| Chapter 23

“Li… little one, little one.”

Laurel recognized me immediately. Even in that situation, she quickly looked me up and down, then staggered towards me and collapsed on the ground.

“Save me. Save me, Lucy. Please help me!”

She wails, clutching at the hem of my dress that touched the ground. Kirhin’s brow furrowed as he stretched his arm to block in front of me. The big man approached.

“What kind of cheap trick are you trying to pull? Do you think clinging to some noble will do you any good?”

“We, we know each other. Right, Lucy? I heard about you. Baron, thank you so much for taking Lucy in. It’s really, really fortunate. She’s been through a lot. This child is truly a good kid.”

Laurel brushed back her disheveled hair and smiled at Kirhin, narrowing her eyes. I stiffened at the coquetry evident in that eye smile. Laurel’s eyes rolled busily as she turned her gaze back to me.

“Now that you’ve become a noble lady, won’t you show some kindness to me? For old times’ sake, considering I taught you how to write. What’s nothing to you could be crucial to me. For instance, that hair ornament, or, or even this perfume bottle!”

Just as her hand, dry as a twig, was about to snatch the perfume bottle dangling from my waist tie, I instinctively slapped her hand away hard.

I immediately grabbed the perfume bottle and stepping back defensively, and Laurel looked at me with a dumbfounded expression. Her brown eyes were brimming with betrayal and despair.

“You…”

“See that? Who said you know each other? Please move along, sir, miss. Don’t watch such an unpleasant sight.”

“Aaagh!”

The man who roughly pulled Laurel’s long hair bowed deeply. As Laurel let out a pain-filled scream, I was about to step forward with clenched fists when two coins flew through the air and fell to the ground.

“As someone who cherishes all women in the world, it’s hard for me to just pass by such a heartbreaking scene.”

I looked at Kirhin who intervened with a leisurely voice. He smiled at the men.

“How about it? Can you let it go for today with that?”

The man who quickly picked up the coins looked at Kirhin and me alternately with interested eyes.

“Do you really know this woman?”

I know them, the loan sharks’ henchmen. If they thought there was even a slight connection between the baron’s family and Laurel, they might try to extend their reach to the baron’s family as well.

“Well, she did grab my little sister’s dress hem, so I can’t just ignore it. Our Lucy has a soft heart, she might have nightmares.”

Kirhin’s hand on my shoulder patted me. One of the men showed his black teeth as he smiled.

“But sir, this isn’t enough even for one day’s interest. You should give us 2 pedirs more for us to break even.”

“My, my, that’sno different from highway robbery.”

As I saw Kirhin grimacing and about to take money out of his pocket, I blocked his hand and spoke.

“Then just take her away. The demand seems too excessive for simple compassion.”

I could feel Kirhin’s gaze on me as he stopped his movement. This was a kind of test. They were testing how the baron’s family would react for Laurel.

4 pedirs is not a small amount. If we readily gave that money, they would likely think Laurel’s words were true.

I stared straight at the seemingly flustered men and held out one palm. Then the black-toothed man who had been closely examining my eyes snorted and stepped back.

“The young lady is no ordinary person. Take her. Laurel, we’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You know it’s useless to hide, right?”

The men winked and parted ways, moving away. After watching them, I lowered my hand, and Kirhin, with round eyes, whispered to me.

“You’re amazing, Lucy. Actually, I would have given them even if they asked for 5 pedirs. Did you see their size? Their forearms were as big as your head.”

“That’s why I stepped in. Your hand was trembling.”

While patting my shoulder as if to comfort me, I could tell he was very tense. It reminded me of when he got me out of prison.

Kirhin acted like a confident and bold noble, but it was all bluster. As soon as we got out, his legs gave way and he collapsed, unable to breathe properly.

Hearing my words, Kirhin laughed, “Huh,” and lightly hit my arm.

“You’ve already gained the dignity of a noble. I wouldn’t be afraid of even walking at night with you.”

As I let out a short laugh at his exaggerated tone, a thin voice interjected.

