How the Useless Me Became the Beloved of the Devilish Duke Knight - Chapter 14
Chapter 14 : Flashbacks and Rain
The Tarcoza family wasn’t always like this from the beginning. When her mother was alive, her father was kind. They were both poor and always busy, but the family was full of laughter and cheerful.
Her father often held Elma in his lap and hummed songs to her. He would say, ‘It’s an old song passed down in our family,’ with a nostalgic look in his eyes. Elma can still hear it. He used to sing for her every day in the past.
One morning, as usual, the family gathered for a busy but enjoying breakfast together. That’s when her mother started coughing.
“Maybe it’s a cold, or perhaps you’re just too tired. How about taking a rest today?”
When Elma’s father spoke like that, her mother weakly smiled and tried to respond, opening her mouth. However, what came out of her mouth was bright red blood.
“El?…”
Elma ran towards her, who was bleeding. The sound gradually faded away. She cried and apologized repeatedly, saying sorry over and over again. At the moment the light disappeared from her mother’s eyes, a large shadow fell from behind.
“It’s your fault!”
She almost stopped breathing at the sound of a yelling voice. Then, this time, the large human spoke softly, almost in a whisper.
“It’s your fault. You killed your mother. So, you must make amends for the family. Right, Elma ?”
Her head is pounding. Throbbing, as if it’s about to split. The sound of footsteps echoing. She covered her ears, not wanting to hear anything.
When Elma raised her head, someone was watching her. Violet-colored eyes were staring at her.
The next morning, Elma’s eyes were swollen. After the terrible events, she had a bad dream. It’s been a while since she recalled memories of her deceased mother.
In fact, Elma doesn’t remember much about her childhood. The memories of her mother being kind and the horrifying way she died were vividly etched in her memory.There was the intense regret that burned my whole body, and the thunderous voice that said, “It’s your fault!”
Everything else is quite blurry, she doesn’t even know for sure the day Carolyn was born. However, up until that point where everything was ruined because of her… it feels like they were all happy together.
Even without looking in the mirror, she knows that she looked terrible. Yet, upon seeing this condition, it seemed to relieve her sister. The moment she looked at Elma, her mood visibly improved
“Big Sister, go weed the garden, okay ?”
Even so, she remembered to give a task. Unfortunately, it was raining outside. Her father and sister were planning to cancel their plans to go out and spend the day relaxing, but Erma had no time off.
“Hey, you. Go buy Carolyn a snack today.”
And her father, as usual, would tell her to go shopping for no reason on rainy days. He didn’t care if Elma made a terrible face. On the contrary, when she silently nodded and was about to leave, he called her to his side and stabbed her with a nail.
“Listen, we were originally aristocrats. But because you were born, we were kicked out of our home. Your mother died from overwork because you were incompetent. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”
Her father continued, watching as Elma’s downcast eyelashes fluttered slightly.
“You owe us a debt. If Carolyn’s debut in high society goes well, we can return to our former state. …Do you understand?”
“Yes, Father.”
As always, Elma responded that way. Nothing has changed for her father or sister. That’s why, surely, Elma must not change either. After all, she’s the daughter who killed her mother.
While walking down the street, Elma realized she had forgotten her umbrella. It was raining lightly, but her clothes were wet and cold from being exposed for too long.
But she didn’t really feel like going back home. The things given to Elma, after all, were broken and full of holes. It didn’t make much difference whether she used an umbrella or not.
‘…What was it that I needed to buy again? Oh, right, snacks for Carolyn-sama…’
But what in the world was the point of such things? Somehow, Elma had a faint hope in her heart that if she did her best, it would be for the sake of her family–someday, she would be able to smile a little again.
But yesterday, she realized once again. There is no meaning in what Elma does. All her efforts are in vain.
Although her father, Zeden, has repeatedly told her that serving the family is redemption, Elma was aware that Carolyn didn’t like her.
Elma thought that’s because she’s useless, so if she became useful, she would be recognized. But it was different. Elma was hated. It didn’t matter how hard she tried.
‘All this time, what have I been…’
“?Ma. Elma!”
As Elma walked with her head down, someone grabbed her shoulder. Stumbling, Elma looked up and saw a tall figure in a mask.
“What happened? Seriously, you don’t even have a raincoat.”
Masked figure. Rain. Ah, that’s right, she had a promise. If it rained, let’s meet again… with her first friend. Finally remembering who was standing in front of her, Elma eyes became moist.
“Eugreek-sama…”
There’s a lot of things she wanted to say, but nothing came out. Instead, her eyes were again filled with tears, and won’t stop. When a similar situation happened before, Eugreek stood there flustered, but this time was different.
“Let’s go.”
He quickly grabbed Elma’s hand and started walking. Elma, who was still dazed, was dragged along. Soon they were off the main street and into a deserted road.
As they exited the alley and emerged into what looked like a plaza, he slipped one hand under the cloth that covered his face. A high and beautiful whistle sound echoed.
‘…A finger whistle?’
Almost at the same time that Elma tilted her head, she heard a very loud flapping sound. She looked up and her eyes widened. A pure white horse had landed. And it was no ordinary horse. Wings were growing from around its shoulders.
‘A Pegasus…!?’
A presence she had only heard of in fairy tales was right in front of her.
“That was quick, Fortra. Were you even eating the grass along the way?”
When the man caresses the back of its neck, the winged horse responds by snorting loudly. Elma finally came to her senses when she was almost put on his back.
“Um, I’m…!?”
“We’ll talk later.”
But without a word, her body was effortlessly lifted. Eugreek jumped behind Elma, nd the Pegasus kicked off the ground, ascending into the sky. As she screamed, strong arms embraced her.
“It’s okay, neither I nor Fortra will drop you. Just bear with it for a bit.”
His body was broad and warm. Elma, who had turned red earlier, now turned blue. The Pegasus flew higher and higher, reaching heights she had never witnessed before.
“It’s best not to look down. Keep your eyes closed until we get there.”
Upon hearing the man’s low voice, she instinctively obeys. Perhaps it’s an intuitive understanding that thrashing around here would only lead to falling. With her eyes closed, she feels the heartbeat coming from the chest pressed against her. Listening to the slightly faster rhythm, even Elma’s chilled body feels like it might warm up.
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Translated by : Cutae30