The place Leo led her to was a shoe store in a secluded alley. Inside, Cassia was sitting idly, looking the same as before.
Although he had no choice but to come, seeing Cassia made Leo's emotions complicated, and he hesitated for a moment.
She was the one who had shown unconditional kindness to the beggar siblings collapsed in front of the pharmacy, provided them with a home, and even hid Lena.
At that time, Leo liked her. There was a time when her oddness, as if a screw was loose, felt charming, but now it was mixed with hatred.
Now, he hated her.
As Leo stood hesitantly in front of the store, Cassia gestured from inside and said,
"Come in. Don't loiter out front."
Unlike the hesitant Lena, Leo walked in decisively.
It was rude behavior for a beggar, but Cassia didn't mind and stared intently at him.
"Have we met before?"
"No."
Despite the beggar's blunt tone, she couldn't take her eyes off him. She slightly opened her mouth and, with a dazed expression, muttered to herself.
"Somehow, it feels familiar... What brings you here?"
[Achievement: Charmed Cassia - Gained minor Favorability with Cassia.]
'Is it because of the achievement? Her reaction has changed.'
In the previous scenario, Cassia had felt affection for Leo, who was devoted to his sister, and that affection was preserved as an achievement.
Leo thought that things had become much easier now and made his request in a less desperate tone than before.
“Could you let us stay here for a few days? I can pay you.”
Leo needed Cassia, regardless of whether he liked her or not.
She was acquainted with Ober, a thug from the Rauno family, and he had heard that the Rauno family also dealt in information because they were involved in contract killings.
Leo was thirsty for information.
He knew that the beggar siblings were actually the legitimate heirs of the southern Conrad Kingdom, the Yuriel royal family.
The beggar siblings were the only scenario without any status obstacles, and if he succeeded in ousting Prince Eric de Yuriel of the Conrad Kingdom, Lena would immediately become a princess.
So, he planned to join the Rauno family to learn about the Conrad Kingdom and Prince Yuriel.
Cassia was a good stepping stone.
By approaching Ober through her, the Rauno family would not suspect him, and once he gained their trust, he planned to ask for Lena's protection.
Without leaving it to Cassia.
Leo took out all the remaining {Starting funds} and placed them on the table. It was a considerable amount that made a clinking sound as it was set down, but Cassia did not fiddle with the silver coins as she had before. Without hesitating about whether to help or not, she spoke.
“Alright. Anyway, there's an empty bed in the room. But I'll take one of these.”
She easily agreed, picking up one silver coin, and then introduced herself first.
“I'm Cassia. What's your name?”
“I'm Leo, and this is Lena.”
“Nice to meet you. But she needs to wash up a bit. There's a water bucket here, so go inside and clean up.”
Seeing Lena's disheveled appearance, Cassia briefly introduced the house and personally brought the water bucket into the room.
Leo closed the door, amazed by the power of the achievement.
Although Cassia was a rare person who would help the beggar siblings, it was definitely the power of the achievement that made her agree so readily.
‘No matter how you look at it, that woman's reaction is quite peculiar. The generals weren't like this.’
There were other achievements that earned the same 'mild' favor besides Cassia. He had gained the favor of princes and nobles, but their reactions were merely enough to catch a bit more attention.
On the other hand, Cassia's reaction was distinctly different.
‘As expected, a strange person... Ah!’
While Leo was thinking about Cassia, Lena had stripped off her clothes again. Leo gave his sister a mixed-emotioned advice, “You shouldn't take off your clothes in front of strangers!” and then stepped outside.
Lena had a puzzled expression on her face.
Leo stepped out into the shoe store for a moment but couldn't stay there long either.
As soon as he stepped outside, Cassia's gaze clung to him, making him uncomfortable, so he avoided her and set out to find a clothing store.
‘Wait a minute, since I'm already out, it would be better to bring the teacher along.’
Previously, he had been late because he was searching for Cassia, but this time the sun was still high in the sky.
Since it was necessary to quickly assign a teacher to Lena, he sought out the teacher who had previously taught his sister. After stopping by the clothing store to change clothes and buy clothes for Lena, Leo found the teacher at the same place, teaching children.
This old man was quite a trustworthy person.
He had never revealed his sister's appearance to anyone, and this time too, upon seeing Lena, he promised to keep the secret as before.
‘I've done everything I need to do for now... but there's still time left. Should I catch a few thugs? I spent all the {Starting funds}, so I'm feeling uneasy without money.’
While Lena was conversing with the teacher in the room, Leo wandered around the shoe store, swayed by a small temptation.
It was the perfect time, just as twilight was beginning to fall, to catch some thugs.
If only he could get hold of a weapon, he would feel more at ease...
As Leo was contemplating a livelihood-based murder, Cassia's eyes followed him, swaying left and right as he moved.
* * *
‘Why am I feeling this way?’
He was a much younger man.
Even though there was at least a ten-year age difference, just looking at that boyish young man made Cassia's heart flutter uncontrollably.
It wasn't because he was handsome. This wasn't a lustful impulse but a strangely poignant feeling that tugged at her chest.
Cassia had never been in love.
Her mother was beaten to death by a thug while trying to protect some loose change, and her father, unable to overcome his illness, committed suicide.
All that was left for young Cassia was a tattered heart, a shoe store with no customers, and a contract that still had several years left.
She had seen her father hanging, his heart stopped, blood pooling downward as he dangled.
Since then, she had lived a meaningless life. She just stared blankly at the wall in front of the store, not even contemplating the future.
I'll probably die living like this.
But today, a young man who suddenly appeared stirred her heart.
This man, who made her heart tremble just by looking at him, was devoted to his younger sibling. He provided a place for his younger sibling to sleep, brought clothes, and even arranged for a teacher.
How could someone with such a frail body care so much for his sibling?
Cassia had seen such an extremely weak body before. Her father had been like that. But he ultimately chose death, leaving her behind.
Weak father.
Cassia felt a strong mix of love and hatred for him.
Then, the young man who had messed up her heart disappeared. He saw the teacher off and hurried back to his room.
The closed door felt disappointing.
‘Huh? What? Why am I?’
Cassia, not knowing why she was swayed by these emotions, looked back at the front of the store. Seeing the familiar alley blocked by the wall, her excited heart calmed down. But she could never be the same as before.
It had already gotten dark. Unable to resist, she turned her head to look at the closed door, and inside, the siblings were having a quiet conversation.
Unbeknownst to Cassia, Leo was urging his sister not to get close to her or even talk to her if possible. She stood there for a while, lost in her thoughts, in the shoe store she had guarded for so long.
It seemed warm inside.
Here... her father, who had hanged himself, was suddenly swaying behind her. The chill of abandonment enveloped her.
Cassia bit her lip hard, turned away from her father, and stepped outside.
It was time to go to work.
I don't feel bad about her but I wish she could have a happy ending
ReplyDeleteHis real advice to his sister ehould have been to never sell herself. He's acting like Cassia had forced that decision on her, or poisoned her mind.
ReplyDeletei really don't think what cassia did was that bad. she introduced lena to the same job she (cassia) had, because she didnt see it as shameful, she saw it as a legitimate line of work. and she convinced those that hired lena to only have her work there for a year to start with even though they wanted more. i think it was a morally grey decision. eventually lena became the house matron and did well for herself, at least from cassia's limited worldview. she did wrong by not informing MC, but she did try to convince lena otherwise at first. but lena was her own person with her own motivations.
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