Bastian

succeeded in selling his daughter was also looking at him with sparkling eyes.

 

Bastian went towards it with a light smile on his face.
As soon as the last slot was filled, the game began.

 

Bastian checked the cards dealt  to him with a cigar in his mouth, weighing his options.

 

Though the outcome was not in his favor,  it wasn’t that bad of a loss.

 

***

 

The sound of the bell announcing midnight permeated the silence of the deep night.

 

Odette paused her hands, which were diligently weaving the lace, and raised her head.
Tira, who insisted on helping out, was sound asleep lying on her stomach on the table.

 

Odette let out a soft sigh and sorted out her work.
She packed up the half-finished veil and cotton thread, and massaged her sore hands from holding the needle all day long.
In the early spring night sky visible through the faded curtains, a white full moon was floating.

 

“Tira.”

 

She tapped her lightly on the shoulder and called her name, causing Tira to open her eyes in surprise.

 

“Has father not returned yet?”

 

Tira, who was looking around with a face that was still sleepy, cried out.

 

“What if something happened to him?”

 

“Don’t worry.
He’ll be fine.
It won’t be a big deal.”

 

After giving a calm answer, Odette led Tira, who could hardly let go of her mind, and headed for the bedroom.

 

The room the two sisters shared was north facing, overlooking the river that ran through the city.
The view of the beautiful Prater River and the drawbridge was great, but on a windy day like today, they had to suffer from the creaking of the old window frames.

 

“That sounds so bad.
It’s like a ghost weeping.”

 

After washing her face, Tira muttered sullenly.
Her reddened cheeks glistened in the dim light of the lamp.

 

Odette gently caressed her sister’s cold cheek with her hand, which had been heated by friction.

 

Until last year, they had been able to live in a house with hot water, but their father had money problems and he had to find a cheaper rental house.
Still, it was thanks to the pension given by the imperial family that he was able to get the top floor of an old building on the outskirts of the city.
Considering that, at worst, they might have been left stranded on the street, Odette found even that terrible noise sweet.

 

“Go to bed now.”

 

Odette, who gave Tira a short kiss, ordered.

 

“I’m not a baby.”

 

Tira obediently lay down on the bed while retorting with her disapproving tone.
It wasn’t long before she began to hear the low sound of her snoring.

 

Turning down the lamp, Odette left the bedroom with quiet steps.
First, she put away the food she had left for her father on the dining table and closed the door.

 

After making a meticulous list of daily necessities to buy with the money from selling tomorrow’s lace, the night deepened.

 

She was so exhausted that she wanted to throw herself into bed right away, but Odette did not forget to wash up, put on her old sun-dried pajamas, and brush her hair with care.

 

Under no circumstances should one lose a minimum of dignity, her mother used to say, as was her habit.
It was the same even after she fell into such a poor position that she could no longer be called an aristocrat.
For the day when they return to their original place someday.

 

Her mother, who clung to her faith-like hope, passed away without being able to escape from her miserable reality.
Although she vaguely forebode that her own life would be the same, Odette still did not want to erase the traces of the past that were deeply rooted in her.
In other words, it was her last legacy left by her mother.

 

Odette tightened the lock on the window, drew the curtains, and lay down next to Tira.
When she closed her eyes while holding her younger sister who was burrowing into her arms in her sleep, today, without anything special, felt very fulfilling.

 

It was a night that gave her a little bit of fairytale hope that these peaceful days could continue forever.

 

***

 

It was unpleasant luck.

 

Bastian looked down at the table with dismay.
Four cards of the same number.
No matter how many times he looked at them, it was an unmistakable victory.

 

“Five! I think Captain Klauswitz has won the most beautiful woman in the empire!”

 

“What.
Isn’t it a foul to bring the goddess of victory to the deck of cards?”

 

The party who confirmed the winner of the game began to cheer.
As if they had already completely forgotten their defeat.
Just immersed in the stimulating fun of this situation.

 

Bastian brushed the ashes from his long cigar, rubbing his throbbing forehead.
The perfect victory in the casual gambling table was an embarrassment.

 

“Is the beggar Duke  looking at his son in law?”

 

“Come on, now you have to pay your stake!”

 

The onlookers who surrounded them began to urge with low booing.

 

Bastian looked at the old man sitting across from him with a cold mocking gaze.
The old man was half dazed, his big eyes wide open.
Cold sweat dripped down his flushed face onto the back of his thin hand.

 

“No way…… That, it can’t be…”

 

He started fidgeting with his now useless hands, his whole body shaking.

 

Bastian stood up from his seat.
He was thinking of leaving this place before getting involved with the daughter of such a pathetic man, but the party seemed unwilling to let him go.

 

“Where are you going? You have to get your money’s worth!”

 

“That’s right, Bastian.
This is your legitimate right.”

 

The officers holding Bastian tightly called in the watch guards.

 

“I want him to bring the stake he promised.”

 

The guard’s eyes shook at Erich’s commanding words.
The old man who finally came to his senses started crying and begging for mercy, but the excitement of the onlookers only grew more and more.

 

“Immediately go to collect his debt.”

 

Upon hearing the news, the owner came running and gave a stern order.
The guard let out a long sigh and eventually left the gambling house to fetch the woman.

 

Bastian sat back in his chair and took a deep breath of the smoke from his cigar.
It was a victory that made him feel quite dirty, but he did not bother to express it.
Stake money to throw away anyway.
The choice that would give him the biggest profit was to return the money quietly after he had adjusted to this atmosphere first.

 

Bastian let out a faint, annoyed sigh along with the smoke from his cigar.
Through the scattered pale smoke, he could see the father who had sold his daughter to him.
The man called beggar Duke  was wailing like a child.