Raised in Dungeon

"Wh-what happened?" said Felicia in shock and confusion, seeing the broken house before them.

"Maybe they ran off with your money?" said Allen.

"That can't be true-" It wasn't that she didn't think about the possibility that Carla would lie. She was trying to erase his doubts about Carla because she had directly spoken to her, so Felicia knew at least what kind of person she was.

But the possibility of her lying was always there, so when Felicia was faced with that reality now, she felt upset because she felt like she was being fooled.

However, her irritation immediately disappeared when someone started calling out to them.

"Lady! Lady Felicia!"

It was Ulfketel, the owner of the butcher shop. Seeing Ulfketel who immediately called out to her, Felicia immediately felt relieved.

"Shopkeeper! What happened to your shop? And where is Carla? Is she okay?" said Felicia.

'She's worried about us?' Ulfketel thought.

"Carla is fine. Our shop has moved to the market district."

"Moved? Why? What's wrong here?"

"Let's talk as we walk."

Ulfketel walked in front of Felicia, and when they were some distance away, Ulfketel began to explain,

"May you didn't realize that our house was near a slum district and most of our district is a peasant."

"What?! So your house is not part of the slum?! I thought I entered a slum yesterday!"

Felicia had never visited a slum district before, so she didn't know what the people's slum standards were.

'If it's not a slum, does that mean the slums are even dirtier and uglier?!' Felicia thought.

As for Ulfketel, when he found out that Felicia didn't understand slums, he cleared his doubts. He had previously thought that Felicia was just a wealthy commoner's daughter. The problem was that no noble would want to set foot in a peasant area, let alone enter his house, just to look at a dress made by a peasant.

"Our house is not very good, but it is still within reasonable limits. Most slums only have houses with cloth roofs. It's more or less like Carla's room."

"I see... Then, what exactly happened to your house?"

"We were attacked."

"Attacked?"

"Yes, by other peasants. Probably from the slums," Ulf said calmly, which surprised Felicia.

"Why were you attacked? You've been fine so far, right?" Felicia said.

Ulf was silent. He found it difficult to answer.

"You really don't know the reason?" Allen suddenly spoke as if he knew.

"Wh-what?"

"Because of you. You're the one who got them attacked."

"M-me?!"

Ulf then sighed, not expecting that Allen would mention it, "you don't have to think or worry about it anymore, Lady Felicia." Ulf said.

But Felicia was curious; she wanted to know the reason.

"Allen! How come? Why is everything my fault?"

"Since you came to Ulf's house, many people have been watching you. They must be after you, although I don't know what they want in the shopkeeper's house," Allen said.

"It must be money," Rachel continued.

Ulf nodded and said, "That's right... When they find out that a noble is visiting a peasant house, they will find out what the noble is doing. I was shocked when Carla said that you gave her three-big-gold coins."

"So, they destroyed your house because you received money from me?" said Felicia with a scared face.

"I told you before that it's not your fault, lady. As soon as I heard from Carla that she received money from you, I immediately asked her to rent a house in the market district because I knew we would be targeted if we held that much money. The people around us suspected we had gotten the money from you, so they looked for it in every corner of our house."

"Why didn't you report to the knights or soldiers?" said Felicia.

Since Ulf didn't answer right away, Rachel took his place, saying, "Because they're just peasants, lady. Peasants are still not official citizens of the capital; they have no right to protection and no obligation to pay taxes."

"Why wasn't I told these important things?!" vented Felicia.

Rachel then replied, "It's not necessary, lady. This is the least important part to learn among the nobility. The most important things that noble children should learn are manners, noble ethics, business, and how to be strong."

Felicia became a little depressed, knowing someone could die because of her actions.

"Idiot, you're thinking too deeply; this uncle already said that everyone is fine, and he already got a new house because of the money you gave him," Allen said.

'This boy, why does he have such an attitude toward his lady? Isn't he just a mere subordinate? Isn't he afraid of being beheaded?' Ulfketel thought.

Felicia then shook her head and said,

"You're right; I should remember this very well. Rachel, next time if there's anything strange about my actions, just tell me! And I want to know more about this kind of thing."

"Yes, my lady."

'Maybe I should have just gone with the lady that time,' Rachel thought as she saw Felicia's distressed face.

Finally, they arrived at Ulfketel's new home. When Ulfketel got there, he was immediately greeted by a girl who was about five years old.

"Daddy!" the girl shouted as she jumped into Ulfketel's arms.

"Olivia!" Ulfketel replied to the girl, hugging her like the most precious person he had.

"Lady, this is my daughter. After my wife died, I lived with her."

"Leidy?" asked the little girl.

Felicia lifted her skirt, then said, "My name is Felicia Ayde Boldenville; nice to meet you little girl."

