Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 25: Cassia's Side Story

Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 25: Cassia's Side Story

25-1. Cassia's Side Story
A man in his mid-thirties lay in a dilapidated state. Though just entering middle age, he was prepared for death.
"Dad! I'm here. I brought some medicine, so take it quickly."
"..."
A girl with a bright smile burst into the shop.
My daughter.
My only daughter, the most beautiful in the world. The one my beloved wife asked me to take care of until the very end.
"Dad, here's some water."
He couldn't easily take the water she offered.
It was already difficult to go to the bathroom, so they had brought in a chamber pot, but he wasn't so weak that he couldn't lift a cup of water. It was just that guilt weighed heavily on his hands.
"Drink it quickly. You need to get better."
His daughter pressed the medicine and the cup of water into his hands.
He had been bedridden for over six months. Yet this kind daughter hadn't abandoned her sick father.
How did she get this medicine? Should he keep swallowing the medicine his daughter worked so hard to get for his dying body?
In the end, he couldn't resist her urging and forced down the medicine again today.
His daughter emptied the chamber pot filled with excrement and carefully cleaned his body with a wet cloth. It was no longer an embarrassing daily routine.
After cleaning him, his daughter would watch over the shop in front of their room.
It was a shoe shop, but no customers came. No one would buy shoes made by a sick cobbler.
He knew she pretended to mind the shop while taking brief naps on a small cot she had placed there.
His daughter went out every night. She still tried not to wake him, but he had known for a long time.
Though he reproached his wretched, collapsed body out of guilt, nothing changed.
Was she working at a tavern? But would any tavern operate so late at night?
Orville was a big place, so there might be one somewhere. A cobbler who spent his life making shoes without any friends wouldn't know such places.
He wanted to believe that.
He thought of his wife. She was beaten to death by thugs in the back alleys for trying to keep her money. Maybe they struck her in a vital spot because she died on the scene, and they said her last words were to take care of their daughter.
To strangers, even until her last breath.
"I should die."
He tried to care for his daughter who lost her mother, but it wasn't long before he fell ill and was bedridden.
His daughter hadn't shed a tear since he was bedridden. The child who cried several times after her mother left now hid her tears in front of him.
She even hid what she was doing from him.
"Dad. Eat your meal and then sleep."
It was dinner time again. Even with nothing to do, his pathetic body demanded two meals a day. He wasn't worth even one.
His daughter made porridge and placed it in front of him. He didn't want to eat it, but if he didn't, his daughter would worry.
With trembling hands, he ate the porridge.
"There's a lot of trouble in the Conrad Kingdom down south these days."
His daughter shared stories she heard, to keep him from getting bored.
"Eric de Yeriel? I think? Anyway, some prince tried to eliminate his half-siblings by mobilizing soldiers."
He nodded quietly.
"Trying to change his place in the line of succession. Nobles really have no heart, huh. Even if they are siblings."
His daughter shook her head in disbelief.
He wanted to say something to his daughter before he died.
"In the end, whether he succeeded or not, there's no news of those siblings who were driven out, but he was acknowledged as the successor. To go to such lengths for the throne..."
In the end, he didn't say anything. If he spoke, he might unintentionally blame, interrogate, get angry, or make her cry.
Night fell.
Pretending to be asleep, his daughter snuck out.
He painfully got up and crawled onto a small stool.
A low ceiling. A place where he had spent his life making shoes and sleeping. A place where he lived with his beloved wife and raised his beautiful daughter.
And the place where he would finally hang his neck.
He had fallen off the stool several times while trying to set up the noose, but eventually, he managed.
For the last time, he lay down on the bed and caught his breath.
He had woken up at dawn yesterday.
He heard his beloved daughter just coming in. She checked to make sure he was asleep and washed herself in the shop.
Through the narrow door gap, he saw his beloved daughter repeatedly cleaning her groin.
The knot hanging from the ceiling beckoned.
"I should die."
An immobilized father had driven his daughter into the abyss. He shamelessly swallowed the medicine she painstakingly obtained.
Nothing he said to her would matter. Advice from a bedridden man who ate, took medicine, and soiled himself was light.
Would she have wanted to do such work?
If he died, she would stop.
She would find her own life.
She was a smart child. Smarter than someone like him.
Would dying like this be cowardly? If he could write, he would have left a letter.
He quietly hung himself.
"Cassia... I'm sorry. Be happy. You must... live well."
25-2. Childhood Friends – Priest Event
"Cassia, you wretched woman!"
Leo fumed inwardly. Even though another scenario had started, his anger hadn't subsided. But he had to postpone his outburst because Lena was chattering beside him.
Right. Let's focus on this Lena for now.
"Brother Leslie told me that—"
The third childhood friend scenario had begun.
In the first one, he had married this Lena. Back then, he didn't know it would repeat, thinking that one time was everything and pursuing his happiness.
