to help this village. ¡°¡­ Keith.¡± ¡°Thanks, let¡¯s go back.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± We headed back to the village and found a merchant near the gate. We then traded the rabbits and herbs we collected to the merchant and managed to earn 40 copper coins. Though this amount was quite small, just the thought that we were able to earn this money gave me a peace of mind. Now that our business in this town was done, we walked back to the Max¡¯s place. ¡°Is this really enough for us to last till the next harvest season?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really know, but I was only able to buy 30 sacks even when I haggled the merchant.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already sold all the precious belongings of every villager. We don¡¯t have anything left to sell here.¡± The two of us hesitated to open the door. ¡°Let¡¯s come back later.¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s for the best. Thinking that strolling around the village would only make Keith¡¯s mood heavier. I exited the village with a dash and stopped on top of a hill. Sitting down on the grass, I removed the cloak that covered my hair. Keith made a wry smile and sat near me. Brushing my hair with my hand, I asked Keith a question. ¡°What do you want to do?¡± ¡°¡­¡± He faced the opposite direction and didn¡¯t answer my question. ¡°I know you want to do something here, so don¡¯t try to hide it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± He was still being stubborn so I decided to say what he was thinking. Actually, I wanted these words to come out from his mouth. ¡°You wanted to do something for this village, right?¡± ¡°!?¡± Keith quickly moved his head and stared wide-eyed at me. ¡°But because I said I wanted to go to Austeria, you didn¡¯t want to remain here for too long.¡± ¡°A¡ª¡° When he was about to say something, I played my finger on his mouth and showed him a mischievous smile. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say that we aren¡¯t in a hurry? So it¡¯s okay if we stay here for a while.¡± ¡°¡­ it¡¯s okay?¡± ¡°Nn!¡± I nodded to him. A smile surfaced on his face and he suddenly stood up. ¡°Let¡¯s hurry back to Max¡¯s house then!¡± ¡°Okay, okay.¡± I dusted off the dust from my skirt and walked beside him. He energetically ran along the streets of the village with me in tow. ¡°Haa¡­ Haa¡­ Haa¡­ You¡­ didn¡¯t¡­ have to¡­ run off¡­ like that¡­¡± ¡°Sorry¡­¡± I breathed hard as we stood in front of Max¡¯s house. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll see you tomorrow, Max.¡± ¡°See you next time, village chief.¡± ¡°Oya.¡± A man who had a long white hair stood with a surprised expression. He wore a plain gray robe that covered most of his body. On his left hand, I saw that he was holding a wooden cane and was using it as a support. ¡°Ahh, the two of you are back.¡± ¡°Max, is it okay for us to stay here for a while?¡± ¡°I thought the two of you were gonna leave after you were done with your business.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve decided to do something here.¡± ¡°?¡± Max rubbed his chin with his hands. ¡°I wanna help plow the fields!¡± ¡°Really? We¡¯re happy to have a helping hand, but are you strong enough, Keith?¡± ¡°Yep!¡± Keith made a guts pose to Max and, as a result, he started laughing out loud. Keith also followed after him. So did the old man who had been quiet for the entire conversation. ¡°Hmmm?¡± I tilted my head to the side as a stared at the old man. The old man seemed to have felt that I was looking at him showed me a smile. ¡°I¡¯m the village chief, young lady. My name is Herbert.¡± ¡°!¡± Village chief? This old man was the village chief!? Because his presence was so weak, that thought never crossed my mind. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Oh, sorry, I forgot to introduce you to them, Village chief.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. You were having a pretty fun conversation with that young lad over there.¡± ¡°Ahh, the boy¡¯s name is Keith while the girl who¡¯s covering herself with the cloak is called Eulalia.¡± ¡°Eulalia huh. What a pretty name.¡± I grabbed the cloak that was covering me and pulled it to hide my blush. When the village chief saw me doing those things, a smile appeared on his face. ¡°I managed to see something good today. I think I¡¯ll have a pretty nice afternoon. Hohoho.¡± ¡°I¡¯m heading back to the room first, Keith.¡± ¡°Ahh¡­ Nn.¡± I quickly ran towards our room on the second floor. Closing the room quickly, I lost the strength in my feet and collapsed down to the floor. Holding my face with my hands, I uttered: ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I have been complimented. I hope they didn¡¯t see me.¡± The reason why I ran away from them was because I felt really embarrassed. I also didn¡¯t want them to see my red face. [Eulalia!] I suddenly heard a familiar voice resound in my head. My vision darkened and my conscious blacked out. ### My consciousness returned and I found myself floating in a dark space. I looked around me and remembered this place after a while. This was the place where I met Keichi and remembered my life as Keichi. ¡°Ya¡ªit¡¯s been a while, Eulalia.