Chapter 54: Leo Undergoes a hot test(2)

“Whoa!” Leo exclaimed as he instinctively reached out his hand, but he ended up hugging the trash heap in the splendid shrine maiden attire.

It was a moment where he deeply appreciated wearing secondhand clothes.

“How’s it feel to be covered in garbage?” the boy asked excitedly, rambling on with great enthusiasm.

(Oh? Leo, who had experience working part-time picking up trash—even Weitz’s trash, which was several times smellier—couldn’t resist and, rather, his eyes sparkled as he examined its contents.

(Yeah, this is definitely mandarin skin! Oh, so this is how they use it! Rubbing the surface a bit to enhance the scent? I see, if you rub it while eating, it’s not much of a hassle. Wow, I’ll take this as a sample.)

“How’s it feel to understand a little of how we feel being looked down upon along with the garbage?” 

(The carving is probably to make it easier to mix… Ah, maybe they also rub the surface to enhance the scent? I see, it’s not much trouble if you rub it while eating. Wow, this is an excellent sample to take home.)

“Huh, you’re not saying anything!”

(Using mandarin skin after you are done eating the fruit to make a powerful deodorizer without spending money… I feel the elegance and wisdom of Erland! Damn, Erland’s downtown quality!)

Ignoring the boy’s remarks entirely, Leo’s eyes brimmed with excitement.

Indeed, it was good to be here.

Many discoveries awaited in this downtown area that he wouldn’t have encountered if he had stayed holed up near the cathedral.

(Thank you, boy!)

As Leo was about to express his gratitude to the boy who gave him this opportunity, he raised his head suddenly while still crouching amidst the trash pile.

“What are you doing?!” 

“Lord Leonora!”

The familiar voices of Weitz’s guards reverberated in his eardrums.

Gustav and Kai, who had finally caught up after seeing the girl’s predicament, approached. Gustav quickly grabbed the boy’s arm to restrain him, while Kai knelt beside Leo and diligently wiped his hands with a handkerchief he had taken out.

“Lady Leonora…! How troublesome…”

So saying, he glared fiercely at the boy.

In his almond-shaped eyes, the impatience and frustration he had accumulated until now manifested as flames.

“Do you even realize what you’ve done?!”

His voice trembled with anger.

He couldn’t help but feel the urge to shout at the spirits in disrespect, wondering why only his innocent master seemed to bear so much misfortune. 

A good master who, despite being mistreated, never lost her pure heart. The trials the spirits bestowed upon him were always excessively harsh.

Stealing his mother, stealing her safe childhood.

Just when he thought he had finally gained the protection of the Duke and Duchess and the love of the Prince, now he faced new difficulties befitting her status.

Believing this to be a trial to gain blessings, she endured scorching under foreign suns and was exposed to raw malice in lowly lands, how lonely it must have been.

Gasping in the heat and desperately crying out for “Mother!” like a lifeline, only to be thrown into a filthy pile of garbage.

Kai, looking at the girl crouched amidst the garbage pile with tears in her eyes and trembling, felt a blinding anger.

And at that moment,

“Wa… Wait! What… What are you all intending to do!”

“Are you planning to obstruct the sacred trial!”

The female attendants, who had been left behind, hurriedly approached.

Ignoring their rapid Eldand speech of protest, Kai retorted in Weitz speech without hesitation.

“Torturing a girl who is trembling… doesn’t it hurt your heart?! You are the ones who should be deserving of the spirits’ punishment!”

“What…?”

“Lord…?”

Though the gist seemed to have gotten through, unfortunately, complete understanding could not be achieved.

Frustrated by the inability to communicate properly, Gustav, who was restraining the boy, calmly issued instructions.

“Sir Attendant. I’ll handle the protest here in Eldand’s territory. You return to Weitz and inform His Excellency and His Highness of this situation. This has gone beyond the scope of a trial. This is a national humiliation.”

“Yes…!”

He nodded vigorously, but the next moment, his eyebrows furrowed.

Returning to Weitz would mean leaving his master alone. Even with the few guards they had, he couldn’t help but worry.

“Um… would it be possible to send a messenger instead…?”

Perhaps sensing his concern, Gustav made a somewhat understanding face.

But then he raised his eyebrows lightly and shrugged his shoulders.

“I understand your sentiment, but, uh… You’re talking about His Excellency and… His Highness, right? If you deliver the message incorrectly, it could spark a war. But that’s not advisable. The situation needs to be delicately and accurately communicated. – Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“…Yes.”

