PRKE 48

CHAPTER 48…………………………………………

In the end, I gave up on returning to the warmth of my room.

“You, you, you—come with me.”

When I went down to the first floor with servants who had been leisurely sweeping the floor, Madam Emern hurled curses at me for doing something pointless. I brushed it off with a vague excuse.

“If we ignore someone who’s begging that desperately, the family will be criticized.”

“I told you, now is not the time to worry about things like that!”

I completely ignored the grumbling that followed.

‘Staying in the estate won’t do anything but make me pace around in frustration anyway.’

The road to the old woman’s house, after putting her—clinging to me in gratitude—into a carriage, was rough.

“Miss, from here on the carriage can’t go any farther!”

The moment I stepped out of the carriage, rain poured straight down onto my face.

I pushed forward through the torrential rain. In rain like this, an umbrella was useless.

A curse almost slipped out of my mouth, but I swallowed it back when I saw the old woman looking at me with worried eyes.

‘How on earth am I supposed to stop this damned rain?’

It was clear that this whole situation was caused by Aris.

A way to control this power.

‘The only thing I can think of is absorbing it.’

Aris’s state—no different from a madwoman—had made me wary, but no matter how I looked at it, I couldn’t put this off any longer.

‘Let’s save people first, then think.’

I looked up at the sky.

Rain was pouring down as if the heavens had been punctured.

It was enough to make me worry that the entire kingdom might end up submerged.

‘Water can be this terrifying.’

A lack of water isn’t the only curse. Excessive rain was becoming a dreadful disaster, swallowing the kingdom whole.

The old woman’s home was near the waterways close to Amtein.

‘I figured it would be here.’

From her appearance and the fact that her house was about to be washed away, it was easy to guess.

This place was commonly called the beggar village. Its official name was Riore, but everyone called it the beggar village.

Located just beyond Amtein’s head district, it was also where Amtein’s residents—unable to farm easily—came to exchange food.

Given Amtein’s nature, pillaging did happen from time to time, but because it drew heavy criticism, it usually didn’t go that far.

The people of the beggar village were poor, yes, but they were also responsible for supplying Amtein with food and drink, which made them a valued presence.

The village, once spread wide with fields near the waterways, now showed nothing but water, as if it had never been farmland at all.

‘I expected this, but it’s worse than I thought.’

Squish, squish. Every step sank into the ground. In poor districts, roads were poorly maintained, leaving everything a sea of mud.

Water reaching up to my ankles made movement even harder.

The servants, whose expressions had been sour for a while, voiced their objections.

“Miss, this won’t work. We should turn back.”

“Yes. At this rate, even you’ll be in danger.”

“I’m fine.”

I pointed to the old woman clutching her soaked skirt and looking at me anxiously.

“We came to help, so we should help.”

“……”

“I know you’re having a hard time. I’ll pay you extra for your trouble. Generously.”

When I emphasized “generously,” the servants made awkward faces.

“That’s not what we meant…”

“You’re worried about me, right? I know.”

As servants of the count’s household, there was no way they genuinely cared about someone like me, a miss in name only.

Still, since help was needed, I pretended not to notice their true feelings. Embarrassment flickered across their faces.

“If that is truly your wish, miss, we’ll follow it.”

In the pouring rain, we walked in silence toward the old woman’s house.

“There!”

Where she pointed stood a shabby house, its lower half already submerged.

“Let’s go in.”

“Miss, I’ll come too—”

“Ma’am, stay here.”

I stopped her despite her worries and approached the house.

“The door won’t open!”

The servant straining at it shook his head.

“A door that opens inward, but it won’t budge… It must be flooded inside.”

“Move.”

I waved the servants back and grabbed the handle.

“Miss, I couldn’t open it either—”

Instead of replying, I twisted the handle and slammed my shoulder into the door at the same time.

The door cracked open slightly, then shut again.

“Takes more strength than I thought.”

As I muttered that, the servants stared wide-eyed between me and the door.

In terms of strength, I wasn’t inferior to an average man.

“Don’t just stand there—push together.”

Snapping out of it, the servants joined me. With our combined strength, the creaking door slowly opened wider. And finally—

Crash!

The door flew open. Water inside spilled out, only to be pushed back in by the flood outside.

The wooden house was soaked through. Inside, where water reached up to our calves, a musty stench filled the air.

I clicked my tongue. They’d endured days in a place like this? In such a damp, filthy environment, even a small wound would fester and rot.

Kicking aside bowls floating toward us, I stepped inside.

The old woman’s son was dying on the bed.