¡± I quickly turned behind me and saw an unfamiliar girl. Even though this place was dark, I was still able to see the jet black dress she wore. She possessed golden pupils and her hair that reached up to her waist also had the same color. I tilted my head to the side as I stared at the girl. ¡°Don¡¯t you remember me? It¡¯s me Keichi Acever. You¡¯re previous incarnation.¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you a boy?¡± ¡°Yep, but the reason why I appeared to you like this is because you¡¯re a girl. So it¡¯s normal for me to look like this.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t get it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t get it for now, you¡¯ll know once you die.¡± ¡°I still want to live though.¡± Keichi made a dry laugh. ¡°So why am I here again?¡± ¡°Well, one of your previous incarnations wanted to help you.¡± ¡°Help me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Keichi moved to his side and a silhouette slowly walked towards me. When the silhouette was finally close enough, I found out that it was a she. She had a short light brown hair and possessed blue eyes. She wore a brown colored dress with an apron on top of it. ¡°Her name is Mary Smith, she¡¯s was a village girl who was born in the northern plains of Europe.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, Eulalia.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you too.¡± We exchanged greetings after Keichi introduced her to me. The two of us tilted our heads at the same time. When I moved my hand, she also did the same action as me. ¡°Hmm¡­ so what did you mean by help me?¡± ¡°She was once a farmer¡¯s daughter before tragedy struck her village and she died a painful death.¡± ¡°¡°¡­¡±¡± The two of us narrowed our gaze at Keichi. ¡°It¡¯s your choice to accept her memories, Eulalia. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be a great help to you.¡± ¡°¡­ nothing¡¯s gonna happen to me, right?¡± ¡°Umm¡­ Your personality might change a bit, but it won¡¯t be that drastic. Also, your fears may also increase because of it.¡± ¡°¡­¡± Mary continued to smile at me as Keichi continued to explain. I hesitated for a bit, but when I thought that this may be helpful for our stay at the village, I accepted her memories. Entwining our fingers, my forehead touched hers. The memories she had in her entire life flowed into my head. ### I couldn''t upload a chapter yesterday because my life has become pretty hectic lately. T^T I don''t know when I''ll be upload the next chapter. Chapter 11: Augre Village 4 Right now, I was seeing a scene where a seemingly endless field of wheat spread across a field. At the center of the field, I saw Mary, who was 14 years old, harvesting wheat together with her father. The two of them wore smiles as they continued to reap. From time to time people would pass by and say hello or help them with the harvest. I could feel that this was her most precious memory. Suddenly the scene changed into a sea of flames. Houses were burning, her neighbors and scrambled as armed men chased after them. From the distance, I could see three men chasing after Mary. They wore smiles as they licked their lips. Mary screamed as the men caught up with her. Then they ripped her clothes apart and raped her. When they were done with her, she was bounded in ropes and was caged along with her friends. I could see that they had lost their will to live from their eyes. Mary wasn¡¯t an exception to this, when the armed men threw the last female villager into the cage. The carriage that carried their cages started moving. Sadness, despair, and hopelessness was the feelings that were transmitted to me. They continued to watch the ruins of their village until they couldn''t see it anymore. The scene changed again to a dark dreary room where the only source of light was a small window that was barred with iron. Mary had grown up since then; I felt that 5 years had passed since then. Her once beautiful hair became dirty, her skin had many scars and her arms were chained. What¡¯s more, Mary didn¡¯t wear a shred of clothes and her stomach had become larger. I could tell that she was now pregnant. Bang* A man entered the room and he carried a woman with a long blond hair. She continued resisting as she was dropped on the floor in front of Mary. The man made a smile as he unsheathed his dagger and stabbed Mary in the chest. The last thing Mary had heard before she died was the sound of a girl getting raped. # # # I opened my eyes and saw Keith staring at me with a worried face. ¡°Hmmm?¡± ¡°Eulalia! You¡¯ve finally woken up!¡± I moved my heavy body and sat on top of the bed. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± ¡°Something wrong? You¡¯ve been asleep for two days, Eulalia! No matter what I did your eyes never opened. I had thought that you had died!¡± Tears started falling from his eyes as he held my right hand and said, ¡®Thank god¡¯, over and over again. I moved my left hand and patted him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I worried you.¡± ¡°Were you sick or something, Eulalia?¡± I shook my head. ¡°I wasn¡¯t, I was just tired.¡± Keith stared at my eyes for a while before he sighed in relief. ¡°You must be hungry, you haven¡¯t eaten for two days.¡± ¡°Now that you mention it, I¡¯m quite famished.¡± I stood up from the bed and when I tried to move a step, I suddenly felt my body float for a moment. ¡°Oi!