The house, made with makeshift wooden supports, was entirely soaked in rain. The interior, soaked up to the calves, emitted a nauseating odor.

I licked my lips. How could one endure for days in such a place? It was a damp and dirty environment, where if there was even a single wound, it would fester and rot.

I kicked away the dishes floating in the water and went inside.

The old woman’s son was dying on the bed.

Unable to use his legs, he was quite chubby, requiring all the servants to stick to him.

It was a challenging journey to rescue the son.

“Someone, please help!”

The tearing scream pierced through the raindrops and reached my ears. Reflexively, I looked around. The dense water mist made it impossible to see clearly.

Meanwhile, looking at the son lifted on the servant’s back, the old woman shed tears.

A sigh escaped.

I wasn’t some kind of hero, and I couldn’t help everyone. Especially in situations like this.

“Let’s quickly go to the carriage. We have to take both of them.”

“Yes, miss.”

Holding the heavier, wet hem of my skirt, just as I was about to move.

“Save me, please! Please!”

My steps abruptly halted.

“Isn’t that voice too young?”

“Yes?”

“It sounds like a child.”
When I turned around, the servants, who finally understood my words, vigorously nodded.

“It’s not allowed! The water current in the canal is getting stronger! It’s dangerous even to be nearby at a time like this. You might get swept away…”

“But then the child will die.”

The servant closed his mouth. The meaning that it couldn’t be helped was evident on his face.

I swept my wet hair back and tied it tightly with a hairband. It wasn’t a noble appearance, but so what? Everything was already a mess due to the rain.

“If it were all adults, that would be one thing, but it’s a child. Helping children is my principle.”

“Miss, what!”

“You guys load those people onto the carriage and follow me. I’ll go first.”

I turned my body and ran toward the direction of the sound. After a while, there was a thudding sound from behind. When I turned around, the largest servant was following me.

“I didn’t expect you to come.”

The chin of the rude servant protruded.

“I am someone who thinks a child should be saved too!”

I chuckled. The servants of the Count’s mansion, except for a few, generally disliked me.

Despite being from the same servant background, or rather, precisely because of that, they didn’t like being called an aristocrat’s young lady compared to themselves.

The servants I brought this time were just following orders, and their expressions unintentionally revealed their displeasure at being made to work on a rainy day.

Although I had told the old woman and her son to get on the carriage and follow, I didn’t expect it, so I felt generous with their unexpected actions.

“I’ll make sure to compensate you more.”

“I won’t refuse. I have a younger sibling.”

“Bring some snacks too.”

The servant and I quickly arrived at the canal.

The road where the luggage carriage traveled was undulating as if about to be swallowed by the water. The servant spoke with a stiff voice.

“It seems like it will flood soon.”

I looked around.

Where is it?

Then it happened.

“Save us!”

A weaker voice than before. However, I had identified the direction.

I gestured to the servant and ran toward the lower part of the canal.

The protagonist of the voice was there.

The bridge was about to be completely submerged. A boy holding onto a protruding pillar and a girl rolling up her skirt and putting her foot in the rippling water.

“We might get washed away like this.”

As we descended the sloping hill, the bridge came closer. It seemed that the girl, seeing that the boy couldn’t endure any longer, was about to put her foot into the flowing water.

I ran and grabbed the girl’s collar and lifted her up.

The eyes of the girl, who had swollen from crying, widened. She might be around sixteen? The unripe neck revealed a shining pendant.

Just like a sparrow couldn’t pass by a granary, my eyes, like a hawk, scanned the necklace hanging on the child’s neck.

Seeing the fine craftsmanship, it was undoubtedly not a toy necklace. Now that I looked closely, the dress she was wearing was also a well-made, luxurious dress.

“Your parents probably told you not to go out on rainy days.”

“Trying to stop my younger brother, but then I ended up…”
The girl, who was staring blankly, snapped back to her senses and clung to my arm.

“Sister, please save my brother!”

“That was the plan.”

Answering like that, I lifted the girl up, and her eyes widened.

“Huh?”

“Don’t dawdle and stay away from the swift current.”

As if throwing the girl away at a point away from the bridge, I approached the bridge again.

The water swallowed the ground, and it rippled around the boy’s thighs. It wasn’t a situation where he could come out on his own with his eyes tightly closed.

Moreover, the current was strong, so a slight mistake could have swept him away, making it impossible to find even his body.

I found a coiled rope tied to a tree near the legs. It seemed like they usually wrapped the rope around the tree when the kids weren’t using it for play.

I untied the rope and wrapped it around my arm.

Then, after a brief moment of contemplation, I put my foot into the water. The strong current swept around my ankles. I barely managed to steady myself.

“It’s more serious than I thought.”

I clicked my tongue.

The child couldn’t cross alone.

Holding onto the pillar of the bridge, I took slow steps. If I lost balance even a bit, I could be thrown off the bridge.

I finally reached the center of the bridge. I shook the boy’s shoulders, but the child, frightened, didn’t even lift his head.

“I came to help!”

Yelling loudly, I finally got him to look up.

“I came to help!”

As soon as I said, “I came to help,” trembling hands grabbed my neck. A sigh of relief escaped.

Only for a moment, the child desperately clung to me. My body swayed under that strength.