A Promise in the Dark
Rudeum froze like a broken toy, as if hearing such words was the last thing he had ever expected in his life.
“Do you not want to?”
Rudeum hurriedly shook his head side to side. It was the first time she had ever seen him react like this, and Lefonya couldn't help but giggle.
“But I—”
“It's fine.” Lefonya gently patted the back of his hand. “They say friends are allowed to do whatever.”
Rudeum looked down at the small hand resting over his. Slowly, he nodded.
“…Yeah. Friends.”
“It's my first time having a friend. What about you?”
“Me too.” Rudeum met her gaze squarely. “You're my first, too, Ponya. You're my first in everything.”
His low, murmured tone and the raw intensity in his eyes made Lefonya flinch. Averting her gaze, she hurriedly steered the conversation away.
“Are… are you doing alright these days?”
“Me?”
“The assassins.”
The piercing intensity vanished from his gaze, replaced by an incredulous scoff. “I don't think you're in any position to be worrying about me.”
Well, she was the one locked in a solitary cell, so it certainly wasn't the time or place.
“I'm safe, so look after yourself first,” Rudeum muttered, pulling a small stone from his pocket and holding it out to her. “Keep this.”
“What's this?”
“A warming stone.”
Having wolfed down the rest of the sandwich, Lefonya took the stone into her palm. A gentle, steady warmth seeped into her skin.
“Whoa. There are things like this?” Lefonya stared at the stone in wonder.
The Empire was filled with so many fascinating inventions—so many convenient things designed to make life comfortable. It was just that in Lefonya's life, none of them had ever existed.
“It doesn't last very long. Five days at most, but I'll be back before then, so keep it with you.”
Lefonya clutched the warm stone tightly for a moment, then shook her head.
“Take it back.”
“Why?”
Lefonya slipped off the heavy coat Rudeum had wrapped around her shoulders. Beneath it lay a single layer of flimsy indoor clothing—so thin and threadbare that even convicts guilty of heinous crimes wouldn't be subjected to it.
Rudeum's brow furrowed deep.
The reason was painfully simple.
“The pockets are too thin; they'll notice it immediately.”
“Then just keep it in your hand.”
“If they catch me holding it, they'll just take it away anyway.”
Unlike ointment, a warming stone had to be kept on one's body to provide heat. And having it confiscated would be getting off easy. If the director saw her with such an item, he would suspect she was hiding even better treasures, which would lead to a brutal beating or a full-body search. If that happened, he would discover the green gem she had used to call Rudeum.
She couldn't let that happen. Strangely enough, she really couldn't bear the thought of losing it.
“Hah.” Rudeum grimaced, visibly straining to swallow his mounting rage.
Lefonya smiled softly and tapped the back of his hand with her fingertip. When he opened his tightly shut eyes, their gazes met, and she gave him a small, reassuring grin.
“I'll wait for you.”
You'll definitely come back to save me. Right? Just like the savior in the fairy tales I wished for as a child.
Lefonya held the coat back out to him.
“…Fine. But Ponya, if anything happens, call for me. Promise me that.”
“I called you before, and you didn't come.”
“I will this time.”
Instead of taking the coat, Rudeum pulled her into a fierce, warm embrace. His voice, brimming with absolute certainty, resonated against her ear.
“Even if there are three Aura Masters or a hundred enemy soldiers.”
“…….”
“I'll come this time.”
Lefonya nodded against his shoulder.
Of course, she didn't believe him completely. Rudeum was only human after all, and in a life-or-death crisis, anyone would prioritize their own survival first.
“Stay alive without getting hurt. Understand?”
Still, the reason she wanted to believe him was because what he wished for was what she wished for, too.
“Okay.”
“Hah. Do I really have to go alone? …Can't you come with me?”
Looking at Rudeum's anxious face, Lefonya couldn't help but chuckle. She had lived this kind of life for over a decade in the past; none of this was new to her. What was there to be so worried about? Could she not endure a mere few days? Even if it took him a full year to return, she wouldn't fall into despair—so long as there was an end in sight.
“They say that if something always finds its way back on its own when lost, people eventually stop looking for it. You said you want me to live, right?”
