Swish.
Yuria slowly opened her eyes.
As the bright light from the street trees struck her eyes, she squinted. Had she montarily passed out? Instead of the dark alley, she found herself on a street illuminated by lampposts.
There were shops around her, and couples passed by on this peaceful street. Her wrist, still stinging from where the big man had grabbed her, stood in stark contrast to the tranquil scene, which seed oblivious to her agitated heart.
Her tension eased.
The realization that she was now safe made her body go limp.
"What a relief…"
Everyone passing by seed to think so.
Even the moving lampposts, yes, everything was safe…?
"Do lampposts move…?"
Yuria felt the ground on which she lay.
She perceived a soft sensation beneath her. Turning her gaze to the ground, she was t with a sight of a luxurious pink cushion.
"Uh…?"
A sense of foreboding washed over Yuria.
Worry began to fill her mind.
She felt a slight rumbling sensation against her back.
A voice as sharp as a street cat's yet relaxed floated from beside her.
"It's cramped…"
There in the corner of the handcart, shrinking her shoulders, sat Lady Olivia.
Olivia, with white hair dressed in a black gown.
Upon their eyes eting, Olivia turned her head away toward the outside, making an awkward expression.
"The weather is… nice."
The awkward words from the lady who was gazing up at the darkening sky gave Yuria a headache.
How long had she been like this?
She had co for a preliminary visit with Michail and Ruin, and while they had briefly gone to buy gifts, this incident had occurred.
She had felt sorry for a begging child, put a pouch full of gold coins into a can for him, and then she had impulsively followed him into an alley when she saw him getting hit…
Ah.
As the puzzle pieces of her mory fit together, her field of view began to widen.
"Bite!"
"…That’s my line."
"Bite…!"
Her face felt hot with embarrassnt.
‘I must be crazy…!'
Now she finally noticed the red-haired servant. Ricardo, who was sweating profusely as he powerfully pulled the handcart.
‘I've caused trouble… again.'
Ricardo turned around, noticed her awakening, and t her with a small, reassuring smile.
"Are you awake?"
His voice was laced with worry.
It was the sa voice that had comforted her when she felt down at the Royal Academy.
"Sorry for fainting all of a sudden…"
"…You could have just left there."
"I didn't think of that. Ha ha…"
Pulling the handcart, Ricardo chuckled awkwardly as he apologized. They chatted with Ricardo leading the conversation, making jokes about her not being injured, apologizing for laying her down in such an undignified place.
It was all so awkward.
Sitting there on the handcart and being in debt to Ricardo. The ‘again' kept spinning around in her head.
‘Ah… This is driving crazy.'
She couldn't raise her head, both from awkwardness and not knowing what to say.
She needed to say thank you, but the words wouldn't leave her mouth. Was it her pride, or was it because the lady was there?
She was unsure how to express herself.
-A quick glance…
"Uh.. huh…"
Olivia was observing her, unable to speak freely, silently pleading with her eyes not to start a conversation.
As the handcart thumped over a stone, jolting her, she yelped in pain.
"Ow…"
Upon seeing her grimace, Olivia moved into a deeper corner and vacated a spot, timidly tapping the floor of the handcart.
"Here, sit down…"
The sharp reply ca out reflexively.
"Don't worry about ."
Olivia turned her head away, looking dejected, and mumbled.
"It's my handcart after all…"
Yuria wasn't sure what to say to Olivia.
To Olivia, who had tornted her in the past… it seed unlikely anything kind would co out.
She didn't want to pretend like nothing had happened, nor did she want to foolishly forgive others, not after what she had endured because of those two.
She sat crouched down in the handcart, waiting for ti to pass.
As Olivia began to doze off, Ricardo, his red hair tousled, laid Olivia down in the corner of the handcart and said,
"You must have been quite frightened?"
"…"
She couldn't bring herself to reply to his sudden words of comfort. It felt like cheating for him to ask so gently.
She remained silent and just stared at her palms.
Her fingers wriggled and picked at her nails in a shafully nervous manner.
Ricardo awkwardly smiled and steered the conversation elsewhere.
"Where is your group?"
"…At the plaza."
"The plaza? We've co the complete opposite way. Who did you co with…?"
"Michail and Ruin."
Ricardo fell silent.
With an awkward smile, he murmured ‘Is that so.' and pushed on steadily towards the plaza.
As her searching companions started coming into view,
Ricardo, keeping silent until now, parked the handcart in a deserted place and began to speak.
With a voice low and quiet.
"Miss Yuria."
"Yes?"
"Are you really okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
His voice sounded sweeter than ever, with a concern that was almost formal, yet why did it resonate so much?
She resented her heart for racing foolishly.
Ricardo exhaled deeply and said,
"It seems every ti we et, I am just worrying about you."
Every ti…
Doubts began to form.
Every ti she found herself in danger, he appeared like a hero. Yuria had her doubts about Ricardo but before she could ask him anything, Ricardo spoke first, answering her unasked question.
"By the way, just so you know, I didn’t orchestrate any of this."
"Ah… I know."
"Your face says you're dying of suspicion though."
Yuria covered her face with her hands.
Was it that obvious?
Ricardo awkwardly smiled and offered a hand to her as she sat on the handcart.
"Can you walk?"
"…Yes."
"Good to hear."
She looked towards the plaza. Ruin was busily running around, searching for her in the distance. As she raised her hand slowly to wave at him, letting him know not to worry, that she was here…
"Just a mont."
Ricardo caught her wrist with a sense of urgency in his voice. Seeing the fresh, blue bruises he sighed deeply.
Her heart fluttered.
"What's this?"
"Ah… It got hurt earlier. I'm fine."
"Fine? You've got bruises all over your wrist!"
