Charles raised his eyebrows in dissatisfaction, and when he pulled up the sleeves of his shirt, his brown forearms were strong. He looked around as if giving an estimate and nodded moderately.
"Good. It seems that it will take some time to process the documents until the new mayor is decided, anyway, so I'm fixing the house. In the meantime, I also got to know the farm workers."
"It's not difficult to find workers at this time of year, right?"
"All the trading ships have left, so unless anything happens, that's fine. By the way, no matter how much I fix my house, I feel very anxious about you staying alone... Why don't you keep a dog to protect the farm?"
Charles pretended to be indifferent and looked at her reaction. He didn't seem to have forgotten her expression when she looked at the dog in the basket last time.
"In the first place, everyone has at least one dog on a farm like this. Now that I'm not here, what if something happens when you're alone?"
"Don't worry about that. I can protect my whole body."
"Well, no. What do I mean..."
Charles, who took Evangeline's words as a mere bluff, shrugged his shoulders and told her to stop. No matter how much, she's not the kind of person to lie. He can't get used to that body, no matter how much he looks at it.
It's like a fairy in a poster attached to a bookstore in the city.
It's amazing that she even stands firm once in a while. He was staring at her slender wrist that seemed to be about to break, and he hurried to walk, saying that he couldn't do it.
"We need to fix that door right away. It will be too late to go down to the village and get some tools, and stop by, but can you be alone?"
"Sure. I'm not a child."
"You're not a child."
"..."
"Just insist on having a dog... Ugh, that's it."
Charles, who couldn't let go of anything, waved his hand and stammered. Even as he went outside, he checked the broken door leaf and the floor one by one, waving his hand to tell her not to follow him.
"I'm going!"
"..."
Evangeline can't get used to seeing someone disappear. Seeing Charles back as a dot down the hill, Evangeline leaned against the old door frame.
'Now I'm really starting on my own.'
After coming here, she always felt that she was a nuisance to Charles, so she felt that she should hurry up and become independent. People must be careful, and they cannot be helped by someone forever. Now that she had some funds and decided what to do, she had to stand up alone.
"...Yes. Not bad."
She looked around the empty house as if she were deliberately trying to muster up more courage. It was an old, crappy old house, but it was enough to live alone. It was a pity that it was a little far from the village, but she had lived surrounded by people so far.
So that's it.
Yes. It was obviously done, but suddenly, when she saw this house, the expression that someone would make crossed her mind.
"House? Is this a house?"
If it's Deccarno, that's more than enough. He was a man who frowned arrogantly at the sight of a much more prosperous nanny's house, so he seemed to know what such a small hut would look like. Maybe even taking a step will shake off his collar as if he had received a great insult. Evangeline, who had been thinking about this, let out a short sigh.
"Why the hell are you doing this?"
What's wrong with a man's reaction that she won't see again?
Evangeline can't see him riding away in the rain with her own eyes, and she can't understand why he is doing this. Maybe it was because he wasn't like the man she knew. A man who has a natural ability to weigh down others, whether with his eyes or words, was quiet that day.
Bittersweet and heavy eyes.
That was all he had left. From the moment they met each other at the port to the moment he left in the carriage. She only remembered that one look. Maybe that's why she often wondered if what she saw that day was certain.
Especially when she's left alone like this.
"No."
Now she has to get used to even these moments. Being alone shouldn't have been a special thing at all.
This house was the same as hers. Even if there is something she doesn't like a little, she has to adapt to it with her heart because it is her own space. Evangeline shook off her distractions and sat down on the old bed, fiddling with the old frame and smiling quietly.
"Let's get along well in the future."
Three hours later, Evangeline's decision was already in crisis. She fell asleep and woke up, and the house she faced again was all black.
The house, which was fine even in the daytime, became even more desolate at night. Relying on the moonlight, she managed to light a couple of candles, but even the wind that seeped through the creaking window cracks threatened her. All the shadows in the house flickering in the flickering flames are gloomy.
...I don't think I'll be able to get along like this.
"Oh!"
Before the candle went out, she hurriedly tried to block the window gap with her clothes, and her hand was stabbed by a thorn in the window frame. Red blood droplets flowed down quickly, but there was no pain or sadness at all.
She just realized how fine she has lived all this time.
Day by day, the past, when she had never even had such a small wound, gradually faded. It feels like covering a page of a faded children's book. Evangeline wiped away the blood droplets with her strength, and she clung to the reality given to her again.
As if to show herself, she clung to the window with even more force. However, when the wind finally subsided, another noise leaked in.
Boom.
It sounded like footsteps and the sound of a rough wind. It would have been better if it had been heard inside the house, but it wasn't. As she slowly looked around, she instinctively picked up the tongs from the fireplace.
"...It's all right. It won't be anything."
She bit her mouth tightly and tightened her tongs. Charles didn't believe it, but she had learned something before. Simple self-defense, swordsmanship, and even swimming. No matter how precious she grew up, wandering the continent was the basic thing to protect herself.
It's just that it's been a long time since she's used it.
"Is anyone outside?"
"..."
When there was no answer, it became clear that it was not Charles.
As the footsteps drew closer to the anxious silence, Evangeline's face was also full of tension. At this time, she remembered Charles' words about whether she should have a dog, but she couldn't. No matter how lonely and difficult it was, she only had one dog.
"Woof! Woof!"
My baby Rex.
Just thinking about it made her heart ache, and she couldn't even think of it. He was the only one in the Duke's house who had been shaken off everything else.
'What qualifications do I have...'
It wasn't Intentional, but she didn't even have the right to say that she was sick because she left a child who didn't know anything alone. There is no way she can raise another dog with Rex.
"Anyone? Tell me quickly!"
"..."
She raised her voice even more as she tried to shake off her sadness. When she heard something scratching the door, her fur tightened. Evangeline, who thought she couldn't do it anymore, tried to approach a chair to support in front of the door, but stopped.
No way.
The sound of a square like scratching the hem of her dress tickled her ears. The sound of breathing that was heard in a haze was also not unfamiliar. Ah, with small open lips and a hand that moved freely, the old door was wide open.
"Woof! Woof!"
"Oh my God. Is it really our Rex..."
Evangeline, who dropped the tongs, hugged Rex tightly as he rushed at her. She doesn't even need to look closely. There is only one in the world that feels warm between her fingers and a familiar tongue that licks her cheeks.
"Hmph, Rex!"
"Woof! Woof!"
Rex was even more overwhelmed with emotion and couldn't come to his senses. The tail wagging hard is almost invisible. Whether he knew that he was weighing down his master with his big size, he dug into her arms.
"Kiying, kiying."
"I'm sorry. Rex. I'm really sorry."
Isn't it really a dream?
Evangeline's head wrapped around Rex's neck was buried in his rich fur. She thought she was holding up well, but when she saw Rex collapse like this, she might still have a long way to go.
"Ugh, I'm really sorry."
"Kiying!"
"Yes, I won't cry anymore."
He reacted sensitively to her emotions. She quickly raised her head and smiled at Rex, who was whining. Even though her cheeks were shining with tears, she couldn't help but laugh when she was holding Rex.
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