OIAR - Chapter 111

They had finished preparing dinner, but a commotion broke out when Harriet suddenly rubbed mashed pumpkin on his face.

"Young master, even if pumpkin is good for the skin, what is all this?"

"Martha, don't you think Harriet is really smart?"

Martha and Shioana could only laugh as they looked at the messed-up floor. Because they knew all too well how precious such an ordinary daily life was.

"By the way, miss, I'm sorry to bother you, but could you take this dish to the neighbor? I was planning to come myself, but it looks like a total mess."

Martha also got a lot of yellow stains on her apron and face as she picked up Harriet, who was covered in pumpkin.

"Yeah. I'll pass it on."

Shioana took the bowl from Martha, who was feeling unnecessarily apologetic, and lightly stepped outside. Just as Martha had said, liquor bottles were rolling around right from the entrance of the house next door.

"It would be a big problem if it broke..."

She frowned and knocked on the door, but there was no answer from inside.

“It’s next door!”

As Shioana banged on the door even harder, a sound was finally heard from inside. Just as the door seemed to open slightly, half of a man's face, with even his eyes covered, was revealed.

"I'm sorry for bothering you so late. I made too much food today, so I wanted to share some with you."

As Shioana held out the bowl, the man took a step back.

"I'll leave it here, so could you please take the dishes outside once you're finished?"

"..."

The interior was pitch black, as if the man hadn't even turned on the lights in his house. Shioana, who was about to turn around, spoke up again.

"Also, I have a child, and the empty liquor bottles look a bit dangerous. If you don't mind, could I clean them up tomorrow?"

"..."

He was such a strange man.

He was afraid of Shioana, yet he did not close the door. He stared at her silently, but did not say a word in response.

"That is all I need to do."

As Shioana slowly placed the bowl on the floor and turned around, the sound of the door opening a little further was heard. Although Shioana was curious about who the other person was, she did not turn her back.

'He looks like someone with a severe skin disease, just like Martha said.'

There was a man like that in Regbell as well. He was a man who occasionally came to work in the garden, but he was reluctant to socialize with anyone. He used to wear a deep-brimmed hat to hide his disfigured face.

As soon as Shioana completely disappeared, the man snatched the cloth covering his face with his hand.

"...Ha."

The second most powerful person in the Urcheka Empire after the Emperor, and the head of the Bernhard family.

Etienne Bernhard was wearing rags and acting like a disabled person.

At Cedric's words, he reversed his vow never to appear before Shioana again.

No, strictly speaking, it wasn't just a retraction. After all, he always followed quietly from behind and kept his face covered.

'Cedric was right.'

Shioana was in a state where she needed someone's help. She was physically frail and could not walk properly, so there were several times when she nearly collapsed just like earlier.

Moreover, there were so many gnats that she had already knocked away five or six men chasing her.

"This is absolutely infuriating."

If he could step forward as Duke Bernhard, he would have had several armed guards by Shioana's side, but he could not do so now.

Was it yesterday? He spotted a man chasing Shioana from the canal. Before she could notice, he grabbed him by the collar and dragged him into a narrow alley.

'Hey, why are you suddenly grabbing me and doing this?'

The sailor, pushed against the wall of a narrow alley, screamed at the masked Etienne.

'Why did you follow that woman earlier?'

The sailor spat on the road in response to the masked man's interrogation. His face was flushed, as if he had been drinking since midday, and his unfocused eyes were yellowish.

'That girl was pretty, so I thought I’d take her and dote on her.'

'...Do you want me to be nice to you? Someone like you?'

At the sailor's words, a fire blazed in Etienne's heart. It seemed that his plan to merely scare him away and drive him out would not be easy.

Sensing the ominous atmosphere, the sailor stepped back, but it was already too late.

'Let's not act like this; let's just talk it out. It seems you like that girl too, brother. Wouldn't it be nice to spend some time with her?'

The man chasing Shioana eventually drove Etienne to his limit.

'...Ha.'

Unable to control his rage, Etienne struck the sailor in the abdomen. He beat him so frantically that his back was drenched in sweat.

If Cedric hadn't rushed over late and stopped him, a murder might have occurred.

'This is problematic. Didn't you say you would live quietly like a shadow?'

After sending Etienne back first, Cedric quickly called someone and put the bloodied sailor into a carriage.

