Chapter 41

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"We really don't know anything about it."

A young man was fidgeting in front of Sir Rainer.

Realizing who we were a bit late, the man only bowed his head.

However, Sir Rainer's stone-like expression showed no change.

"It seems the child, being young, made a mistake in the moment. Come on, you should apologize quickly."

The man pressed down on the head of a boy who looked to be around my age.

The boy bit his lip tightly, showing a stubborn determination not to speak.

"Hey, are you going to keep doing this?"

"If you keep this up, bringing you here will have been for nothing. Do you want to get someone in trouble?"

The man whispered as loudly as possible for only the boy to hear, but he didn't seem to realize that I, standing at the same eye level, could hear as well.

The man, who had been glaring at the boy as if to kill him, raised his head.

"...I'm sorry. No matter how much I urge him, the child won't apologize. So please take this child away."

"What?"

I blurted out reflexively.

The man, who had been looking at me with displeasure, turned back to Sir Rainer.

"Take him away and execute him or use him as a slave. We can't take responsibility for this child. It was his own doing."

In other words, he was saying to cut his losses.

This kind of tactic to cut ties was familiar to those who lived in the back alleys.

It was foolish to expect friendship from those who made a living by picking other people's pockets.

"What, what are you saying...!"

But the boy seemed unaware of this.

His face, covered in dirt and bruises, was filled with betrayal.

"That's not true. You told me to do it first! You promised to return the item and give me bread if I did as you said!"

"When did I say that? You're making things up!"

The man pushed away the boy, who was clinging to his clothes.

The boy fell onto a pile of wet snow.

But the boy didn't give up. He got up and grabbed the man's foot.

"Keep your promise! You definitely said that to me!"

"Are you not letting go?!"

The man, looking flustered, kicked the boy.

Even as rough kicks rained down on his back, the boy didn't easily let go.

'What are you doing to a child?'

Looking up at Sir Rainer, I saw him easily lift the man.

Though the man was quite sturdy, he was like a newborn fawn in front of Sir Rainer.

"Ugh..."

The man, pushed away helplessly, trembled in anger and reached out toward the boy.

I quickly grabbed the man's wrist.

"Stop it."

"What, what?"

"Stop it. You said you didn't do anything wrong, right? Why are you hitting an unrelated child?"

"That, that's..."

Seemingly at a loss for words, the man stammered and contorted his face.

"What is this brat saying...!"

The angry man pushed me.

Though the push was weak, I fell over dramatically.

"Ah! It hurts!"

Holding my waist, I deliberately raised my voice.

"Oh no! I'm dying!"

Adding exaggerated words to the act, Sir Rainer's expression, which had been as unchanging as a rock, finally distorted.

"I, I didn't push you! I didn't do anything!"

"I'll cut off your dirty hands."

Sir Rainer's low voice was filled with menace.

Even Damian glared at the man as if to kill him.

"Damian."

Before the situation got worse, I quickly reached out to Damian.

Damian's face relaxed, and he ran over to me.

"El, Elly. Are you okay? Does it hurt a lot?"

"It hurts."

I made a pained face and held Damian's hand tightly.

"What, what do we do? Should I call a doctor right away? No, the carriage first..."

Damian fussed over me, checking my condition.

I felt bad for worrying him, but sometimes, for a perfect act, you have to deceive even those around you.

"Ah, it hurts so much. Damian, can you help me up?"

"Sure, sure."

I hugged Damian tightly and groaned. Damian, flustered, helped me up.

Though Damian was much younger than me, his strength was stronger than I imagined.

'As expected, the future Swordmaster. My kid, you're strong.'

I thought this while making a pained face.

"It hurts."

At my words, Sir Rainer immediately put his hand on his sword.

Eek!

The man, who had made a frightened sound, hesitated and finally ran away with the woman who was with him.

"Wait!"

The boy quickly got up but stumbled and fell, seemingly injured.

Sir Rainer, who was about to follow them, hesitated. He seemed reluctant to leave me behind.

"Miss Elly!"

At that moment, a familiar voice called out from a distance.

May was running toward us alone.

I looked at Sir Rainer, indicating that he should go since May was here.

Sir Rainer, with a stern face, nodded and quickly followed the two.

"Miss Elly, are you okay?"

"Um, I'm fine."

May and Damian helped me up. I smiled brightly, pretending to be fine.

"Are you okay?"

I squatted down and asked the boy who had fallen.

The boy, who had been biting his lip, bowed his head deeply.

"...You promised."

The boy muttered angrily, his voice trembling with tears.

"What promise?"

At my question, the boy bit his lip and struggled to speak.

"...Bread."

"Bread?"

I blinked.

"That man promised to give me lots of bread if I did as he said."

The boy began to cry as he said this.

So, he had just followed their orders.

'And from the way he calls him 'that man,' it seems he doesn't even know his name.'

If he had been a more experienced thief, he wouldn't have acted so clumsily.

Feeling a bit nostalgic and sympathetic, I asked the boy.

"Is bread enough? You might choke."

"What?"

"Have some milk too."

I said this and looked up at May.

May hesitated for a moment, then said, "I understand," and moved away.

When she returned, she had a warm loaf of bread and milk in her hands.

"Here, eat this."

"Why, why this...?"

"You said you were hungry."

I said this and held out the bag with the bread and milk to the boy.

The boy hesitated for a moment before taking the bag.

But he didn't eat it. He just kept it close to his chest.

"Aren't you going to eat it?"

"I'm not eating it."

The boy got up and said.

"...This is for my siblings."

The boy, hugging the bag to his chest, looked as happy as a squirrel with a full stash of acorns.

'So that's why he got involved with those people?'

I felt a bit sorry for a boy around my age doing such things.

As if reading my thoughts, the boy gave a self-deprecating smile.

"...Don't look at me like that. I already feel like I'm dying of envy."

"I was like you too."

"...What?"

"I was like you. But I didn't act as responsibly as you."

I was too busy taking care of myself.

I swallowed the rest of my words and got up.

"I'll return this."

Holding out my hand with a clenched fist, the boy looked puzzled and extended his hand.

The bracelet clinked as it landed in the boy's hand.

The boy's eyes widened.

"How, how did you...?"

The boy stammered.

I had secretly taken it off when I grabbed his wrist before the man pushed me.

"Did you cooperate with that man to get this back?"

I had been suspicious of the boy's constant glances at the man's pocket, and it turned out I was right.

This was a common tactic in the back alleys.

"Still, stealing is wrong. Your skills are too lacking. It's too obvious when you try to steal."

I said this playfully and reached out to the boy.

I offered my hand to help him up, but Damian was faster.

Perhaps concerned about the boy, Damian, with a stern face, helped the boy up and immediately let go once he was standing.

The boy, who had gotten up, remained silent for a while before speaking.

"...Thank you. This is a keepsake from my parents. I'll definitely repay this favor someday."

You don't have to.

I just felt a bit nostalgic and meddled.

I was about to wave it off when the boy said,

"I live at the Maripe Orphanage, not far from here."

"The Maripe Orphanage?"

"Yes."

The boy nodded and continued.

"If you ever need my help, come find me. I'll do anything. My name is Grace."

"...What?"

I repeated, dumbfounded.

Grace?

It was a common name, but in this novel, there was a character named 'Grace' who played a significant role.

The holy knight who risked his life to protect the protagonist, Ashabel.

'But Grace was definitely a girl...'

I forgot about being polite and stared blankly at the boy... the child I had thought was a boy.

It might be a bit awkward to say this now, but this child...

'...is too handsome.'