Chapter 52 : The Colt

Tollin looked at the beggar child in front of him, not hiding his uncomfortable expression.

Tollin had never particularly liked street children.

He wasn't in a position to try and like the dirty, uncultured vagrant children who lied so easily, and the fact that Duke Piteos had risked his life to protect such things also made him resent them.

Besides, that hand!

Tollin sighed, looking disapprovingly at the Little Duke's hand as it casually patted Seya's grimy shoulder.

What would he do if he caught a disease?

Tollin earnestly hoped that the blackness—whether it was grime, dust,, or some unknown mixture—would not cause any harm to the Little Duke's health, and kept his mouth shut.

“You must know why you were brought here, right? You must also know about the children disappearing in the capital. If there's anything you know, you'd better confess it all now.”

Seya's body flinched at his gruff voice.

Tollin's tone, gaze, attitude—nothing about them was unfamiliar.

Meaning, he was the archetype of a noble that children feared.

And that child's tension was transmitted through his shoulder, straight to the Little Duke.

“Don’t worry. Tollin may seem a bit strict, but he’s only trying to help you.”

“Strict……! How can you say strict, Little Duke……!”

It was a joke, conscious of Seya and Mir who had called Tollin a 'picky mister' during their last encounter, but to Tollin, it was a great shock.

Tollin’s sacrifice was quite effective; the tension drained from Seya's stiff shoulders and face.

Seya looked for a moment at the Little Duke's clean hand, which was still patting his shoulder, then slowly opened his mouth.

“……I don't know…… exactly when. Just one day, kids started disappearing. Mir……, I mean, my friend said it was since that building went up in the center of the capital……. .“

“Can you bet your life on what you're saying right now?“

Tollin reacted sharply to the remark that it might be related to the Piteos family.

“No, no. That's not it…… I mean, they give out free food there. Very generously…… So there were a lot of kids who said they were going to get it. But the kids who went like that never came back. Almost all of them…….“

Seya, frightened by Tollin's intensity, poured out what he knew as rapid-fire.

If it was true that children were disappearing, and if someone was using the Piteos Ducal Family to do it…….

Even if they were just vagrant children from the streets, problems could arise.

How many people in this Empire were there who would dare to fearlessly use Piteos to achieve their goals?

Wrinkling his brow at the bad premonition, Tollin continued the interrogation.

“You seemed quite convinced you'd be killed if caught. How are you so sure the missing children are dead?“

The color drained from Seya's face at Tollin's question.

“……There were kids who came back. Just two…….“

At the existence of survivors, which might be an important clue, Tollin leaned his body forward.

“You mean there were kids who came back alive? Did you find out who's behind it?“

“Alive…… Did they come back alive?“

Seya muttered blankly.

What other states were there to describe a human's life, besides those two?

Alive, or dead.

“They didn't seem alive. Neither of them could do anything. Like dolls. Actually, they didn't 'come back' either. We found them. They were abandoned in the trash heap. Like some discarded item.”

“What do you mean by that?“

Seya's blank eyes lowered, as if recalling that time.

“I brought one, and Mir brought the other. We weren't close, but they were kids we'd eaten with. They ran off, excited about getting free food……. But they were abandoned in the trash heap. Like some discarded item.“

The child's tightly clenched fists turned white.

“We gave them food, they couldn't eat. We gave them water, but they couldn't drink. Then, about a week passed? Suddenly, they started vomiting blood. It seemed like all the blood in their bodies came out. I even tried to scoop it up……, but Mir said it was no use. And they died just like that.”

Seya, who had been blankly ruminating on the faces of the dead kids he had tried to forget, came to his senses when he felt something warm touch his cheek.

The Little Duke's hand was wiping his cheek.

Was something dirty on it?

Seya, who hurriedly raised his hand to wipe his cheek, only then realized he had been crying.

They were kids who were particularly healthy and fast-footed.

To the point I thought even if all the other guys died, they would survive until they became adults.

I knew it was wise not to get attached to the kids I met on the streets, but still, I thought it was okay to be friends with those two.

Because it seemed like they wouldn't die.

Belatedly feeling a sensation like something hot surging up his throat, Seya lowered his head.

The emotion, once burst, overwhelmed Seya uncontrollably.

The Little Duke stroked the sobbing Seya's back several times.

Flinn, who had been quietly comforting Seya, raised his head.

The child's upright gaze turned to Tollin.

“Tollin. Blockade the building immediately and send people. If there is anyone even slightly suspicious, capture them all. You must not kill them.”

Tollin nodded at his firm command.

The faithful Tollin intended to follow his command with all his strength.

