653. [Side Story] Dusk Bringer
110 years ago.
Solar Queen, the capital of the Principality of Bringer.
The city, adorned with colorful flowers, was full of excitement.
Songs could be heard from all over the place, and the pleasant drunken sounds of people who had been drunk since broad daylight carried the heat back and forth.
The smell of alcohol, the smell of cooking, the smell of cosmetics, the smell of perfume, the smell of burning campfires –
a fall festival.
The city was delighted with a few festivals a year. People lined up on each street, drinking and dancing, enjoying the atmosphere.
The center of this exciting city. Square with fountains.
A woman climbed onto the podium that was installed. At her appearance, the citizens who were filling the plaza let out cheers full of joy.
“Long live the Archduke of Bringer!”
“Glory to the Dragon Lady!”
“May the Queen of the Sun live forever!”
Receiving the hospitality of the citizens, the ruler of the Principality of Bringer – Day-Bringer (Day-Bringer) waved his hand.
She was tall, with dark skin, and her hair, which was braided in several strands, hung down her back.
The white ceremonial military uniform that fit her body nicely emphasized her dignified appearance, and the bloody cloak that extended to her waist reminded her of what kind of lineage she came from.
The artistically decorated rapier worn around her waist indicated that she was the commander-in-chief and an outstanding weapon.
And above the head – a crown.
A silver crown, symbolizing the ruling authority of the Principality of Bringer, shone dazzlingly on her plaited hair.
Daybringer, the dragon blood duke who is loved by all citizens of this country, grinned and opened his mouth to shout.
“You have waited a long time, my subjects! This is the autumn festival we have all been waiting for for a year!”
Wow…!
Daybringer winked at the cheering citizens.
“Gwain also waited for this day. It’s a festival that I’ve been through over a hundred times, but every year is a new fun.”
At the king’s words, the citizens cheered again. The Daybringer jerked his hand out to the side.
“I will skip the long words! Everyone drink, dance and sing today! And…”
The Day Bringer smiled broadly.
“Love! Love, my subjects!”
Citizens listened to her words with their arms extended upwards.
I will drink, dance, sing and love!
“In the name of the Grand Duke of Bringer, I bless this year’s festival! Have a good time everyone!”
Daybringer, who had given a congratulatory speech, fluttered his cape and went down the podium.
The full-fledged festival began with loud cheers. People began to drink, dance, and sing throughout the city.
…and.
Unlike this cheerful atmosphere, there was a girl staring at people on the street with cold eyes.
“Whoa…”
the girl who was hiding in the corner of the alley next to the boulevard, watching the crowds sweeping the street, murmured, sweeping her chest.
“I can do it. I can do it…”
It was a scruffy girl with flowing water.
He had the appearance of a young man who would have thought he was only ten years old. He was wearing old, dirty clothes that were nothing more than rags on top of his skinny body from not eating properly.
Compared to the people dressed up for the festival, the girl looked even more shabby.
Through the scattered black hair, the girl’s big eyes were busy scanning the people. The girl was waiting for a suitable prey to appear.
“…!”
For a while, the girl found a suitable partner.
It was a middle-aged man who had been heavily intoxicated in broad daylight.
I was stumbling around singing loudly with a friend who seemed to be shoulder to shoulder, but my wallet was sticking out of the back pocket of my pants.
‘Okay…’
After coming out of the alley, the girl naturally entered the main street and quickly stood behind the middle-aged man.
His slender arms trembled with tension, but his decision was quick and there was no hesitation in his actions.
When the girl exited the main street and entered the next alley, the wallet she was aiming for was still in her arms.
“Ha ha ha ha…!”
The breath I was holding in came out. My heart was beating like it would explode.
After confirming that the middle-aged man had disappeared across the street while singing, the girl cautiously opened the wallet.
“…”
The girl’s face, which was full of expectations, was soon filled with disappointment.
All I had in my wallet was a few coins. There were no valuables. The girl shook her purse up and down a few times before letting out a light sigh.
‘But where is this?’
With these coins, you can buy snacks from the festival stalls.
At that moment, a faint growl sounded from the girl’s stomach. When she thought about food, the girl’s stomach, which had been starving for the past few days, reacted first.
The girl, suffering from a hungry stomach, stumbled and moved on. I wanted to eat something right away.
however.
“…!”
The girl entering the next alley was startled and had to stop.
A woman with tattoos all over her body was smoking a cigarette. When she spotted the girl, she smiled and gestured.
