Chapter 19
If Roa Cavendish were to see this scene, he might laugh at her. Let him laugh.
Ritia rolled up her sleeves, determined to secure this position no matter what.
But there was another obstacle.
“G-Greetings! To think the honorable Lady Mont would come all the way to a place like this…! If there’s anything you wish to command, please tell us!”
Since no noble young lady had ever volunteered to help before, the man who had been summoned by Seri bowed his head deeply, as if he had seen something unbelievable.
The man, who introduced himself as James, the manager of the slums, had a rather rough appearance.
Rather than someone who managed the place, he looked more like someone who ruled it by force.
Even so, if Ritia spoke, he looked ready to do laundry or even pick up trash in her place.
Only after sending away even the men she couldn’t communicate with did the surroundings finally come back into view.
‘It’s not like I can change much with my own strength. Still, there must be at least one thing I can do.’
Because she had worked hard to stay on good terms until now, the funds that had been tightly restricted were now freely available. Before leaving, she could look around a bit more and leave extra money for places that were badly damaged or for children’s medical expenses.
Even if it looked like she was showing off, it wasn’t money being used for something bad, so it should be fine.
Honestly, since the money came from Duke Mont’s pocket, she wanted to use it like this even more.
Ritia started with the simplest task—doing what was right in front of her.
She decided to clean up the trash blocking the road.
About three hours passed.
Without properly resting, repeatedly bending and straightening her back, Ritia managed to clean a fairly large area.
At first, the moment Ritia bent down to pick up a piece of trash, chaos broke out around her.
Seri looked horrified as she tried to stop her, and even the guards and maids begged her to stop.
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better to do it together? Instead of stopping me, if even one more person picks something up, it’ll be over quickly. Father probably wouldn’t hate it that much either.”
At those words, everyone who had been following Ritia stopped trying to stop her and began picking up trash themselves.
She separately asked Emilia to take some gold coins and buy a large amount of snacks that children could eat.
It was the first time she had ever moved her body enough to break into a sweat.
Her breath was reaching her chin, yet she couldn’t stop smiling. What was this, really?
Foolishly enough, moving her body like this made her feel more grateful for gaining a new life than when she had been treated like a princess.
“Miss, I brought them! Haa… I tried to buy as much as possible, so it’s a bit much.”
“Really? How much—ah….”
Behind Emilia, who had rushed back, was a cart loaded with things.
She had said she hoped it would be enough for them to eat their fill, and Emilia had brought an entire cart.
“You told me to buy as much as possible…!”
“Thank you. You did really well. We should give it to the children first.”
The cart was filled with bread and sweets. There were water containers too.
The foul smell seemed to have faded a little from the cleaning, and as sweet, savory scents spread, children who had been watching from afar like kittens began to peek out.
They were curious, but couldn’t come close.
Earlier, when one child tried to approach Ritia, an older child had stopped them, scolding them harshly, asking if they wanted to die.
“Come here. It’s okay. You can come and take whatever you want to eat.”
Ritia gently waved her hand, coaxing them over.
But the children retreated even more cautiously than when they had been peeking.
“Her Ladyship is telling you to come.”
Seri spoke in a stiff, almost threatening tone.
“That’ll just scare them more. If you’re going to do that, both of you get back in the carriage.”
“I’m sorry, Miss.”
“I’m sorry….”
Even a guard tried to bring the children over, and Ritia stopped him again.
“Kids, I’m not a scary person. I’m from that village over there. My name is Ritia.”
“……”
“If you’re scared, call more friends. I’ll leave this here, so you can share it nicely and take as much as you need.”
Ritia smiled gently at the girl standing in front.
She had stood out from the start. She was wearing the cleanest clothes and kept looking after younger children.
Out of curiosity, Ritia had overheard things like “I hope big sister doesn’t go,” and “I’ll come again tomorrow.” She didn’t seem like a child from this area.
Thinking she might be some kind of leader, Ritia spoke to her. The sharp-eyed girl stepped a little closer.
