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160. Beggar Siblings – Liatris

“What? Ksenia, you knew her?”

The woman dressed as Queen Leisia thought for a moment and then nodded. She passed by Oberg and approached Leo, saying, “I was waiting, and it started pouring… I didn’t expect you to come. Oh my, so this is your younger sister?”

Ksenia turned her attention to Lena. She looked her over carefully and said, “She’s really pretty.”

Taking off the crown she was wearing, she placed it on Lena’s head. Despite wearing a simple white robe, with the crown on, Lena looked different in every aspect.

The noble demeanor of royalty.

The white priest’s robe resembled the modest attire of a king, and her unbowed hair evoked images of a king’s hair soaked in holy water during a coronation.

Except for the fact that her golden eyes were darting back and forth between her brother and the woman in front of her.

“You have a good figure…”

Minseo took the crown off.

It looked like gold, but it was actually made of tombac (a type of brass that shines like gold when the copper-zinc ratio is about 10%). It was light.

Back to her original self, Lena ducked shyly behind her brother, and Ksenia’s eyes met Leo’s.

“…Did I make a mistake? You’re just so pretty, I wanted to try it on.”

She stared curiously at Leo’s stiff expression and readily apologized. Still, noticing that Leo’s expression didn’t soften, she remarked a bit strangely, “Um… then… would you mind waiting a moment? I have the next act to do and will be back after finishing my work.”

Receiving the crown and turning back, Ksenia walked with her back straight.

Tap-tap.

It was a noisy dressing room, bustling with actors who had just finished performing and were changing costumes for the next act, but her heels echoed clearly as she disappeared.

“You came to find Ksenia because you had something to ask? Just say it from the start,” Oberg said. He seemed to have forgotten that he had stopped speaking due to the smell.

Anyway, that was how he usually was.

He’d tell someone to go back to drinking from their mother’s milk and then casually change the subject to say, “From the first time I saw you, I thought you were a special friend.”

As Lena and Leo waited for Ksenia, they sat in a side seat of the theater, guided by Oberg.

Santian Rauno followed closely. “Everyone here is part of our Rauno Family? We all came together to watch the play.” He bragged, and Lena, not minding talking to someone her age, replied, “Really? Wow. There are a lot of us.”

After a short wait, the red curtain rose, and Act Two began. Listening to Oberg’s snoring, Leo fell into thought.

He hadn’t seen the ending of the last childhood friend episode. But even though he missed the ending, he clearly remembered the process.

He hadn’t seen the engagement episode either, but thanks to Leo Dexter’s lengthy explanation just before he disappeared, he had a general idea of how it progressed.

Among the information he provided were some important things and some that didn’t seem important.

First, the unimportant details.

“Be careful of that guy Yuan. He…”, “My mother and uncle’s behavior regarding Lena seemed off,” “Watch out for Count Brina. He…”, “On my way to Manubiul, I met the great warriors of the Albasete Tribe. They…”

Sorry, but it was useless information.

It would help in avoiding some future crises, but I didn’t think it was essential for ‘clearing’ the game.

These were merely the background elements of the engagement scenario.

The actor playing the role of ‘Banun Raono’ returned to the stage. Listening to him sing about an unattainable love for Queen Leisia due to his disciplinary probation, Leo filtered through the important information.

The Old Phantom Fox had vanished.

Because of this, at the association, Leo Dexter met the sisters, Ran and Anne, and after catching the Spirit Reindeer, he left for Barnau.

Leo Dexter seemed confused about why the monster disappeared, but Minseo appeared to understand.

There are those types of games, the ones that don’t resurrect the monsters you hunt.

It was a trick to limit the rewards from hunting to just once, but it didn’t surprise Minseo who knew how petty this ‘raising Lena’ game could be.

However, the fact that capturing the monster has a permanent impact on the game’s system was significantly meaningful information.

How to make use of this, he still didn’t know… Ah?!

Something clicked in his mind. Minseo slapped her knee unconsciously, and a flicker of hope blossomed.

‘We can save Enen?!’

Yes! Exactly!

