I Regress if the Villainess Dies! Chapter 11: Chapter 10 Serika(3)

Read chapter 11 of I Regress if the Villainess Dies! by Yuzai_Rearu on NovelPedia.

'Why should I?' the young girl asked. Neither of them was in any state to plead for their lives. They were just children who lost too many things in a short span of time. Their everyday peaceful lives, their family and even the orphanage. But Serika remembered it vividly, the snowfall, the black smoke, the dead bodies and men clad in dark armor. If it hadn't been for the mistress... who knows where they would've ended up? ‘Why? Indeed… what reason is there to save them?’ Carmillia's mother muttered gently. Unlike her daughter, her hair was white as snow, said to be caused by an illness. Her features were nearly identical to Carmillia's but softened by a faint, ever-present smile and gentle gaze. ‘If you don’t save them,’ she said, the orphanage’s flames reflected in her eyes, ‘then it will be hard and painful for them to survive here. Don’t you think so too, Carmy?’ 'Yes.' The girl answered. 'They'll probably die.' Snow had piled in thick layers across the street, unperturbed even by the burning orphanage being them. The walls crackled and collapsed in on itself, but the cold would not be driven away. It would claim what the fire couldn't, two small, helpless lives. 'Yes. They’ll die. Frozen perhaps… buried beneath snow… or maybe torn apart by hungry beasts' She crouched to meet the girl's eyes. 'Don't you think it would be painful? To freeze? To be bitten and bleed?… And sad?' She pointed a finger towards the kids chest. 'When something terrible happens to us, when there's no one to help, something rises from here, from the heart. Do you know how that feels?' '… It's sad… and painful.' The kid whispered as if recalling those emotions herself. 'Then, do you hate that pain, Carmy?' '… I do.' 'Good. They're the same.' She said softly and caressed the child. 'Just like you, they hate it. Everyone does. That's why, if you can, save them from their pain. Even for a little bit.' 'How should I save them?' 'Simply, give them your heart. If they're cold, cover them with warm clothes, if they're hungry, feed them warm porridge. If they're hurt, tend to their wounds. If they have nowhere to go…' She took Carmillia's hand and extended it to the other two children, along with hers, as if reaching out a helping hand. 'Then take them under your wing. Make them live with you… and—' Serika couldn't make out the last part as the mistress had whispered something else into Carmillia's ear with a smile. The girl jolted, as if she had a realization. That was when the other guards on standby started to move towards the burning orphanage. They other attendants covered them in fabric and brought them to the carriage. That was how they first met Carmillia, whom at that point, was still guided by her mother. Serika was grateful to both of them. And Lucinelle even more so, to the point she pledged her life to them the very next day, saying it was a custom of her family, a line that earned their position through knighthood and honor. But for Serika… the cost of freedom was too heavy to part with. She chose to be here because of Lucinelle. While she felt grateful to the mistress and the young lady, she inwardly had some qualms about this path. Especially after the duke’s wife had perished. The once kind young lady lost her ‘anchor’ and became what she is today. She schemed, humiliated, and antagonized any nobles she found unpleasant… Only after some time did she finally calm down upon reaching her coming of age. "So, how is he doing?" Lucinelle shifted the conversation, seeing that Serika was lost in thought. "I made sure that his bones is on the verge of breaking." Hearing that, Lucinelle chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Don't be so rough. He might develop grudges." "So what? He's not catching up to me no matter what." The two of them were indeed strong. To the point that they were considered geniuses among their age. And they will continue to be, under the wing of their master, Carmillia. There was no way that Xian will surpass either of them. Meanwhile,