It wasn't hard to guess that the one who left the flower basket was a Dublin rascal, since the back of his head was blond. His daughter sneaked out every day, and she even stole blankets and her father's clothes, so it was hard not to have a premonition. However, she didn't worry too much about it. She thought she'd just crawl home on her own.
Ben raised Leila freely—almost with a motto of neglect—and Leila grew up cheerfully, enjoying freedom rather than indulgence. After becoming half-deaf, Ben realized how painful it is for people to discriminate against or ignore others, so the only thing he taught Leila was to see people as people.
The Dubliner was a pitiful young man, even in Ben's eyes. Leila, who resembled her mother and had a kind heart, must have seen the young man living alone by the river. She must have wanted to help him. At first, he was actually glad that his daughter was so affectionate.
But now, going to see that Dubliner whenever she wanted to was giving him a terrible feeling of foreboding. Not long ago, Mrs. Mia had asked him this question out of the blue.
'I saw her with that Dublin guy last time, didn't you know?'
He couldn't believe it. But when he looked at her with a suspicious eye, Leila was very suspicious. She'd be sullen all day, sulking and whining, 'What's so great about it?' and then she'd say, 'Oh, I don't know, I'm so happy!' and just sit there, saying she wanted to learn how to embroider, like only girls in love would do. Every night, after eating three portions, she'd take a basket and disappear in a flash, saying she'd go for a walk.
To make matters worse, yesterday she asked him this.
“Dad, do you think all Dubliners are bad?”
Ben pounded the table with rage and shouted to his brother-in-law, who had gone to the battlefield and died a pretty good death. You fucking piece of shit. I told her to do whatever she wanted! And this is what happened!
The father's head was filled with realistic concerns. He had said to her in front of her, "Do whatever you want!" but he didn't have a dowry to give her, and she was ruining her own marriage. What should he do? If she were a son, he would have beaten her up. She was a girl who would snap at the slightest touch, so he couldn't say a single harsh word. She had never caused enough trouble to warrant a harsh word. Bend, a manly man, found his daughter too difficult.
“Why does this guy have such an expression on his face?”
“Leave it, leave it. Even a foolish daughter should have a limit. Is it just for one or two days?”
He thought it was okay, no matter what Kane and Walter said.
While they laughed, talked, and played, Ben only emptied the cup. And Kane ran out with a cry with a crying breast that bristed in the milk arm, and the early evening, when he opened the door with a cry, 'If you don't come in, you will break your fuck.' Of course, the price of alcohol is not paid. Walter said, 'I thought it would be.' he spat it. Ben, who is not close to Kane, thinks Bree is caught by Kane, but in reality, it is the opposite.
“Obviously, those guys did it. They did it.”
Ben also agreed wholeheartedly. It was only yesterday that Kane had been scheming to run away without paying for his drinks. Normally, he would have spat out a 'slutty brat', but he didn't feel like doing that at the moment.
Among the many odds and ends in Walter's general store, the two things that kept catching his eye were the decorative wooden swords and goblets that the Dublin murderer had made.
“It’s three silver.”
Walter quickly saw through Ben's interests and drove the wedge in. He seemed to like those things, judging by the way he added a smug, "Pretty good, huh?" Now that he thinks about it, Walter had always been kind to that Dublin bastard.
When that guy first appeared, he took the lead and went to find the lone soldier, saying, "We can't let a suspicious guy settle down in the village!" But after some time, he stopped saying anything. If that guy didn't seem to be in a position to commit corruption, such as bribery, he would have thought he had taken a bribe.
“That bastard from Dublin!”
“What, you punk.”
“Isn’t that kid dangerous?”
Walter, who had his ears perked up at the rather loud voice, replied slurredly.
“I don’t know. Why all of a sudden? Even when I said he lived near your house, you didn’t pay any attention. Did he cause some kind of accident?”
'Accident! Major accident! I think my daughter and he just made eye contact!'
Ben felt like he wanted to tell everything because he was so upset. But in Casnier, rumors spread faster than lightning. If something happened yesterday, half the townspeople would know about it and gossip about it tomorrow. There were many times when they showed positive interest by worrying about each other and being concerned, but since not everyone could be close, there were also times when it became a negative source of comfort.
Ben felt like he was going to burst from frustration. But in the end, it was only good for that damn Dublin bastard to keep suffering like this! I don't know why, but I feel like I'm losing!
“What kind of guy is he?”
Only then did Walter give him a look that seemed very strange.
“What, is there?”
“What is there?”
“...You’re acting so suddenly, you punk.”
A uselessly quick-witted brat. He clutched the glass that the Dublin bastard made so tightly that it broke, but he didn't make a scratch. No, how the hell did he make it so sturdy? Anyway, Walter, who read the state of Ben's mind going up and down like that, seemed to think for a moment, and then tried to act as if it was nothing.
