chapter 08
We had never walked together for more than 10 minutes — because of my physical condition.
Even though he was familiar with the layout of the house, whenever someone was in front of him, Schloitz’s gaze never wavered. That’s probably why I didn’t realize it earlier. And also…
‘In the original story, it never said you lost your sight as a child.’
I started to feel a little sad.
I’d already noticed it several times — there was so much about Schloitz’s past that had been left out of the original story. I didn’t know he had lived through such a violent childhood. All the book had said was, “His stepmother secretly poisoned him when he was young.”
Schloitz, whose quiet monologues always made me feel sad, had actually endured even worse than I had imagined. Now that I was seeing it for myself, it hurt.
While silently staring at me, Schloitz finally spoke.
“You haven’t come in a few days.”
“I… was busy.”
“And now?”
He asked slowly, carefully.
“Are you not busy now?”
“I’m not busy… so I came to see you.”
That was all I said.
Later on — once he grew up and became the Commander-in-Chief — he’d end up visiting me all the time, so it would seem normal then.
But I wondered, how long did Schloitz remain blind?
Even though I just stared at him without saying anything, he didn’t say much either. Only when the knight called us from the kitchen did I finally turn around. As I did, I suddenly reached out and grabbed Schloitz’s hand. He looked startled.
“Why are you grabbing my hand?”
“I’ve been… having nightmares. Scary dreams.”
“…So?”
“So… let’s hold hands.”
“If we hold hands,” Schloitz asked, confused, “what difference does it make?”
“It makes a difference.”
“What kind of difference?”
“It’s less scary… that way.”
Schloitz stared at me, then looked down at our joined hands. Not that he could see anything anyway. Was he completely blind? Or could he see just a little?
He muttered softly.
“…You’re really scared of everything.”
“I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
“No… I’m not!”
Obviously, Schloitz had no intention of telling me he couldn’t see. The house had only recently been refurnished. Even if his senses were sharp enough to fool the knights of House Lefebvre…
I still wanted to hold his hand.
Being a master of excuses — or rather, being great at saying anything to cover up my feelings — I just held Schloitz’s hand and walked with him to the dining room.
“Let’s go.”
Schloitz didn’t pull his hand away.
I started having lunch and dinner with Schloitz almost every day.
Then I would come back and review matters related to the orphanage. The director had been sentenced to life of hard labor for killing five children and embezzling funds.
Honestly, I preferred that to the death penalty. People like him didn’t deserve a quick, easy death — better they suffer in hard labor for the rest of their lives. All the money he earned would be used for the welfare of the orphans.
‘Rot in hell, you evil man.’
But… why were the gang members who beat up Schloitz taking so long to be punished? I was starting to feel like something wasn’t right.
Knock knock.
There was a knock, and then the door opened. Venus walked in and spoke urgently.
“Young Lady, something serious has happened.”
I tensed up right away.
“What is it?”
“The men who tried to harm you a while back… we can’t press charges against them.”
“What? Why not?”
“One of them… is the only Guardian of the Red District.”
My eyes went wide.
A Guardian?
In the novel The Tragedy of a Mad Beauty, there were constant crises and incidents, and the early part of the story heavily focused on the military.
‘The heroine even joins the military and meets the male lead there.’
Because of that, the story had a lot of detailed lore about “monsters” and “Guardians.” Guardians were those who had the authority to wield sacred weapons that could fight against monsters — a position that was essential in this era full of constant threats.
‘Even if it’s the slums, just one Guardian? Really…?’
“They said they would request a new Guardian after dismissing the current one, but since the reorganization is already finished, it will take at least 3 months for a new Guardian to arrive.”
“But we have knights too… can’t we just… borrow one?”
I was about to say “dispatch,” but tried to find a simpler word.
“Can’t we just… lend one?”
“That’s true, but all of them have already been assigned with specific duties and roles for the next six months. Requesting a reassignment would also take about three months because of paperwork.”
I frowned.
So for three months, those thugs can just walk around here, not punished, acting proud? And in a slum like this, the residents are probably too scared to go against the Guardian.
‘I wasn’t planning to stay in this district with all these knights for three months…’
It was a tough decision.
Not just anyone could be a Guardian. They had to be someone with the blood of a “Tower Family.”
In The Mad Beauty’s End, nobles were uniquely referred to as the “Tower Families.”
