Chapter 30
The guard was flustered as he tried to help Daisy up.
"Please tell me where she went. I really need to see her."
"No, how would I know that? The carriage left a long time ago."
Daisy felt all her strength draining from her body. She had believed something would be resolved when she came to the Rohanson mansion. Why had she thought that?
"Don't just stand there being a nuisance. Just come back after the young lady returns."
The guard uncomfortably urged Daisy to leave.
"Should I call a carriage for you?"
"I-I'm fine."
She didn't even have money for a carriage. Daisy pulled herself up on unsteady legs. She had originally thought going to the temple would be better than here. First, she would find the knights she had seen before.
First, go to the inn where she was staying, get her money, and change into a nun's habit. That would make entering the temple much easier.
Daisy left the Rohanson mansion behind and headed toward the inn. Her legs throbbed from running all the way to the Rohanson mansion. Somehow, even her anxious heart had faded away.
Meanwhile, dots began appearing on the ground. Daisy looked up at the sky. Dark clouds had gathered somewhere along the way, and raindrops were falling. Rain that fell near her eyes mixed with tears and streamed down her cheeks.
"It's raining, let's hurry!"
"Eek...!"
"I'm sorry...!"
Children running to escape the rain collided with Daisy. It was only a collision with a child, but perhaps because her legs were weak, she fell right over. The child, thinking Daisy might get angry, apologized and ran off immediately.
Daisy didn't even have the strength to get angry, nor the energy to stand up again, so she just sat there on the ground. Sitting like this, she recalled almost being hit by the carriage earlier. If only she had been hit back then...
As Daisy kept her head bowed low, a shadow appeared right before her eyes and covered her.
Now that she thought about it, this was an area where shops were gathered, so she was probably in the way.
"I'm sorry, I'll move."
"Daisy."
Daisy quickly raised her head at the familiar voice. The owner of the shadow was a snow-white person, the complete opposite of the darkness she had created. And she was the very person Daisy had been searching for so desperately until just moments ago.
"Lady... Evangeline."
Perhaps because she had said it once before, calling the person before her "Evangeline" was no longer difficult. Even though she was still frightened and resentful, she found it funny that she somehow felt at ease.
It was quiet, as if all the rain in the world had been swallowed. She thought the rain had stopped, but it was just an umbrella. Because the umbrella was tilted toward Daisy, Evangeline's back was getting wet.
"How... how did you get here...?"
"I came looking."
Did she really appear because I was looking for her? Like magic?
That thing wearing Lady Evangeline's skin smiled mercifully. It looked remarkably like the smile of Lady Evangeline that Daisy had once cared for.
"I have a favor to ask. You said you would grant my wish."
Daisy gripped Evangeline's dress tightly. It was desperate, as if this were the only lifeline given to her.
"Yes. But there will be a price."
You know what I want, right? Evangeline asked.
A price... Daisy knew very well what that meant. When Daisy had summoned the demon, the demon had certainly looked at Priest Berg and called him a sacrifice. It had also said it would collect proper payment next time.
"I, I'll give you myself."
Even though Daisy had already killed someone and wasn't as clean as the demon might want, the only thing Daisy could give was herself.
"So please, please help me."
"Yes, good. I'll grant it."
Evangeline extended her hand to Daisy. Even though Daisy knew well she shouldn't take that hand, she grasped it. A sensation like a cold snake wrapped around her arm and traveled up to strangle her neck. Daisy ended up thrusting her face into the snake's maw. But it was strange that the inside of the snake was this warm.
***
While riding in the carriage, I suddenly thought of something.
Wait. We're going to the orphanage now, right? The purpose is to find Daisy, but we are going to the orphanage, aren't we? But is it okay to go empty-handed?
When I see people going to do volunteer work at orphanages, they bring loads of food and gifts. Shouldn't I not go empty-handed either?
In terms of basic decency, and for image management while escaping the villainess role, it seemed like I should buy something to bring along.
"Let's stop by a nearby shop."
"Yes."
I hadn't even told the coachman separately, but somehow he heard my voice, and the carriage stopped in front of a nearby bakery.
"I'll be right back."
"Then buy plenty of bread for the children to eat."
I handed Kanna one gold coin.
"Are you trying to buy all the bread in the shop?"
Oops. The cost of living here was quite low. But what can I do when I only have gold coins?
"Buy an appropriate amount. The rest is for your errand fee."
"Thank you!"
Kanna beamed and hopped out of the carriage. She must have really liked the phrase "errand fee" since I could hear her humming a tune all the way here. I should give her some pocket money when I ask her to do small tasks from now on.
"Jelly, you go and help too."
"Ye-yes, okay."
