For the first time in my life, I became curious about how they were living. I thought they were worse off than us, but family is family, I suppose. My heart, worn out by hunger and fatigue, might have softened.
In the end, I returned to Filton. Looking back, it was a pointless act. But at that time, it felt like the only hope.
I thought Father and Third were doing well. After all, the amount of gold coins we received for selling me was considerable. They probably forgot about the existence of their first daughter, who was useful for the first time. Perhaps they had even left Filton.
The house I returned to was on the verge of collapse, desolate, and there was no sign of human presence inside. If I hadn't met someone approaching the house at that moment, I might have misunderstood.
I was shocked to see a disheveled figure with a tear-streaked face. It was Third, the once beautiful and elegant Alicia.
“Alicia?”
“Who... big sister?”
Alicia froze upon seeing me. But only for a moment, she then threw the basket she was holding and ran to me, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me.
“It's because of you! It's all because of you!”
“Wait, what! Let go, please!”
My head was shaken up and down. I was already weak from hunger and fatigue, and Alicia's actions turned my insides upside down. Unable to bear it any longer, I pushed her away, and she fell backward easily. Alicia, who had landed on her bottom, suddenly burst into tears. Seeing her, I was dumbfounded. My once proud and arrogant younger sister was now sobbing, her tears and snot streaming down her face.
I calmed Alicia and asked her about what had happened.
“Someone came looking for you?”
“Yes. Some strange men came looking for you. Even when Father said he didn't know and that it had been a long time since he had any news of you, they kept coming and we had several arguments.”
Suddenly, I felt as if I couldn't breathe. Was it the butler? Since he had taken me from Filton, he must have known where my house was. Or perhaps... Vincent was looking for me? I couldn't be sure. It could have been someone else. With the situation like this, I was full of suspicions. Whatever it was, it wasn't a good omen.
“Did you know why they were looking for me?”
“No. They just asked where you were and said they would pay if we told them you were here. But how could I know anything about you?”
“Right... So, what about Father?”
I looked around, searching for the devilish brat who had been absent all along. It was around the time he should have returned home, but there was no sign of him.
“He's dead.”
“...What?”
I was startled and looked at Alicia.
“It's been quite a while.”
Alicia's face was so calm that for a moment, I thought she was joking. It was such an unbelievable piece of news.
“When? Could it be because of those people?”
“No. After selling you and getting the gold coins, he spent his days gambling and drinking. He fell asleep on the street and froze to death.”
“...”
It was a death too futile to even speak of.
Alicia said she hadn't taken care of Father's body. When I asked why, she said that there was no place to keep a frozen corpse, so she left it outside, and wild animals ate it overnight. She said it was so hungry that the body disappeared without a trace. It was a fitting end for a father who had killed his children to survive.
“Was there any gold left?”
“No. He must have spent it all before he died.”
“How have you been living?”
“What do you mean, how? After Father died and you were gone, what could I do? I had to earn my own living. But there was nothing I could do. I barely managed to help with the farming at Aunt Benny's house across the street, but I was fired after just one day. They said I was too bad at it.”
Alicia sniffled and shrank back. She then told me about the hardships she had endured since Father's departure. It was a story that couldn't be heard without tears. She had nothing but her beautiful appearance and slender body, and with her proud personality, she couldn't bow to anyone.
The state of my third sister, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, was clearly not the same as before. Her clothes were tattered, her once lustrous hair was all tangled, and her once snow-white skin looked rough. Her delicate hands and feet were also bruised and swollen.
“Big sister, what do we do now? How do we live?”
Alicia, sobbing, looked utterly exhausted. My weak sister, who seemed about to crumble at any moment, I couldn't just leave her. Perhaps because my heart was already softened, I suddenly felt pity for Third. It was partly my and Father's fault that she had grown up this way.
“How do we live? We have to live like before.”
“So, how?”
“We have to find some work, somehow.”
There was no need to stay here any longer. I immediately took Alicia and left Filton. The house was no longer a place fit for living, and we had to escape from those who were looking for me. We headed for Novelle, the capital and a major city.
I thought there would be more job opportunities in Novelle. But there was nothing we could do immediately. We had nowhere to live. I took Alicia into any shop and begged for a job, but no one would hire women of uncertain status. The only places that would take us were brothels.
“Not you, just that girl.”
“I don't want to!”