¡± Keith quickly ran and caught me before I fell. He then carried me and placed me on top of the bed. ¡°Don¡¯t move from here. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s wrong with you, but I think that it¡¯s best if you rest here for a while.¡± I puffed my cheeks in defiance to his statement. He ignored my pouting and left the room. When I couldn¡¯t hear his foots steps, I started talking to myself as I stared at the ceiling. ¡°I could¡¯ve refused Keichi back then¡­ but why didn¡¯t I? Is it because I was formerly him? Or because of something else?¡± I continued pondering for a while, but I decided to stop since it has already happened. No matter how long I thought about it, the fact that I inherited Mary¡¯s memories won¡¯t change. ¡°Mary huh¡­¡± Uttering that name with my mouth, I could feel my will to live in this world fade. Thoughts of committing suicide popped up in my mind. Knock* Knock* ¡°Excuse me.¡± Keith appeared from the doorway while carrying a bowl of oatmeal. Seeing his worried face as he closed the door, that thought of killing myself was blown away. ¡°That¡¯s right. This isn¡¯t the bandit¡¯s dungeon.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°Nothing¡­ by the way, why did you say, ¡®Excuse me¡¯, even though this is also your room?¡± Keith stood frozen as his eyes continued to dart around the room. ¡°But still¡­. Ummm¡­. It¡¯s cause¡­.¡± Keith started mumbling as he stiffly placed the bowl on my bedside. He then sat on the stool. ¡°Bon App¨¦tit.¡± I frowned when I discovered that he had no intention of helping me eat. ¡°Feed me.¡± ¡°Eh!?¡± ¡°You said I needed to rest. So feed me. Besides, I still can¡¯t move my body properly.¡± He suddenly blushed and shakily grabbed the wooden spoon and bowl. As he scooped a spoonful of oatmeal and blew on it, I continued to worry cause it looked like it was gonna spill. Keith blew on the spoon and carried it to my mouth. ¡°A¡ªahn¡­¡± I opened my mouth and ate the oatmeal. Keith¡¯s face was really red as he fed me another spoonful of oatmeal. ¡°Phew~¡± Though it took a while, I had finished eating the all the food in the bowl. ¡°I think you should sleep, Eulalia.¡± ¡°Hehe¡­¡± I couldn¡¯t stop myself from laughing when he said that. ¡°?¡± ¡°You said that I have been asleep for two days and now you want me to sleep again? You don¡¯t want me to wake up?¡± ¡°Ahh! N-no! T-t¡­ that wasn¡¯t my intention¡­ ahh¡­. I mean I think yo--- I think it¡¯s better for you to rest.¡± My laughter became louder as he panicked. Knock* Knock* ¡°I¡¯m coming in!¡± From behind the door, Max¡¯s voice could be heard and without waiting for a reply, he arbitrarily opened the door. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Why are you suddenly coming in!? Can¡¯t you see that this is a girls room?¡± ¡°So you''re saying you¡¯re a girl, Keith?¡± ¡°Pfft¡­ Hahahahaah!¡± ¡°Hehe¡­¡± ¡°Ahh! I didn¡¯t mean it like that!¡± Keith¡¯s face was flushed red as he did his best to stop Max¡¯s laughter. We continued to laugh for a while and when we were done, I apologized to Keith. I thought that he would¡¯ve been angry because I continued to tease him, it turns out that he wasn¡¯t. ¡°So are you okay now?¡± Max took out a stool from under the bed and sat on it as he questioned me. I made a wry smile as I nodded to his question. ¡°But that was really something, Eulalia. Keith suddenly screamed in the middle of the night So I ran towards the room and found him crying over your body. He kept saying, ¡®Don¡¯t die¡¯, no matter how I consoled him. He just wouldn¡¯t stop crying.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± I glanced towards Keith and he shook his hand as he punched Max but was skillfully caught by him. ¡°That¡¯s not what happened. Don¡¯t listen to him!¡± ¡°Then, what really happened?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ ahh¡­ I wa¡ª¡° ¡°You¡¯re eyes are swimming.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Keith tried kicking Max but was again caught by him. While holding his leg, he made a savage smile and whispered something on his ear. In less than a second, Keith¡¯s face became red, and then became white before finally becoming blue. Sweat poured down from his face like a waterfall as he nodded his head. ¡°You sure are a chicken! Hahahaha!¡± Keith bit his lower lip as he clenched his fist while Max continued to pat his shoulder. I tilted my head to the side as I tried to understand their irrational behaviors. ¡°Oh yeah, Umm, Max.¡± ¡°Nn?¡± ¡°Is there a plot of land that I can cultivate?¡± ¡°You¡¯re planning to grow some plants?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Sure, you can have a quarter of mine. Though no plants will ever grow there again cause we¡¯ve lost the earth¡¯s blessing, is that okay?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Keith¡¯s eyes opened wide and started shouting from my side. ¡°You can¡¯t! You need to rest!¡± ¡°Relax, Keith it won¡¯t be me who¡¯ll plow the land.¡± ¡°Then who will?¡± I pointed my hand at him. He also pointed at himself then moved his gaze between me and my finger. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the only one who I can rely on.¡± Max laughed again before he asked me a question. ¡°What are you planning to do with the land?¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna show you a miracle. I¡¯ll recover the earth¡¯s blessing¡± ¡°¡°How?