Chapter 6
The reason Freya could endure the grueling day was that Luss was by her side. Though small in stature, Luss had a certain maturity that made Freya feel safe when she was with him. If Lottie felt like a younger sibling she had to care for, Luss felt more like a friend.
The two of them sat facing each other in the attic, playing an amusing game.
“So, I’m the dad, and you’re the mom,” Freya said.
“But shouldn’t a boy be the dad?” Luss frowned, clearly dissatisfied with the role assignment.
“Does it matter who’s the dad? We’re doing it together.”
“Together…?”
“Yeah. So hurry and mold the clay into a cake.”
Freya shaped clumps of clay she’d brought from the courtyard, using short sticks as candles. Luss, cheeks faintly red for some reason, just watched her quietly.
“Luss, have you ever seen a cake?”
“That… is…”
Seeing Luss hesitate, Freya quickly continued.
“There’s sugar snow on top of the cake.”
She gently sprinkled fine sand, also from the courtyard, over the clay lumps. Soon, a homemade cake was complete.
“Luss, do you think there’ll ever be a day when I get to eat a real cake for my birthday?”
“Freya. When’s your birthday?”
“Oh… when is it…? It was February!”
She tried to recall the memory of sharing delicious bread with Lottie.
“Is there no exact date?”
“What day should it be? Since I’m thirteen, should we pick the 13th?”
“Alright. Freya, starting next birthday, the cakes will pile up so high you won’t even be able to eat them all.”
Freya loved hearing Luss’s childlike imagination. Yet, she felt a twinge of worry.
‘With such a poor sense of reality… how will he survive in this harsh world?’
“Luss, don’t worry. When I become incredibly strong, I’ll definitely protect you.”
“…Huh?”
Luss’s eyes widened in surprise at Freya’s sudden vow.
She bit her fingers softly and muttered to herself:
“Maybe soon… we’ll have to go to the capital too.”
Lately, a sense of unease had been gripping her. If they went to the capital, where would they live? Would she be able to stay with Luss? Nothing was certain.
“Freya, what do you want?”
Sometimes, Luss asked the most absurd questions.
Thanks to his odd questions, she could sometimes dream of a different world.
“I don’t really want anything,” she said.
Luss’s green eyes sparkled as he smiled.
“If you had a pot full of gold and me, Freya, which would you choose?”
In Freya’s mind, the shining pot of gold and Luss appeared side by side. Though the gold tempted her, it was Luss’s fine golden hair that truly captured her gaze.
“I like you more, Luss. I can earn all the gold I want later.”
Luss blushed slightly at her answer. He reached out and lightly brushed Freya’s cheek.
“Freya, you really…”
He sighed, and Freya laughed brightly. He must have been embarrassed, and that made her giggle even more.
“Think of me as your older sister, Luss.”
She wanted to do anything for him.
Luss was far away from the capital. He removed the mask he had been wearing since climbing up to the orphanage attic.
“…I’m tired.”
Huddled in a corner, his usual pure energy seemed gone. His eyes, staring at the dust-covered window, were dark.
‘It might have been better to lose my memories.’
It was painful to hide like this.
‘What am I doing just to survive…?’
His original destination wasn’t the orphanage—it was a monastery. Things had gone awry, and he ended up at the orphanage, a place far from the charitable institutions he had imagined.
‘An orphanage that abuses children.’
Not only that, corruption and wrongdoing were rampant.
‘Demons exist everywhere.’
As he brushed back his bangs, someone he had met there came to mind. Life had been a series of hardships since he arrived. Depression and lethargy kept him from thinking. He had no appetite, no motivation—he only wished time would pass quickly.
‘And yet, she keeps bothering me.’
There was one girl who spoke to him and shared food. Luss found her presence irritating.
‘…Freya.’
It was she who discovered him when he collapsed.
She hadn’t shown any affection at first, only slight pity and distance.
‘That only piqued my curiosity.’
Even as he lived like a shadow, she kept reaching out.
