Raised in Dungeon

"What the hell is this?! Why is this place so small?!"

"I think it's spacious enough, lady."

'It's even bigger than my room,' Rachel thought.

"What spacious?! At this rate, how am I going to place all my stuff?"

"Then we'll have to sort it out."

Since Felicia and Allen had been accepted as academy students, they had to leave the rental house and move their belongings to the dormitory that had been prepared. Rather than a dormitory, it was more like a rental room located in the student dormitory district.

The student dormitory district was strategically located in a slightly remote area of the academy, specifically to allow students to pass by various stalls. In terms of gender segregation, there were no excessively stringent regulations in place. So the male and female dormitories are not far apart, but placed randomly. There is also a male dormitory building located next to the female dormitory. The only rule in the dorms regarding gender is to limit visits to the evening. So once night fell and night descended, the dorm keeper and dorm manager would conduct room inspections for every student.

"Allen! How's it going in there?" asked Felicia to meet Allen in his room.

"No problem!" replied Allen.

Allen's dormitory building was right next to Felicia's; their rooms are across from each other. So they could talk through each other's windows.

'With this distance, I can also jump straight to her room if something happens,' Allen thought as he stroked the crow's head on his shoulders.

"You seem to need a house, too," Allen said to the crow. "Do they sell birdhouses in the market district too?"

Allen didn't have much luggage to begin with, so he didn't do anything particular to his room. On the other hand, Felicia had brought so many things that they covered the entire floor of her room.

"Lady, please choose carefully. You can only choose 10 of these 50 items."

"Only 10?! Are you serious?"

"Don't worry; I'll clean up the mess later. For now, I'm going to the district market to buy some ingredients for dinner. Once I get back, please finish your selection. Remember Lady, just 10," Rachel said with firmness.

"Ra-rachel, since when did you become this presumptuous with me? You're talking like Allen."

"I've been like this for a long time. Please choose quickly, My Lady."

After leaving Felicia's room, Rachel went to the market district to pick up some essential ingredients. A familiar face caught her attention as she stepped out of the building. It was Allen, who coincidentally emerged from his own dorm building accompanied by his crow.

"Allen, are you going to Lady Felicia's room?"

"No, I'm going to the market district to see if they are selling this birdhouse."

"What a coincidence; I also want to buy some cooking ingredients for tonight; please help me bring the goods. About the birdhouse, if I'm not mistaken, I saw one at the craft house."

"Alright, but is it okay to leave Felicia alone?"

"Once we get to the dormitory, she'll be safe. After all, Lady isn't someone we will protect 24/7."

"I see..."

They then went to the market town together.

"Allen, about Lady, once again, please take good care of her."

"No problem," Allen nodded.

"I'm sorry for telling you this so many times, but this time I'm no longer by her side, and the secret about Mr. Waldo could also leak out at any time, so I feel like I need to tell you this."

"..."

"The current Lady may have forgotten a bit about Mr. Waldo, unlike before. I can tell by her face that she is still having fun. I hope that will always be the case in the future.

But still… Right now, she is still unable to accept the fact. When she finds out the truth, she will definitely come to you for an explanation. And when that happens, please save Lady."

"I-I'll try my best," Allen said hesitantly.

'No wonder he hesitated, unlike usual; this is a difficult even for him,' Rachel thought.

'The lie I made on that day was already too big for me to carry alone, so I was honestly relieved when Allen turned into what he is now and was willing to work with me to cover it up. As time progresses, the lie will inevitably grow larger, and the impact will solely be on myself. My greatest desire is for Lady to experience joy and happiness. If she were to discover the unfortunate truth regarding Mr. Waldo's death, there is a high likelihood that she would contemplate ending her own life. Therefore, I made up this lie in order to give her time to enhance her love for her life and her love for herself. My fervent aspiration is for Lady to be overwhelmed with such immense delight that she cannot fathom relinquishing it, and she must find someone special to make it true.

And right now, Allen is the only person who can make that happen. By being Allen's friend, Lady will definitely not kill herself when she finds that out, I am sure, I believe it, and I hoped for it.'

Rachel and Allen ended up shopping for a lot of things, from kitchen utensils, food ingredients to various types of fruits. Allen deliberately forced Rachel to buy a lot because that day was the last day Rachel would be by Felicia's side, so they intended to make one last party for Rachel.

The shopping was ended in the late afternoon, when the sun set.

"Alright, maybe this is enough for tonight," Rachel said.

"We'll make a lot of delicious dishes for your departure."

"Fufu, you shouldn't overthink it."

"No, Susan, my coworker said that farewells should be celebrated with a party to give the impression of happiness and not sadness."

"Then I should thank Susan for that."

'You're welcome,' thought Susan, who was perched on top of Allen's head.

The two of them then walked under the afternoon light in silence.

During that silence, Rachel suddenly thought of Felicia, who had been in her arms since she was a baby until she grew up. She suddenly burst into tears When she thought she had to finally part with her.

"Rachel?" asked Allen.

"It's okay; I'm not that sad. Half of it is a joy tear."

"I'm sorry, you have to part with Felicia because of me."

"Of you?"

After thinking about it a little more, Rachel suddenly understood what Allen meant. Allen was indeed the reason she had to part with Felicia. As Felicia's personal maid, Rachel was meant to reside in the dormitory alongside her; that is how it was supposed to be.

However, she faced the consequences of parting with Felicia due to her decision to contact Allen without Reynold's consent. Rachel was devastated when she was punished for being stripped of her position as Felicia's personal maid and reduced to serving only the Boldenville family.

"It's okay," Rachel said. "It's not your fault. It is my desire to call you back. You are Lady Felicia's only friend and the only person who can replace Mr. Waldo."

"Replace? What does that mean?"

Rachel shook her head. "You don't need to know," she said with a smile. "One thing is for sure: as I watch your sudden change, you have become a better person, and now I'm more and more convinced that calling you back home was the right choice."

A strong wind blew away the flower petals that decorated the street in the dormitory district. At that moment, Rachel turned around and faced Allen. The scene made Rachel look beautiful but gave a deeper impression of sadness.

"Allen..."

Rachel sat to match Allen's height, and she grasped Allen's hand firmly. Her straight eyes, looking at Allen, looked hopeful and determined.

"I will leave Lady Felicia to you. I believe you are the right person for her; please, from now on, take care of her."

Allen was startled.

When he saw Rachel's determined eyes, he could feel Rachel's hope for him begin moving through her grasp to his heart.

[ILLUSTRATION]

Allen's red eyes shone because of the sunset; those were the determined eyes willing to grant Rachel's hope.

"Rachel..."

Rachel's feelings were so sincere

"I..."

Plus the feeling was also the same as what he felt

"I will..."

The feeling to continue protecting Felicia, from now on, and always…

"I will always protec-"

-THRUST

But even though their feelings were the same...

"I FINALLY FOUND YOU!"

That doesn't necessarily mean it can last forever...

"FINALLY!! FINALLY AFTER THREE YEARS OF HOLDING THIS GRUDGE, I FOUND YOU!"

Rachel spontaneously let go of Allen's trembling hand. She slowly looked at the figure that suddenly came and pushed Allen from behind.

But Rachel knew it wasn't just a simple push because blood was coming out of Allen's mouth.

That figure was a girl who used her knife to stab Allen in the back.

"Ra-rachel…" Allen said with a trembling voice.

And that girl was someone Rachel knew very well because they had visited her area several times to strengthen the relationship between the engaged families.

"Miss Jane Barkaley..." Rachel murmured in a trembling voice.

"Brother Waldo... I finally avenged you. My knife finally pierced his body."