Magical Girl

Chapter 2

Rod is a well-known wealthy landowner in Aldrin, owning one-third of the town’s fields. His family wasn’t always this rich; many years ago, the current Lord Rod’s grandfather started working as a pimp. He became the most successful pimp in the town and passed this business down through the generations. By the time it reached the current Lord Rod, the family had expanded the business to the big city, becoming Aldrin’s wealthiest family by exploiting the blood and sweat of women in the trade.

Right in front of Marlene, on Aldrin’s only main street, many lazy men loiter around, eagerly discussing the rise of the Rod family. Their lifelong goal is to get lucky and live like the Rods.

If she had a choice, Marlene would not have chosen to work for the Rod family. Along with the nearly immobile old Lord Rod, there are seven scoundrels in total in the family, who over the years have ruined countless young women and committed many misdeeds. However, the town is poor, and job opportunities are scarce. There aren’t many people who can afford a laundry maid, and it took Marlene a lot of effort to secure this job.

Marlene seldom steps into the Rod household. She bribes Aunt Marianne, a co-worker, with a few copper coins to help carry the clothes that need washing, so Marlene can focus solely on washing and ironing.

Aunt Marianne mocks Marlene mercilessly for her behavior, not seeing the point in Marlene’s caution. In her eyes, a frail and skinny girl like Marlene would never catch a man’s attention. Like others who know Marlene, she often attacks Marlene’s looks and figure, ridiculing her cautious actions as pretentious and laughable. Marlene endures the taunts in silence but remains steadfast in her actions. Her past experiences have taught her that a girl’s appearance doesn’t correlate as much with being harmed as one might think—weakness is the true original sin of being preyed upon.

Today, for the sake of her wages, Marlene has to face the perils ahead.

Entering the Rod estate went smoothly; the gatekeeper recognized Marlene and let her in. She walked through the Rod family’s small garden, heading toward the low building where the servants and the butler lived.

At that moment, a large group of men and women, pushing and shoving playfully, came through the garden. The men wore light armor, though their weapons had been discarded somewhere. Marlene recognized them as the Rod family’s hired guards. Since the Rods weren’t involved in charitable activities, trouble often came their way, and they employed many guards as a result.

Marlene had heard from Aunt Marianne that many of these guards were professional mercenaries, skilled only in the use of weapons. They’d do anything for money. Aside from protecting the Rod family, they also helped discipline any disobedient women under the Rods’ employ. None of them were decent people.

The men and women were all disheveled, their raucous laughter filling the garden. One girl was waving a dirty pair of trousers, laughing as she dodged a man chasing after her. “Catch me, and I’ll give them back!” she called out as she ran, her ample chest bouncing with each step. The man seemed to enjoy this game, like a hyena toying with its prey.

The girl, too engrossed in her flight, wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and crashed into Marlene, knocking her to the ground like a reckless rabbit. Marlene had intended to avoid drawing any attention, but now, unexpectedly, she was sprawled on the ground, and all eyes turned toward the two of them.

She glanced at the girl, quickly bowing her head and saying repeatedly, “I’m sorry, excuse me, I’m so sorry…” Without waiting to see if the girl heard her, she skirted the crowd and hurriedly made her way through the garden.

In the Rod family’s servant quarters, Aunt Marianne was there too. When she saw Marlene, she asked with a smirk, “Marlene, aren’t you about to get married?”

It was she who had informed Marlene about her father Karl’s plan. Aunt Marianne’s snitching wasn’t out of any kindness; she simply wanted to see Marlene suffer. Marlene always maintained a calm demeanor, which irritated Aunt Marianne. In her words, “She’s the child of a woman of the night, but she acts like a refined lady.” Now that Marlene’s facade was torn down, Aunt Marianne found it amusing to imagine her future: tied down by a dirty apron in a blacksmith’s shop, occasionally beaten by her drunken, one-eyed husband. The thought was hilariously satisfying.

As she thought about it, Aunt Marianne squinted one eye, craned her neck forward, and made a show of trying to see something clearly—a mannerism typical of One-Eyed Cleo, who was often mimicked and mocked by the local children for it.

In the beginning, Aunt Marianne hadn’t been like this. When Marlene first started working there, she respected Marianne as a senior colleague and an elder. After some time, she even secretly entrusted her hard-earned wages to Marianne for safekeeping, believing she was trustworthy.

At the time, Marlene had thought Aunt Marianne was dependable. But this seemingly plain and honest woman took all of her money and then denied it. Marlene, furious, confronted her, and the matter eventually reached her nominal father, Karl. Karl stormed into Aunt Marianne’s home, overturned her table, and amidst the cries of her five children, she reluctantly returned the money. Marlene, however, paid the price with a severe beating from Karl.

