The boy who was staring at Dorothea, who was talking nonsense, fell silent.
She did not force his closed mouth to open.
“Okay, whatever. Just because he wants you to treat him like a father doesn’t mean you have to.”
The boy looked at her as if it were absurd for her to speak out and come to her own conclusion.
“You can do whatever you want.”
One thing was clear. Her thoughts were going terribly wrong.
'It's none of my business.'
It was a moment when he tried to ignore the situation with a shaken heart, Dorothea smiled and patted the boy's cheek.
The boy frowned at the fearless action and removed his hand.
“It’s cruel.”
Feeling better, Dorothea hummed and poured out her sincerity.
“I will live.”
“You are alive now.”
“I will be free and live the way I want.”
“You’re greedy.”
The boy who was answering in annoyance glanced at her.
His voice became lower as if he was remembering something.
“Just surviving in this messy world is an incredible task. Freedom, how much risk does freedom have to take?”
“I want to live proudly.”
I want this body.
Now she is a guest, occupying someone else's body that once belonged to someone else.
The boy, who looked somewhat mature, sighed.
“Just live. There are so many people living in shameless ways.”
"Is it."
“You don’t want to consider him your father, but if the other person wants you to, can’t you just pretend to consider him your father?”
His feelings as he gave advice were quite complicated.
It wasn't advice worth giving to a child who wasn't even ten years old, but Dorothea seemed to take it quite positively.
“I see. He likes it when I just call him father, so I have to do that even if it’s only in words.”
“..."
At this point, he almost felt sorry for the girl's father.
“I received money and helped him prepare meals, but I didn’t feel like treating him like a father. I should at least pretend to do it.”
Have you ever seen such a vicious girl?
The boy, who was at a loss for words, unconsciously rubbed the back of Dorothea, who was coughing.
Then, startled by her actions, he withdrew his hand and spoke with a humble face.
“Rather than that, go home quickly and take some medicine. Whether you are proud of it or not, that body will soon die.”
Dorothea, who blinked at the sincere advice, blurted out.
“You should die first.”
“...What?"
The boy who had been foreshadowed 'death' frowned in a faint voice as if he were saying good morning.
Her eyes were fixed on the shiny object around the boy's neck. She said as if muttering.
“There’s no way you can live long with something like that.”
A silver cross necklace was often a baptismal gift given by parents to celebrate the birth of their child.
But that was different.
It couldn't have been a gift filled with affection, as it was full of ominous energy.
She had seen a similar item a long time ago and recognized it at a glance.
It was an item imbued with a curse, filled with someone's bitter resentment.
“It is an object born into the world to harm people.”
“...”
“The more you carry it, the more death will continue to hover around you and one day it will try to eat you.”
The faint cry of a child on a cross rang loudly in her ears.
It is an object made with the blood of a child forcibly taken from its mother's womb.
How could something that was made by killing two healthy lives not be ominous?
“It’s the only thing my mother left behind.”
“That can’t be possible.”
Dorothea shook her head.
“It won’t be your mother’s.”
Even considering the boy's age, the calculation was not correct.
Besides, what kind of mother would give up her life to curse her child?
The necklace was torn from his hand with a snap sound. Looking at the polished exterior, it must have been a treasured item, but there was no hesitation.
A wry smile appeared on his face as he touched the cross a few times.
"But. It was held in my hands too obediently. Even though nothing was easy for me.”
Dorothea fell silent as she muttered self-deprecatory words.
Only then did she understand why the entity that had called her here was so vague.
They must have used so much strength to protect the boy from that ominous object that they couldn't even maintain their form.
“That’s strange.”
The boy said, tilting his head.
"What?"
“The absurd things you said didn’t sound so absurd.”
“Because it’s all true.”
The boy laughed and got ready to throw the necklace he was holding in his hand.
Dorothea quickly held out her hand.
“Hey, give that to me.”
Even though she couldn't even stand properly, her attitude of making demands was quite bold. The boy narrowed his eyes.
“I heard it’s a cursed and sinister item?”
“Because I can use it.”
“Now that I see it, you are a petty thief with a nice way of talking.”
"No."
