MDCP 11

Chapter 11

“Should I go with you after all? Are you scared?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll be back quickly.”

Facing a beast that would be dealt with anyway felt less scary than walking out with an awkward person.

After I firmly refused, Susan’s expression turned awkward again.

“Um, Annabella. What I’m about to say might sound like an excuse.”

Yeah, it definitely does.

“I’ve never sent you outside when it was dark. You should at least know that.”

I nodded at her hesitant words. It was true.

She always called my name loudly and nagged me, but I didn’t want to call Susan a bad person.

After all, no one here was truly fortunate.

If I remembered correctly, Susan was the eldest daughter in a family with many younger siblings. The sibling just below her supposedly had an exceptionally high mana sensitivity.

That should have been something to celebrate, but in this empire, the only way to properly learn magic was to become an apprentice of a mage. And that cost a lot of money…

You could study on your own, but if you wanted to survive as a working adult, you had to enter a mage tower.

And to do that, factions mattered.

Talent born into a poor family was hardly something you could call a blessing.

Because of that, there were even cases where people from extremely poor backgrounds would seal their mana and sell it.

Rare, yes. Illegal too.

What kind of world is this…

But Susan said she wanted to somehow make her younger sibling a mage. So she wasn’t the only one struggling to survive in this world.

The same went for the Susan in front of me, her sibling, and Tom.

Ah, of course, sometimes she annoyed me and I acted snarky too…

“Oh, right!”

Rummaging through her pocket in a flustered motion, Susan pulled out a small stone and pressed it into my hand. It was a light device made from luminous stone.

It was something supplied to maids, but its light was very weak. Even that wasn’t given to me as an apprentice maid.

“It gets dark, and it’s hard to find things. It’s a small light, but use this.”

I quietly nodded. It was something I needed right now anyway.

Susan looked happy that I accepted it and finally smiled brightly.

She checked my thin clothing with worried eyes.

Right. I think she used to take care of me like this when I first came here.

I tried to think about why she had changed, but stopped—it made me feel unnecessarily depressed.

It’s not like I did anything wrong.

“I’d give you a shawl too… but we just got fresh seafood today, and I’ll smell like fish from handling it. Still want it?”

Even though Susan wasn’t in charge of the kitchen, she often helped whenever extra hands were needed in exchange for some pay. The capital was quite far from the sea, so seafood only arrived once a week, and she always went to help then.

“This time we got something interesting! If I manage to get some, I’ll share it with you.”

She always took the seafood home anyway—did she really have anything left to share with me?

“By the way, Susan unnie.”

“Hmm?”

When I called her, her eyes widened happily.

Even if I disliked her, it couldn’t be helped.

“This time, instead of seafood, you should take grains or fruit instead.”

“What?”

It must have been unexpected, because Susan tried to grab me, but I quickly ran toward the strawberry field.

Now that I think about it, how am I supposed to find the pocket watch?

Coming to the strawberry field without a basket felt strangely fresh.

I didn’t dislike coming here. There was a memory that always came to mind when I did.

“When you were pregnant, you craved strawberries so much. You’ve always had expensive tastes, just like who you take after.”

It was the first time I had ever heard about my biological father, so it stuck in my memory.

And that was it. My mother had been running a fever that day, and I was too young to ask more, thinking maybe it would hurt her.

I miss Mom…

Why does the word “mom” alone make my heart feel so full?

I sniffed quietly.

I should just find the pocket watch. It was the only thing my mother had left me. Something I had to look at whenever I missed her.

While sweeping the strawberry field with the faint light Susan gave me, I saw a pair of shoes in front of me.

“What are you doing here?”

A cold voice that matched the night air spoke to me. It was familiar.

After hearing nothing but “Ah, Annabella” all the time, this cold tone almost felt refreshing.

Now then, where have I heard this voice before…

“You’re not going to answer?”

When I looked up, it was exactly the maid I had met in the strawberry field before—the one supposedly favored by the Second Prince.

“Why are you lingering around here?”

Why are you lingering here?

Her gaze was like she was looking at a strawberry thief. I felt my breath catch.

What should I say here? Pretend I didn’t hear her? Or challenge her outright?

Honestly, facing a beast might be better.

Something about her heavy breathing and hostile aura made my instincts warn me that she was dangerous.

“I’m just here to check the strawberries for the prince.”

I forced myself to act calm.

I was scared of her. I was an innocent person.

There was already too much attention on me, and more would come—I couldn’t afford to cause trouble.

I should just endure this, being cute and proper and well-behaved.

“Did you wash your hands?”

“…Pardon?”

“Those are going to be presented to His Highness. You can’t touch them with dirty hands. I’m asking if you washed properly with soap.”

Even if it wasn’t some expensive herbal or scented soap she used, I washed thoroughly with the soap provided to me.

So thoroughly that others called me obsessive.

And strawberries grow from soil anyway—they’ll be washed later. So what was her point?

“One strawberry is probably worth more than your entire worth. You should be careful picking them.”

Ah, then you pick them yourself.

She was clearly taking out her bad mood on me.

“Bonita! Aren’t you going home?”

“Wait! You be careful. I’ll be watching you.”

She shot me a sharp glare and turned away.

I felt relieved that this unpleasant encounter ended quickly, but also unfairly wronged.

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

What would her expression look like if she knew I’m the prince’s daughter?

Should I just go to the palace and make her serve me?

Make her pick strawberries and repeat exactly what she said to me?

Though… maybe a noble lady isn’t worth just one strawberry. Maybe ten strawberries?

Should I make her only watch me forever?

But she said she was liked by Javier.

Terrible taste in people. No wonder she got played by his brother.

I clicked my tongue, tapping the ground with my toe, when something strange came into view.

Why is there a sprout in the strawberry field?

This field was frozen in time by magic for the prince who loved strawberries.

“So there shouldn’t be any new sprouts…”

While staring blankly, I didn’t even notice someone approaching behind me and began digging into the ground with both hands, almost entranced.

“What are you doing?”

“Eek!”

“Aaah! What? What is it? What appeared?!”

You did! My dad appeared!

Javier, who had appeared silently and startled me, was actually more frightened himself, jumping back and looking around.

What even is this guy… I felt ridiculous for being the one who screamed first.

Why would someone so easily scared come here alone? Didn’t he come with Beret Toston…?

“Were you looking for a watch?”

Confident there was nothing dangerous in the darkness, Javier smiled softly as he spoke.

His expression carried a calmness unlike someone who had just been flailing around checking his surroundings with a glowing magic tool.