I've never earned money on my own in my entire life, so how am I supposed to earn money at this age?
"Are you going to live like a beggar?"
"A pedestrian!"
Lauren bristled. But she knew that what she was doing was no different from what a perfectly good fucking punk would do.
Lauren went to the village chief in tears and pleaded.
"Money, how can I earn it?"
"You have to work, work!"
"What's going on?"
"Oh, this stuffy person. Shouldn't you be moving your hands and body to make money?"
"I know how to count..."
"What would you use that for?"
It would have been nice if they could have found some sewing supplies, but the women of this small village were so accustomed to being self-sufficient that they did not know how to pay someone else to sew their family's clothes.
This was a village where very poor people lived together.
There were no people who bought expensive colored threads and embroidered clothes that would quickly become dirty.
Lauren had no choice but to help out in the fields and rice paddies and get food in return.
Doing such a thing was so humiliating and exhausting that she just wanted to die...
But she didn't dare to volunteer and her throat was like a grapevine.
There was even a time when she tried to get money somehow and have a peddler send a letter to the palace.
The peddler looked Lauren up and down and chuckled.
Lauren now looked like a total peasant.
A face tanned and black from the sun, disheveled hair, clothes focused solely on practicality, rough hands...
"Madam. Oh, think about it. Even If someone like you were to send a letter to the palace, who would let it in? Seriously..."
"My daughter is there."
Lauren lived her life trusting only her son.. but when this situation arose, the only person she could trust was her daughter.
Who would have thought that Josh would borrow money from loan sharks and tear his family apart like this?
She believed that if Bridget found out she was here, Bridget would come running and take care of her.
"If you reveal my name, I'm sure she'll receive the letter."
"You sent your daughter to the palace as a maid? Haha, she's made a name for herself. I think there's a separate route for palace maids to receive letters. As far as I know, it probably goes through the head maid. Do you know the head maid's name?"
"It's not the maid, it's the King's mistress. The mistress whom His Majesty the King now favors so much is my daughter!"
"What... Right! Wasn't that a crazy woman?"
The peddler clicked his tongue and walked away.
Lauren realized that Bridget had become so distant that she could no longer even send letters.
'Let's somehow earn some carriage fare and go to Bridget.'
But it was no easy task to get from this remote region to the capital.
If she wanted to follow the merchants, she had to pay for the escort, and even to ride in the wagon. Her knees were so sore that she couldn't even dream of walking.
Lauren, who barely managed to get by on one or two meals a day, would never be able to get that much money to cover the cost of food and lodging on the way.
"If you take me to the palace, my daughter will pay for all the expenses! My daughter is living in luxury in the palace! She must be looking for me. If you just take me, she will be very happy and reward you greatly!"
Lauren asked people, but no one believed her.
"If what you say is true, why hasn't your daughter come looking for you before?"
Lauren seemed to come to her senses at the words someone had thrown at her.
Oh, right. Bridget must have noticed by now that she's gone.
'That kid isn't looking for me...'
Why? Why?
There were countless clear answers to that question. So many that it was overwhelming.
She remembered one by one the things that had discriminated against Josh and Bridget.
She remembered herself sneaking snacks out to Josh when Bridget wasn't around.
There were days when she secretly hoped that Bridget would take responsibility for Josh's misdeeds.
Josh is the eldest son who will lead the family. He is the son who will do great things. He cannot afford to lose heart.
Because Chloe is young. Because she is immature. Because she talks back and is stubborn easily, so it's tiring.
The only person Lauren could easily exert influence over was the obedient and affectionate Bridget.
Bridget knew how to set up a parental front...
When Lauren yelled at her, she reflected on it, when she disciplined her, she listened, and when she consoled her, she complied with any of Lauren's demands without resistance.
What a comfortable child she was.
It was so comfortable that Lauren didn't even realize that it was Bridget's affection and thought it was her right.
With three children, Lauren thought it was natural that there would be at least one child who would do this for their parents.
'She finally abandoned me. I was abandoned by Bridget.'
It was the first time Lauren realized that even a daughter like Bridget could abandon herself.
It was unbelievable as if she had heard that the earth and the sky could turn upside down.
She lived every day with a feeling of distantness.
It felt like a previous life when she wore soft, warm clothes without getting a drop of water on her hands, and slept on a soft bed made by a maid.
It seemed like a dream that there was a time when she could see Bridget whenever she wanted.
Now Lauren knows what true poverty is.
Being hungry and tired is poverty, but being empty-hearted is also poverty.
***
Again, the day Julian ordered the punishment of the Florentine family.
Millea did not bother to tell Bridget about the punishment that had been meted out to them.
If she asked her, she would tell her, but Bridget didn't ask either.
Instead, it was revealed that Chloe was moving around with other girls who had been sold similarly.
Chloe wasn't doing anything wrong, she was just being reckless.
The child was experiencing hardships that a noble young lady of her age should not have to experience.
"Still, it seems like Nigel and his gang don't hit or abuse Chloe. They even seem to feed her properly."
That makes it even more suspicious.
Why on earth is Nigel taking the girls and where?
"I don't think he's trying to take Chloe far."
Millea spread out the map and showed Chloe where she had moved.
It felt like she was wandering around one area.
"It feels like he's waiting for something."
"What are he waiting for?"
Bridget and Millea were thinking about it together.
But no clear answer came out...
"Please watch for a little longer."
There was a strong smell of blood.
At first, he planned to use Nigel to bring the Duke of Linchester to trial.
Then, somehow, they can find an excuse to find Queen Beatrice's records.
But Nigel's behavior was also unusual, so the plan was changed.
Nigel also seemed to need to be watched.
Bridget was nervous.
'Should we just focus on finding the records?'
Julian didn't have much time.
'But if we stab the Duke too hastily, we may never find out what Nigel Is up to with his third son, Bruce Linchester.'
It was a crossroads.
There was another reason why Bridget was impatient.
It was because she caught something suspicious about Kami.
Yesterday, she saw clearly.
The black knight opens his mouth like a devil and absorbs magi.
Although he was not allowed to drink the magi or ordered to show himself, he inhaled the magi while sticking his head out next to Bridget, who was overcome with depression.
Moreover, every time the Black Knight inhaled magi, the magi did not decrease. Rather, It increased.
At the time, she was in a state of confusion and didn't know, but now that she looks with a clear mind, it's strange.
'It wasn't to the extent of shedding tears and giving in to depression.'
She was severely affected by magi.
It was the first time.
Bridget lost the will to purify her magi due to extreme lethargy.
Purifying oneself is something that can be done just by thinking about it.
Bridget looked at her shadow suspiciously.
'Is the Black Knight able to attract magi?'
What if the curse continues on the Blake royal family, who are easily attracted to magi, because it is easy to provoke their negative emotions?
What if you were to gather magi that way?
What if that's how they fill their bellies?
What if the reason Julian always has so much magi flowing out of him is not just his constitution, but the Black Knight's trick?
Bridget recalled Nostrum calling the Black Knights 'devils' and 'filthy things'.
It was also Julian's instinctive dislike for the Black Knight and his warning to her not to get too close.
She looked down at her shadow with wavering eyes.
'Is there anything like that written in Queen Beatrice's records?'
Should we bring the Duke of Linchester to trial immediately, or should we wait a little longer for Nigel?
Her worries deepened.
But an unexpected person helped ease her worries.
It was Isaac.
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