“Well.... You know, you’ve been in the war a long time ago and played soldier. There are some decent ones among those idiots, right? It’s not like I’ve seen that kid more than a few times, and some so many guys play when they hear the name Dublin that I don’t intend to say anything nice about it. It’s okay.”
Walter kept talking at length, saying that he had no intention of wrapping it up, but he seemed to be very kind, so he didn't respond.
“It seems like he was kicked out of Dublin and can’t return to his home country. I asked him if he came here to make money, but he didn’t seem to be. He has a lot on his mind and is very polite.”
Yeah, be figured that Dublin guy wasn't an average punk, but still.
“He must have had a hard time in the last war. When I asked him why he didn’t live in the city but by the river where the water overflows when it rains, he said calmly that he knew the villagers were upset because of him, but that bastard just seemed so thoughtful. He was healthy, well-educated, and handsome, and he seemed to have no place to hide, so I thought it was really stupid of him to starve like a beggar, so I threw him some flour. If he were a soldier, he would have been strong. It’s not like the military police are patrolling around in this countryside, so I wondered why he lived like that. These days, even our soldiers are robbing citizens, so why are they protecting what they need to protect?”
“You must have been scared!”
“If you talk to him, you can tell right away that he’s not like that. He smells strange. He smells.”
That's the smell of my bitch!
To make matters worse, yesterday she asked him this.
“Dad, do you think all Dubliners are bad?”
Ben pounded the table with rage and shouted to his brother-in-law, who had gone to the battlefield and died a pretty good death. You fucking piece of shit. I told her to do whatever she wanted! And this is what happened!
The father's head was filled with realistic concerns. He had said to her in front of her, "Do whatever you want!" but he didn't have a dowry to give her, and she was ruining her own marriage. What should he do? If she were a son, he would have beaten her up. She was a girl who would snap at the slightest touch, so he couldn't say a single harsh word. She had never caused enough trouble to warrant a harsh word. Bend, a manly man, found his daughter too difficult.
“Why does this guy have such an expression on his face?”
“Leave it, leave it. Even a foolish daughter should have a limit. Is it just for one or two days?”
He thought it was okay, no matter what Kane and Walter said.
While they laughed, talked, and played, Ben only emptied the cup. And Kane ran out with a cry with a crying breast that bristed in the milk arm, and the early evening, when he opened the door with a cry, 'If you don't come in, you will break your fuck.' Of course, the price of alcohol is not paid. Walter said, 'I thought it would be.' he spat it. Ben, who is not close to Kane, thinks Bree is caught by Kane, but in reality, it is the opposite.
“Obviously, those guys did it. They did it.”
Ben also agreed wholeheartedly. It was only yesterday that Kane had been scheming to run away without paying for his drinks. Normally, he would have spat out a 'slutty brat', but he didn't feel like doing that at the moment.
Among the many odds and ends in Walter's general store, the two things that kept catching his eye were the decorative wooden swords and goblets that the Dublin murderer had made.
“It’s three silver.”
Walter quickly saw through Ben's interests and drove the wedge in. He seemed to like those things, judging by the way he added a smug, "Pretty good, huh?" Now that he thinks about it, Walter had always been kind to that Dublin bastard.
When that guy first appeared, he took the lead and went to find the lone soldier, saying, "We can't let a suspicious guy settle down in the village!" But after some time, he stopped saying anything. If that guy didn't seem to be in a position to commit corruption, such as bribery, he would have thought he had taken a bribe.
“That bastard from Dublin!”
“What, you punk.”
“Isn’t that kid dangerous?”
Walter, who had his ears perked up at the rather loud voice, replied slurredly.
“I don’t know. Why all of a sudden? Even when I said he lived near your house, you didn’t pay any attention. Did he cause some kind of accident?”
'Accident! Major accident! I think my daughter and he just made eye contact!'
Ben felt like he wanted to tell everything because he was so upset. But in Casnier, rumors spread faster than lightning. If something happened yesterday, half the townspeople would know about it and gossip about it tomorrow. There were many times when they showed positive interest by worrying about each other and being concerned, but since not everyone could be close, there were also times when it became a negative source of comfort.
Ben felt like he was going to burst from frustration. But in the end, it was only good for that damn Dublin bastard to keep suffering like this! I don't know why, but I feel like I'm losing!
“What kind of guy is he?”
Only then did Walter give him a look that seemed very strange.
“What, is there?”
“What is there?”
“...You’re acting so suddenly, you punk.”
A uselessly quick-witted brat. He clutched the glass that the Dublin bastard made so tightly that it broke, but he didn't make a scratch. No, how the hell did he make it so sturdy? Anyway, Walter, who read the state of Ben's mind going up and down like that, seemed to think for a moment, and then tried to act as if it was nothing.