But he didn't bother to voice the fact that there was a voice, deep in his heart, whispering that it was all useless.

***

Seya, having stopped crying, earnestly stuffed the sweet dessert offered by the Little Duke into his mouth with his swollen, barely open eyes.

Seya was confident that even if his eyes were fine, he probably wouldn't have known what he was putting in his mouth.

Seya was right.

The child didn't know that the refreshingly sweet and soft thing melting on his tongue was lemon custard cream, nor that the slightly sticky, soft, and sweet thing he picked up right after was a cake made of bread soaked in honey.

But one thing was certain.

This moment was very, very happy.

The Little Duke observed Seya, who was emptying the dessert plate rather voraciously, as if watching a curious creature.

He had seen quite a few people with large appetites, as it was a household with many people who used their bodies, but this was the first time he'd seen someone devour dessert so happily, and so quickly.

“There's plenty, so eat slowly. You can have as much more as you want.“

“My goodness, Young Master. Your generosity is as splendid as your character!“

Seya, steeped in deep emotion, let down his guard and gave a thumbs-up.

Though he quickly realized who was in front of him and calmly lowered his thumb again.

But when he put his thumb away, Seya just became a person shoving his fist at the Little Duke, and Seya hurriedly lowered his hand.

The Little Duke burst out laughing, finding the sight quite amusing.

Seeing that the Little Duke's mood didn't seem to be offended at all, Seya gained courage and cautiously spoke again.

“Um……. Young Master, by any chance…… would it be okay if I took some of this?”

The Little Duke, who had stopped laughing, turned his gaze to the plate the child was timidly pointing at.

It was the cake that hadn't had honey poured on it yet.

He’d put it down after one bite, so I thought it wasn’t to his taste.

“As much as you want. I can have a new one made if you'd like. It’s originally eaten with honey, so if you want, I’ll tell them beforehand to soak it thoroughly in honey.”

It was a suggestion for Seya, who liked sweets, but Seya shook his head vigorously.

“No, no! Just like that is good! I don't really like sweet things.”

Only then did the Little Duke realize that the child had left the food not because it wasn't to his taste, or to save it for later.

“It seems that a child named Mir doesn't really like sweet things.”

Seya nodded.

“Yes, so I've heard. If it's soft and moderately sweet like this, he’d eat it really well too…….“

The Little Duke looked at Seya silently, then ordered the maid who was serving food nearby.

“Make ten more of these and prepare them so the child can take them. With plenty of honey, too.“

Seya’s eyes widened at the words that he would be given ten more of this expensive-looking thing.

“Uh, um…….“

“I'll pack some honey too, so be sure to eat it with Mir. I suppose there are other children besides Mir.”

Seya, who wasn't raised with the modesty to refuse something offered, cautiously nodded.

Then, he sneakily peeked around before burying his head in the dessert in front of him again and starting to inhale it.

The Little Duke felt his heart grow calm as he observed the sight again.

The stormy conversation with Tollin, the Academy, the Tinas ritual, and Prince Dito’s problem felt like things from a long time ago.

Strangely enough.

It was probably because the child in front of him was a much better child than he had thought.

The Little Duke glanced at the cake still sitting in the corner of the table, untouched by Seya's mouth, and the corners of his lips lifted.

The Little Duke, too, knew roughly what the vagrant children of the streets were called by the public.

He hadn't had so little contact with nobles as to be unaware that they were called the 'trash of the streets' among them.

But these were the people his father had protected, risking his life.

People called him a foolish lunatic..

A one-of-a-kind idiot and a madman who would risk his life for mere trash like that, who betrayed god.

No matter how much Tollin protected the Little Duke from people's malice, he couldn't block the rumors that traveled on the wind.

It was also true that it had pained the Little Duke’s heart.

But the child before him, called the trash of the streets, knew how to cry for a friend who died unfairly, and was a human who knew how to think of his friend even when he was hungry.

Even in their last encounter, the child had clearly shown the will to risk his life for his friend.

If so, wasn't he an uncommonly splendid human being?

Flinn Piteos was very happy that Seya was that kind of child, that the person his father had saved at the cost of his life was this kind of person.

***

“……Hey, would it be better if I just ran there? I'm pretty fast, faster than I look.“

Seya clung to Tollin, sounding rather desperate.

Tollin wasn't exactly a comfortable person to make such an appeal to, but looking at Jack's face, who was smiling brightly and waving at him from inside the carriage, it seemed he could endure any amount of discomfort.

However, Tollin was not a man who took such personal circumstances into consideration.

He efficiently conveyed 'stop spouting nonsense and get in the carriage' by lightly pushing Seya’s back.

