I coaxed him by explaining at length why I was here.
He didn’t seem like a bad person, but then again, one shouldn’t judge people by appearances alone.
‘To think this handsome man was a
kidnapper…’
“That is not possible.”
I tried to end things on good terms by talking without using force, but the man had no intention of listening.
“Are you determined to kidnap the children? Then I can no longer stand idly by.”
My courtesy toward a kidnapper ended here.
No matter how breathtakingly beautiful he was, I could not forgive a criminal.
Especially a crime against children, of all people, was something I could never let slide.
“My Lady!”
At that moment, I heard William calling me from behind.
William quickly stood by my side.
“The cleanup?”
“I have instructed the security forces to arrest all members of the circus and hold them accountable for their crimes.”
“Well done.”
“But, who is that man?”
“A kidnapper.”
I briefly introduced the man in front of us to William.
“If he’s a kidnapper, where are the children?”
“We’ll have to ask him that from now on.”
I signaled William with my eyes.
It was for the two of us to work in tandem to apprehend the man.
Just as William, having read my gaze, was about to step forward, the man spoke.
“It seems there is a misunderstanding. Let us speak.”
I raised my hand to William, gesturing for him to wait a moment.
“Dialogue is unnecessary. Just hand over the children and come with us to the security forces.”
“I am not a kidnapper. I am not taking the children to cause them harm.”
He kept insisting he wasn’t a kidnapper, but in my eyes, someone trying to take children away was a perfect kidnapper.
“Come out.”
Suddenly, the man gave a command to someone.
Then, from behind a large tree and the bushes on the left side of the road, a grown man and four children emerged.
“Children!”
Looking at their condition, the children fortunately seemed safe without any injuries.
However, the children’s behavior was strange.
If the man before them were truly a kidnapper, the children’s eyes should have been filled with fear, but instead, upon seeing William and me, they tried to hide
behind the man they had presumably been with until now.
I looked at the man I had been confronting with a bewildered expression.
“What do you plan to do once you take the children?”
The man asked me abruptly.
“I’ll hand them over to the security forces, of course. They will handle the children’s placement.”
This was as much as I could do for the children.
Since I couldn’t continue to look after them myself, I had no choice but to leave the rest to the security forces.
“Don’t you think that is quite irresponsible?”
“Pardon? What do you—”
His words were so absurd that I was rendered speechless.
Did he just call me irresponsible?
“I do not know for what reason Milady tried to save the children from the circus, but even if you hand them over to the security forces, these children will one day return to the circus.”
“We can just send the children to an orphanage. The security forces will send them there. Why, and in what sense, are you saying they would return to the circus?”
The man was now looking at me as if I were a pathetic person who acted recklessly without thinking about the consequences.
“Isn’t that what the security forces are for? Are you saying the security forces do not do their job properly?”
The man was silent.
It was an affirmation of my words.
Soon after, the man spoke.
“In a small village like this, that is how the security forces are. They take money and grant conveniences to people. A circus traveling the continent surely knows this as well. And likely, when day breaks, contrary to Milady’s wishes, they will be released and take the children back.”
“How could such a thing…”
No.
Come to think of it, corrupt organizations existed everywhere.
The world I used to live in and the world I live in now were no different.
“Then, what do you intend to do with the children?”
I asked him point-blank.
“I…”
The same expression as before appeared.
He seemed to be thinking again about how much he should tell me.
However, his thoughts soon ended, and the man looked me straight in the eyes as he spoke.
“I rescue children belonging to circuses and send them to an orphanage I sponsor. That place is safe because I manage it.”
“But how can I trust you?”
The man’s expression did not look like he was lying.
But I couldn’t judge matters concerning children based solely on looks and expressions.
“I do not take children blindly. I simply give them the chance to choose first.”
“That’s right! We followed him!”
At that moment, a red-haired girl interjected into our conversation.
“This mister saved us! He kept us alive!”
“He’s right!”
The other children began to chime in as well.
Hearing the children’s words, and contrary to my arbitrary judgment from before, the man did not seem like a bad person.
“Since the children are speaking like that, it seems I shouldn’t keep interfering. However, I need verification, so tell me which orphanage it is. If you have deceived me, I will certainly not forgive you.”
“Understood.”
The man smiled as he answered.
The thought occurred to me that a handsome man’s smile is truly beautiful, but I shook my head, telling myself this was no time for such thoughts.
