Chapter Eight

The House of Broschte did not have any knights. Those we called guards were just servants stationed outside to watch the doors on shifts. Unsurprisingly, they often fell asleep on their post, making it easier for Shuell and me to leave. However, we faced a problem—we had no money. Still, I’d thought of a solution.

I’d cut my hair and sell it.

Silky-smooth, beautiful silver hair. My mother always doted on my hair as if it were the key to success. However, how could one marry rich just by having silver hair? I had always considered it something I could sell in an emergency if the need ever arose. And if this weren’t an emergency, then what was?

My hair was long and luscious, so it would fetch a good price. Still, I couldn’t sell it within the Broschte territory. Silver hair was rare among commoners, meaning I was the only silver-haired girl in this land. Everyone knew my parents cared more about my hair than they did about me, so there was no way I could sell my hair here.

At least our neighboring territory was much, much larger than Broschte. No one there would know what color hair the Broschte daughter had. The Undern territory was a three-hour walk away. Even at a child’s pace, we would make the journey in one night. The only issue was that we would have to pass over a mountain. At night, with no other source of light.

Oh, my life. Nothing ever went smoothly.

Hoot, hoot. Owls cried in the night. Or wolves, perhaps.

Summer was a bountiful season. The mountain was filled with prey, from rabbits to mice, so predators wouldn’t need to go to the trouble of hunting two small, strange-smelling creatures like us. Besides, this mountain was well-traveled, so not many wild animals sprung out at people. Though I knew all this, I was afraid. The mountain that resounded with peaceful cricket songs felt like it would swallow me whole.

I clenched my sweaty hands once and turned around. Shuell’s pale complexion had reached a bleak pallor, and he gripped my skirt’s hem in fear. That was right. I had to get this boy home safely. The thought eased my fear a little. I held my hand out to Shuell to save my skirt, and he grabbed it right away as if he’d been waiting for it.

Oh, boy. You could have just told me you were scared.

I met eyes with a very determined Shuell, which made me chuckle. To look at his eyes, one would think we were off to slay a monster.

“Are you scared?” I asked playfully.

I was met with a firm answer. “No. I’m not.”

Before I could reply, Shuell took a step forward in front of me. I was just about to pull him back behind me when he spoke with that same determination.

“Don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you.”

My eyebrows shot up. “You little . . .”

Though I had spoken barely above a whisper, Shuell turned his head abruptly. “Hey, I’m bigger than you, you know.”

This gentle child was getting annoyed for the first time, and it was over our height. How cute.

When I looked closely, though, Shuell’s gaze was indeed ever so slightly higher than mine. A strange sense of unfamiliarity swept over me. So, I was this small.

That’s right. I’m only nine in this world.

I was still so young. Not for the first time, I wondered how strange my life had been. Both my lives were such a mess. I raised my head again, and Shuell’s back covered my field of vision. His back couldn’t be called wide in any way, but it looked warm. I chuckled. Predators were more likely to attack from behind than face us head-on.

“Thank you.”

The small scoff he made in answer to my quiet appreciation almost sounded like a laugh.

Shuell and I continued walking. We followed the tracks left by travelers, so it wasn’t difficult. We stumbled along and screamed over bugs on our shoulders. Eventually, the sky took on a lovely shade of blue as the sun prepared to rise.

It was terrifyingly dark for a moment, but then it began to brighten up. Before we realized it, Shuell and I had stopped in our tracks, hands held. The horizon glowed red. Slowly, the round sun began to peek out, and our surroundings were illuminated. The frightening silence was gone, and dawn shone through. It was a new morning.

***

“Thank you.”

“Of course. Have a good trip.” The nice lady smiled at me and discreetly brushed her tears away.

I smiled sadly, like a child with too many secrets, and walked away. Now that my formerly waist-length hair was bouncing about under my ears, I felt refreshed. There were many places in Undern where they bought hair, and I’d luckily met a generous shopkeeper who bought my hair at a very good price.

Twenty gold coins. I had cried, telling her that I needed to go to the capital to find my mother, and she had added a bit of extra money. That should be enough for us to sleep at an inn and rent a carriage. A smile formed on my lips, only to be completely wiped away by the sight before me. Two adults wearing robes were standing in front of Shuell. It was suspicious in every sense of the word, but everyone around was too busy avoiding potential conflict to do anything.

Simply standing there, Shuell looked up at the two people without a trace of fear on his face.

Then, one of the robed people fell to the ground.

“Goodness, Shuell. My baby!” He sounded breathless.

Before I could even think of stopping him, he pulled Shuell into a tight hug. I ran toward them. There was no time to sit back and gather facts. The man had called Shuell by name. That meant he knew Shuell’s social status. If he were to be kidnapped as the heir of Severilous—

Still, my rushed steps stopped just shy of reaching Shuell. The man’s hood came undone, revealing platinum-blond hair. I gazed at him in awe and slowly looked up at the person next to him. A woman with jet-black hair looked down at me with cold, amethyst eyes.

“Huh?”

The novel’s descriptions suddenly flooded my brain. Marias Severilous, with black hair and amethyst eyes, and her husband, Kendrick Severilous, with curly platinum-blond hair and dark brown eyes. They were the Duke and Duchess of Severilous.

Why here? How? I was sure about the date. How come they were here?

My mind went blank at the unexpected situation. There was no way that Shuell’s parents were here right now. Yet they were. Shuell also seemed confused and carefully inspected the man’s face. Shuell’s eyes grew huge.

“Dad?”

That one word was enough to stop my thoughts in their tracks. I let out the breath I’d been holding.

It really was them.

There was no way that Shuell wouldn’t recognize his own parents. I had no idea how this had happened, but it was fortunate nonetheless. It would be much safer to travel under the protection of the House of Severilous than for two children to make their way to the capital on their own.

“Dad . . .”

“Yes, yes, my son. Dad’s here.”

A strange sense of fulfillment took over me, along with a feeling of loss. I stood there, watching as Shuell cried in his parents’ arms. He had been strong until now, but he was only a seven-year-old child. Surely he felt relieved to see his parents after so long. Duke Kendrick’s eyes were already full of tears as he hugged Shuell, and Duchess Marias embraced them both without a word.

I gazed at them from a distance. Parents who loved their child. A child who was used to being loved by his parents. It was a blindingly sweet, imperturbable picture of a perfect family. Something I could never have.

That was just how it was. There were things in life that couldn’t be changed no matter how hard one tried. Do not yearn for something unobtainable.

I exhaled deeply, and it felt like a heavy burden lifted off my shoulders. My job was done. Shuell had safely reunited with his family, and he would live on happily with his parents without suffering through the trauma of abuse.

He’d followed my requests until now. Still, once he left for the capital and grew up among other high nobles, he would probably forget about me. Everything was back in its rightful place, but it left a bitter taste in my mouth. I didn’t think we would part so soon.