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Chapter 20
Two more days passed before I could finally feel safe.
No one came. No one died. No one knew I was here.
After a week, I started to feel a bit more comfortable. When I first found out that Keith had saved me, I was scared that someone who knew me was nearby. But now, I feel like I can trust him a little.
Keith saved me just because he felt like it.
‘Well, I’m not useful anyway.’
I can’t use magic or spirit power like Jang Hyunji or Laila Green. I can barely take care of myself. I can now eat and use the bathroom alone, but I still can’t even button a shirt.
My index finger doesn’t bend well—just a small side effect. I just wear clothes without buttons now.
Healing magic is different from holy power. Holy power can cure diseases, but healing magic only works on wounds. And it seems like it doesn’t fix the aftereffects either. Still, I’m thankful my body looks okay now.
I have no power, no money, and now my body is also broken. I can’t live alone like this.
“Should I help wash your hair?”
“How would you get water here?”
“If we ask Mr. Keith, I’m sure he’ll find a way.”
Mari said cheerfully.
“Ask him tonight. Just wiping yourself with a towel isn’t enough, right?”
“It’s enough. I shouldn’t expect more in my situation…”
“You can start eating more now too. Yesterday, Mr. Keith brought some ham—it was salty and tasty.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
Mari looked healthy and happy—probably thanks to Keith feeding her well.
Keith came to visit twice a day, morning and afternoon, always bringing food. I don’t know if he bought it or brought it from his own pantry.
The children, including Mari, always cheered when he arrived.
“Honestly, he should buy you at least one outfit.”
“I’m not uncomfortable…”
I was still wearing a dirty shirt. It wasn’t cold, and the indoor fire kept the place warm. Compared to wearing heavy dresses all the time, this actually felt freeing.
But Mari didn’t like it at all.
“Your legs are showing… If you go outside like that, you’ll be in danger.”
“I won’t go out like this.”
“My clothes are too small for you… I already asked him yesterday to buy you something—anything.”
“When I get better and can go out, can you get me a pair of pants? I’ll trade it for one of Keith’s buttons.”
I didn’t know what happened to the pouch I brought from the mansion. I probably dropped it when I was kidnapped. Maybe that’s a good thing—who knows what magic was on it?
I was sad about my grandmother’s keepsakes, but I gave up on them.
I gave up on everything.
So now, I had no choice but to rely on Keith, who was helping me for no clear reason. I shamelessly asked him for more help. As long as he didn’t hand me over to Linus or the Seymour family, I’d do anything.
When I told Keith that, he said:
“You shouldn’t say you’ll do anything. Didn’t your parents teach you that it’s dangerous to make promises like that?”
“Never heard that.”
“You’re not a kid anymore, so stop saying things you can’t keep.”
“You’re not exactly acting like an adult either…”
“I’m more of an adult than you, who can’t take care of herself.”
I had no reply—he was right.
“How old are you?”
“Tw—no, twenty-four. Why?”
“I heard you’re in your early twenties, but the way you talk, you seem younger.”
Well, I lost my body at nineteen and got it back five months later, after five years had passed. So it makes sense.
“You’re still a kid.”
“…I don’t want to hear that from someone who acts like life is just a game.”
Even if it was just a joke, it annoyed me. Keith laughed and waved his hand.
“You can’t do anything and you’re not useful, so stop acting like you can. You should be grateful and pray to me morning and night.”
“To you? Not God?”
“Did God save you? I did. So pray to me.”
“…”
“That’s good enough.”
He really thinks he’s God…
But still, every morning and night when he visited, I did offer a prayer—not to a god, but to Keith. At first, I did it because he told me to. Later, I used it as an excuse to ask for more favors.
By the fourth day, it seemed like Keith was starting to enjoy it too.
“When do you think he’ll come today?”
“Probably when the sun goes down.”
Mari sat next to me.
For over ten days, Mari had been helping me closely. Even if she got something from Keith in return, it was still a lot of work. She cleaned me every day with a warm towel, brought me food, and kept me company.
In Yenikel Street, many kids didn’t have parents. About fifteen kids lived in this building, including Mari. Keith gave them enough food to feed everyone. The kids kept my presence a secret. If word got out, it could be dangerous. They knew how important secrets were—how danger could come in exchange for a full stomach.
‘I need to leave…’
Just like Keith said, this place was perfect for hiding. But if I stayed too long, someone would eventually find me. At the very least, I had to leave this kingdom of Yulia. It was all within Linus’s reach.
I stretched out my arm. It was thin now. The bruises were all gone, and I could move it fine. My face had mostly healed too. Just a small yellow mark was left, but it would fade soon, and no one would notice.
Only my leg was still a problem. The broken bone had healed, but I still walked like a newborn foal. Keith said I’d be fine in a few days, but he hadn’t said I was fully recovered yet.
He seemed chill, but he was surprisingly strict.
“You must feel stuck inside. You don’t even get sunlight,” Mari said.
“I’m not complaining about that.”
“If it’s just for a little bit, it should be okay. I’ll have the kids keep watch, so you can go outside for a bit.”
“I don’t want to bother anyone.”
“Don’t be stubborn.”
Today, she was extra pushy.
Mari was really concerned that I hadn’t gotten any sun. She said even though the outside air wasn’t clean, sunlight was still important.
“My grandma always said people need sunlight to live.”
Though that grandma wasn’t her real one.
“No one ever comes around here anyway.”
“I don’t want to cause trouble.”
“Keith said it’s fine too.”
“I said no.”
“It’ll just be a moment. Kids, come in!”
“Mari, wait—ah!”
The kids in the building all listened to Mari. Like they’d been waiting, they burst in and picked me up. They sat me on a rough wooden chair, then carried me and the chair outside.
“Ugh.”
The sunlight was blinding.
I covered my face with both hands and stayed frozen. I could feel the kids holding their breath and staring at me. Their gaze stung like little needles. Mari gently pulled my hands away.
With the sun behind her, Mari’s face was in shadow.
Mari wasn’t exactly a pretty girl. Her face was pale and had freckles, her skin was rough, and her eyes—though a beautiful mix of brown and green—were hidden under thick eyelids. But today, she looked cute.
I wanted to be like Mari.
I had admired Linus’s perfect looks before, but never truly thought he was beautiful. Not like Mari. She wasn’t just pretty—her beauty came from the heart.
“Mari.”
“Yes?”
“Never mind…”
I wish Mari were my family.
But I didn’t say that out loud. Seeing her every day, helping me, and talking so kindly—it was impossible not to care about her. The same went for Keith, who came every morning and evening, telling dumb jokes.
I wanted to think about what to do next. But my thoughts just stopped. Like my mind refused to keep going—maybe because everything ahead felt too hopeless. In this poor corner of the city, I was finally alone and free, protected by people I barely knew, and I felt peace for the first time.
That comfort made me want to stay, to rely on them.
“It’d be nice if you could stay here forever,” Mari whispered.
“…”
I couldn’t answer. I couldn’t say I wanted to stay—because I knew Linus would come for me. Unless I got a new identity, faked my death as “Florence Love Seymour,” and waited many years… I had no future here.
“Huh?”
Mari blinked.
“What’s wrong, Mari?”
“Look… look over there, miss.”
Mari pointed toward the eastern sky.
It was almost sunset. The sky was already turning orange. But where she pointed, it looked bright—like the sun was rising again.
It was fire.
