The Whipping Maid of House Calley - Chapter 68

“Anyway, Fabiola’s dead, I can’t just sit still as her older brother. I sent her off to get married, not to die, so I’ll go and make them take full responsibility!”

After their father died, the head of this household was clearly the eldest son, Fred. So Fred thought that authority over his younger sisters naturally belonged to him, and that the only man who could step in and argue over Fabiola’s situation was him.

Even though he knew about Fabiola’s death, Fred kept snickering, excited at the thought of squeezing out even more money.

“That bastard, at his age, liking a young woman so much he came all the way out to this countryside with his eyes blazing, and now look at him. A widower in less than two years… You remember too, right?”

At Fred’s question, the other person let out a lewd laugh as if agreeing.

“Of course. I arranged it, so of course I remember.”

“At first, Fabiola held out and said she wouldn’t get married. So I told her. Then there’s no choice but to send Sheila instead. Only then did she say she’d go obediently.”

What…?

Startled by Fred saying it like it was nothing, Sheila covered her mouth.

It was the first time she’d heard that.

As a child, Sheila had secretly had a bit of resentment toward the older sister who got married and left her behind.

She’d thought, Why didn’t she just say she wouldn’t go? What was she so scared of with Oppa?

But it was because of her….

Tears poured endlessly from Sheila’s eyes.

She felt like an idiot for not realizing it.

“Damn it, if she went like that, she should’ve endured and lived. Seriously, what a fucking idiot.”

Fred kept spewing filth without stopping.

“Should I have taken more money and sent her instead?”

In less than three years since their father died, he’d become even more of a thug.

“No, if I’d sent Sheila, she would’ve run away. Then that bastard Duker wouldn’t have stayed quiet like now. Anyway, Fabiola really was kind. The youngest has this rat-like cunning streak, you know. Even now, she earns money every month and sends it and carefully watches my mood.”

Every time Sheila heard Fred mention her, she felt like she was going to throw up.

Shuddering with rage, Sheila thought.

Fred was no longer human.

He was nothing but vermin she had to erase with her own hands.

“If someone’s bothering you, tell me. We can go and take care of them, just like that.”

Jerry’s words suddenly flashed through Sheila’s mind.

***

After returning from her home, Sheila agonized for a few weeks, then went back to the guild.

At first, Bill flatly denied it, saying they didn’t do things like that. But when Sheila said she’d come knowing everything, he turned his eyes toward Jerry. In the end, realizing Jerry had been loose-lipped, Bill raised his voice and blew up.

Anyway, that was what led to Sheila continuing her connection with the guild up until now.

“My resolve hasn’tchanged. Like I told you, if something happens to me before then, the only thing I’ll ask is that you use the money I’ve saved to rescue me,” Sheila said without blinking.

Sheila didn’t want to be sold off by Fred, and she didn’t want to die miserably like Fabiola.

The thing that had to disappear from this world wasn’t her older sister or herself, but trash like Fred.

If she didn’t get rid of him, then in the end, she, too, would become Fred’s sacrifice like her older sister. Or like he said, she’d live her whole life watching his mood.

In fact, it was almost a miracle that Fred had, up until now, been quietly taking the money she handed over.

After learning Fred’s true feelings, Sheila hadn’t lived a single moment at ease.

Bill also didn’t forget Sheila’s words and seemed to sometimes send Jerry to check on what she was up to.

Sheila was grateful for that.

Even so, she never wanted Jerry to come and go from the estate while lying that he was her hometown younger brother.

Bill’s blunt expression and Sheila’s resolute expression, the two of their gazes collided in midair.

Breaking the silence was the sound of Jerry knocking.

“Meal coming in!”

Before an answer could even be heard, Jerry opened the door, and in one hand he was holding a large plate.

“Here, eat.”

“Oh, what is this?”

Looking at the appetizing chunk of meat, Sheila asked.

“What do you think, you said you wanted lamb ribs…”

At the words that the meat in front of her was the lamb ribs she’d said as a joke, Sheila’s eyes widened.

“Why would you bring real lamb ribs? I don’t have money…!”

Seeing Sheila act like she was embarrassed even though she liked it, Jerry snorted. “When have we ever taken money from you?”

“That’s true. I’m the one who paid on my own.”

After she stubbornly paid the omelet money that first time, Sheila had always eaten the food Jerry made here.

Jerry deliberately teased her every time she came, and Sheila, knowing it, tossed it back without malice, and before they knew it, they’d become the kind of relationship where they bicker the moment they saw each other.

“I’m really eating this for free! Jerry, you got taller and your generosity got bigger too. But can’t you spit out that gum already?”

