I knocked on the door under his support, unable to resist.

“May I come in?”

“…….”

“Are you in?”

There was no answer for a while.

An unusually quiet place.

“It seems like he’s not here today. Should we just go?”

“No.”

If he obtained information, it would be reliable information. Then, he must be inside. Just pretending to be absent.

The person inside hurriedly turned off the light as soon as I knocked on the door. Although it happened in an instant, unlike him, who was paying attention to his surroundings, I clearly saw it.

“There… someone is inside.”

“Then let’s wait.”

I looked silently at the door upon his words.

“Eyna.”

“Yes?”

“Her name.”

“Oh.”

It had been so long that I couldn’t even remember her name. She had such a name. Well, she wasn’t my servant, but Shasha’s.

“After coming all the way, it’s not good not to know the name.”

Sehelus, who seemed tense all along, laughed as he looked at me. Now that I knew him, I cautiously spoke up.

“Thank you. But I’m curious, Sehelus. Why did you get angry earlier? I think it’s the first time I’ve seen you angry.”

“Ah… People sometimes reveal the instincts they’ve been hiding to survive.”

“Instincts?”

“You didn’t see it, but they were standing upright, only asking for help with their mouths. They had swords in their arms, waiting for us to stop.”

I never imagined that.

For a moment, I felt as if my hands and feet were getting cold.

Although it was a feeling of ‘no way, no way’, Sehelus wouldn’t lie.

“Rumors say that the slum is where pitiful people live… I just thought that way.”

“I don’t think they are bad. They had to do that to survive, so I understand. But I couldn’t just stand by and let those who threaten you go. Were you surprised?”

I nodded vehemently.

In the meantime, movements were felt from inside. Although the light was off, the sound of rustling seemed to be trying to hear our conversation.

I knocked on the door again.

“If you’re inside, it’s better to come out. People are already gathering here. I don’t want to attract the attention of the slum people.”

At his words, the movement momentarily stopped.

It wasn’t a threat, but if we stayed here, it seemed dangerous for the person living here as well.

The reason for endlessly waiting for the person who didn’t answer was exactly that.

Finally, the door opened.

“Who on earth are you…”

As soon as the door opened, Sehelus grabbed the door again to prevent it from closing. And I bowed my head right away.

“Nice to meet you. I am Isabella Veloci.”

Even when I was young, I only briefly saw her once. Since a considerable amount of time had passed, I mentioned my name just in case she didn’t recognize me.

However, it felt like I didn’t need to mention my name.

She clearly recognized me. It was a statement that she already knew who I was.

“Ah… Yo-you are…”

As soon as she saw me, the surprised woman stepped back. A pale woman showed as if to show that she was not in good health.

“Eyna.”

Just in case, I mentioned her name.

“……Go, go away…!”

She panicked and waved her hands in fright.

“I, I’m not that kind of person, so please go away…!”

“I didn’t come to harm you, and I didn’t come because the Marquis and his wife sent me.”
“Don’t say nonsense. No, before that, I don’t know anything. Please go… please…!”

Knowing how much Isabella resembled my parents, my mother, I quickly persuaded her.

She tried her best to close the door by any means necessary. I’m truly sorry, but it seems like pressuring her, reminding her of difficult times. However…

“For me, Shasha comes first.”

To heal Shasha, I needed her.

“In the end, she, or rather, Eyna, will confess everything for Shasha’s sake.”

It’s not the present but the future, but she would have lived with guilt. So, she will be convinced. I believed that and bowed my head before her.

“I understand if you can’t believe it. But I came today to ask for help.”

“Help? You? The daughter of the Marquis? The one who tormented Shasha so much?”

Since the incident when Rethero fell from the tree and the Emperor, trying to capture Rethero, got injured, Shasha avoided meeting with others. Even I refrained from seeing her, so the situation was serious.

If we let it go like this,

It’s not because I really hate it. I understand well.

If she stays with herself, everyone will die, everyone will get hurt. Because of the things cursed and blown in by the Marquis and his wife…

‘I wonder if it would have been better if I hadn’t done anything.’

If precious things hadn’t happened, if I hadn’t gained things I liked, would Shasha have been this desperate?

I don’t think I did anything wrong. Shasha got a friend, and Shasha became a child who smiles well. Even if I go back, I will do the same.

But that and this are different.

“Yes. I need help.”

If this woman is not here, if this woman doesn’t prove it… the child will be anxious.

Even if she despairs when she knows what her parents did to her, at least the trauma like now will disappear. The trauma that her loved ones will get hurt because of her.