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Chapter 58
The woman quickly went into the kitchen and soon prepared a meal.
“I feel embarrassed that this is all I can offer, even though I invited you over,” she said.
True to her words, the meal was modest.
The soup had no chunks of meat and the bread was hard, but it seemed she had added plenty of vegetables for the guest, Lucy.
The woman, who introduced herself as Roche, said she wasn’t originally from this area. She had left her hometown, which had since disappeared from the maps, endured a time when people called her a foreigner, and eventually settled here after meeting her husband.
But now, because of the debts her husband had accrued, she had become a fugitive of sorts.
“They said he could earn a lot if he went to work on a ship. It’s been months since he promised he’d be back soon,” she said.
She explained that she had been hiding to avoid creditors while waiting for her husband to earn money.
“I’ve managed to stay hidden for a while, but today they caught me. If you hadn’t helped, it would have been a disaster,” she added.
“I’m Lucy—Lucy Raeford. How much debt could it possibly be for such terrible people to chase you like this?”
“You’re a noble lady, after all. At first, it wasn’t a large sum. But the interest grew so quickly that it became a mountain we could never pay off!”
Roche slammed her hand on the table as if the thought alone made her angry.
But when she saw her son Khan’s eyes widen in surprise, she forced a smile.
“If I had been captured today, Khan would have been left alone in this house… Just thinking about it gives me chills. Thank you again. I don’t know how I can ever repay you…”
Roche bit her lip and gave a sad smile.
Lucy felt a pang in her heart, somehow seeing a reflection of her own unfortunate past in Roche’s expression.
“I should be going now. Do you know where the Information Guild is? I was on my way there,” Lucy said as she stood up.
“Already leaving? The Information Guild is that large brick building across the alley. Be careful—you might run into those men again,” Roche warned.
“Don’t worry. I’ve got plenty of self-defense weapons I haven’t even tried yet,” Lucy said with a grin, pointing to the inside of her robe.
“And… this is a small token for the lunch you prepared.”
Lucy took a small pouch of coins from her clothes and placed it on the table. It was some of the silver she had set aside for today’s outing. She had wanted to give gold coins, but she knew how dangerous and inconvenient it would be for a commoner like Roche to handle them.
“This is too much… I can’t accept it!” Roche said, opening the pouch but then holding it back out to Lucy.
“Please, think of it as a reward for telling me the location of the Information Guild. Just accept it!”
“You’ve already helped me enough. I can’t take more money!”
The two of them continued to argue good-naturedly over the pouch for a while, waving their hands.
“Then I’ll come again soon, and next time, prepare an even better meal. Use this money for it, and I’ll take the change later! Can you do that?” Lucy asked earnestly.
“You’ll never know when I might show up, so you’d better have a fine meal ready every day!”
Roche, touched and yet mixed with a bit of embarrassment, choked back her words of gratitude.
“Khan, you have to look after your mom while your dad is gone. See you next time!” Lucy said, waving goodbye to Khan.
‘Now that I think about it, Khan looks a lot like Roche,’ Lucy mused as she left the house.
‘So that’s the Information Guild!’
Lucy’s eyes lit up as she looked at the tall brick building in the distance.
As she headed toward it, she spotted a familiar man from behind.
He was very tall.
“Shan?”
Lucy narrowed her eyes, but the man disappeared behind the building. She ran after him, but he had already vanished without a trace.
“Did I imagine it?” she wondered, entering the guild building.
Lucas, who had been secretly watching, clicked his tongue softly.
‘So she followed him after all.’
Though she had been delayed saving the woman earlier, Lucy was heading straight for where Shan was. Lucas, tense and alert at the entrance, hid again when he saw Lucy coming out.
“The Information Guild is really convenient!”
Lucy exited the building excitedly. She had worried about high fees, but the information she sought wasn’t expensive at all.
Bruno Alan, within Collin’s Royal Academy, was known as a quirky professor. Lucy carefully tucked the paper with his details into her robe and looked up.
She froze when she saw the man standing in front of her.
“Lu… Lucas?”
It was indeed Lucas Cretain.
“How are you here…”
“Long time no see. And what brings you here, Lady Lucy?”
Lucy hadn’t expected this encounter, but Lucas appeared calm, showing no real surprise.
“I… I work at the Pablo Trading Company. They have a big deal with the Collin Royal Family…” Lucy said awkwardly.
“I see,” Lucas replied tersely, polite but faintly cold.
“Ah… yes…”
Lucy was secretly flustered by his unusual behavior. She soon recalled their last encounter and forced a bitter smile.
‘I can’t expect anything after what I’ve done. I should be grateful he even acknowledges me.’
Though it hurt, she had brought it on herself. She spoke, hiding her bitterness:
“Thank you again for helping me during the fire at Raeford Manor. I’ll take my leave now.”
“Wait a moment!”
Just as Lucy bowed slightly, Lucas stopped her urgently.
“Yes?”
“I’d like to have a short conversation. I also need to ask a few things about Pablo Trading Company…”
“Oh, I can tell you anything I know!” Lucy agreed cheerfully.
Soon, they found a seat at a nearby outdoor café.
“…”
Lucy lowered her head slightly under Lucas’s unwavering gaze.
‘This is awkward. I hope our drinks come quickly!’
“Well…”
“I’ve heard…”
Lucy, about to speak, stopped when Lucas opened his mouth simultaneously.
“Please, you speak first.”
“I was about to ask what you wanted to know about Pablo Trading Company,” she said quickly, trying to ease the tension.
“I see,” Lucas replied shortly and went silent.
Lucy felt increasingly frustrated and awkward.
“So, what did you want to say…?”
“You’ve gained some weight since last time,” Lucas said.
“Excuse me?”
Lucy touched her cheek, surprised by his comment.
At that moment, their drinks arrived. Lucy quickly drank the fruit juice in front of her.
For some reason, she felt a surge of irritation. Lucas drank his drink just as quickly.
Seeing Lucy up close after so long, Lucas thought she was still beautiful—more beautiful than he had ever seen.
Unlike the inn that night, her clear eyes now held no sadness. Yet they were not the eyes of someone burning with defiant energy from the past.
Her face showed joy and excitement, previously unseen. She looked healthier, fuller, and more vibrant than before.
‘Did something good happen with that mercenary?’
