Barbara peeked from afar at the Marquis' manor. The building rose high like reaching the sky and seeing her home evoked many emotions that cannot be described. For someone who had lived there for many years, having no way to enter his own house sounded absurd. However, it was right since her body got swapped.
No one knew how much she wanted to meet her father to tell him the truth, but would he believe her? Besides, she didn't know what happened to her real body.
"Big sister, how are we going to enter?" Hans asked, and she kept silent.
"I—I," she stuttered. To say she didn't know was no wrong. She frowned, feeling hopeless.
As they spoke, the Marquis' manor gate opened, and a carriage went out. Recognizing that it was her mother's, a surge of happiness rushed through her chest. She happily stood in the way, stretching her hands for the carriage to stop, but it didn't.
"STOP? MOTHER IT IS ME, Barbara!" Barbara shouted, but even so, the carriage didn't halt.
Barbara saw as the four horses neared her and listened to their hoofs beating the ground beneath them. Her legs refused to move from panic.
"GET AWAY!" the carriage man screamed.
Barbara stayed still; suddenly Hans grabbed her hands, distancing her from the carriage. Her body fell on the hard ground, feeling pain in her knees and hands.
"What is this commotion for?"
Barbara recognized her mother's voice. She stood up to talk to her, but the carriage man stopped her. "Stay away." But Barbara refused to comply with his words as she wanted to go meet her mother; however, the man grabbed her hand and stopped her.
"What is happening? Why are we not moving? Do you want my daughter to be late for the princess' tea party? If that will happen, I will punish you," her mother voiced from the inside.
"I apologise, Madam. There is a beggar here who refused to leave."
"Make her leave with force, then. Don't you know how these people were?" her mother said, not hiding the disgust in her voice.
Barbara's heart pained to no avail, forgetting how the man pushed her. She stood there watching as the carriage passed by her, but stopped not far away. Her mother opened the tiny window and stretched her hand, throwing a silver coin before the carriage resumed walking away.
She looked at the coin with tears swelling in her eyes, fisting her hands. The humiliation weighed heavily in her heart. Hans and Greta jumped happily seeing the coin. They ran and brought it to her.
"That woman was so generous; she gave us a silver coin for once," Hans said, his eyes ogled to the coin, while Greta nodded.
Barbara gazed at the two of them. "Throw it," she ordered. Anger rose in her chest.
Hans hugged the coin. "Big sister, what happened to you? You never left any opportunity to have coins, so why are you behaving this way now? With this coin, we can buy food and clothes to wear."
Seeing the stubborn gaze of these children and their way of protecting a coin like it was some sort of valuable treasure, she calmed down, easing the humiliation she felt a while ago.
The three of them departed to their shelter. Barbara sat down on the tree trunk with Greta while Hans went to bring them food. The wind was getting stronger, making her shiver.
A moment later, Hans came running, handing them chicken skewers. Greta smiled, munching the food happily, but she shook her head and refused to eat. The aroma tickled her nostrils, making it hard to ignore the continuous rumbling of her tummy.
"Take it," Hans said, stretching his hand. The chicken skewer nearly touched her lips.
"I do not want it. Didn't you hear Moth — that woman's speech? Don't you have any dignity?" she snapped at him, standing up, causing the skewer to fall.
"I have heard it. That woman was gentler compared to what we have seen before. It was laughable to think about dignity when you have no food to fill in your tummy. If we think about dignity, we will die fast." Reaching out to grab the chicken, he turned to his sister and added, "Greta, take this to that cat."
Barbara sat down, staring at the kids with pity. They should have suffered so much to be like this. She regretted her words and behaviours. Being raised as an arrogant noblelady, she had never suffered any kind of mistreatment in her life. Thinking of it another way, perhaps she would have ended up like those children if the Marquis family hadn't raised her.
"You are not Big Sister, are you?" Hans asked, snapping her from her thoughts.
Barbara stared back at him, awed by his remark. "No, I am not her."
"So big sister is in that house?" he asked once again, making her more awed by his sharpness.
"A high possibility she was in," she replied, looking at Greta, who was playing with a starry cat. "How old are you?" she questioned.
"Thirteen."
Barbara exclaimed, "You look younger than your age."
"But smarter."
"Arrogant."
"Not as you."
They engaged in a heated argument before bursting into laughter, exchanging meaningful gazes. Once Barbara realized the truth in Hans's words, she proceeded to eat her portion. After that, they started to plan to infiltrate into the Marquis' manor. Agreeing to leave the matter in Hans's hands while she took care of Greta.
Two days went by.
Barbara stood looking at the rain, which poured nonstop since morning. Greta stood beside her, holding her hand. They took shelter below the backyard of a house.
Since there was no news from Hans, she began to worry thinking that he might encounter some dangerous events. The marquis' manor was difficult to access for anyone and whoever tried to enter it and was caught would be punished severely.
Soon, her panic vanished as she saw Hans running to her side. His shabby clothes were drenched and his hair stuck to his face. He arrived at them, panting heavily.
"I found a way to get into the house."