Chapter 54 – Chapter 3: Salvation – 1
Shoot–.
It’s pouring rain.
Now the sky has become completely dark.
I went to Noble Street.
I read the sign and headed to a place called Lobrt.
Between the large mansions.
At the end of the street, there was a house that was incomparably large and beautiful.
It was spacious and large enough to be called a palace.
The symbol of a white wolf is visible.
The name engraved below it.
‘Robrt’.
This is where I was invited… It was Robert’s mansion.
“…”
I looked inside through the thin iron bars.
There were a lot of people gathered in the garden.
Wearing black clothes and a dress, and holding a black umbrella.
He was saying something in a solemn voice.
Jeez. Jeopuk.
A group of knights came carrying something.
It was a coffin.
“There! Come out now!”
The guards guarding the mansion ran towards me.
The coffin lid slowly opens.
Even though I was far away, I wanted to watch until the end.
The last moments of the driver who treated me kindly.
The guards roughly pushed me away.
I held on tightly to the iron bars.
“Mr. Robert… !”
However, the last appearance was not visible.
The guards lifted me up and threw me into a puddle of water on the street.
Slam!
All my clothes were wet.
The guards spat at me, saying they would not leave me alone if they saw me again.
Shoot–.
The rain became more intense.
I walked the streets aimlessly.
People look at me with strange eyes.
It hurts.
I cried a lot because my heart hurt as if it had been pierced.
The cold rain just washed it away.
“Extra! Outside!”
In the middle of the street, a boy was selling newspapers.
No one wanted to buy newspapers because people were trying to avoid the rain.
“Hey…”
“Yes. It’s 10 silver!”
“The fact that the public service unit was completely destroyed… “Is it true?”
“…”
The boy looked down at me with a cold face.
“Among the dead… Are there any women?”
“Buy a newspaper and read it. “It’s 10 silver.”
Without even answering.
They just told me to buy a newspaper.
I rummaged through my pockets.
The bar’s security guards took all the gold coins and left the silver coins.
Exactly 6 silver.
This was the last money I had left in my hand.
“I only have this…”
6 When I handed over the silver, the boy tsk and clicked his tongue.
I could barely get one newspaper that was almost completely soaked in rainwater.
I unfolded the wet paper.
The ink was smudged, but it was slightly readable.
[The tribute force is wiped out. Cancellation of handover ceremony. Estimated minimum damage is 111,052 gold, 76 silver, and 86 copper. Below is a list of contributions…]
The entire newspaper was written about what kind of items the tribute was.
Each item was converted into money and written down.
Even a single apple from Gordburg.
However, there was nothing written about ‘people’.
It only says Robert’s name and that several soldiers under his command were killed.
How many people died, and whether they were men or women.
Nothing was left behind.
The only thing the newspaper reported in detail was the amount of damage.
Or, the only damage incurred was the cancellation of the takeover ceremony.
Crack!
I crumpled up the newspaper and threw it on the floor.
The rain continued for a long time.
I squatted at the end of the eaves.
Robert’s face comes to mind.
I recalled the memory of riding together on a white horse and galloping through the meadow.
The butter and biscuits we shared together.
And he honestly revealed his inner feelings.
I also remembered all the faces of the prostitutes.
Madam. Ailee unnie.
We all spent the night laughing together, relying on each other to follow the donation band.
Everyone had a dream.
She said she wanted to get a job as her maid when she arrived in Deseo.
She said that if she makes a lot of money, she wants to have her own store.
Robert invited me to his mansion.
If I had accepted the invitation, I would have had tea with Robert, talked about my teacher, and heard the stories of the glorious knights who roamed the battlefields of old.
But their dreams died.
Everyone died.
It stays in this empty heart.
Only I remember.
“…”
I raised my head.
The news spread that the tribute force had been completely destroyed.
Deseo hasn’t changed at all.
The sound of an unknown prostitute giggling with a man.
Obscene moans heard from the dorm.
The snoring sound of a beggar lying in a back alley.
The tired footsteps of men heading to work with their shoulders slumped.
No one in the city knew about their deaths, was not curious, or tried to remember them.
The even scarier and colder reality is…
Clearly, those people who were ‘alive’ until a few days ago… The fact is that even the name is not known because the value of the tribute is buried in the numbers.
“Ritz.”
I held the necklace tightly.
I miss you. I miss you so much.
Hug me and comfort me.
I want to be fooled around in the warm arms of Ritz.
I missed Brisden.
If I had wings, I would fly right now and go back to my hometown.
“Mom…”
She took out her mother’s keepsake, Rose Sabel, and hugged it.
It’s the only metal I can rely on.
I felt like I would collapse from exhaustion if I didn’t lean on this sturdy iron.
I was so cold, hungry, and tired.
The same seemed to apply to the beggars who came one by one to take shelter from the rain.
They lay haphazardly on the floor and curled up.
Although they looked at me strangely, they soon lost interest.
Anyway, everyone on this floor is in the same situation.
“Ha…”
I placed my head on the sword between my legs and fell into a deep sleep.
* * *
Ddak-dadgdak-.
I opened my eyes to the sound of a carriage passing through the street.
It was morning.
The rain that had been pouring down all night finally stopped.
I got up from my seat.
Somehow I felt lighter than usual.
Zek-.
Feeling empty, I looked down and finally realized.
“… Huh?”
There was none.
Rose Sabel.
She always wore it on her belt and couldn’t feel its weight.
I definitely slept snuggled against her chest
I looked around.
There was none.
She turned the barrel over and searched her entire alley.