In the second, he aimed to make Lena a princess but was kidnapped by thugs on the way to Nevis Monastery.
"What should I do this time..."
No clear solution came to mind.
His swordsmanship skills hadn't improved significantly since Lena was kidnapped. He had internalized what he gained from his abilities, but he still needed to retrain to match this Leo's body.
For now, he could handle two or so thugs. If he had a two-handed sword.
He had acquired {Cooperative Fighting} in the previous fiancé scenario, but it was useless without a partner to fight with.
And this time, the reward was {Seduction Skills}...
His anger towards Cassia flared up again. He would never put such a thing to use.
"It's frustrating..."
There was too little information. {Rules of the Underworld} provided general knowledge but didn't specify what to do.
From the previous childhood friend scenario, he only learned that the two princes of the Oren Kingdom were scum.
What should he do to make Lena a princess in this cramped village?
"Should I take Lena and leave again?"
He had enough travel funds.
{Starting Funds} were always in his pocket.
And he could show his hunting skills to his father and get a considerable amount of money for a new journey to gather information.
Just like last time...
Lena, as usual, chatted cheerfully beside him.
"Saint Azra was an ordinary farmer. But one day, he left the land he had been cultivating all his life and went to the capital of the Arcaea Empire..."
He had heard this story several times already.
There were few new stories to hear in a remote village. So most of what Lena talked about were things she heard from the church, mixed with her own thoughts.
Her stories always contained a common longing for the central church and its clergy.
Suddenly, he felt sorry for Lena. Twice, he had prevented her from going to the central church she longed for so much.
Once because he wanted to live happily with Lena, and once to make her a princess and escape.
"Should I send Lena to the central church?"
Then she would become a priest.
Her dream would come true.
But if I did that, I wouldn't be able to escape and would have to repeat the same worries.
I can't live repeating this endlessly. Thousands of lives making Lena a priest? No matter how happy, it was no different from hell. Lena would surely find it horrifying.
Anyway, I had to make her a princess.
"This time, let's just send her off to become a priest while I travel alone and gather information."
Leo made a realistic compromise. After all, he didn't know how to make Lena a princess, and it seemed almost impossible at the moment.
If he had to gather information anyway, it seemed better to wander alone without Lena.
Then Lena would be happy, and I could promise myself for later.
Moreover, the central church was in the capital Lutetia of the Holy Kingdom, so there might be an event where Lena meets the prince while studying at the church.
Whether she would choose the prince, wanting to become a priest, was questionable, but it was a possibility.
Leo made up his mind and repeated to himself.
"Send Lena off and travel. Send Lena off and travel. Send Lena off and..."
While Minseo's mind was still somewhat clear, he engraved the broad outline of this scenario.
Lena scolded him for mumbling to himself.
*
The weekend came.
"Leo~"
"Oh! Wait a moment. I'm almost done eating!"
For the first time, Lena didn't go to the church.
Early that morning, having weeded and let go of her dream of becoming a priest a little, she naturally came to Leo's house.
"Today, I should go pick wild mushrooms. And I have something to tell Leo..."
Lena loitered in front of the door, thinking of Leo.
Lately, Leo's gaze had changed. It was hard to pinpoint exactly, but it felt like he was looking at her with a sense of longing.
"Did he notice what I gave up?"
If it were Leo, he might.
Because he's a friend.
If he had already sensed it, it might be easier to tell him that she would stop studying to become a priest.
What would Leo say? Would he encourage her not to give up? Or would he be pleased?
After confessing to becoming a priest as a child, there had been some distance between them. Around that time, they seemed to have stopped holding hands as they always did. It was probably because priests couldn't marry.
Back then, I was so immersed in my dream that I couldn't see Leo's feelings.
Young Leo must have been very heartbroken...
"Lena! What's up so early in the morning?"
Leo came out, grinning broadly.
He looked like he knew something she didn't.
"Hmmm~? Your expression is suspicious. Are you trying to prank me?"
Leo's left ear twitched, a habit only Lena knew he had when he was flustered.
"If you do anything weird, you won't get away with it."
Lena threatened.
When she did this, kind Leo didn't play pranks.
Today is a serious day. Leo, you fool!
"No, I was just happy to see you..."
"Really? Anyway, if you prank me today, you're dead!"
She shook her fist threateningly. Leo's slightly deflated look was cute.
"Got it... So what's up?"
"What are you doing today?"
"I'm free today. Do you want to go somewhere together?"
"Yeah! Let's go pick wild mushrooms."
"Sure. Wait a minute."
Leo went inside and quickly came back out.
It was as if he had been ready.
"You're really fast at getting ready?"
Leo's left ear twitched again, making Lena squint her eyes.
"You're hiding something, aren't you?"
"What, what? No?"
"Not true. You're definitely hiding something. Give me the bag."
Leo had a hard time clearing her suspicion.