Even then, the only one they wanted was the beautiful and spoiled Alicia. Alicia, terrified, absolutely refused. She even threatened to die, and I had to calm her down, which took a lot of effort.
We survived day by day, living on the streets and scavenging through garbage bins. At first, Alicia whined, but once she realized the severity of the situation, she fell silent.
Each day was exhausting, and the next day was even harder. Eventually, Alicia fell ill with a high fever, and the situation worsened. Seeing my sister, who looked like she might die at any moment, I knocked on any door, begging for help. But everyone turned us away.
No one helps beggars. It was only natural to be ignored. That made me even sadder and more anxious. It was miserable to be unable to do anything but watch Alicia struggle for breath.
What would I do if Alicia left too?
What would I do if I were left alone?
Living alone after leaving that mansion was terrifying. If I died, would anyone remember me? Would anyone know of my death? That was terrifying. I was afraid that if I died like this, no one would know. It would be too sad.
That's why I went to find my family. But Father was dead, and the only one left was the third sister I had hated so much. Still, it was okay. Having Alicia by my side wasn't because I was lonely, but because I was scared. If my only blood relative left, I would truly be alone, and I wasn't sure I could bear such a life. I had become that weak.
I knocked on every door, looking like a madwoman. After knocking until my knuckles were swollen, a door miraculously opened. An elderly couple found me and their eyes widened.
Thanks to the kindness of the good elderly couple, my sister could lie in a bed and receive treatment. They were kind to the dirty, smelly young girl.
I thought such kindness would never come to me, no matter how desperately I wished for it. But I survived with someone's help.
“The next village over is easier to find jobs in.”
Following the advice of the elderly couple, we headed to a small village next to Novelle. It was so remote that I wondered if there was even a village there, but it was surprisingly not small. Further into the forest, we found abandoned houses. This was a slum where people like us, who had nowhere to go, lived.
That's how we started our life there. I found work by blending in with the women. Most of the people in this village maintained their livelihood by doing odd jobs in Novelle. The only work someone of uncertain status could do was physical labor, and it was cheap.
It was hard to find a job at first, but once you got a foothold, it was a matter of networking.
It wasn't much different from Filton, so it was easy to adapt. I was used to a hard life, and odd jobs weren't difficult.
Alicia, however, often complained about the even poorer life. But her complaints were at a level where there was nothing we could do. To survive, we needed money, and to earn money, we had to suffer. Alicia, who had never suffered in her life, often fell ill, and I had to work even harder to make up for her share.
Three years had passed since then, and one day, while walking down the street, I accidentally heard news of them. So much time had passed, with new sprouts and flowers blooming and withering several times, that life there seemed distant.
I was sometimes curious. Were they doing well? How were they living? He, Vincent... I wondered if I would ever run into them by chance. Perhaps I would catch a glimpse of their faces while walking down the street, or maybe I would meet them again at a workplace introduced through acquaintances. But after leaving the Velunita mansion, I never saw them again. Instead, I occasionally heard news of them through the newspaper.
That was all.
Five years had passed since I left the Velunita mansion. During that time, I was busy living my own life. The memories of that place gradually became a distant past. Isn't it said that the more memories fade, the more beautiful they become?
Already five years.
“I'll bring you to my side. Definitely.”
No, it's been five years since then.
“Now, you probably don't even remember me.”
The words I muttered were carried away by the wind. Now, there was little time to indulge in memories. The reality before me was more pressing.
The meager income we earned day by day suddenly stopped. We had nothing to eat. I could skip a meal, but the problem was what came after. As hunger set in, Alicia began to whine.
In the end, I gathered the last of our money and headed to the street baker. The street bread was hard and tasteless, but it was cheap, so we often bought it.
But even that was out of reach with the money we had.
“Do you have anything cheaper?”
“This is the cheapest we have.”
I sighed. Not even able to buy this tasteless bread. A sigh of poverty escaped me.
As I hesitated to buy the bread, the owner looked me up and down. Then he pointed to something.
“If you give me that, I'll give you three of our best breads.”
He pointed to the ribbon that tied my hair. How did he know? He picked out the most valuable thing I had.
I hesitated. This was a precious item filled with memories. Though it was now old and faded, the emotions I felt when I received it still lingered in my heart. That's why I never took it off.
But hunger came first now.
After hesitating, I finally untied the ribbon and handed it to the owner.