ERTHMB Chapter 72

Precious Things

 

For the past few days, Helena had been showing noticeably unnatural behavior. Unable to escape from his life, she chose to run away from him instead, and such days continued.

 

Whenever she spotted even a glimmer of silver from afar, she would immediately turn her back. She would hurry to hide anywhere her feet could take her. Naturally, she didn’t even go near the area where he stayed. She minimized any chance of encountering him, even by accident.

 

Even when they did meet by chance, she acted as distant as if they were meeting for the first time. She would exchange only formal greetings and then leave the scene.

 

She even deliberately changed her meal times. Ian, who had been shamelessly occupying the seat next to her, was no longer to be seen. Instead, only Sakin or Lily would take turns sitting there, occasionally offering to be her conversation partner.

 

To those who didn’t know the situation, Ian had become an existence equivalent to a landmine for Helena at the moment.

 

‘Huh.’

 

Today as well, Helena crouched down as soon as she spotted silver hair outside the window. She had been about to leave after finishing her work, but there was nothing wrong with staying a little longer.

 

‘Please pass by quickly…’

 

Helena cautiously peeked her head out, gripping the window frame. Looking at Ian’s route, he seemed to be heading toward the training ground. Since Sakin had said he was going into town early in the morning, Ian seemed intent on having a match with Flam.

 

Flam had been complaining lately about being tired to death. Ian seemed to have a lot to vent, as he often grabbed Flam and wouldn’t let him go.

 

‘Is he angry with me?’

 

Helena slid back down below the window frame and sat leaning against the wall. She was on the verge of being helplessly caught up in a mood that was about to turn melancholy. At that moment, a loud noise came from the corridor behind her.

 

“I said no, Lily! Why won’t you listen?”

 

“You clearly promised last time that you’d take me after my birthday!”

 

“It’s still dangerous for you!”

 

The sound was coming through a slightly open door crack. From what she could hear, they seemed to be arguing about whether or not to take her to the demon subjugation site.

 

Helena remained silent, fixing her gaze on the chestnut-colored wooden door. The argument lasted longer and became more heated than expected.

 

“You’re not even my real mother anyway! You should have just sent me for adoption instead of raising me here, then I could have lived doing whatever I wanted!”

 

“You… are you done talking? Just because I’m lenient with you for being young, you’re spouting any nonsense. Get out! And don’t come back until you reflect on what you did wrong!”

 

“…Hmph, I knew this would happen. I knew you’d get sick of me like this someday!”

 

“What did you do right to—”

 

“If you were going to do this, you shouldn’t have picked me up in the first place!”

 

Thwack!

 

Something that had been thrown hard hit near the door. It seemed to be made of fragile glass, as a small breaking sound followed. Then the door swung wide open with a bang.

 

“…!”

 

Her eyes immediately met with Lily, who had kicked the door open with her short legs.

 

The small body that hadn’t expected someone to be crouched in the middle of the corridor stopped abruptly.

 

However, she began running again with the same momentum she had burst out with.

 

“Lily!”

 

Helena called Lily’s name and reached out her hand, but only grasped empty air. Lily sprinted through the corridor and escaped as swiftly as a deer evading a hunter.

 

A long shadow fell behind Helena as she hurriedly got up.

 

“Just leave her, no one can catch her anyway.”

 

Gelda placed her hand on Helena’s shoulder and restrained her. The small head was already moving away with the apparent intention of leaving the guild entirely. Watching her with her eyes, Helena said,

 

“I’ll still go after her.”

 

She looked back at Gelda, meaning that if she would allow it, she would bring Lily back. Gelda hesitated reluctantly before nodding her head.

 

“…Thank you.”

 

Then she buried her forehead in her withdrawn hand and shook her head.

 

“Sigh, I guess I’m not a good mother.”

 

“I don’t know what a good mother is either, so I can’t answer that.”

 

Gelda raised her downcast eyes to check Helena’s face. The face that uttered the bitter answer was indeed nonchalant. A long sigh poured out.

 

“…It’s difficult, really.”

 

“But didn’t you bring her knowing all this would happen?”

 

“…”

 

The hand that had been rubbing her temple slowly lowered. Helena neatly adjusted Gelda’s disheveled collar and patted it a couple of times.

 

“When I come back, tell her properly. How much… you cherish her.”

 

Then Gelda’s eyes became sharp. She exhaled a breath of protest and flicked Helena’s forehead, not hard enough to hurt.

 

“You hide your inner thoughts as tightly as Angri’s underwear that he wears for days, yet you tell me to be honest?”

 

“…”

 

“Nothing to say?”

 

“…It’s difficult, really.”

 

It seemed like someone’s dignity had been violated for a moment, but Helena decided to let it slide. She made a mental note to add several sets of men’s underwear to her shopping list.

 

Meanwhile, Gelda’s deep sigh cut through the brief silence.

 

Unlike her gloomy interior, she turned her eyes to the sky, which was nothing but clear.

 

“Why aren’t precious things ever easy?”

