ODPUM CH 02

Chapter 2

Inside the carriage heading home.

While eating the bread the woman had allowed him, Ivan sank into thought.

Why is she coming all the way to my house?

Was she planning to meet his parents and tell them what he did today, then lecture him?

Glance.

Surprisingly, this foolish woman seemed to have both money… and time.

Of course, even if they went home, there was no mother or father waiting for him.

A tiny house deep in the most remote part of the pleasure district, at the end of the narrowest alley.

When she saw it, she’d probably make that troubled face again.

If he told her he had been starving alone there for a long time, with no parents…

Would he look pitiful enough?

She was the type to hand over 90 lork just out of sympathy. If he played it right, he wouldn’t have to worry about starving for a while.

The woman, who had been frowning in thought, seemed to notice his gaze and turned her head.

“Eat slowly, Ivan.”

She gently wiped the cream from his lips as she spoke.

Ivan nodded, but there was no way he could eat slowly like she wanted.

The bread the bear-like man had given him wasn’t the stale, hard rye bread he had tried to steal.

He had never imagined bread could be this soft and sweet.

“Do you want some milk?”

Ivan, stuffing the sweet bread greedily into his mouth, nodded.

The woman wiped his hands with her handkerchief and handed him a bottle of milk.

As Ivan gulped it down, he glanced at her again.

Glance.

What did she even say to that pig for him to apologize and give me bread?

“Do you want another one?”

When their eyes met, she slightly lifted the bread bag and asked.

“Thank you.”

Ivan gave a shy smile and nodded. Soon, another delicious piece of bread was placed in his hand.

That must have been the last one, because she folded the empty bag flat.

Ivan was about to take a bite, then hesitated.

“…Here. You can have this.”

After a short moment of thought, he held out the bread in his hand to her.

“You didn’t eat anything.”

“But Ivan… if you give this to me, won’t you still be hungry?”

She hesitated before accepting it and asked quietly.

“I’m fine. Please eat.”

Being greedy over a single piece of bread would only make her dislike him.

Adults always preferred kind children over cunning ones—and were more willing to give them something.

“I see. Thank you.”

She gave a small smile and thanked him.

Technically, all of this bread already belonged to her anyway.

She really was a strange woman.

Ivan was usually good at reading people, but this time, he had many questions.

What did she say to that bear-like man?

Why was she coming to his house?

As she took a bite of the filled bread, Ivan glanced at her, his thoughts continuing.

But in the end, one question dominated his mind:

If she gave 90 lork even to that ugly, nasty man…

How much would she give to someone kind and pitiful like him?

Ivan quietly began calculating.

After a long ride, the carriage left the main road and entered a bumpy dirt path.

“Are you tired?”

As the carriage shook, Ivan’s head swayed weakly. Noticing, the woman gently held his shoulders.

“Do you want to sleep?”

His eyelids were already slipping out of his control.

Honestly, he wanted to sleep right away. He hadn’t properly slept in three days.

But if he fell asleep now, he might miss his stop.

Ivan shook his head and pinched the back of his hand hard.

“No. I need to stay awake and get off at Marke.”

“…I’ll wake you when we arrive.”

Before he could argue further, she laid him down across her lap.

There was extra space in the carriage since some passengers had gotten off.

But as soon as Ivan rested his head on her lap, his eyes became even more alert than before.

What is this?

He glanced up at the woman, who was gently brushing his hair.

It was strange.

They had only met today—why was she being so kind?

And why wasn’t she asking him anything?

She didn’t ask what his parents did, or why he had been alone in the capital’s market.

Looking at her deeply worried eyes, Ivan forced himself to close his own.

As her soft, ticklish touch continued, his breathing gradually grew steady.

Then—

“Ivan… Mom will try her best.”

Startled by the quiet whisper, Ivan opened his eyes.

But as her hand continued to stroke his head, as if telling him not to worry and sleep…

He had no choice but to close them again.

* * *

By the time Ivan reached home after walking four hours from Marke, it was deep into the night—so late that even the drunkards had gone home.

His beaten body screamed in pain, and his eyes, already half-shut from poor sleep, now closed completely on their own.

“This is it. My home.”

Climbing the stairs, Ivan muttered as he turned the handle and opened the locked door.

The house was exactly the same as when he left.

Trash scattered across the floor. The smell of rot. Darkness and cold.

His mother still wasn’t there.

She hadn’t come back.

Maybe she had found a decent man this time—and would stay away longer.

“…”

Ivan almost turned to look at the woman behind him, then stopped.

He knew he had to get money from her somehow—but suddenly, everything felt bothersome.

He was tired. Irritated. Every nerve felt on edge.

If you’re going to leave, just leave.

Ivan pushed through the darkness and lay down in the cold house, as he always did.

He had hidden himself in a cargo wagon to come to the capital, hoping to find his mother.

But in the end…

He was alone again.

His mother…

Was never within reach.

* * *

Was this karma for putting off job hunting and reading web novels instead?

That kind of thing—starting with “this is a strange ceiling”—had happened to me too.

The only difference was… instead of a ceiling, I woke up on the street.

And with no information at all.

If I hadn’t met Ivan, I probably would’ve ended up homeless.

Fine. Not knowing the original story of this world—that’s on me.

And I somehow managed to deal with the inconvenient timing of possession.

But there was still plenty to complain about.

After passing rows of cramped houses in narrow alleys and climbing stairs that looked ready to collapse, I finally reached our house.

I hadn’t expected to become a princess or a noble…

But to end up as a poor slum woman?

And on top of that, with a child to take care of…

The future looked even more bleak.

“Ah, seriously…”

Even though I knew nothing would change, I looked around the tiny house again.

Trash covering every inch of the floor. A stench I had never experienced before.

Yet the small child casually pushed aside the garbage and lay down.

His small, thin back, curled up on the ground, caught my eye.

It was obvious how he had lived.

It was obvious how his mother had treated him.

He must have grown up neglected in this filthy place, never receiving proper care.

That’s why he was so cautious and timid even when speaking to his own mother.

“…Right.”

There was still so much to complain about.

But I decided to stop.

Looking at Ivan—who had lived his whole life in a place like this without any choice—it felt wrong to keep whining.

And more than anything, complaining wouldn’t change anything.

First, I needed to figure out where I was.

If this was truly a novel, then what story was it?

Only then could I understand what would happen in the future—and what we should do.

…At the very least, I didn’t want Ivan to see me as the same person as before.

Forcing away the now-fading memory of that woman’s face, I steadied myself again.

Looking at the child’s small back, I slapped my thighs lightly and stood up.

My whole body ached from walking nonstop, but I took a deep breath and rolled up my sleeves.

“Slowly… one step at a time.”

If I wanted to get along with Ivan—

The first thing I had to do was clean up this trash.