The sun rose high and gently caressed every corner of the Grand Plaza in the capital of Zekrit.
Fresh air. A clear sky. Even the breeze felt cooler, and everything in the plaza, the trees, wildflowers, grass, and the lake—looked beautiful and serene. The commotion from the previous night had long since vanished…
However, despite all that natural beauty.
Klisha, who had stayed up all night without even eating, exuded a subtle but intense murderous aura. Like the sharp edge of a finely honed sword…
When a person is hungry, the whole world feels resentful. They start to hate everything, even the people around them.
However, no matter how much she radiated that killing intent, it had little effect on the vagrants who had not mastered the martial arts.
“Hey, newcomer. Get out of the way. That’s my place.”
“These days, the end of the world is really nearing. Even the young people don’t think about doing work.”
Klisha clenched her teeth as she watched other vagrants passing by, shaking their heads in disappointment.
I’m angry. I’m really angry.
But there was nothing she could do. If they tell her to step away, she has to step out of the way. The sorrow of being a newcomer….
As Klisha picked up the box she had found earlier at the corner of the plaza and began to walk away, she heard a small voice calling her from somewhere.
“Um….”
Klisha opened her dark almond eyes in a murderous glare before turning her head toward the sound.
“If you tell me to move it again, I won’t just stand by… Huh?”
A scruffy young boy, barely reaching Klisha’s chest, held out a dry piece of bread with his greasy hands.
“Hey, eat this, Mister.”
“What?”
“It’s okay. My sister and I had one earlier.”
At the sight of the smiling child generously offering her a bread, Klisha felt moisture welling up in her eyes without her realizing it.
Seeing Klisha like that, the small child stood on his tiptoe and gently patted her on the head.
“Don’t cry, Mister. I’ll bring you more when I get some.”
The young boy smiled brightly and hopped away with brisk little steps. It seemed like he had just given her his share, hadn’t he?
“….”
Klisha thought as she tore at the bread soaked with her tears. No matter how much they say life is tough away from home, this is too much. I mean, look at her! She’s a noble, you know? The daughter of a war hero, alright?
The arrows of resentment naturally turned toward those responsible for her misery, the culprits who had caused her suffering.
‘Number 1, that husband whose face I don’t even know! Number 2, His Majesty the Great Emperor! Oh, right, number 1 and 2 are the same bastard…! And number 3! That conman detective with a handsome face! He promised to buy me food and then ran away like that?’
Klisha’s almond eyes gleamed sharply.
“I, I won’t let any of them off the hook! I’m going to get my revenge! I’ll turn completely dark!”
* * *
Hans, the butler who was serving beside the war hero gazing down at the garden with a relaxed expression while drinking the warm black tea he had just made, quietly spoke up.
“Has the Young Lady arrived at the capital safely?”
“….”
For the past few days, Klisha’s escape story had become an unofficial taboo within the Viscount’s Household. Therefore, even Hans, who had served the Mezerine family for many years, couldn’t help but tread carefully.
“The Young Lady has a more innocent side than she appears… I am worried that she might encounter some trouble on her way to the capital.”
“….”
The corners of the Viscount’s mouth twitched.
Hans, who had been observing his subtle expression, continued.
“No matter how skilled one is in combat, no, ahem, ahem, physical strength, outside matters are not something that can be resolved with just one person’s strength. Also, given the Young Lady’s temperament, she has a knack for turning simple matters into complicated ones, so who knows what kind of trouble she might get caught up in…”
The Viscount responded without looking away from the garden.
“What are you trying to convey?”
“Master, shouldn’t we send someone after her now? The Young Lady may not have known, but there’s never been a time she went out without a guard following her.”
The Viscount smiled faintly and said.
“Sometimes, I think you’re the one being overprotective. Just leave her be. She should take this opportunity to suffer a bit so that she can understand the value of her father and the loyalty of her servants.”
Hans couldn’t hide his confusion as he watched the Viscount, who had always been so protective of the Young Lady he had raised with such care, now showing such detachment.
“Still, shouldn’t we at least inform the capital?”
“About what?”
“If the Young Lady has, well… gone to the capital, she will likely visit the temple and the Royal Palace…”
“….”
“And if she causes an accident there….”
At the word ‘accident’, the Viscount fell silent for a moment before finally speaking.
“Send a letter to the secretary’s office of Count Yuton, the Minister of State Affairs. The contents are that Klisha has gone missing due to mental shock, but we will do our best to find her and send her to the Isle of Lakai within the allotted time. With this, even if Klisha shows up in the capital, I doubt they will consider it a violation of the Royal order.”
“Yes. I understand.”
“And.”
Hans stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Issac.
“When you deliver the letter… subtly mention that I was also in a shock and bedridden.”
Hans looked his Master up and down. Doesn’t he look too healthy for that?
However, sensing that the retired hero had his reasons, Hans nodded a couple of times and then left the room.
* * *
When Klisha’s beloved horse, Shukrim, suddenly stopped seeing his owner, who had been with him 24 hours a day except for sleeping and eating, this thought crossed his mind.
‘My Master (♀) has abandoned me.’
‘….’
‘….’
‘I’m so happy!’
The ‘Collateral Management Program’ (special_Ⅳ) provided by [Tomma Horses] was something Shukrim was very satisfied with.
