Dawn broke on the horizon. Firm and gleaming, in all its splendor. The sun's tender rays shyly crept through the gaps in the closed curtains, while a cold wind blew, whistling calmly.
The days were timid, yet relentlessly marching toward winter. Even if it would take a while, the signs of its arrival were perceptible.
In this dark and mild room, Lucretia sat on a chair near the bed. The small space was mostly occupied by the bed and a desk, with her uniform hanging on a hanger. Dirty clothes were thrown on a chair in the corner of the room. Rose-scented incense was burning on the desk, helping to perfume the environment.
"What should I do?" Lucretia thought. She looked at the curtain and then back at the interior of the room, meditating deeply on what she had heard.
Despite her disagreement with Hagane, she understood what he meant about being an "expensive child." As the only girl in the orphanage attending school, keeping her was very costly.
Once, Almaria told her: "Don't worry. You are smart, so it doesn't matter if it's expensive. You can pay it back later." Even so, Lucretia couldn't do much.
She helped with household chores. On top of that, she worked outside in some shops to bring in a little money, even though it didn't come close to the cost of tuition.
All the effort and investments put into her could not be in vain. However, something else frightened her.
"I don't want to have to get married."
Full of uncertainty, she wished to avoid this fate at all costs. With the orphanage owners as her guardians, she couldn't object if they decided to give her in marriage to someone. Being a woman, she would be forced to accept what was imposed on her. However, there was a way to avoid this.
"He said I could work with them, right? Like, as an adventurer…"
Looking at the palm of her hand, she considered the possibility. Being an adventurer, she would have an income and the possibility of paying back everything they invested in her. However, there was a problem with all of this...
She closed her eyes and tried to feel her interior. But there was no response.
"Stop thinking about this…"
After some time, she got up, checked the door lock, and opened the curtain a bit, allowing the light to invade the space more.
Lifting the mattress, she pulled her notebook from underneath it.
Sitting at the desk, she began to write. Minutes passed as she tried to take refuge, immersed in her imaginary world.
Knock knock
"Lucretia! Good morning! I need to get the dirty clothes to wash."
Hearing the sound of knocking, Lucretia froze and didn't answer.
"Lucretia~!! Are you in there?"
Saying this, the person on the other side tried to turn the handle, but the door wouldn't open. Startled, Lucretia closed the notebook and jumped onto the bed to hide it under the mattress.
Grabbing the dirty clothes thrown in the corner, she ran and unlocked the door.
"Hey...! Why didn't you answer me?"
"S-sorry, I-I-I was... without... clothes…"
With each word, her voice diminished until it became a whisper. The young woman was completely red, sweating, and panting heavily. She also couldn't look into the eyes of the woman waiting outside the room.
Hearing the girl's answer, Sylmeria, the woman who came to fetch the clothes, couldn't contain her laughter, which made the girl even more embarrassed by what she had said. The woman then stared for some time into Lucretia's room and seemed to notice something, then said, smiling.
"It's okay, I'm going to wash your clothes and hang them on the line. You can go back to what you were doing."
"I-I-I wasn't doing an-ny-thing!"
"Hmmm…"
Trembling and unable to articulate a sentence correctly, the girl just handed over the clothes and started to close the door. But before she finished, Sylmeria, who was still looking at something inside Lucretia's room, said very softly:
"Look, I'm a woman and I understand. This is normal for someone your age, okay. No need to be ashamed. Especially since there are many boys here and at school. But control those impure thoughts."
"Ah...… okay."
The young girl didn't quite understand what Sylmeria meant and just nodded. Then she closed the door.
Looking at the bed, she decided not to go back to writing. She didn't want them to discover her secret hobby and think she was a child.
Directing her gaze outside the window, she saw Siegfried chopping wood. He had been there since before dawn. It was routine, except when he was away on a job.
The occupation of Siegfried and some of the orphanage members was that of adventurers. As members of the local guild of Aethelgard, they worked to keep the orphanage running.
Lucretia used to observe people's routines when she wasn't busy, and Siegfried always proved reliable, helping with various daily tasks.
"He is quite tall and strong. At least someone is useful around here. The rest of the adults don't even show up."
Murmuring aloud, Lucretia began to think about the orphanage children. She was the oldest child and responsible for heavy tasks. However, she hadn't considered herself a child for a long time and, soon, she would cease to be one officially. Her 18th birthday was approaching.
Almaria was one of the administrators. Being still young, she got along very well with the girl and some other girls.
Thinking of this, the young writer saw Sylmeria, who had come down with a basket of clothes. Alongside the woman, some girls followed with more clothes, greeting Siegfried, who returned the gesture with a smile. A tightness in her stomach emerged, and Lucretia looked away.
"Well, it's not cool to be snooping on others like this. I can't be like some of the idiots here."
Talking to herself, the young woman decided to go down for breakfast. However, before she left, someone opened the door.
As if responding to the thought she had just moments before, Almaria appeared in front of her.
"Come have breakfast, Luh. It's going to get cold.."
Seeing her friend arrive, Lucretia was startled. The woman made an expression of happiness and mischief that was somewhat unusual.
"Spying through the window, huh?"
"I'm just opening the curtain, okay."
The blonde girl opened the curtain completely, letting the light flood the entire room.
After that, the redhead crouched near where Lucretia's used clothes were.
"Ahh, so you were messing with the little gift I left here, in the middle of your clothes?"
"Gift...?"
Looking at the woman's hands, Lucretia saw a large paper held there.
It didn't seem unusual, just a placard or poster, but seeing the paper, which was a distinct pink color, she saw what the poster displayed. A muscular man, tall, with black hair and shirtless stamped on the cover. The title was: "The Forbidden Paradise."
The blonde girl immediately reacted and screamed.
"Stop hiding these things here!!!"
The two began to fight over the poster…