When Sheila saw him chattering while chewing gum, she felt like she was the one losing her mind.

“No.”

Bill, who had been the one to get gum for Jerry in the first place, answered instead. His voice was firm.

Sheila learned what gum was for the first time after meeting Jerry.

They said gum was a rubbery thing hardened by adding licorice scent to sap extracted from a sapodilla tree.

Sheila couldn’t understand why he chewed that until his jaw hurt.

“Leave him alone. If that kid doesn’t chew gum, he talks even more.”

At the guildmaster’s words, Sheila immediately agreed and nodded.

Sheila used a knife to cut the meat into appetizing pieces. Since she worked at a count’s household and had seen things, she was quite skilled at using a knife.

Then she couldn’t bring herself to put it in her mouth and looked at Bill.

“Master, you heard him say it’s free, right? I’m eating this!”

Bill gave Sheila a generous smile. “Eat. If we run a deficit, we’ll dock it from that kid’s wages, or whatever.”

“Dock it. I actually earn pretty well, you know,” Jerry said, puffing himself up.

“The service here keeps getting better. Business will go well, Master.”

Only after joking around did Sheila bring the big piece of meat to her mouth.

While Sheila ate, Jerry kept teasing her from the side.

In the gaps of their commotion, Bill’s eyes, checking whether Sheila was really okay, had already turned sharp again.

***

“Sausage and a glass of ale, please.”

The man, who had smoked at the door instead of going to relieve himself, sat down at a round table.

The woman still hadn’t come down from the second floor.

When someone deliberately came all the way out to a place this far, there would be a reason for it.

The man ordered from a passing staff member and set money on the table. The staff member confirmed the order and smoothly collected the money.

A moment later, the middle-aged man who had blocked the stairs earlier slammed a plate with sausages and a glass of ale down with a thud.

“You’re a face I haven’t seen before. Where are you from?” asked the man.

It sounded like an ordinary question, but after what happened earlier, it was clear he’d become suspicious.

“I’m coming over from Lotas to pick up goods. I was hungry, so I’ll have a drink and then get moving.”

“Enjoy.”

It seemed his vague answer worked.

The man gulped down the cold ale, gulp after gulp. When you tailed someone, your throat was always dry. And besides, if he was going to wait naturally until the woman came out, it was better to order alcohol than a meal. If it seemed like she was running late, he could just order more.

By the time he slowly finished the beer, he saw the woman come down the stairs alone. The man drank his beer and sharpened his senses.

“Sheila!”

Just then, he heard someone call the woman he was tailing. The young staff member who had gone upstairs earlier appeared again.

“Here, the Master told me to give it to you.”

“Okay. Tell him thank you.”

Sheila received something from the staff member, exchanged greetings, and left through the shop door.

When the young staff member went back up the stairs, the man stood up and slowly headed out.

***

The place Sheila got down after coming by carriage wasn’t the estate, but the nearby market.

On the way back after giving money to the guild, Sheila had walked instead of taking a carriage several times, and somehow Bill caught on and started buying her carriage rental vouchers.

‘He should just give me money instead.’

Well, sharp Bill wouldn’t fail to realize that if he gave her money, she’d obviously walk again.

Standing near the carriage rental place, Sheila even thought about selling it as a scalped ticket, but in the end, she didn’t.

This area was practically in the guildmaster’s palm. If she did something like that, it was obvious he’d never write her a voucher again.

‘Whether I have money or not, walking isn’t exactly safe.’

As she got older and learned how scary the world could be, she thought she’d really been brave when she was young.

Anyway, after arriving comfortably at the market near the estate, Sheila leisurely looked around the market for the first time in a while.

She only needed one thing, but browsing the market was pretty fun.

So selling and buying felt this different.

Sheila was determined to buy a carpet today. At first, she waited for a carpet that got thrown away at the estate, but it was no longer possible. Every time tall Cedric came and went, the creaky floor felt too burdensome.

Sheila picked out a carpet at a reasonable price. And she succeeded in buying it for half that price.

With the rolled carpet tucked under one side, Sheila arrived at the estate and trudged up the stairs, grunting.

There was spending for the first time in a while, but this was still a pretty great purchase.

Before entering the estate, Sheila forced herself to lift her mood. She’d gone to the guild and back, she’d eaten expensive food for free, she’d even gotten a free carriage ride, and she’d bought the carpet she’d been wanting for so long. So she should be in a good mood.

In Sheila’s experience, there weren’t many times you got to smile because you were happy. If you forced yourself to smile anyway, you at least ended up feeling a little happier.

Sheila went up the stairs, lightly humming.

It was then.

“Looks like something good happened?”