It was like that ti when she had been bullied by the young ladies and was crying. It was Ricardo who had consoled her back then, too.
-"Were you here? You sure run fast."
-"Why… did you follow?"
-"Isn't this precious to you?"
She recalled the red-haired servant who had retrieved the pendant the noble young ladies had thrown in the pond and had handed it back to her with such a silly smile while sporting seaweed dangling over his head. His face kept overlapping with the mory.
-"Huh… Th-thank you…!"
-"Why are you crying again?"
-"…I'm not crying."
-"You're such a fool. Really."
Every ti it got confusing. Whether this person was really bad or just good at pretending.
He kept making her misunderstand.
"There, that's done. Don't carry anything heavy, and have Ruin bring you so water to drink."
Ricardo knelt down on one knee and applied an ointnt to her wrist. As she watched him crouching down to tend to her, it felt strangely new yet reminiscent of how he was earlier in the first sester.
Ricardo scolded her.
Not the kind of nagging that Michail or Ruin would give, but rather realistic admonishnts.
Unlike Michail who would complint, "Your reckless actions are admirable," or Ruin who would marvel at how beautiful her heart was, Ricardo said the kind of nagging that might feel offensive coming from anyone else.
"Why would soone who can’t even take down a goblin alone go into that place?"
"I can take down a goblin…"
"You can’t even cast a fireball, how can you claim to fight goblins."
"…"
"It was really dangerous."
Yuria retorted to Ricardo's words. She believed she had done the right thing and had been taught at the Royal Academy to live by what is just and right.
Yuria vented her frustration on Ricardo.
"But still, if it wasn't for , that kid would've kept getting beaten. He might have gone hungry tonight."
"That could be. He might have been beaten to death, or had the money he begged for stolen, then covered his mouth and cried his eyes out tonight."
Ricardo spoke emotionlessly, as if it were nothing unusual.
As if he had experienced the sa.
"But Yuria, you could have been in danger."
Her fists clenched.
Why did he care?
He was the bad man who tornted her.
If he had consistently been an, she could have hated him.
So, she got more angry.
To make things less confusing, to let him know not to confuse her.
"But still, I could give them hope. Hope for tomorrow. Hope that not everyone in the world is bad. That sowhere in the world, there are decent adults…!"
Ricardo answered with an awkward smile.
"Even so. You were in danger, weren't you."
While looking at the brightly lit plaza, Ricardo turned around.
The lamp post's light cast a chilling shadow on Ricardo, and Yuria swallowed hard.
"What if you had been wrong, Yuria? What then?"
"If I were wrong?"
"Yes?"
"What do you think would happen if I were wrong? Do you wish for that too, Ricardo? That I would be wrong both in the Royal Academy and now?"
Ricardo chuckled awkwardly, scratching his head mumbling, "That's true…" and Yuria felt a pang in her heart.
"But sohow, I think my heart would ache if Yuria were hurt."
"Really?"
"Just so you know."
Ricardo turned away, casually, and pushed the handcart. As he laid the sleeping lady's head on the soft cushion and pressed forward, Ricardo spoke in a quiet, steady voice.
"And Yuria."
Ricardo paused. He gazed solemnly at the place where the alley had been, clutching the handle tightly.
"Not everyone is good, you know."
Ricardo gazed at the plaza.
He bowed his head upon seeing Ruin running towards them, and he started to push the handcart away.
As Ricardo slowly receded, he said one last thing to her.
"Don't stick your nose into other people's business."
The words were laden with many possible anings.
She thought she couldn't possibly adhere to that.
And at the sa ti, her heart pounded. Yuria called out to the departing Ricardo.
"Ricardo."
"Yes?"
"Are you really a bad person?"
Ricardo answered with a small smile.
"Yes. I am a terribly bad person."
***
The alley was blanketed by the shadow of the night.
The noisy chatter of the vagabonds shattered the stillness of dawn.
Boisterous laughter and tales of bravado spread in the late hours of the alley, a ti when they boasted about who would be a bigger trash.
"If it hadn't been for that guy, we could’ve made a fortune."
"Ha, this little guy's acting gets better by the day."
"Bro, you should take so lessons too. I thought we were caught because it was so obvious."
"Uh-haha! You should teach then. Are you okay from the hit earlier?"
"If it really hurt from that hit, I would've been down long ago."
They were the vagabonds who had targeted Yuria.
As their conversation moved from lewd jokes about Yuria to overstepping remarks,
A chilling voice echoed from a corner of the alley.
"Do you guys really think that too?"
A dark shadow lood at the entrance of the alley. The figure of a man with red hair obscured the moonlight.
The vagabonds drew their daggers, revealing blades that reflected the scarlet hair.
"It seems we have so unfinished business, doesn't it?"
The red-haired man approached, dragging his sword along the ground. The cold, sharp sound scraped through the alley.
"When you commit misdeeds, you should choose your victim wisely. It’s how you stay alive in this ga."
I drew my sword.
To settle accounts for earlier.
Familiar faces appeared.
The little boy who Yuria had saved.
The big man who had grabbed Yuria's wrist.
The lean man who had sprinkled drugs on his handkerchief.
A venomous grin spread across my face as I watched the frightened expressions of those n.
I spoke to them as I looked on.
"I won't kill you. Because I'm not that bad of a person…"
"But let's call it quits on your shady business. What you owe for your lives should cover it."
The red hair began to soak with blood.
*
Groaning sounds filled the air.
The ground was drenched with blood, and the vagabonds were carrying their fallen comrades back into the depths of the alley.
-Thump… Thump…
A new guest was arriving.
A man casting a small shadow across the moonlit alleyway.
I said to him,
"It's been a while."
The man, with silver hair and wielding a sword, was the secondary male protagonist.
"Michail."
He looked at as if he were staring at garbage.
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