Time Healer Ceres
Chapter 14
Hearing the news of Aunt Agne’s imprisonment felt refreshing, yet bitter at the same time.
“An order was issued for her to pay us compensation, but you know, right? That woman got divorced. She probably doesn’t even have enough money to feed herself, so there’s no way she has anything left to give us, Antonion.”
Once her affair with Director Arnold came to light, Aunt Agne was divorced immediately.
Since the grounds for divorce were entirely Agne’s fault, I heard she was kicked out without receiving a single penny in alimony.
“Then…”
“Yeah, we won’t get the money.”
Forget a settlement; the victim compensation the court ordered her to pay had also gone up in smoke.
Instead, because she failed to properly fulfill the court’s judgment, her sentence would be further extended.
‘The problem, as always, is money.’
Ceres’s gaze shifted toward the debt collection notices.
Seeing this, Antonion’s voice grew somber.
“We really have to sell the shop, don’t we?”
We had only managed to put out the immediate fire by getting back the treatment costs that had been extorted for Yulia’s care; nothing else had been resolved.
Antonion knew all too well that the debt was still piled up like a mountain.
However…
“I don’t think selling the shop will solve all this debt.”
Ceres affirmed his concern with silence.
Had they said the shop was in the center of the capital?
Since the location was good, selling it would bring in a decent amount of money, but even then, it didn’t seem like it would be enough to clear all these debts.
“For now…”
Ceres stood up immediately.
“Where did you say the shop was?”
“Two stews here.”
“Large for me.”
“Me too!”
Delasi 1st Street, which could be called the absolute heart of the capital.
Rows of flashy, luxurious shops lined every corner, making it a feast for the eyes. There was even a saying that if you wanted to know the trends of the Empire, you should go to Delasi 1st Street.
In the middle of such a bustling street, there was one shop that stood out uniquely.
A small, shabby building nestled between clean, high-end structures that didn’t have a single scratch on them.
A stew shop that was receiving the brunt of the neighboring shopkeepers’ displeased glares.
<Where Your Steps Linger>
The name written on the sign was quite poetic.
However…
“Fuck, my stomach is burning…”
“I told you to drink in moderation, you crazy bastard.”
“Ah, that’s mine! Back off, fuck!”
“Look at this? You’ve barely got hair on your chest and you’re cutting in line? Let’s see if you do that when you’re dying too.”
The only things heard coming from inside the shop were aggressive voices.
Profanity was the baseline, and light scuffles broke out constantly.
Indeed, most of the customers who frequented this place were mercenaries.
“Kugh, this is the taste!”
“I’m telling you, I drank like that yesterday just so I could eat this.”
The shop sold only one menu item.
Meat and vegetable stew.
From early morning, customers flocked to the shop just to eat this dish.
There were those who came to soothe a hangover from the night before, and many who ran over to fill an empty, starving stomach.
A bowl of warm stew. Most of those who sought this place out just for that were regulars.
Five years was the standard, and there were plenty who had visited every single day without fail for over twenty years.
The stew shop, ‘Where Your Steps Linger,’ was always noisy with mercenaries who had barged in to eat their soul food.
“Where’s the stew?”
“Yes, yes!”
A man in his late twenties was moving diligently, trembling amidst the rough atmosphere where harsh shouts were being exchanged.
It was Mark, the chef and sole employee of the shop.
Crash!
“Fuck! What did you just say!”
“Why, you scared? Did I say anything wrong?”
Mark, who was just bringing food out from the kitchen, turned pale as the customers started a fight, just like they did every day without fail.
‘Here they go again!’
Instead of getting used to the customers who engaged in fights almost every day, his fear only grew larger.
“Hey! Fuck! Who just splattered blood in my stew! Was it you!”
“Did you take a sword to the head? Why is this son of a bitch picking a fight with an innocent person!”
The fight that started between two people spread to the other customers, and the restaurant turned into a mess in an instant.
Tremble.
Mark crouched in a corner as he always did, unable to do anything, waiting for the fight to end.