“…….”
“If you really want me to stay alive, help me.”
Rudeum, who had been holding her tight, finally let go and stepped back. Slowly, his form melted into the dark spirit. As the complete darkness swallowed him whole, every trace of his presence vanished into thin air.
A day had passed since Rudeum left.
Mornings at the orphanage always began earlier than anywhere else. The previous director had heard an old rumor that washing one's face with morning dew brought wealth, so at the crack of dawn, he would wake all the children and force each of them to gather a full bottle of morning dew. Anyone who failed to fill their bottle had to starve for the rest of the day, so everyone threw themselves into the task with frantic desperation.
When she was young, Lefonya had tried to cut corners by topping off her bottle with lake water. But somehow the director had noticed, claiming it smelled of fish; she was beaten all day long and forced to starve for two days straight.
“Move faster, you brats!”
Perhaps because people only ever replicated what they grew up seeing, the current director seemed to be pulling the exact same stunt.
Lying calmly on the floor of the solitary cell, Lefonya listened to the hurried footsteps and bellowing echoing from the floor above. The children were scrambling about in frantic unison.
Nothing has changed here at all. I can't believe an orphanage like this is still allowed to exist.
Lefonya pushed the ointment Rudeum had given her deep into the corner of the cell, hiding it out of sight.
Once the children had all departed and the orphanage fell dead silent, the basement door creaked open. Heavy footsteps approached, and the bolt on Lefonya's cell slid back.
“Get out.”
This was the only time Lefonya was permitted to leave her solitary cell. As she pushed herself up with difficulty, the director glared down at her with clear displeasure, barking at her to hurry.
While the other children were away gathering morning dew, Lefonya was brought up from the basement to prepare ingredients. Perhaps because he had been warned that someone might be searching for her, the director never let her set foot outside. Instead, he forced her to prep vegetables during the hours when she wouldn't cross paths with anyone, or set her to wash laundry when the weather was warm.
His sheer determination not to let a single child idle was truly something to behold.
Since playing along meekly until Rudeum returned was the safest course of action, Lefonya offered no resistance.
“What is this? Are you planning to eat stir-fried peels? Huh? Why are you carving off so much flesh with the skin?”
“The knife is too dull. It won't peel thin.”
“Didn't I tell you to speak politely? Who do you think you are, talking down to me? Huh? Do you want a beating?!”
The director roared at the top of his lungs, loud enough to make her ears ring. Ignoring his outburst, Lefonya went back to peeling.
“Peel it thin! Thin, I said! Huh? You're eating all of this garbage yourself! I'm going to stir-fry every scrap of peel here and make you eat nothing else today. Got it? You need to learn the value of food, you ungrateful wretch!”
Gritting her teeth, Lefonya tried her best to pare the skin thinly. But trying to cut delicately with a blunt blade only caused it to slip repeatedly, nicking her fingers and leaving bloody scratches behind.
“Hey! Don't get blood on the food! Wash your hands while you work!”
Can't you just go somewhere else? Why do you have to hover over me like this?
“Hey! It's filthy, so wash your hands! Why are you cutting off so much of that piece? Huh?”
“It's rotten here.”
“Rotten, my foot! Unless it turns to mush under your thumb, it's still good to eat! Are you going to do this properly or not?”
“Eating rotten food makes you sick, and medicine costs more money.”
“What money? If you get sick, you just sleep it off for a day and you're fine! Argh, why am I even talking to a brat? Stop slacking and keep peeling!”
Swallowing the urge to ram her head straight into his gut, Lefonya repeatedly rinsed her bleeding fingers and kept peeling. Even though she had already filled one large basket to the brim, two more baskets still remained. Judging by how many bruised, rotten, and soft spots there were, he had clearly hauled away produce that had been discarded or sold off at clearance prices.
“Hey.”
The director, who had been loitering nearby, kicked the basket. Crouched down as she worked, the sudden jolt knocked Lefonya off balance, sending her tumbling to the floor. The knife slipped mid-stroke, dragging the dull edge across her forearm and opening a fresh scrape.
This five-year-old body.
To be knocked down so effortlessly was utterly infuriating.