None.
“… “No.”
Just before going to sleep, there were a lot of vagabonds around.
They were people gathered to avoid the rain.
Then…
“No… Please say no…”
I didn’t want to believe it, so I shook my head violently.
A feeling of tightness rises up to my throat.
Someone stole it.
My one and only sword… It’s nothing else but the sword my mother left me!
“Ha… Ha…”
She looked for it while running down the street.
I’m short of breath.
I looked at the people with swords on their waists one by one.
No. That’s not it either.
Rose Sabel is a sword with a blade as white as her eyes.
Her handle was lined with red iron, and the handle was wrapped with white cloth.
It was a short sword with a unique appearance, so it was recognizable at a glance.
… But she was nowhere to be seen.
Did they sell it? If I had sold it, I would have sold it to a weapon shop.
I immediately ran to the weapon store and asked if anyone was selling a short sword.
Everyone shook their heads.
There was no one who knew at the blacksmith shop.
“Please…”
I gritted my teeth and looked around the city.
I went to the guard post and told them that the items had been stolen, but they didn’t even listen.
I just answered that I would look into it at least once if I paid about 30 gold.
The sun set without any results.
I returned to the back alley.
I rested my hand on her knees and caught her breath.
“… “No.”
Maybe I was mistaken.
Perhaps… She could have stayed where she was.
Some kind person may have returned it.
She came back with such hope.
There was none.
“Ah…”
Now I finally feel it.
That you will never find that sword again.
Because I’m so stupid.
She realized that her mother’s belongings were lost forever.
Whisk.
I leaned against the wooden barrel as if I was falling.
I haven’t eaten anything all day today.
My throat was also very dry.
The rain that had fallen overnight was still on top of the rotted wooden barrel.
Without thinking, I put my mouth to the stagnant water and quenched my throat.
There is nothing to lose anymore.
I just lay down on the floor and closed my eyes.
* * *
The next day.
My stomach hurt as if it was going to tear.
I couldn’t work.
I had no intention of working from the beginning.
I really had no strength, so I spent the day lying on the street.
That was the best I could do.
When I came to my senses, Ritz was standing in front of me.
“Ritz?”
Ritsu didn’t say anything, but she seemed very angry.
“Ritz, I’m sorry… Ritsu is angry… Are you putting me through this ordeal? Because I was wrong. I shouldn’t have dragged Ritsu in there… Right?”
I prayed to Ritz.
“Sorry. So please save me. Save me…”
Ritz had no answer.
Just turn your back and go somewhere.
She didn’t even have the strength to hold on.
That night.
It rained again.
Tramps walked down her alley.
They said something to me.
I didn’t want to hear it.
“Try it.”
Hold something out to me as I crouch.
Fragrant smell.
A scent so good it makes you crazy.
It was bread.
I snatched it up and put it straight into my mouth.
They seemed to find it amusing and gave me more bread.
I took it all and chewed it.
“Giggle… “I’m eating well.”
“Why are you in a place like this? A young child.”
“Have you been abandoned?”
I nodded.
The men laughed.
“We’re all in that situation. All of these people have been abandoned by the city. It must have been difficult. I understand.”
Then he reached out his hand and brushed away my hair.
“Now, forget about all the hardships. Let’s have fun together. Huh?”
The hand went down my neck and down to my shoulder.
I turned my eyes.
Everyone else was looking down at me.
“Aren’t you nice?”
A grim laugh.
Shiny eyes.
I lifted his arm to take his hand off.
“… ?!”
My body didn’t move.
I also dropped the bread I was holding on the floor.
It felt like my body had frozen…
When I lost my balance and fell, a beggar helped me.
A dirty smell wafted out.
“Oh my. I have no strength. Haha… “The medicine really worked.”
“Hi-Hi…”
They grabbed my pants.
They try to forcefully take off their clothes.
I wanted to scream, but no sound came out.
He covered my mouth and pulled out a small knife from the side of my neck.
“You just have to enjoy it quietly. “Don’t resist.”
The man grabbed my shirt and roughly tore it.
Boo-!
The moment when your heart is exposed in front of them.
I bit down hard on the finger covering my mouth.
Crackle!
“Aaaaahhh-!!”
I have to live.
“Please help me!”
I screamed with all my might.
I quickly got up.
Heavy. I don’t know what drug they gave me, but my limbs feel like they’re filled with sand.
“Quickly catch that bitch!”
Vagrants rush in.
I clenched my fist and punched the face of the guy running towards me with all my might.
Peook-.
One gets hit and falls out.
Next, the man swings a knife.
Pak-!
“… !”
A hot feeling penetrating the skin.
As the stuck knife was pulled out, warm blood flowed from his left arm.
The startled tramp dropped the knife.
“Oh, no… This…”
“Shit! It’s a stomachache! Run away!”
Suddenly, guards came into the alley.
They ran away in a hurry to the other side of the street.
“Ah…”
Bright red blood spreads droplets on the rain-soaked floor.
I took out the bandage from the belt.
A bandage soaked in Ritz’s blood.
I couldn’t help it, but I had to write this.
He wrapped it tightly around his left arm, knotted it, picked up the fallen knife, and cut it.
It’s dangerous here. Hurry… I have to go somewhere else quickly.
I walked unsteadily to a corner of the city.
People murmured as they looked at me.
We finally arrived under the castle wall.
There was no one here.
It was difficult to control my body, so I fell to the floor.
The medicinal energy is still flowing through my body.
“Ha…”
Because I couldn’t move.
My eyes slowly closed.
