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Chapter 15
“Where’s the head butler?”
After sending Haren and Travis away, the head butler was nowhere to be seen.
“The head butler? Do you need something from him? A guest came earlier, so he went to speak with them. He’s probably by the west stairs. He usually talks near the staircase that leads down to the basement. Shall I call him for you?”
“No. I’ll go myself.”
With my injured leg from earlier making every step painful, I headed toward the west staircase. Voices could be heard from below.
“So, how’s life at the theater these days? Last I heard, you were going to audition for a lead role.”
“I couldn’t audition….”
“Why? That was your dream since you were little. Did something happen?”
“Well… debt collectors came after me.”
“Debt collectors? What do you mean? Debt?”
“My father….”
A single tear fell from the eyes of the woman who was speaking with the head butler. That lone tear, though not many, seemed to represent all the hardship she had endured.
Blinking to hold back more tears, the woman continued calmly.
“My father took out an illegal loan. At an extremely high interest rate. We lost our house a long time ago.”
A sob rose in her throat.
The head butler covered his mouth and patted the woman on the shoulder as she cried.
“You must have been through so much.”
Her sobbing grew louder. She cried so sorrowfully that it reminded me of myself in the past, crying after being scammed.
I knew how overwhelming that despair of having no future could be, and my heart ached.
“Yes. Because of the thugs who come to collect the money, I got fired from the theater, and now I’m working at a nearby restaurant. So… Uncle….”
As if ashamed to say it, the woman bit her lip. Then, gathering her courage, she asked in a cautious voice.
“Could you lend me some money?”
The head butler nodded.
“All right. How much debt do you have left?”
“Five thousand ritas.”
The amount was larger than expected, and the head butler’s eyes widened.
“I don’t have that much either. I spent a lot of money recently buying a house in the countryside. I have about five hundred ritas in cash right now, so I’ll lend you that. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m the one who’s sorry.”
“Wait here for a moment. I keep the money in my personal locker in the basement. Just wait a bit.”
“Yes. Thank you, Uncle.”
“No. I’m sorry I can’t help you more.”
After patting the woman’s shoulder, the head butler went down the stairs.
And at that moment—the woman, who had been hanging her head, lifted it and wiped away her tears.
“Ha, damn it. Where am I supposed to get the rest? I thought my uncle would have more money.”
Her face, after wiping her cheeks, looked completely calm, as if she had never shed a tear.
My mouth fell open as I watched.
‘Wow… I thought she was a completely different person.’
Her expression was utterly different from when she had been crying earlier. No—she didn’t just look different; she looked like an entirely different person.
“Ha….”
As she let out a long sigh, I could sense the desperation of her life in the sound of her breath. It seemed this situation itself wasn’t fake—she just looked like someone who had borrowed money so many times that crying had become mechanical.
“All right, I’ve brought the money. Let’s go back up. The young lady might arrive.”
At the sound of them coming up, I hurriedly hid myself.
The wound on my foot from yesterday, crushed by my shoe, felt like it was screaming for mercy.
“I’ll guide you to your seat.”
After talking with the head butler last night, I had fallen asleep right away. I barely opened my eyes at the maid’s voice. Thanks to the maids bustling around to help me, I managed to arrive at the temple just in time.
A kind priest led me to the prepared seat. When I entered the prayer hall behind him, many nobles were already seated.
‘The seating is based on donation amounts, right?’
Though the temple claimed to exist for the gods, it was thoroughly capitalistic. People were clearly ranked by how much they donated, and even the seating for prayer meetings was arranged according to donation amounts.
“Please sit here.”
The priest guided me to the second row from the front. There were fewer than ten chairs ahead of mine, and right in front of me sat Flaria and Haren side by side.
“Flaria, Haren.”
“Espin!”
Flaria greeted me loudly enough to echo through the quiet prayer hall. Her bright smile held no malice at all, and I found myself smiling back.
‘She really doesn’t seem like a villain.’
The more I saw of Flaria, the more she seemed far from being a villain. She could be rude and hot-tempered, but she didn’t seem like someone so full of malice that she’d kill another person.
‘Well, you never really know people.’
No one could say how someone might change upon learning they had a half-sibling.
“Espin, you’re here? Ah, but it’s almost time to start—why isn’t the captain here yet?”
Haren looked around, searching for Travis, whose large build stood out anywhere.
“What does that matter?”
“It matters. Our captain is never late. Oh, right—Flaria, you remember, don’t you?”
“Remember what?”
“That time Espin said our captain was handsome. She said he was her ideal type. But yesterday she wouldn’t admit it.”
“She definitely did say that.”
“Please, be quiet.”
In the silent prayer hall, the only ones making noise were Flaria and Haren.
“See? My memory was right. Espin, you really should meet someone like our captain.”
“Hey, honestly, the Duke of Holt and Espin? No way. They don’t match at all.”
“What do you mean? They match perfectly. And you know Espin’s ideal type is a prince, right? In the Empire, the person who fits the word ‘prince’ best is our captain.”
Haren kept insisting that the ‘prince’ Espin once mentioned was Travis.
‘If we’re being honest, wouldn’t a prince be the crown prince?’
A prince was the king’s son, so in the Empire, that would indeed be the crown prince. That was simply a fact. But the two of them didn’t seem to care and kept arguing anyway.
“What kind of prince looks that scary?”
“Scary? Our captain is just ruggedly handsome.”
“I think he’s way too scary. And he’s huge. Espin’s so small.”
“That’s what makes him attractive. Manly.”
Do you realize everyone else can hear you talking about my ideal type?
I kept poking their shoulders, but it seemed pointless—their sibling-like bickering was an everyday occurrence.
“You really have no eye for men. That’s why you keep dating weird people.”
“Hey, what did you say? Weird people? Then what about the people you’ve dated?”
“Why are we talking about that? We’re talking about how handsome our captain is.”
“Please, just look forward and shut up.”
“Why do you keep poking my shoulder? Espin, our captain is handsome, right?”
“Y-yes, yes. Your captain is really handsome. So please—just be quiet and look forward.”
“Right? See!”
Haren, who had been looking at me, suddenly raised her gaze above my head. Feeling a chill from behind, I slowly turned around.
“Captain! You’re here.”
Behind us stood Travis, stiff as a statue, his face hardened.
“Please, have a seat. I think the captain’s seat is over here.”
“Mm. Ahem. Yes.”
Travis cleared his throat awkwardly and headed forward.
From that awkward cough, I could tell.
‘He heard it. The part about being handsome.’
Should I hide in a mouse hole or something? But there couldn’t possibly be a mouse hole in such a clean temple.
At least I was wearing a dress with full, voluminous sleeves.
I lowered my face behind the cuff of my dress. I couldn’t bring myself to look up.
But, unaware of my embarrassment, Haren kept talking.
“Captain, I think I need to buy my sister a pair of glasses. She says you’re not handsome. Thankfully, Espin—who actually has good eyesight—said you are, so I don’t feel as wronged. You should’ve seen how stubborn Flaria was.”
At that moment, both Flaria and I bowed our heads in shame, as if we were about to bury them in the floor.
