Chapter 403

Vincent’s mother walked toward the valley. The garden was a ten minutes walk. She grew her favorite vegetables there.

She had a lamp in her hand as she walked down the road.

All of a sudden, she heard a scream.

“Ahh! Help me!”

It was a pitiful cry of a woman.

Vincent’s mother almost jumped as she wasn’t prepared for the sound. She kept hearing a person’s cry. Her heart thumped in fear.

She dashed in the direction of the source of the scream. She went near the apple tree and found the trap she and her husband set to catch wild animals was gone.

.....

And the scream of the woman was coming from down there.

‘A woman fell in the trap!!’

She freaked out imagining the worse. She quickly walked closer and brought the light forward.

After peeking inside, she spotted a woman in the hole. Her clothes were dirty. She was crying. She looked scared.

“Miss, are you okay? Can you stand up?” Vincent’s mother asked.

The woman looked up and her face brightened up. Her face was cut in several areas. Even so, her smile was brighter than the star that night.

She hurriedly replied, “I’m okay! I’m okay! Please help me get up!”

“Please wait a minute. I’ll ask my family to bring a ladder.” Vincent’s mother hurried back.

The moment she entered the house, she shouted, “Vincent, bring a ladder. A woman was injured by fall into the trap we set beside the apple tree!”

“What?!” Vincent jumped out of the couch and darted to the tool shade.

He grabbed the ladder and rushed outside. His mother tagged along.

Soon, they reached the apple tree. Vincent looked down the hole and saw the woman was still there.

“Miss, I’ll put down the ladder. Can you climb up?” he asked.

The woman looked up after seeing the light. When she heard his voice, she replied, “I’m sorry. I think I twisted my ankle. I don’t have the strength to move either. Will you please help me out?”

‘Did she say she was fine so that I wouldn’t worry?’ Vincent’s mother wondered. She felt even worse.

“Please wait. I’ll come down.” Vincent climbed down the ladder and reached out his hand. “Can you stand now?”

The woman held his hand and stood up. Suddenly she couldn’t balance herself and fell backward.

Vincent quickly caught her. “Can you hold onto my shoulders?”

“Yes...”

While she hugged his shoulders, Vincent pulled her legs and grabbed them with his right hand. He held the ladder with his left hand and climbed up.

Vincent’s mother stared at them with worried eyes. Once they were up, she assisted her son to hold the injured woman.

“Let’s take care of her wounds first,” she suggested.

“You take her home. I’ll call the doctor.” Entrusting the injured woman to his mother, Vincent ran in the opposite direction.

“I’m so sorry you had to fall in the hole,” his mother apologized to the woman while taking her to their home. “People hardly come to this area. I didn’t know you would fall in the trap we made for the animals.”

“It’s okay. I understand.”

“You must be badly injured. What were you doing here of all places?”

“I was supposed to go to the resort. But I lost my way and went to the wrong place. My sense of direction is the worst.”

“Oh, no! You are our guest. I cannot imagine how much you suffered. We will make sure to write down the directions next time.”

“It’s really okay. I was just here to change my mood. I had a hard time in my house recently. It was quite upsetting.”

“That’s sad. And now you are injured because of us. We will do everything to make you feel better. I won’t allow you to go anywhere before you recover.”

“That’s very kind of you.”

“It’s our responsibility as the owner of the resort to help our guests. You are no exception.”

“It’s so wonderful that someone I don’t even know can be so kind toward me.”

“That’s nonsense. Any good person will be kind to you. By the way, what should I call you?”

“Please call me Betty.”

———-

Magic Tower

The next day already arrived. Veronica went to check up on Catherine who didn’t come out of her room after reaching home.

She knocked on the door and said, “Cathy, pone the door. It’s me. I brought breakfast.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

A few minutes later, Catherine opened the door. Veronica was startled after seeing her face.

Her face was ghastly pale. Her lips were dry. Her eyes were red. She looked exhausted.

“Look at you! Didn’t you say you had work? How could you not sleep?” Veronica reprimanded her while putting the tray of food on the table.

Catherine hugged her from behind and let out a deep breath. “Ver, I don’t feel like eating at all.”

Veronica couldn’t get mad at her. She said, “Can you move without eating? You haven’t touched a grain of rice last night. You will faint in the process.”

“...Fine, I’ll eat.” Catherine reluctantly took a spoonful of porridge and then put it in her mouth.

After taking a few mouthfuls of porridge, she couldn’t eat anymore. She was nauseated.

She puked for ten minutes before collapsing on the bed.

Veronica was extremely worried. “Just rest for today. You don’t have to go to work. I’ll talk to Ovior.”

“...But work...” Catherine’s voice was weak as she tried to speak.

“Ovior will handle your work. Ironin and I can share his loads. Don’t worry about anything else. Just rest for today,” Veronica assured her.

After making sure Catherine would rest in bed, Veronica went to Ovior’s office.

Ovior looked up and watched her entering his office. He asked, “What brings you here? Your class is two hours later.”

She was still taking classes with Ovior.

“I’m here to help you with work. Cathy is too sick to get out of her bed,” she replied.

Ovior rubbed his head. “I can’t believe that small accident caused her to lose heart. Such a chicken-hearted woman! I don’t know how women like her get the chance to get married and have children.”

“What makes you say that?”

“A woman might die while having children, you know. However, despite knowing the pain and suffering, women are always ready to have children. But when it comes to accidents like that, they get scared. Sometimes I don’t understand women.”

“Speaking of having children, something is bugging me.”

“What’s bugging you?”

‘It’s about...”