Pride and Sanctimony

[???] “Valencia, it’s time to wrap up and head home.”

A voice filled with cheer called out to Valentia, causing her to set down the document she was looking at, her head peering up.

Looking at the clock, the time displayed showed she had ten more minutes left. She had gotten so distracted by all the papers on her desk, and it would take at least ten minutes to organize all of them.

But now she was noticing some of the accounting documents still remaining as well.

[Valentia] “It’s already so late.”

[???] “I knew you’d get distracted, so I came to let you know.”

The woman puffed out her shoulders, and seeing how proud she looked made Valentia smile.

[???] “But goodness. Did you manage to do all of this today?”

But then her confident shoulders drooped again. She looked down at the documents piled up, despondently sticking out her tongue.

[???] “Truly, it was a stroke of fortune that the Lord brought you in, Valencia. Ever since you started working, our guild has grown in leaps and bounds. Not to mention how quickly you work.”

[Valentia] “That’s because everyone is working hard.”

[???] “That’s untrue. After you came here, we’ve tripled our work output. In the past, whenever I spoke the name of our guild, no one knew what on earth that was, but now everyone says they’re jealous of those who can work with the Richsi Commerce Guild. I wonder, just where did the Lord recruit you?”

When Valentia first came here and entered this commerce guild, it was rather insignificant, slightly smaller in size than most comparable guilds of the middle class.

Starting out, all Valentia did was verify documents and pass them along, slowly learning what she could of the work, but over time, she was put in charge of doing a myriad of miscellaneous jobs.

And as she did more and more work, she got promoted, so as of now, she was actually sitting in a fairly high position. She couldn’t do the job she’d been aiming for her entire life, but it was fun being able to see the guild grow.

[Valentia] “Thank you for saying that.”

[???] “I’m not just saying it. I’m being honest.”

She wasn’t saying that just to be nice, and Valentia could tell that, so it made her feel even more grateful for her kind words.

There were many people who were made uncomfortable by this woman’s honesty, and greatly disliked how free she was with it, but Valentia liked that part of her. When the person in front of you is being completely honest, then there’s no need to waste time trying to understand or doubt their intentions.

When it came to her work with the merchants, most of it boiled down to negotiation, and so she ended up meeting a lot of different people, coming face to face with many of their facets, including their lies and deception. She could not help but appreciate honesty where she found it.

[Lena] “But more importantly, you should take more breaks than that. Oh, your hair.”

She swept a lock of Valentia’s hair behind her ear.

It was an act not so different from a skilled man trying to seduce a woman, but Lena herself was a woman. Her hands were rough, but they were clean and smelled like soap.

[Valentia] “Thank you.”

[Lena] “But you should head out now. Elijah will be waiting for you. You know, I’ve never seen a child as lovely as he is. His father must’ve been very handsome.”

[Valentia] “…….He was.”

Brilliant blond hair, intense golden eyes, and a captivating smile. Even after so many years, his face could still come to mind so easily. Though they were tainted with resentment, how did those memories still manage to be so beautiful?

[Lena] “If you’re saying he was handsome, then it must be true. How did you manage to net someone like that?”

Being a single mother was a story that was bound to garner some bad attention, so she ended up stretching the truth a little, telling others she was merely a grieving widow.

Other people were conscious of that fact, and so they didn’t talk to Valentia much about this topic, but Lena was a little tactless about it, but even so, it was still charming in its way, so Valentia could never dislike it.

[Valentia] “I don’t know.”

If she were to be blunt, it was because that handsome man approached her first….to win a bet he made with his friends. But obviously that kind of explanation was difficult to describe, so her answer trailed off into the air.

[Lena] “Who fell in love first?”

[Valentia] “I don’t know that either. But what I do know is that he was the one who approached me first.”

[Lena] “Just as I thought, I knew it! You have a strange charm about you, Valencia. You seem all stiff and cold, but the more people watch you, they’d have no choice but to fall for you.”

[Valentia] “That sounds like a confession.”

[Lena] “Oh, you know me, that’s just how I am. My husband would always scold me about this, too. He’d say, Don’t go off seducing people like that! It bugged me so much before, but now I just miss his nagging. Oh, how did we end up talking about this? Ah, Elijah! You have to go pick him up!”

Lena’s husband was also said to have passed away early.

Their marriage was one filled with love, but within a few years of being married, she ended up losing him in an accident. Some people thought she was too easy going for that, but honestly, Valentia believed that to just be how her personality was.

[Valentia] “Let me finish this up first.”

[Lena] “It’s not urgent. Do it tomorrow. Tomorrow, you hear me?”

[Valentia] “But…..”

She felt uncomfortable leaving unfinished work behind. If she just had another half hour, she’d be able to finish it.

[Lena] “What do you mean, but? You have to leave work on time on a regular basis. If the manager, Valencia, doesn’t leave work on time, what does that mean for us poor employees? The Lord would be the first to notice.”

[Jays] “You’re right about that, Lena.

With a smile in his voice, Jays called out.

Jays was the owner and the Lord of the commerce guild where Valentia worked. He was also one of her fellow students when she attended the Academy, though back then, they’d only exchanged a few words with one another.

[Jays] “You aren’t aiming to take my spot, are you?”

[Valentia] “It’s not like that…….It’s just become a habit of mine.”