¡±¡± The two of them floated question marks and asked me in sync. I couldn¡¯t answer their question, cause it¡¯d take a long time to explain it to them and I¡¯m pretty sure they wouldn¡¯t believe me if I told them. So I only answered them with a smile. # # # By the next day, Keith helped me walk as Max guided us to his fields. When we had arrived, I performed an ocular survey and checked the fertility of the earth. ¡°Hmm¡­ it¡¯s still salvageable.¡± ¡°Just hurry up and tell me what your planning, Eulalia.¡± ¡°Even if I did, I¡¯m pretty sure you wouldn¡¯t understand what I¡¯m saying.¡± ¡°Haa¡± Max raised his arms to the sky and made an expression that he had given up on asking me. He told us that that he was gonna mark the place where the place I could cultivate ended before he left us. Keith stood beside me with a complicated expression. ¡°What are we gonna do here?¡± ¡°First, get a shovel and dig a hole.¡± ¡°Unn.¡± Keith stared at me. I stared back at him. We stared at each other. After a while, he suddenly ran away and came back with a shovel. He then started digging a hole. I told him to stop when it was about a meter deep and a 3 meter wide. ¡°Gather some leaves and animal wastes and place there.¡± ¡°What good will that do?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when the time comes.¡± He then started searching for droppings and leaves and placed them in the hole just like what I had instructed. I then told him to cover it with dirt and mark it with a wooden plank. Although he continued to ask me what it was for, I also continued to tell him that he¡¯ll now after 2 weeks. When he was done, I grabbed the basket I carried with me. Inside this basket were the sandwiches I made earlier. Though he protested that I should rest, I ignored his warning and made sandwiches. ¡°Now, aren¡¯t you glad that I made these?¡± ¡°¡­ I still think that you should¡¯ve let me prepare these.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ so you''re saying that you can make these?¡± Keith quickly swallowed what he was chewing and hurriedly denied me. ¡°Then are you saying you don¡¯t want to eat my sandwiches then?¡± ¡°No! I only wanted to let you rest!¡± ¡°Hehe, I know.¡± ¡°¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, here.¡± I served Keith another sandwiched and gave him a canteen which was full of water. He heartily drank the water with a ¡®Puha¡¯ and then asked me what he should do. ¡°Hmmm, the next thing you do should be obvious.¡± ¡°?¡± ¡°Go plow the field.¡± ¡°¡­ right¡­¡± Keith sighed a bit and then stood up. He walked towards Max¡¯s tool shed a bit further from where we ate. Heading towards the edge of the field, he raised the hoe he carried and drove it into the ground. ¡°Be careful of heatstroke!¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself too hard!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± ################################################ I''ve been busy in real life, haa~ It''s the harvest season. Chapter 12: Augre Village 5 About four months have passed ever since I asked Max to allow me cultivate a part of his land. Since I couldn¡¯t do hard labor because I was a girl, I had Keith do it for me. On the first month, Keith busily plowed the fields I was given. Although he helped some other villagers, he mostly spent his time on mine. As a result of his work, he became quite famous in the village. Though I don¡¯t like standing out, having my friend praised by others really made me happy. I also had Keith crush some stones and bones into fine powder. At first I thought that it was impossible for the lack of tools. However when he actually did it in front of my eyes using a hammer, I became speechless. He gave me a smile and said, ¡°This is also a result of my training.¡± I wanted to say a lot of things about that statement but stopped. It¡¯s because the smile he showed me was too bright. We then spread the fine powder on the fields. I thought he would¡¯ve asked me why we were doing this. However, he didn¡¯t. He just single-mindedly spread the powder no questions asked. I asked him if he was wondering why we were doing this and he replied that he believe in me. This made me incredibly happy, so I became more enthusiastic into making this land as fertile as possible. On the second month, I remembered about leaf molds. So I decided to go to the forest and collect some. I told Keith that leaf molds help the plants grow and make the lands more fertile. Because of this, he gathered a lot of leaf molds in the forest. On the third month, the villagers started gathering near our fields. Max and the Village chief were shocked that the land they once thought were barren became really fertile. The plants that started to sprout were full of life. They even told me that the quarter of land we cultivated could possibly have the same yield as the entire field. Hearing this, Keith became prouder and told them that it was all because of me. As a result, the villagers in the village started to ask me how we did it. But, because I wasn¡¯t really good at dealing with a lot of people, I didn¡¯t come out of Max¡¯s house for days. The only times I would come out was when it was lunch. In place of me, Keith explained to the villagers my methods making his fame rise even more. Today was the last week of the fourth month. I was walking to the field where Keith and Max were harvesting the cabbages. ¡°Keith, it¡¯s almost lunch. Don¡¯t you want to eat?