Rapunzel Is Raised by Her Stepmother

Chapter 9: A Walk with the Master (2)

The taste of freedom, even with a leash, was incredibly sweet.

As soon as the leash was fastened and I stepped out of the tower, I dashed toward the well located in the corner of the mansion. Naturally, Sophia, the maid holding my leash, also ran with all her might.

Upon reaching the well, the thirst and hunger from the past two days struck my stomach. I mustered all my strength to draw water from the well and immediately plunged my head into the bucket filled with water.

The bucket was heavy because it was full, and my arms had no strength left from hauling it up, so I simply shoved my head into the bucket to drink the water.

Bubble, bubble.

“Pwah!”

I had gulped down the water so hastily that I gasped for breath as I lifted my head. But my thirst was still not quenched, so I plunged my head back into the bucket and drank again.

Seeing a leaf floating on the surface of the water reminded me of a story about willow leaves. There was a tale about placing a willow leaf on the water for someone in desperate need of a drink.

I recalled hearing that someone got angry about the floating leaf in the story, but thinking about it now, wasn’t that person just not thirsty enough? If they were truly desperate, wouldn’t they drink the water along with the leaf, just like me?

By the time I had drunk about half of the water in the bucket, which was nearly the size of my head, my thirst had finally subsided. I pulled my head out of the bucket and shouted.

“Oh! That’s refreshing!”

Now I finally felt alive!

It had already been two days since I possessed Rapunzel’s body.

So many things had happened during those two days, yet, absurdly enough, meals had not been included in those events. Not a single person had come to give me food.

All I had eaten in the past two days was a piece of bread and a sip of water that I had begged from the guard stationed at the tower. I had even considered giving up my humanity due to my extreme thirst...

‘Fortunately, thanks to Mom sending a maid, I was able to hold on to my humanity.’

After drinking enough water to make my stomach bulge like a tadpole’s, I finally felt relieved. I tossed the empty bucket back into the well and turned to look at Sophia.

She was gripping the leash connected to the dog collar around my neck tightly, her face filled with worry. It was an uneasy expression, as if something was terribly wrong.

“Why do you look so distressed?”

“Um... I’m just wondering if this is really okay. The lady told me to keep Rapunzel locked up...”

“Sigh... You said Mom told you that, right? To treat me like an animal. Maid nu— no, maid unnie. Have you ever seen an animal stay only in the stable?”

Determined to continue my walk, I patted my bloated stomach and took the lead.

“Even animals aren’t just locked up in the barn and raised that way. When the time comes, they roam around the farm for a walk, and when it’s time, they return to the barn.”

“...Well, that’s not exactly wrong.”

As the conversation continued, the leash grew tighter. If this went on, it felt like she would be dragged back to the barn again. To change the subject, she asked Sophia a question.

“Come to think of it, why do you use formal speech with me?”

“Oh, it’s just a habit of mine. Since I’ve been by your side for a long time, formal speech naturally stuck with me.”

“Hmm, I see. You don’t have to speak formally with me, though. Hardly anyone uses formal speech with animals, right?”

“That’s true, but...”

“So just drop the formalities. Drop them. It makes me uncomfortable. It feels more familiar when you speak casually. Or do you not want to get close to me, Sophia?”

“Hmm... That’s not it, but...”

Sophia let out a small chuckle, as if she had no choice, and loosened the leash she had been pulling taut. The suffocating sensation around her neck disappeared, and she smiled brightly.

“Alright, if that’s what you prefer.”

“I like it, Sophia. Then shall we continue our walk?”

The warm afternoon sunlight heated her skin just enough to feel pleasant, while the cool breeze rustling through the leaves brushed against her, drying the sweat on her skin.

Just as she was about to dash forward, fully embracing the bright weather—

“W-wait!”

“Kegh!”

Sophia yanked on the leash, stopping her in place.

With the sudden pull, her throat was squeezed, forcing a strange noise out of her as she came to a halt.

Rubbing her neck, she turned to Sophia with a questioning look, demanding to know why she did that. Sophia, her expression tense, pointed with her gaze toward a man walking toward the mansion in the distance.

“Who is that?”

The man Sophia indicated with her eyes was a middle-aged man with dark silver hair and sharp, unkind-looking eyes. He seemed to be someone of high status in this mansion.

When she tugged on the leash and called out to Sophia, who remained silent, Sophia suddenly slid her hands under her arms and lifted her up, hiding her in the bushes.

“Just stay hidden for a moment. Alright?”

“Huh?”

“...That person is the Lord of the house. Your father. He doesn’t usually come to the annex, but...”

“The Lord?”

Her mother’s father? In other words...

Her grandfather?

***

“...?”

A warm afternoon.

Dorothea, who had been napping, sat up in bed at the sound of voices outside the window.

A voice that grated on her nerves.

When Dorothea glanced outside to check the owner of the voice, she saw Sophia and Rapunzel seemingly enjoying a walk.

Sophia was holding the leash connected to a bright red dog collar fastened around Rapunzel’s neck as they walked toward the mansion.

What is this? A nightmare?

Dorothea, staring down at the dizzying sight, rubbed her eyes. As if convinced she had seen wrong, she rubbed them again and looked at the two once more...

But the scene outside the window remained unchanged.

“My goodness.”

What on earth had happened between the two for them to end up like that in just a few hours? Holding her forehead as a headache began to set in, Dorothea tried to gather her thoughts.

Did they really take those words literally? The ones about putting a leash on her if there were no handcuffs or shackles?