Taking in the seriousness of the situation, Kai gulped audibly.

Then he changed her expression and turned to the girl behind him.

Seemingly perplexed, the girl looked up at Kai with a troubled expression.

“Um… Kai…? Uh, what exactly…? I’m not really sure, but… I’m okay, so please don’t fight for my sake, okay…?”

Though her words sounded like lines from a romance novel heroine, Leo was genuine.

He had thought of this journey as a carefree solo adventure, but suddenly Kai and the others appeared, restraining the Jagged Heart Boy and making the situation more serious.

However, taking her words as yet another self-sacrificial statement, Kai furrowed her brows tightly.

A girl who insisted she was fine even when attacked. It was precisely because of this kind of master that those around her had to move to protect her more than she did herself.

“…Lady Leona. I’ll be away for a while, but I’ll be back soon.”

“Huh? Uh, sure…?”

“Sir Knight. I’m counting on you…!”

“Kai!?”

As soon as the words were out, Kai quickly ran away from the scene.

Since he couldn’t even condemn the boy and the female attendants without speaking Eldandese, and with Gustav present as a guardian, he had no role as an escort.

So it was better to hurry back to Weitz and appeal for the girl’s plight as soon as possible.

“Um…”

Watching her younger brother run away with a solemn determination, Leo muttered in confusion.

He couldn’t keep up with this development, but his younger brother, who had become increasingly emotional lately, was a bit worried.

Or rather, had he really returned to Weitz?

As long as he didn’t inadvertently say something to the Duke and Duchess that would cause trouble, it should be fine.

But if the overly protective Kai brought along the equally protective Duke’s army and caused a fuss, that would be a bit… 

(No… It’ll take a whole day to get back to Richert, so the escape plan for tomorrow should proceed unchanged. But if we’re parting ways now, is this the last goodbye with Kai…?)

Feeling somewhat lonely about the rather incomplete farewell, Leo furrowed his brows.

But well, once the heat dies down, he can go check on the boy’s condition tomorrow. Yeah, that’s okay.

Finally, Leo returned his gaze to the boy who had caused this situation.

And then,

“What the hell are you doing?! You planning to hang me or something!”

The boy, who had apparently been restrained by Gustav all this while, started to make a commotion.

Surrounded and grabbed even by his arms, he seemed to have become uncontrollable, as he contorted his tanned face and yelled.

“What I’m telling you is, I ain’t apologizing! It was this girl who insulted me first! I’d like the spirits to praise me for giving her appropriate punishment!”

“What? You—”

As Gustav narrowed his eyes, the tension in the surroundings suddenly heightened.

It was as if a ferocious beast had bared its fangs, causing the boy and the female attendants to momentarily hold their breaths.

But—

“Mr. Gustav, please stop.”

At that moment, a voice as clear as pure water resounded, and the tension in the air eased.

Touching Gustav’s arm with a troubled expression, the girl gently peeled him away from the boy. Then, she looked at him with wide eyes and smiled.

“Of course, you don’t need to apologize at all.”

And shockingly, she even spoke with a faint nuance of slang, matching the boy’s speech.

“I’m sorry. It’s all because of my poor Eldandese that I caused an misunderstanding. I never meant to belittle you at all. I was just curious about your method of disposing of garbage and wanted to ask.”

“Huh…?”

“I’ll correct that. Oh, and one more correction.”

The girl took the boy’s hand with her slender fingers and bowed her head politely.

“What you gave me wasn’t a punishment but a lesson. So I want to thank you. Thank you very much.”

“W-What…?”

The boy was bewildered, his voice choked with confusion.

He couldn’t believe that the girl had just wanted to ask about their method of disposing of garbage.

Moreover, instead of blaming him for prematurely pushing her into the garbage pile, she expressed her gratitude.

His heart raced as he felt the beating from their touching hands.

Her pale, slender arms were still beautiful even after touching garbage, and her fingertips carried the refreshing scent of citrus.

The girl gently narrowed her purple eyes, unseen in Eldand, and smiled.

“Thanks to you, I understand more about your way of life. It’s something I wouldn’t have known if I had stayed at the cathedral.”

Not only the boy but also those around him were surprised by her statement.

From her words, it was evident that the girl was reaching out with understanding and compassion even to the slums of Eldand.

Especially Gustav, who knew about her efforts to avoid water shortages, immediately realized that she was once again showing compassion to the people of Eldand.

Understanding their way of life.

In other words, empathizing with the impoverished people who live while covered in garbage.

Rather than being thrown into a pile of garbage and hurt, she was hurting because she was empathizing with the people’s lives there.