¡± ¡°In a moment, right after I finish harvesting five more.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± I placed a piece of cloth under the shade of a tree. I secured its edges with stones and placed the basket on top of it. Removing my shoes, I sat on top of the blanket and secured the cloak covering my head. Looking around, I could see that there were some villagers who were looking at them. Most of them were smiling as they saw the harvest. It¡¯s because the number we harvested was around 120 which is three times the population of the village. This was enough to feed the villagers for a couple of months if eaten sparingly. If we add the sacks of food and vegetables that Max has stockpiled, it was enough for the village to last a month. From the four months we have stayed here, Max has gone out of the village 3 times. The reason he went out was to buy some food and stock it on the warehouse. The money he used to buy it came from selling his belongings and also from some of the villagers. Because of that, his belongings continued to decrease each month. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. While I was thinking of the past, I saw Keith walking to me. ¡°What¡¯s for lunch?¡± ¡°Oatmeal and mashed potatoes.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait.¡± Keith sat next to me and accepted the bowl I served him. Max also went a bit later and started eating the food. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you managed to harvest this even though we¡¯ve lost the blessing of the earth, Eulalia.¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple. I just replenished the blessing.¡± ¡°Hahahaha, is that so?¡± Max laughed heartily when he heard my reply and started smacking Keith¡¯s shoulder. Keith became angry and snarled at him. Max made a smile and returned his gaze. Keith was the first to make his move. He quickly directed his spoon to the bowl, scooped a large amount of meat and ate it. Max became also countered him but instead of scooping. He took Keith¡¯s bowl away from him and started drinking it. ¡°Why you!¡± ¡°Buhaa! That was good!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get you for that!¡± ¡°Try me.¡± The two of them glared at each other. After a while, the two of them smiled and started laughing. Even I was infected by their laughter. I noticed that Keith that there were some oats stuck near his cheek. So I approached him. ¡°Ehh? Eulalia? Ehh? Why are you coming closer?¡± ¡°Sit still.¡± ¡°Ehh?¡± Keith shut his eyes tight and became frozen. Since I wanted to tease him, I licked his cheek and to remove the oats. When he saw what I did, he became really red. ¡°You¡¯re really delicious, Keith.¡± I smiled as I said that to him This made him even redder and steam could be seen coming out from his face. When he couldn¡¯t take it anymore he collapsed on the cloth. ¡°Hahahaha! You¡¯re young, Keith.¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Max who saw what happened laughed at him. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± I looked back at the fields and started thinking. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking of what to plant after this.¡± Max¡¯s eyes opened wide when he heard me. ¡°It¡¯s almost winter! You think plants will grow then?¡± ¡°Of course. That¡¯s why I¡¯m thinking.¡± ¡°Then can we do that to my entire field. I think it¡¯d be great if we could make food for the winter.¡± I tilted my head to the side and told him. ¡°The plants aren¡¯t for us though.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°They¡¯re for the livestock.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s cause we need to feed the animals for the winter right? We¡¯ll plant some plants that¡¯s good for the soil and feed it to them. With this, we¡¯d be able to save a lot more food in the warehouse.¡± Keith who managed to recover from his earlier shock stood up and stretched his arms. As for Max, he only stared at me with a frozen expression. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll resume harvesting. What will you do, Eulalia?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ I¡¯ll stay here and wait for you.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Keith smacked Max¡¯s back waking him up from his daze. The two of them then started walking back to the field and resumed harvesting the plants. * * * Pretty short huh? Even though, it¡¯s been awhile¡­ hahaha. Oh well¡­. Also, my life¡¯s been pretty busy, that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t post any chapters for a while. I wish I could update more regularly, but I couldn¡¯t. Chapter 13: Augre Village 6 A month has passed ever since we harvested cabbages and it was now winter. Right now, I was on my way to the fields with Keith to check on the clovers. The reason why I chose clovers is because they are tasty and nutritious for the livestock and that they fix the nitrogen in the soil. Ever since I¡¯ve inherited Mary¡¯s memories, I now had an abundant knowledge of farming. It¡¯s thanks to this that we were able to harvest a lot of cabbages. Also, because of Mary¡¯s memories, I¡¯ve started to enjoy teasing Keith. ¡°Hmm, Keith, did you tell the villagers to plant clovers?