I rushed out of the bushes.

“I was just held captive by human traffickers but managed to escape. I can show you the entrance to their hideout.”

“How can we believe that?”

One of the guards glared at me.

“She could be one of them!”

“……”

As I was trying to gather my thoughts in response to this sudden attack,

“Miss Aria?”

Suddenly, a bewildered voice called out.

‘Huh……?’

Ian, the head of the guard, pushed through his men and walked towards me. Having become the head of the guard in his late twenties, Ian was popular among the village girls due to his handsome looks and outstanding skills.

Well, to me, he was just a valued regular customer.

He hurriedly approached me and examined me from head to toe.

“Miss Aria, are you hurt anywhere?”

“No. I’m fine.”

“This child……”

“She was held captive with me.”

I lied without missing a beat. There was no benefit in revealing that she was a child abused by criminals.

“It seems she was captured while begging on the street.”

“I see.”

Ian nodded.

“Alright. Please show us the entrance. If it helps us catch those criminals, there will be a generous reward.”

As soon as I hastily showed them, Ian thanked me and rushed into the passage with his men. My job was done. Now it was time to focus on this child who was clinging to me in fear.

As soon as I arrived home with the child, I lit the fireplace.

“Hey.”

The child looked up at me, turning her head from her curled-up position. My heart ached to see the conflicting emotions of hope and worry clashing in her eyes.

“First, you’ll need a name.”

The child looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Do I need something like that?”

“Of course.”

I said firmly.

“Everyone should have a name. Let’s see……”

I racked my brain, but couldn’t think of a suitable name.

“Hey, is there any name you’ve always wanted?”

“No.”

The child shook her head.

“You can call me anything.”

“We can’t just use anything. It’s a name…… Ah!”

I let out a small exclamation. An idea that might help the child had occurred to me.

“How about this? I’ll tell you lots of names, and you can choose one you like.”

As soon as the child nodded, I started listing girl names that came to mind.

“Katrin, Johanna, Rosemary, Elodie, Serina, Marianne, Pearl……”

The child’s lips moved as if she wanted to say something.

“Did you find one you like?”

“……Elodie.”

“Elodie?”

“Yes.”

The child nodded vigorously. It was the strongest expression of will I had seen from her so far.

“That’s a pretty name. It suits you well.”

I smiled warmly at Elodie.

“Elodie, come this way. Both of us need to wash up first.”

“Wash… up?”

“Why, don’t you like it?”

Elodie shook her head.

“It’s just, that I’ve only washed my face before.”

It seemed she knew what bathing was, but had never properly experienced it.

“It’s okay. At your age, it’s normal for someone to help you bathe. You don’t mind if I help you, do you?”

Fortunately, Elodie nodded and approached me. I helped her undress and then let her sink into the bathtub filled with warm water.

Luckily, aside from several old scars, there were no visible major injuries. For a moment, my heart sank when I thought I saw a bruise on her calf, but upon closer inspection, it was just a large star-shaped birthmark.

My heart ached. Even without medical knowledge, I could tell that Elodie was severely malnourished.

But who am I? Aren’t I the owner of the most successful cafe in the area? I quickly vowed to fatten Elodie up as soon as possible.

“Elodie, can you tilt your head this way? I’ll wash your hair for you.”

The dusty, ash-colored hair tilted towards me. I washed Elodie’s hair with the utmost care.

‘……?’

I blinked in surprise. After washing her hair with high-quality soap, Elodie’s hair color had completely changed. It wasn’t the dull, ashy gray I had seen just moments ago…

‘It was silver hair!’

As soon as I paused, Elodie asked in an anxious voice.

“Did, did I do something wrong?”

I quickly reassured her.

“No, I was just surprised to find out you have silver hair. It’s really beautiful.”

“Beautiful? My hair?”

I nodded firmly.

Now it was Elodie’s turn to be surprised.

“The, the old boss man said it was strange…… When I was even younger than now, he always dyed it. Black……”

“He dyed it?”

I frowned. Something seemed off. They were too stingy to feed her properly, yet they used expensive hair dye on her?

“It’s okay. That man was probably caught by the guards earlier, right?”

“……He died. A long time ago.”

Well, good riddance.

I swallowed the words I wanted to say and helped Elodie dry herself with a towel and dry her hair.

“You must be very hungry too, right?”

“……Yes.”

I gave Elodie, now dressed in a long linen shirt instead of rags, some cookies and warm milk, then hesitated.

‘I need to wash up too.’

But how could I possibly separate myself from this child who was following me with such a desperate gaze while munching on cookies with her cheeks full?

“……Um.”

While I was pondering, Elodie’s faint voice reached my ears.

“Can I ask you just one thing?”

“Of course. What is it?”

Elodie, seemingly lacking courage, tightly gripped the mug filled with warm milk and lowered her head. After a moment, the words that came out of the child’s mouth were beyond all my expectations.

“Ma’am, are you my mother?”

I chewed on my lip for a moment, unable to answer. Elodie probably didn’t think I was her biological mother.

She wasn’t a child who had grown up in an environment that would allow for such naivety. But the hope glimpsed in that small, fragile question made my heart ache on its own.

‘How much must she have missed her mother to ask such a thing.’

I swallowed hard. I didn’t want to hurt the child’s feelings, but I couldn’t give her false hope either.

“……Elodie.”

I carefully called out to Elodie. The name of the child who had saved my life just a few hours ago.

“I’m not your mother. But I’m not a ma’am either. So, call me Aria.”

“……Aria?”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

“My name is Aria Bertin.”

“Aria……”

Elodie kept mumbling my name in her mouth as if something terrible would happen if she got it wrong. I deliberately pretended not to notice and spoke to Elodie.

“You must be very tired.”

“I’m okay.”

Elodie opened her eyes wide, putting all her strength into them.

“I can endure it!”

“No, you need to sleep.”

The clock hands were already pointing past twelve. It was too late for a young child to be awake. I briefly thought about where I could put Elodie to sleep.

‘……There’s no choice.’

It’s a house where I live alone. There’s no way I’d have extra bedding.

We’ll have to sleep together in one bed.

I took Elodie’s hand and led her to the bedroom. Since I had gotten the biggest and best bed I could find, it was large enough for two adults to sleep comfortably. Having one small child sleep with me wouldn’t be a problem at all.

Elodie obediently lay down on the bed. I was worried she might throw a sleepy tantrum, but fortunately, perhaps due to the day’s fatigue, her eyes were already half-closed as soon as she lay down. I patted the blanket to shape it, then put a hot water bottle filled with pre-boiled water into the bed.

Elodie, who had fallen into a light sleep, opened her eyes wide as if startled.

“What, what is this?”

“A hot water bottle. Warm, isn’t it?”

I smiled gently.

“This is a hot water bottle……?”

Elodie murmured in wonder as she hugged the bottle.

“You shouldn’t hug it like that. You might get burned.”

I took the hot water bottle from Elodie’s hands and moved it towards her feet.

“It’s warm.”

“It’s not too hot?”

Elodie shook her head.

“That’s good. Now let’s go back to sleep, okay?”

Elodie nodded slightly and closed her eyes. I waited until Elodie’s breathing became steady and rhythmic before leaving the bedroom.

‘……Phew.’

The bathroom was a complete mess.