# 57
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* * *
“Nothing will happen, ma'am.”
The Duchess clenched her trembling hands into fists when she heard the words of the butler who had followed her, carrying an umbrella.
Although I was still very short of breath, I walked a little further.
The Duke and Lucio, who had already advanced, were nowhere to be seen.
The Duchess, who was anxious and unable to hide her worry, only breathed a sigh of relief when she arrived in front of the residence.
Probably because of the rain, there was no smoke or traces of fire outside.
It must have been a small fire, but despite her relief, she walked up the stairs to see Leia's face in person and make sure she was safe. Then I stopped.
In the far hall, I saw the Duke and Lucio frozen with frightened faces.
There was smoke on their side.
". … my dear ?"
The Duchess, whose heart sank for some reason, walked quickly and turned her head towards where the Duke was looking.
Meanwhile, incredibly, a little girl was seen standing in the middle of the flames, holding her dress.
At this time, Leah screamed with bloodshot eyes.
“I could leave at any time, I could go anywhere!”
* * *
"Fire! Fire!"
“Ah!”
People started running away in panic and screaming.
It was normal.
Because a fire suddenly broke out in the room.
The maids who were holding me from both sides quickly removed their hands from me due to the unknown flames.
Wurrsh!
But while the people filling the door were running away, the people in my room couldn't move.
Because I made a fire near the door and closed it.
The fire that started suddenly spreads quickly.
Amid the intense heat and thick smoke, they were led to a room where fire could not reach.
I could see eyes filled with fear that I might be surrounded by flames at any moment.
And at the end of their view, I was me.
I bent down slowly, picked up Bianca's letter and her dress, and placed them in my arms.
Every time my eyes trembled with anger, the flames flashed loudly.
But I knew it instinctively.
“This fire can't hurt me.”
In fact, my body felt hotter than that fire.
Breathing in and out was so difficult that I was panting hard and heard a frightened sound.
“Save me!”
I turned my head.
I saw a face full of fear.
It was funny how the confidence and sarcasm from before had completely disappeared.
When she sneered, the maid's face became stained with frustration and she immediately screamed.
“You devilish slut!”
Satan ? Yes.
Maybe that's true.
Even holy power doesn't suit me, and I do these irrational things out of anger.
She asked with a cold smile.
“If you are the devil, who are you?”
When I saw them frozen in silence, my anger filled me again.
“I didn't come here to get beaten up by people like you.”
I said through gritted teeth.
“I am no longer harassed by you!”
The louder you screamed, the hotter the fire got.
I started screaming as if a fire was boiling in my chest.
“There's nowhere else to go but here? I've been living in a place that couldn't be worse, and who cares if it's somewhere else? I could leave anytime, I could have gone anywhere!”
There were many guilds that tried to scout me several times.
I can go to the Principality of Pylos and go to Bianca.
The memories of my current life and my previous life mixed together, and I screamed without even knowing what I was saying.
But the anger didn't go away, instead, it deepened my intense loneliness.
I felt as if I was fighting alone in a place that no longer resonated, even if I screamed until my throat bled.
then.
“Leah.”
I heard a quietly angry voice.
When I turned my head, Duke Elad was standing in front of the door, exhaling enormous killing energy.
Lucio was there too.
They looked at me with cold, hardened faces.
Suddenly my eyes became hot.
I felt like crying even though I had absolutely no reason to do so.
I quickly held back my tears and thought even when I was angry.
Are you angry?
Because I set their house on fire?
Have I been abandoned now?
But I wasn't afraid.
I felt so sad that I was able to leave without being able to say goodbye to Diana.
It was time to put my head down because I felt like I couldn't hold back the crying any longer.
“Leah, come here.”
I quickly raised my head.
“It's dangerous, fast.”
I don't know when I arrived, but the Duchess was beckoning me over with a sad look on her face.
The eyes and the sweet voice that was no different from usual brought tears to my eyes again.
I quickly wiped my red eyes and cleared my throat.
I didn't want to look ugly.