¡± As we were walking, I noticed that the villagers were busily planting some seeds on the ground. Because of that, I asked Keith if he told them. ¡°Yes. They were really persistent. So I told them what you told me.¡± ¡°Is that so? Does that mean they¡¯ll also start making compost pits and collect some leaf molds too?¡± ¡°I think so.¡± ¡°But, it¡¯s winter right now, so it¡¯s not really good to collect some leaf molds.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Keith widened his eyes and stopped walking as he asked me that question. ¡°Yeah. Snow is just ice and because snow is ice, it preserves the leaves and prevents it from decaying. Autumn is finished, so there won¡¯t be that many leaves that will fall from trees you know.¡± ¡°¡­. I gotta tell them!¡± Keith started running towards the fields leaving me in the dust. ¡°Then, I¡¯ll go to the fields that Chief Herbert has given to us and wait for you there!¡± ¡°Oh!¡± I made a wry smile as I watched his silhouette becoming smaller and smaller. I looked around my surroundings for a moment before I started walking alone. As I was walking, I suddenly remembered the time when we first came to this village. ¡°I¡¯ve gone a long way huh. Back when I still had only Keichi¡¯s and my memories, I would¡¯ve felt really insecure walking alone like this. Thanks to Mary¡¯s memories, I¡¯m now able to somewhat do this¡± I started humming a folk song of Mary¡¯s village as I walked to the fields. When I had arrived, I checked the surroundings and the soil. I also assessed the livestock as the ate some of the clovers on the field. ¡°Hmmm, if this continues on, I think we¡¯ll last for the winter and will still have room to sell some of them if a merchant comes.¡± As I finished checking the last of the live stocks, I noticed a small figure slowly heading my way. I squinted my eyes to see what it was and found out that it was a person dragging another person. I quickly ran towards them. The person noticed me running towards them and collapsed. ¡°¡­¡± Kneeling beside the two of them, I found out that it was a little girl who was dragging a boy. I looked at the body of the boy and saw that he was critically injured and had a fever. As for the girl, she has a few scratches on her arms and legs. The only reason I could think why little girl collapsed was because of exhaustion. ¡°How beautiful.¡± Taking of the hood, I saw that the girl had blond hair that was bundled up into two pairs that looked like dumplings. She had snow-white skin and a cute small nose. The girl was wearing some light blue dress with golden embroideries. As for the boy, he, like the girl, had short blond hair. His face looked sharp and rugged but still looked quite handsome. The boy wore a bluish aristocratic uniform with some badges on his right chest. Looking at the two of them, I could conclude that they were nobles. I hesitated whether to treat them or not. It was because the first noble I had encountered was Lord Stuart and it was not a really good experience. However, when I thought that not all nobles were two-faced like him, I decided to treat their injuries. I ripped some of the cloth of my cloak and started giving the boy some emergency first aid. After which, I quickly ran to a farmer that I had noticed and had him help me carry them. Thankfully, he was kind enough to help me. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Who are they?¡± Keith arrived midway between the fields and the village. ¡°I don¡¯t know who they are, but they seem to be in need of help. Would it be okay for Max to have them rest in his home?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try asking him.¡± Like before, Keith ran ahead of us. The villager and I only stood still as we watched him ran at an incredibly fast pace. ¡°He sure is fast.¡± ¡°He says that it¡¯s because he trains.¡± ¡°Maybe I should start training then.¡± * * * Right now, I was inside our bedroom and was treating the boy. Max and Keith didn¡¯t know what to do so they only observed me. ¡°The girl is quite beautiful.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± The two of them remark as they stared at the unconscious girl. ¡°Don¡¯t stare at her too much. She might get confused if she suddenly wakes up.¡± ¡°¡° Okay.¡±¡± The two of them answered me at the same time and left the room. When I had finished treating the two of them, I walked out of the room and found Keith sitting beside the door. ¡°Are you done?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve finished disinfecting their injuries. All we need to do now is to wait for them to wake up.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± The two of us walked down the stairs and sat in the living room. ¡°Do you have any ideas how they ended up like that?¡± I asked Keith who sat opposite to me. The reason why I asked him was because I could tell that the injuries were caused by weapons, which was Keith¡¯s field. ¡°Maybe they were attacked by bandits or maybe they run away from their home.¡± ¡°The first one is quite worrying.¡± I embraced my shoulders when Keith mentioned the word ¡®Bandits¡¯. This was because Mary¡¯s experience with the bandits wasn¡¯t a very good one. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m just speculating.¡± ¡°Hopefully.