My father rubs his forehead as he paces around the room. He had ordered me to go pay Letitia a friendly visit which I did so I could see Vivian also but I didn't see them and a servant said;
"Oh, Lady Letitia has left for Renztead to help and Lady Vivian has gone to Tarrin Village in Gerin City to help as an aid nurse."
The only reason my father is this stressed about someone else's absence is because of his debt. My father and Count Sullivan used to be close but they grew apart as the Count became busier and my father spent his time gambling instead of managing the properties properly.
Thanks to his addiction, ninety percent of our properties will soon be taken away because of his debt and investing in the wrong things. The only solution my father could think of is getting me married to Letitia.
He thinks the Count will give us a lot of money with her being his first and Legitimate daughter, she might also inherit his property when he dies.
I have no intention of marrying Letitia as I'm in love with someone else. When the opportunity comes, I'm going to cut myself away from my father.
"Maybe this is happening for the better."
"It's time for you to leave for Renztead and take the Junior Advisor's test that will take place in 3 weeks"
There's no need to say anything but agree to his words. My father has a lot of things to injure a person around him and he's not afraid to use it. It's not the first time it's happened anyway.
"Yes, Father. I'll prepare to leave for Renztead tomorrow morning."
~~~~~
"We're really sorry for coming late."
I and the girls frantically apologize to Evalyn who chuckles and signals us to follow her.
"You'd be working here, helping the people bandage up their wounds and feeding the ones who can't eat."
"It's just 10 am and the food distribution will end at 10:30, we'll head to the town hall to help the people who need help walking here and the elderly."
We all nod and start making our way out but I hold back Evalyn.
"Here. Use this to buy whatever you can for the care home."
I hand over half of the money Father has given me. Evalyn looks at the pouch and back to me with tears almost falling from her eyes.
"You don't know how many people you'd be saving with this money, lady Vivian. I'll head to town tomorrow to get medicine and food."
"Thank you."
I smile at her and wave my hand frantically in an awkward way.
"It's not like the money is mine. I just think giving it to you is the right decision that my Father would be proud of."
We finally make our way to the town hall after minutes of saying thank you and it's nothing.
I watch as Mrs. Dandy scoops some food from the large pot with a small spoon and pours it into another villager's plate. The villager asks for more but the village head shouts at the weeping woman.
I've come to learn that the people of Tarrin depend on their crops to live but there's been a drought for over a year and a half. It finally rained a few days before we arrived but it flooded the whole village so no good was done.
Things are tough as the only source of food donations from other villages which are kept with the village head.
A man suddenly whispers something in the village head's ear and she closes the pot.
"This is the last portion of the food we have. Our storage is now dry and the remaining porridge will be shared tomorrow morning."
It's like the world is turning upside down at her words. Everyone starts screaming and asking for an explanation of how the food finished despite getting such little potions.
Mrs. Dandy doesn't reply and enters the town hall. She has a small smile on her face, similar to the one she had when she thought she would be getting money from me.
I walk up to the man who whispered something in the village head's ear and pats his shoulder.
"Can I have an audience with the village head?"
The man scans me for a moment before replying.
"No. The village head won't be taking any guests for the rest of the week."
The man walks away after giving me a suspicious look.
"Something is definitely suspicious."
~~~~~
As soon as morning began to dawn, Father already sent me on the way to Renztead alongside a body guard who has spied on me a lot of times.
We stop at a tavern to eat. After minutes of waiting for him to be distracted, a drunk man accidentally bump into him and I use the opportunity to slip in a sleeping medicine for animals.
Just a small quantity so he doesn't sleep forever.
He ate up the entire food and we get on the road again. I notice his speed reducing and I suddenly hear a thud on the ground and stop my horse. The guard is on the ground unconscious, I move him off the road to under a tree shade.
"Rest in peace!"
That's for the dead.
"Sleep in peace."
I get back on my horse and proceed to my destination, Tarrin Village.
~~~~~
After making sure that everyone's asleep, I take a lit candle and make my way out of the house. Getting past Dexter and Leon was a little difficult since they slept in the Livingroom. I walk at a fast pace towards the town hall, making sure to avoid anyone that could see me.
I arrive at the town hall and hide behind the bushes after blowing off the candle. Some people are bringing out bags from the building and load them into a cart while some are taking another bag in. I couldn't see their faces very well because it was dark and the only source of light is the moonlight.
The people nod at each other and start moving the loaded cart away from the town hall. I move a little forward to see their faces but my ankle twist to the side and I nearly let out a yelp when someone covers my mouth.
"What kind of spy takes a lit candle to watch people? And shouldn't you watch your step before moving?"
I look back to see Dexter whispering in my ear, I could have sworn he was asleep when I left though. He holds me down a little so we can match in height with the weeds.
The men took the cart away and when the remaining men left, I and Dexter finally stands up.
I immediately start walking toward the town hall and Dexter drags me back by my arm.
"You're not thinking of going to ask them what they were transporting, are you?"
I roll my eye and shake my hand from his grip.
"I'm not stupid you know. I've been looking for days and I've located where the window to the storage is."
"I'm going to take a look at the so-called ~empty storage~"
After a while of Gluing myself to the wall and doing an unnecessary amount of body rollover, I finally get to the back of the building where the storage window is located.
Why is the window unnecessarily high? I sigh looking around for something to climb up when a bright idea comes up. I look at Dexter who has been silently following me, I signal for him to go down but he doesn't comply.
"Do I have to say it loud, go on all fours so I can climb your back!"
He scoffs and starts making his way back but I hold onto his clothes and try dragging him back.
"It's not like it'll kill you to do it this once, huh? please?"
I say in my most gentle voice. He bends down so I thought he's agreed but I suddenly feel my legs off the floor. I slap his back a lot of times asking him to put me down but it didn't faze him.
"You should be able to see through the window now right?"
I calm down for a second and look through the window into the storage. Even though it's dark, I can tell that room is packed with things.
"That damned lady, has she perhaps been selling the food to people and starving the villager?"
Someone suddenly opens the door to the storage and we make eye contact, I start shaking in panic and almost hit the floor but Dexter quickly supports me and put me down.
"There's an intruder!!!"