[I haven’t eaten anything since yesterday. One penny, please. Merciful Madame and Gentleman. One penny please……]
She was a child who had been begging since a week ago on the street where the cafe I run is located. Every time I put bread in the basket instead of money, she ate in a hurry because she was starving.
The child was looking around from time to time.
“Did you get caught too?”
“…No.”
The child shook her head.
“I live here.”
“You live here?”
I frowned.
A dirty, scruffy, dark room without even a window. It was not a room meant for a child to live in.
“T-that…”
The child bowed her head.
“You have to get out, madam…….”
I bit my lips.
“If I don’t, what will happen?”
“You will be gone to a place far away.”
“……Far away.”
My blood went cold.
Human trafficking was prohibited by imperial law. However, in the small kingdoms across the borders of the empire, that obvious fact was not properly inspected.
If I’m unlucky enough, I too could become a victim.
“Hurry up.”
The child urged me.
I barely got up from my seat. My legs were shaking, but I had to run away right away.
The child, who moved unsteadily, grabbed my hand and dragged me along the path. Her terrible skinny body and twig-like legs were pitiful to see.
Where is this child’s guardian, and what the hell are they doing?
They might be trash that sell people in human trafficking, but even a bastard would have pity on their own child.
After a quick escape from the small room we had been locked up in, we ran down the hallway full of all sorts of junk thrown around. The child found the way easily, as if familiar with this kind of thing.
“What about the others?”
“Everyone is sleeping. They’re drunk……”
The child kept her mouth shut without explaining the details, and I decided not to ask. All that mattered now was the fact that we had to escape quickly.
“Am I the only one caught?”
“Yes.”
The child anxiously nodded her head.
“T-these days, rumors have circulated around…everyone else was being careful and they said that there was no one suitable except the Madam.”
Come to think of it, there seems to have been a rumor circulating that young women were disappearing one by one in nearby villages. I just couldn’t afford to take care of myself because I was so busy toiling for my keep.
The child led me down a dark passage. It was a narrow and dirty passage that hardly anyone would normally pass through.
After half-crawling my way, I exited the passage, and a long-awaited fresh air greeted me.
I smiled at the child and hardened on the spot. This was because I could see more clearly how tattered the child looked under the bright moonlight.
“Well, I’ll get going now.”
The child bowed her head with a timid face.
“Go home now. Because they don’t catch the person they missed once……don’t worry, madam.”
I couldn’t reply.
That’s not what I was worried about, sweetheart. I’m worried about you. If it’s discovered that you let me run, what punishment will you face?
After thinking for a while, I opened my mouth.
“Are your parents down there too?”
“……no.”
The child hesitated to answer.
“I don’t have a mother or a father.”
“Then?”
“I live with my uncles and aunts.”
I bit my lip.
Most likely they are human traffickers.
“What is your name?”
If you know the name, you will be able to ask friendly guards to look after the child.
To her dismay, the child could not answer properly and stuttered.
“Th-that, that……I don’t have a name.”
“What?”
I doubted my ears. Even if you don’t raise a child with love, you’d need at least a name to call them.….
“[You], [Hey], [That]……everyone calls me like that… … .”
“…….”
I closed my eyes tightly and then opened it.
“Let me ask you this one thing. Do you want to keep living with them?”
The child’s face, which was otherwise pale, became even more devoid of color.
“Oh, I don’t want to go to an orphanage. It’s a really scary place! I heard that they gave nothing to eat and made children work until death. So madam, please…….”
“No, I’m not trying to take you to an orphanage. That……if only you were okay.”
I took a deep breath.
“Would you like to go to my house?”
Right after I said that, the sound of horses running around rumbled nearby. As soon as we hid in the bushes, a roaring voice echoed everywhere.
“Search thoroughly! You must not miss a single rat.”
What?
It wasn’t the slurred tone that traffickers would use, but rather a polite and well-rounded tone. As soon as they got a little closer I was convinced. The unique footsteps, commands, and familiar uniform of the guards.
‘It’s the guards!’
In the meantime, the taxes I had paid with tears passed through my head. Thank you, God! The hard work of complying with civic duty paid off like this….
“Help!”
I ran out of the bush.
“I was caught by the traffickers a little while ago and then escaped. I will show you the way to the hideout.”
“How can I believe that?”
One of the guards rolled his eyes.
“You could be one of them!”
“…….”
It was time to roll my head in bewilderment at the sudden counter I received.
“Miss Arya?”
All of a sudden, a hoarse voice was heard.
‘Huh……?’
Guard Captain Ian walked through the crew and walked towards me.
