Since then it was the beginning of a series of hardships.
Beth made a mental note of the times when people entered and exited the tower. Under the guise of delivering food in lieu of her seniors, she met with Claire.
In the beginning, Claire looked at Beth warily. But when the door to her prison opened more frequently, Claire gradually opened up her heart. Later, she even allowed Beth to trim her hair.
Even though her heart was heavily guarded, Claire was a completely neglected child. She opened up more easily than expected.
âIt must have been hard on youâŠ.,â
Beth carefully patted the child who fell asleep beside her.
âOthers just left the basket in front of the door, and scurried out without even checking if you ate the food.â
She wondered about being caught one day, as she brought warm water and a towel to wipe the child. But whether to consider this a blessing in disguise or just luck, there was not a soul who cared about Claireâs situation. There was no one that cared enough to realize that Beth carefully tended to Claire often.
Fine. Iâll raise her myself.
Claireâs body didnât even look like a normal 8 year oldâs. She was very small and underfed. Though Beth knew this, she had trouble finding a way to give more food to Claire.
On the next holiday, I must buy food items for Claire.
The food provided for Claire to eat was even worse than the maidsâ. If anyone were brought up in such conditions, it wouldnât be a surprise if a saint turned into a sinner. Even an angel would turn into a demon.
It was not Bethâs concern whether the original work was twisted or not. Even though Beth didnât have norms like
âSince I am an extra, I shouldnât get involvedâ,
she didnât want to destroy the big picture because only then, would her life be smooth. Even though Beth wanted to pursue a smooth-sailing life, she couldnât ignore the brutal reality of Claireâs life.
If Claire was a little more happy, would there be a big change in the outcome of the novel?
Beth thought. The stakes in this world occupied by humans were much greater than she had anticipated.
If Claireâs destiny was to become a villainess, then even if I disappeared after helping her, she would still develop as a villainess. If not a villainess, what would she become?
âBethâŠâ As she thought about the possibilities of the future, Beth unconsciously stopped patting Claire. As if Claire sensed the change, she silently woke up and looked at Beth.
âOh, I am sorry⊠You woke up?â
âMmm, noâŠ.. Soon Beth will leave. I have to say goodbye,â the little miss rubbed her eyes and yawned.
Looking at her with love akin to a mother, Beth asked, âIs there something you want to do?â
âSomething I want to do?â
âIf itâs within my capabilities, I will fulfill it.â Beth wasnât sure what Claire would ask for. A picnic, Beth could arrange but dinner with Claireâs father â that would be a whole different matter.
Beth gave her a clear smile, while Claire silently thought about it.
âThen, if it is soâŠâ Claire wriggled her hands with a shy expression.
âIf it is so?â
âThen⊠I want to learn to write.â
For Claireâs small request, Beth took a half day leave that afternoon. When Beth asked the head maid for leave, she silently looked at the girl. Beth used to work very seriously, but all of a sudden, she asked for leave without rhyme or reason.
Even though the head maid attempted to dissuade her, by stating that Beth will be allowed a full day of leave next week, Beth was adamant in her decision. She declined the head maidâs proposal. âThen it will be too late.â
Too late for what?
The head maid wanted to ask but stopped herself. Bethâs eyes slowly reddened.
Throughout the entire week she had been at the Estate, Beth was a resolute person in the face of all sorts of situations thrown at her. For her to show such an expression, what in the world happened?
Bethâs eyes travelled to a sentence in the newspaper that the head maid just put down.
As the head maid thought about it, there were many who decided to work as a maid for nobility in order to gather money for their marriage. Everyone thought that Beth never indulged in a romantic relationship, but were surprised at the current situation.
The head maid pitied her and looked at Beth with sympathetic eyes. She had really liked Beth who was very smart and good at her job. She observed that Beth was efficient when completing her work, so she had assumed that Beth would also be smart when she chose her relationships. This was certainly not the case at hand.
Like a late child born after hard labor, the head maid looked at Beth as a sore finger <sup>1</sup> .
I am certain her lover will leave saying that itâs a short work trip and will never return.
If she said that to Beth, Beth would never believe her. The head maid resolved in her mind that she would comfort her after Beth collected herself. With this, the head maid approved Bethâs leave.
âItâs okay to rest till tomorrow afternoon.It must be hard on you.â
ââŠaah, yes. Thank you.â
Beth didnât know that the head maid had weaved such a romantic story in her mind. She was just grateful to get leave till tomorrow.
Beth slightly nodded her head and changed from the uniform to casual wear.
The dress was without any style or fashion concepts. Though the dress was very neat and tidy, it was not popular and was made using cheap cloth. Sooner or later, it would be time to purchase summer clothes.
Claire didnât even know the basic alphabet. Beth understood that, for Claire, it was impossible to learn in such an environment. But since this was a novel, there must be some sort of buff <sup>2</sup>
The novel never said anything about how much Claire had learnt in her younger years while she was locked in the tower. Nobody was curious enough about her childhood days, so little was mentioned about it in the novel.
Because nobody was curious about the childhood days of a villainess.
One side â just one side was dedicated to describe the hardships of the girl in her early days. The author preferred to elucidate the growth of the protagonist compared to the antagonist.
Even on that one side, it was not completely about Claire.