'I'm going straight to the hospital.'

Etienne gazed endlessly at the alley where Shioana had disappeared, instead of at the carriage speeding by.

"You smile at just anyone without even knowing that such a thing exists."

Shioana smiled broadly while buying things and as she left the house after finishing class.

It was a smile that had never been shown to Duke Bernhard before. In the past, he had resented Shioana for smiling after plunging him into such pain.

‘Can you smile...?'

So, he even resolved to wipe that smile off her face.

"Shit."

If you were to weigh just how pathetic he was, even staying up all night wouldn't be enough.

As if he had lost his mind from his obsession with revenge, Etienne could not see the truth at all.

"I was practically blind with my eyes open."

He believed only what he wanted to believe.

As a result, even though he avenged his family, Etienne's life was a complete ruin.

"Shio..."

At some point, he couldn't bring himself to utter her name. His heart ached with guilt.

He loved Shioana in a twisted way.

"I wonder if I'm even ashamed to call it love."

Etienne covered his face with both hands as he watched the steam rising from the bowl she had given him. He and Shioana were like that steam.

It seems to burn fiercely, but cools down in an instant, leaving no heat to be felt.

***

"Secretary, you should have let me know sooner if you had moved. I am very disappointed that you invited only the Boss."

Around quitting time, Raul, Thompson, and Murphy found Shioana's house all at once.

"Knowing I was coming here, it just stuck to me like a leech."

Raul scratched the back of his head.

"I'm sorry for the late invitation."

Shioana greeted the guests with an embarrassed expression. It was uncomfortable to see them again, as they were people who knew her entire past. However, she couldn't express how grateful she was that they had come to visit her first.

“It’s a housewarming gift.”

Thompson handed over a bundle of storybooks, and Murphy bought alcohol.

"No, what is all this?"

As Martha stood there looking sullen, seemingly displeased with the gift, Raul appeared behind her and handed her a heavy chunk of meat.

"Oh my! I told you, the boss is the best!"

Harriet, who had shown interest in the storybook, had already settled down, opened the book, and carefully examined the illustrations.

“Thank you, everyone.”

As Shioana smiled softly, Murphy grinned widely in response.

"You are beautiful as you are, but you look even prettier when you smile."

"Murphy, you're really something."

Raul lightly tapped Murphy on the back of the head, and everyone gathered around to drink.

“There is food here too.”

Soon, Martha placed thinly sliced roast meat on the table along with bread. The boisterous evening was deep.

Shioana was busy the next day as well, with many classes starting from the morning. She hadn't gone to bed very late yesterday because she had hosted guests, so she wasn't feeling very well today.

Shioana stopped for a moment and adjusted her grip on the bag.

"It feels like just yesterday I was running across the fields like a flying squirrel."

It was utterly pathetic to see herself gasping for breath after barely managing to walk this far. Just as she let out a sigh, someone standing above her suddenly screamed.

“Get out of the way!”

It looked like she had accidentally bumped the pot while trying to water it.

"...!"

Startled, Shioana froze in place and could not move. She barely managed to pretend to cover her head with both hands, but a long shadow fell over her body.

Wow~!

A flowerpot that had hit someone's body and fallen to the floor shattered into pieces. The owner, who had been shouting an apology from upstairs, slammed the window shut.

Shioana, closing her eyes tightly, naturally assumed she was hurt.

"...Blood."

She lowered her hand to check, and there was blood on it. However, strangely, she felt no pain at all.

"...?"

As she lifted her head, she could see the man wrapped around her body. It was the same man who had caught her when she was about to collapse a while ago and then disappeared.

“Are you okay?”

When she spoke to the man who was still standing as if protecting Shioana, he quickly moved away from her.

"It looks like you're hurt, so let me see."

As Shioana grabbed his arm, the man recoiled in horror.

"I'm telling you, blood is flowing!"

Despite her words, the man kept backing away. His appearance was still unknown due to the hat pulled down low and the cloth covering his face.

However, she couldn't just let the benefactor who saved her go like this.

"Please let me see the wound."

But the man, who didn't even think about healing his wounds, turned his back and walked away from Shioana without hesitation.

"...Hmm."

A strange expression appeared on Shioana's face as she watched his awkwardly limp posture, with his hunched back and legs.

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