Chapter 57

Alro searched for work at the market.

It was hard to find a store that would hire a 12-year-old child, especially in the late afternoon when the stores were about to close.

If things continued like this, his father wouldn’t have anything to eat.

Feeling at a loss, Alro was trying to figure out what to do.

"Alro"

Alro was surprised and turned around when he was called. He rarely got called by his name.

The one who called Alro was Tan, the attendant of the Penzilnia Duke's residence, who occasionally visited. Tan was 22 years old, 10 years older than Alro. With a sturdy build, he looked like a soldier at first glance. It seemed that everyone in the Penzilnia household, even the attendants, had some martial arts training.

He had a dark complexion and deep-set features, as if he had foreign blood. Usually, he was quiet and Alro had hardly ever spoken to him.

Unlike Alro, who was a nominal porter, Tan was a genuine attendant. He took care of his master, Eidan, assisted him, and was also a knight and bodyguard. He was carrying a fine sword at his waist.

"Master Tan"

Alro bowed his head, feeling anxious. He didn’t have time to talk to an acquaintance here.

"Are you going shopping?"

"Yes"

"Good timing. I was just about to finish my shopping and head back, but I got called back to the mansion suddenly. I won’t be back for a few days, so the ingredients would have gone bad. Would you take this?"

Alro was surprised.

More so by the fact that Tan was talking so much, rather than the contents of the bag.

Even when they were at the academy, Alro had only ever heard Tan say "yes" or "no."

The slightly monotonous tone was probably a habit.

"——Your cheek"

When Tan pointed, Alro touched it and found a thin line of a wound. The bleeding had already stopped.

It must have been from the bottle his father threw earlier, which he had tried to dodge but the shards had hit him.

"Th-that... a little bit"

"......"

Tan was silent but didn’t seem to want to press the issue.

He thrust the paper bag in front of Alro.

"What do you say? Will you take it?"

Alro peeked inside and saw root vegetables, bread, and even meat. It might be enough for a week, considering their usual meals.

"I, I can’t... take this"

"But I won’t be back for a few days..."

Tan repeated this.

Is this really such a good deal?

Alro glanced around, but it was just the usual scene.

"Well... thank you. I’ll take it"

"Ah, thank you. ——See you later"

Tan quickly ran off.

Alro bowed deeply to his retreating figure.

After visiting Alro’s house, Marivelle became depressed.

She kept the knights away and locked herself in her room.

The next day, Cynthia and Lias, who had heard the situation from Eidan, looked serious.

"Alro is being abused by his family, right?"

"Yes"

Eidan had left one knight to investigate the neighborhood.

It seemed that Alro’s entire salary was given to his father, and he wasn’t even given food. He had been barely getting by on the leftovers from the Ziek family and his father’s meals.

On top of that, he had to take care of his father and do the housework. Every day, there were shouts and violence.

"Is it normal to give the salary to the parents?"

There were no children working in Penzilnia at the moment. Lias answered Eidan’s question.

"Usually, yes. ——We can inform the Ziek family of the situation, but..."

Regnart and Alro didn’t have as close a relationship as Eidan and Tan. Regnart probably didn’t know about Alro’s treatment.

But would that solve the problem, Lias wondered.

How to convey the information was also an issue. They needed to ensure that Penzilnia’s involvement didn’t complicate matters.

"I think we should separate him. Immediately."

Cynthia looked at Eidan intently.

"He’s only 12... he needs adult protection."

Was she thinking of Eidan? Lias put his arm around Cynthia’s shoulder at her determined tone.

"Guard? Can they monitor and intervene when violence occurs?"

"There’s no precedent for intervening in parent-child relationships. ——If it’s called discipline, others can’t easily get involved."

Perhaps the concept of abuse was not well understood.

Lias continued, seeing Cynthia’s dissatisfaction.

"What about talking to the Ziek family and having Alro live in, while sending his father to a care facility?"

"I was planning to talk to Regnart, who is coming tomorrow. Alro can come too, and we can have a proper conversation."

Cynthia nodded, still looking troubled.

"I’ll go with you. ——Regnart might be intimidated."

Regnart was still a child. It was fine to have him come as planned, but they couldn’t leave the children to talk alone.

"I think I should stay out of it for now."

Lias left it to Cynthia.

Cynthia nodded, her expression dark.

In this world, many parents considered their children their property. Even in her charity work, providing education and food to children was difficult.