“Thank you. Thank you, sir. Thank you so much, Lucy.”

Laurel, who had struggled to her feet, bowed to Kirhin. Her coy gaze swept over Kirhin as she tilted her head slightly. Kirhin was also looking at her with an interested expression. I turned my gaze away from watching them and replied.

“I can only help you for today. It would be better to think of a solution even now.”

“There’s no solution. Those guys will eventually take me and sell me to the most vicious and terrible place in the world. Really, I don’t know what to do…”

Shuddering, Laurel wrapped her arms around her own frail shoulders, and her eyes quickly filled with tears. Seeing the teardrops falling rapidly, I felt uncomfortable and carefully asked.

“Didn’t you have quite a bit of money saved up? You said you wanted to go back to your hometown and live with your younger sibling, that you wanted to become a teacher. Did you really spend all that money elsewhere?”

I remembered what the big guys had said. I knew the fact that Laurel was giving living expenses to her lover at the theater. I didn’t know about the debt, though.

“I did it to help him. His mother is very sick, so the medicine costs quite a bit. I didn’t just give it away. He said he would pay it back, he definitely said so.”

Her voice, which had been getting smaller, turned into sobs. I stared at Laurel, who was sitting on the ground crying amidst people’s gazes.

She was the smartest person at the laundry place and had read many books, but she wasn’t someone who made wise choices. It almost made Senar look better. Assuming they were both equally rotten inside, at least Senar seemed to have something in hand.

However, I wasn’t in a position to lend a hand to Laurel either. Although I was wearing nice clothes and expensive accessories, I couldn’t say with certainty that any of them were truly mine.

“For now, since there are many people here, how about we go back home?”

As I was gathering my thoughts on what to do, a voice suddenly interjected. Kirhin yawned slightly and shrugged his shoulders.

“I’m hungry, Lucy.”

Come to think of it, he had said he was feeling peckish even before this incident. Regrettably, it was time to say goodbye to Laurel.

As I turned my head with a troubled face, I paused. Kirhin, with one knee bent, was extending his hand to Laurel.

“If you’re not busy, why don’t you come along? It might help calm your mind.”

Color returned to Laurel’s cheeks, which were stained with dirt and tears. She looked at me cautiously, trying to suppress her joy, and asked.

“But… is it really alright for me to do so?”

“No need to worry too much. Lucy’s friend is a friend of the Bickman family. Now, shall we go to the carriage? I can’t stand the hunger any longer.”

As if he didn’t want to hear any more words, Kirhin helped Laurel up and started walking majestically. As I was looking at him with a dazed expression, I suddenly turned my gaze as I heard a short laugh brushing my ear. Laurel was smiling at me.

“It’s good that you’ve got a nice big brother, little one.”

Her languid and moist voice tickled my ears. I looked down at Laurel’s dirt-covered hand patting mine. An inexplicable unpleasantness was spreading through my body like water soaking into paper.

* * *

Upon entering the mansion, Laurel tried not to show her surprise, but she couldn’t hide her rapidly heaving chest. It felt like her excitement was being transmitted to me standing next to her.

Nina made a face as if she now had two troublemakers to deal with, but she skillfully urged the chef to prepare the meal. Since being scolded by Damian before, she wasn’t kind to me, but she didn’t openly show hostility either.

Laurel, who appeared after washing her face and changing out of her ruined clothes with the help of a maid, sat down with a seemingly embarrassed expression. The clothes, which were fitted to my body, provocatively revealed her slender figure, especially emphasizing her ample bosom.

“This is my first time in such a place, I hope I don’t commit any faux pas. Please be generous with my ignorance and rudeness, Baron.”

“I’m the one who invited you, and we’re not strangers, so what’s the fuss? Feel free to be comfortable.”

Laurel’s smile deepened at Kirhin’s gentle words.

Only then did I recall a rumor I had heard before. The rumor that the second son of Baron Bickman, known for his fondness for women, had once made advances towards Laurel. The two were already acquainted.