Chapter 62

# 62

62. The Maid Left Alone (6)

The floor shook. The road was rough as we entered the mountains. The women inside the swaying carriage were also jolted weakly. I was struggling to keep my balance too.

The women in the carriage were all beautiful. Seeing so many beautiful women with long hair reaching their chests and slender figures was almost blinding. There were a few with ordinary appearances, but there was no one as plain as me.

I fidgeted with my fringe and then turned to look at Alicia, who was sitting next to me. At first, she was excited, looking around the carriage, but then she started to look discontented, and now she was sleeping with her eyes closed. I was amazed at her ability to sleep in such a situation. Surely, she hadn’t already decided to die, had she? I wanted to ask, but I held back, knowing the response wouldn’t be good.

‘Give her time to think.’

In the end, I couldn’t change Alicia’s mind that day. Alicia was stubborn, and talking to her made me reflect on my own miserable life.

Not everyone agreed with Alicia’s words. While I do think my life is miserable, I don’t feel an urgent need to escape this situation. Perhaps in the past, but now I’m content with this comfort.

However, change isn’t entirely unnecessary.

It’s been five years since I left that place. It’s not a short time. Long enough for someone to forget about a runaway maid or even assume she’s dead.

At least during my time in the slums, no one seemed to be chasing or watching me. Maybe it’s just my intuition, but I have a vague sense that I won’t be in danger anymore. If that’s the case, perhaps I don’t need to live like this.

The choice is easy. Maybe it’s already decided. Letting Alicia go and living my own life. No matter how much I explain our relationship, there’s no bright future ahead. We’ll just keep hurting each other, and that relationship will never change. It might be better for us to live our own lives.

But...

After that, I was in a constant state of worry.

The nights when I couldn’t sleep grew longer. Maybe it’s because I’m going to a new place, but the thought of working for the viscount’s family brought back old memories. My heart pounded with tension, and my mind was filled with worries and concerns. I struggled with the decision to go or stay dozens of times a day.

Then I had a nightmare. As usual, my younger siblings came to see me. They clung to me, but their bodies were so emaciated that I couldn’t feel anything—no warmth, no smell, no touch.

My second sibling whispered in my ear.

“Sis, you can’t run away alone.”

I screamed and woke up. Panting, I got out of bed. I couldn’t bear it. My chest felt so tight.

I stumbled out, touching the wall, and suddenly felt a hard texture under my fingertips. Turning my head, I saw a woman in the mirror.

It was the only mirror in the house, brought in by Alicia’s insistence. The woman in the mirror, with her thick fringe covering her face, was trembling with her only visible lips.

I forced a smile, and the woman in the mirror smiled back. It was an awkward, unfamiliar smile. My chapped lips exhaled tense breaths. The smile quickly faded, and my face turned to a frown.

I hesitantly flipped my fringe back. An ugly face appeared before me. This face had saved me, but it had also caused me a lifetime of discrimination and criticism. I didn’t want this, but I was born this way. That’s why I hated and despised my face.

I remembered the newspaper article I read. The man was doing well. Everyone was doing well. Shouldn’t I be doing well too?

The demon who had bound my life was dead, and the hateful third sibling was leaving. Now I had the right to choose my own life. No, I always had that right. But my life was still bound by the past.

I’m still in that hell.

Tears welled up and streamed down my cheeks. I covered my face with my hands. I couldn’t even cry out. I knew I didn’t have the right.

‘Poor little sister.’

I whispered, holding my youngest sibling, whose neck was broken while still an infant. On the last night, I caressed my second sibling’s tear-stained face, repeating those words. I could only lament the tragic life of my fourth sibling, who had starved to death.

That was all I could do.

That was all I could do.

Now it was the third sibling. But I couldn’t ignore her either. Because she was the only one left, my little sister.

‘I’ll go too.’

‘Really?’

I nodded firmly at Alicia’s disbelieving question.

‘But if I sense any danger, I’ll run away immediately.’

‘Okay, I will.’

‘I’ll run at the slightest sign of trouble. I don’t want to die.’

‘I understand.’

After warning Alicia several times, we decided to go together. I was relieved it wasn’t the place I used to work.

‘The Stella Viscount’s family?’

I had never heard of them. But it was important that it wasn’t a place I knew.

I packed my things simply. There wasn’t much to pack. Each of us had only one bag. Alicia’s was fuller because she had some clothes she hadn’t sold, but mine was almost empty.

On the day we left, I stood in front of the mirror one last time. With a firm resolve, I raised the scissors in my hand. The sound of the scissors cutting was eerie.

When we went outside, Alicia, rubbing her sleepy eyes, was shocked at my appearance. Her eyes widened in disbelief. It was the reaction I expected, but it was still embarrassing. I urged her to hurry, but she stopped me.

‘You, you, you’re really going to go out like that?’

She even stuttered.

‘Yes, I’m going to go out like this.’

‘You’re crazy!’

Alicia shouted. I laughed awkwardly at her horrified reaction. Was it really that strange? I touched my bare face. The fringe that had once reached my eyebrows was now very short.

I had cut off the long fringe I had stubbornly kept to hide my face.

‘I’ve already cut it. I can’t grow it back.’

‘Aren’t you embarrassed?’

‘I’m trying not to care.’

‘It’s embarrassing!’

I ignored Alicia’s repeated complaints. It was a big decision for me too. I couldn’t just stick it back on because it was embarrassing.

Even though we were going to a new viscount’s family, I still had worries. What if someone there recognized me? Of course, I might be overthinking, but jobs do come around, and there’s no guarantee that something won’t happen to me.

In the past, I always covered my face with a long fringe, even when I was hired by the Velunita family. While I didn’t completely hide my face, no one had seen it properly. This way, at least they wouldn’t recognize me as the runaway maid. I might stand out, but a few changes in appearance can make a big difference.

In short, it was also a precaution.

‘Don’t tell others I’m your sister.’

‘Good. Don’t call me by my real name either.’

‘What? Why the name?’

‘Just in case.’

It was also a precaution.

I had taken a pseudonym since leaving that house. I thought it would be dangerous to reveal my name if someone was chasing me. Fortunately, no one cared about the name of a lowly person like me. As long as I did my job well, it didn’t matter. But for the new place, I wanted to be cautious.

‘Just keep calling me by my other name. Got it?’

‘Why do I have to do that?’

‘I like that name.’

‘Are you crazy?’

Alicia made a strange face. I ignored her incredulous look and confirmed that she understood everything I had said before heading to the meeting place.

About a dozen people were gathered there, including both women and men. Most were beautiful and handsome, but a few had ordinary appearances. We were told we could bring companions, and while they seemed to choose based on looks, it wasn’t the only criterion.

But I didn’t let my guard down.

The gathered people were chatting in pairs or just looking around. When we joined, two carriages approached.

The mysterious men in black got out of the carriages and greeted us. They scanned the group and then separated the women and men into different carriages.

The carriages had no windows. With nothing to see outside, people either slept or read to pass the time.

It was a long, boring journey. The sun, which had been shining brightly, seemed to have set. The carriage never stopped moving.

My heart was as unsettled as the swaying carriage. The road didn’t seem smooth. Where were we going? Was it safe to follow? Were we being sold somewhere? I looked around at the others, but they all seemed calm, which only added to my confusion.

But the more the carriage jolted, the more anxious I became. Should I open the door and run away? The thought kept popping into my head.

Then, suddenly, the carriage stopped.

We seemed to have arrived.

As the carriage stopped, the sleeping people woke up one by one. I shook Alicia’s shoulder to wake her.

Just then, a man opened the carriage door and gestured for us to get