When My Enemies Began to Regret

Fanora paused at his words. It was natural that he was more important than the lives of the kingdom’s citizens whose names she didn’t know, but no answer came immediately.

Can Kasius really be destroyed because of her choice? If she answered like this, wouldn’t she be seen as a vicious woman who takes people’s lives lightly? She was worried for no reason.

“I’ll be going now.”

“…”

“According to Lady Fanora, now is the most important time. I must send letters to my siblings to ask them to come to the capital.”

However, Carl noticed her hesitation, and he immediately turned around. Fanora pursed her lips as she watched him return to the mansion. She felt like she had a lot to say but couldn’t organize it in her head.

She remained in the garden for a while after Carl left. She unconsciously stamped her feet because she was so lost in thoughts.

She bit her lower lip and looked for another way to persuade Carl.

The war, which had been thought of only as a vague future event, is just around the corner. So, after much thought, Fanora came to a conclusion.

Europa, the holy relic of eternal life. Under the original circumstances, it was something that should have been obtained at the beginning of summer. But seeing how things were going, she couldn’t wait for a definite opportunity like this.

She gathered her momentum and headed straight to the capital.

After making her decision, Fanora moved her body without hesitation. She wanted to find the owner of Europa.

She spent her way to the east of the capital road.

Immortality. How many people have wanted this?

Historically, humans have longed for a long life. As evidence, royal families and wealthy people from various kingdoms searched for the holy relic that would make their dream of eternal life come true for a long time.

However, the owner of ‘Europa,’ which was said to give you eternal life was rarely seen. No one knew whether they went down to the ground carrying the holy relic or rose up into the sky. The search for Europa lasted several centuries and eventually fizzled out over time. Then how does Fanora Celsius know the whereabouts of Europa, which was hidden?

Fanora still remembered the day she met that person. Because it was a difficult day to forget.

It was before her regression on Fanora’s 18

th

birthday.  A few years ago, in one hot summer, the daughter of Celsius celebrated her eighteenth birthday. This year was her worst birthday. Not long ago, she was falsely accused of being a fraud and being imprisoned.  

“…”

Thanks to the intervention of Andras’s third son, she was fortunately freed, but she couldn’t prove her innocence in the end. At the end of spring, a new war led by King Balmong caused chaos in the kingdom. Her retrial was also postponed one after another. So, Fanora Celsius was still a criminal, according to her previous convictions.

“Even if you’re found to be innocent, no one will care.”

Fanora had long since given up hope for her retrial. In the meantime, her engagement with the Demangdwi family was annulled. There were rumors in society that the gloomy woman had even turned out to be a criminal this time.

Nobles always chase only provocative rumors, so it was difficult for her reputation to change even if her innocence was belatedly proven. Now, she had lost both her fortune and her honor.

“All… It’s over.”

Fanora sat alone in a dark room and looked out the window. Now, everyone in her family treated her like a dead person. No one celebrated the birth of that pathetic woman. Just a few months ago, Purson’s birthday banquet was so loud that it echoed through the second floor.

“…”

It was fortunate that Hanar was busy with Purson’s debutante. What would she say if she returned to the mansion? Wouldn’t she get rid of her without anyone noticing because she tarnished the family’s honor? Moreover, her father scolded her this morning for running into him in the hallway. Does she have to continue to experience this in the future?

“I didn’t do anything wrong. I…”

She burst into tears, a mixture of resentment and misery.  Fanora no longer had the ability to hold out in Celsius’s mansion. She felt like she would suffocate and die if she continued to be in this environment.

“…”

That’s why she ran away from the mansion in frustration. She ran away without any preparation.

What’s the point of running away from home? She had nowhere to go. But she still took her steps, even if it was just a single step away from Celsius.

“…”

As she walked so aimlessly, her body was already devastated. Her last meal was just a few slices of apple she stole from the kitchen yesterday morning, and basked in the hot summer sun for hours. She soon became exhausted, and when she came to her senses, she was already standing in the downtown area on the east side of the capital.

On the wide street, merchants’ carriages were passing by, making a busy noise. She stared with subdued eyes at the wheels of rolling carriages. But at that moment, there was something that stood out between the wheels of the carriage.

“Help me… I haven’t had a meal in days… help…”

Fanora slowly turned her dark gaze to look ahead of her. At the end of her gaze was none other than a village beggar.

“

”

The shabby man was lying in the shadow of a building. However, people passing by on the street ignored him and passed calmly.

“

why does a place like this stink?”

“Dad, is that person sick?”

“Don’t even get close. You will get sick.”

It wasn’t unusual for a beggar to starve to death on the side of the road. Due to the influence of King Balmong, who waged a senseless war, the ratio of poor people and slaves in the Kingdom Kasius skyrocketed.