In the forest near the northwestern part of the Holy Kingdom, the Euta Tribe, known for growing mushrooms, and the adorable girl Enen who lived there. Leo had first met that girl during the third childhood friend scenario when Leah was expelled from the Monastery Church.

With Euta following her brother around cheerfully, it reminded him of Lena, who was similar in age, and he quickly grew attached. He had wanted to return the kindness he received from the siblings’ grandmother one day.

But in the fourth engagement scenario, where he had proceeded with the annulment…

He saw Enen meet the monster Oantahu and get torn apart.

The girl’s torso left on the ground, arms and legs ripped away, her chewed-up legs, and her head bleeding from the ears.

Merely the sight of that was horrendous, something one couldn’t bear to see while sane, but what was more brutal was that this death kept repeating.

Every time I went through the episodes.

There was no way to help. The Holy Kingdom was far, and it wasn’t feasible to go there each episode.

But now, at least once, no matter the scenario or episode, if I could just drop by there and catch Oantahu, Enen could be saved. There was a possibility to escape the endless whirlpool of death.

Leo smiled broadly alongside Minseo. It was a tragic scene where Banun Raono’s unrequited love was being acted out, but Leo fought to suppress the laughter that threatened to burst forth.

Regardless of whether it was helpful for clearing, there was a way to help Enen. Just that thought eased the guilt he felt so profoundly.

The fact that it had become harder to acquire the ‘Monster Hunting’ achievement didn’t matter much. Hadn’t he already achieved expert status with that achievement?

The problem was…

‘The next engagement scenario will be more difficult…’

How would they avoid the war events without monsters? If only he could find one or two more…

Leo’s joy began to fade a bit.

Then the memory of another important piece of information left by Leo Dexter completely wiped that joy away.

Malhas.

There was another malicious Asin. To be precise, there were two.

Malpas and Halpas, Asins born in a distant ancient time, were ruling the two northern kingdoms.

Leo had only smiled for a moment; he couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

Starting from scratch with nothing instead of the final stage being merely a ‘prince’ serving Oriax in the beggar siblings scenario.

In terms of power and economics, it was the best start, but the final stage, dominating two kingdoms, was like an engagement scenario already half swallowed by the ‘kings.’

How on earth did they balance it like this… the engagement scenario had truly no answer.

‘Is there really no choice but to rely on other scenarios to clear it?’—thinking to himself, Leo shook his head.

He was trying to break free from such thoughts when a familiar face appeared on stage.

It was Soirin, the florist girl who had shown interest in Leo when he was with the Rauno family.

‘…She’s become an actress.’

She had confessed to wanting to become an actress when they were on a carriage heading to the Arille Theater for a date.

Whether she had completely become a professional actress or not, Soirin flawlessly portrayed the role of Baneka Rauno, Banun Rauno’s sister.

“Brother! I’ll help you! Take this love potion. I’ve already given it to Leisia. Don’t worry. She’ll definitely never find out…”

Soirin said ominously.

According to the records, Baneka was an ambitious character. With a neutral charm that made her look very ‘handsome’ just like her brother, she had once used Banun Rauno’s name to achieve her goals, only to suddenly vanish from history.

Banun Rauno hurled the potion bottle. Watching the act of anger while shouting, Leo was doubtful.

‘Why is this all turning into a theater? Why has Soirin become an actress?’

Since this was the brothel where Kasia used to work, he felt there might be something related to her liberation…

But it was still unclear. Also, as the scene changed, Ksenia, dressed as a queen, appeared on stage, making it hard for Leo to keep up with his thoughts.

Thump-thump.

Leisia, requesting Banun Rauno, who was on probation, to return to the front lines. The act focused on Banun’s internal conflict, but Leo couldn’t take his eyes off Ksenia.

Was it because she resembled Chaehwa?

No.

There were similarities, but Ksenia was a completely different person. Though he shouldn’t have missed that distinction, Leo’s heart raced.

This feeling was like…

‘I think I like that woman.’

It felt the same as when Reb looked at Leah. At the beginning of the scenario, Leo de Yeriel, whose traces of Minseo were still strong, managed to objectively assess his condition.

