novelraw Chapter 163: Beggar Siblings - Independence
Chapter 163: Beggar Siblings - Independence
163. Beggar Siblings - Independence
“Lena, it’s time to get up.”
“Ehh, brother, just a bit more... Ah!”
Startled, Lena, who had been dreaming of playing hide-and-seek with her brother, abruptly sat up. The unfamiliar voice and the soft texture of the bed made her open her eyes wide and look around.
“Did you sleep well?”
- Hiccup!
Lena unconsciously pulled the blanket up to her chin. She stared at the woman in front of her for a moment before realizing where she was.
“Uh, good morning, sister.”
Lena quickly got out of bed. She stepped on the bedding laid out on the floor next to the bed and bowed deeply.
It was Jenia’s room.Yesterday, her brother had told her she would be staying here from now on. Although she had protested, not wanting to be separated from him, her brother had insisted.
“I’ll visit often. Don’t you want me to feel at ease knowing you’re in a good place?”
With those words, her brother had left, promising to return the next day.
“Will you come tomorrow? Will you come every day?”
“Yes, I’ll come tomorrow, and the day after that too. Listen to what she says, okay? And remember, this is the only time you’ll leave the theater, understand? Promise.”
Her brother had held out his pinky finger. But Lena, with a tearful face, had asked,
“...Will you really come every day if I promise?”
She feared he might disappear if she didn’t make him promise. She trusted him, but she wanted his word.
After a brief hesitation, her brother had said, “Yes.” Even though her anxiety had made her eyes well up with tears, her brother had pulled her into a tight hug, patting her back and saying, “I’ll definitely come every day.” This reassured her a little.
“Jenia, please take care of my sister. We won’t impose for too long.”
“Of course. Don’t worry.”
Then her brother had left, his hurried footsteps disappearing around the corner of the alley. The sun was beginning to set.
“Shall we go inside?”
“...Yes.”
The theater was quiet after the audience had left. Jenia, who had introduced herself, gently patted Lena’s shoulder as they walked around the theater.
However, since it was getting late, they soon returned to the room. Unlike the silent first and second floors, the third floor, where people lived, was bustling.
“Oh my, she’s so cute. Who is she?”
As they passed through the hallway, a few women spoke to them. Lena, who was already nervous, clung to Jenia’s skirt as the women casually approached and patted her head.
“She’s my boyfriend’s sister. She’ll be staying here for a while.”
“Boyfriend? Jenia, you have a boyfriend?”
The attention directed at Lena shifted towards Jenia. In the narrow hallway, with open doors, women began asking questions. Lena felt Jenia gently pushing her forward.
“What kind of person is he?”, “How long have you been dating?” The chatter faded as the door to Jenia’s room closed. Lena, still hesitant, stood near the door.
It was a nice room.
Through the wide-open window, she could see the sky turning golden, and a faint sweet perfume scent filled the air.
But Lena felt out of place. She didn’t dare to step on the carpet and stood awkwardly, feeling a sudden sharp sense of reality.
A strange place.
A place where she didn’t know what she could touch or where she could sit made her feel lonely.
“Sniff... Brother...”
Tears welled up in Lena’s eyes.
The separation from her brother was sudden. Before she could process all the astonishing events of the day, she found herself alone, holding onto the hem of the clean dress she had never worn before, and began to sob.
The crying lasted quite a while. Even the chatter from outside had ceased, and as the silence grew, Lena, terrified, burst into tears.
“Oh dear, what should we do?”
Jenia returned.
Holding plates in both hands, she quickly embraced the sobbing Lena, who was crouching by the door.
“You miss your brother, don’t you? That’s why you’re so sad.”
Kneeling, Jenia rocked Lena gently, patting her back in time with her heartbeat. Lena, feeling comforted, clung to Jenia.
How pitiful. Jenia felt a tickle of maternal instinct as she pressed her cheek to the thin girl’s head.
Just a while ago, she was such a bright child. When Leo went out with Ober to get shoes, she hadn’t seemed too worried.
She must not have fully realized her brother was leaving her behind.
They stayed like that for a while. By the time the food Jenia had brought had cooled, Lena’s crying had subsided. Jenia reached out and found a handkerchief.
“Blow your nose. Blow.”
“Hic... Hic... Sniff. Sniffle.”
After wiping Lena’s tear-streaked face, Jenia flipped the handkerchief to wipe her snotty nose. She helped Lena blow her cute little nose.
“Feeling better now?”
Lena nodded.
“Then let’s eat. You’re hungry, right? I brought the tastiest things from the kitchen.”
Lena nodded again.
Jenia gently held Lena's hand and helped her up. Noticing Lena's feet dangling above the floor as she sat at the table, Jenia thought she needed to buy another chair.
How could a girl who would come of age in a couple of years be so small? She must have grown up malnourished, but how did she end up looking so heartbreakingly beautiful?
Jenia placed a slice of pie from her plate onto Lena's. Lena, initially nibbling and sniffling as she ate the sweet treat filled with the fruit called hruska, soon burst into tears again while shoveling it into her mouth.
“Oh dear... Crying again? This time because it's delicious, right? Hmm?”
Jenia got up and approached her, tickling Lena's cheek playfully. Lena, with a tearful face, let out a small giggle.
