Raising the Princess to Overcome Death Chapter 82

82. Beggar Siblings - Departure

Leo was startled and looked at Lena.

A gold coin.

It brought back bad memories, but his sister still had an innocent and casual expression. It seemed Lena hadn’t done ‘something like that.’

“W-where did you get this...?”

“They gave it to me as severance pay from the place I used to work.”

Cassia, who handed over the gold coin, blushed as if she was embarrassed.

+ + +

While making shoes for Lena and Leo, Cassia forgave her father.

Her father had done this difficult work alone. His efforts were embedded in the leftover ‘lasts’ and various tools.

When she finished the first pair of shoes for Leo, Cassia understood why her father used to smile so joyfully whenever he completed a pair.

Cassia found herself wrapping the shoes carefully in crackling paper, just like her father used to.

She felt a sense of fulfillment from creating something.

When she finished the second pair of shoes for Lena, Cassia called her over to try them on and asked repeatedly if they were uncomfortable anywhere.

Even when Lena, delightedly exclaiming, “Sister, these shoes are so pretty! They fit perfectly!” she took them off and meticulously checked them for any remaining lint.

A sense of responsibility as a maker settled firmly within her.

It was then that she realized.

Her father, who had diligently made shoes all his life, must have gone through this entire process.

A father like that could not have abandoned her. Someone who put so much care into a single pair of shoes.

She still didn’t know why he committed suicide, but she felt assured that he didn’t leave his only daughter behind and run away.

With that alone, Cassia felt a sense of salvation.

She wasn’t abandoned.

And last night, while making shoes after everyone else had gone to sleep, Cassia had put down her work momentarily and stared blankly at the wall before stepping outside with a chair.

She didn’t know why.

Maybe she didn’t want to look at the wall anymore, or perhaps it was because she remembered her parents sitting together and chatting there.

She placed the chair in front of the store and sat, looking at the sky instead of the wall.

There was a small star shining steadfastly in the silent darkness.

That small star would disappear into the darkness and then reappear, regaining its light repeatedly.

Tears fell for no reason.

Cassia stood up abruptly and headed to the brothel. As always, the brothel was covered in sticky air, and the lecherous glances of passing men remained the same.

But Cassia had changed.

“You’re quitting? Cassia, what happened?”

The brothel manager, Brian Sauer, still referred to her as 'Cassia,' but Cassia didn’t care.

She asked for the remaining money she was owed, stating firmly that she was leaving.

The contract they had made ended long ago. Why had she continued doing this... she felt pathetic.

Did she think her future ended with her father’s death? Or had she planned to die the same way?

- Thud.

Reading the clarity in Cassia's eyes, Brian Sauer handed her a gold coin.

She tried to refuse, saying it was too much, but he insisted, placing it firmly in her hand, emphasizing that it was her severance pay.

Cassia looked into the eyes of the cold man before her.

His dull gray eyes intertwined with Cassia’s dark yet star-like lively ones.

She had never slept with this man.

On reflection, it was peculiar.

Brian Sauer always sought women. Rumors had it that due to some past event, he couldn’t sleep without a woman by his side.

Yet, he never had relations with any woman. He merely wanted a woman in his bed and rotated the brothel’s prostitutes in his bedroom.

Cassia had never been summoned. Despite being the only one who argued with him.

Brian Sauer hesitated and spoke.

“...Take all your stuff from the waiting room.”

“I’ve already packed it. Do you think I’m a kid?”

The two of them, a man and a woman, stood looking at each other in silence for a moment. A strange atmosphere flowed, but no one mentioned it.

Brian Sauer broke the silence.

“Go live well. If you have any troubles... don’t come back.”

“What kind of nonsense is that? It doesn’t make any sense.”

Cassia laughed aloud at his words, and Brian Sauer found it unfamiliar.

It was the first time he had seen her smile so brightly, even though they had been together for over ten years...

What did I ever do for this girl?

Even though he had sympathy for her, he had done nothing special.

Was it because he was accustomed to the gloom and self-mockery that overflowed in the brothel? Or was it because his heart, cold as ice, couldn’t be warmed by merely etching her name on it?

Shame.

Brian Sauer found it hard to endure her laughter and told her to leave.

“Go now.”

