Chapter 94

 

Leroy bit his lower lip with a sense of ominous feeling. He could intuitively feel that his opponent was not enticed by his offer.

 

Sure enough, the man began to chuckle with disbelief.

 

“But what to do? These lowly lives are worth less than ants; they’ve long been pawned off somewhere.”

 

Noticing the tense atmosphere, the girl twitched slightly.

 

It was a minor act of defiance, but it seemed to irritate the man significantly.

 

Without hesitation, the man raised his arm and struck the child’s nape, knocking her unconscious.

 

Startled by his ruthless action, Leroy reflexively lunged at the man.

 

“What the hell do you think you’re doing!”

 

Throwing his full weight, Leroy knocked the man off balance.

 

However, this was merely the result of the man’s momentary carelessness; he wasn’t so poor a fighter that he couldn’t subdue a single cumbersome boy.

 

The man grabbed Leroy by the hair and slammed him mercilessly to the ground.

 

A surge of intense pain washed over him, his consciousness quickly becoming blurred.

 

His forehead felt damp. The smell of blood wafted to his nose.

 

Judging by the numbness across his face, he thought perhaps his nose was bleeding.

 

Still, instead of groaning in pain, Leroy glared fiercely at the man.

 

The man, checking on Leroy’s condition, let out a sly chuckle.

 

“Well, well, the venom’s already in your eyes.”

 

“I’ll remember your voice... I’ll find you, no matter what,” Leroy warned with a hoarse voice.

 

The man looked on with an unaffected gaze, as if not feeling any immediate threat. He seemed perhaps to be lost in other thoughts.

 

Abruptly, the man spoke up.

 

“Why go through all the trouble of finding me?”

 

Leroy furrowed his brow, puzzled why the man would suddenly ask such a thing.

 

It was odd – the man had been aggressive until now but seemed oddly intrigued upon hearing a promise of revenge.

 

Leroy showed his wariness, and the man, as if exasperated, pressed for an answer.

 

“So what, if you get her back, do you plan to take responsibility for her life?”

 

“Do you think I can’t?”

 

“Why would you show such earnestness to a stray orphan you just met? Unless, during the time you were trapped together, a deep bond of comradeship blossomed?”

 

It wasn’t a wrong assumption. However, Leroy had no desire to share his poignant story in the face of the man’s mockery.

 

Instead, Leroy attempted to negotiate once more.

 

“If it’s the girl’s ransom you want, I’ll pay it in her stead. The offer to help you escape safely is still on the table. So...”

 

“You’re talking nonsense again.”

 

The man clicked his tongue and rose to his feet, clearly uninterested in Leroy’s proposed compensation.

 

He turned his back on Leroy, having completely lost any interest in their conversation.

 

Feeling a mix of urgency and anger at the man’s dismissive attitude, Leroy raised his voice in desperation.

 

“There must be a reason you’re doing this! What do you plan to do with a girl who couldn’t even write down her own name? You intend to sell her anyway. I’m offering to pay more, to give you enough that you won’t regret it!”

 

Leroy’s outcry halted the man’s steps.

 

Was it because of the sudden shout? Through his blurred vision, Leroy saw the man’s figure split in two.

 

Barely holding on with his willpower, Leroy was far from capable of a normal conversation at this point.

 

Already exhausted from days of captivity and with blood continuously flowing from his torn forehead, Leroy had to exert all his strength just to remain conscious.

 

Hearing the sounds buzzing incessantly in his head as if something was wrong, Leroy struggled not to pass out.

 

Sensing this was his last chance to get the girl back, Leroy pleaded with a voice full of desperation.

 

“If you have any conscience, leave the girl behind. She’s lived a life of misery beyond what most can imagine. There’s no need to make her go through anything more terrifying.”

 

“Did she say that to you?”

 

The man asked with a tone of marvel.

 

Leroy hadn’t expected the kidnapper to empathize deeply with the child’s wounds, but he was unprepared for such a nonchalant response.

 

His voice rose in feigned surprise, almost bordering on mockery.

