Chapter 7. Help Me  

Ael instinctively shrank back.

Elise had been in a good mood for the past few days. It was because her meetings with the Grand Duke had become more frequent.

As the meetings between the two increased, the Viscount couple became more attentive to Elise, granting her every wish.

“The Grand Duke must be waiting for my reply, and you want me to write it on this low-quality, coarse paper? What would he think of me then?”

Peeking out slightly, Ael saw Elise shouting at her personal maid, Maya. Maya struggled to speak, unable to lift her head.

“B-but I bought the stationery for the reply just as you asked, Miss…”

“So you bought something that only commoners would use?”

From the conversation, Ael could figure out what had happened. Recently, Elise had been writing frequently to the Grand Duke.

The Grand Duke’s replies were much less frequent and significantly shorter than Elise’s letters, but Elise didn’t mind much.

No matter what anyone said, she was the only woman the Grand Duke was having private meetings with recently.

“Elise, what’s the matter?”

“Mother! This stupid girl can’t even run an errand properly!”

When the Viscountess appeared, Elise shouted again.

“I’m sorry, Miss. I’ll go and buy the right one.”

Maya kept bowing her head, begging for forgiveness, but Elise couldn’t control her anger and fumed. Then her eyes met Ael’s, who was standing at the end of the hallway.

“Rida! Come here!”

Elise called Ael as if she had found a solution.

“You go and buy the stationery for the reply. At least you should be able to tell what kind of paper is suitable to send to the Grand Duke.”

“Yes. Go quickly. The Grand Duke must be waiting for Elise’s reply, so you must hurry. Now, Elise, don’t be angry and calm down. You haven’t even decided what hair accessory to wear to this weekend’s banquet. Being angry like this isn’t good for your skin.”

The Viscountess skillfully soothed Elise and entered the room with her. Ael watched them before heading to the Viscount’s room. It seemed like today was going to be a long day.

* * *

“Excuse me, coming through!”

Ael raised her voice as she squeezed through the crowd.

The Central Square, usually bustling, was exceptionally crowded today.

Listening to people, it seemed several ships from the Ash Merchant Guild had arrived since morning, drawing in traders and carts dealing with them.

After moving through the crowd and finally slipping into a quiet alley, Ael checked the envelope she had tucked into her bosom.

‘It mustn’t get crumpled.’

She remembered Elise’s angry face when she brought back ordinary paper. Because of that, Ael had to go to a stationery store and buy the finest quality paper, with patterns, colors, and even fragrance.

Fortunately, the Viscount had given her money without complaint when she said it was for Elise’s task.

But the money was just enough to buy the stationery.

‘If only I had enough left for the carriage fare back, I wouldn’t have to worry about it getting crumpled.’

Ael carefully held the envelope and looked outside the alley. The main street was still full of people and carriages.

‘I should wait a bit before moving.’

Ael stood in the alley waiting.

In her bag was a small book that she still couldn’t understand, which troubled her, but she didn’t want to take it out.

Today, Elise’s words about her bride price kept coming to mind.

A thousand guilders.

A large sum if large, a small sum if small. For a moment, Ael wondered what it would be like if she had a thousand guilders. Would her parents give up on her marriage if she gave them a thousand guilders?

‘No way.’

They would still be bothered by having an unmarried older sister around.

Ael’s imagination continued. What if she asked a man to give her parents a thousand guilders and pretend to marry her?

If she pretended to marry and left far away…

Ael turned her head to look at the sails of a sailing ship visible beyond the houses in the alley.

Seagulls flew frantically, and flags fluttered at the ends of masts in the wind. Whenever she felt suffocated, Ael habitually looked at things swaying in the wind. It was the only way she could see the wind.

From the moment she first saw a map after being born.

From the moment she knew there was a bigger, wider world beyond Denertum.

Ael always imagined going far away.

But it was always just imagination.

There was no way for her to leave this place.

In Denertum, women always had to move with their husbands or male family members. Otherwise, except for the very young or old, they were often regarded as women of disreputable professions.

The difficulty wasn’t just in movement.

‘I can’t even own my own property.’

Even common women who work in markets or restaurants, places requiring many hands, can’t have their savings accepted by any bank without a guardian’s signature.

Naturally, the guardian’s name would be that of the husband or father.

In the case of orphans, they must at least write the name of an official appointed by the government, according to Denertum law.

And because their savings were also under the authority of their guardians, they couldn’t truly call it their own.

For noblewomen, it was a bit better. At least they could claim ownership of the things they received as gifts.

Everyone was like that. They could only own what someone else gave them.

Conversely, because of that, Ael still owned nothing. She had never received anything as a gift in her life.

Ael, looking at the fluttering imperial flag, recalled her childhood imagination after a long time.

‘Under Denertum law, I can’t have anything of my own.’

Ael’s gaze slowly lowered. Beyond the low houses, the newly built Ash Merchant Guild building came into view.

‘Then, is it possible under the Empire’s law?’

Just as Ael’s imagination was about to continue…

“Catch that guy!”

A voice shouted from the opposite end of the alley.

‘What?’

Startled by the urgent voice, Ael turned her head. Others who had been standing at the alley entrance to escape the bustle of Central Square also turned their bodies to look at the source of the sound.

Someone was running from the opposite end of the alley. Even from a distance, it was clear he was a vagrant.

He was running so fiercely that people backed up against the alley walls, afraid of being hit, even before he reached them.

It wasn’t just the running force that was frightening. His expression was so grim and cold that it was scary to look at, far from just a vagrant’s face.

“Catch him!”

Another desperate voice came from behind the running vagrant.

There stood a middle-aged woman with a bewildered face. Ael turned her gaze back to the vagrant.

He was clutching something tightly in his arms. It seemed he had stolen something from that woman and was running away with it.

People stuck to the walls, not wanting to get involved in troublesome matters.

Ael hesitated for a brief moment.

What should I do?

She didn’t want to get involved in complicated matters either. She needed to return home quickly. Moreover, what if she got retaliated against by the person she helped catch? But…

“Help me!”

At the sound of the woman’s voice again, Ael moved without realizing it.

Someone was in trouble and asking for help. In that case, helping was the right thing to do.

Before she even thought, Ael’s foot moved forward, tripping the running man’s foot.

“Ugh!”

The man, who assumed Ael would step aside like the others, fell forward with a loud noise due to the unexpected obstruction.

Simultaneously, Ael’s body also rolled to the ground. Because the man was running so fast, Ael, who had tripped him, also fell.

“D-damn it!”

The man, who twitched for a moment, soon got up and tried to run away again, clutching what he had dropped.

She couldn’t let him get away like this.

Ael hurriedly got up to grab the man, but she felt a throbbing pain in her ankle, perhaps injured when she tripped him earlier.

In the meantime, the man had moved a few steps away again. At this rate, he would get away.

Thinking of how she could at least slow him down, Ael reached into her bag.

She grabbed the book she had brought to read on the way and threw it with all her might at the man.