TMLHGCFTV 44

Chapter 44

‘I heard the black market opens three days before the full moon.’

I stared at Kael suspiciously.

Why was he suddenly telling me this?

Whenever Kael showed me some unexpected kindness, there had to be a reason behind it.

‘I’m telling you before the Grand Duchess sneaks out. As promised, I’ll go with you.’

‘Thank you, Your Highness.’

Apparently, the black market was held in a mine three hours away from Gloria.

That meant we had no choice but to wait here for three days.

In the meantime, we decided to search the city.

If we could find even the slightest trace, it might lead us to a clue.

When I came out after searching one of the houses, Hald was leaning against the doorframe.

“Do you really think you’re going to find anything by rummaging through these places? Why waste your time when you could spend it having a good time with me?”

Does that man really want to die?

I clenched my teeth.

The only reason I was putting up with Hald was because he was the only guide who could lead us through Greystone.

Apparently, he was also going to guide us to the black market.

The route to the black market was supposedly like a maze, and first-time visitors could wander around for days without finding their way.

In that sense, Hald was useful for saving us time.

That’s the only reason I’m letting you off.

I was about to walk past him when Hald spoke again.

“Ah, I’m telling you, it’s all pointless! There’s no way anyone could still be living here! After those things swept through the place—”

“What do you mean by that?”

I turned around and stared at Hald.

Monsters were swarming throughout Greystone.

That was why they had said it was difficult to determine exactly what kind of monsters had invaded Gloria.

But Hald knew what they were?

Even the original story had never bothered to explain that.

“Tell me properly.”

Hald rolled his eyes.

“Just let me hold your wrist once—”

Bang!

The moment he opened his mouth, it was always sexual harassment.

I slammed my fist into the spot where he had been leaning.

When he saw bits of the doorframe crumbling down, Hald started hiccupping.

“Listen, you thug. Do you think we’re a joke? Does everything we’ve gone through to get here, risking our lives, look that easy to you?”

“Hic.”

Hald blinked.

“Next time, I’ll smash that mouth of yours. You can still be a guide without it, can’t you?”

Hald immediately covered his mouth with both hands.

“You’d better answer my questions properly. Do you know what kind of monsters attacked Gloria?”

Something about this place was strange.

The town was far too clean.

There wasn’t even a single stray bone lying around.

And there were no monster corpses anywhere, either.

“Well…”

Hald moved his lips hesitantly.

“I-I don’t know what they were. But I heard they stood on two legs. That’s all I know.”

“Good. If you remember anything else, you can tell me. Other than that, don’t talk to me.”

I patted Hald on the shoulder and walked past him.

The house next door seemed to be locked from the inside.

Did that mean the last person who had been inside had never come out?

I tilted my head in confusion.

I climbed through a window and entered the house.

It looked as though someone had been staying there until recently.

The blankets had been neatly folded.

What kind of sign is this?

I immediately reported it to Kael.

“…So there may still be survivors.”

“Yes. Maybe.”

For some reason, Kael suddenly seemed more energized.

“From now on, we will search for survivors.”

Kael changed the orders.

The next day.

Vanessa called for me.

“Rosana, look at this.”

Vanessa was crouching beside a well behind the house.

“What is it?”

“Come take a look.”

Vanessa pointed at the well.

There were marks where a rope had rubbed against the stone.

That alone wasn’t strange.

They were simply the marks left by a bucket being lowered and raised.

The problem was that the marks didn’t look old.

There were newer marks beside the old ones, and there was still water inside the bucket.

“This was used recently, wasn’t it?”

“I think so.”

The corners of Vanessa’s lips lifted as she shrugged.

After that, we discovered several more traces.

They were tiny signs we hadn’t noticed during our first few days here.

There were even traces of a fire having been lit.

When I sifted through the ashes with my fingertip, I found partially burned pieces of wood underneath.

They were only about as thick as a finger.

“Someone is definitely living here.”

I said it firmly.

Vanessa swallowed.

I stood up and looked around.

Unlike the yards of the other houses, the yard of the house Vanessa and I were staying in had flattened weeds.

There was a long trail where the grass had been pressed down in one direction.

Someone must have been passing through this yard repeatedly.

I crouched down in front of it.

Then I spotted a mark in the damp soil.

It was a tiny footprint.

It was barely the size of an adult’s palm.

“Rosana. This… This is the size of a child’s foot.”

Vanessa’s voice trembled.

I reported the additional discoveries to Kael.

If people were living in Gloria, then Kael had to know about them.

Kael sent Millers and several others to search the surrounding area thoroughly.

Meanwhile, I carefully explained each of the traces we had found around the well.

“How many are there?”

“The footprints overlap, so I can’t say for certain. But there are definitely at least two. Their footprints were all different sizes.”

“…”

“There was also a place where someone had made a fire.”

Kael slowly ran a hand through his hair.

What was he thinking?

“Children… here?”

Kael muttered coldly, almost bitterly.

“I suppose God is punishing the incompetent Imperial Family.”

“Your Highness…”

I didn’t know what I could say that would comfort him, even a little.

Even if there really were children living here, they would inevitably become another burden on the expedition.

And Kael would have to shoulder that responsibility himself.

After all, he was destined to become the ruler of the Empire.

Kael sighed and rubbed his face.

After collecting himself, his expression returned to its usual coldness.

He looked at Millers.

“Do everything you can to ensure the children’s safety.”

Kael gave Millers the order.

“Then we may be able to find out what happened here.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

It was Lilia and the children of the expedition who found the first traces of the children.

Perhaps children really did understand one another.

Following the trail, we discovered that the children were hiding inside a mansion, with the door firmly locked from the inside.

We couldn’t force the door open.

We could clearly hear their intermittent breathing from the other side.

I approached the door and crouched down.

Then I carefully spoke toward the inside.

“Hello.”

There was no response.

I took a deep breath and spoke slowly.

“We came because we want to help you. Um… You probably haven’t been able to eat properly either.”

I carefully pushed a strip of jerky through the gap beneath the door.

There was silence for a moment.

Then a quiet voice answered from inside.

“…You poisoned it, didn’t you?”

It was an extremely small voice.

“I wouldn’t do that. If you’re worried, I’ll eat it first.”

Even after that, a long time passed.

Finally, there was a rustling sound from inside the gap.

Then a tiny hand cautiously appeared.

The dirt beneath its fingernails was pitch-black, and its small hand was covered in countless little scratches.

After hesitating for a moment, the hand snatched up the jerky and quickly disappeared back through the gap.

A moment later, I heard chewing.

“Eat slowly. There’s more.”

“…There’s more?”

“I have a whole sack of it.”

“You’re lying.”

“I’m telling the truth.”

“All adults lie. They said they’d come back, but they were all lying.”