‘Even now, with me in this state… is that okay?’
Amazingly, Freya seemed to see him as someone to protect. Her eyes were warm without malice. There was only one person in the world who looked at Lucius like that. He wasn’t sure what he felt, but he liked Freya.
‘Few people would say they like me more than gold.’
Luss recalled their previous days as he washed his face. Freya’s straightforward expression surely wasn’t a confession, yet his adult heart beat faster than hers.
‘Freya, you’re the only one for me.’
It had been she who saved his hand from falling off a cliff.
‘No matter what happens, I won’t let go of your hand.’
“Luss, what are you doing here?”
Freya called him from the doorway, carrying her knitting supplies. He hid his somber expression and shyly replied:
“Freya, I was waiting for you.”
“What? You know, just like a dog waiting for its owner?”
“Now I’m a dog?”
Freya gave a faint smile, and Luss enjoyed seeing it.
That morning, a commotion broke out because a man came to buy furniture from the orphanage. The long dining tables, chairs, and children’s beds were carried out one by one. Only the bare minimum remained in Sophia’s room.
“You’re lucky to be buying these for such cheap prices,” Sophia said, frowning as she collected the payment.
After the morning’s chaos, the orphanage felt strangely empty.
“Luss, I don’t think anyone’s here today.”
Neither the grim-looking uncle nor the grumpy grandmother in the kitchen could be seen. Sophia had gone to a small gathering.
“….”
Thunder rumbled and rain began to beat heavily against the orphanage windows. Freya shivered, and Luss teased her quietly:
“You said you’re not afraid of ghosts, but now you’re scared of the rain?”
“I’m not scared of the rain. I just don’t like the lightning and the sound,” Freya replied softly.
Luss smiled warmly at her.
Soon, the two held a single candle and climbed up to the attic.
“This spot should be fine, right?”
The smaller attic felt cozier than the room cleared of furniture. Sitting close together, they faced each other.
“You know, on the day I was abandoned here… it rained. Maybe that’s why I don’t like rain,” Freya whispered, as if sharing a secret. Luss reached out and held her hand.
“When it rains, I’ll stay with you. Forever.”
Freya’s eyelids grew heavy at Luss’s soothing voice. Perhaps luck had quietly hidden itself in her life after all.
Now, all cooking, cleaning, and chores were Freya’s responsibility. She spent the entire day running tirelessly. Despite her efforts, Sophia was never satisfied.
‘I have to be careful not to provoke her.’
Freya, having observed Sophia for a long time, tried not to incite her. But Sophia, drinking all day, was irritable and nitpicky. She complained about inadequate meals or messy cleaning.
‘I brought this for you to eat!’
She shouted, overturning the porridge with potatoes, while Freya cleaned the mess without protest.
‘This was all the ingredients there were.’
She knew any excuses would only earn her a scolding.
Today, Sophia exploded just because Freya combed her hair too thoroughly.
“Can’t you do one thing right? Are you mocking me?”
Sophia threw the stolen comb to the floor in anger. Freya watched it bounce near the stove, still worrying about Luss. She hated showing him this side of herself. Luss, crouched in the corner, clenched his fists as if ready to rush to her rescue.
‘Luss. Don’t look at me now.’
His delicate skin would be hurt if touched by the comb. She thought she alone should bear Sophia’s wrath. Having been scolded by Sophia since childhood, she was used to it.
“Aunt… I’m sorry.”
As she pleaded, Luss leaned forward slightly. Freya kept signaling him to stay back.
“I’ll do better, Aunt.”
“Why couldn’t you do it right from the start? Seriously. What could I expect from a worthless child like you?”
Sophia never relented.
The atmosphere grew tense, and unable to stand it, Luss stepped in front of Freya, shouting loudly:
“Please, stop!”
Sophia, momentarily taken aback, then threw the duster she had in her hand.
“Ah! So now you two dare challenge me?”
Her glimmering eyes roamed, grabbing whatever was on the table.
