NOVEL NEXT Chapter 161
Chapter 161. Beggar Siblings – Exit and Entrance
“…That’s a shame.” Leo, having roughly grasped the situation, began to speak. He now understood why he couldn’t fetch the water. Presumably, I met this woman in the morning, and judging by the display of romantic feelings, it seemed I had confessed to her.
However, Leo still refrained from speaking. He realized that this encounter with the woman was a significantly important {event}, but he didn’t know what it was for. Events in this damned game were not always good—in fact, most of the time they were bad. Still, Leo acted disheartened, displaying the melancholy a man would show after a failed confession. For someone burdened with painful memories, making such an expression wasn’t difficult.
He let out a faint sigh through his nose. He slightly lowered his head and moved his eyes diagonally, as if conflicted, wondering if there was truly no hope. When he began moving his lips, as if to say something but then stopping, Xenia spoke.
“But let’s meet often. Leo, we’ve only just exchanged names, haven’t we?”
However, her tone was a bit disappointed. Sensing that, Leo quickly reversed the atmosphere.
“Thank you. Then, how often shall we meet, Miss Xenia?”
Whether the event was good or bad, it shouldn’t be avoided. At the very least, he needed to know what it was.
The most dreadful event—the scenario where he became the apostle of Barbatos—though fearsome even as a dream, had indeed left many rewards and much information. If he hadn’t gone through that event, Prince Eric de Yeriel, who served Orias, would still seem an invincible entity.
Now, he had become somewhat manageable. He understood the kind of power the apostles had and how many restrictions bound them.
Xenia’s eyes widened. Her mouth twitched before she burst into a laugh, showing her white neck as she did.
“Miss Xenia? Haha. I wasn’t expecting that, Leo. Just call me Xenia as you did at first. It seems I was just being petty… hehehe.”
Ah…
Leo began to get a sense of it. For some reason, this woman liked it when he acted forcefully.
Still…
‘Can she be trusted?’
This was all Leo thought about as he conversed with Xenia. He was observing the woman in front of him.
When Xenia said, “Then, as promised, I’ll take care of your sister. Feel free to come see me anytime. I’ll always be here,” Leo’s suspicion peaked
Call it paranoia if you will, but no matter how polite she seemed, she was a stranger. ‘If it were Cassia, I might have considered it, but no way can I leave my sibling with a stranger.’ Despite their cheerful conversation, Leo came to a negative conclusion. A pounding heart and inclination were separate from trust.
However, since he didn’t know where Cassia was immediately, Leo agreed on the condition of receiving help until he found her.
“Then what about you, brother? Are you going home alone? No, I want to go too. Don’t leave me behind,” Lena whined. Leo firmly cut her off, saying, “That’s not okay! You should say thank you firmly.”
—Knock, knock.
Ober appeared. Although the event wasn’t supposed to be over yet, it seemed he came looking for us right after waking up, with sleep still lingering in his eyes.
[Achievement: First Meeting with the Family Boss – Thugs have a slight trust in your words.]
“Here you are. I apologize for earlier. I thought you were beggars who heard my name from somewhere. But Xenia, what’s your connection with them? Are they relatives?”
“Hmm, no.”
Xenia answered a bit shyly in the now cramped room due to the presence of the plump Ober.
“A hidden lover.”
“…”
“This young man certainly lives up to his looks.”
Descending the stairs, Ober patted Leo’s shoulder.
“You managed to attract the top beauty of our Orange Theater. Xenia, too—I thought she wasn’t interested in men, but now I see her standards were just high! There’ll be a lot of friends crying and fussing over this.”
“Where is Cassia?”
Leo cut to the chase. Following him, Ober asked back with a slight surprise.
“Do you know Cassia?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“…I once received her help.”
“Really? Well, Cassia is kind… wait, how did you know to ask me about her? Did you know I knew Cassia?”
…
After a long pause, Leo replied, “Yes.”
Despite the ambiguous yet firm answer, Ober didn’t press further.
“Good timing. I was planning to visit Cassia anyway. Here, take this first.”
Ober took out a bunch of keys from his pocket. Opening a storage room on the first floor of the theater, he handed out various necessities.
Items like blankets, pillows, utensils, hangers, and towels for Lena, which included a few pieces of sponges (海面, Sponge).
In fact, Minseo was really amazed to see sponges in this world. Sponges are a group of marine animals from the phylum Porifera. These plant-like animals grow attached to the ocean floor, and when they are cut, dried in the sun, they leave a fibrous skeleton with many tiny holes, soft and elastic.
This is the sponge we know. Minseo was amazed to learn that an object, which he had only known as a product of modern civilization resembling the character ‘SpongeBob’, also existed here.
The item, which was also used in ancient Rome, was very useful. Its excellent water absorbency made it ideal for medical and washing purposes. Leo had also experienced using the sponge. He had used it to wipe blood in the military barracks on the battlefield and used it during his stays at Marquess Tatian and Guidan’s estates for cleanup purposes.
To the nobles, the sponge was like toilet paper. It needed to be rinsed and reused, but since they did not have to rinse it themselves, it did not matter to them. Why is this given here?
Leo assumed it might be used for showering or washing dishes, and he was right. However, there was another reason why the somewhat unfamiliar sponge among commoners was used as an everyday item here. The sponge was also used for contraception.
