Althea: The Legendary Saintess [Shoujo]

This is the past of Laila, the exclusive maid.

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When I was four years old, my father died in an accident.

My father was a businessman, so we had enough money, and both my father and mother loved me, their only daughter, so I think I had a happy life until my father died.

However, after my father passed away, our lives took a turn.

My mother, lacking business acumen and unable to live on her own, brought a new man into our lives before my father's mourning period was even over.

The first man acted as if I didn't exist. When his work was done and night fell, he and my mother would go out somewhere, leaving me alone at home.

After about six months passed without seeing the man, and my mother started to stay at home, they probably broke up. By then, the scale of the business my father used to run had shrunk by about half.

The next man tried to take over the remaining business, but like my mother, he lacked business skills and was bad at dealing with people. With someone like that, there was no way the business could succeed, and he ended up ruining it all along with abandoning my mother.

The third man was the worst of them all. He seemed to work at times, but due to his quick temper, he never kept a job for long. And every time he got fired, he would come home drunk and hit me. Despite such circumstances, I endured the days, thinking that if I left home, my mother would be left alone.

---

One day, while living such a life, yes, it was a day after I turned six.

The man got fired again and came home drunk. My mother was out shopping, leaving only me at home, so I feared I would be hit again and closed my eyes, crouching in the corner of the house.

But nothing happened. Usually, I would have been hit by now... I hesitantly opened my eyes to find the man looking at me with a smirk on his face.

A unpleasant feeling passed through my mind, and I tried to push away the drunken man and run away, but I was soon caught, my mouth was covered, and I was held and thrown onto the futon. And then, the man straddled my trembling body.

Scary... scary... Mom, come back quickly...!

I shouted in my mind while desperately kicking and flailing my limbs.

"Hmph, you're still a child... but you'll do for some comfort. Don't worry, your mother has already agreed to it. How pitiful, to be sold even by your own mother... hehehe..."

"...?!!!"

My mind went blank.

My mother sold me???... Why...??

In shock, I had forgotten to move my limbs that were resisting and trying to escape.

"If you don't abandon yourself, you'll do anything other than selling yourself... even if it means your own daughter's body. What a cruel mother you have... Well, as long as I have fun, it doesn't matter. And if I discipline you now, you'll become a body that earns for me..."

Feeling reassured by my lack of resistance, the man began to stroke my body, while uttering harsh words.

... It sent shivers down my spine.

The creature in front of me looked like a devil, not a human.

No one would protect me anymore. There was nothing left for me to protect. But... but!

I was determined. I kicked the man's crotch in a daze and fled desperately.

Running, running... when I came to my senses, I was on a bridge at the outskirts of town.

If I crossed this bridge, I could escape from this territory. But there was no place for me to rely on once I escaped.

I couldn't go back to that house now. I felt nauseous at the thought of going back, only to be hit and touched again.

I had no place to call my own anymore.

Even the mother I had tried to protect had abandoned me.

I felt I had no reason to live.

Once I started thinking like that, I couldn't stop.

I grabbed the railing of the bridge, climbed up, thought of my father's vague smile in the depths of my eyes, and jumped into the river.

―I felt like I heard someone screaming in the distance―

"Hey! Are you okay?? Pull yourself together!"

...Someone is calling out to me. Shaking me and calling out desperately...

When I faintly open my eyes, there is a man with sapphire-colored eyes.

...A man...!

"No!!!"

The face of the man who smiled a little while ago flashes through my mind, and I push him away with all my might. Another, larger man approaches.

"Hey, you!!"

"No, it's okay, Hanny... Don't make such a scary face. She's still a child, trembling."

"But, pushing away the man who saved you, Lord Thomas..."

"...I'm sure she must have had a scary experience. Otherwise, she wouldn't have jumped from such a high bridge."

Saying that, the man with sapphire eyes faces me and says, "Little lady, I scared you, I'm sure. I am Thomas. And your name?"

Saying this, he covers me with a blanket, but I answer with my head down.

"...Laila."

"Yes, Laila. That's a good name. By the way, Laila, where are your parents?"

When asked that, I gazes closely at the face of the man who introduced himself as Thomas.

Upon closer inspection, his platinum-blond hair and clothes were wet. This person might have been the one who saved me when I jumped into the river... Thinking that, I felt like I could trust him, and nodded my head, saying, "My father is dead. My mother... she's gone."

At that, Thomas's expression darkened.

"I see... that must have been tough for you. Are you alone now?"

Nodding, Thomas looked worried and said, "For now, I plan to take you to a place where your food, clothing, and shelter are secured. Is that okay with you?"

Looking at his wet hair and sapphire eyes, I felt ashamed of myself for jumping in because of the shock of my mother's betrayal, and for feeling angry that I had lost my family because of such a disgusting man. I thought that I definitely didn't want to die like this, and so I nodded in agreement with Thomas's proposal.

And so, I was taken to an orphanage with Thomas, who seemed to be a nobleman.

There were many children living there, from children around my age to children smaller than me, all of whom welcomed me with smiles.

The orphanage seemed to be managed by a man named Miles.

After leading me there, Thomas spoke with Miles. Meanwhile, I cleaned myself thoroughly. I had only wiped myself down with a cloth before, so I was happy to be able to take a proper bath.

After cleaning myself and being dressed in clothes from the facility, Thomas called for me.

"Laila. I won't ask you why you did what you did in detail. If you feel like talking about it, you can tell me. And if you don't mind, you should consider staying here. There are children here who, for various reasons, can no longer live with their parents. Here, you can have three square meals a day, learn to read and write, and when you grow up, I hope you'll be able to use what you've learned for the sake of this territory. If you're willing to contribute to the territory, that is."

He said with a smile.

After Thomas left, I asked Miles if he knew that Thomas was a lord.

...A lord like him, jumping into the river to save someone like me?

Thinking that, I felt a warmth bubbling up inside me.

After finishing dinner with everyone and getting into bed, I thought that I might not be able to sleep because so many things had happened today. But I must have been tired, because as soon as I lay down in bed, I fell asleep.

The next day, Thomas, no, Lord Thomas, came.

Feeling that I needed to apologize for my rudeness and express my gratitude from yesterday, I greeted him.

"Lord Thomas, I didn't know you were the lord, so I apologize for my rudeness. And thank you for bringing me here... I will do my best here to become a respectable adult and be of use to this territory for your sake, Lord Thomas."

When I expressed my gratitude and trust to Lord Thomas in my own way, he smiled happily.

That smile reminded me of my distant memory of my father.