 

Instead of following her gaze, Helena fiddled with the thorn brooch attached to her bag.

 

“That’s probably why they’re precious.”

 

****

 

Meow—

 

A cat that had jumped down from a stone wall stretched its neck long and cried. The cute animal with fluffy cheese-colored fur and white socks was enough to catch a child’s attention.

 

Lily followed the cat as if mesmerized, watching it walk primly with tiny steps.

 

“Where are you going, kitty?”

 

The cat slipped away from Lily’s grasp, showing off its glossy fur as if it could be caught but not quite. Lily fell helplessly into the tantalizing game of tag.

 

Until the shopping district changed to a clean residential area and became quiet, she mindlessly followed only the swaying tail.

 

Then she ended up buried in a soft, abundant pile of velvet.

 

“What?”

 

A luxurious red-tinted cloak whirled around. The cat that had been teasing her all along jumped up onto it.

 

Lily’s gaze naturally followed upward. A woman who had lightly caught the cat was looking down at her with scary eyes.

 

“Hey, watch where you’re going…”

 

The woman’s irritated scolding gradually diminished as she looked over Lily’s outfit from top to bottom.

 

Her piercing gaze finally stopped at Lily’s face, carrying an even sharper light.

 

“You… aren’t you that scoundrel’s brat? What are you doing walking in here with those dirty feet?”

 

The sharp voice fell wrapped in déjà vu.

 

Had she seen her somewhere before? Lily’s clever brain spun quickly. Fortunately, the large mole next to her lips made it easy to identify the person.

 

‘Ah. I saw her last year at the festival when I came out following Gelda.’

 

It was Vivian, Lord Garta’s niece.

 

A woman who claimed only the privileges of her position and lightly discarded courtesy.

 

Even then, Vivian had quarreled with Gelda. Gelda had avoided the scene without even pretending to listen before voices could be raised.

 

At the time, Lily couldn’t understand her. She had vehemently protested to Gelda, who was dragging her away, asking what she had to lose by avoiding her.

 

But Gelda had scooped up the small jumping body and soothed her saying, “You’ll understand when you become an adult, Lily. There are more than one or two tiring things. If I pay attention to flies like that too, I’ll be too exhausted to live.”

 

Of course, she still wasn’t an adult now. The only tiring thing for her was nagging like having to wash her hands before eating.

 

So instead of avoiding, she looked around. A white mansion that seemed to be the woman’s house immediately came into view.

 

The garden attached to it was right in front of her nose. White fences surrounded it densely, making it impossible to set foot inside from the beginning.

 

As if to prove this, Lily claimed without moving a single step from where she stood:

 

“Strictly speaking, I didn’t go in… My feet are outside, and this distance isn’t private property.”

 

Then Vivian’s powdered white nose bridge created three wrinkles.

 

“Where did you learn to talk back like that?”

 

“I’m just stating facts.”

 

“Insolently talking back to an adult… Did that cuckoo bitch teach you that? Really, vulgar blood can’t be hidden.”

 

Vivian put down the cat and spread open a fan. Even the fluttering feathers couldn’t hide her fishy mockery.

 

Lily felt her stomach turn with anger and shouted,

 

“Don’t speak carelessly about our captain!”

 

“Oh my, look at this kid. I’m the one stating facts, so why are you getting so worked up? Is she your mother or something? Did she brainwash you like that?”

 

“If someone raises you, they’re your mother! What’s the difference?”

 

Clear snickering passed behind the gorgeous peacock feathers. Vivian folded her fan and bent her waist.

 

“You seem to be mistaken about something, but Gelda isn’t raising you out of love.”

 

“You don’t know anything about our captain—”

 

“Don’t I? Then you tell me, little one. What would be the reason?”

 

“…”

 

When Lily couldn’t answer, the flawlessly painted red lips curved into an arc.

 

“See? Out of pity, sympathy, and feeling sorry for you.”

 

She tapped Lily’s head with her fan between each word.

 

“Originally, people feel more compassion for things that resemble themselves. Just like that cuckoo bitch, even when raising a child, she picks up something abandoned.”

 

“Our captain isn’t raising me for that reason!”

 

“Little one, you’re still too young to understand, but facts don’t become true just because you insist on them. No matter how much you struggle, you’re a pitiful abandoned child, and Gelda is a stupid birdbrain who picked up such a thing.”

 

“No, no, that’s not true! You mean old lady!”

 

Lily vehemently protested. This caused spittle to fly onto Vivian’s face. The wrinkles on her nose bridge now increased to five lines. Unable to contain her rising anger, Vivian straightened her bent waist.

 

“Wh-what? Old lady? Even though I’m kindly telling you your situation, you’ve been acting insolent from the start—”

 

The hand with long-trimmed nails rose up as if foretelling what was about to happen. Soon it approached Lily’s cheek, cutting through the air.

 

Lily covered her head with both arms defensively.

 

But there was no direct pain. When she opened her tightly shut eyes, red hair like summer roses was swaying gently in the breeze.