Since that falling out, Aunt Marianne had harbored a deep resentment toward Marlene, always looking for chances to make trouble for her. If this had been the old Lingling in the office, she would have slammed the table and quit on the spot if anyone had treated her like this. But here, she had no choice. If she gave up this job, she wouldn’t be able to find another one. For money and survival, she chose to endure.

In the room, besides the accountant who was handing out wages, there were a few other servants waiting to collect their pay. When Aunt Marianne made her gesture, everyone in the room burst into laughter.

Marlene didn’t find it funny, nor did she feel anger. She only felt pity and sadness. Amid the laughter, she spoke in a calm, steady voice, “I’m here to collect my wages.”

The accountant slowly sorted through the coins, joining in the banter with the other men.

“Grim-faced Marlene, my goodness, are you really fifteen? You look just like a laundry stick.”

“Poor girl, has your old man been starving you? You can come to my place—white bread and milk, as much as you want.”

“Before you get married, I could teach you how to be a good wife. Cleo would be grateful.”

“Hahaha, how long has it been since you had a woman? Even a bean sprout like her interests you.”

“Don’t underestimate a growing girl. With the right man, even a bean sprout can blossom.”

The room was filled with these nauseating remarks. If this had been Lingling, she wouldn’t have tolerated it. But Lingling was dead. The person here now was Marlene Das, the daughter of a working girl and a drunkard, a frail and powerless fifteen-year-old.

As she received her wages, the accountant, his hair already gray with age, took the opportunity to squeeze her hand.

Marlene didn’t say a word. She took her money and turned to leave, her head bowed, face numb as she walked out of the room. Behind her, she heard the people burst into laughter again, likely satisfied that they’d managed to annoy her by making her bow her head.

When she walked out of the accountant’s room, the garden was quiet—the sounds of playful scuffling had ceased. It seemed their entertainment for the day was over.

As she reached the gate, she saw the girls from earlier. There were five or six of them, leaning against the wall outside, tidying themselves up. Some had skirts that had been torn and had to hastily gather them up.

The girl who had knocked Marlene over was there too, sitting on the ground, putting on her stockings. The lace trim had come loose, and there was a hole in them, but she didn’t seem to care.

One by one, the girls finished tidying up and began to leave. Marlene stood quietly nearby, waiting. The last girl finally stood up, smoothing her messy hair as she looked over at Marlene and said, “Grim-faced Marlene, you haven’t left yet?”

“Bess,” Marlene replied.

Yes, Marlene recognized this girl, Bess. They came from the same village.

Like most people in Aldrin, Bess had chestnut-brown hair. She was the same age as Marlene, but unlike Marlene, she was quite well-developed. Her skin had a slight tan from working outdoors in the countryside, and her cheeks were dotted with freckles. She wasn’t particularly beautiful, but she had youth and curves on her side, like a ripe, juicy fruit.

Marlene had seen her in the village just two months ago, driving a flock of ducks near the fields, followed by a group of dirty little kids tugging at her apron—her younger siblings. In this place, women bore children like sows, one after another. Marlene was an exception; her mother had contracted a severe disease shortly after Marlene was born, rendering her unable to have more children.

And then one day, Bess had simply disappeared from the village, and Marlene hadn’t seen her there since.

A few days ago, Karl came home drunk, stumbling around and babbling nonsense. He cursed Marlene’s mother, calling her useless for letting a little disease take her life. Then he cursed Marlene for being worthless, for not going to the town to earn money like Bess.

Even if Karl hadn’t said it, Marlene could guess where Bess had gone. The options for women in this place were limited.

The people here resembled what Marlene recognized as Caucasian, and they matured early, looking like adults in their early teens. She wondered what Bess had gone through in these few months; her smile now matched that of the women on the streets. If no one mentioned her age, no one would guess she was only fifteen.

Marlene asked, “I haven’t seen you in the village for a while. Are you doing okay?”

Bess was busy fussing with her torn skirt, cursing the mercenary who had ripped it with some very dirty words. Hearing Marlene’s question, she raised an eyebrow and replied in an exaggerated tone, “I’m doing great. Never better. Back then, no one cared about me; they’d hit and scold me whenever they wanted. But now? Those two old fools wouldn’t dare say a harsh word to me. They have to beg me—‘Bess, please, give us some money. You’re the only one who can earn now.’” She took a deep breath and said, “Having money is truly wonderful.”

Marlene listened silently as Bess spoke. Bess seemed pleased to have a listener and continued, “As for that wretched village, I’ll never go back. Never ever…”

Before Marlene could ask, Bess continued proudly, “I, Bess, am going to Jettugala soon. And I’ll never!”—she emphasized the words with venom—“never return to this poor, filthy, disgusting… revolting place, this Aldrin!”

Jettugala!—Marlene was shaken when she heard the name.