My legs felt numb from all the running, but I continued practicing my steps from Deed. He instructs me while I'm trying to copy his movements from the memory he showed me.
I was so tired when I returned to my room in the manor, which is prepared for an employee like me. I still couldn't believe it. Just like yesterday, I was attacked and now I've returned to the past. Not in my world, but the past which is my first life.
As I close my eyes, memories of Deed come flowing once again to me. It was the memory back when he… no, when I was very young and I got kicked out by my family.
"We got way too many children to feed. We don't even have enough money to feed ourselves." I heard that from my parents.
Life was already hard as commoners. I was the youngest of seven children. My brothers would always bully me for being so small and weak. Even my food would get stolen from me. It was survival itself.
"That child is sick a lot… and he seems to be a burden to his siblings." My parents said. It was a small house. Of course I could hear it.
'Of course I would get sick if I keep getting bullied and don't even have anything to eat…' I thought to myself. 'But maybe if I died, they'll live a better life. They'll have one less mouth to feed.' I think positively.
I didn't even have any toys to play with. I got jealous of other kids from different households. Even my other siblings got toys to play with. As for me, I got passed-down toys which were already broken. But I was grateful. I never had the chance to play before and I only saw my older siblings play with them.
Yet when they saw me happily playing with one, they broke it even further… It couldn't even be called a toy anymore.
One day, I saw a noble passing through our village. Their child seemed disgusted when they passed us. That day I thought to myself, 'All nobles are arrogant. It must be nice to be able to look down on others… perhaps I won't get bullied if I was born as a noble.'
'I wish I was a noble.' I pray to the Almighty God, thinking that perhaps a miracle could happen.
However, as kids, we commoners were always being told scary things about nobles. Like they will eat children and so on. Of course we would be afraid every time a noble came to our village.
'I wish a noble won't eat me.' I pray to the Almighty God, so He will take my fear away.
Then a famine came. A lot of disease hit the people of our village, and me…
Most crops don't grow when a famine comes and the lake was also dry. There would be nothing to fish. No food. Only those who stocked food could survive.
And it turns out the noble who came to our village was supplying us with food, and it was given to every household.
'Maybe the nobles aren't as bad as what we think.' I thought to myself.
But being the sick one in my family, I looked like I was some sort of burden. Their eyes were scary. I couldn't eat or feed myself. They also didn't want to get near me, so as to not contract the disease.
'I wish I would never be born…' I pray to the Almighty God. Dying and not being treated like this is way better… I thought to myself. Even some of the neighbors that died got treated well when they died. They were being missed.
"Maybe if we sell him off…" Late at night, I could hear my parents whispering.
That night, I crawled my way out of the house. Maybe if I got sold off it would be better for them. They could get money to feed the whole family. But my eyes… water flowing down… Am I.. crying?
Maybe the family I would be sold to will treat me well… but I'm sick… I'll only get sold again. I don't want that.
I crawl, I crawl, I crawl further and further into the forest. My eyes won't stop flowing a river. I don't care about other things anymore. I just want to go somewhere far… perhaps if I die getting eaten by a wolf, that'll save them even the trouble of burying me.
"Oh God… please take me away from here." My body couldn't keep up… everything blacked out.
As I open my eyes, I'm at an unfamiliar place. It's also moving. I'm inside a carriage.
"Oh God, how could such a young child suffer." The voice came from an old woman who wears robes like an apothecary.
"Don't worry boy, drink this." She gave me medicine as soon as I woke, and a drink.
"We're going to the FlameBlood duchy. Be sure to rest well, boy." She assured me.
Some time passes. I was sent to the orphanage at the duchy by the apothecary, since she often travels to deliver medicine around the kingdom. She wanted to bring me along and raise me, but I didn't want to burden her further.
The orphanage was managed by the Duke's family itself. That is where I first met Erica.
An orphanage managed by nobles will have children raised to work for the nobles, and they would be loyal from a young age. It's basic knowledge. So we have to train with swords or even with administration, or even work that would be of value to them.
"I will be a knight that will protect the Duke!" A young orphan shouted while training.
"I will protect the Young Lady." Another young orphan said.
"I don't need anyone to protect me!" A young girl with red eyes and black short hair shouted. It was a young Erica at the age of five.
"No! We will protect you, Young Lady." The orphans insist.
Erica held a small wooden sword and started trying to fight the other orphans.
"I am a noble! I will be the one protecting you peasants!" She said.
However, some of the young orphans felt challenged as males. "Young Lady, you are a girl. You can't protect us."
Erica felt challenged. "Fight me!" And the young orphan accepted it and accidentally hit Erica for real.
She cried… Everyone panicked as the young, sheltered noble lady was being hit.
"Stand up." I said. "A heroine will always stand back up. You said you'll protect us. Stand up, heroine!" I said.
Erica suddenly stopped crying and stood up again on her own. With her teary eyes, she decided to fight again.
At that time, I don't know what made me say that. Perhaps after being at the orphanage, I often spent time reading about fantasy. It's not common for a girl to be the hero, but in the books I've read, there are a lot of heroines.
After that, Erica came to the orphanage a lot and trained with us.
"Erica, save me." I said as I ran behind Erica.
"Are you guys bullying Deed again?" Erica said toward the chasing orphans. While me, behind her, sticking my tongue out and making insulting faces at them.
"Hiding behind a girl… you should feel ashamed about being a boy, Deed." One of the orphans said, which actually triggered Erica's anger.
"Are you looking down on me? Just because I'm a girl?" She said, being angry.
"What are you losers talking about? You guys are boys yet you still lose to Erica. And who cares about gender? Erica is a heroine nonetheless. She will be the one protecting us in the end." I said to them while still hiding behind Erica.
Erica seemed to be happy by what I said and fended off the bullies for me…
"You still need to be strong, Deed. Who knows what'll happen if I'm not around." She said with concern.
"You can just protect me like always." I said with a grin.
"I can't just protect you forever." She said.
"Then you can just protect me forever." I said that, and her face turned red.
And after that, I got hit a lot by her… though I don't know why.