He did not pull out her chair or open the door for her as usual.

Cassia didn’t mind and stood up alone, putting the chair back in place. As she reached the door, she looked over her shoulder and left him with a final word.

Brian Sauer couldn’t focus on his work for a long time afterward.

+ + +

Leo looked suspiciously at the gold coin Cassia offered.

Severance pay?

But it was too much money to be severance pay.

‘She did work after all.’

Pitiful woman. Leo felt a pang in his heart.

It was clear that Cassia sold her body due to her strong affection for him, to bring him money. The severance pay must be a lie.

Leo had been busy. Searching for Gilbert Forte during the day, gaining Katrina’s favor in the evening, and taking care of his sister at night...

So he hadn’t paid much attention to Cassia. He only confirmed she was busy making shoes and thought that was enough.

Idiot. Fool.

Even though he had vowed to free her from her shackles, he ended up causing this.

He should never have mentioned needing travel expenses to reach the Conrad Kingdom. His unnecessary words led her to work.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t accept this. This is...”

He tried to refuse out of guilt, but Cassia shook her head firmly. Just like Brian Sauer, she forcibly put the gold coin into his hand.

“Please accept it. Really. Instead...”

A voice as thin as a mosquito’s followed.

“Could you take me with you?”

“Where? To the Conrad Kingdom?”

“...Yes.”

Cassia had spent days contemplating the gold coin.

If she gave him this money, he would leave.

A man who made her heart feel like it would burst just by looking at him. She didn’t want to let him go. But...

She wanted to help him.

Torn between these conflicting feelings, she made up her mind.

She would give it.

Let's provide what your beloved one needs. Then, let's ask them to take me with them. Whether they take me or not, that's their choice. It's not for me to force.

Despite this resolve, is a person's heart so simple? Cassia waited anxiously for Leo's response.

Leo showed a troubled expression.

“The Kingdom of Conrad is far away. It will take several months just to get there. What about the store?”

“You can just close the store. We don’t have any customers anyway. I’ll be fine.”

As long as I can be by your side.

“W-We have to cross the border, and they’ll check our identities...”

“I’m a free citizen. I have an ID card.”

“What do you plan to do in the Kingdom of Conrad? What work will you...”

“I’ll make shoes. I can do that anywhere.”

Cassia’s heart sank at his hesitation. It seems he doesn’t want to take me.

Well. A woman like me...

Swallowing her bitterness, she spoke with a hint of self-mockery.

“Sir Leo, you don’t need to worry about me. If my coming along is inconvenient for you... I won’t go. You can just take the money.”

This is driving me crazy.

Leo found Cassia's presence uncomfortable. Emotionally.

He didn’t know what to do with this woman he had a love-hate relationship with.

This Cassia had nothing to do with the events that had transpired. She hadn’t helped them in front of the pharmacy, she hadn’t handed Lena over to the brothel, nor had she saved his life.

But those incidents were vividly etched in his memory, and he couldn’t completely forget the feelings he had for her. No matter how much this was a ‘first encounter’ with Cassia.

Just as his silence was about to drag on, Lena, who had been taking gold coins from her brother’s hand and marveling at them, asked innocently.

“I like Sister Cassia. Can’t she come with us?”

Though the sight of his sister holding the gold coin made him feel even more uncomfortable, Leo was conflicted.

There were benefits to bringing Cassia along.

The journey to the Kingdom of Conrad would be long. It would be good to have someone to look after Lena along the way. It’s better to have an extra person rather than protecting his sister alone.

And then there was the Curse Quest. There was that too.

Though it seemed Cassia had done something again this time, if she started making shoes in the Kingdom of Conrad, who knew? Starting anew in another kingdom might be the way to break free from the curse.

After pondering, Leo reluctantly agreed.

“...Alright. Let’s go together.”

“Thank you! I-I’ll do my best!”

Even though they were just leaving together, what on earth was she going to do her best at?

But no one challenged her words. Perhaps because Cassia’s beaming face was too bright.

Leo cleared his throat and looked away, while Lena clapped her hands in delight.

On the dark street at night, a vulgar curse broke out.

“Dirty bastard. Horny scoundrel.”

“...Bear with it.”