And I tried to speak.
“I'm fine, ma'am.”
But the moment I was about to say that, my heart suddenly started beating.
As I clutched my chest where my heart used to be, my vision became blurry and my breathing quickened.
My fingertips were shaking without me realizing it.
The heat was so intense that the hair on my head stood on end and rose from my whole body.
I couldn't stand this heat.
“Leah!”
I don't know why I threw myf out the open window.
I heard the Duchess calling me from behind, but I did not turn.
All I wanted to do was cool down my heart and body, which were racing like crazy and giving off heat.
Shoot ah.
The raindrops that had been falling steadily became thicker and fell harder, as if the sky had opened up.
I jumped in the pouring rain.
My whole body was wet, but I didn't care at all.
I stood still in the rain, hoping this pain would go away.
I felt like fog was rising around me.
The sound of rain was everywhere.
When I smelled the rain, a sad memory came to mind.
That was the time when I was living on the streets near the academy.
The ar gang I belonged to would often target students at the academy and steal items or money.
Perhaps because most of them come from aristocratic backgrounds, I've heard them flirt with each other a few times, saying that compared to restaurateurs, they don't worry as much about running out of money.
It even encouraged kids like me who were just ing to be robbed.
But I persevered.
It wasn't because of my beliefs or conscience, I just didn't feel like it.
There were times when I was tempted to steal the bread when I was really hungry, but I persevered.
Then one day it happened.
〈You insolent ar, how dare you steal my things? Do you know how much this costs?〉
〈Oh, no! I didn't steal it, it was on the ground so I wanted to pick it up. ….〉
Trrrrrrrrsh!
The boy grabbed me by the collar and threw me to the ground as if I had touched something dirty.
Since it was a rainy day, the floor was dirty and damp.
The boy kept screaming at me and calling me a thief.
But that wasn't true.
I saw a boy drop a fountain pen from his pocket while walking in a store.
Although I hesitated because I recognized a person who sometimes cursed and intimidated ars, I was more concerned about how upset I would feel if I discovered I had lost my possessions.
But as soon as I ran to him and handed him the fountain pen, the boy started screaming that I had stolen something from him.
I couldn't understand.
If he was going to steal it, why would I bother catching him?
Because it was in front of the main gate of the academy, there were many students who visited the shopping area.
I looked around while I was being beaten, hoping someone would help me, but the children from the orphanage and the group of ars I was with had already run away when they saw that I was in trouble.
The other people surrounded me and just watched.
I was overcome with sadness and fear and suddenly thought of someone.
But I quickly shook my head.
Not only was there no reason for him to come forward for me, I didn't want him to see me that way.
I didn't think I could handle it if this person thought I was a thief and a liar.
But Heaven ultimately ignored my earnest wishes.
〈Ah...〉
When I met blue eyes filled with deep and cold hatred.
I witnessed my world fall apart.
At that moment, with some force, she pushed the boy and stood up.
And I started running.
I had no idea where I was going, but I kept running forward.
While running on the slippery ground due to heavy rain, I fell to the ground several times, but I got up again and ran again.
Then she collapsed in the street.
I closed my blurry eyes and thought.
'I hope the next day doesn't come...'
And after a while.
I laughed weakly.
Because I suddenly felt lucky.
If I had parents, they would definitely be sad to see me like this.
If I had an older brother, or a younger brother, or a sister, I probably would have been very upset.
But there was no one for me.
I was really lucky.
It was the Master who saved me when I thought I was going to die.
I followed him into the Information Guild and put in a lot of effort.
But in the end I died in vain.
“But why now?”
Why are the blue eyes that I saw at the moment of death shaking and looking at me?
I vaguely felt anger and sadness in Lucio's eyes, looked at him curiously, and then opened my mouth.
“Actually, there were a lot of things I wanted to ask you when I met you.”
How in heaven's name did you know that?
Did you really remember me?
My name is. …
Why did you know my name when I never told you?
I let out a small laugh when I saw his twitching eyes.