Chapter 6
“What? You found her? Are you sure?”
“Tough luck for the group that went south. Looks like the whole reward’s coming our way!”
“Just pull her up already! Did you forget they said to bring her back in one piece?”
The clamoring voices didn’t stop even as their owners descended and came to stand right before Tina.
“There, there, my lady.[1] You can rest easy now. We’ll have you back at your comfortable estate in no time.”
A man with a long scar across his face crouched before Tina and flashed a grin.
“W-wait. A moment”
Tina spoke up just as they were about to force her onto a stretcher. Her mind, which had been drifting between death and sleep, snapped awake with a surge of fierce resolve.
“What, she was awake?”
“W-wait. Please let this one come too.”
The workers’ eyes followed Tina’s trembling finger.
“If you leave it here, it’ll freeze to death. Please, take it with us.”
Tina continued, her lips quivering finely. Even as she spoke, she gathered her remaining strength and clutched the bundle in her arms tighter.
“Huh?”
Only then did the workers notice something in Tina’s arms. Peering closer, they could make out a dark form curled up against her chest.
“Please…”
While Tina pleaded, clinging to the last threads of her fading consciousness, the workers exchanged quick glances.
“Yes, yes, of course. Let’s get you up on the stretcher for now. If we stay here any longer, we’ll be the ones freezing to death.”
The decision was swift. Their only real concern was the reward money. The instructions had been to bring her back in one piece, no one had said anything about not bringing extras. Either way, it made no difference to them.
‘That thing isn’t even moving. Looks already dead to me.’
As Tina was loaded onto the stretcher, one of the workers eyed the dark shape in her arms and thought exactly that.
***
“You ungrateful little….!”
What awaited Tina when she arrived at the estate was a sharp crack and a barrage of abuse that struck like blows.
“After all the years we’ve fed and clothed you, is this how you repay us?!”
Rough hands sent Tina’s body crumpling helplessly onto the bed. The thought that she must not anger her father further made her try reflexively to sit up, but her body, battered by days of exposure, refused to obey.
“Don’t get too worked up over it. At least the Marquess says he won’t call off the marriage.”
The Countess Petrov, Tina’s stepmother, cut into the uproar. She glanced down at Tina, then set about calming her husband with practiced ease.
The Count continued to rage for some time after that. Tina, who had managed to prop herself up on one arm, gathered from her father’s muttered “that damned old man” that the Marquess who had chased her had broken a leg in the fall but suffered no other serious injuries.
“You’d better understand that it’s only because you’re still useful that you’re allowed to breathe. If you weren’t even worth selling off, you’d already be rotting at the bottom of that cliff.”
When the Count, having spent his fury, was helped out of the room by the servants, the Countess looked down at Tina and clicked her tongue. Contempt dripped from every frigid syllable.
“Madam, shall I send a message to the village to summon the family physician?”
One of the maids, who had been silent until now, spoke up.
“No, don’t bother. Just go to the outskirts and bring back some cheap apothecary. Tell them to treat her only enough that she doesn’t die. We just need her in one piece until we collect the dowry from that old man.”
The Countess waved her hand dismissively. Then, as though something had just occurred to her, she let out a small “ah” and walked over to the bed, stopping in front of Tina.
“Ngh—”
In an instant, the Countess’s hard-soled shoe was on top of Tina’s frozen bare foot. Through her downcast gaze, Tina could see the tendons standing taut on her stepmother’s foot as she bore down.
“Fortunately, the Marquess says he’ll forgive you.”
The Countess continued without a change in expression. The pain was intensifying by the moment; Tina had to clench her teeth to keep from groaning through them.
“So we’ve decided to forgive you this once, too. But that doesn’t mean we’re not still angry, does it?” The cold voice continued, and the fear conditioned into Tina’s body set her trembling.
“If you do anything that stupid again… next time, it won’t be some old man who gets winded after a few minutes of chasing…”
“…..”
“I’ll throw you to the starving wretches in the brothel district[1]. Keep that in mind.” [2]
The warning was one that was absolutely not an empty threat, and it hung over Tina.
—
Translation Notes
[1] ↩
[2] ↩
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