Unable to use his legs, and quite heavy, all the servants had to cling to him together.

After many struggles, we finally managed to rescue him.

“Someone help! Please!”

A piercing scream cut through the rain and stabbed at my ears. I reflexively looked around, but the thick mist of water obscured my vision.

In the meantime, the old woman burst into tears at the sight of her son carried on a servant’s back.

A sigh escaped me.

I wasn’t some kind of hero—I couldn’t save everyone. Especially not in a situation like this.

“Hurry to the carriage. We need to load both of them.”

“Yes, miss.”

Just as I grabbed my rain-heavy skirt to move—

“Please save me! Please! Please!”

I froze.

“Isn’t that voice too young?”

“Pardon?”

“It’s a child.”

When I turned back, the servants finally understood and shook their heads vigorously.

“No! The current in the waterways is getting stronger! Even being nearby is dangerous right now. If you get swept away—”

“Then the child will die.”

The servant fell silent. His face showed what he meant—there’s nothing we can do.

I swept my wet hair back and tied it tightly. It was hardly a noble appearance, but what did it matter? I was already soaked and a mess.

“If it were a grown adult, maybe. But it’s a child. Helping children is my principle.”

“Miss, what are you—!”

“You take them to the carriage and follow me. I’ll go check first.”

I turned and ran toward the sound. A moment later, splashing footsteps followed. When I looked back, the biggest servant was running after me.

“I didn’t expect you to come.”

The servant clenched his jaw, the muscles bulging.

“I’m someone who believes children should be saved too!”

I snorted softly. Most of the count’s servants disliked me.

A fellow servant by origin—worse, someone of even lower birth—acting like the count’s daughter rubbed them the wrong way.

The servants I’d brought this time were only obeying orders, and it showed that they resented being made to work in the rain.

I hadn’t expected anyone to follow after putting the old woman and her son in the carriage, so his unexpected action warmed me.

“I’ll make sure your pay is extra generous.”

“I won’t refuse. I have a younger sibling.”

“Tell them to pack some sweets too.”

We soon reached the waterway.

The water had risen enough to swallow even the road used by cargo wagons, its surface trembling as if about to overflow.

“It looks like it’ll flood any moment,” the servant said grimly.

I scanned the area.

Where is it?

Then—

“Help me!”

The voice was weaker than before, but I had its direction.

I signaled the servant and ran downstream.

The owner of the voice was there.

The bridge was nearly submerged. A boy clung to a pillar jutting out, while a girl nearby stamped her feet in panic as she watched him.

“At this rate, he’ll be swept away,” the servant said.

As we descended the sloped bank, the bridge drew closer. Seeing that the boy couldn’t hold on much longer, the girl tried to step into the swirling water.

I lunged forward and grabbed the girl by the back of her neck, yanking her up.

Her eyes—swollen from crying—went wide. Fifteen or sixteen, perhaps? A piece of gold jewelry glinted against her slender, immature neck.

Like a sparrow drawn to a mill, my eyes instinctively swept over the necklace.

The fine craftsmanship made it clear this wasn’t a toy. Now that I looked closer, her clothes were also made of high-quality fabric—a fine dress.

“Your parents must’ve told you not to go out in the rain.”

“I tried to stop my brother and ended up…”

She answered blankly, then came to her senses and clung to my arm.

“Please, miss—save my brother!”

“That was the plan.”

As I answered and lifted her up effortlessly, her eyes widened.

“Huh?”

“Don’t mess around and get swept away. Stay far back.”

I tossed her onto a spot away from the bridge and turned back toward it.

The water swallowed the ground, sloshing around the boy’s thighs. With his eyes tightly shut, he was clearly unable to escape on his own.

With the strong current, one mistake and he’d be swept away—his body never to be found.

I spotted a rope coiled around a tree near the bridge. It seemed children usually used it for play and wrapped it there afterward.

I unwound it and looped it around my arm.

Then, after a brief hesitation, I stepped into the water. The fierce current grabbed at my ankles. I barely managed to steady my staggering body.

‘This is worse than I thought.’

I clicked my tongue.

There was no way the child could cross on his own.

Clinging to the bridge’s pillar, I moved one step at a time. Losing my balance even slightly would send me flying off the bridge.

I finally reached the center. I shook the boy’s shoulder, but he was too terrified to even lift his head.

“I’m here to help!”

I shouted loudly, and only then did he look up.

“I said I’m here to help!”

The moment I said, “Grab me,” trembling hands clutched at the back of my neck. I let out a breath of relief.

But only for a moment—the boy wrapped himself around me desperately, and the force made my body lurch.