Raising the Princess to Overcome Death Chapter 39: The Beggar Siblings - Cassia

39. The Beggar Siblings - Cassia

The third scenario of the beggar siblings began with a video showing them heading towards the capital, Orville.

The surreal buoyancy that had been tornting Minseo disappeared, replaced by a desperate hunger and thirst that engulfed Leo. Beside him, a dirty young Lena sat against the wall.

Seeing his sister, previous mories flooded back. The image of his fallen sister ca to mind, her eyes in the photo still seductively looking out, causing him tornt.

“Brother, I'm hungry...”

“Lena!”

Leo hugged his sister tightly, struggling to hold back tears.

Had Minseo's mind been less clear than before, he might have wept.

[ Achievent: First Death - The player's assimilation with Leo slows down. ]

“Ugh, brother, what's wrong? I'm weak.”

As Lena squird, trying to push him away, Leo finally ca to his senses and released her.

Lena was still filthy, with her lips dry and her neck so thin it looked like she could barely endure it. Her dress, which looked like a rag, remained unchanged.

“Lena, let's go eat.”

Leo checked the coins in his pocket and hastily led her away.

Eight silver coins and five copper coins were given as {initial funds}. In the beggar siblings scenario, this money was extrely precious. It was a tearful gratitude compared to the engagent scenario, where it didn’t matter if they had it or not.

This damn ga seed to have a shred of conscience.

At the restaurant they returned to, Leo bought his sister seasoned chicken.

Previously, he had saved money by buying unseasoned chicken, but this ti, he didn't hold back.

Lena quickly beca covered in seasoning as she devoured the chicken. Leo restrained her to prevent her from choking and occasionally wiped her mouth, but she continued to tear into the chicken ravenously.

His heart ached.

Despite Minseo's clear mind, the pain in his chest made him grimace.

‘I’ll make sure you're happy this ti. I will never leave you alone.’

He organized his thoughts while helping Lena eat.

‘Last ti, I left Lena with Cassia for too long. This ti, I need to keep her with as much as possible.’

But the circumstances were difficult. They had nowhere to go.

They had made a shelter next to a building, but the landlord would co with his servants to destroy it tomorrow morning.

With no ho or shelter, the situation was dire. He had to decide on their whereabouts while they were still seated in this restaurant.

‘What should we do next? Where should we go?’

He couldn’t do anything while staying with Lena in her current state. He couldn’t take her around looking like this, and her pretty face being exposed could cause trouble.

Finding a job that provided lodging was also tough. Lena's appearance was problematic, and this Leo lacked the skills to secure a job easily.

This Leo had only his good looks and a few skills from scenario rewards... {Swordsmanship.2v}, {Hunting}, {Initial Funds}, {Backstreet Rules}, {Negotiation}, {Bedroom Skills}, and {Noble Society}.

There were also several achievents, but they weren't directly helpful.

Then sothing crossed his mind.

‘If I use {Bedroom Skills} and {Noble Society} along with my good looks...’

Information from {Noble Society} brought up nurous lewd and erotic thods.

It was a life of seducing nobles and taking what he wanted.

‘Disgusting.’

Leo grimaced, dismissing that option, and reconsidered using his swordsmanship and hunting skills to make money.

But hunting was quickly ruled out. There were no mountains near Orville.

‘Should I just run away with Lena? Build a small house in the mountains and live there?’

The beggar siblings' scenario promised a tough life. He had to feed and educate his sister properly.

anwhile, he had to make her a princess.

The thought of running away crossed his mind, but Leo quickly dismissed it.

His sister Lena was too beautiful. They couldn't hide in the mountains forever; they would have to co out soday, and by then, Lena would have grown even more beautiful.

Leo couldn't protect such stunning beauty by himself. He had to lay the groundwork for her future before she grew up.

As he ruled out options one by one, only swordsmanship remained.

There were many things he could do with swordsmanship... but he decided to avoid becoming a guard in Orville.

A guard was essentially a soldier, and they might be drafted into the war next spring. No, this damn ga would definitely send him to the battlefield.

Becoming a rcenary was another option, but that required traveling with a trading company, aning he couldn't stay close to Lena. He also couldn't beco a house guard in Orville without revealing his identity.

A knight? That was tempting.

If he beca a knight, Lena would be safe. Few would dare to ss with the sister of a knight.

