Episode 29
***
After giving my own kind of warning, I hurriedly ran back home. Thankfully, Grandma Hilde didn’t find out that I had sneaked out, but my heart was pounding hard. I knew I had done something bad.
“……Lilia is a bad girl.”
That’s why she was abandoned.
Lilia swallowed back the tears that welled up and lowered her head. At that moment, footsteps could be heard through the sound of rain. The child’s eyes filled with hope—could it be that her mother had come to find her?
“Mom……?”
“What’s this, a little brat out here?”
Rough-looking faces. There were about half a dozen of them. They were the remnants of the bandits the imperial palace had mentioned.
Even now, eight years later, Ranié remembered the moment Lilia was born as if it had happened yesterday. She had gone to see Celine for lunch that day. Her water broke earlier than expected, and she was sitting on the living room floor in panic.
‘Celine……!’
‘Ranié…… w-what should I do? My water broke…… it’s not my due date today……. What do I…… what should I do…….’
‘Calm down first. Just because your water broke doesn’t mean labor starts immediately. I’ll go bring someone who can help.’
Celine urgently grabbed Ranié, who was about to run out.
‘No… don’t go…….’
‘Celine?’
‘I don’t want anyone else……. Ranié… please, Ranié, help me…….’
Celine desperately refused anyone else’s help. She was so frantic that her trembling hands clutched Ranié’s clothes without letting go. In the end, Ranié couldn’t break her stubbornness.
‘……If something goes wrong, don’t blame me.’
After her water broke, the contractions began. At first, Celine seemed to endure them well, but gradually began groaning in pain.
Ranié prepared clean cloths and warm water, getting ready to deliver the baby. She had once dreamed of becoming a physician and remembered reading about childbirth in books, but receiving a baby in person made her hands and feet tremble.
She was so tense she could barely swallow. By the time the labor pains grew worse, Celine was half-unconscious.
‘Waaahhh!’
After twelve long hours, Celine gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. The child cried loudly the moment she entered the world. Ranié wiped the baby clean, wrapped her in a cloth, and placed her in Celine’s exhausted arms.
Celine looked at her child with weary eyes and began to cry. At the time, Ranié thought she was crying tears of joy upon seeing her baby.
It wasn’t until several years later, after Celine had run away, that she finally realized the truth.
Celine hadn’t cried out of happiness. She had cried because seeing the lovely child reminded her of her hateful husband.
If Ranié could ever go back to that day—or meet her again—there was one thing she wanted to tell her.
Even if Lilia’s appearance didn’t resemble her mother, the tender heart that was easily hurt, and the radiant smile that no one could look away from, were just like hers.
Ranié ran through the rain, looking like a madwoman. Herdian, who had been preparing to leave the village, spotted her and approached with a startled expression.
“Ranié, it’s raining—where are you going―”
“……Lilia’s gone.”
“…….”
“Please…… please find Lilia for me. Please…….”
The entire village searched for Lilia in the rain. Even so, there was no news. By then, Ranié was no longer in her right mind. The thought that she might never see the child again had drained her soul.
“……nie.”
“…….”
“……Ranié!”
Herdian grabbed Ranié’s shoulders tightly as she stood blankly in the rain. Only then did focus return to her green eyes.
She wasn’t crying. He knew the water streaming down her cheeks was rain, but still, he thought she was crying.
“Get a hold of yourself. What would a mother do acting like this? We have to find her.”
“……I can’t see her. I checked everywhere she usually goes…… she’s nowhere…….”
“Check once more, Ranié. I’ll go into the forest. But don’t you dare think about going in there.”
“…….”
“She’ll be fine. Trust me. If you can’t trust me, then trust that clever child of yours.”
There was no hesitation in Herdian’s eyes. Whether his words were meant to comfort her, or whether he truly believed the child would be safe—Ranié couldn’t tell. Her mind wasn’t stable enough to judge.