No, putting a leash on her wasn’t even the real problem. The real issue was that Sophia was walking Rapunzel around as if she were actually some kind of pet.

“What in the world...!”

Just as Dorothea was about to yell, overwhelmed with frustration, there was a knock at the door, followed by the voice of another maid.

“My lady.”

“What is it?!”

“The Lord has arrived.”

“...Huh?”

Before she was even given a moment to process those words, the door swung open.

Seeing her father standing in the doorway, Dorothea jolted in surprise and hurriedly smoothed her hair with her fingers.

“A-Ah, Father. You’re here? I’m sorry, I should have gone out to greet you, but I hurt my ankle, so...”

She trailed off, awkwardly extending her left foot wrapped in a splint as if to prove her point.

But the Lord’s gaze had never been on Dorothea to begin with.

Completely indifferent to whatever she was saying, he simply handed her the basket he had brought with him, his cold eyes betraying no emotion.

Dorothea, now forcibly holding the basket, parted her lips slightly in a silent sigh. What had she even been expecting? Lowering the foot she had so obviously displayed, she tucked it under the desk and gave a bitter smile.

“...You brought more remnants of the witch again?”

“Yes. Store them well.”

“...Understood. Do you have any other business—”

Before she could even finish her sentence, the Lord turned on his heel and walked out of the room.

He disappeared from view in an instant, leaving Dorothea sighing as she looked down at the basket in her arms.

‘...I really am foolish. This is the only reason Father ever comes here.’

With a hollow laugh, she opened the basket.

Inside was a collection of assorted junk—old, broken, and decayed objects, hardly even worthy of being called scraps.

How much had he paid for this pile of garbage this time?

The family’s finances had long since collapsed from purchasing these worthless scraps, and even the remaining wealth was being exchanged for them.

All for the sake of finding that damned witch.

“…Ha, where am I even supposed to store these now?”

The annex was already so cluttered with this junk that there was barely any space left to step.

That was the very reason Rapunzel had been locked away in an old, unused tower—because there was no room for her in the mansion.

Dorothea let out a hollow laugh as she stared at the junk piled in the basket.

Every time her father handed her things like this, it felt like he was treating her the same way—as if she were just another piece of trash.

No, perhaps she really was being treated that way.

Otherwise, why would she have been cast out of the main house, humiliated, and forced into an adoption sponsorship instead of marriage?

If this wasn’t being treated like trash, then what was?

As the overwhelming sense of self-loathing washed over her, she lowered her head, letting silent tears fall.

And then—

“Mom, are you crying?”

Rapunzel had appeared.

“......”

Barging in without knocking—just what kind of manners was that?

Dorothea turned to Rapunzel with an exasperated expression, only for Sophia, still holding onto the leash, to bow her head in apology.

“I’m so sorry…! Rapunzel insisted on seeing her grandfather, and no matter how much I pulled on the leash, she wouldn’t stop…!”

“…Grandfather?”

Did she mean the Lord?

Since Rapunzel called her ‘Mom,’ then she must have referred to the Lord as ‘Grandfather.’

At the absurd title, Dorothea furrowed her brows and pressed her fingers against her forehead.

What on earth was this child thinking?

Calling the man who had bought her from the slave market ‘Grandfather’? How thick-skinned was she?

Was this what happened when someone grew up uneducated? How—

“But I’m glad I didn’t see him. He looked like he had a terrible personality.”

“…? What?”

“Grandfather looked like he had a really bad temper. Or should I say, he didn’t seem like a good person at all.”

Her father looked ill-tempered? Like a terrible person?

Hearing someone else voice the thoughts she had only ever kept to herself—words no one had ever dared to say aloud—caused one corner of Dorothea’s lips to curl up involuntarily.

She quickly covered her mouth with her hand to hide the smirk, while Rapunzel rummaged through the basket in her hands, inspecting its contents.

“What’s this?”

“…They say they’re items used by the witch. Though whether they’re real or fake, I have no idea.”

“Ohh.”

As Rapunzel peered into the basket with interest, Dorothea gestured for Sophia to come closer.

She didn’t want her solitude disturbed any longer.

“Store everything in the basket as usual, and lock that child back in the tower. The leash wasn’t meant for walking her around like a dog.”

“Huh? It wasn’t? But Rapunzel clearly—”

“Do you take a child’s words literally? Just sort and store these things quickly. How much longer is Father going to keep bringing back these items when we don’t even know if they’re real or fake…”

As Dorothea waved her hand dismissively, as if she couldn’t stand the sight of it any longer, Rapunzel pulled a few objects from the basket and asked,

“Should I sort them for you?”

“What?”

Caught off guard by the sudden suggestion, Dorothea tilted her head in confusion. But Rapunzel continued without caring about Dorothea’s reaction, taking out more items from the basket as she spoke.

“I can tell them apart. The remnants of the witch.”

“…? How would you know that?”

“Do you see this?”

Rapunzel pointed to the top of her head with one hand.

More precisely, she was indicating a single tuft of hair sticking up like a sprout on her crown—messy and unruly, standing out from the rest.

Despite there being no breeze in the room, that strand of hair swayed gently on its own. Rapunzel smirked proudly, pointing at the little lock of hair as it wavered.

“This is my Spider Sen—no, I mean my Witch Sense. When something related to a witch is nearby, my hair stands on end.”

As she grinned triumphantly, Dorothea let out a long sigh, her expression utterly drained.

“…What sense?”