Stepmothers Are Not Always Evil

Chapter 133

Side story Chapter 3 Late at night, Lenia woke up to a knock on the door. The wall clock was pointing to 3 a.m.She glanced at the door, wondering if she’d misheard in her sleep, but the knock came again.“Mother.”At the soft voice, Lenia jumped up. She put on the robe she had left on the bedside table and hurriedly opened the door, where Escal was standing.“Escal?”“I’m sorry, did I wake you up?”A sweet wine scent wafted from Eskal, who was looking embarrassed. Lenia noticing that her son was dressed for a night out, asked worriedly“Are you going out again?”“Yes, I have somewhere I have to go.”“You can leave when the sun comes up.”“It’s urgent.”Escal just smiled faintly, omitting the elaborate explanation. Lenia stared at her son with a complicated feeling.“Where are you going?”“I’ll tell you when I get back.”If he leaves this time, how long will it be before he returns?As she hesitated, unable to find the words to say goodbye, a large shadow stepped between them.“Escal.”“…. Father.”Escal lowered his head and then lifted it. Lenia tugged at his collar with a tearful face. He knew she meant to stop him, but Helios didn’t.“If you need help, just tell me.”“I can handle it.”It was a polite refusal, as always. Lenia realized that she could not break her son’s stubbornness, so she silently hugged Escal. Her son’s arms, which had grown up, were wide and strong, but not warm.“You must take care of yourself.”“Yes. I’m sorry for worrying you.”Escal pressed his lips to her smooth forehead and then pulled away.“Tell Claudie I’m sorry.”“I will.”“I’ll be back.” ***** Morning came early in the forest, and Tiaris stretched, waking to the sound of chirping birds.“Hmm.”Tiaris rubbed her sleepy eyes and opened the window. The heavy rain that had been pouring down all night had stopped and the sunlight was shining brightly.I should start by drying the laundry.Tiaris started to gather the laundry that had been hung haphazardly all over the house. The laundry was still damp from the sudden rain.“Oh, right!”Tiaris went out with both arms full of laundry and cheerfully greeted the puppy doll on the table.“Good morning.”As she hummed and left the house, warm sunlight shone down on her head. Tiaris shooed away the birds that had landed on the clothesline and hung the laundry.“Oh, it’s heavy.”Tiaris held on tightly to the sagging clothesline and headed to the kitchen.She heated water in a pot and washed her face, and after eating the bread and soup she had baked the night before for breakfast, she poured water on the dry tea leaves. The tea leaves were cheap and not very fragrant, but they were enough to warm her body.When her insides were warm enough, Tiaris took out two books that were stacked on the table and opened them side by side. One was an old book with yellow color, and the other was a new book with ink that hasn’t dried yet.“Let’s see, where are we?”Tiaris opened the page with the bookmark and picked up her pen. After checking the copying part, she quickly started to move her hands. The white margins were filled with neat writing.It has been sixteen years since I was chased from the capital and settled here. She had planned to hide only while avoiding the eyes of the Emperor, but as monsters ran rampant throughout the Empire, she missed the opportunity to leave.When she heard that the Emperor had changed and that Princess Adela had married into the kingdom, she considered going to the city, but after Baron Hazel passed away, she didn’t have the confidence to live in the city alone, so she decided to just stay in this hut.Fortunately, she had money left by Duchess Anthemion when she left the capital, and after being introduced to scribe work by a villager, she has been able to make a living copying books and earning money in return.“Whew, I’m done.”The tip of the pen that had been moving without hesitation stopped. Tiaris put down the pen and rubbed her wrist. While blowing on the wet letters and drying the ink, someone knocked on the door.“Who is it?”“It’s me. Ronald.”“Come in.”When she opened the door wide, a middle-aged man with a good-looking face was standing there holding a stack of books and papers. Tiaris quickly let the man in. He put down the books he had brought and asked.“It rained hard last night. Did everything go well?”“Yes. How have you been, sir?”“I’m always doing well. How much work have you done?”“It’s all done. Take it with you when you leave.”“You are fast, for someone who is not the best scribe in the Empire.”Tiaris smiled awkwardly at the man’s compliment and changed the subject.“Ten volumes this time too, right? Can I finish it by next month?”“Nine volumes this time.”“One less book?”“The Grissom family is moving next week.”“That red-haired kid?”“Yeah.”Ronald grumbled, saying that the number of people moving has increased significantly in the past few months, perhaps because the monster subjugation is over. Tiaris felt a little disappointed that people kept disappearing from the village, which already had a small number of households.“Where are they going?”“Where is it? The Earldom of Fenbury.”“Fenbury, the Earldom?”Tiaris’s voice trembled slightly.“I heard that the new lord of Fenbury is accepting residents.”“Oh, yes.”“The territory is small, but the lord is famous and the conditions are good, so everyone is tempted. There were quite a few people who said they were going, not just Mr. Grissom.”Tiaris tried to raise the corners of her lips in a friendly tone.“Are you going, too, sir?”“Well, my wife wants to go… Why, do you want to go too?”“Oh, no, I like it here.”Tiaris waved her hand. Ronald clicked his tongue as if he felt sorry.“What’s so great about this rural area? A twenty-year-old girl who hasn’t even gotten married. If the old man who passed away knew, how much… Ahem.”The nagging man interrupted. Tiaris wrapped the books she had copied in a bundle and handed them to him.“I have to go now. I put this month’s newsletter between the books.”“Thank you.”“I’ll come pick you up on New Year’s Eve.”“Be careful.”Tiaris unrolled the newsletter after seeing Ronald off. Escal’s name would appear in the newsletters that reported on events that occurred in the empire every month.“Ah, here it is.”This month’s newsletter also included an article about Escal. It was a speculative article about the Emperor’s plan to appoint Count Fenbury as the youngest knight commander and that Duke Anthemion would soon hand over the Ducal title to Eskal.‘…. Meanwhile, Count Penbury is being flooded with marriage proposals, but there is no response from the Duke of Anthemion… With news that the Archduchess has arranged a meeting with the Duchy, it will be interesting to see who will be his bride.’“You’re popular, Count Fenbury.”After reading the new article carefully, Tiaris took out the box under the table. The box was full of newsletters with articles about Escal. Tiaris cut out another newsletter and put it in the box.I have to stop doing this.Why am I being so stupid as to do this when I can barely recognize the face. Tiaris looked down at the newsletter with Escal’s portrait and muttered bitterly.“…. This is so unfair. Brother wouldn’t even remember someone like me.”Her sunken gaze landed on the puppy doll. Tiaris grumbled, flicking the doll’s nose lightly.“This is all because of you. If it weren’t for you, I would have forgotten him already.”The only thing that reminds me of Escal is this broken puppy doll. Even that was originally a gift from Princess Adela to Escal, which is ironic.“I can’t abandon you.”Tiaris put the lid back on the box as she gestured toward the doll.“Oh, I have to go collect the laundry.”Tiaris hurried out of the house, almost forgetting. The sky was covered with dark clouds, indicating that it was going to rain again.As she hurriedly collected the dry laundry and headed into the house, she heard footsteps rustling on the other side of the quiet forest path.No one is coming, so who is it? Did Uncle Ronald forget something behind?Tiaris looked at the other side of the swaying forest with a puzzled face. An unfamiliar shadow appeared between the thick trees.“You’re hiding in a place like this, that’s why I can’t find you.”“……”“How have you been?”It was the face I saw in the newspaper.