Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Punishment Corps (3)
Life in the Punishment Corps continued on.
About twenty days passed.
Today as well, I was assigned menial labor.
Washing dishes, doing laundry...
The fact that I was actually doing this sort of work was so absurd it almost made me laugh, but refusing wasn’t really an option either.
If I stubbornly refused, I would only make myself even more hated.
Even now, there were already crowds of men glaring at me like they wanted to kill me. I wasn’t stupid enough to whine about not wanting to do the same work as everyone else.
Besides, moments spent doing chores were actually a sweet form of rest for me.
Leaving behind the damp atmosphere and foul smell of the Punishment Corps dormitories was one thing, but more importantly, I could escape from the so-called “brothers” who acted as though they were ready to stomp me into the ground at any moment.
“Ugh.”
Even so, it wouldn’t be long now. Someday soon, I would definitely get beaten by the group. I could feel the atmosphere tightening around me.
You only had to listen to the muttering they did in front of me.
“Fuck... if my dad were still alive, I wouldn’t have become a thief.”
“If my dad hadn’t been killed, I wouldn’t have beaten the neighbor kid with a club.”
“If my dad had still been around, I wouldn’t have set fire to—”
“Tch.”
I clicked my tongue.
Maybe it was fortunate that most of them were around my age. Perhaps all the adults had died in the war, because the majority of the Punishment Corps was made up of youths not much older than myself.
I shook my head and stopped paying attention to the worm-like bastards before continuing my work.
A long river flowed through the interior of Rondor Castle.
It served as both drinking water and water for daily life.
I settled down by one side of the river and rinsed the clothes and dishes I had brought.
Even after only scrubbing the clothes a little, black filth poured out into the water.
“Filthy bastards. The smell is seriously unbelievable...”
Scowling deeply, I continued washing.
Every now and then I lifted the clothes to smell them, but somehow the sour stench never seemed to disappear.
I started worrying that maybe my own body smelled like this too.
If my mother ever found out, she would surely faint.
-Thud!
When nothing improved no matter how much I scrubbed, I suddenly threw the clothes onto a nearby rock.
Then I looked around.
There was no one nearby. No one watching me either.
“...”
And whenever I found myself alone like this, the same thought always came to mind.
Should I go again today...?
“...”
The hesitation didn’t last long. Letting out a deep sigh, I placed the dishes and clothes back onto the riverbank and started walking.
There was only one destination.
It was a place I had discovered while doing chores like this.
Not far from this river stood the outer wall of the castle.
Unlike the outer walls of other castles, this place was somewhat special.
Because on the third-floor window of this section of the wall, there was always—
“...”
...Not today, apparently.
Standing in my little hidden spot, I thought to myself.
The moment I realized she wasn’t there, a faint sense of shame washed over me.
I honestly didn’t know why I was acting like this.
Lately, I thought of her while lying in bed, while eating food barely fit for dogs, and even while doing chores.
Vivian Rondor.
Was it because the hostility she showed toward me had left such a strong impression?
Or because she looked too pitiful?
Or perhaps because the Duchess of Rondor’s request still lingered in my mind? Because I had become Vivian’s guard, even if only in name...?
I didn’t know the answer.
But one day while doing chores, I happened to spot Vivian Rondor sitting blankly at that window staring outside.
And ever since then, I found myself coming here once a day just to check that window.
“...”
I truly didn’t understand myself.
If anyone discovered me doing this, I would bite my tongue and die from shame.
That was how humiliating my mind considered this behavior, yet my body kept bringing me back here anyway.
Honestly speaking, if I really wanted to see her, I could simply go visit her. The Duchess of Rondor had given me that authority.
Wasn’t I Vivian Rondor’s guard?
...Though if I actually went to see her, she would obviously get angry, and I wouldn’t have anything to say to her either, which was why I didn’t.
Tch. Forget it.
Just as I turned to leave, I caught sight of something like a strand of red silk fluttering through the window at the corner of my eye.
I turned back immediately, and right on cue, Vivian Rondor appeared at the window.
“.......”
Hidden among the bushes, I stared blankly at her.
For some reason, the exhaustion of the day briefly faded away.
The expressions Vivian wore here were expressions I never saw from her normally.
That face which was always filled with anger whenever she looked at me... was different here.
An absent-minded expression.
A slightly sorrowful expression.
A powerless, exhausted expression.
It was hard to say whether that look or her angry face was better.
Still, seeing her various expressions was...
...No, not enjoyable. But interesting.
Vivian Rondor stared outside for a while before resting her chin against the window frame.
The sight made a small laugh escape me.
“...”
And immediately afterward, I cursed myself for being an idiot.
I laughed because of that? I guess life still felt worth living to me.
Even though I was washing the clothes of stinking men all because of that very Vivian Rondor.