¡± I then looked at the window and discovered that it was already late in the afternoon. It seemed like it took a lot of time for me to treat their injuries. ¡°It¡¯s quite late already. Keith, I¡¯m gonna prepare some stew for dinner.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± I stood up from my seat and headed towards the kitchen. ¡°Hmmm¡­ by the way, about the livestock. Were you able to bring them back to their pens?¡± Keith became frozen when I mentioned it to him. He quickly stood up from the seat and ran towards the door. ¡°I can¡¯t believe he can still run that fast. He¡¯s been running all day today.¡± I walked towards the door that Keith left open and closed it. ¡°Hmmm¡­ I¡¯m gonna tell Keith that we¡¯re gonna leave this village in six months. I hope he doesn¡¯t get too attached here.¡± I muttered to myself as I looked at Keith¡¯s disappearing figure. We were still going to Austeria and the only reason why we were hear was because he wanted to help the villagers. Though this place is quite comfortable, my desire to go to Austeria still beats my desire to stay here by a large margin. It¡¯s because I wanna explore the world and go to places I had never seen. My life before I inherited Keichi''s memories revolved around the streets in the capital of Celestines. In Keichi¡¯s case, his life was only composed of him going to school and going back to home. Though he did play some PC games and stuff like that. And in Mary¡¯s case, she was imprisoned in some dark dungeon only to be killed by a bandit because she became pregnant. So it¡¯s quite understandable why I don¡¯t want to settle down just yet. ¡°Well, till the villagers get the hang of the farming method that I¡¯m teaching Keith. We¡¯re gonna be staying here for a while. For now, let¡¯s prepare dinner.¡±
@Irina yep that''s me, though if you''ve read the latest chapter, I''m pretty sure you already know it though Chapter 14: Nikolai and Aine 1 Three days have passed ever since I found the little girl and the boy. Since then, I¡¯ve been treating their wounds and cleaning their bodies. Well, it was only for the little girl though. It¡¯s because Keith strongly disapprove me when I tried to clean the boy¡¯s body. When I asked him why, his face would quickly become red and would run away from as quickly as possible. Also, during those three days, I slept in the living room while Keith slept near the door of our former room. He said that he was their guard in case something happens. Or if the boy suddenly goes wild when he wakes up in an unfamiliar environment, he¡¯ll be close by and would be able to pacify him quickly. This morning, when I opened the door, I saw the boy and the girl hugging each other. As a result, I stood frozen with my left hand holding the doorknob and my right hand holding the little girl¡¯s clothes. ¡°Ummm¡­.¡± Noticing me, the little girl separated from the boy and started opening her mouth. As a result, I woke up from my daze and slowly closed the door. ¡°Sorry to disturb you.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Tiptoeing, I slowly walked away from the door. ¡°Wait a minute!¡± The boy suddenly shouted and called for me. It seemed like they became really embarrassed and was unable to continue, so I returned to their room. Because of what I saw, I was unable to look at them in the eye. So I stood beside the door and stared at the window. An awkward silence permeated in the room. After a while boy couldn¡¯t take the silence anymore, so he started talking to me. ¡°¡­ first things first, who are you?¡± ¡°Before you ask for another person¡¯s name, you must first introduce yourself.¡± Since he¡¯s not in his own home, his status doesn¡¯t have any effect here. Though I¡¯m still not used to speaking to strangers, because of Keichi¡¯s experiences, thanks to Mary¡¯s memories, I¡¯m somewhat able to talk to them. The boy and the girl¡¯s expression became shocked. At first, I wondered why they became like that, but after a little thinking, their reactions were somewhat normal. It¡¯s because they¡¯re not used to being treated like this by a commoner. After a while, the boy¡¯s expression became resigned and he started to introduce himself. ¡°... What you just said is true¡­ I¡¯m sorry, let me introduce myself first.¡± ¡°My name is Nikolai¡­. Just Nikolai, the one over there is my younger sister Aine. She¡¯s 3 years younger than me who am 15 years old.¡± Without meeting their eyes, I also introduced myself to them. ¡°I¡¯m Eulalia and this place is called Augre Village. Don¡¯t ask me what the date is though, I¡¯m uneducated in that department.¡± I told them things that they may ask in advance so that they wouldn¡¯t ask me stupid questions. Also, in my self-made calendar, today is Feb 28 year 3. The first year of my calendar is the year when I first gained Keichi¡¯s memories. ¡°Augre Village? Since when have I been here?¡± ¡°About three days ago.¡± ¡°¡­ three days?¡± Nikolai started muttering something under his breath. I tilted my head to the side and turned towards Aine. Because there was only one bed, the two of them have slept on top of it together. As a result, Aine was currently hugging Nikolai¡¯s arm while trembling. ¡°I¡¯ll leave these clothes over here for now. I¡¯ll go downstairs and deliver breakfast to you two.¡± ¡°You have my gratitude.