The Male Lead’s Fake Sister

Underworld and slums.

Usually, both refer to back alleys where the people who were rejected by society gather to form a lawless area.

But it was only on the surface.

‘In fact, it was more developed and extensive.’

If the slum was really a place where the poor gathered, then the underworld was a term for all the illegal activities and groups that ruled over the slum.
Therefore, the word ‘underworld’ had a wider meaning than slum.

For example, District 12 of Bluewell Street.
As it was connected to Riverine Alley, where it was easy to get lost once entering, District 12 Bluewell Street was one of the underworlds that proudly existed in the center of the capital.

The place was filled with unimaginable things.

There was a beauty parlor where one could commision a messenger using a secret code.

An ordinary jeweler sold treasures that were stolen from the Imperial Palace underground.

Or the person who was selling crepes suddenly dragged a child by the collar.

“If you ate the meal, you must pay for it! I thought you were a customer from the way you dressed, but you’re just a beggar!”

“No, I forgot my money at home! I’ll go get it and return here!”

“Do you think I don’t know that you’re going to dine-and-dash?!”

After visiting the stolen goods shop, she heard the commotion on her walk back to the carriage, and stopped without realizing.

The center of the commotion was the crepe store.
A sturdy man wearing an apron, who seemed to be the store owner, was scolding a green-haired girl.

The reason was obvious.
The girl couldn’t pay for the food.

Obviously, this kind of occurrence was normal in the underworld.
Despite the disturbance in the street, no one except Ravia looked back at them.

In fact, the girl was not cowed and argued back.

Thanks to this, Ravia, who went to District 12 to take care of her own business, was caught in the commotion.

The coachman might be Tidwell’s man, so she purposely parked the carriage in another area, but she witnessed a disturbance right when she tried to return to her carriage.

Ravia could have just ignored them like the other passers-by, but somehow her legs did not budge as she watched them from across the street.

She felt a mixture of worry and admiration for the girl.

‘Is it because you live on the street?’

Ordinary kids would’ve cried the moment that robust man yelled at them.
Her boldness and shamelessness were something developed after years of begging door to door.

‘I don’t even know if I can help you in any way.’

If it had been somewhere else, her attention wouldn’t have been caught like this.

Ravia wanted to resolve the problem.
However, she remembered that this was District 12 of Bluewell Street.

She had deliberately dressed in shabby clothes to hide her status and braided her hair in the commoners’ style.

Still, the noble etiquette that was ingrained in her couldn’t be hidden.
She could feel people glance at her every now and then.

Obviously, she’d draw more attention if she was entangled in such a mess.
There might be people who noticed that Ravia was a noblewoman from her manner of speaking.
Plus she shouldn’t waste more time here.

Therefore, Ravia just stood there watching, unable to do anything.
However, the quarrel didn’t last forever.

“You dirty beggar!”

Whack!

Hit by the owner’s fist, the girl tumbled to the ground in an instant.

Even though it had escalated to violence, people were indifferent to it as if it wasn’t worth making a fuss about.
Or maybe they didn’t want to get involved and suffer damage for nothing.

However, Ravia couldn’t care less about what those passers-by thought.
There was no reason to understand those who ignored a child being beaten.

“Stop it.”

Eventually, Ravia shielded the child.

Unlike her calm tone and bold behavior, she was quite mixed up inside.

‘It’s not like I can just watch a child getting hit.
I should resolve it as soon as possible and go back.’