A few days later, a luxurious carriage arrived to collect Maria, and she left the orphanage in high spirits.
As the other orphans watched her go with envy, Bella slipped out alone through the orphanage’s back gate, carrying only a small bundle of belongings.
Her position had been stolen without warning, yet the rule remained absolute: one month after turning sixteen, she had to leave the orphanage. That today marked exactly one month since the agreement was made felt like a cruel twist of fate.
With no one to see her off, Bella departed. As she walked, she found herself thinking that perhaps it was better this way.
At least no one had to witness the contrast between Maria, leaving in a glittering carriage, and herself, slipping away alone in shabby silence.
Her worn boots, the soles thinned from years of use, transmitted every uneven stone beneath her feet. She had planned to buy a proper pair of shoes with her first wages, but that dream was now out of reach.
The orphanage Bella had grown up in lay some distance from the royal capital of the Kingdom of Lapladia. “Distance” was a relative term, though. Even by carriage, it took half a day to reach the capital, and Bella had never been there once in her life.
“Maybe… I can find work in the capital.”
She murmured the words to herself.
There was a town near the orphanage, but it was full of familiar faces, and Bella had no desire to linger there. Too many men rumored to have been involved with Maria lived nearby, and the thought of running into them made her feel nothing but miserable.
“To get to the capital, I should take the scheduled carriage.”
With dry, chapped hands, Bella took her purse from her bag and counted the coins inside. They were her savings, carefully accumulated over the years, combined with the small sum the headmistress had given her as “departure money.” Even so, the fare alone would consume a large portion of it.
Still, it had to be better than staying here.
Resolving herself, Bella headed toward the scheduled carriage stop. She had never ridden one before, but she had run errands nearby often enough to know where it was. She used to stand beneath the sign, gazing up at it, dreaming of the day she would board a carriage of her own.
The stop stood along the town’s main road. To reach it, Bella had to cross the street. She looked both ways, checking for oncoming carriages, and was just about to step forward when—
“Ah!”
An elderly woman fell heavily right in front of her.
The woman collapsed in the middle of the road, and from the right, a fine carriage was rapidly approaching.
“Ma’am!”
Without thinking, Bella rushed forward. She slipped her arms under the woman’s shoulders and pulled. The woman was heavier than she looked, and the two of them toppled over together, but they avoided being struck by the carriage, which screeched to a halt.
“Hey! What do you think you’re doing!”
Bella had just let out a sigh of relief when the carriage door flew open and a large man leapt down. He was far too big to be a mere driver, and his face was frightening enough that Bella instinctively shrank back. When she noticed that several fingers were missing from his left hand, her breath caught.
The elderly woman Bella had tried to help stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly swung her arm back and drove her elbow into Bella’s stomach.
“Guh—!”
Bella collapsed onto the stone pavement. Something tugged hard at her neck, followed by a sharp tearing sound.
Without even looking back, the old woman sprinted across the road and disappeared.
“What… ah! My bag!”
When Bella finally managed to sit up, her face drained of color. The bag she had been carrying, containing all her money, was gone. In the distance, the old woman clutched it in her hand, the strap torn clean through.
The strange sensation and tearing sound from earlier now made sense.
“…No way.”
Unable to stand due to the pain, Bella remained seated as a large shadow loomed over her. It was the driver again. He looked down at her, and tears threatened to spill.
Her job had been taken.
She had lost her home.
Her kindness had been repaid with betrayal.
And now, penniless, she would probably be beaten to death for stopping a noble’s carriage.
What terrible sin had she committed in a past life?
Why was God so cruel to her?
Tears finally fell.
“…Hey, miss. Are you all right?”
“…What?”
“You tried to help that old woman, didn’t you? You fell pretty hard. Are you hurt?”
The voice belonged to the same intimidating giant. He offered his left hand to help her up, but when Bella saw the missing fingers clearly, she let out a small scream.
The man froze, then glanced at his own hand.
“…Yeah. Guess that’d scare you.”
He looked oddly crestfallen.
“Jumping in front of a carriage is dangerous, but helping someone can’t be helped. Still, don’t do it again. Be careful on your way home.”
“B-But… I don’t have any money…”
“Huh?”
“That old woman… she stole my bag…”
As soon as Bella confessed, humiliation and desperation spilling out together, the man’s expression hardened. He turned sharply toward the other side of the road.
“…So that’s what happened. Sorry. I didn’t realize she pickpocketed you. I should’ve chased her.”
His apologetic tone left Bella blinking in confusion.
Why was he apologizing?
She was the one who had been deceived.
“…Clyde. How long are you planning to stand around there?”
A voice called out from the carriage.
It was neither the rough baritone of the giant nor Bella’s own hoarse voice, but something clear and composed, carrying quiet authority.
The man called Clyde turned around and scratched his shaved head.
“Sorry, Luke. There’s a girl here who looks like she’s in trouble.”
“In trouble?”
“She says the old woman she helped stole her money bag. Looks like her kindness got thrown back in her face.”
“P-Please, don’t say it like that!”
Bella jumped up, trying to stop him from explaining further, but no matter how much she stretched, she couldn’t even reach Clyde’s shoulder.
The young man inside the carriage murmured, “I see,” and stepped down.
He was young, not much older than Bella herself.
His black hair fell slightly over his brow, and his sharp hazel eyes surveyed her calmly. He wore a simple jacket and trousers, but even to Bella’s untrained eye, they were clearly of fine quality. Most telling of all were his shoes, polished to a gleaming shine, made of real leather.
Bella dropped to her knees at once.
“I-I humbly beg your pardon, sir! I never meant to trouble you! This was entirely my fault, so please forgive me!”
Her words tumbled out in a frantic rush. Passersby had begun to notice the scene, and in this town, so close to the orphanage, recognition came quickly.
“Isn’t that Bella from the orphanage?”
“She must’ve offended a noble.”
“Poor thing looks as shabby as ever.”
Her face burned with shame. Still, as long as she bowed low, no one could see her expression.
As she trembled there, a quiet sigh fell from above.
“…This place is too noisy. Clyde, pick her up.”
“Yes, sir.”
“…What?”
Just like that, at the young man’s command, Bella was hoisted up and placed onto the driver’s seat.
“We’re heading to the capital as is!”
And so, without understanding what had happened, Bella found herself carried off toward the royal capital.