Pushed forward helplessly by the light force, Seya looked at Jack's 'thrilled-to-death' face with a wretched feeling.

So, that bearded man wasn't just a servant but a noble Knight?

Recalling his own behavior, having committed every kind of rudeness possible until now, Seya stuffed his heavy body into the carriage.

Carrying Seya's heavy heart, the carriage ran lightly.

***

“Hey~ We’ll be able to go quietly this time, right? This time, well, you didn't hide anything weird again, did you?”

Jack said, playfully glancing at Seya’s sleeve.

“N-no, sir. I must have been out of my mind for a moment back then. I am truly sorry. I have committed a crime worthy of death.”

Seya bowed his head as low as possible and assumed an obsequious posture, spitting out words of apology.

Seya might be simple, but he wasn't foolish.

Even if he had met an unusually soft-hearted and peculiar noble like the Little Duke, he didn't rashly judge that Jack would also be the same.

Rather, it was Jack who was flustered by this.

He had meant to tease him a little, but he had no intention of crushing his spirit like that.

The reaction Jack had expected was a rude remark about an old man holding a grudge, or at least some mumbling with his spirit slightly dampened, not this obsequious appearance that was incomparable to before.

“Hey, kid. Just act like you always do……. No, not that. Just be about half as rude as you were before. ”

Jack thought he had almost made a big mistake and corrected his mistake by half.

Jack felt like dying.

When he'd offered to ride in the same carriage as the child, it was with a light heart, just to tease his dampened face.

But seeing the child huddled in the corner of the carriage, his face pale white, his heart felt uncomfortable, to the point of starting to ache.

“Kid. I’m not angry at all. So you don't need to be so scared.“

At his self-explanation, repeated for the fourth time, Seya finally peeked up and looked at Jack.

“……Really?”

Jack’s face brightened as Seya finally met his eyes.

“Yeah! If I intended to punish you in the first place, I would have revealed my identity from the start.”

Seya, perhaps thinking that made sense, glanced at Jack once and pulled his body, which had been uncomfortably stuck in the corner, out a little.

“I was really sorry about that time. I really thought I was going to die, so I did it.“

Jack narrowed his eyes at Seya’s answer.

“You brat, if you think you're going to die, shouldn't you especially not do that? You just didn't like me, right?”

“……It’s not like that.”

Seya, who had answered sulkily, cast his gaze out the window.

“……The first time, I did it to save Jill and Jin, and the next time, it was just… I felt weird.”

“Felt weird?”

Jack asked again.

“Because I thought you were on the same side as the people who killed my friends. Looking at what you do, you don't seem like a bad person, so I wondered why you would kill us like that, and if we were really such trash that a good person like you would try to hunt us down……, so, I guess I just wished you were a bad person.

Seya, who had rambled on, couldn't see Jack's eyes and looked out the window.

There was no more conversation between them because Jack had clammed up.

The carriage gradually drew closer to the shantytown where Seya and the children lived.

“If we go a little further, there's an alley, we have to stop around there. The carriage can't go any further in.”

Seya, who was observing the scenery outside the window, said.

Jack, who had been silent all along, also opened his mouth.

“Kid, what did you say your name was?”

“Seya.”

Though puzzled by the random question, Seya answered obediently.

“Good, Seya. Listen well. You are a pretty, no, a very ill-mannered brat. You're the rudest kid I've ever seen, hands down.”

“……You're still not over it, are you? I'd rather take a few hits, so just let it all out and…….”

“That's not it!”

Jack quickly cut off Seya, who was making the suggestion with a somewhat serious face.

“Do you know why I am not blaming you any further, despite all that?”

When Jack asked, Seya rolled his eyes for a moment.

“Because the Young Master ordered you to?”

Jack cleared his throat at the sharper-than-expected answer.

“Of course, the Little Duke did tell me not to punish you separately. But even if there hadn't been such an order, I had no intention of pressing you, or hitting you…… or anything like that.”

Jack, who was completely unused to kind words or compliments, couldn't overcome the surging embarrassment and deliberately turned his gaze out the carriage window.

“I like you. I like that you're faster on your feet than most guys, and I like that you have guts. And above all, that personality of yours, able to take risks for your comrades. Of course, I think you need to fix that quick temper, acting like a crazy colt……”

Clack.

Jack, who had been suppressing his embarrassment and continuing to speak, quickly turned his head at the cold wind hitting his cheek, along with the sound of wood friction.

What awaited him was only an empty carriage seat back and the carriage door, swaying to the movement of the running carriage.

“Just as I thought, a crazy colt! Stop the carriage, quickly!”

Jack commanded the coachman and jumped out of the carriage.