Leo and Ober moved Lena’s daily necessities to Xenia’s room and then left the theater. After a brief walk while chatting, they arrived at a bustling flea market. Leo knew the area because it was one of the zones managed by the Rauno family. The land was much cheaper here compared to the marketplace where the beggar siblings’ scenario began, as it was close to the slum where beggars lived.
At that moment, Leo stopped. He saw a woman haggling with a customer in front of a store from afar. She had smooth, straight hair and was wearing a leather apron for work. It was Cassia. Or was it really Cassia?
She looked completely different from the Cassia he knew. The Cassia Leo knew did not smile like that, nor did she talk like that.
“Ah, if I sell it for that price, I would have no profit left. Sis, take a look. You see how it’s sewn here? It will never tear. If it does break, I’ll fix it for you, so don’t worry and just take it. Okay?”
Her eyes gleamed cheerfully. The mid-twenties Cassia was dealing with the complaining woman without hesitation.
“Cassia! I’m here!”
“Oh! Uncle Ober, it’s been a long time. Hold on a second. Sis, do you want to see something else? I do have a slightly cheaper option.”
Leo looked at her hardworking figure with unfamiliarity. When she finally turned around after selling two pairs of shoes, Leo felt breathless. He didn’t think he had ever seen her take such a posture. Had she ever tilted her head up like that?
What surprised him more was what came next.
“Who is he?”
[ Achievement: The man Cassia gave her life to protect – Received high favor from Cassia. ]
The Cassia who once shyly twisted her body when highly pleased with him was gone. She greeted Leo with proud confidence in her life.
“I just met him today, and he’s supposedly Xenia’s boyfriend.”
“What? Xenia has a boyfriend? That’s surprising. How did you manage to catch a girl who’s only interested in theater? Well, you do look handsome though. But, what’s up?”
Ober explained the situation, but Leo couldn’t hear a word.
Ober chose a pair of shoes to give to Lena. Leo, who was staring blankly at Cassia,
“Don’t you need shoes too? If you’re going to choose, hurry up.”
snapped back to reality only when Cassia pointed at his worn-out mismatched shoes.
Eventually, he was fitted with clean cotton shoes. They were not as good as the ones Cassia had given him in the past, but they fit his feet perfectly.
Cassia held out her hand.
“You need to pay. It’s a bit of a discount… a gold coin.”
“…What? A gold coin?”
“It means a silver coin. Haha. Is Uncle Ober paying for the boy’s? What? An advance? Are you kidding me? Hand it over quickly.”
Cassia took the silver coin from Leo’s hand. He felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
“Well, see you later. Have a good business. How about a drink later?”
“No. I’m busy. I need to replenish today’s sold stock.”
“Tsk. Got it. But take it easy sometimes. You’re too skinny…”
“I’ll take care of it myself, okay? Why don’t you lose some weight? Instead of just building muscle. You’re getting old… kyah! What are you doing!”
Ober rubbed shoe polish on Cassia’s cheek with his index finger. Cassia shouted, “Get lost! You rascal!” and kicked Ober’s butt.
Leo, who wanted to say something like wishing her happiness, ultimately uttered no words. He hesitated and then quietly turned around.
Cassia didn’t seem to need any repayment or farewell. The best repayment he could give was to step out of her life.
Leo looked back, feeling the comfort of the shoes wrapped around his feet, and saw that Cassia was already humming and organizing the display stand.
– “I will obey. I will be happy. More than anyone in the world.”
In the bustling marketplace, Cassia, clad in a purple apron, seemed to stand out as if whispering into Leo’s ears.
* * *
Returning to the theater, Leo still couldn’t tell if he was happy or sad.
He felt a gaping void, like a hole in his chest, yet some emotion kept surging, incessantly shaking the empty space.
He was happy, but he wasn’t happy.
He was sad, but he wasn’t sad.
“Gasp.”
He realized he had forgotten to breathe. He couldn’t even tell what expression he had been wearing all this time, and Ober, who had walked alongside him, said nothing as well.
The theater was silent.
It had been quite some time since the play ended, and no audience was in sight. Only a few actors and former prostitutes who lived at the top of the theater were wandering around aimlessly.
And on the stage, Lena was visible. She was there with Xenia under the lights that hadn’t been turned off yet.
“When you greet the king, you do it like this. Would you like to try?”
“Like this?”
“Yes. But there’s no need to bow too deeply. Just appropriately. Show respect without being servile. Good.”
Standing alone on the wide stage, the two women with blonde and black hair were strikingly different. Yet, perhaps because they were both wearing white dresses, they looked almost like sisters. After showing an elegant pose for a moment, Lena straightened her back.
“But will I ever have a chance to meet the king?”
“In plays, it happens all the time. That’s why I love theater. You can become anything and dream anything. What do you want to become?”
Lena appeared to be pondering. She tilted her head cutely, but no answer came out. Xenia smiled. She bowed her head to meet Lena’s eyes and stared straight into them.
“It’s alright. It just means that many possibilities are open to you. You can become anything. Ah, excluding a noble.”
Xenia straightened her back. She took a deep breath and started to sing.
“O, King! Make this person noble!” the song began, depicting the scene where Leicia recommended Banoon.
Starting a play abruptly after a casual conversation, an act that Chaeha might have done.
Leo smiled sadly. It was painful to feel Xenia knocking on the empty heart that Cassia left behind, trying to enter.