Instead of pitying them, the kingdom’s citizens always persecuted them, worried that beggars would steal their goods. It was natural. Due to the high tax rate, everyone no longer had time to relax.

“Ah, it’s really bad luck. Can’t you just go away? Where are you begging to? Do you have to ruin someone’s store?”

“I-I’m sorry…”

Of course, even during these times, the nobles were busy sucking up the hard work of commoners and focusing their efforts on maintaining a luxurious life.

When she saw the beggar being kicked out near a store, Fanora realized that this kingdom was falling.

“…”

The beggar sat looking for another shade with a limp as if she had hurt her leg. Fanora, who had been following her with her eyes, turned without saying a word and entered the building.

“

”

How many minutes have passed since then? The beggar lay there, breathing hard as if she had no more energy to speak. It was then.

“

this…”

“!”

“Please eat.”

Something fell before him with a gentle voice. It was bread and a glass of clean water. Fanora had just gone into the store to get this.

“T-Thank you. Thank you… Lady…!” The beggar bowed, thanked her, and soon ate the bread as if she were hungry.

Fanora squatted down next to the beggar and told her to eat slowly. This money was originally brought as petty cash. Still, it seemed better to go into the mouth of a living person than the body of a dead person.

The woman with a tired face looked into the distance for a moment. She was watching the wheels of the carriage rolling again.

“…”

The beggar glanced at the noble lady’s face beneath her robe hat. There was half of the bread left, which she ate in a hurry, but she hid it inside her robe. Then she said this, “T-that, I have no shame, but can I ask you another favor?”

She said she lived beyond those salt hills. However, when she came down here to get food, she was beaten by some bad people, and her leg was seriously injured.

“Oh my god.”

Saying that the beggar rolled up the robe over her leg. There was a severe wound that was swollen and bluish in color.

“I used to be limp, but now that I have suffered these injuries, I can no longer cross the rough road by myself. But I really have to go home today…”

“…”

“Could you please move me? Lady…”

Even when she looked again, the beggar’s appearance was very shabby. A robe covered in dust and dirt, and a body that smells like you don’t know when she last washed. No one would want to touch this person.

“You even got me something to eat, so this is an unreasonable request, right…?” She muttered in a crawling voice as if she knew it.

Fanora, who saw it, smiled a soft smile and said, “It’s alright. I have a lot of time today.”

“Thank you. Thank you…!”

She immediately gave the beggar a piggyback ride. Her dress was dirty, and she was quite heavy for a short person, so it was difficult, but she didn’t show it.

“Which direction is the salt hill?”

“It’s over there!”

The road to the beggar’s house was really rough. After passing through the bushes, she had to go up a slope that seemed to bend her ankle, so she was exhausted.

Inevitably, they had to rest several times until they got to his home. However, Fanora didn’t mind taking a long time. By nature, she was someone who couldn’t abandon someone in trouble.

“That… that one… Looking at your clothes, you seem to be a lady from a noble family… Thank you for helping me and people like me…”

As they sat on the rock and rested, they had various conversations.  Fanora was in a depressed state and quiet due to exhaustion, so the stories were mainly told one-sidedly by the beggar.

“I-I heard that other people get examined by a doctor. I don’t have money for that, so I must go home, spread some herbs, and lie down.”

“…”

“In addition, I have a family waiting at home. If it weren’t for Lady, I wouldn’t be able to move, and I could have been in big trouble.”

Maybe because of the hot weather, she was sweating more and more. So the beggar revealed her face, which she had hidden with a robe. She was a woman in her late 30s or early 40s.

“Family?”

“I have a child.”

Earlier, she wondered why she suddenly stopped eating, but now she understood that she left it for her child, who remained at home.

“He just started walking around. He’s a very cute boy.”

Once she regained her strength, Fanora carried her up the hill again. One step, two steps. Her thin body made it difficult for her to support herself. Still, she carried others on her back, so everything seemed like a thorny path for Fanora. Still, she eventually reached the destination.

It was only when the sunset fell on the hillside that she found a small cabin. All the trees were rotten, and the roof was half collapsed, so it didn’t look like a place where people lived, but it was the only house nearby.

“I think I can go on my own from here…”

“Do you want me to drop you off?”

Fanora dropped her off carefully in front of the cabin. All she has left to do is get back to the downtown before there was no carriage passing by. 

“W-wait!”

However, as she turned around, someone suddenly grabbed the hem of her clothes. It was the limping beggar who stopped her.

“…”

Fanora looked at her without hiding her gloomy expression, and the words the beggar uttered were truly shocking.

“I-I know I have no shame! But really… I have one last favor to ask you, Lady!”