Trying to steady myself, I looked up at Vivian Rondor with resentment—
But the next thing she did made that difficult too.
“Hic... sob...”
Her vacant expression slowly broke apart, and tears began flowing down her face.
At first, they fell drop by drop, but before long they streamed down like a river.
She wiped away the tears one at a time with her fingers, but eventually she covered her face and cried openly.
“...”
For some reason, these tears felt different from the ones I usually saw.
Maybe because I had only ever seen her cry in front of others before, and this was the first time I had seen her crying alone.
She looked even more pitiful this way.
...Why are you sitting there crying all alone like that?
A strange discomfort settled in my chest.
After crying for some time, Vivian wiped her cheeks and stretched one arm outside the window.
Then, as though grooming herself like a cat, she rubbed her arm...
“...Huh?”
Her once pale white arm was covered in bluish bruises without a single clean spot left.
My mind went blank too.
I couldn’t understand it.
...What happened to her arm?
Vivian examined the color of her arm under the sunlight from different angles, then gently blew on it to soothe the pain.
After staring at her ugly bruises for a moment, clearly displeased with them, she suddenly startled and turned around.
It seemed someone had called for her. Vivian hurriedly wiped away her tears again before stepping away from the window.
Left behind, I was consumed by complicated emotions.
.
.
.
In the end, I couldn’t suppress my curiosity and entered the castle.
Surprisingly, the guards did not stop me.
They only awkwardly watched me nervously, but no one directly questioned me.
Apparently Krellyn the Scholar had done a good job spreading word about my status.
It felt as though everyone knew I had become Vivian Rondor’s guard according to the Duchess’s will.
I passed many soldiers and maids as I headed toward my destination.
I felt like I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else until I solved this question first.
What exactly had happened for her arms to end up looking like that after only a few days?
And who even had the authority to do something like that to her?
“...”
The image of Vivian crying sorrowfully wouldn’t leave my head.
After replaying the memory dozens of times, I eventually found myself standing in front of Vivian’s room.
“...Um...”
Four maids were already standing silently outside the room.
“What brings you here...?”
“...”
I didn’t answer them.
Even I found it difficult to explain exactly why I had come here.
It definitely wasn’t because I was worried about Vivian.
Surely not.
She was the one who had thrown me into the Punishment Corps, the daughter of my enemy family. There was no reason for me to worry about her.
Besides, every time we met, all we ever did was fight. If anything, I should have felt satisfied, not concerned enough to come looking for her.
We had never built enough affection for that.
“...Shall we inform her that you’re here?”
One of the maids asked me.
“...”
I shook my head.
I had nothing to say to Vivian Rondor.
What would I even say if I went inside? Why are your arms covered in bruises?
Vivian would never answer honestly. I’d be lucky if she didn’t call me a creep for somehow knowing.
So despite coming all the way here, I could only stand awkwardly outside unable to enter.
Then, from beyond the door, a voice echoed out.
“T-The rabbit th-thus nibbled on the c-carrot and sa-said—”
-Smack!!
A sharp sound loud enough to make me frown pierced through the door.
“Again. You stuttered from the beginning.”
“T-The rabbit th-thus nib-bled on the c-carrot—”
-Smack!!
“Did I not tell you to open your mouth wider when speaking?”
“T-The rabbit th-thus nib-bled on the c-c-carrot—”
-Smack!
“Focus!! You’re getting worse and worse. Can’t you even properly read a children’s storybook?! How many times must I tell you to think before you speak!”
“Ugh...”
-Smack!
“I clearly told you not to make weak sounds. Don’t assume the world will sympathize with your pain, Lady Vivian. No one cares about your feelings. All weak words do is expose your weaknesses.”
“M-Master... hic... b-but... i-it hurts too much...”
-Smack!!
“I will stop giving warnings and simply strike you from now on. You will understand through your body instead.”
“...The rabbit...”
“...”
The longer I listened, the stranger the heat rising in my chest became.
Along with it came a suffocating feeling.
Without realizing it, I turned toward the maid beside me.
The maid, sensing my mood, hurriedly confessed everything at once.
“I-It’s Lady Linne. The teacher appointed by the Duchess for Lady Vivian. T-The punishments are harsh, but s-she truly is trustworthy, so y-you don’t need to worry too much...”
“...I wasn’t worried.”
The answer escaped my mouth automatically.
And with those words, it felt like cold water had been poured over me as I became suddenly aware of my own behavior.
I had come all the way here after seeing Vivian’s bruised arms, but thinking about it carefully, this wasn’t really my problem to interfere with.
Vivian Rondor was getting hit because she stuttered foolishly.
It wasn’t any of my business.
So I turned around and started walking away again.
“...”
But whenever I came back to my senses, I realized I kept glancing back over my shoulder.