Ritia excitedly picked up a piece of bread, like a shop owner greeting her first customer.
“…Can we really eat it?”
“Of course! What would you like? Bread? There’s water too!”
“If we touch it, we’ll get scolded again.”
“Scolded…?”
“Last time, someone said they’d give us bread, so we went, and Roy got slapped. We didn’t touch it, but they said we did. It’ll happen again.”
“No, that’s not—”
“Don’t lie. A lady wearing clothes like yours did it.”
Ritia tried to persuade her further, but the wariness was too strong.
Pushing any more would only scare them, so Ritia decided to step back. She had already stayed longer than planned, and it was time to leave.
She also couldn’t ignore the hungry stares of the children eyeing the bread behind the girl.
Only if Ritia moved away would they be able to eat. After all, she was the one who had come here uninvited to help—so she should know when to step aside.
“Then, my friend, I’ll leave this here. Share it with everyone and eat well, okay? We should get going.”
The moment Ritia said that, Seri and the guards visibly relaxed, as if they were relieved she was finally leaving.
“You didn’t mention other plans this morning, so if it’s alright, may we escort you straight home?”
“Yes, that’s probably best. It’s awkward to go anywhere else like this.”
“Understood. We’ll deliver the other aid you mentioned earlier through the local manager.”
“Okay. Please make sure it isn’t used elsewhere.”
“We’ll be sure to confirm. Please get in.”
Seri quickly opened the carriage door, clearly eager to leave.
Ritia was about to board as well, thinking she shouldn’t burden everyone any further—
“Ena!”
A child’s piercing scream rang out.
At the same time, Ritia, Seri, and Emilia all turned their heads.
The sharp-tongued child from earlier had collapsed, clutching her chest with both hands.
Ritia’s eyes widened in shock.
The name shouted was clearly Ena. Ritia quickly turned and ran to the child.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
At the same time, Seri blocked Ritia.
“A child collapsed.”
“You’ll touch something filthy. You don’t need to worry about this.”
“What did you say?”
“If you’re concerned, we’ll call a healer separately.”
Behind Seri, the child twisted as if having a seizure.
Ritia snapped angrily.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Pardon, Miss?”
“Move! The child collapsed! Call a doctor, now!”
Ritia pushed Seri aside and ran to the child.
“Are you okay? Do you know why this happens?”
The children were already in tears.
“E-Ena is always sick. This happens every time. Even the healer said they don’t know why. She was fine today.”
“Ena, get up.”
“Ena, please wake up!”
“The healer didn’t know…?”
In the slums, even calling a doctor would take time.
Ritia decided to use her holy power for now. She didn’t know if it would work, but beneficial energy wouldn’t cause harm.
She hugged the child as if cradling her and placed her hand near the child’s chest.
‘Please. Please. Just this once.’
As if mocking her desperation, no power responded.
Cold sweat ran down Ritia’s back.
“Please. Just once. Just once. Let me do something useful, please.”
She repeated the words like a spell, trying to recall the feeling of drawing out her holy power.
“Ena!”
At that moment, a deep male voice called out from behind.
The children stirred, but Ritia focused only on treating the child.
“Ugh….”
Ena writhed in pain, and then—
“Ha….”
From Ritia’s fingertips, a faint, pale green holy light burst forth, like warm water flowing.
She didn’t know if it would heal her completely, but at least until a doctor arrived.
Ritia continued pouring her holy power into the painful area.
The child, who had been sweating and clawing at her chest, gradually calmed.
For a moment, Ritia worried she had lost consciousness, but thankfully, Ena’s expression softened.
Just as Ritia thought she only needed a little more—
Someone roughly grabbed her arm.
“What do you think you’re doing to my sister?!”
Ritia staggered from the force and looked up in shock.
The holy power she had gathered scattered like dust.
She had reason to be shocked.
“Gondor?”
The voice belonged to Gondor.
Gondor shoved Ritia aside and pulled the child he had just called his sister into his arms.
His sister?