“Well.... You know, you’ve been in the war a long time ago and played soldier. There are some decent ones among those idiots, right? It’s not like I’ve seen that kid more than a few times, and some so many guys play when they hear the name Dublin that I don’t intend to say anything nice about it. It’s okay.”
Walter kept talking at length, saying that he had no intention of wrapping it up, but he seemed to be very kind, so he didn't respond.
“It seems like he was kicked out of Dublin and can’t return to his home country. I asked him if he came here to make money, but he didn’t seem to be. He has a lot on his mind and is very polite.”
Yeah, be figured that Dublin guy wasn't an average punk, but still.
“He must have had a hard time in the last war. When I asked him why he didn’t live in the city but by the river where the water overflows when it rains, he said calmly that he knew the villagers were upset because of him, but that bastard just seemed so thoughtful. He was healthy, well-educated, and handsome, and he seemed to have no place to hide, so I thought it was really stupid of him to starve like a beggar, so I threw him some flour. If he were a soldier, he would have been strong. It’s not like the military police are patrolling around in this countryside, so I wondered why he lived like that. These days, even our soldiers are robbing citizens, so why are they protecting what they need to protect?”
“You must have been scared!”
“If you talk to him, you can tell right away that he’s not like that. He smells strange. He smells.”
That's the smell of my bitch!
“Something... Oh, but they say they’re conscripts, but maybe it’s because I don’t know the Dublin dog tag classification well. At first glance, something seemed different.”
“I’m not interested in that kind of crap!”
Walter, who was looking at his old friend with heavy eyes, smiled mischievously at a thought that had suddenly occurred to him.
“Oh, but I heard Penny talking earlier, Leila seems to be getting along really well with that guy these days. Is that why you’re here, you punk?”
Ben was speechless for a moment and shouted, 'Bring me more alcohol!' While the rest were serious, Walter rolled around laughing until his stomach burst open. Then, this time, he told a shocking story with a different meaning.
“I know it sucks that he’s from Dublin, but I like him a lot. I think we can get along. That guy.”
“...”
“At first glance, I thought he looked like he had given up on life, and I even felt something like pity for that bloody Dublin bastard. He didn’t do any work, just ate tree bark, and sometimes came into town to trade nets for all sorts of things, and just hung on, so I could see his intention to live so clearly that I thought, ‘That little rascal is a fucking pessimist.’ But a while ago, he brought me those ornaments and asked if he could sell them.”
“...So what!”
“I was quite impressed with his skills, so I accepted his orders, but I was curious as to why he suddenly wanted to make money, so I asked. When I asked, you can probably guess what he was saying, right? Hahaha.”
“Stop teasing me, you son of a bitch!”
Ben shouted, thinking to himself that he would be happy if he could just knock that thing down with a bottle of alcohol. Walter, who had been laughing so hard that his stomach clenched for a while, shook his head as if he were having so much fun.
“The girl I have a crush on asked me if I could sell a few more of those to make them fit the local market, because she wanted to put a ring on her finger! Hahaha! That Dublin guy is full of shit! He’s a real man! So I told him nicely, and he rolled his eyes, thinking maybe it was your daughter? Hahaha!”
If Walter's words were true, Ben would have laughed out loud. If it were unrequited love, Ben would have laughed happily, saying, "That guy has an eye for it!" But this was a terrible confirmation kill.
“Hey, why did you say all that to that kid?”
“Our town, it’s a good town, isn’t it? Even the dirty ones get clean, and the clean ones get clean until their heads are empty. That’s okay for a man. I warned him. Don’t even think about dating here until he's cleaned out all the Dublin blood. I told him it would be unfair if he got beaten to death by soldiers because of a woman. And what did he say?”
Ben waited for Walter's next words, feeling half-abandoned.
“He said, 'I think you can kill him.'”
At those words, even Ben couldn't help but chuckle.
Indeed, it was a thought that only young people of that age could have.
“Fucking youth!”
Ben drank down his glass and stood up. Oh my, raising a daughter is so hard.
***
Walter's words that he had made his living by taking advantage of the guests with his eyes for people made him feel a little relieved, but he still felt bad. Until he returned home, Ben tried to console himself by thinking that if he had only met the young people for a short time, it would probably fade away.
Of course, it didn't work out well. As soon as he saw that damn tent on the riverbank on the way here, he started to get angry again. He thought he might have tried to tamper with his daughter. Ben wanted to go and strangle him and ask him about it.
What should I do with Leila? Ben never thought of forcing anything on Leila. He thought about locking her up in the house, but she was a daughter who would crawl out the window.
‘I wish her mother were here at times like this..."
In the end, the conclusion was that we had no choice but to wait and see for the time being. Leila is not a thoughtless child, so she wouldn't come back after causing an accident out of the blue...
‘...It shouldn’t be like that.’
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