The female knight cursed the person she was guarding, but the knight next to her did not rebuke her.

“What am I supposed to do? If he weren’t the count’s son, I would have killed him long ago.”

Her companion’s restraint seemed to fuel her further, as she lifted her back from the carriage she was leaning on and started to criticize in earnest. The carriage bore the crest of the Forte family.

The crest was quite unique.

A broken sword.

A half-broken sword was the symbol of the Count Forte family.

There was a reason why this potentially shameful symbol for a knight became the emblem of the Forte family, the greatest knightly house in the Kingdom of Belita.

It was related to the hidden story of the count’s birth.

Long ago, a knight fought fiercely to protect his lord. Despite his sword breaking, he continued to fight, and his sacrifice allowed his lord to survive and eventually ascend to the throne.

The king, who couldn’t forget the knight who gave his life for him, ennobled the knight’s son.

The estate bestowed upon the son was named ‘Forte,’ meaning the lower part of the sword blade, to honor the broken sword the knight fought with for the king.

True to their loyalty, the Counts of Forte had always been loyal to the king.

In this generation, Count Herman Forte, a Sword Master, appeared to be at odds with the royalists, but their loyalty to the king remained unchanged.

Perhaps because of this, Count Forte frequently visited the royal palace. He spent so much time there that he even borrowed a room in the palace to use as his office.

People who saw this praised him, saying, “As expected of the Forte family,” and “Even after reaching the pinnacle of being a Sword Master, he cares so much for the king.”

And there was no doubt that the loyalty of the Forte family would continue for generations to come...

But the only son of Count Forte, Gilbert Forte, just died.

Leo walked out of the brothel, not even taking the time to clean the blood off his sword before sheathing it.

“Did you hear what that bastard said to me earlier? He said it was fine to sit next to him. That son of a bitch.”

Leo brushed past the female knight expressing her displeasure about the deceased, feeling a sense of accomplishment in the assassination.

Gilbert Forte was depraved. His routine involved seducing noblewomen every day.

Even a well-known playboy like Gilbert couldn’t seduce someone every single day. On uneventful days, he visited a very special brothel directly run by Viscount Brian Sauer.

A place that only selected the most beautiful women in Orville, where Gilbert would reserve a room and harass women as usual...

Leo suddenly barged in and beheaded him.

Along with the beautiful, unnamed woman who was with him.

[Achievement: Civilian Murder - You have killed ‘4’ civilians. You become slightly unhappy.]

In that perfectly soundproof room, it would take time for people to realize that someone had been killed. With the woman beside him also dead, it would take even longer for them to be discovered...

Leo calmly walked past the knights and hurried toward the leather shop.

Thanks to the gold coins Cassia had given him, things went smoothly.

There was no need to wait for the prince to be insulted and return, and through the information dealer of the Rauno family, he could buy information about Gilbert Forte.

Learning that Gilbert visited this brothel two or three times a week, Leo waited for several days, and the Forte family’s carriage appeared.

If the knights escorting Gilbert had accompanied him inside, it would have been difficult, but the honorable knights of the Forte family did not set foot in the brothel.

Leo whistled low.

With this, his childhood friend Lena would no longer be driven out of the city church.

Also, since Katrina had written a ‘temporary knight certificate of the Second Knight Order’ for him yesterday, he could now cross the border legally.

Katrina had threatened him, saying, “Writing something like this is actually beyond my authority... So you must come back. Understand? If you don’t come back, you’ll die.”

She’s a funny woman, indeed.

But what is Katrina’s curse?

Will she end up on the battlefield?

But she was a knight, and participating in a war was an honorable thing.

Despite having several conversations with her over the past few days, Leo couldn’t find any shadows in Katrina.

She was always cheerful and confident.

It was impossible to understand.

‘But now that I’ve killed Gilbert Forte, maybe there won’t be a war. Will that solve Katrina’s curse?’

It didn’t seem likely... Leo clicked his tongue and looked around the dark streets of Orville.

‘My work here is done. At least, as far as I know.’

What can you do?

You can’t know and handle everything in the world.

Leo consoled himself, thinking he had considered as many options as possible, and returned to the shoe shop.

The next day, he left Orville with Cassia and Lena.

To reclaim the lost {lineage}.