Jelly got out of the carriage with a face full of dissatisfaction, leaving Pudding with me. Is she upset because I'm making her work without pay? No, Kanna is working, and she's trying to live off others without working and still get pocket money. Pudding must have thought the same thing, meowing as if to say that one has no conscience either.
Soon Kanna and Jelly returned with both arms full of bread. It really looked like they had swept up every loaf in the shop. The savory smell filled the carriage.
It seemed like my mouth was watering, so I snatched one of the breads Jelly was holding and ate it. Hmm, it just tastes like regular bread. The smell is amazing though, probably because it's freshly baked. Well, it's not bad, so it doesn't matter. I guess my palate has become picky because the chefs at the Rohanson mansion are so skilled.
"Next, to a clothing store that sells ready-made clothes."
"Buying more? Do we really need to?"
Jelly doesn't understand. To lure someone in, you start by winning over their family. Of course, I'm not going to lure Daisy—I'm going to get on my knees and apologize while asking what exactly she told Hena and Gabriel.
When going to the clothing store, I got out too. Since being possessed, I haven't bought clothes for myself, Kanna, or Hena, yet here I am buying clothes for strangers first. Shouldn't I feel a bit slighted?
I glanced at Kanna, but she seemed to find the clothes half her size absolutely adorable. As expected, the heroine is generous.
"Is looking at clothes fun?"
"Yes... I haven't really done much proper shopping before."
Kanna said shyly. Isn't the heroine's backstory in a tragedy novel just too harsh? If there had been a male lead here originally, he would have immediately grabbed her hand and taken her to buy clothes. Saying to buy everything from here to there.
But I'm just a villainess underling, so I can't put aside what I need to do now and go buy clothes for Kanna first.
"Let's go together next time. You, Hena, and me."
"Miss, that's really wonderful!"
Kanna was happy as if she had gained the whole world, not knowing she was getting a chicken instead of a pheasant. Yeah, should I buy a shop? Just seeing Kanna and Pudding in matching clothes would be satisfying. I was smiling contentedly when I met Jelly's eyes.
"What?"
Jelly just moved her mouth and then said never mind, continuing to sweep clothes into the pile. Just how many is she picking?
The pile of clothes that grew thanks to Jelly didn't even fit properly in the luggage compartment. The shop owner looked at me quite suspiciously for buying so many children's clothes.
Thinking it was an opportunity, I made sure to loudly announce that Evangeline Rohanson had bought this many clothes for volunteer work at the orphanage. This isn't a shop that nobles usually frequent, so the impact might be small, but perhaps some rumors will spread.
"Y-young lady, please take this umbrella too. The sky isn't clear..."
Thanks to that, the clothing store owner kindly gave me an umbrella. Although her hands were trembling, she bit her tongue, and she kept her head bowed, so anyone watching might think I was extorting an umbrella through threats.
The umbrella seemed to have seen some use, probably the owner's personal one. If she says it's going to rain and gives me the umbrella, how does she plan to get home? I was about to refuse, but I just accepted the umbrella.
If I refused, it might create another bad reputation that Evangeline Rohanson doesn't even accept gifts from commoners.
"I'll use it well."
"Yes. Thank you!"
Wait, you're the one who gave it, so why are you saying thank you?
When I accepted the umbrella, the shop owner's expression brightened. Though within five seconds, she returned to her original dejected state.
When we went outside the shop, just as she said, raindrops were falling from the sky. Kanna smiled bashfully and opened the umbrella. It wasn't very large, so it could barely fit both me and Kanna.
I thought Jelly might get upset again, but this time she didn't seem to care and just walked into the carriage in the rain. Do romance fantasy male leads not use umbrellas? What about Sebnak?
Once in the carriage, the mystery was solved. Jelly was completely dry. Come to think of it, Jelly is a werewolf shaman. There must be some magic to avoid getting wet. I worried for nothing.
"We're not buying anything else, right?"
"Right. Now let's go to Daisy."
Some food and clothes of various sizes should be enough. I wouldn't even know what toys to buy in a romance fantasy world anyway.
The raindrops grew stronger and started hitting the glass. Stroking Pudding and leaning back, drowsiness washed over me. Before I knew it, I had closed my eyes and was dozing off when Jelly woke me up.
Had we already arrived? I looked outside. We hadn't gone very far, and there were still narrow, densely packed buildings lined up. I didn't see any large buildings... Shouldn't an orphanage be a bit bigger? In a romance fantasy world overflowing with class systems, is there discrimination even here?
"Is this the Ainoa Orphanage?"
"No, it's not..."
Kanna shook her head. Then why did we stop here? At that moment, Jelly pointed to someone sitting slumped outside the window.
"...Daisy?"