Chapter 62

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Translator: Harry Potta

Chapter: 62

Chapter Title: The Maid Left Alone (6)

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The floor jolted and shook. The path into the mountains was treacherous. The women's bodies inside the rattling carriage swayed limply along with it. I was too busy trying to steady my own tipping body.

The women riding in the carriage were all beautiful, one and all. With their long hair cascading down to their chests and their slender figures, they were such stunning beauties gathered together that it was almost blinding to look at. There were a few with ordinary looks among them, but no one as ugly as me.

I fiddled needlessly with my bangs before turning to Alicia sitting beside me. At first, she'd been excitedly peering all around the carriage, but at some point, she started shooting dissatisfied glances now and then. Now, she had her eyes closed, dozing off. I was impressed by her guts to sleep like that in a situation like this. Surely she hadn't already decided to die? I wanted to ask, but it was obvious the response wouldn't be good, so I held back.

'Give me time to think.'

In the end, I hadn't been able to break Alicia's stubbornness that day. She was adamant, and talking with her made me revisit my own misery all over again.

I didn't agree with everything Alicia said. I did think my life was miserable, but that didn't mean I desperately needed to escape this situation. Maybe in the past, but now I was actually content with this comfort.

Still, that didn't mean no change was needed.

It had been five years since I left that place. Not a short time. Long enough for them to forget a runaway maid, or even assume I was dead.

At least while living in the slums, I never sensed anyone chasing or watching me. It might just be my intuition, but I had this vague certainty that the danger was gone. If so, didn't that mean there was no need to keep living like this?

The choice was simple. Maybe it was already decided. Let Alicia go on her own and live my life alone. Even if I went on and on about our relationship, there'd be no hopeful future in sight. We'd just keep blaming and hurting each other forever, our relationship unchanging. In that case, maybe it was better for us to each live our own lives.

But...

After that, the worries never stopped.

Nights without sleep grew more frequent. Maybe because I was heading to the count's household as a servant in a new place, memories of the past started crushing me again. My heart pounded with tension, and my mind filled with worries and anxieties. Dozens of times a day, I agonized over whether to go or not.

Then I had a nightmare. Like always, my younger siblings came to see me. They threw themselves into my arms. Their bodies were so shriveled, I felt nothing. No body heat, no scent, no texture—nothing.

My second sister's whisper came to my ear.

'Sis, you can't run away alone.'

At that moment, I screamed and woke up. I gasped for breath and bolted upright. I couldn't bear it. My chest felt so choked up, I didn't even know what I couldn't bear.

Leaning on the wall, I shuffled outside when suddenly a hard texture brushed my fingertips. I turned my head, and a woman reflected in the mirror caught my eye.

It was the only mirror in the house, brought in because of Alicia's stubbornness. There, a woman with thick bangs covering her face was trembling her exposed lips.

I forced the corners of my mouth up, and the woman in the mirror tugged her lips into a smile too. It was an awkward smile, like someone who'd never really smiled before. Her chapped lips exhaled tense, ragged breaths. The upturned corners quickly lost strength and drooped down. The smiling face turned into a crying one in an instant.

I hesitated, then flipped my bangs back. My ugly face appeared before my eyes. This face had saved my life at times, but it had also subjected me to discrimination and scorn my whole life. I hadn't wanted it, but just for being born this way, I'd had to live like that. That's why I'd hated and avoided my own face.

I recalled the newspaper article I'd seen before. That man was living well. Everyone was living well. So shouldn't I start living well now too?

The demon spawn that had bound my life was dead, and the hateful third sister was leaving too, they said. Now I had the right to choose my own life. No—actually, it had always been in my hands. But my life was still shackled to the past.

I was still trapped in that hell.

Before I knew it, tears welled up and streamed down my cheeks. I covered my face with both hands. I couldn't let out even a single sob. I knew I didn't have the right to.

'Poor little sister of mine.'

I'd whispered that while holding my newborn youngest, whose neck had been snapped. On that final night, I'd stroked my second sister's tear-streaked face and repeated those words. When I held my fourth sister, who had starved and closed her eyes alone, all I could do was lament her pitiful life in her stead.

That was all.

That was all I could do.

Now it was the third sister's turn. But I couldn't turn away from her either. Because she was the only sibling I had left.

'I'll go too.'

'Really?'

I nodded vigorously toward Alicia, who asked again as if she couldn't believe it.

'But if anything feels dangerous, we run right away.'

'Ah, got it. I will.'

'I'll run at the slightest sign of trouble. I don't want to die.'

'I said I got it.'

After nagging her like that over and over, we finally decided to go together. When she said we were going to a count's household, I wondered if it was the place I'd worked before, but fortunately, it wasn't.

'Stella Count's family or something?'

It was a family I'd never heard of. Was there such a count? Well, what would I know? The important thing was it wasn't a place I knew.