¡± Nikolai thanked me before I walked out of the room. Receiving his thanks, I gave him a small smile. When I arrived at the kitchen, I saw Keith carrying two bundles of wood. I then called him and told him that the two of them were now awake. ¡°Since when?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. When I went upstairs to change Aine¡¯s clothes, they were already awake.¡± ¡°Aine?¡± Keith crossed his arms when he heard me utter an unknown name. ¡°Ah, Aine¡¯s is the little girl who I found along with the boy. Also, the boy¡¯s name is Nikolai.¡± ¡°What¡¯s their surnames?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Even though you could tell that they nobles and should have possessed surnames, they purposely omitted it.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­.¡± ¡°Because I thought that it¡¯d be rude, I didn¡¯t force them to tell me what they were.¡± He nodded and said: ¡°Well, for now, I¡¯ll help you carry the food upstairs once you¡¯re done cooking.¡± ¡°What about the firewood?¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.¡°This is the last bundle for today.¡± ¡°Is that so? Then I¡¯ll have you help me then.¡± Since they were sick, I prepared two bowls of chicken soup and had Keith carry them. When I opened the door, I saw a replay of the scene that happened earlier. Keith¡¯s face quickly became red and backed away, while I gave them a deep bow and slowly closed the door. And just like this earlier, Nikolai shouted wait and had us come in. ¡°Cough* from your eyes, I¡¯m pretty sure that you¡¯re misunderstanding something. What I did just now with my younger sister isn¡¯t what you think it is. I was only comforting her because she was crying. So please stop looking away.¡± Because he was pleading, I slowly turned my head to him. Keith also did the same and just like me, he was unable to hide his blush. I then looked towards Aine and found out that her eyes were still a bit red. ¡°I understand, I¡¯ll believe you¡­ for now.¡± ¡°¡­ for now?¡± ¡°Nevermind that. Here¡¯s your breakfast. Hope you enjoy it.¡± Keith placed the two bowls in front of them. When Nikolai saw the chicken soup, he raised one of his eyebrows and asked me. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s chicken soup. ¡° ¡°Chicken¡­ soup? What¡¯s soup.¡± ¡°It¡¯s that.¡± ¡°¡­ this?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Nikolai continuously asked me what chicken soup was while stirring it with a spoon. Since I felt that some of his questions were retarded, I answered his questions curtly. ¡°Quit asking questions and start eating!¡± Keith who couldn¡¯t take it anymore shouted at him. As a result of his scream, Aine trembled slightly and tightened her hug on Nikolai¡¯s arm. Nikolai then took a spoonful of soup from the bowl and observed it. ¡°In case you¡¯re suspicious, I could taste it for you.¡± Because he looked like he was checking if it was poisoned, I took the initiative and gave him a suggestion. ¡°¡­ It¡¯s okay because you were the ones who took care of us, I¡¯ll eat it.¡± He sipped on the chicken soup and had it slush around his mouth. When he swallowed the soup, his eyes started glowing and fed Aine a spoonful of it. Like her older brother, her eyes started glowing and the two of them started eating the chicken soup with gusto. ¡°Thanks for the meal.¡± ¡°No, problem.¡± Nikolai thanked me for the meal while Aine nodded her head slightly to me. ¡°That food was really delicious. Who was the one who cooked it.¡± ¡°Eulalia of course.¡± Keith puffed out his chest and declared it with a very proud face. This action made me giggle a bit, but because he didn¡¯t mean any harm, I didn¡¯t stop him. ¡°Really? Even though you¡¯re around Aine¡¯s age, you¡¯re quite a good cook. It tastes better than the castle¡¯s.¡± ¡°Which castle?¡± ¡°Oh, the one that¡¯s located in the¡­.¡± Nikolai suddenly stopped before he completed his sentence. He then glared at me and said: ¡°I¡¯ve traveled to lots of castles and this food is by far the best one I¡¯ve tasted. How come you¡¯re not working in one?¡± Because the question he asked hit a very sensitive mark, Keith and I stood frozen. Aine stared at us with curiosity as she waited for our answer while Nikolai narrowed his eyes. ¡°W-Well, we were incompetent servants, so we got fired.¡± I tried my best to answer him without telling him the exact details. Nikolai somewhat understood that we didn¡¯t want him to ask us about those things and didn¡¯t pursue the topic. As a result, a really heavy atmosphere covered the room. The only thing that didn¡¯t feel it was Aine, her eyes continued to blink rapidly with a mystified expression. Her gaze rapidly changed between us and Nikolai. ¡°Hey! I¡¯m back! What¡¯s for breakfast?¡± Even though we were on the second floor, Max¡¯s voice was very loud, so we were able to hear it. I breathe out a sigh and said: ¡°I¡¯m gonna come down and prepare some! Please wait in the living room!¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Max curtly replied to me and with a loud thud, he closed the door. ¡°Well, I¡¯m gonna go down for a bit. I¡¯ll be back later. Keith will be at the door side. If you need anything, just call him.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Even though, I noticed that Keith had a face that said, ¡®Don¡¯t leave me alone with them¡¯, I ignored it and left the room. In my heart, I apologized to him and promised to make his favorite for lunch.