It might be annoying if she caught the eye of a noble, but they wouldn't use illegal ans.

Currently, the Swordmaster faction controlled the politics of the Bellita Kingdom, and Count Herman Forte led the knights. If a noble tried to pressure a knight over his pretty sister, they'd be crushed.

Leo gulped down a glass of water in regret. He couldn't et the requirents to beco a knight.

He had received {Swordsmanship.2v} as a reward from the last scenario.

He felt he was slightly better than Deros, the knight who had been with Katrina, but the problem was his body.

The minimum requirent to beco a knight was being an 'expert', where mana was sufficiently infused in the body, and swordsmanship reached a certain level.

Sotis, swordsmanship alone was enough to beco a knight, but the physical condition couldn't be ignored if the skills were average.

Leo Dexter from the engagent scenario would have been enough with his superior physique. But this Leo, small and emaciated, was far from it.

A sip of water was enough to quell his regret. Like soldiers, knights would also have to join the war next year.

In the end, the remaining option was.

‘A gangster again.’

It felt like the choice was being forced upon him, but joining a family and asking them to protect Lena seed the most realistic. With his skills, joining a family wasn't difficult, and they never abandoned their own.

‘Last ti, it ended before I could ask them to protect Lena.’

He had forcibly joined the Corolla family before. He had willingly stained his hands with blood and flaunted it.

It was to quickly beco a gangster, but it took a long ti to earn the family's trust because of it.

Determined, Leo counted on his fingers, searching for a place to go.

In Orville, there were three major families. The Corolla family, whose main businesses were drug trafficking and slave trading, the Berza family, which mainly sold illegal weapons and was eyeing the slave trade, and the Rauno family, which managed businesses and earned money through contract killings.

Leo extended the finger he had folded back. The Berza family was not an option.

[ Achievent: Long Live the Corolla Family - Gains slight favor with Corolla family gangsters. Gains slight hostility from families the Corolla family is in conflict with. ]

Having beco an executive of the Corolla family before, the achievent erased one choice.

The Corolla family would view him favorably, but the Berza family would be hostile towards him.

As his fingers under the table dwindled to one, Lena finished her al. She drank water and alternately looked at the empty plate and Leo, asking,

“Brother, why didn't you eat?”

“Huh? No, I ate a lot too.”

Lena, thinking she had eaten too much, looked at her brother guiltily. Leo patted her head and said,

“Let's go. We have sowhere to be.”

“Ho?”

“No. Sowhere else.”

Leo led her to a shoe store in a secluded alley. Inside, Cassia was sitting idly, just as she had been before.

Although he had no choice but to co, seeing Cassia made Leo's emotions churn, causing him to hesitate.

She had been the one who showed kindness to the holess siblings collapsed in front of the pharmacy, offering them a place to stay and even hiding Lena.

Back then, Leo liked her. There was a ti when he found her slightly unhinged nature charming, but now his feelings were mixed with hatred.

Now, he hated her.

When Leo stood hesitantly in front of the store, Cassia motioned from inside.

"Co in. Don’t loiter around out there."

Unlike Lena, who hesitated, Leo walked in decisively.

Although his behavior was rude for a beggar, Cassia didn't mind and stared at him intently.

"Have we t before?"

"No."

Despite the beggar’s curt reply, she couldn't take her eyes off him. She gazed at him with her mouth slightly open, a dreamy expression on her face, and muttered to herself in a low voice.

"Sohow, it feels nostalgic... What brings you here?"

[Achievent: The Man Who lted Cassia’s Heart - Gained Cassia's mild affection.]

'Is it because of the achievent? Her reaction is different.'

In the previous scenario, Cassia had developed a liking for Leo because of his devotion to his sister, and that affection had been preserved as an achievent.

Thinking this would make things easier, Leo asked with less urgency than before.

"Can we stay here for a few days? I can pay you."

Regardless of his feelings, Leo needed Cassia.

She was acquainted with Ober, a gangster from the Launo family, who were known for their contract killings and also acted as information brokers.

Leo was desperate for information.

He knew the beggar siblings were actually the rightful heirs of the Southern Kingdom of Conrad, the royal family of Yeriel.

If he could succeed in overthrowing Prince Eric de Yeriel, who had exiled the siblings, Lena would instantly beco a princess.

Thus, he planned to join the Launo family to gather information about the Conrad Kingdom and Prince Yeriel.