“Hey, congratulations, our maknae. Did you finally succeed in your first theft?”
“…”
“Now, you too will do your part. Come on. This older sister will stroke you.”
“…”
“Come here? I can not hear you?”
The girl hesitated and approached the woman. The woman spat her cigarette on the floor, stepped on it, and held out her hand to the girl.
“Give me.”
“…yes?”
“Give it. Our youngest’s first income. Take a look.”
As the girl hesitated, the woman furiously frowned.
“Oh, I’m trying to get upset about this. Youngest, you know how much I struggled to raise you, right?”
“…”
Then, the abuse that this woman had been subjected to in the past flashed through the girl’s mind.
The leader of all the female street children on this street, who took food from them and often beat them just because they were the same homeless people living on the same street .
That was the ‘big sister’ in front of me.
So I couldn’t deny it any longer. With trembling hands, the girl took out the wallet she had put in her bosom and held it out.
widely!
The woman who took the wallet looked at the contents and made a sound like ‘to~’.
“What kind of business does it take dog hair from the start? Anyway, you’re really cool too. Tsk.”
The woman calmly put her wallet in her pocket.
“ah…!”
When the girl made a puzzled noise, the woman’s eyes glistened fiercely.
“What kind of ‘ah’ is this female? Don’t you close your eyes?”
“…”
“I couldn’t even afford a place to beg for money, and I was too young to work as a prostitute. huh? Then, of course, you have to repay my favor, right? right or not?”
I know I have to answer yes.
Today, those words did not come out of the girl’s mouth.
I couldn’t tell if it was because of the atmosphere of the festival, the first theft, or the hunger that stuck in my stomach… but
for the first time, the girl chose to rebel.
“Couldn’t you give me back too?”
“what?”
“I am so hungry. I’ll steal another wallet and give it to you, so can you give me that coin…?”
What came back was not an answer, but a woman’s strong grip.
Damn!
The slapping hit the girl as it was and threw her into the alley wall. Grabbing the unconscious girl by the collar, the woman stretched her cheeks and pressed her against her.
“You stupid bitch! What a shameless year! what? Can’t you give it back? Can’t you give it back? I completely forgot the grace that this piece of trash has nurtured me all this time!”
Damn! Damn! Damn!
The blows continued, causing blood to splatter even from the little girl’s nose. All the girl could do was put her hands together and pray, saying she was sorry.
“Ha ha ha ha ha….”
After beating the girl until her temper waned, the woman gasping for breath spat on the floor.
“I live in poverty after taking care of a stupid kid like you. It’s all because of you!”
“….”
“Isn’t this sister pitiful? Don’t you feel sorry for me who ruined my life and lived like this because of things like you?”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, sister… I was wrong…”
“If you know you’re sorry, go pickpocket the next time. it’s a festival It’s called a topic. You’ll be better off stealing today than you’ve earned in your entire life.”
“…”
“And from now on, everything you earn every day will be brought to me. I will share your share. okay?”
“Yes…”
“If you know, go quickly!”
The girl hurriedly ran out of the alley.
“Tsk.”
Looking at her, the woman clicked her tongue and took out the coin she had just obtained from her bosom and threw it into the air. And he glared toward the central plaza.
“Drink, dance, sing, love… There is no such thing as a fucking plague.”
Thinking over the words of the ruler of this country, the woman laughed.
“All four of them have nothing to do with us.”
***
The girl who came out of the alley once again jumped into theft.
Picking a fat, old veteran with a prosthetic leg, he boldly tried to pickpocket it.
If I had as much physical strength as usual, even half that, I would have succeeded without any problems.
However, I was so hungry and I couldn’t move my body properly because I was beaten so much in the alley.
I was already caught when I took my wallet out of my pocket, and I was caught by my hair before running away.
“Aagh!”
Realizing that the situation was wrong, the girl quickly knelt down and began to pray. It was because he knew that it was the safest way out.
“Sorry Sorry! Please take a look…”
“Why me?”
However, the opponent was also not normal.
The old veteran muttered bloodily. With her hair still being held, the girl asked in a trembling voice.
“yes?”
“Why me? Why did you try to rob my wallet?”
“No, that’s…”
“Did I look easy on you, huh?”
The veteran roared and waved his hands.
“You also thought I was easy enough to be like this, damn you!”
The girl was beaten to death.
He was beaten so that his whole body was covered in blood and no bruises were left.