The boy, who seemed to have reached a similar conclusion, trembled and just muttered, “Ah…”

To him, the black-haired girl who still smiled nobly even while covered in garbage seemed like a spirit of light.

“Uh… I’m sorry. I really am sorry!”

“So I said, you don’t have to apologize.”

She must have deliberately chosen to speak in a casual manner, as even her consideration seemed precious.

Completely at a loss for words by her kindness, the boy stood there trembling, while those around him watched in silence.

Finally, the girl glanced down at her soiled clothes as if remembering something.

“Oh, that’s right, the praise. I have to return to the cathedral and praise the land of the light spirits…”

On the evening of the second day of the Covenant Festival, there was a ceremony where each person presented the greatness of the land they had seen to the light spirits.

The girl, who had traveled quite a distance, was about time to start heading back.

“…We’ve just returned, just in time for the beginning of the ceremony. Probably, there won’t be time to clean up this mess and get ready,” pointed out Khaje, who had maintained silence until then.

In that voice, just a little – yes, just a little – concern for the girl and a hint of apology seeped through.

“Is that so? It’s fine, I’ll just go like this.”

“Eh…?”

Confusion overtook Khaje and the others. They had already been sent these ragged clothes as a form of harassment. And now, despite being covered in filth, they were expected to go as is.

“Um, isn’t it that if I’m too dirty… I mean, if I’m dirty, will the spirits mind?” 

“No… Spirits are beings not bound by social hierarchy, so as long as your soul is pure and you’re wearing the garb of a shrine maiden, such things shouldn’t matter… Rather, aren’t you uncomfortable?”

“Oh, no, it’s fine. These clothes covered in filth are just right for me.”

“…What…?”

Filthy was just right. Khaje couldn’t grasp the true meaning behind those words and inadvertently let slip a comment in his natural tone. But the girl didn’t respond to that, simply smiled, turned on her heel, and began to walk away. She must be heading back to the shrine.

“Hey, Khaje. What do you think that meant just now?” 

Surya, watching her receding figure, furrowed her brows beside him.

But it was not Khaje who answered that question, but the Holy Knight from Weitz.

“Do you want to know how much disrespect you’ve shown that girl?”

“W-what…?”

At the gaze reminiscent of a bird of prey, Khaje couldn’t help but gulp nervously. 

As he unconsciously took a step back, he drove away the bewildered-looking boy and glanced at Khaje and Surya in turn. Then, in a low voice that couldn’t be heard by those around, he delivered a shocking statement.

“She grew up in a shack in the slums, enduring abuse.”

“What…!?”

“What do you mean by ‘slums’?! She’s supposed to be a noble’s daughter, isn’t she!?”

In shock, the two interrogated each other using a slum dialect. Gustav raised one eyebrow as if to say “Is that so?” and Khaje covered his mouth in surprise. But realizing it wasn’t the time to discuss their upbringing, he faced the other with determination.

“Never mind that, such things. What does it mean? We heard she’s a princess among princesses who could even become involved with the prince of your country.”

“That’s true. But… it’s also true that she was born in unfortunate circumstances, exchanged for her mother’s life, born in the slums. And she was imprisoned by a despicable man who had taken a liking to her beauty. She was not given meals or education, and even in Weitz’s harsh winters, she could only wrap herself in rags. I’ve heard she wasn’t even given herbs for her injuries if she got hurt. She may have desperately gathered food with her young hands and treated her own wounds with her injured hands. She cried while thinking of her dead mother…”

Starting with Kai, then Bianca, Natalia, and finally Gustav. After various embellishments by the storytellers, Leonora’s cruel story seemed to have finally taken its final form.

The disconnect from the truth was reaching its peak.

However, in Khaje and Surya’s minds, the story and the girl’s actions were beginning to align with astonishing speed.

The damp, dim room she described as her home… It wasn’t about the marquisate, but about the shack where she was chained. 

There were antidotes even in poison. 

Perhaps there was such an intention behind her statement that even insect venom could be beneficial.

She was happy even with clothes like rags. 

She ate every bit of food without leaving a drop of oil. 

Above all—

“…Could ‘Kaasama’ be the term for ‘mother’ in Weitz?”

“Yes. It’s a word children use respectfully to address their mothers.”

“…”

Khaje pursed his lips tightly. Then, after a moment, he squeezed out a statement to Gustav.

“…That girl. Every night, she clutched the filthy spirit cloth and whispered ‘Kaasama, Kaasama.’ When we peeked, she hastily hid it under her bedding and laughed nervously. Was that… what it meant?”

