Chapter 19
Basago said it.
That the thugs had become more irritable.
That meant, in addition to the usual petty troubles they caused and the way they picked fights over every little thing, they had gotten even worse.
“Of all times, when my Dignity stat is rock bottom!”
Even street riffraff who lived like scum knew better than to pick the wrong bed to lie in.
By nature, these weak-strong, strong-weak types had sharp instincts.
They instinctively avoided people they shouldn’t provoke and only picked on those who seemed weak.
Estelle was young, still small for her age.
On top of that, her dignity stat was in the single digits.
She had every condition that made her look like easy prey, so of course she’d be targeted.
If only her dignity stat were like when I first met her—no, if only it were in the double digits—she wouldn’t have gotten tangled up in this mess.
I regretted my own complacency, just talking about finding a solution all this time without actually doing anything.
Grinding my teeth, I hurried my steps as I searched frantically for Estelle.
I had combed every street and finally arrived at the back alley near the Green Giant Tavern.
“Haha! The little brat’s got some bite!”
“Told you we’d show you a good time, didn’t I?”
“Don’t come any closer!”
I heard voices—men mocking a child and one frightened, familiar voice.
I immediately ran toward the sound.
“Estelle!”
As soon as I entered the alley, the first thing I saw was Estelle, collapsed on the ground, trembling.
I rushed over and pulled her into my arms.
“Hah? Well, if it isn’t the famous Reina from the village?”
A rough voice came from directly in front of me.
I looked up and froze for a moment.
Men with vicious faces had surrounded Estelle and me.
“Well, what do you know? Finally running into a celebrity like you. Guess today’s my lucky day.”
The man standing before us, who seemed to be the leader, curled one side of his lip into a smirk.
The voice—it was the same one I had just heard.
The instant I saw him, I knew.
Ah. This bastard is Cesare.
The scar at the corner of his eye, the filthy beard.
He looked different from the way he appeared in the game, but I had no doubt it was him.
“I’ve been hearing that you’ve been raising some kid. And what do you know, isn’t she the one who doesn’t pay toll fees? Haha. This is fun.”
Cesare laughed, the sound wet and rattling like phlegm in his throat.
Suppressing the disgust twisting my face, I spoke.
“If it’s toll fees, I’ll pay them. Will that be enough?”
“No, no. I changed my mind.”
“What? What do you mean…?”
His absurd words made me scowl despite myself.
But Cesare didn’t care at all.
He casually took out a cigarette, lit it, and clamped it between his lips as he strode over.
Throwing an arm around my shoulders, he said:
“Since it’s such a coincidence we met, how about you hang out with us instead of paying the fee?”
Every time he opened his mouth, an unbearable stench washed over me.
With Estelle in my arms, I couldn’t cover my nose, so I held my breath and glared at him.
“Oh, if you’d like, the kid can join in too.”
I don’t know how he interpreted my expression, but suddenly Cesare chuckled, jerking his chin toward Estelle.
Heat surged up inside me, and I slapped his arm off my shoulder.
“No thanks. I don’t want to hang out with you.”
“Ooh, scary.”
He widened his eyes in mock surprise, then looked back and forth between me and his rejected arm.
Then he laughed derisively and pointed at himself.
“Do you even know who I am? I’m Cesare.”
He arrogantly rolled his shoulders back.
The other thugs followed suit, puffing themselves up as if to flaunt their presence.
Unfortunately for them, none of it impressed me in the slightest.
“Fine, fine. I get it. You don’t want to hang out with me. I can understand—it must be intimidating to spend time with someone like me.”
“……”
“Then how about this instead?”
Cesare held the cigarette between his fingers and blew a puff of smoke into my face.
“Just hand over the girl. Then no toll fees, and I’ll let you walk away free.”
I squinted and coughed as the acrid smoke stung my eyes and throat.
Cesare chuckled at my reaction.
“I heard someone dumped her on you. Must be a hassle raising her. You already struggle making money looking after other people’s kids, and now you’ve got to babysit all day too.”
He raised an eyebrow and gestured at Estelle with his cigarette.
“Hand her over to me. You’ll be free, and I’ll be happy. She’s got a pretty face, too. Heh.”
“……”
“She’s not even your real family, is she? What do you say? Not a bad deal, right?”
With the cigarette back between his lips, Cesare smirked like a child telling some funny story.
“C’mon, it’s clearly a win for you. We’re the ones taking all the loss here. Heh.”
His men laughed along, chiming in as though they found the whole thing amusing.
At that moment, I felt Estelle trembling in my arms.
I glanced down at her—and my eyes widened.
Her condition was bad.
Her face was deathly pale, her wide eyes filled with tears.
She was biting her lip so hard that it was bleeding.
The sight made my chest tighten painfully, like something was pressing down on me.
No—it was more like a fire had ignited inside me, spreading from my chest to my throat, my face, then to my head.
My clenched jaw ground my teeth together, my breath came rough, and my eyes narrowed with fury.
I lifted my head and glared at Cesare.
Then, with a voice dripping with rage, I spat out my words:
“Shut up. Who says we’re not family?”
“W-what? Did you just tell me to shut up?”
Cesare stammered, startled by my answer.
I tightened my hold on Estelle and shot him a burning glare.
I knew exactly why Estelle was trembling like this.
Because Cesare had struck at her deepest wound and her dearest wish: family.
Do you know how hard I’ve worked for this?
That day at Julie’s dress shop, I had realized by chance what Estelle longed for: family, a guardian.
From that day forward, I did everything I could to make that wish come true.
Even when it was bothersome, I kept reaching out to her, taking care of her.
I poured out genuine affection so she wouldn’t feel that emptiness anymore.
In the beginning, Estelle had looked at the schoolchildren with longing eyes.
When their parents came to fetch them, when they left happily for home together, she would shrink into herself and slip away into her room.
But not anymore.
Now, whenever the other kids left with their parents, Estelle would come to me.
She’d clutch my sleeve tightly, standing proudly beside me, looking at them with steady eyes—
Not eyes full of envy, but eyes full of confidence, as if to say, I have someone by my side, too.
And seeing that change in her had filled me with pride.
And now you’ve ruined it in an instant.
The peace I worked so hard to give her.
The stability she finally found.
All shattered by Cesare.
From the depths of my being, rage surged up.
“This bitch just told our boss to shut up?”
“How dare she.”
The surrounding thugs cracked their knuckles menacingly and stepped closer.
Cesare’s face flushed red with fury as he leapt up.
He loomed over me with a threatening glare.
