Chapter 11
* * *
The fingers of the man lying in bed twitched.
Noticing the slight movement, Harold immediately walked over to the bedside.
“Your Grace, are you awake?”
After quickly surveying his surroundings, Kaiden pushed himself upright and asked at once,
“The child.”
“Young Master Ivan is safe.”
Harold answered immediately before clicking his tongue in exasperation.
“I told you that you should have waited for the preparations and traveled with us. Just look at the state you’ve ended up in.”
“If I had, the child would already be dead.”
Harold had spoken out of genuine concern.
Yet the reply he received was as cold as ever.
“Oh, of course, of course. Says the man who couldn’t even move after getting poisoned. Ah, right. I suppose you’re only talking big because the antidote has already worked?”
“Give me some water.”
Kaiden frowned, cutting off Harold’s rambling.
“…Honestly.”
Sighing, Harold handed him a glass instead of provoking him further.
As Kaiden drank, his pronounced Adam’s apple moved steadily up and down.
Even his Adam’s apple looks annoyingly perfect.
Harold grumbled silently.
Meanwhile, as Kaiden drank the water and organized his thoughts, one particular memory suddenly resurfaced.
Unfortunately…
It was an incredibly embarrassing one.
“Cough! Cough—”
“Your Grace!”
Harold’s eyes widened.
“Are you alright?”
His reaction was driven less by concern than by utter disbelief.
He choked… on water?
That man?
Kaiden was the type who could calmly finish an entire banquet without the slightest lapse in composure.
Even after undergoing training harsh enough to leave others gasping for breath, he had never coughed once.
And now…
He was coughing because of a mouthful of water?
“It seems your condition still isn’t fully recovered. Should I summon the physician again?”
Harold’s expression grew serious.
This was a rather important matter.
His future employment could very well depend on the Duke’s health.
“Nonsense.”
Kaiden dismissed him sharply, forcibly pushing the memory from his mind.
Only then did he finally regain his composure.
He wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
“So…”
“Where is that woman?”
Having lost consciousness, he hadn’t even been able to thank her properly.
Of course, he was certain Harold would have treated her well on his behalf.
Still…
He intended to thank her personally.
The memory of her small, slender body pressed against his remained vividly fresh.
Kaiden unconsciously clenched his fist.
How in the world did she come up with such an outrageous plan?
He had only known her for a short time…
Yet he found himself wanting to see inside her head.
Throwing aside the blanket, Kaiden picked up the clean shirt that had been prepared for him.
Just as he reached for the first button—
Harold gave an answer he had never expected.
“She left immediately.”
“…What?”
* * *
Emilia let out a sigh so deep it felt as though the ground itself might collapse.
She looked up at the rows of shops lining both sides of the street before muttering dejectedly,
“There are so many stores…
And not one of them has a job for me…”
The excitement she’d felt upon arriving in the capital hadn’t lasted long before disappointment took its place.
She had thought she’d find work quickly.
She’d thought she’d adapt to life in the capital without much trouble.
Apparently…
She had underestimated just how difficult the capital would be.
“What makes you think I’d hire you?”
“Do you at least have a letter of recommendation?”
“Do you know how many people come to the capital full of dreams just like you?”
She had begged them to let her work for even a single day.
Every time…
She was rejected.
Eventually, one shop finally agreed to hire her.
But…
Under the excuse of a probationary period, they barely paid her anything while making her do every imaginable odd job.
Fine.
I could tolerate even that.
But the moment the probation period ended… they fired me.
The greasy face of the shop owner flashed through her mind.
Emilia stomped her foot in irritation.
Then she stopped.
She was only wasting her own energy.
I’ll just go home.
When morning came…
She would start searching for work again.
Turning around, Emilia headed back through the streets.
* * *
Her destination was a residential neighborhood in the Old City.
Among its buildings stood a worn-down apartment house that looked as though it had been built alongside the Empire itself.
That was where Emilia lived.
It was cramped.
Sunlight barely reached it.
But to her…
It was home.
However…
The area around the building was unusually noisy.
Her neighbors had gathered together in anxious discussion.
What’s going on?
Puzzled, Emilia approached an older woman she knew.
“Ma’am.”
“Oh my!
You’re finally back!”
The woman greeted her dramatically.
“Yes.
But why is everyone gathered here?
Did something happen?”
Looking closer…
None of them seemed to be in good spirits.
“Oh dear…
Well…
You probably wouldn’t believe me if I just told you…”
The woman stumbled over her words before patting Emilia’s shoulder sympathetically.
“You should go see for yourself.”
Completely confused, Emilia rounded the corner toward her home.
Then—
“What…?”
She blinked several times, unable to believe what she was seeing.
The entire building had collapsed.
I did sigh like the ground was going to cave in…
But I didn’t mean it literally…
* * *
“No…
It can’t be…
This has to be some kind of joke…”
Emilia felt completely overwhelmed by the endless string of disasters.
How does someone’s house just collapse?
Several days had passed since her home—
No.
Since it had simply ceased to exist.
Overnight…
She had become homeless.
Sometimes strange resonant sounds and powerful gusts of wind had echoed from inside the walls.
Apparently…
Those had been warning signs before the collapse.
Fortunately, everyone had evacuated just before the building gave way.
No one had been injured.
At least… that’s something.
But still…
Every other building nearby remained perfectly intact.
So why…
Why had it only been the one she lived in?
Emilia let out a bitter laugh.
Can someone really have this much bad luck?
The more she thought about it…
The more convinced she became that the gods had completely abandoned her.
The gods…
That thought led her to a rather logical suspicion.
Could it be…
Are they treating me differently because, deep down, I’m not originally from this world?
If that were true…
Then the gods were unbelievably petty.
Feeling miserable, Emilia wandered over to the fountain in the town square and sat down.
“Haah…”
She had finally reached the capital.
Yet nothing had gone as she’d hoped.
Not only had she failed to find work…
She had even lost the only place she had to live.
Come to think of it…
Trouble had started even before she arrived in the capital.
…Then again…
Maybe I’m actually lucky.
Back then…
And this time as well…
She had survived both incidents unharmed.
Who even knows anymore…
Emilia barely managed to suppress an enormous yawn.
But she couldn’t stop her eyelids from growing heavier.
Bathed in the warm afternoon sunlight, her head slowly began to droop.
Just as it was about to fall sideways—
Tap.
Someone gently caught her head before it could slump over.
