Chapter 8
“As mom said back then, we’re making her look suspicious.”
She was speechless. It wasn’t because Roland was making a wild guess. On the contrary, it was because Roland’s words made sense.
A scruffy young woman with two young children must have looked very unnatural, but Karina shook her head.
“No, you’re completely wrong.”
“Really?” Roland’s eyes widened.
“Well, do you want me to tell you the real reason?”
“…Yes.”
Karina leaned over and whispered at eye level with the children.
“Because we didn’t seem to have any money.”
“…!”
Fortunately, it sounded quite plausible. It was even half true. Karina quickly went on.
“It’s not a big deal. We can go somewhere very cheap. They’ll accept us, no matter how little money we look like.”
“Was that it?”
“That’s what it was.”
Karina nodded with her head pressed. Roland’s expression brightened very slowly. Karina leaned over and pinched Roland’s cheek slightly.
“Now don’t worry about ridiculous things, okay?”
“Yeah!” Roland’s answer echoed brightly in her ears.
* * *
The cheapest inn on the street was five kibrin a day.
As soon as they entered, the smell of sticky and musty floor was annoying because it wasn’t properly cleaned, but Karina didn’t turn around and leave.
This inn doesn’t discriminate against people, she couldn’t hurt the children by being rejected again to find a better environment.
The inn owner, who was taking a nap with his hairy feet on the counter, blinked his eyes like a toad waking up from hibernation when they came in.
Karina mustered up her courage and approached him.
“Hello.”
The innkeeper looked up at her and spoke bluntly.
“10 kibrin a day.”
“It said 5 kibrin…”
“That’s per person. They’re kids, so let’s count them as one. Shouldn’t you put them to bed?”
Karina frowned. Isn’t an inn normally a double room? But Karina didn’t have time neither a room left to argue further.
She wanted to quickly lay Melissa on the bed, who is already dozing off because her eyes were closed, and give Roland a piece of bread that she ate leftover from yesterday, who had heard his stomach growling for a while.
“All right.”
“Pay in advance.”
Karina carefully pulls a 10 kibrin silver coin out of her pocket and handed it to the innkeeper.
“What about meals? One kibrin per meal.”
“It’s okay.”
“You’ll regret it.”
Karina shook her head. This inn was very filthy just by looking around a little. It was obvious what kind of environment the food would be made in.
Lord Lenque mistreated the children, but at least the servants were faithful to their original job of sweeping and cleaning the mansion.
No matter how cheap it is, children can’t be fed food made in these places.
‘We’re just gonna stay one night, and move out tomorrow.’
It was nothing compared to the unidentified liquids that Lord Lenque used to clean make her in his laboratory. The musty smell got worse as they walked down the hall.
Roland and Melissa got frightened and cling to her skirt. Her heart ached at the sight, and Karina sighed. She had to come up with a way to deal with the current situation somehow.
“Mom…?”
Melissa looked up at Karina with sleepy eyes.
“Never mind.”
Karina laughed hard. Fortunately, Melissa was just sleepy, and when Karina patted her on the head, she fell into her skirt.
(T/N: Melissa is so cute I’m soft ╥﹏╥)
Finally, they arrived at their assigned room. The door punctured with silverfish holes wasn’t even locked.
“…”
The three of them lost their words for a moment and stared into the room.
The wallpaper was a mess with mold, and it was hard to tell when the window was last cleaned.
The two beds were also so filthy that she thought she should put them on my coat and put them to sleep.
“…We need to clean up first.”
Karina laughed at the sudden thought. They slept only for one night and cleaned the room! If this was an occupational disease then it’s an occupational disease.
(T/N: For those who don’t know, occupational disease is a health condition or disorder caused by your work environment or activities related to it)
“Let’s go somewhere else tomorrow.”
“But we don’t seem to have any money is still the same. If we go, we’ll be kicked out again.”
Roland pointed out an important problem. More precisely, it’s because Karina and the children look suspicious. But Karina knew the answer to both problems.
“I can buy new clothes.”
Even when she didn’t explain the situation, if she wears mourning clothes she can let people know that she’s a young widow who’s taking care of her late husband’s children
Buying mourning would cost quite a bit of money, so Karina prayed that the new method will work.
“New clothes?”
Roland opened his eyes wide.
“Yes, I’m the only one buying new clothes. Like a wicked stepmother, you don’t have your clothes.”
“…The reason we don’t seem to have any money is because of the clothes our mother wore?”
Since Karina was being treated fairly well at Lord Lenque’s mansion, at least she wasn’t to the point of being kicked out for having no money on such a cheap inn street.
But Karina nodded with a serious face.
“Of course, and you haven’t washed your clothes properly in a week, have you? You’ll look like a beggar to anyone who sees it.”
“Right now, let’s go buy it!”
Roland grabbed Karina’s hand as if she was about to run away.
“You’ll stay here.”
“Why?”
“Won’t Melissa fell asleep on the way?”
Roland looked at Melissa and immediately agreed to Karina’s words.
Melissa was already half-asleep in bed, her eyelids were trembling as if she was barely holding back from her sleep.
Of course, Roland had to stay in the room because he couldn’t leave Melissa alone.
Roland put on a sad face.
“Hurry up and come back.”
“Sure, but don’t just look at Melissa, you’re resting too. Anyway, can you not open the door for anyone but me?”
Karina laid Melissa completely on the bed, gave Roland the rest of the leftover bread, and locked the door tightly.
Thinking of the children waiting, she wants to buy mourning clothes and come back right away, but the most important thing to solve remained that day.
Looking for a job.
* * *
As the merchants say, nothing was easier than finding a job in Tors.
But successfully getting the job was an entirely different matter.
Everyone asked Karina when her husband died and if she had any children, and as soon as Karina said two they hated it and kicked her out.
It was no use saying that the children were quite big and didn’t require many hands.
“What if the kids get sick? Then you’ll be out crying, right? We can’t accept people like that.”
“…I won’t fall for it.”
“How can I believe that?”
In the end, Karina had no choice but to return from the tenth store. Karina mechanically entered the next store where they put a sign that hires people.
This time it was a jewelry store.
“My name is Karina Bloe. I’m here because you’re looking for someone.”
Her mother who died early had a surname, but it was customary for illegitimate children not to use both parents’ surnames. So Karina decided to borrow the children’s surnames.
The old-looking jeweler was looking at the jewel with magnifying glasses on. He quietly put down the gear and looked at Karina gently. Karina waited nervously for his next words.
‘This person will also ask if my husband is dead.’
But the jeweler shook his head and uttered only one word.
“No.”
“…Is it because I’m a widow?”
“That’s not the problem. I only accept people who know jewelry to some certain extent. How can you hire someone who can’t even tell ruby and garnet apart?”
“…”
Karina couldn’t help but keep her mouth shut. Because she really couldn’t tell the difference between rubies and garnets. She only heard that there is such a thing as both.
(T/N: Even if she doesn’t know, what about her previous life? She living under a rock? Or she just forgot)
Giving up quickly, she turned and walked slowly out of the store and stopped. She couldn’t take her eyes off the stone that came into her sight.
‘…?’
Karina wondered at herself but looked at the stone over and over again. The rugged, fist-sized stone didn’t look like a jewel from any angle.
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It would have been believable if the stone had rolled on the side of the road, picked up, and put inside the box.
But for some reason, the thought that the stone was more precious than any other jewel in this place never left her mind.
In the next moment, the stone radiated light, and at the same time, the jeweler’s urgent cry pierced Karina’s ears.
“Stand back!”
Karina forced her eyes off the stone, but it was already too late. A huge beam of light came over them.