Although it was a terrible curse, it was an item made with great care and soul.
If she can purify it properly, she will gain considerable strength.
The boy, who saw Dorothea examining the necklace with an eager expression, threw the necklace away.
The necklace sank to the bottom of the river with a light popping sound.
The boy, whose expression did not change much, rarely raised the corners of his mouth and smiled satisfied.
“If it’s something I threw away, you can’t have it either.”
"Pup."
The boy paused at the swear words that came out of her mouth.
“What did you say just now?”
“I helped as much as I could. What an ungrateful bastard.”
Cursing came out of her small mouth.
The bony, bright pink eyes stared at him.
The boy seemed so wronged and angry that he felt like he had made a big mistake.
'I just threw away my things.'
Dorothea's face contorted as she felt her fever rising and her breathing becoming difficult.
Because of her useless body, she couldn't even get angry properly.
“Even though it’s not a good situation right now, I’m not in a position where you can swear at me carelessly. Why don’t you be careful what you say?”
“What do you know?”
“...”
Dorothea's bold words left the boy speechless again.
Dorothea could not help but feel mortified.
What a waste of a necklace. If only that had been possible, if only she had been able to absorb strength properly, her body would have been much better than it is now.
'I wasn't teaching you.'
If it weren't for Dorothea, he would have died unexpectedly.
In a moment of whim, her plan was to do something good and receive something the quarter now.
The boy clicked his tongue as if he was shocked.
Then he turned around and spoke softly.
“Luke.”
“Luke?”
“Why don’t you try cursing at least once? If you can come back from here alive.”
He turned around and walked away.
Dorothea looked around to see his back slowly moving away.
There was no sign of people around, where the river was flowing and the sounds of insects were screeching.
In the cool weather, her body began to shiver.
The menacing cries of wild animals could be heard from all directions.
It was clear that the boy had left her partly out of curiosity and partly out of spite.
Even if Dorothea froze to death here, it wasn't his fault.
'Next time I see you, I'll have to slap you.'
She slowly bent down and picked up the stone.
She created a territory by drawing a line under her feet, as if she was trying to pounce, and bit her finger with her teeth.
Drops of blood splattered across the rough stone line.
A very slight breeze tickled her ears.
It would be nice if it worked properly.
It was a light prank that only obscured their presence, but at least it would help them escape from the threat of wild animals.
'Everyone must have woken up now.'
He might have started wandering around looking for her by now.
She wishes she could get here before it's too late.
She was a little anxious because there was no one she could trust.
The leg that was brought in because it was thought to be useful at best has a foolish aspect to it, and the maid is clueless.
The person who calls himself a father is a person who is very bad at anything other than being sincere.
She thought as she tried to open her eyes which were barely closing.
'In a strange way, I am hoping that you will come.'
Sbe thought that since she was disappointed in people, she would no longer rely on them.
The wounds she received from her brother seemed to have healed before she knew it, and she found herself placing her hopes on someone again.
The heart that she thought she had lost was not lost, but it was hiding and sticking out its head again.
When Dorothea placed her hand on her chest, she felt a very faint beating. The warmth was on the verge of extinction.
She, who was standing precariously, leaned forward due to the drowsiness that came over her.
She stumbled and stepped on the line that had been drawn.
Thanks to this, the presence that had faded with the light became thicker again.
Dorothea's heavy breathing cut through the air.
In the end, she couldn't overcome the drowsiness and ended up curling up and falling asleep.
A figure appeared in the quiet forest with a rustling sound not far away.
The person who was wandering around as if looking for someone soon left the reed forest and, after tracing the traces, arrived in front of the girl.
A large shadow appeared in the moonlight.
“...”
He was a man of sturdy build with a bushy beard covering half of his face.
His shoulders were wider than those of ordinary people, he was tall enough to make her neck hurt, and his body with strong muscles was not completely covered by the hood he wore.
The wide-bladed spear held in the man's hand glowed dimly in the moonlight.
The giant, who was breathing heavily, looked down at Dorothea, who seemed to be unable to even reach his waist.
The strange man with his eyebrows raised slowly bent down and extended his hand to Dorothea.
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