NOVEL WEB Vol. 1 Chapter 2
Cordelia clenched her tiny hands as she quickly packed her meager things. She only has very few in her possession since she was currently living a humble life ever since she had left the orphanage a year ago. She was able to quickly gather the poor things that she had collected which she had deemed as her luggage. Her luggage consisted of her money that was only enough to buy a loaf of bread, a pair of old clothes and a rag doll that she had salvaged from the dump. That was all of her property. ‘Good. That’s perfect.’ She did not have the time to be lazy. Cordelia had decided to quickly take action and implement the plan that she had in mind. She quickly tied up her things on a flimsy rag that she planned on tying it on her back for an easy carry. Once she had packed her things, Cordelia picked her clothes up and began to dress herself. The only other clothing that she owned was a thin and baggy dress that was too big for her skinny body. The dress was so big that the wind could immediately pass through and blow inside. When the clothes dropped on her body, it looked like it was not Cordelia who was wearing the clothes but it looked like the clothes were the one wearing Cordelia. However, she did not care at all. What was important to her was that she could be seen as someone different, especially with that bundle of hers. “Cordelia! Cordeliaaaaaaaaaa~!” Just when she was about to leave, she heard someone call her name from a far away distance. It was so faint that she even doubted her hearing. The voice was as rough as iron grating against each other with a hint of anxiety and nervousness. “Were you sick for three days that you have gone deaf?! You lazy pig, why aren’t you coming out quickly?! I know that you have no fever so stop acting right now!” Cordelia grimaced at the words that she heard. The person who was hollering at her was Madame Pamela. Madame Pamela was someone who gathered kids that had nowhere else to go like Cordelia. She would make them pickpocket, beg and sell flowers before collecting money from them. Instead, they would provide the kids with a bed and feed them with a bowl of watery soup that had no meat and nutrition every day. However, they would only conveniently provide just enough for the kids to survive for the day. After Cordelia ran away from the orphanage, she accidentally went under the wings of Madame Pamela. Madame Pamela was a person that was born and raised in the back alleys. And people in the back alleys were born with a bad mouth. And Cordelia who had been listening in on Madame Pamela’s continuous swearing couldn’t help it anymore. She quickly ran outside to respond to her. “I’m not faking illness! And you’re the one who got a pile of fat on your face so you can’t see that I’m already in front of you!” Madame Pamela glared fiercely at Cordelia. Compared to the skinny Cordelia, Madame Pamela had a lot of flesh on her body. This was because she exploited the unwitting kids and raked in all of the money. “Why are you staring at me like that? Not only are your eyes buried in fat, but even your mouth is buried in a mountain of fat, huh?” “This is going to be your share for today. Hurry up and go to work!” If you were a kid and an adult glared at you fiercely it was only natural that the child would be frightened greatly. However, in this confrontation, it was the madame who averted her eyes from Cordelia’s stare. Madame Pamela mumbled ‘Poison Lady.‘ under her breath as she passed a basket of red roses to Cordelia. “If you don’t sell it all then you won’t have any food for today. You know that, right?” “When did you see me do it wrong?” “Be careful not to get starved with that big mouth of yours.” Cordelia snorted at the madame’s subtle threat about being conceited. The madame quickly jerked her head away. She did not like looking at this proud Cordelia at all. As Cordelia passed by the madame, she glanced secretly at her fatty legs. The madame was not paying her any attention since she was distracted by other things…… ‘Yaaah!’ She quickly kicked at the madame’s shins as she bounced off in a hurry. “Cordeliaaaaaaaa—! You damn bitch! Just try not to sell any flowers and you’ll see!” “Old hag! Bleee!” Cordelia stuck her tongue out when she heard the madame’s scream as she quickly dashed away. If she wasn’t able to sell all of her flowers for the day, she wouldn’t be able to eat her meal and she would also be severely beaten. When she ran away from the orphanage she had resolved herself that she wouldn’t get beaten down. She already knew that it would be quite hard for her to sell all of the wilting flowers in her basket. After all, she wouldn’t be able to sell the something like this for a high price. She thought that it would be better for the children to beg instead of selling this kind of flower. Cordelia had already noticed that the madame had purposely given her these wilting flowers. However, it didn’t matter anymore. From today onwards, she would say goodbye to the madame. ‘I’m saying goodbye to the Saintess, the ducal families, the teachers and the madame!’ She happily skipped her way out of the village. Once she arrived at the town center, she pretended to sell the flowers on the streets before slowly creeping into the back alley. She was at a loss about how she could live once she had escaped from the madame’s grasp however she’d rather be here than meet with the Saintess. ‘I don’t want to die ridiculously in place of someone else. I also don’t want to be left in a fire and burn myself.’ I’ll somehow find a way to live. She was at a loss when she had just left the orphanage, but she was able to meet the madame and was able to survive up until now. ‘There’s no one in the world who will allow themselves to just die like that.’ She quietly touched her cheeks. Since she was malnourished, her cheeks were not plump. However, her skin was still smooth. But if she met with the Saintess then she would also lose this smooth skin. In the original book, others felt pity for Cordelia after she was left behind in the fire and burnt her skin. ‘It was because I wasn’t the Saintess.’ However, the eyes that looked at Cordelia who was always beside the Saintess were always unpleasant. They were jealous that a child of lowly birth like her could stand beside the Saintess. Besides, Cordelia had a bad mouth so plenty of people hated the fact that she could stay with the Saintess when she wasn’t even as nice as her. ‘The three princes also hated me in the original book. I’m not too sure but perhaps they purposely left me alone in the fire as revenge.’ The people even praised the Saintess for her benevolence as she allowed an ugly burnt child with a ruined face to stay beside her. [Look at that face. Doesn’t she look like a monster?] [She has the same name as the Saintess but both her face and personality are different. She brings shame to that name.] The uglier Cordelia became, the brighter the light that the Saintess emitted. They were like the light and darkness with how contrasting they were. Cordelia walked faster. She still couldn’t relax her nerves. She was afraid that the people under Madame Pamela would see her running away. If that happened, then she really would be doomed. She would have to stop walking and make excuses with the basket of flowers in her hands. As she walked further in the alley, a familiar smell wafted through her nose. ‘It’s the smell of blood.’ There was only one small and narrow alleyway in front of her. It would look unnatural and suspicious if she suddenly turned around and left. Cordelia was left with no choice but to move forward cautiously. After walking quite a number of steps, she could see an adult male slouched against the wall. Cordelia sneakily walked towards the man to check his condition. She could see that the man had his eyes closed. But that wasn’t even the problem. ‘A silvery-blue hair?’ The silvery-blue hair was a symbol of the Valencia Family. The same Valencia Family who mistook her for the Saintess Cordelia and kidnapped her. Cordelia saw that the man wasn’t moving so she approached him slowly. She guessed that he was attacked by someone since his body was covered with blood. At first glance, one would think that he was a dead body. “……He’s not really dead, is he?” Cordelia silently looked at the man from head to toe. She couldn’t see it very well since he was covered in blood but when she looked closely, the man was wearing a set of luxurious clothes. Cordelia’s eyes sparkled as her tiny hands slowly reached out towards the man. Then, she proudly and confidently searched through his pockets. ‘You just happened to be here. And I just happened to need a lot of money while you have plenty of money.’ There’s nothing wrong with picking up the money that fell on the floor. It felt like a huge emergency fund suddenly fell in front of Cordelia. She felt so excited as she continuously robbed and cleaned the pockets of the man. Suddenly, the hands of the supposedly dead man grabbed Cordelia’s arms. “Huck.” Her heart almost popped out of her chest. Cordelia’s body stiffened in shock. And the stiffened Cordelia raised her creaking head like a machine that was not oiled properly. The moment her eyes met with the man’s she couldn’t help but shiver in fright. The man’s eyes were out of focus as he stared straight at Cordelia. However, it couldn’t be denied at all that his eyes were as red as the blood that was covering his body. “……Rosalyn?” “I’m not the person you’re talking about.” This is my first time hearing that name. As if on reflex, the dishonest Cordelia swiftly took her hand out of the man’s pockets. If the man did not have a tight hold on her arms then she would have probably patted her butt and ran away from that place. “Why…… Why didn’t you choose me? Why did you go to another man and not to me?” Perhaps the man had mistaken her for the woman named ‘Rosalyn’ but the words that he muttered after didn’t make sense to Cordelia at all. Cordelia struggled to break free of his hold but even though the man was soaking with blood, he still wielded an enormous amount of strength that she couldn’t budge his grip on her. When Cordelia finally gave up and her fragile limbs couldn’t struggle anymore, the man hugged her tightly. Cordelia blinked blankly as she was caught off guard. She was so flustered that she even lost her grip on her basket of flowers. The roses ended up scattered on the floor while she looked at it in a daze. “If you wish it, I would gladly kneel in front of you. I would even crawl on the ground like a dog if you command it.” “……” “So please don’t tell me that you love that bastard. Even now, I still listened to you and tried my best to grant your final request.” His whispers overflowed with both arrogance and servility. However, it seemed like his wounds were so severe that he kept on gasping for air between each words. Cordelia could only understand bits and pieces of his story since he was grumbling his words. “……your daughter, I……” Then silence. Cordelia rolled her eyes in the arms of the man. She believed that the man had fainted again, but he was still too strong for a man that has lost consciousness. She struggled for a bit but she still couldn’t get away from his tight grip. In fact, when Cordelia’s eyes met with the eyes of the man, she couldn’t help but shudder in fear. It was that moment when she remembered it… A silvery-blue hair paired with a pair of blood red eyes. With the man’s silvery-blue hair as well as his eye color and luxurious clothes, his status and identity had all boiled down to one answer…… ‘Duke Valencia!’ Cordelia screamed soundlessly. It seemed like fate was playing with her that it decided to let her meet the person that she decided that she did not want to meet the most. Cordelia whimpered silently as she barely got out of the arms of Duke Valencia. She stared at the injured man. He has a handsome face. However, he still couldn’t hide the coldness even with his eyes closed. But right now, it did not matter whether he was handsome or ugly but what mattered the most right now was whether he had money or not. She did not know what happened to him for him to he slumped in a back alley with blood all over his body but what she knew was that he would be the person who would kill her mercilessly in the future. Cordelia lightly bounced the purse that she grabbed from the Duke’s pocket. It felt heavy in her hands so she believed that it was quite an amount. When she heard the jingle of the coins inside, she couldn’t help but smile lightly. Cordelia wanted to escape with the purse filles with money. But she still crouched down and looked at the Duke. ‘Come to think of it, just giving him a bit of help will make him feel indebted to me. Right?’ Duke Valencia was known as a bad person but he wasn’t an ungrateful one. He firmly believed that graces should be repayed in double while grievances should be repayed with death. He was a man who lacked enough morality to be called evil but he was someone who was standing on the ambiguous line between good and evil. If he thought that he was right, then that would be the truth and the law regardless of whether it was morally right or not. ‘Let’s get some insurance.’ Even if she ran away from the Saintess right now, she was still unsure of what life has to offer to her. If fate had decided that Duke Valencia would be the one to kill her, then she thought that it wasn’t a bad idea to just sit there and watch and let it be. After all, it was still quite some time away. The great Duke Valencia had fallen with a fatal wound so this was a rare opportunity for her. Cordelia finally made her decision. She gulped down in trepidation as she clutched on Duke Valencia’s purse and made a move. After a while, a strange scene could be seen in one of the back alleys in town. It was the scene in which a child had grabbed the back of an adult man and was slowly dragging him away.