Cassia was a good stepping stone.

By approaching Ober through her, the Launo family wouldn't suspect him, and once he gained their trust, he would request protection for Lena.

Not entrusting her to Cassia.

Leo took out all his remaining {initial funds} and placed them on the table. It was a substantial amount that made a clinking sound as he put it down, but Cassia, unlike before, didn’t fiddle with the silver coins. Without hesitation, she agreed.

"Alright. There's an empty bed in the room anyway. But I’ll take one of these."

She picked up a silver coin and easily agreed, then introduced herself.

"I'm Cassia. What's your na?"

"I'm Leo, and this is Lena."

"Nice to et you. But she needs to wash up. There's a water bucket in there, so go in and wash."

Seeing Lena's state, Cassia briefly introduced the house and personally brought the water bucket to the room.

Leo closed the door, amazed by the power of the achievent.

While Cassia was a rare person who helped the beggar siblings, her willingness to allow them to stay so readily was undoubtedly due to the achievent.

'Even so, her reaction is peculiar. The generals weren’t like this.'

There were other achievents where Leo had gained 'mild' affection, including from princes and nobles, but their reactions had been rely attentive.

Cassia's response was distinctly different.

'She is indeed a strange person...'

As Leo thought about Cassia, Lena once again stripped off her clothes. Leo, mixing emotions, advised his sister, "You shouldn't undress in front of strangers!" and then stepped out.

Lena looked puzzled.

Leo couldn’t stay long in the shoe store either.

Feeling uncomfortable under Cassia’s watchful eyes, he ignored her and went out to look for a clothing store.

'Wait, while I’m out, I should fetch the teacher.'

Last ti, it had taken so long to find Cassia that it was late, but now the sun was still high.

Since Lena needed a teacher quickly, Leo went to find the one who had taught his sister before. He stopped by a clothing store first to change and buy clothes for Lena, then found the teacher at the sa place teaching children.

This old man was quite trustworthy.

He had never revealed Lena’s identity and once again promised to keep it a secret after seeing her.

'I've done everything I need to do for now... and there’s still ti left. Should I catch so thugs? I’m out of money after spending the {initial funds}, so I feel uneasy.'

While Lena was talking to the teacher in the room, Leo wandered around the shoe store, tempted by a small urge.

It was the perfect ti to catch thugs, with dusk slowly settling in.

Getting a weapon would make him feel secure...

As Leo contemplated killing for a living, Cassia’s eyes followed him as he moved back and forth.

'Why am I feeling like this?'

He was much younger than her.

Even though he was at least ten years younger, watching this young man made Cassia's heart flutter uncontrollably.

It wasn’t because he was handso. It was a yearning feeling, like sothing was pulling her heart down to her chest.

Cassia had never been in love.

Her mother had been beaten to death by a thug over so loose change, and her father had committed suicide, unable to overco his illness.

What remained for young Cassia was a shattered heart, an unattended shoe store, and a contract that still had years left.

She had seen her father hanging, his heart stopped, with blood pooling below, causing his genitals to bulge.

Since then, she had lived a aningless life, staring idly at the wall in front of the store, not even contemplating the future.

She thought she would live like this until she died.

But today, the young man who suddenly appeared stirred her heart. This man, who made her heart tremble just by looking at him, was devoted to his sister. He provided a place for her to sleep, brought her clothes, and even found her a teacher.

How could such a frail-looking person be so devoted to his sister?

Cassia had seen a body as frail as his. It was her father’s. But he had ultimately chosen death, abandoning her.

A weak father.

Cassia felt intense ambivalence towards him.

At that mont, the young man who had stirred her heart disappeared. He saw the teacher out and hurried back into the room.

She felt disappointed by the closed door.

'Huh? What? Why?'

Cassia didn’t understand why she felt this way and looked at the familiar alley blocked by the wall. Seeing the alley cald her excitent, but she could never be the sa as before.

It was already getting dark. Unable to resist, she glanced at the closed door and saw the siblings chatting inside.

Unaware that Leo was warning his sister not to get too close to Cassia or talk to her if possible, Cassia felt a rare mont of bewildernt in her solitary shoe store.

It seed warm inside.

Here... Her father, who had hanged himself, was now swaying behind her back. The chill of abandonnt enveloped her.

Cassia bit her lip, turned away from her father, and went outside.

It was ti to go to work.