A long time ago, only three great families existed, but now there are almost a hundred noble families in the kingdom.
Technically, only the direct lines of those original three families should be called “Tower Families,” but in reality, people don’t draw that line strictly.
So most noble families were referred to as Tower Families, almost like a synonym for nobility.
That meant there were still certain direct-line families who had special abilities passed down through generations.
The Lefebvre family was one of those direct-line descendants.
Unlike other nobles, Lefebvre descendants had a unique inherited power, but that wasn’t the important part right now.
‘Schleuz’s stepmother really planned this well.’
Only those with Tower Family blood could wield sacred weapons to fight monsters.
Of course, the knights I brought were from branch lines of Tower Families. They had the blood, so they could hold the sacred swords, but they didn’t have any special powers and couldn’t be officially registered. Inspectors weren’t from Tower Families either.
Just then, Venus’s lovely hair swayed in front of my eyes.
“And, my lady… I didn’t tell you earlier because I thought it might upset you…”
“Yeah?”
“Those thugs came to the orphanage with gifts, saying they wanted to make peace and get along from now on. Even with their faces all beaten up, they were grinning.”
“…!”
‘Those bastards?’
So they found out our knights failed to report them and came to mock us. “Let’s get along”? What, so I’d look the other way when they start hurting Schleuz again?
Are they seriously insane?
I thought they were just some thugs hired by Schleuz’s stepmother, but I completely underestimated them. If I don’t kick them out of this district and crush them with legal authority, I’ll never be able to sleep peacefully.
‘Arrogant jerks.’
“What do you want to do?”
I made a decision right away.
“I’ll handle it.”
****
“It’s a problem, Lady Enrique.”
The next day, the chief officer of the Red District looked very troubled.
“Last night, the Procyon family urgently submitted documents to claim the Guardian position in the Red District for the next five years.”
“…?”
‘Claimed it?’
I frowned. Claiming the Guardian seat was a special right noble families had. It was usually used for competitive districts or to show off the family’s power—not for some lowly slum like this one.
I asked to see the documents Procyon sent. The officer hesitated but handed them over after glancing at Venus’s fierce expression behind me.
‘Schleuz’s stepmother signed it.’
Maybe those thugs ran back and reported to her, or maybe she had these papers ready just in case and rushed to submit them last night…
Whatever the case, she was clearly serious about controlling Schleuz.
“If the claim is officially submitted, it’s hard for us to cancel it.”
Dylan, who had followed me, flipped through the documents.
“My lady, that boy is a direct member of the Procyon family, so technically he has the right to give it up—but he seems to have a strong attachment to the family, so it won’t be easy.”
I blinked.
“How do you know that?”
I mean, I knew because in the original novel, Schleuz fought hard to reclaim his family’s title, but how did Dylan know?
“He’s different when he’s around you… Actually, never mind. I just sensed it.”
‘So Schleuz acts differently around me compared to others?’
He’s all cute with me but fierce in front of others?
“And also, my lady,” Dylan continued.
“Since the army commander started taking over Guardian rights for himself, all the noble families have been fiercely guarding their claims. Even the Lefe—uh, our family is no exception. If you ask the boy to give up the claim, others might misinterpret your intentions.”
“Hmm.”
“Where are you going now?”
“To see Schleuz.”
“…You heard what I said, right?”
“I did.”
I started walking. Of course Dylan was right. Not a word of it was wrong. But I still felt I should at least try persuading Schleuz. That would be the easiest way.
****
“It’s hard to give it up, right?”
Schleuz didn’t reply. He just quietly looked at me. Well, his eyes still couldn’t see, but it didn’t matter. I was holding his hand.
I had held his hand because I knew he couldn’t see, but now I was holding it just out of habit.
‘Is it weird to hold his hand while asking? Will he think I’m being manipulative?’
I tried to slowly let go, but failed. Schleuz quickly grabbed my hand back.
I was briefly surprised, then he spoke.
“I want to ask you something.”
“Something to ask? What is it?”
“Did you save me just because you needed that power?”
It was an unexpected question. He held my hand tighter.
“No.”
“……”
“It’s really not like that.”
He glanced at our tightly held hands. I wondered what he could see in his darkened vision.
Then he said,
“Don’t lie to me.”
But honestly, it didn’t matter.
I squeezed his hand.
“I promise.”