The girl was stunned to see Felicia, so she cried out

"How beautiful?! Daddy, is she a princess?"

"Hey, don't talk like that! Please forgive my daughter, Lady Felicia."

"It's okay; my heart isn't that weak to get angry at a child's joke. Besides, it wasn't an insult at all."

After that, they entered the house.

It was just a tiny house, but it looked better than the previous one.

"Did you buy this house with the money I gave you?" Felicia asked.

"Yes. That's why I told you not to think about what happened to us before. Thanks to you, we can now live in a better house."

Felicia smiled a little. Then she said

"You should thank Carla for that too," Felicia said.

"Hahaha, you're right. I always doubt her since the beginning. I didn't expect she really could make clothes for a noble…" said Ulf, smiling.

'You are too kind; you doubt her skill, yet you still care for her and let her live in your house,' thought Felicia.

They went to the second floor, where Carla continued her work.

Ulf knocked on the door of her room,

"Hey, Carla! Lady's here!" Ulf shouted.

But there was no answer.

"Carla?! Are you in there? We're coming in!"

Ulf opened the unlocked door. The door opened, and they could see a room that was not too different from Carla's old room. Threads and scraps of cloth were scattered on the floor, and plates of food were arranged in the corner of the room.

Carla was inside. She was lying on her stomach in front of the door, like a dead person.

"Carla! Are you okay?" asked Felicia.

"Aaah, she must be okay; you don't have to worry; she's always like that every day after work," said Ulf.

As Ulf said, Carla didn't faint; she was just exhausted. She slowly raised her head. Her face looked weak, tired, and pale.

"La-lady, it's finally done. Your dress is finished."

A clothes display was in the center of the room, covered with a clean white cloth, which was most likely the dress Felicia had ordered.

Rachel came forward and opened the cloth covering the dress.

"S-so this is the dress the lady is referring to?!"

As everyone in the room laid eyes on the magnificent victorian dress, they marveled at its beauty. It was golden white, with a flower decoration delicately placed on the chest. Rachel and Felicia stood in awe of the masterful craftsmanship that had produced such elegance.

"Amazing! Amazing! Carla! You're a genius!" cried Felicia.

"Hehe, I gave everything to that dress. Please look beautiful in it, lady."

"Don't worry! I'll be the most beautiful at Prince Francis' birthday party."

By wearing the dress, Felicia felt that she would forget all her nerves later and forget her past trauma.

The next day, the first day of the Whitmoon Festival began. The Whitmoon Festival had finally arrived and the city was alive with multicolored flowers swirling in the gentle summer breeze. Everyone was in high spirits, with many children wearing white clothes with flowers in their hair circulating around the fountain in the center of the city. Nobles and commoners mingled in the same white dress; however, their clothing designs still gave away their social standings. The celebration started with a full-hearted cheer that echoed throughout the town square.

Commoners just wear plain white clothes, while the nobles re-stitch the clothes, add creations to the lace, and make it look like a different but still white outfit.

"I don't like these clothes," said Allen, who was wearing the same white dress as the nobles.

"Why?! Do you want to wear the same thing that the commoners wear?!" shouted Felicia.

"That's much better. This clothes are harder to move in."

"You should have told me that yesterday! You won't have to move much later since nothing will happen during the Whitmoon Festival."

"Yeah, I hope so."

They started walking when everyone started walking to the church of their choice. At that moment, Allen offered his hand to Felicia.

"What's this?" Felicia asked.

"Eh? Rachel told me that I should hold your hand."

"Why is that?!"

"I don't know."

'Rachel told me that the whitmoon festival is the most dangerous time because everyone is off guard. But she didn't want me to tell Felicia about it, I wonder why."

"I won't do that?! That's embarrassing!" shouted Felicia.

"This girl… she's so stubborn."

Allen immediately took Felicia's hand forcefully and held it tightly.

"Let's go," Allen said.

Giving in to how firm Allen's grip was, Felicia nodded. Knowing Felicia had already given in, Allen held her hands more gently.

Observers couldn't help but notice Allen and Felicia's special connection. Their tenderness toward one another undeniably affected those around them, softening even the hardest of hearts. The warmth radiating from their bond was contagious, ensuring everyone in the vicinity felt a certain level of infatuation for these two.

"Hey, look at those two kids over there; they're so cute."

"You right! Like young brides!"

"Gyaaah! Why are you saying that?! They're still kids!"

"You're just jealous because you haven't gotten a partner yet!"

"Shut up!"

A wave of stares echoed around them, making Felicia's cheeks flush and her heart flutter with embarrassment. Desperately trying to keep her cool, Felicia glanced around to find curious eyes hovering with unspoken questions and assumptions.