Ian, who became a security guard in his late twenties, was popular with the village girls because of his good looks and outstanding skills. Well, for me he was just a regular customer I was grateful for.
He hurried over to me and looked at every nook and cranny of my body.
“Miss Arya, are you hurt?”
“No. I’m all right.”
“This child…….”
“It’s the kid who was locked up with me.”
I lied without even batting an eyelash. It’s no good to let him know that she’s been abused by criminals.
“I think she was caught while begging on the street.”
“I see.”
Ian nodded his head.
“All right. Please tell me the way. If you can help us catch them, there will be fewer chances of them escaping.”
As soon as I hurriedly informed Ian, after thanking me, he ran into the aisle with his men.
I’m done with my job. Now it was time to focus on this terrified child, who was lying in my arms.
As soon as I got home with the kid, I started the fireplace.
“Child.”
She turned her head from a crouched position and looked up at me. The opposing emotions of hope and worry collided in her eyes, and my heart ached.
“First of all, you will need a name.”
She looked at me with a puzzled face.
“Do I need something like that?”
“Of course.”
I said firmly.
“Everyone should have a name. Let’s see…….”
I tried to roll my head, but I couldn’t think of a proper name.
“Child, is there a name you’ve always wanted to have?”
“No.”
The child shook her head.
“You can just call me anything.”
“You can’t just stick to anything like that. It’s a precious name……Ah!”
I exclaimed a little.
Because I came up with an idea that might help the child.
“How about this? I’ll give you a lot of names, so pick your favorite among them.”
As soon as the child nodded her head, I began to say whatever names suitable for girls came to mind.
“Catherine, Johanna, Rosemary, Elodie, Serena, Marianne, Pearl……”
The child smacked her lips as if she wanted to say something.
“Is there anything you like?”
“…… Elodie.”
“Elodie?”
“Yes.”
The child nodded loudly. It was a powerful expression of intention that I had never seen before.
“It’s a pretty name. It looks good on you.”
I smiled at Elodie.
“Elodie, come this way. Both me and you should wash first.”
“Wash…… huh?”
“Why? Don’t you want to”
Elodie shook her head.
“Well, I have only washed my face.”
She knew what a bath was, but it was something she had never bathed before.
“It’s okay. At the age of Elodie, it’s only natural for someone to wash you. It’s not like you don’t like the idea of me washing you, do you?”
Fortunately, Elodie nodded her head and approached me. I helped Elody take off her clothes and immersed herself in a bathtub full of warm water.
Fortunately, there were no major injuries except for several old scars. For a moment, it felt like there was a bruise on her calf, and my heart was pounding, but when I looked closely, it was a large star-shaped dot.
One side of my chest tingled. Even without medical knowledge, I could tell that Elodie was severely malnourished.
But who am I? Am I not the owner of the most popular cafe in this area?
I vowed to turn Elodie into a plump and round child.
“Elodie, would you like to tilt your head this way? I will wash your hair.”
Her dusty, gray hair slanted towards me. I washed her hair as carefully as possible.
‘……?’
I blinked my eyes.
It was because her hair color had completely changed after washing it with good quality soap. It wasn’t the dull gray color close to the iron I saw a while ago…….
‘Did you have silver hair?’
As soon as I stopped my hand, Elodie asked in an anxious voice.
“Ex-Excuse me, did I do something wrong?”
I rushed to fix it.
“I was just surprised because I didn’t know you had silver hair. It’s so pretty.”
“Pretty? My hair?”
I nodded my head with strength. It was Elody’s turn to be surprised.
“Well, the old boss said it was creepy… when I was younger, he kept dying my hair in black…….”
“Did he dye your hair?”
I frowned.
Isn’t something strange? They don’t even feed her simple meals, but use expensive hair dye on her hair?
“It’s okay. I think the guards caught him earlier”.
“……He’s dead. Long ago.”
Well, good riddance.
I swallowed my words and helped Elodie wipe her body with a towel and dry her hair.
“Are you very hungry?”
“……Yes.”
I gave Elodie cookies with warm milk after she had changed into a long linen shirt instead of the rags for clothes she was using.
‘I have to wash myself too.’
I was hesitant. How can I separate myself from a child who is chasing after me with sad and desperate eyes while muttering through a cookie?
“……Excuse me.”
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While I was pondering, Elodie’s shy voice was heard.
“Can I ask you, just one thing?”
“Of course. What is it?”
Elodie who was lacking courage, grabbed the mug of warm milk, bowed her head and after a while she spoke. The words that came out of the child’s mouth were beyond all my expectations.
“Madam, are you my mother?”