She wanted to bring Alro here immediately, but as a servant, the Ziek family had the final say. She couldn’t override that.

Penzilnia’s power made it difficult to act in such situations.

Still, they needed to keep it as a last resort.

Cynthia turned to Eidan.

"Marie was worried about Alro and went to town with Eidan."

"Sorry..."

"Why are you apologizing?"

"I should have stopped her."

Cynthia smiled wryly.

It was hard to say whether she should have stopped her. Going to town and visiting a friend’s house were normal experiences for an 8-year-old.

Cynthia had sent them off with a "see you later" when she heard Eidan and the guard were going to town.

"You’re not at fault. You accompanied her properly. Thank you."

"But because of that, Marie hasn’t come out of her room since yesterday..."

"Maybe she was shocked by what happened to Alro."

She had never seen such a violent scene before.

Especially since it involved Alro, whom she liked so much.

"Let’s go see her."

Lias, who had been worried about her since yesterday, suggested, and they headed to Marivelle’s room.

Lias knocked on Marie’s door.

She hadn’t come out of her room since yesterday, and her meals were being brought to her.

"Marie?"

There was no response to Lias’s call.

"Marie, I’m coming in."

He gently opened the door to find Marivelle hugging her knees on the bed.

Cynthia and Lias quietly approached the bed.

"Father, Mother"

Cynthia said, "Eidan told us. ——Were you shocked?"

Marivelle, with her face buried in her knees, shook her head.

"Haven’t you been eating much?"

Lias asked, placing his hand on Marivelle’s shoulder. She flinched and looked up.

For a moment, a look of fear flashed in her eyes, but it quickly turned to confusion.

"Father, I... I..."

She opened her mouth to say something but couldn’t.

It’s not that, I was just surprised. ——Really?

She wasn’t sure.

Silence filled the room, and Cynthia indicated to Lias to leave. Lias nodded.

Lias knelt beside the bed, keeping some distance from Marivelle.

"Marie, I have work to do, but I’ll take care of Alro. Don’t worry, leave it to me."

"Father..."

"I love you. I’ll have your favorite meal made for you tonight. I want you to eat a little."

"I love you too, Father. Very much."

Instead of hugging him as she usually would, Marivelle gripped his hand tightly.

Cynthia’s hand gently covered hers.

"See you later."

Lias left the room, and Cynthia sat beside Marivelle.

"Marie—"

"I’m sorry."

Interrupting, Marivelle buried her face in her knees again.

"I’m scared. I don’t know why, but I’m so scared."

"Of course you are. There’s nothing wrong with that."

Cynthia hugged her, and Marivelle’s stiff body relaxed slightly.

"You heard Alro’s father being violent and shouting at Alro, didn’t you?"

Cynthia said, and Marivelle nodded slowly.

"I want to help. I want to be there for Alro, but..."

Her fists tightened.

"I couldn’t do anything. I just trembled..."

"Marie..."

She felt ashamed. Marivelle covered her face.

"Marie, even your mother wouldn’t have been able to do anything if she had been there. It’s not always about confronting the problem head-on."

"The shouting... it won’t leave my head. I know no one around me would do such a thing."

Cynthia tightened her embrace.

"Of course you’re scared. Don’t force yourself to be okay."

She pulled back slightly and held Marivelle’s cold hands.

"Everyone is here to protect you. There’s nothing to be afraid of. But it’s understandable to feel scared. After all, it’s a powerful and large presence. And we have a lot of people with scary faces too."

Cynthia said jokingly, and Marivelle’s expression softened.

"So, don’t think you’re no good. I’ll have the knights protect you from a distance until you feel better."

Marivelle had tears in her eyes.

"I didn’t mean for this to happen. ——I don’t understand myself."

Marivelle thought she was strong.

She wouldn’t back down, even if people gossiped or mocked her.

But hearing a grown man’s angry voice, especially about someone she cared about like Alro, left her powerless.

She couldn’t do anything and just wanted to run away.

"Marie, you’re still a child. Leave Alro to Father and Mother, okay?"

Cynthia wondered.

When she was 2 years old. She said she didn’t remember, but maybe she remembered the attack and kidnapping.

If that had left a trauma, it would be best to keep her away from anything that might trigger it.

Marivelle was silent for a while, then whispered.

"I want to see Alro..."

Cynthia hugged the girl, who was hugging her knees, for a long time.