Not only was high-grade 1++ beef provided at every meal, but there was also a luxurious spa to soothe his tired body and mind, luxurious hair care where professional groomers (♂) meticulously brushing every strand of fur, and even a gym class where he could do light exercise… Shukrim felt as if he had entered heaven.
‘Master (♀). Don’t worry. I’m doing well.’
He rested his front hooves on his carefully tended horseshoe and looked up at the unusually clear sky.
‘I wonder where she went, but… I hope my Master (♀) comes back at a leisure pace, or better yet, not at all.’
But Shukrim didn’t know. All these costs were quietly piling up under the name of ‘collateral management fees’ on Klisha’s loan.
If Shukrim had known the truth at that time, if he had realized the ‘hell’ that was about to unfold in the near future.
He would have used all his strength to break free from this ‘golden leash’ and run away. But for now, he had no way of knowing. All he knew was that every day was nothing but pure enjoyment.
* * *
Saturday morning.
In the Grand Plaza in front of the Royal Palace, groups of happy people had gathered, creating a sea of people.
Klisha, who had already become accustomed to hunger and poverty, whose body and mind were twisted by hardship, couldn’t help but feel that everyone around her was enjoying themselves—except for her. Her already twisted mood became even more tangled.
‘Ah, forget it.’
Klisha lay down again in the corner of the plaza where she had spreaded a bunch of paper boxes. In her head, she was spending her time organizing the list of deaths, but outwardly, she looked very much like a skilled, excellent, unadorned, and an obvious homeless person, a real vagrant.
“Mom, look at that guy. He’s so handsome, but he looks so pitiful.”
“Hey, don’t stare at such people. Let’s go.”
“….”
Klisha decided to think of it calmly. After all, whether it was the temple or the Royal Palace, she’d be kicked out the moment she showed up in this state. And with how hungry she was, she didn’t have the strength to lift even a finger. All she could do was lie here and pass the time until the bank opened on Monday.
Hmm, there seems only… six hours left until the free meal.
“Kyaaaaak!”
At the sudden scream, Klisha couldn’t help but let out a quiet laugh, wondering if she had unintentionally voiced her thoughts aloud. What is this…
“No! Stop it!”
However, at the scream that followed after, Klisha slowly lifted herself from the ground.
“What? Even in broad daylight….”
What caught Klisha’s eyes then was…
The boy who had given her the bread earlier, now thrown to the ground, and the girl, presumably his sister, crying as a rough-looking man yanked her by the hair.
In that instant, Klisha quickly assessed the situation, and her eyes ablazed with fury.
“You asshole, I’m already pissed off, and now this. Perfect timing!”
Klisha launched herself forward with the speed of a whirlwind.
“You dirty punk! Don’t bully little kids!”
An ungainly man dressed in a fine suit, sneered at Klisha as he watched her leap into action.
“What’s this? That’s a homeless person. I guess even beggars have their own code of loyalty?”
Just a moment ago, the young boy had tripped and gotten mud on the man’s clothes who was walking on the street with his guards.
“Hey! Do you have any idea how much these clothes cost? How are you going to pay for this?”
“I, I’m sorry… I didn’t know.”
“Do you really not know? What a fucking idiot.”
The man began kicking the fallen body of the boy.
The boy’s sister, who had rushed over from somewhere, knelt beside her fallen brother, shielding him with her body as she shouted.
“I’ll pay for the clothes. I’ll cover the cost, so please don’t hit my brother!”
“Where the hell would you get the money from to pay for my expensive suit?”
The boy’s sister pulled a small pouch from her pocket and held it out.
“This should be enough! Please, let go of my brother. Stop hitting him!”
The man’s sneer deepened as he snatched the pouch from the girl’s hand. Inside, there was a considerable amount of silver coins.
“Oh my. You punks. You stole this, didn’t you?”
“No! This was given to us by a kind nobleman!”
“Who would give this much money to beggars? It’s obvious to anyone that these are stolen. The nobleman… ugh!”
The girl suddenly stood up and hit the man’s chest with her head. At that time, the man’s escort grabbed the girl’s hair and dragged her away.
And soon, Klisha, the homeless handsome boy arrived.
“What’s this? What are you doing to a child?”
“You? Did you just call me ‘you’? To me, the nobleman?”
The young man sneered with a sinister grin and waved his hand, signaling the burly figures behind him to step forward.
Despite the large crowd gathered in the plaza in front of the Royal Palace on a Saturday morning, the man seemed completely unbothered, as if he were someone well-known in the capital.
As expected, the crowd around them began to form a circle, stepping back and giving them space.
Klisha smiled provocatively and said.
“What? You, are you famous in this city?”
“….”
But you know, I’m famous too. In this area, at least.
Klisha, without anyone noticing, quickly returned the dagger she had pulled from her pocket back into its sheath.
“I was already pissed off, and now this. You, today. Are getting a taste of my fists.”
“Aaahhh!”
“Keeeeeeeek! I was wrong, I was wrong!”
“Please spare me, spare me! Brother! I will serve you as my big brother, please forgive me!”
In the alley next to the plaza in front of the Royal Palace, screams and wails echoed relentlessly.
Like a mystery theater on a midsummer Saturday.