And even if a shoplifting girl was beaten to the point of death by a parentless beggar in the back alley of the city where the festival was held, no one paid any attention.
The veteran stabbed the girl until he was relieved, then left with a limp.
The girl, who had become a super-corpse, was randomly scattered along with trash in the corner of a dirty back alley.
“…”
I was hungry.
It really was just that.
A city where even begging can be started only by paying rent to other beggars.
it’s a festival The whole street is overflowing with abundance and merriment. Full of food and drink. It was all a distant story for the girl.
***
It was near dawn when the unconscious girl came to her senses.
Today’s festival is already over and the city is cold in the middle of the night.
The girl staggered to her feet and staggered toward the stalls. It was the intention of begging for the leftover food thrown away by the closed store.
however.
“Where is the dirty snooping in my store?”
“I can’t turn it off!”
“Don’t spread the disease and go down the drain where you live!”
The girl was kicked out of nowhere.
The bloody, already rag-like clothes became rags, and there was a foul smell from rolling through the filthy back alleys.
“…”
If it was the usual festival time, I wouldn’t go hungry.
If I pretended to be pitiful and snooped around, I could have received food saying I was pitiful.
I was a little more greedy, but I accidentally got my hands on theft, and I ended up in a worse situation.
The stumbling girl suddenly stopped walking. It was the middle of the night, and I saw a brightly lit house.
Approach it as if possessed and peek inside through the crack in the curtain that is slightly open on the window.
‘Ah…’
I saw the scenery of a warm family home compared to the cold autumn night outside.
Smoke pours from the burning fireplace.
New toys bought at the festival were piled up at the bedside of young children who were sleeping soundly on the sofa.
A cooked turkey is seen between a young couple who elegantly share wine glasses in the kitchen.
The two sleeping children tossed and turned, whining. The couple, who had been talking affectionately, burst into laughter when they looked at the children.
‘Envy you.’
The girl’s skinny hands clenched into fists as she gazed at the scene as if possessed.
‘If only I… could live like that.’
If only I could have grown up happily in such a nice house.
No, it’s okay to be poor and lacking, so if there was a house where you could avoid the rain and wind.
No, it’s okay if you don’t have a home… As long as your parents haven’t abandoned you.
Numerous meaningless assumptions passed before my eyes. In front of the girl’s eyes, images of the enviable life she could not live continued to flow.
And at some point, that imagination was cut off.
slap!
The couple, who noticed the girl’s existence belatedly, approached with cold faces and fixed the curtains on the window.
The scenery of the house was no longer visible as it was covered by the dark curtains.
“…”
The girl, who had been expelled even in her imagination, staggered back and tripped.
I didn’t have the strength to stand or live on any longer.
The girl collapsed in place and collapsed. The string of consciousness was suddenly severed.
In the darkening world, the girl made a wish.
I’d rather life end like this. May I never open my eyes again.
I hope you can get out of this hell forever…
***
“Your Excellency, you must return to the palace soon.”
The Day Bringer’s loyal lieutenant and dragon blood knight Layton urged him.
The Daybringer, who was drinking with the citizens in the central square, shook his head with a calm face.
“Don’t be too tight, Lord Layton. Isn’t it the first festival in a year! look at me a little longer I’m not even drunk yet.”
“Your Excellency… Your Excellency must stop eating this place to be destroyed. That way, citizens can go back and sleep. It is already dawn. It will soon dawn.”
“Ahh, I know, I know. Anyway, there’s a lot of nagging…”
The Daybringer, who eventually surrendered to the constant nagging, waved his hands wide.
“Today’s drinking party ends here! If you haven’t finished drinking, let’s continue tomorrow!”
The warriors who drank until the end of the last cheered in unison, and immediately fell down at the same time.
Everyone was forced to hold on to the glorious drinking party with the queen.
Leaving the devastated drinking party behind, Daybringer left with a clean look. Following her, Layton shook his head.
His dragon lady was a good monarch in every respect, but the problem was that she loved festivals too much and enjoyed socializing with her citizens.
Every festival as an aide-de-camp was exhausting.
“When we get back, shall we have another drink together, Sir Leyton?”
“Please be patient sir… I am already tired to the point of death
…”
Daybringer, who was laughing with his mouth covered, suddenly found a shadow lying on a road in a dark city.
“Sir Layton. What is that child?”
“yes?”
Layton also looked in that direction and was able to find it.
The image of a little girl lying on the floor, covered in blood, dying.
