Memories Set Ablaze
Beloved sister.
"Sister... are you asleep?" Rita asked cautiously.
"I'm not." Scarlet answered her sister's call.
It was only natural. Right now she was so confused she couldn't tell if she was dreaming. They had eaten warm, delicious food and were lying on something soft and clean. After being sold as slaves, they had braced themselves for hell itself, yet the place they had been taken to was nothing like it.
Is this really happening? Scarlet's mind was a storm of doubt.
"That... man. Do you think he might be a good person?" Rita whispered to her.
The man who had given them food and a place to sleep. The way he had acted so far made it easy to believe he was kind.
"He fed us... and he took off the collars we were wearing."
Rita touched her neck where the heavy iron chain had once dug into her skin. Until just a little while ago, a thick metal shackle had encircled that slender throat. A faint mark remained, but what did that matter? The important thing was that it was gone.
Scarlet touched her own neck. It felt so light. Without the chain constricting her, her neck felt impossibly free.
The man who had put those chains on them had said, "This won't come off easily." Yet the man who had brought them here had removed the shackles as if they were nothing.
When she thought about what had happened at the slave market, none of it made sense.
He used chantless magic...
The man had cast magic without any incantation. No matter how dark the world seemed, it was an unchanging truth that magic required a spoken chant. Without it, the spell wouldn't manifest properly, and even if it did, its power would be pathetically weak.
But that man's magic was terrifyingly strong.
When he had cast his spell, Scarlet had instinctively known the two thugs were finished. A man who could use magic without chanting? Was he a fool?
"Guhk!"
But the fool wasn't the man. Crimson light had rippled out around him, wrapping around the two burly attackers.
"Aaaaaagh!"
The men hit by his magic collapsed to the ground, writhing as if they were burning alive, before falling unconscious.
What...!
Scarlet had been unable to hide her shock at the sight. To so easily overpower two men with chantless magic was simply impossible. Unless... unless that man was an archmage who had reached the pinnacle of magic.
That would explain everything. The ability to use powerful spells without chanting. The way he had freed them with just a few flicks of his fingers.
But then why would he bother buying us?
If he truly was an archmage, there would be no reason for him to purchase them. A man with that kind of fame would have women throwing themselves at him constantly. Why would he visit a slave market to buy two broken girls?
In the end, Scarlet couldn't reach a conclusion. The man who had taken them was clearly no ordinary person, but she had failed to uncover his true identity.
Having finished her thoughts, Scarlet turned to Rita.
"Rita, listen to me carefully. It's true that man gave us good food, a soft bed, and removed our chains. But that doesn't mean he's a good person."
"Why not...?"
"I told you before. People don't help others without a reason. So he must want something from us."
"What could he want...?"
"I don't know. But whatever it is, I'm certain it's not something ordinary."
"......"
"So you need to be careful too."
Having said her piece, Scarlet turned her back to her sister. Rita stared blankly at Scarlet's back.
Sister...
Rita continued to gaze at her sister's back for a long time. She had always known that Scarlet had sacrificed everything for her sake. Born with a weak constitution, Rita had suffered from constant illnesses. Simply stepping outside often left her bedridden with fever.
"Why did a worthless weakling like you have to come from my body?"
Her mother had said those words while looking down at her burning with high fever.
"......"
At her mother's cold remark, the young Rita had burst into tears.
I didn't want to be born weak either...
She hadn't wanted to be born frail. She wanted to run and play outside like other children her age. She wanted to stay up all night playing and eat delicious food until her stomach was full. But such days were a luxury she could never have.
"Rita."
Whenever she lay groaning in pain from illness, her sister Scarlet would always nurse her.
Her one and only sister would place a cool cloth on her forehead. Scarlet protected her like this every single time. When she was sick, her sister would stay by her side all night. The only words Rita could offer her in return were "thank you."
Time passed, and as her frequent illnesses gradually lessened, Rita began spending every day with her sister. They ate together, played together. Of course, every night she could hear their parents fighting, and it made her want to cry, but at those times her sister would hold her tight.
That day had been the same.
Their parents were fighting as usual. But the fight grew more violent, and their father punched their mother in the face.
Drip... drip...
Every time their father struck their mother, red liquid the same color as her sister's hair fell to the floor.
I... I have to stop him...
Though terrified, Rita moved to intervene.
Her sister remained frozen in place like a doll.
"D-Dad... stop..."
She tried to block her father, but in that instant—
Whoosh—
She felt her body fly through the air.
Thud.
A dull sound rang out from her head. Then warm red liquid, the same color as her mother's, began flowing from her skull.
Her vision grew dimmer. The last thing she saw was her sister Scarlet running desperately toward her.
......
When she regained consciousness, she opened her eyes to find herself being carried on her sister's back.
We've been thrown out of the house...
Rita understood it instinctively. They would never be able to return home again.
"Sob... sob..."
As she was being carried, she heard her sister crying.
Sister...
Her sister, who had always pretended to be strong and well-fed in front of her. Scarlet finally broke down in tears, and Rita, still on her back, cried along with her.
Why... why does this only happen to us?
Why did such things only happen to them?
They walked endlessly down the road like that. After who knows how long, a woman came bursting out of a house after hearing Scarlet's cries.
"Oh my goodness, are you alright?! You poor children!"
The woman ran toward them.
"Ri... Rita... Ri... ta..."
Scarlet collapsed on the spot.
"Sister!"
Rita, who had been on her sister's back, frantically tried to wake her. But Scarlet lay motionless like a corpse.
"Come inside for now."
The woman led them into the house. Though frightened by the stranger, Rita followed because she needed to save her sister.
But the place beyond the door was nothing like she had imagined. There were countless children who looked her age or younger, and men and women other than the woman were playing with them.
What was this place...?
Rita was speechless at the sight. Her sister Scarlet was taken to a room for treatment, leaving Rita alone. All the children stared at her intently. One of them approached her.
"Hi? Did you come here too?"
The little child asked her a question. Rita answered that she had, then asked what this place was. The child replied:
"This is a place where lots of friends come! If you stay here, new mommies and daddies will come find you!"
Rita instinctively realized this was an orphanage. After talking with the children and cross-verifying their stories, she looked at her unconscious sister.
Her sister's hands and feet were covered in rough wounds. The injuries on her feet seemed to have come from carrying Rita for so long. Fortunately, Scarlet soon woke up. When she saw Rita, she burst into tears again.
"Sister..."
Rita hugged her tightly, and they cried together.
After that, they began living at the orphanage.
At first, Scarlet was suspicious of everything about the orphanage. Whenever Rita talked with the teachers, her sister would stand right beside her. She followed her everywhere. But that suspicion didn't last long. Scarlet eventually opened her heart to the people there and began smiling with everyone.
In the mornings they would wake up, eat breakfast with their sister and friends, and play. At lunchtime they would nap together. In the evenings they would eat dinner, then fall asleep listening to the fairy tales the teacher read to them.
Every single day was happy and beautiful.
Rita quietly clasped her hands and prayed.
Please... let every day be like today.
Each day was something to look forward to, something that filled her with happiness. Rita prayed to a God she wasn't even sure existed.
Now that they had finally found a place to settle down, both Scarlet and Rita.
After finishing her prayer, Rita fell into a deep sleep.
"Children, wake up!"
How long had she been sleeping? She was jolted awake by the teacher's desperate scream.
Is it already morning...?
Rita rubbed her eyes and sat up, only for her body to freeze in place. The light she had mistaken for bright sunlight was actually devouring all their precious memories.