The only saving grace was that since they were regulars, they would pay for the items they broke before leaving once the fight was over.
‘Ugh.’
Since it was like this every time, he couldn’t even hire other employees.
Although there was nowhere near enough help for him to run it alone…
‘I-I’m sorry! I can’t work here anymore.’
‘Uwaah! I’m quitting. Those people are too scary!’
‘Kyaaa! I can’t work here any longer!’
Most of them left before completing even half a day, let alone a full day.
In the end, he had been protecting this shop alone for several years.
‘Master Galen…’
Mark wiped away tears as he thought of the former Baron Drow.
His kind boss had given a free bowl of warm stew to someone like him, who had been collapsed outside after starving for over a week with nowhere to go and no money.
It was also Baron Galen Drow who had taught him various restaurant duties.
Knowing Mark’s pitiful situation of having nowhere to go, he had provided a room and set his salary much higher than other places.
To repay that kindness, Mark had stayed and stood his ground here even after the Master and his wife passed away in an accident.
‘And Lady Yulia is sick, too.’
The news that the Barony’s situation had worsened significantly after Galen’s death was one of the reasons he couldn’t leave.
He wanted to be of help to the young ladies and the young master somehow.
‘But…’
Crash!
“You bastard!”
“Hey! Catch that guy!”
…He wasn’t sure how much longer he could endure this situation that continued day after day.
Watching the sound of clashing swords and shop items flying around, Mark curled his body even more.
Was it just his imagination that the fight seemed to be lasting especially long today?
“It’s a total mess.”
“…?”
It was then.
A young woman’s voice reached the ears of Mark, who was waiting for the fight to end while trying his best to calm his trembling body.
A voice he had never heard before in this place, which was mostly frequented by rough mercenaries.
“Who…?”
Mark, slowly lifting his head, discovered a woman who was standing beside him with her arms crossed, watching the situation in the shop, though he didn’t know since when she had been there.
“Eh?”
Mark’s eyes widened as he peered at the woman’s face, unsure if he recognized her.
“Ce-Ceres-nim?”
He had only seen her once, but how could he forget that face!
She still had that brilliant, beautiful platinum-blonde hair and violet eyes that strangely drew people’s gaze.
Nevertheless, the reason he hadn’t recognized her at once was that her atmosphere had changed significantly.
‘Something is…’
A long time ago, the Ceres who had entered the shop holding her parents’ hands tightly was a timid child who was constantly looking around anxiously.
She had such a delicate personality that she would flinch at even small noises, and her eyes had looked so unstable as if she were about to burst into tears at any moment—to the point where those rough mercenaries had even been careful with their behavior on their own.
But what about now?
“Hey.”
“Ye-yes?”
At Ceres’s call, Mark jumped up from his seat without even realizing it.
“Give me that.”
“Pardon?”
Mark, answering blankly, looked at her with a bewildered expression upon realizing that what Ceres was pointing to was the tray he was holding.
Why the tray all of a sudden?
Surely she wasn’t planning to go serve food in this state, was she?
“Um, Ceres-nim, for now, you should stay out of the way…!”
Before Mark could finish his sentence, Ceres snatched the tray away. After handling it for a moment, she threw it with all her might.
“Ah, aahhh!”
Contrary to Mark’s thought that it would fall weakly midway, the tray thrown by her slender arm maintained its speed and struck the back of the head of a mercenary who was fighting passionately in the very center of the restaurant.
Clang!
“Keugh!”
It even seemed to have hit a vital point exactly, as the mercenary who was struck by the tray collapsed, foaming at the mouth, without being able to show any other reaction.
“…!”
The other mercenary, who had lost his opponent, paused, and silence fell over the shop.
Those who had been momentarily stunned by the sudden situation turned their heads toward the direction the tray had flown from, one after another.
The expressions of the mercenaries became even stranger as they discovered a person standing leisurely with her arms crossed—Ceres.
Who is that woman?
Even under the heavy stares of those mercenaries, Ceres held out her hand toward Mark without any change in her expression.
