IHDOE Ch 38

[Teacher] "Phew, after all her hard work the past few days, it ended up like this anyway."

[Teacher] "Still, Miss Stella is the first person who ever managed to get Blin to study like that."

[Teacher] "By the way, Miss Stella, you seem to have a real talent for teaching. Why not teach the other children while you're at it?"

The orphanage teachers offered words of comfort upon seeing Satina search for Blin.

Hearing the news, Serpens also arrived to console her.

[Serpens] "Please don't be too disheartened, Miss Stella. I know full well that you did your utmost."

Despite his comforting words, Satina's expression remained grim. Looking down at the textbook intended for today's lesson, she spoke softly.

[Stella] "Something is wrong. Blin wouldn't skip class without a word."

[Serpens] "Children that age are naturally fickle. Blin often skipped lessons in the past, so this is hardly surprising."

Satina recalled her conversation with Blin from the previous night.

Collapsing onto the desk, she whined.

[Blin] "Ugh, my head is going to explode!"

[Stella] "It is quite a lot of material, isn't it?"

[Blin] "Quite a lot? Does this look like 'quite a lot' to you? No, more importantly, who are you really, Teacher? You play cards like a pro, you're brilliant at studying... Is the noble household you used to work for a ducal house by any chance?"

Feeling an unwarranted pang of guilt at her words, Satina countered.

[Stella] "Why a ducal house, of all places?"

[Blin] "Because who else could work for a duke if not someone as smart as you? Gasp... wait, don't tell me you worked in the imperial palace?!"

[Stella] "If it's too overwhelming, should we take a short break?"

[Blin] "No, I'm fine."

Pushing herself up from the desk, she gripped her pen once more.

[Blin] "The exam is right around the corner, so I have to push through. No, I'm going to work hard and definitely pass."

It made no sense that a child who declared her determination to pass with such resolve would miss class without a word. Something serious must have happened to prevent her from attending.

Good thing I hired the information guild to keep an eye on Blin, just in case.

[Stella] "I need to go find her. Would you mind coming with me if you're able?"

[Serpens] "Of course. I have grown fond of the child as well, and as you said, her sudden absence is concerning. I will offer whatever modest help I can."

The two decided to head to Blin's home first.

Her home lay deep in the slums of the capital's back alleys. Beggars huddled on the cold ground beneath threadbare blankets, while many others staggered about, unable to control their bodies due to liquor or drugs.

When a neatly dressed man and woman stepped into such a place, eyes were drawn to them instantly.

Though it was still broad daylight, a man with a flush-red face approached them with unsteady steps, a bottle clutched in one hand. Reaching out both hands toward Serpens, he grinned.

[Drunkard] "Hehe, Priest, sir. Spare a few coppers for a poor bastard, won't you?"

Serpens furrowed his brow slightly, but the drunkard failed to notice the subtle shift.

[Drunkard] "Come on, just a little. Hehe... Or how about the lady beside you? Man, I've never seen such a pretty face. What do you say, miss? Skip this stiff and come over to my place today..."

Before the man could finish, Serpens grabbed his arm and twisted it back.

[Serpens] "Insolent. Have you learned nothing of the temple's doctrines?"

[Drunkard] "A-Ah, no! Argh! Sir! I-I was wrong! I'm sorry! Let go of me! Argh! Aaaah!"

Serpens released the man's arm, shoving him away.

Clutching his throbbing arm, the drunkard bowed frantically before scrambling into the alleyway.

Serpens turned toward Satina.

[Serpens] "Are you unharmed?"

[Stella] "I'm fine."

[Serpens] "It would have been disastrous had you come alone."

Exhaling a long sigh, he looked toward the alley where the man had fled.

[Serpens] "Truly, such scoundrels disgust me. The temple teaches that sloth is the greatest sin, yet an able-bodied man capable of work chooses not only to leech off others' goodwill, but to harass a lady as well."

The drunken encounter seemed to have disturbed him.

Come to think of it, this must be Serpens' first time witnessing such a scene.

Abandoned by his parents, Serpens had been raised in the temple. Yet his childhood was far from miserable. Though orphanhood deprived him of parents, the priests cared for him attentively, and the temple rivaled the imperial palace in wealth.

Furthermore, his extraordinary talent earned him the absolute trust of the high priests, making him the youngest high priest in history. As befitted his position, Serpens spent his days reading scriptures and managing administrative affairs.