[Jays] “I know you. You’re a very diligent worker, but for today, you should get ready and go home.”

To be perfectly honest, there wasn’t much work left to do, but Valentia stood up from her seat, setting aside the scattered papers.

[Jays] “I can manage that, but it’s time for you to get off work. Get home safely and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

[Valentia] “Of course. I will see you tomorrow.”

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[Jays] “Would you like me to arrange a carriage to take you to the child care center?”

That was something that was suggested frequently by Jays.

Valentia had to work during the day, so with no one around to watch him, she had no choice but to leave her young Elijah at the center. Riding a carriage was a convenient way of getting there, but she had a few places she needed to stop by first.

[Valentia] “It’s alright. I’m going to do some shopping at the market today.”

It seemed a little redundant to take a carriage since the market was right next to the center.

[Jays] “Are you sure? Your things might be heavy.”

[Valentia] “I’m sure. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

[Jays] “…..Yes. Tomorrow, then.”

Jays seemed a little disappointed by her answer, but Valentia was in such a rush now to leave work that she didn’t notice.

It was because of Jays that she came to work for his merchant guild, but it was one giant coincidence that caused her to run into him that fateful day.

* * *

When she met him again, it was in a city she could no longer remember the name of, only that it was a long way off from the capital. Valentia was a bit of a bind, searching for a place to stay for the night.

She could still remember that winter, a biting season where she felt like all hope had been lost.

The colder it got, the heavier her stomach felt. Thanks to the cold, she had every reason to bundle herself up using thick clothing, but if anyone had any amount of reasonable insight, they could easily tell she was a pregnant woman.

She left home so quickly that she didn’t even have enough time to sort out where she would go or where she would live. She couldn’t even find a place to rest for the night, much less a place to settle down.

And that day was when her unlucky nature was at its peak. It was especially late, but she still couldn’t find anywhere to stay. The sky quickly grew dark in the winter, and Valentia tilted her head down, looking at the creature that stared at her with anxious eyes.

[Valentia] ‘But at least I have you.’

Valentia sincerely thanked Goldie, meaning every little word. With such a big dog at her side, no suspicious individuals dared to approach her. That was most especially true with men, to whom Goldie would bare his teeth and growl until they left.

If she had been alone, she would’ve felt more hopeless and scared. Thanks to Goldie’s presence by her side, she felt at least some semblance of comfort. From the very beginning, Goldie had always tried to help her.

[Goldie] ‘Woof.’

Goldie let out a cute little woof. He still sounded so harmless, just like when he was a puppy, but back when he barked at the Baroness, he sounded quite fearsome.

Valentia held his head in her hand, giving him little scritches and pets. All the while, his tail wagged wildly like he was trying to sweep away all the dust on the ground.

[Valentia] ‘Let’s go in here.’

Valentia opened the door and entered the building, causing the bell that was hanging to ring. Since that sound meant customers, the innkeeper immediately jolted to readiness.

[Innkeeper] ‘Welcome.’

[Valentia] ‘I’d like to stay for the night. Are there any rooms available?’

[Innkeeper] ‘Oh, of course. But what’s with the dog?’

The innkeeper looked at them both, his gaze alternated between them.

[Valentia] ‘He’s staying with me.’

[Innkeeper] ‘You mean you’ll be keeping it in the room with you?’

That was when the innkeeper’s tone shifted, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Valentia.

[Innkeeper] ‘Sorry, but there’s no rooms available.’

And just as she thought, what he said next was very predictable.

[Valentia] ‘What? But just a moment ago, you said…..”

[Innkeep] ‘And I’m saying now that there’s no room. Just get out.’

[Valentia] ‘But….’

[Innkeeper] ‘This is a bad omen, I swear.’

A heavily pregnant woman with a large dog, traveling alone on a cold winter’s night was suspicious for most of them. Nine out of the ten inns she visited refused her outright.

The most likely cause of their refusal was probably the presence of such a large dog, but Valentia had no intention of relenting on the condition that Goldie remained with her.

[Valentia] ‘I’m sorry. Let’s keep our chins up, okay Goldie?’

Goldie barked like he was telling her everything was okay. Valentia swallowed the sigh she was about to let out, reaffirming her grip on Goldie’s leash, and then turned around.

This was a fairly large city, so there were plenty of inns around. If she kept looking, there was bound to be one willing to take both her and Goldie.

She just needed to move quickly while there was still light to spare.

[???] ‘………..entia?’

A heavy and fierce wind blew through, but carried on the wind, she could’ve sworn she heard her name being called. Perhaps she heard wrong? There was no one in this world who would be able to recognize her from a distance.

[???] ‘Miss Valentia?’

Just a moment ago, she was thinking she misheard things, but then she heard a voice calling her name once more from just behind her.

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The voice calling her seemed somewhat familiar, but who could it be? Very few people knew who she was, much less by name, so just who was this person?

Valentia turned around with a mixed expression, one filled with both surprise and frayed nerves, and what she saw standing behind her was a very unexpected person.

* * *

astralmech t/c: In case you forgot, Jays was first introduced as a character in chapter 24 and was the one to warn Valentia about Lexus. He also helped her out back in chapter 51. I only thought to mention that since one of the raw comments pointed out that they’d forgotten who he was, haha.

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