Not even a few pages long. Beth felt bitter thinking about how Claireâs long sufferings were simply composed into a short description. A personâs tragic past was briefly abbreviated into half a page.
Even though Beth wanted to teach Claire right away after hearing the little missâs request, she was a girl who grew up in a remote village where the people didnât even know the name of the land they belonged to. The only means to earn money was to dig and sell herbs. Now that she reflected, the most promising and rich person was the old man who ran a small convenient store.
It was a tough life in the village. Beth wanted to praise her past self yet she didnât have any past memories. How did she not think to run away from home after she lived in such an environment?
In this world too existed books and one could obtain with hard means. But the problem was those places were not accessible to commoners. In short, it was the parents who usually taught the language to their children. One could usually get away without knowing it. So the people who lived a hard life didnât have much incentive to learn the language.
I am also on the same boat.
It would be nice to have a lot of money. It was Bethâs dream to have a lot of money and then laze around without working. But maybe because Beth worked too hard in her previous life, she thought that it was good to live a life doing this job.
The physical labour of a maid does not require one to learn how to read and write. Of course, there were numerous things that could be easily done if one knew to write.
It doesnât mean that they will raise the wages.
Since there was no pay raise, why should she learn? In the previous life, she died due to exhaustion. In this life, when she passed, she wished the reason would not be over exhaustion. Her sole aim was to enjoy a laborerâs lifeâŠ
Ding!~
A âWelcome!â greeted her when she opened the door.
She went to a bookstore in order to learn the language.
There were many books in the Earl mansion. But if one was found reading, it would be hard to predict what will happen to that person. So, she decided to buy herself a book. Beth wasnât even sure she would find the book in the store, and her intuition was more inclined to the the fact there wouldnât be any.
Her intuition turned out to be correct.
If I got fired, who would take care of Claire?
Beth strongly believed that small kids should be kept happy.
âDo you have a particular book that you are looking for?â
âOoh, yesâŠâ
She wanted to say that she could find the book herself, but since she didnât know how to read, she couldnât say it.
âI would like to buy an alphabet book.â
âOh, if that is so, then take that right and go for the second building. There will be the book you are looking for.â
Beth ran towards the address after she gave a simple thank you. If it were her former life, when she saw an interesting title, she would have wanted to take a look, but now she couldnât even understand those titles.
As if in my previous life, living was not that hardâŠ.. Should I also read a book?
In her former life, her hobby was to read romance novels. In her current life, would she also have drowned in books if she knew to read?
Beth went to the place advised by the clerk and breathed in the smell of the books and started to fidget with them. A person who did not know how to read would not be able to tell if it was the book they need, just by turning the pages.
âYou must be a teacher?â
She heard the voice of a man.
And it was not the hollow voice of the clerk. It was an unfamiliar and confident voice. The owner of the voice seemed to be handsome. Yes, that grand and magnificent voice should belong to a handsome guy.
Beth turned her head to look at the person who struck up a conversation with her.
His dark hair was very prominent and when one looked closely, as the sun rays passed through it, it felt as though one was looking at the night sky. Sharply raised cat eyes, slightly curved lips and a strong body. Everyone who saw this man would agree that he was charming and attractive.
Beth felt her nerves were stimulated after she saw his eyes.
The eye colour was similar to Claireâs.
This man had cyan colored pupils. Even though it wasnât as wonderful as Claireâs, it was without doubt, very charming.
Even though she liked his eyes, she had no plans to get to know him better. Beth turned her head back and acted as though she wasnât asked a question. Even though her attention was clearly on the book, the guy stubbornly stayed beside her.
What the hell, was this a new type of swindler?
She immediately thought of the frauds that frequented the inn, back when she worked there.
Beth had never imagined that one day she would meet a swindler that was as handsome as the man in front of her.
âI donât have any money with me,â she said resolutely, as she moved her eyes away from the book.
After he had heard what she said, the man tilted as he understood something and laughed loudly.
âHahhahha, I am not here to ask for money.â
âJust to be clear, I donât have money.â
âThen what about time? Do you have time to spare?â
Such a stubborn man, hmm? He looked down at her as he tilted his arms together and blocked Beth between them. If it were any other woman, they would not hesitate to make time but she had no such intention to do so.
âThose who donât have money, also lack time.â
Beth had important work at hand. Her mission, which was her number one priority, was to change the destiny of Claire who was ignored by her family.
The man who asked for her time did not do so because he liked her â rather it was just another trick these habitual frauds usually used to lure people in.
Unlike her cheap clothes, he was adorned in custom-made clothing which were made only in expensive stores. He was obviously a person with means so why the hell would he try to seduce her? Even though Beth could be counted as a beauty in a village, but here in the county of the Earl, she was nothing but ordinary.
Beth was sure that the guy was trying to get her only because he was sure that Beth was a country bumpkin and an easy catch.
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âThen what about the name? We may meet again.â
âMy nameâŠ,â Beth paused and closed the book she was looking into. This book seemed good enough and could be bought,ââŠI forgot my name this morning.â
Saying this, she ducked beneath his arms and left behind the swindler.
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<sup>1</sup> It literally means sore finger/painful finger. This is an expression to say that âit pains the parent when their child is in pain, because every child is dear to their parent.
<sup>2</sup> A positive quality. Beth thinks that way since Claire is the antagonist and should be powerful enough to go against heavenâs favorite protagonist.