 

Unable to contain his frustration, Leroy clenched his teeth.

 

The man, who had chuckled hollowly above Leroy’s head, suddenly spoke with a grave sincerity.

 

“Sure, kid. Come back for her someday. If, after you are all grown up, you still find yourself caring and wanting to look after her, please do.”

 

“......”

 

“But you don’t have the strength to do that now, do you?”

 

The last words sounded somewhat bitter. To Leroy, however, they felt like nothing more than another jab, a taunt.

 

There was no further exchange. As if his business was concluded, the man simply walked out with the girl.

 

Leroy shouted after the retreating figure, begging him to stop, to come back, over and over.

 

Threats, pleas, persuasion, and appeals - he tried everything, but none could turn the man’s steps.

 

In the end, Leroy was left alone in silence.

 

He thought that talking too much in his injured state had been a problem, but now that he had no one to talk to, his mind raced uncontrollably.

 

He felt feverish. The acrid smell he had noticed earlier was no illusion; the heat was building up outside.

 

This was his limit. As the thought struck him, his vision darkened. Leroy lost consciousness.

 

***

 

When Leroy opened his eyes again, he had been safely rescued by his family.

 

As soon as he awoke, Leroy sought out the girl’s whereabouts, but by then the man had vanished without a trace, taking the girl with him.

 

Not long after, the bodies of the fellow kidnappers were discovered en masse, complicating the pursuit even further. The only ones who could have offered information had all returned to the grave.

 

Nevertheless, Leroy did not give up hope and continued to search for the girl. However, after his family became entangled in a crisis, it became increasingly difficult to maintain such stubborn determination.

 

He had assured her that things would be okay, that the future wouldn’t be as bleak as the present, so confidently promising...

 

In the end, he couldn’t fulfill any of the promises he had made to the girl.

 

Leroy often worried about the girl afterward, deeply regretting the rash vows he had left in his youth.

 

Was it the guilt that remained in his heart like a burden?

 

He couldn’t forget her. For some reason, he couldn’t leave her memory to fade naturally like the others.

 

Instead, the image of the girl became clearer in Leroy’s memory as time passed.

 

So much time had flowed that when he unexpectedly came face to face with Iona from a distance one day, Leroy recognized her instantly, as if by some miracle.

 

Her translucent silver hair, the red eyes that met his gaze, and the inscrutable look that made it impossible to guess what she was thinking - she was just as he remembered.

 

It was her. He couldn’t deny that it wasn’t.

 

He couldn’t approach and reveal himself to her as she stood beside the crown prince, but instead, Leroy watched her from a distance for a very long time.

 

He did indeed feel a desire to share the past that he remembered with her, but he never acted on it.

 

Because she did not recognize him.

 

If she was living a new life, having stepped beyond a sorrowful past, there was no need to unnecessarily remind her of those unpleasant times.

 

With that thought, he could suppress any personal impulse to reveal himself to her.

 

Instead, he felt a sense of relief within.

 

She was doing well.

 

He had thought she had a talent for martial arts, and seeing her become a knight confirmed his belief hadn’t been misplaced.

 

Fortunately, that must have led her to be adopted by a noble family where she could eat well and dress well...

 

Yet, there was a part of him that felt a twinge of regret for not being able to fulfill that promise himself.

 

And internally, he made a pointless regret that perhaps he should have at least let her know his name.

 

Because the desire for her to recognize him certainly existed in his heart.

 

But that small wish started to grow.

 

He could have remained patiently indifferent if she and he had continued as nothing to each other, but she kept treating him like he was someone special.

 

Leroy found emotions in her behavior towards him that went beyond a sense of obligation.

 

He hoped that she would acknowledge their not so brief connection, that they would become more meaningful to each other.

 

“Iona, do you by any chance remember a time when you had no name?”

 

So, laying down such a small stepping stone couldn’t be seen as cheating.

 

Without at least this hint, there was a good chance she would go through life never knowing who he was.

--- End Of The Chapter ----

 

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