However, every time Soirin approached Ksenia, his heart would leap, and when Banun Rauno locked himself in the mansion, and Leisia frowned with worry, Leo couldn’t help but be concerned as well.

The act curtain fell.

Act Two ended with Prince Todler Akiunen personally knocking on the door of the Rauno family mansion.

Lena and Leo’s play-watching ended there. After a short intermission, Act Three would begin, but Ksenia, who had removed her makeup, approached and asked, “Is that all for you?”

“No. It was very impressive. You acted really well.”

Though in her late teens, Ksenia appeared much more mature than her outward appearance, bursting into a cheerful laugh. Usually, one would infer it as a polite remark and downplay it, but she laughed heartily without covering her mouth.

Just like Chaehwa.

“Thank you. Actually, it was my first time playing the role of Leisia, so I was worried, but hearing your compliment puts me at ease. Now… shall we go?”

I had no idea where she meant to go. But Leo stood up and nodded. He took Lena’s hand and told Santian Rauno, who looked disappointed, to say goodbye, and went past Oberg, who was still snoring.

Ksenia climbed the theater stairs. The large wooden structure creaked as she passed the height of the second-floor audience seats, signs of life began to appear here and there.

No entry except for authorized personnel.

Despite the blatant sign, the third floor of the theater was inhabited.

Poorly combined small rooms, laundry hanging everywhere, and low-ceilinged rooms visible in the cracks of open doors, unmade bedding, and shabby sitting tables. However, being on the top floor and having all the windows open, the air wasn’t musty.

“Ksenia, is it over?”

“Not yet, sister. The finale is still left.”

“Really? Then I’ll have to go down in a bit. Oh right, did you put back the borrowed undergarments? They probably aren’t dry yet since I washed them earlier.”

“Got it.”

As they passed the narrow hallway, a woman sitting by the wide-open door spoke. She was puffing on a thin cigarette while doing some sewing.

‘A harlot.’

Strangely, harlots find it hard to hide their pasts. Leo, having watched Kasia for a long time, could spot a common trait they had.

Even though her hair was neatly combed, it looked messy in some way, thick and clumsy makeup that seemed to hide her poverty and past, and a neck that seemed somehow soft and fragile to the point you’d want to grab it… there were countless details.

But the woman Leo had seen before and the one just moments ago had differences.

Her eyes were bright. Though there was an unavoidable gloom left, a glimmer of hope sparkled just like Kasia’s eyes when she was making shoes.

Had they settled here? Leo was convinced that this had once been a brothel.

Was Kasia here too? While Leo looked around, he arrived at Ksenia’s room.

Her room was quite spacious.

It wasn’t clear if she was lucky enough to get the large room at the end of the hallway or if better rooms were given to women in the acting profession, but her room was very clean. Paying attention to living quarters, it had a bed, a desk by the window, and a fine carpet on the floor.

On a somewhat expensive-looking round table was a flat flower pot, with Liatris blooming like a silver tuft at the top of its stem, brightening up the room’s atmosphere.

Of course, while the overall impression was good, it still bore evidence of a busy life.

The low ceiling, the clothesline attached close to the wall with damp clothing and undergarments hanging; Ksenia quickly threw the undergarments into the cabinet beneath her desk and sat down at the table as if nothing had happened.

Lena and Leo perched on a small triangular chair beside the table.

A moment of silence passed. Naturally, Lena, who had no idea what the situation was, rolled her eyes, and Leo, also struggling to gauge the situation, kept his mouth shut.

After staring blankly, she quirked a smile.

“You look completely different from this morning.”

Ksenia pulled her chair nearer to the table. With her hands clasped on her thighs and sitting upright, she wore an expression of intrigue.

You go first. I don’t know anything. ─ Eventually, Ksenia opened up first to the waiting Leo.

“Haha, alright. I concede. I like you too. But I’m not ready to date yet. No matter how intense the first meeting was, I can’t just accept a guy I just met.”

Ksenia’s eyes flickered toward the laundry line before returning to Leo.

This handsome beggar poured water on me this morning. Then what he said next was even more incredible.

He liked me, so boldly demanded my help.

Well, life is indeed surprising.