“Anyone would think your brother had left for good. He'll be back tomorrow. What are you going to do if you're so embarrassed? Now, stop crying. That's a good girl.”
Jenia sat down again.
“I'm Jenia. What's your name?” ─ Despite already knowing each other's names, Jenia asked in a gentle tone, prompting Lena to answer in a calmer voice, leading to a soft conversation.
There were no probing questions about how she had lived. Instead, Jenia distracted Lena with small talk, asking, “Did you see me acting earlier? Did I make any mistakes?”
Jenia had intended to discuss how they would live together while eating, but decided to postpone it for later.
As Jenia talked and Lena quietly nodded, time passed. When dusk fell and it began to get dark, Jenia spread a blanket on the floor for Lena, who was rubbing her eyes tiredly.
“Lie down here.”
“...Thank you.”
“Thank you? Wait a second.”
Jenia closed the window and returned. She stayed by Lena’s side in the dark, whispering, “Sleep well,” before climbing onto her bed to sleep.
I hope brother got home safely.
Lena worried about her brother, who would be sleeping alone in a shabby house, but the comfort of the soft blanket soon lulled her to sleep.
The first night in this unfamiliar environment passed like that.
*
Lena gradually adapted to life in the theater.
The three meals she received every day were delicious, and everyone in the theater was kind. Probably thanks to Jenia, no one treated her poorly.
The people in this theater fell into four main categories:
The actors who performed the plays, the men who managed the stage, the thugs from the Rauno family who protected the theater,
And the women who lived at the top of the theater.
Lena didn’t know why these women were there, but they were particularly affectionate toward her. Every time they saw her, they would say, “Oh, she’s so pretty. Such a lovely girl...” and gently stroke her hair.
This was fortunate for Lena.
Whenever she came down to the audience area to watch Jenia’s performances and some man, captivated by her beauty, tried to approach her, these women were quick to intervene.
Grabbing the hair of a presumptuous spectator, they would shout, “Mr. Ober! Throw this man out immediately!”
Under the protection of the theater people, Lena’s smile returned.
“Are you doing well?”
“Brother!”
Her brother visited every day.
Except for the first day when he briefly stepped out to talk with Mr. Ober, he spent the entire day with her for the first few weeks, listening to her recount her day.
“Brother, in the morning, I played with Tian, and guess what~”
“Santian?”
“Yeah. I think...”
Sitting in the audience seats, watching the stage where the actors were rehearsing, Lena whispered softly, though there was no one around to overhear.
“I think he likes me.”
She covered her face and giggled.
Tian was cute.
He often came to the theater to keep her company, and she found out he was younger than her!
Despite this, he tried to act manly around her. He claimed there was a small space under the stage where one could hear everything said in the dressing room, boasting loudly, but it was all nonsense.
Lena and Santian were soon caught by Mr. Ober, who gave them a stern lecture. Tian, trying to take responsibility, said,
“Lena did nothing wrong! It was my idea.”
“Of course it was your idea. Who didn’t know that?” Mr. Ober scolded him even more.
‘Ah, I told brother everything.’
Lena sneaked a peek at her brother through her fingers. He had a strange expression on his face.
What’s with that look?
“What do you think?”
“...That’s nice. But Lena.”
“Yeah?”
“Just be friends with Tian, okay?”
“...Why?”
Although she had no intention of dating him, she felt a rebellious urge. Why can’t I, when you’re dating Jenia?
Fortunately, her brother’s follow-up response calmed her.
“It’s because I don’t know Tian well yet. You wouldn’t date him without my permission, right?”
“Eek! That tickles, stop it!”
“Hmm? You wouldn’t, right?”
“Hahaha. No, I won’t. Hahaha! Help, someone!”
Lena broke free from her brother’s grasp and ran away. She dashed into the dressing room, crawled under a table, and escaped through the ventilation shaft back to the audience area, but somehow, her brother always found her easily.
Tian, you idiot. How could you brag about knowing a place my brother already knows? I’ll have to scold you later.
This was probably the happiest time. Her brother visited every day, she played hide-and-seek with Tian at the theater, and whenever Mr. Ober chased them, she hid in Jenia’s or another woman’s room to read fairy tales...
But after a few weeks, her brother’s visits became less frequent.
At first, he came every other day, then every three days, and eventually, he only managed to visit once a week, late in the evening.
Her brother told her he had found a job. He didn’t say what it was, but he asked her to understand that he was too busy to visit often. Lena gradually became more independent.
This happened within just a month of her moving into the Orange Theater.
One day, as Lena was moving in and out of the dressing room, watching Jenia rehearse, an older man with graying hair approached her.
“Miss Lena? Is your name Lena? Hello, I’m...”
Lena stared blankly at the well-dressed man before placing her hand in his outstretched one.
“My name is Bretin.”
Their gray and golden eyes met. The owner of the theater and former manager of a brothel, he gracefully kissed the back of her hand.
“I have something to discuss. Could we talk inside for a moment?”
He was also the half-brother of Brian Sauer, the Viscount of Orville’s brothel district.
“Yes.”
Innocently, Lena followed Bretin towards a private dressing room. Seeing this from afar, Jenia hurriedly said, “Wait a moment, I’ll be right back,” and quickly descended from the stage to follow them.
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