After that, she moved as if possessed, retracing her steps and searching for the child. Her appearance was so different from usual that the villagers she passed couldn’t bring themselves to speak to her.
“……I have to find her. Lilia will be waiting.”
Lilia was a brave child. She laughed easily, ate well, and played well. It seemed as though she had completely forgotten what happened two years ago.
But Ranié knew. It wasn’t forgotten—it was buried deep inside. When left alone, those thoughts would resurface, bringing pain once again.
‘……Because I was the same when I was young.’
When she was alone, she used to wonder why parents she could barely remember had abandoned her.
What had she done wrong as a newborn to be denied their blessing? Did her parents ever regret abandoning her?
She only realized when she grew up that such thoughts were useless. But as a child, she hadn’t known that.
That’s why she had to save Lilia before those dark thoughts consumed her—before it was too late.
Lilia ran away, her face pale, from the bandits. Two burly men chased after her, laughing as she desperately fled. Their laughter echoed in her ears, making her squeeze her eyes shut before opening them again.
“……Ow!”
She slipped and fell often on the wet road. Her pretty clothes were long soaked in mud. Stumbling back to her feet, Lilia started running again. Her speed was slower than before.
“The little brat sure runs fast. Stop suffering and just come with us, yeah?”
The bandits had no intention of letting a child who’d seen their faces return to the village. They planned to regroup in the mountains before raiding the nearby village.
Lilia instinctively understood. If she were caught, she might never see her mother again. So she ran even harder.
‘Is Lilia being punished because she did something bad……?’
“Ow!”
This time she fell even harder. When she tried to stand, her ankle throbbed so badly she couldn’t put weight on it. Crawling on all fours, she leaned her back against a nearby tree and picked up a fallen branch from the ground, pointing it forward.
“If you come any closer, I’ll hit you with this.”
“Oh no, I’m so scared. You’ll hit me with that? Go on, try it. Try hitting me!”
The bandits mocked the terrified child.
“Don’t come near Lilia !”
Lilia shouted with her eyes tightly shut. Just then, the laughter stopped, replaced by the sound of someone choking.
Before she opened her eyes, a familiar voice reached her ears.
“If you’re a good girl, keep your eyes closed.”
“……Mister?”
Herdian was gripping a bandit’s neck with his left hand as he turned around. Lilia obediently had her eyes closed. With a smooth motion, he snapped the man’s neck and threw the body to the ground. The last bandit twisted his face in rage.
“You bastard, how dare you……!”
The sound of metal clashing rang out. The screech of blades meeting filled the air.
Herdian swung his sword with his right hand but frowned—pain shot through his wrist.
The bandit, spotting an opening, charged recklessly forward. Herdian swiftly twisted his body to avoid the blow and grabbed the man’s throat.
“……Kugh!”
Even through the rain, the groan was clear. Lilia flinched and trembled. Her eyes were closed, but she knew what was happening right in front of her.
After that last groan, silence returned. Lilia cautiously called out to Herdian.
“……Mister?”
“Keep your eyes closed.”
“……Okay.”
Herdian stepped closer and lifted the child onto his back. Only when the bodies on the ground were no longer in sight did he allow her to open her eyes. When Lilia opened them, she looked at the unfamiliar back that carried her.
Unlike her mother’s, it was firm and solid. But it was just as warm.
“……Thank you for saving me, Mister.”
“You said that yesterday too. You have a lord and an uncle, so why is it always ‘Mister’ with you?”
“Because you flirted with my mom.”
Herdian froze mid-step.
Flirted. Was that really a word a seven-year-old should know? He pondered seriously.
“What kind of books do you read to know words like that…….”
“I read picture books.”
“……Picture books?”
Apparently, there were all kinds of picture books in the world. Shaking his head, Herudian began walking again.
Lilia rested her cheek against his solid back and mumbled.
“Was my mom looking for me a lot……?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s going to be mad, right?”
“She will.”
“……Will Mom stop liking Lilia ?”
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