Unfazed by her fall, the director spoke casually. “You said back then that you belonged to some noble family.”
“The House of Duke Craitan.” Lefonya dusted herself off and climbed back to her feet.
“Right, that place. Are you really from there?”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, do you know what happens to brats who get caught lying? You've learned the worst tricks early, lying through your teeth without even blinking. Huh?”
You were the one who asked first, so I told you the truth. Why are you picking a fight?
“I took the clothes and jewels you had to an appraiser… Hey, hey, keep your hands moving while you listen! The other kids will be back soon—you think you can afford to loaf around? Huh? If prep is delayed because of you, everyone starves. Understand?”
Just wait until the people from House Craitan get here. I'm going to take this dull knife and shave off every last hair on that skull until he's completely bald.
“Anyway, I had your clothes and jewels appraised and sold the lot. Fetched a pretty penny, too.”
“What? You sold everything?” Lefonya's head snapped up.
“Yeah. What else was I supposed to do with them?”
Lefonya bit her lower lip. She had expected him to sell them eventually since he had stolen them, but she hadn't imagined he would unload them this quickly. If the clothes and jewels she had been wearing entered the market so soon, they could be used to pinpoint her location, so she had assumed he would wait a while before selling them off.
…And before then, she had planned to reclaim them when she made her escape.
“Those… weren't all mine.”
“You think they're yours now? You handed them to me, so they're mine. Hey, move those hands.” The director nudged the basket again with his foot.
Lefonya ground her teeth and resumed peeling. Putting more force into the blade nicked her fingers again, but she barely registered the sting. Her mind was entirely consumed by the thought of peeling that director's scalp like an onion skin until his head was shiny and bare.
“If only I had a little more cash, I would've hit the jackpot this time for sure.”
“Did you already blow all that money gambling?”
“What's with that look? It's my money to spend as I please, so why the hell are you giving me that filthy stare?”
The moment illegal gambling was mentioned, the director's eyes took on an erratic, feverish gleam—the unmistakable look of a chronic gambling addict.
“If you'd only had one more jewel on you, I could've played another round and won it all… Huh? Wait a second. You don't happen to have any more, do you?”
Lefonya's heart plummeted. The green gem hidden in the corner of her solitary cell flashed through her mind.
Yet she kept her composure, clamping her teeth shut. To deflect suspicion, she threw a deliberate, indignant tantrum like an aggrieved child.
“If I had any more, I would've run away long ago! How could you spend it all?! That—that was mine!”
“Hah. Shut your trap.”
Scrutinizing her reaction and concluding she was of no further use, the director scoffed and pushed himself up from his seat.
Lefonya let her shoulders heave with exaggerated panting, glaring resentfully until his footsteps faded into the distance. Only after he was completely gone did she steady her breathing and let her expression settle into a cool calm.
…I need to be even more careful.
Just knowing that she could speak the activation phrase and Rudeum would hear her voice brought a profound sense of security. Because of that, she refused to let anyone take the green gem that connected her to him.
Later that night.
“Ha! I knew it!”
Exhausted from a day of grueling labor, Lefonya had fallen asleep early. The sudden roar right beside her jerked her awake in shock.
He must have slipped into the solitary cell while she slept to search it—in his hand was the ointment she had tucked into the corner.
Her heart sank like a stone. Fortunately, because she had tucked the green gem beneath her head and concealed it under a thick clump of hair, it seemed to have escaped his notice. Shifting slightly, Lefonya slid the green gem into her pocket, turning her body so it remained out of view.
No matter how exhausted she had been in the past, she had never slept so deeply that she failed to notice someone approaching.
…Wait.
Only then did Lefonya realize where her assumption had gone wrong.
No. In this five-year-old body, I've never once woken up just from sensing someone nearby.
Ever since finding herself in this body, she had always slept safely within the walls of the Craitan Duchy Estate, so she had never noticed it. Even when the maids came in during the dead of night to check the fireplace, she had slept right through their visits without stirring.
To think she was only realizing this now.
“Where did you get this ointment? Huh? Did you sneak into my office and steal it? Huh?! Here I was trying to treat you nicely since you just got here—”
The director rolled up his sleeves.