He faced no cutthroat power struggles for a throne. Most people he encountered were nobles or devout followers who had no reason to oppose him, making everyone naturally courteous. Even the places he visited for charitable work were temple-run institutions, where no one would dare display ugliness to a high priest.

In many ways, he was a sheltered young master, even more spoiled than the Crown Prince.

[Stella] "If this is too difficult, you may head back first."

Serpens recoiled in surprise.

[Serpens] "No, absolutely not. Please don't say such things. I was startled, yes, but how could I leave you alone in a place like this?"

The two resumed their walk toward Blin's house. Along the way, appalled sighs escaped his lips.

[Serpens] "Hah, this is..."

It won't happen, but if I brought him to the underground sewers, he'd probably faint.

Fortunately, his swift neutralization of the drunkard kept others at a distance. The pair reached Blin's home without further incident.

Her house lay in the deepest recess of the slum's back alleys. In short, the dwelling looked as if built entirely from trash.

Unable to contain himself any longer upon seeing the structure, he spoke up.

[Serpens] "Can human beings live in a place like this?"

---

[Blin] "What do I do? Teacher is going to worry..."

She stomped her feet in frustration, glaring at her bedroom door.

Last night, hell had broken loose in her home. Her father, who usually frequented gambling dens and taverns instead of coming home, had returned early for once.

Seizing Blin, he demanded to know where she had been.

[Father] "Are you coming home late these days because you're preparing for some academy exam or whatever?"

Blin offered no reply. Though stunned that he knew, she was well aware that admitting it would only draw his wrath for wasting time on useless nonsense instead of making money.

Her father struck her across the cheek.

[Father] "You insolent brat! Your father asks a question, and you ignore me? You think you're better than me just because you learned a few words?!"

He already knew everything—her studying at the orphanage, her application to the Imperial Academy.

[Father] "Quit that nonsense right now and prepare to get married!"

The arrangement he spoke of was a position as a merchant's second wife—a man who had children her age.

Clutching the books she brought home for her homework, she shouted back.

[Blin] "No!"

She was utterly sick of poverty and her father's violence. To break this endless cycle, she needed to earn money. She had to earn enough to take her siblings and escape from him forever. That was why she had turned to cards. Unless she relied on luck, she felt she would never escape the rock bottom of society.

Yet Stella had offered her a new path.

[Stella] "You're a genius."

[Stella] "You can do it. You just need to work with me."

Entering the Imperial Academy meant that becoming an imperial official was only a matter of time. Money would no longer be a concern, and she could feed her younger siblings three warm meals a day.

[Blin] "I-I'm going to the Imperial Academy! I'm going, and I'll never look at your face again...! Argh!"

She fought back, but the tiny house offered no place to hide. Her father kicked her mercilessly, sending her rolling across the floor like a bug. The books she brought for homework were ripped to shreds.

And so, Blin was locked in her room.

She intended to escape while her father was at the gambling den, but he gave up his beloved gambling to guard her instead. From what she overheard, the merchant had promised him a hefty sum in exchange for handing her over.

Her swollen leg throbbed painfully—likely broken during yesterday's beating. Cold sweat poured down her face even while standing still, yet she searched the room with all her strength to find an escape route.

I have to escape somehow. I'm going to enter the Imperial Academy.

Just then, a woman's voice echoed from outside. Beyond the door, she heard her father stand up to greet the visitor. The woman's voice sounded vaguely familiar, but there was no time to ponder it. With her father occupied, now was her chance.

Got it!

Blin hurriedly picked the door lock with a piece of wire. Her plan was to slip through the kitchen window while her father greeted the guest.

Dragging her broken leg, she limped forward frantically. Yet her father's obsession with money proved relentless.

[Father] "You little brat! Trying to run away the second my back is turned?!"

[Blin] "Argh!"

As she tried to climb through the window, her father grabbed her hair and slammed her to the ground.

[Blin] "Let go! No! Let me go!"

She thrashed wildly, but no one would come to her aid. Slum dwellers never cared, even if wailing echoed from next door or if someone died right before their eyes. The guards never set foot in a neighborhood like this.

A suffocating despair enveloped her. Her only options were to marry the merchant as her father wished or to die. No one would help her. No one...

At that moment, a heavy metal CLANG! echoed through the room.

Simultaneously, her father's grip loosened. Seizing the opportunity, Blin scrambled frantically out of his grasp.

She looked up to find Stella clutching a frying pan, glaring at her father.

[Stella] "Get your hands off my student, you bastard."

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