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. It was merely a muttering born out of mastering the weaving of spirit cloth for profit. But no one present could point that out.

“…We… What have we done?”

Surya, who was easily moved to tears, began to moisten her amber eyes. As a younger sister figure, she had been raised with love even in the slums, and although she could be as cruel as Khaje at times, she was fundamentally kind-hearted.

Khaje, too, clenched his fists so tightly that his hands were on the verge of breaking.

“…Wasn’t she a sheltered daughter of the rich after all?”

Until just now, Khaje had believed so. Being able to be kind is ultimately a matter of having the luxury to do so. What’s wrong with taking advantage of someone who economically and mentally had it all? 

But he was wrong. She, like Khaje and her comrades, had lived without even the love Khaje and the others had received in the poor slums, relying only on her deceased mother for support.

Yet she had not lost her kindness.

And yet, as they attempted to drag her back into poverty and malice just as she was about to start a life in the limelight as a noble’s daughter once again, what they were doing was nothing short of a betrayal.

In shock, Khaje and his friends stood still, while the girl, draped in old clothes and filth, walked proudly under the glaring sun.

Despite her terribly shabby appearance, her sweat-drenched white profile looked incredibly beautiful, and Khaje felt like he was about to cry at her radiance.

“…Are you going to let her walk like this?”

Gustav, who had been silent while looking down on the two, finally spoke quietly.

“Are you going to let her walk to the shrine, covered in filth, old clothes, and malice, and kneel before the spirits like that?”

“…”

“I, too, once committed a similar act against you. But… no, precisely because of that, I cannot overlook this any longer. At least let me carry her. Don’t overlook it.”

With that, leaving Khaje and the others behind, he walked towards the girl.

Seeing his decisive steps, Khaje finally shouted.

“Wait!”

Both the foreign knight and the girl further ahead turned around in surprise.

As he looked at them with eyes like purple flowers, devoid of any dislike or distrust, Khaje licked his lips.

“It’s against the rules for someone from that country to help with the priestess’s trial.”

He didn’t even bother to fake a composed tone anymore.

He wanted to be himself in front of her.

Khaje Talmuel, who grew up in the slums without education or refinement.

That was who he was.

“But—”

“That’s why we… will carry her.”

Looking at the astonished man, Khaje smirked and, with determination, turned to his sister.

“Surya. That boy earlier, he’s Kinaph’s nephew, right? Convince him to apologize and gather the local boys, and bring them along. They sometimes do basket-carrying gigs. Bring those baskets too.”

“Khaje…!”

Surya, with tears in her eyes, suddenly brightened up. But in the next moment, she hesitated, looked up at Khaje, puzzled, and then nodded with a smile.

“But is it okay? Silver coins—”

“Surya. We may be the kind of people who eat pig intestines, but torturing a child who cries for her mother is an act of pigs’ excrement. To receive silver coins in such a way, will we even be able to use them in good conscience knowing what we had done to get those coins?”

With a laugh and a firm statement, Surya fell silent for a moment as if taken aback, then smiled and nodded.

With her eyes, strong and lively, not giving any hint of tears, she was like a mischievous cat.

“All right. Leave it to me. I’ll also raid the old folks’ homes and get plenty of mandarins.”

“And Kal’s seeds too.”

“That’s right. And bull-hair brushes and raspberry fruit. Wait, I’ll be back before you can count to hundred”

Mandarins were used by them to mask smells, and Kal was a plant that held high-quality oil in its seeds. If you squeezed the oil and applied it to your hair or skin, it would shine and protect you from pests. The brush was a cosmetic tool made from the discarded hair of cows, and raspberry fruit turned red when crushed. They were all crystallizations of the wisdom of the poor that only they knew.

“…Even if you can’t ride horses according to the rules, it’s nice to have baskets, but what exactly are you…?”

Khaje, who seemed to be unfamiliar with makeup, laughed at the confused holy knight.

“Well, just watch. Combining slum wisdom, washerwoman’s skills, and our pride and dignity, we’ll make her sparkle like the light spirit herself. And she’ll be the shiniest beauty even the light spirits will be amazed at.”

The girl shook her shoulders in surprise.

Her completely innocent appearance was truly that of a light spirit.

A spirit that had once descended to a poor land, sowed seeds with its people, and was instantly cleansed of dirt and mud by the power of miracles. 

This time, the miracle would be performed by themselves, the children of the poor. That’s what Khaje thought as he raised the corners of his mouth.