Aria’s heart sank at Bonita’s words, as they were casually conversing.

“Ah… But we used to sleep together sometimes. When Mother drank.”

“…”

“On the days when additional allowances came, Mother would buy meat and alcohol. It was a good day when we could eat delicious food together and then sleep.”

“I see…”

Aria’s expression collapsed miserably. As she wiped her blood-stained hands on the hem of her dress, she thought,

It was a good decision not to open the door.

If she had heard Bonita telling this story with her in front of her, she would have revealed all the expressions she was making now.

It was truly fortunate.

As long as she concealed her trembling voice, Bonita would not know her turmoil.

“Can you tell me a little more?”

“About Mother?”

“Anything. What you’ve been through, how you lived.”

Aria added hastily.

“You don’t have to talk about the parts you don’t want to. I’m just curious about how you’ve been living all this time. That’s why I’m asking.”

Aria had not known Bonita for very long. Until then, she had only roughly guessed how Bonita had been living based on the scene when she first opened her eyes and the child’s reaction at that time.

“…”

Bonita behind the door crouched down. Her short arms embraced the legs that were folded under her.

“I…”

Bonita didn’t know where to start.

The seven-year-old Bonita’s life was very monotonous. Memories were sporadic, like those of other children her age. The memories there remained only as vague images.

“I thought the days were long.”

A child’s day is longer compared to an adult’s. After seeing her mother off around 11 a.m., Bonita was endlessly alone at home until her mother returned at sunset.

She could go outside if she wanted. But for a small child like Bonita to wander the alleyways without an adult was not a good choice.

Bonita learned that not through words but through experience. The disappearance of the boys and girls who used to hang out together on the streets was a more eerie, realistic horror than expected.

Especially when they could never see those missing children again.

“I just cleaned the house, uh, drew pictures… and sometimes went to the main street to buy groceries. But that’s all.”

“…Have you lived in that village since you were born?”

“Probably.”

Bonita replied.

“I don’t remember anywhere else. And from what people say, it’s probably true. Even on that street, Mother was very noticeable.”

Aria is a typical beauty with sparkling blonde hair and blue eyes. She was also a woman who bore the manners of a lady, unusual for a place as remote as this.

People around the street had various rumors about Aria.

But Bonita never bothered to tell Aria such stories.
In the past, didn’t even Mother get angry upon hearing the rumor about the aristocratic government? Perhaps that would be a significant humiliation among adults.

So, she closed her mouth.

“…….”

Bonita blinked quietly.

Come to think of it, the daily life before coming to the duke’s house was unbelievably dull and monotonous.

A worn-out and shabby house where water leaked from the ceiling when it rained. Cramped kitchen and a hard bed. A musty-smelling blanket because she couldn’t wash it on time.

Thinking about it, the Shang Jie Street, which Aria and she visited occasionally, was the only fascinating world Bonita remembered. There, wealthy commoner children walked alongside their parents with good clothes and happy expressions.

Not that Bonita’s life was entirely unhappy; at least, that’s how she felt.

She hadn’t experienced extreme unhappiness, like wandering around bare-bodied in the dead of winter and being found dead the next day, being beaten by gangsters and begging with a swollen face, or being abducted and traded like livestock, like her missing friends.

The standard for Bonita’s unhappiness was listed above. As long as there was a house with a burning bonfire, and Mother provided money and groceries, there was no worry about starving.

Wasn’t that enough?

Bonita muttered to herself.

“I haven’t been unhappy.”

There were moments in her life when she could smile. In fact, she smiled quite often.

Especially, drawing while waiting for Aria to come was enjoyable.

When the sun slowly set, casting a red glow over the familiar house. That was truly nice.

Sitting by the window and looking at the bustling street, beyond that street, Aria’s shining blonde hair could be seen slowly approaching the house.

At such times, her heart always fluttered.

She could cleanly forget the fear of being kidnapped by bad adults or being abandoned by Mother.

Aria’s voice came from beyond the door.

“Yeah… I see.”

It was still a hoarse voice, as if she were still in pain.

Bonita thought that the voice was as lonely as the autumn wind.

“I have something I’m curious about too.”

“What are you curious about?”

“That…”

Who is Mother?

How did you suddenly appear?

The question reached below her chin.

‘A person who entered Mother’s body, a person who loves me much more than Mother…’