The Heaven's Beloved Child - Chapter 3 : Raising the Sickle
Translator: Sunnyshies
Editor: Ryuubii
Chapter 3 : Raising the Sickle
“When will you come again? I hope you can come sooner, that would be the best. Otherwise I’ll get fat again.”
“If you don’t like the appearance of angels, why don’t you try getting fat?”
When the man tried to stand up, Etia called out to stop him, but he gave her a dismissive response. Knowing what Etia meant, the man dared to say something misguided.
“It’s a very sensitive subject. I am a girl of a tender age, and I don’t want to get ugly and fat. So please come before I get fat.”
“What the hell do you think I am?”
There was no need for the man to visit Etia. Even though he was harassing the angel, he felt no reason to put so much effort into it. The girl before him was interesting for a human. That’s all.
“I have a few dreams of my own.”
“You’re constantly talking out of your ass.”
Etia doesn’t usually talk to other people, so all she did was think in her head and didn’t even bother to say it out loud. As a result, she was unable to talk to others in a flowing manner. Even now, in her mind, she was trying to tell the man that she wanted him to visit her again, and tell him about her dreams, but it must have sounded like an abrupt statement to him.
“I want a friend with whom I can drink tea and talk about trivial things. And I want someone to fall in love with. And then…”
“Are you still going on?”
“I’ve never been out of here. All my knowledge comes from books, and the number of places I want to visit just keeps growing!”
“Where do you want to go?”
“I want to see the ocean.”
Even though she was deprived of her freedom, she was able to get the books she desired. She was not interested in religious books, so she read only entertainment books. She preferred travel journals and adventurer’s books to books about romance.
The Sea.
Ever since she read a travel journal that described the beauty of the endless horizon and the setting sun, the sea has always been the place that has captured Etia’s heart.
“Have you ever seen it before?”
“It smells like rocks, it’s all tacky and sticky, and I don’t know what to make of it.”
“You can say that because you know it.”
The man said it as if it were natural, but it was something he could only say because he could move freely. Etia’s mouth twitched with envy.
“Back to my dream, I wanted to have a friend to talk to over a cup of tea.”
“You don’t think that’s me, do you?”
“My first dream has come true!”
…
…
…
Etia was physically the eldest daughter of the lord, a daughter entrusted to the church. She has not become a nun, nor has she petitioned to become one. Both the lord and the church are currently working out how to deal with Etia, who has reached the age of maturity.
Even though he sold his daughter to the church, he did not sign any kind of contract and gave up his rights regarding Etia. His father still has the right to make decisions regarding Etia.
The lord had no intention of letting his profitable daughter leave the estate, but he wanted her to have connections to powerful and wealthy nobles.
The church was planning to make a petition and have her moved to a central cathedral instead of a church in such a remote location. This was because the center of the country can attract more believers and donations than these remote areas could gather now.
Neither of them will respect Etia’s wishes.
The daughters of noble families usually get into political marriages at the behest of their parents to ensure the prosperity of their families.
Etia wondered, if she had been raised as the daughter of an ordinary aristocrat, and had an affection for her home, maybe she would have been able to accept it. Imaging hypothetical things of what ifs is something that Etia has been doing for a long time to pass the time.
No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t seem to answer “yes”. The Etia of the past, and the Etia of now, was only looking forward to the arrival of the night.
Suddenly, at the edge of Etia’s vision, she thought she saw a black shadow. When she looked closer, the shadow was gone. She wondered if she was mistaken and went straight to her bedroom.
The man did not come again today.
…
Maybe this time wasn’t good either, Etia thought.
The high fever that has been going on for several days has not receded, and her body was shivering from the cold. The medicine prescribed by the doctor sent by the church had no effect, and she was losing her ability to think day by day.
Earlier there had been a number of doctors and caretakers in Etia’s private quarters. Her hazy mind wondered when was the last time she had seen anyone other than herself here.
Etia’s eyes saw a black shadow standing at the edge of the room. She had seen that shadow many times before, dressed in a damaged black robe with a scythe in its hand.
It’s the Grim Reaper.
The Grim Reaper stepped forward, as if to see whether she was no longer favored. The hollow eye sockets of white bone peeking through the robes, staring at Etia. The shadow moved again, and Etia shuddered.
“Angels aren’t as useful as I thought they’d be.”
Etia, who had been looking at the Grim Reaper, looked up and saw a man looking down at her, dressed in the same black attire but with a completely different atmosphere than the Grim Reaper.
“Since… angels are fickle, they may not… always… help me. I don’t know.”
Gasping for breath, she somehow managed to give the man an answer.
The man was fickle as well. He only comes to Etia to pass the time. Still, the moment she heard the man’s voice, tears of relief welled up in her eyes.
The man with furrowed brow takes a glance at the Grim Reaper, and the Grim Reaper, recognizing the man’s presence, cowered and took a step back. The two men stared at each other with grim faces. When the man raised one hand, a low scream that seemed to crawl beneath the ground was heard, and the white bones crumbled into pieces, disappearing directly into the floor.
Being reaped by the Grim Reaper was no fun, the man thought.
With the Grim Reaper gone, Etia’s shortness of breath slowly began to settle down.
“You’re an unprincipled bastard.”
“…are you saying it’s my fault?”
“It’s tough being liked by almost everyone.”
The man stood next to Etia’s bed, looking down at her with pitying eyes.
Even though she has been called an angel’s beloved child, a natural beloved child, Etia was just a powerless human being. She doesn’t even have the means to fight back if she was spotted by an outsider.
“Thank you for helping me.”
“Not that I’m helping you.”
“I’m so glad you came. I’ll be back in shape by the time you come back again next time.”
The man felt disturbed when he saw the girl smiling weakly.
The man tried to reach out to Etia who was breathing painfully for a moment, but quickly withdrew his hand. The man made a face of annoyance at his unconscious action and left the room.
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