'Darn... I should've just done nothing. She's too quick-witted.'
Each Lena he met in different scenarios had completely different personalities.
The Lena who was a childhood friend was smart and witty, the fiancée Lena wasn't very smart but was a strong warrior and very stubborn.
The Lena who was a beggar sibling was young and uneducated, making it hard to evaluate, but she had outstanding talent and was somewhat lazy compared to the other Lenas.
The other Lenas were so diligent that she was compared more, but the little sister Lena clearly slept longer.
Whether it was because she was young or because she was pretty and slept a lot...
'I should be careful from now on.'
The childhood friend Lena seemed smarter than Leo and even Minseo, who was in his late twenties. She only lacked education and information but had good deductive skills.
It was the same when they went to Nevis last time. Even without any information, she vaguely sensed that life in Nevis would not be easy.
Eventually, Lena and Leo arrived at the foot of the mountain, and the subsequent progress was almost the same as before. The only difference was in the conversations Lena had while picking wild mushrooms.
They picked wild mushrooms and then settled down.
"Ah~ open wide"
"Ah~~~"
"Chew, chew..."
"Chew, chew..."
Now, Lena was going to say she would give up studying to become a priest.
Leo waited.
"I think I'm going to give up studying to become a priest. I can't even get to the central church, and I need tuition fees... Even though they provide food, lodging, and clothing, I would still need some living expenses."
Lena stretched her legs and adjusted her sitting position, pretending to stretch.
Cute. She was doing this because she was embarrassed to open up. It's impossible to dislike Lena.
At the same time, Leo's body tensed.
"I don't want to leave my mom and dad behind... I also want to keep wandering in the woods with you... Do you want me to go study to become a priest? Or do you want me to stay?"
Even though he knew the future, his throat went dry.
Leo liked Lena.
He couldn't help but be thrilled by her confession.
He was glad he had prepared his words in advance.
"Not... I mean, not going and staying with me is good too, but I don't want you to give up."
Leo's face burned, and like last time, he bowed his head deeply and scratched at the innocent wild mushrooms.
"Really~? Why~?"
When Lena mischievously asked, his jaw stiffened, and he forgot where to put his arms.
"Why... Why are you asking that? Why are you asking such things?"
Sweet emotions swirled inside him.
Get a grip. I have to part with Lena.
But when Lena's hand touched his confused one, the reason he had tried to grasp flew away without a trace. He couldn't let go of her hand.
*
As the heat subsided, Leo became more conflicted. When this summer ended, the priest heading for the central church would arrive.
During that time, Leo didn't go hunting and spent as much time as possible with Lena.
Sometimes, Lena would suddenly grab his hand. Each time, Leo's heart skipped a beat, and their long friendship was on the verge of blossoming into a romantic relationship.
One day, after gathering food with Lena in the field, they returned to find a priest and Brother Leslie waiting at the village entrance. A female priest and an old man were with them.
Leo shuddered.
The time had come.
"Lena! You're here!"
"This is it! It's divine providence!"
Brother Leslie exclaimed brightly and ran to Lena.
Leo closed his eyes.
'I have something to do. Send Lena off and travel...'
The female priest smiled kindly at Lena and asked if she would like to come along.
"Is this a dream? Le..."
When Lena looked at Leo with a dumbfounded expression, silence fell.
The previous Lena had given up her dream and refused this event for Leo.
If he stayed silent, the same result would follow.
Leo swallowed his regret and opened his mouth to send Lena off. But the words that came out were different from what he had planned.
"Can I come too?"
After all, wasn't he going to gather information in the Holy Kingdom? If he followed, it would be better. He could reach Lutetia with Lena and study together there.
The central church didn't just raise priests. They also trained holy warriors who would become the sword and shield of the church, and Leo had {swordsmanship} skills.
God?
If he could be with Lena, he would believe. He would believe deeply and praise the grace that allowed him to meet Lena.
"I lack theological knowledge, but I will work hard. And I have learned some weaponry from my father. I want to become a holy warrior. I also have some savings. Is it possible?"
Leo pleaded earnestly.
"Leo..."
Leo's family revered hunting as sacred, and Leo had always wanted to become a great hunter like his father.
Lena felt touched by Leo's sacrifice for her and held his hand, caressing it.
The middle-aged female priest, Ophelia, looked at the two youths before her.
She could tell what their relationship was.
'This reminds me of the past...'
On the day she left to become a priest, Ophelia had also parted with a friend with whom she shared subtle feelings.
During her years of theological study, she missed him a lot and increasingly devoted those feelings to God.
Now, after many years, it was a cherished memory.
Ophelia became lenient.
It wasn't difficult to give one more person a ride, and with such earnestness, he could grow into an excellent holy warrior.
"It should be..."
"No, it cannot be."
The old man beside her spoke sternly.
All eyes turned to him.
---

Chapter 25: Cassia's Side Story