TDCE

4

After a brief meeting of the day, Asaya came back to the wall everyday like a man possessed. She waited for him everyday at the place where she met him.

Knowing that vain hope was a luxury, it was true that she didn't expect it in the first place, but her mind continued to do the same thing on the same place at the same time.

He was a man with a strange atmosphere. Even though he was just standing still, there was daunting atmosphere. At a glance, she could see that he was a different kind of person than those who sat on the wall and looked down to mock or flirt.

She was far away, so she couldn't see his face in details, but the impression she had that it was very cold.

Is that right?

A man with dark hair that looked as if he was a creature made of winter in a quiet dawn. In the loud cry of the people gathering under the wall, only his presence was still. It was as if only he existed, that she could only see him.

Besides, that intense gaze. It was both curiosity and interest. It was the eyes of a beast hiding in the dark, waiting for prey. She was impressed by seeing those eyes dotted with a momentary desire to possess, also laced with interest and obsession. She thought that she could finally get out of this hellish place.

But in the end, he didn't come.

Asaya, exhausted, got up and returned home. Upon returning, she met her mother whose mind had been come and go after her father's disappearance.

"Asaya, you're home? Come in and eat first."

Noticing that her name was properly called, her mother must be in good shape today. As soon as she entered the house, Asaya was confused by the appetizing smell.

"Why is there a meat suddenly?"

"I found a ring that I had lost in the past, so I sold it and bought meat. I think we don't have to worry about eating for a while."

"....that's grandfather's heirloom."

"I can't. What do think I should do? I can't eat it. I have to sell it. Your younger sibling has suffered a lot. You, too.... You have to eat well."

"What about Leah?"

"She went out for a while, I don't know where she went. Come on, eat it. It doesn't taste good when it cools down. The rest of the meat is dried and made into jerky. Then it will last quite a long time."

Originally, Asaya and her family didn't live on this land. Asaya's father once lived under the title of a Count. But when she turned 19, everything was suddenly changed upside down. Asaya and her family became criminals overnight and their properties were seized and they were expelled to outside the wall.

She didn't even know what kind of crime they charged for to be thrown out. She said that it was false, but no one believed it. The trial took place rapidly and the case was closed without proper investigation.

Her father knew everything. But he didn't say anything about it, and he suddenly went missing two years ago.

"I sometimes think of this, how long will it last to live like this."

".....I'm sorry. I, I'm a sinner."

"Don't say that. It's not our fault."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Asaya's mother sobbed and cried.

Asaya looked at her with a confused look at her and shut her mouth. As she watched the crying mother, her heart felt stuffy.

I wanted to cry so much, but I couldn't cry. I couldn't show my weakness.