“Then, when do you leave for the orphanage?”
“We will depart first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Ah, then there is a child I am with. He’s a child who was in this circus—he said his number was 5—”
“Number 5?”
“Are you talking about Big Brother Number 5?”
The area around the children became noisy at the mention of Number 5.
“Where is Big Brother Number 5 now? Is he hurt? Is he alive?”
Each of them was asking me if the boy was safe, if he was okay, and even if he hadn’t died.
“Yes. He’s alive, and not hurt at all. I am with him right now.”
I answered while making eye contact with each and every child.
“So, I would like for you to take that child along as well.”
And finally, I spoke while looking up at the man.
“Where is the child now?”
“He’s at the inn where I am staying.”
“Then I will go to pick him up.”
“Well, then wait a moment. To be honest, I still don’t fully trust you. So, would it be okay if my escort knight stays with the children until they leave tomorrow?”
When I signaled William with my eyes, he gave a slight nod.
“Very well. Then tell him to follow my subordinate; he will lead them to the inn where the children will stay until tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, fine. Then I will go with you to the inn where I am staying.”
“Understood. Derrick.”
I suppose the name of the man who had been standing by the children all this time was Derrick.
When his name was called, he bowed his head.
“You heard everything, right? Set out.”
“Understood.”
“Sir William.”
“Yes, My Lady.”
“Take care. And…”
Instead of telling him to watch closely for any funny business, I signaled him with my eyes.
And so, we scattered toward our respective destinations.
I was walking toward my inn with the man.
For a while, silence reigned between us.
It wasn’t that it was uncomfortable, but walking without saying a word was boring, so I spoke to him first.
“What is your name? Oh, I mean, I think I should know for verification purposes later.”
For some reason, asking for his name felt like showing personal interest in the man, so I hurried to add a reason.
“It is Eden.”
“Eden…”
When I inadvertently muttered his name, the man stared intently at me.
“What is Milady’s name?”
“I am Bell.”
“Bell…”
The man named Eden also uttered my name lowly after hearing it.
Perhaps he was thinking the same thing I was.
Both he and I were clearly nobles by appearance.
Just as I recognized at a glance that he was a young nobleman, he must have recognized at a glance that I was a young noble lady.
Therefore, when I gave only my name without a surname, he likely felt a slight doubt while also understanding there must be a reason for it.
“How did you come to do this kind of work?”
When silence fell between us again, I asked him the question I had been most curious about.
It was quite unusual for a noble to personally step forward for circus children.
Of course, I had gotten involved in the matter as well, but in my case, it was a situation created by coincidence.
However, judging by how he spoke without hesitation about sending children to an orphanage—though he had hesitated when I first asked—it was clear the man did this kind of thing often.
“There is no particular reason. I simply happened to learn by chance that children were being kidnapped and abused in the circus, and I just couldn’t leave such children be.”
“By chance… you say?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
The answer was unsatisfactory, but it was a question with neither justification nor meaning to pursue further.
I simply hoped this man wasn’t a swindler and that the children would live safely from now on.
“Then, was bumping into me near the performance venue earlier to scout things out?”
“Yes. Come to think of it, I thought the child who was tightrope walking earlier was missing, but it turns out Milady had him.”
“That’s right. I also happened to see the child being beaten by circus members while walking by, and I saved him.”
I spoke, emphasizing the words ‘by chance.’
After saying that, I was walking while looking ahead, but the man’s gaze from the side was piercing.
“Most people wouldn’t even think of getting involved in something like this; Milady is quite remarkable as well.”
“Is that so? I thought anyone would have acted as I did.”
“No. Not just anyone would have acted like Milady.”
I turned my head to the side and glanced at him.
For some reason, his gaze felt warm and gentle.
“You flatter me. It’s a bit embarrassing to hear such things from someone who seems to be doing much more remarkable work than I am.”
After a few words of conversation, he didn’t seem like the type of person who would take children to do something nefarious.
“So, do you always rescue circus children like this?”
“I cannot rescue all children. There are dozens of circuses traveling through the Empire, and it is impossible to find them all individually.”
“I suppose so. Oh? We’re here. It’s right there.”
As I walked and talked with the man, we soon arrived in front of the inn.
I went inside the inn and immediately sought out Mary’s room.
“Mary.”
However, no answer was heard from inside the door.