As we prepared to leave, I packed lightly. Honestly, there wasn't much to pack. Just one bag each. Alicia had some clothes she hadn't sold and kept wearing, so her bag was somewhat full, but mine was even lighter.

And on the day we left, I stood in front of the mirror one last time. With firm resolve, I raised the scissors in my hand. Snip, snip—the sound of the blades cutting was chilling.

When I went outside, Alicia, who had been rubbing her sleepy eyes, saw my state and gasped in shock. Her wide eyes blinked in disbelief. It was the reaction I'd expected, but it was still embarrassing. As I urged her to hurry and stepped forward, she grabbed me and stopped me.

'Y-you, you... you're planning to go out like that?'

She was even stammering, which was rare for her.

'Yeah. That's how I'll go.'

'You're crazy!'

Alicia shouted. Seeing her recoil in horror, I gave an awkward smile. Was it that weird? I fiddled with my now-bare face. The bangs brushing my fingertips were shortened to just touch my eyebrows.

I'd cut off the long bangs I'd stubbornly kept to hide my face.

'I already cut it. Can't grow it back now.'

'Don't you feel embarrassed?'

'I'm going to pretend from now on.'

'It's embarrassing!'

I ignored Alicia as she kept yelling that it was embarrassing. This was a big decision for me too. It wasn't like I could glue it back on just because it was embarrassing.

We were going to a new count's household, but that didn't mean I had no worries. What if someone there knew me? Sure, I might be overthinking, but jobs go around, right? And there was no guarantee "what if" wouldn't come knocking on my door.

In the past, I'd hidden my face with long bangs, and even when I was hired at the Bellunita mansion, it was the same. Of course, it wasn't perfectly hidden, but at least no one had seen my face clearly. If I went around like this, they wouldn't realize I was that runaway maid. I'd stand out, sure, but impressions change if you alter just a distinctive feature.

In short, it was preparation for "what if."

'And don't tell anyone I'm your sister.'

'Good. Don't use my real name from now on either.'

'What? Why not the name too?'

'Just.'

That was preparation for "what if" too.

From the day I left that mansion, I'd used a fake name. If someone was chasing me, revealing my real name seemed dangerous. Luckily, no one cared about the name of a low-class person like me. Since they were hiring someone with unclear status anyway, as long as I did the work well, it was fine. I hadn't needed to worry about my name before, but the new place would be different, so I nagged her just in case.

'I have another name, keep calling me that. Got it?'

'Why do you have to do that?'

'I like that name.'

'Did you eat something bad?'

Alicia made a weird face. I ignored her look, like she was seeing a madwoman. After confirming several times that she'd understood everything, we headed to the meeting spot.

There were about a dozen people gathered. Not just women—men too. Most were pretty or handsome, but a few had ordinary looks. They'd said we could bring companions, and while looks were a factor in the offers, they didn't seem absolute.

But I didn't let my guard down.

The gathered people paired off to chat or just scanned the surroundings idly. When I joined the group, two carriages soon arrived.

The black-clad men from before got out and greeted us. They scanned the crowd, then separated the women and men into different carriages.

The carriages didn't even have windows. Unable to look outside, people dozed or read books to pass the time.

It was a long, boring journey. The brightly shining sun must have fallen by now. The carriage hadn't stopped once until then.

Like the jolting carriage, my heart was shaking. It didn't feel like we were on a proper road. Where on earth were we going? Was it okay to obediently follow like this? What if we were being sold somewhere? I glanced at the others while thinking that, but they all looked calm and unworried, which only confused me more.

But the stronger the carriage shook, the greater my anxiety grew. Should I just open the door and run? Those thoughts kept popping up.

Then, suddenly, the carriage stopped.

We'd arrived at our destination.

As the carriage halted, the dozing people woke one by one. I shook Alicia's shoulder to wake her.

Right then, the carriage door opened, and a man gestured for us to get out. Following the people pouring out like they'd been waiting, Alicia stretched as she descended, and I followed behind her.

The first thing I saw was the dense trees surrounding us. We'd traveled so long, we'd gone deep into the forest. Who'd have thought there'd be a mansion in the middle of a forest like this?

In the heart of the woods stood a grand, magnificent mansion. The moment I saw its towering size, it stole my gaze completely.

"Wow, it's amazing."

Alicia rarely sighed in admiration, craning her neck back. The others around us couldn't tear their eyes away from the mansion's grandeur and beauty either. Sighs of awe escaped naturally.

"Alright, ladies to the right, gentlemen to the left."

Two men stood on either side, waving their hands. We split into two groups again—women and men. An older woman and man stood at each group. From past experience, I realized they were the heads responsible for managing the male and female servants.

Alicia and I stood at the back of the group. My heart pounded. The hand gripping my bag strap grew slick with sweat. I swallowed dryly several times, but the tension wouldn't ease. I felt anxious and jittery, yet excited too, making it hard to compose myself. Even so, I was looking forward to this new life.

Good thing it was dark around us. If Alicia saw my excited face, she might tease me about coming being the right choice.