O⋆𐙚₊˚⊹♡

VXl-70

  Chapter 61

Liv put the music box on the table, then she crossed her arms and stared at Coryda.

“Also what?”

“No, I mean…”

“What else did you do while I was gone?”

On the verge of tears, Coryda rolled her eyes around, unable to withstand Liv’s gaze, and parted her lips.

“Well… Actually, the broker of this house came the other day to fix the fence. But he worked alone.”

Coryda explained. Not long after Liv left for work, Adolf came by and asked if he could repair the fence for a moment. He said the move was done unprepared, so there were some things he hadn’t checked.

Coryda, who had already gotten to know Adolf, nodded in agreement, and later found out that Adolf was working alone, so she helped him out a bit.

“Coryda!”

“I really didn’t do anything! I just handed him a few things he asked for!”

“He could do it alone, so why did you do that? What if you collapse?”

In Liv’s eyes, the world outside was full of danger.

Adolf might have taken Coryda’s help for granted because he didn’t know anything about her, but if he was repairing a fence, he would have used dangerous tools. What would happen if anything got on her?

Coryda, seeing Liv’s hardened face, said with an exasperated look on her face.

“He said that staying inside too much makes the body weaker. He told me to go out in the yard because the fence was fixed securely!”

“He is not a doctor. He doesn’t know your condition.”

“He sounded more dependable than the doctor who examined me in the past!”

Silence fell between the two of them as Coryda finished her rant. When she saw Liv’s complexion turn pale, Coryda flashed her a regretful look.

“Liv, so, what I mean… I meant to say that I’m healthier than I used to be. I didn’t mean to talk about that doctor. And, and, it was that grandpa who was bad. You did nothing wrong!”

Coryda nervously clasped her hands together and lowered her gaze.

“I know that I look the same in your eyes, but… That was years ago. That’s not going to happen anymore. I won’t collapse because I’ve been taking the medicine. And as you know I’ve been eating a lot of good things lately because you’re making a lot of money.”

Coryda, being careful around Liv who was sitting, added another question.

“Liv, you’re not angry, are you?”

Liv smiled softly, swallowing back the bitter water that was rising in her throat.

“Why would I get angry? I’m just worried about you.”

Fortunately, Liv’s smile seemed pretty genuine, and Coryda nodded in relief. Then she swiftly changed the topic. Liv also complied and changed the talk to Coryda’s wishes.

Yet, in the back of her mind, she felt heavy, like a huge weight had been laid on.

***

It was during a cold winter when Liv was eighteen that her parents died.

A carriage skidded on the icy road and toppled over, knocking over her parents. Her parents died at the scene, and Liv was left alone with her eight-year-old sister.