Translator â Zimming, Editor : Sasha
Really?
Youâre giving this to me?
A certificate?
Thatâs the certificate of the largest toy store, isnât it?
Letâs calm down.
I know how painful it is to have something beyond your ability as I had been a child of fake destiny.
I canât take it with me when I get exiled and since Iâm young and canât run such a big store, other people will take over. Either way, I wouldnât be able to touch the money. With a heavy heart, I gave the certificate back to the Duke.
âI canât wead some of zhe wettersâ (I canât read some of the letters)
Lea laughed affectionately, saying,
âIâll read it for you.â
âOh, this is a toy store certificate, little miss!â
I said in a somber voice.
âBlaine donât want papew.â
âItâs not just a paper, little miss. If you have this, you can have all the toys in the store.â
I shook my head with a sad look.
âDonât wantâ¦.I want more toys.â
Henry and Isaac were staring at the duke.
âFor a young child, a toy store certificateâs meaning would be beyond her comprehension. â
âWell, it is. A bow or dress would make her happier.â
The duke looked like he was struck by lightning. But the brothers grinned and wrapped their arms around me.
âLetâs go to your room, Leblaine.â
âYes, weâll tuck you in.â
I heard the Dukeâs voice behind me, who followed the brothers helplessly.
âThose who handled this, bring me the list.â
Turns out, there were actually other presents for her prepared.
***
I got up before the sun rose and left the soft bed.
âOkay, Iâve taken care of the bow that Isaac gave me.â
Just in case, I even put the tracking device that Lea gave me in my pocket.
There were people out there who wanted me enough to get a trafficker inside the castle, so I need to be careful.
I crept into the underground prison.
The soldiers were on patrol, but I succeeded in sneaking in, taking advantage of my experience of being a beggar. Of course, getting a key was also a skill learned due to that experience.
âSeria.â
A small voice caused the crouching girl to lift her head.
âLittle missâ¦â¦!â
âShh!â
When I put my index finger on her lips, Seria grunted and lowered her voice.
âWhat are you doing here?â
âThereâs a place I want to go with Seria.â
I left the underground prison holding Seriaâs hand, blinking innocently
Through the iron bars, a terrible groan, like scratching iron, leaked out. Seeing the figure in the cage, Seria took a deep breath.
âJacobâ¦â¦!â
She looked at me with a look on her face asking as to why I had brought her here.
I shrugged my shoulders, saying, âIâll help you.â
âBut itâs locked.â
âI donât think so.â
Then I opened the door.
âHow come?â¦â¦.!â
It seemed that Jacob had not confessed anything about who his âcustomerâ was.
Meaning, the Duke would have left the door open.
âSo that Jacob can get away and meet his so-called customer.â
There was a high possibility that Jacob may have been given or had a tracking device attached to him early on.
The Dubbled family was as scary as the rumors I had heard about them.
âLetâs get inside.â
When I opened the door, Seria went into Jacobâs prison. Jacob who was drooping from the wall towards the floor looked at us with his barely moving eyes.
âSaveâ¦..save meâ¦..â
âI donât want to hear that!â
Seria shouted as she rushed at him.
Jacob, who had been subjected to torture for hours, had no power to shake off Seria.
âWhere are my brothers? Where did you sell themâ¦..!â
When Jacob didnât answer, she began to choke him.
âCu-customer. â
âWhat?â
âThe customer took them.â
âYou mean the customer who told you to kidnap the little miss?â
When Seria released her hold on Jacob, whose neck had turned red, he breathed out.
âI donât know who it is. Iâm serious. The customer came every time and bought the kids. All the kids raised in the House of Hope were bought by him.â
âWhat did you do to my brothers?â
ââ¦â¦.â
âSpeak!â
Jacob looked up at Seria, gulping.
âI canât give out a customerâs personal information.â
Pak!
I kicked him in the face.
âI twought that was all you had to say! (I thought that was all you have to say!)â
Seria stepped on Jacob to stop him from moving, as he looked at me dumbfoundedly. I could hear the sound of his pained groans when she punched his face to knock him out.
âLi, little miss.â
Seria was surprised and hugged me.
I looked up at her.
âI have a question. â
âSay it.â
I stared at her directly and opened my mouth.
âHow despewate are you wanting to find your brothers?â (How desperate are you wanting to find your brothers?â)
ââ¦â¦..Pardon?â
Seriaâs eyes shook.
âCan you kill any more of the people that destroyed your and your brothersâ lives?â
When asked so, Seriaâs eyes were mysteriously distorted.
âYouâreâ¦â¦ not an ordinary child.â
I grinned.
âIf youâre pwepared to do that, Iâll help you.â
(If youâre prepared to do that, Iâll help you.)
I slowly reached out my hand. Seria, who was still staring at my small hand, bit her lips tightly.
âIâve already made my vow to finish him. â
She took my hand.
âWhat should I do?â
âWould you like to get youw bounty fow now?â
***
Seria looked at me who had a childlike smile on my face.
âYou want me to turn myself in?â
âYes, so you can get the bounty. â
âThen Iâll be executed!â
âYou wonât.â
âHow can you be sure?â
âGwt the pwiest to visit you before dhat hapwens. You can say it like this.â
(Get the priest to visit you before that happens.)
I straightened my position and lowered my voice.
âI know where the original copy of the Bible is.â
Seriaâs eyes grew bigger.
âThatâs ridiculous!â
âI know where it is though.â
Iâm sure theyâll be anxious to get their hands on it and save Seriaâs life.
âThe original version of the Bible is priceless. Why would you use it for that?â
âBecause Seria is worth it.â
She stared at me for a while without saying anything.
With trembling pupils and shrieking lips, I could see just how touched she was.
âReally, Seriaâs worth it.â
She devoted her life to her younger siblings because they grew up together in a nursery school.
She was someone who would never betray the person who gains her loyalty. Above all, Seria was smart.
She was different from Jacob, who had passed the exam with the help of the âcustomer,â or Charlie who somehow managed to enter the administrative office.
Without a proper education at the nursery, she passed Dubbledâs administrative exam just by learning from the aristocracy.
This person is full of determination.
âSheâs somewhat similar to Nos.â
There was no one as good as her to keep next to me.
âThen where should I say the original is? â
âThe Empressâs secwet library.â
Besides, I can kill two birds with one stone.
The empress kept her possession of the original piece a secret.
The temple would tremble with a sense of betrayal if they knew that the Empress, who had such a good relationship with them, secretly had the original biblical texts that the church had been searching for.
âGo before dawn.â
âLittle miss, Iâll never forget this.â
The kneeling Seria strengthened her determination.
âIâm really ashamed of this, but may I ask you for another favor?â
âFavor?â
âPlease get out of here first. â
She looked at Jacob with cool eyes and continued.
âAnd donât come back no matter what you hear.â
I glanced at her black twitching eyes.
ââ¦â¦.Okâ
I left the prison first, as she asked. Behind my back, Jacobâs desperate screams followed. That day Jacob went out of prison as a corpse, and Seria slipped out of the castle.
A few days later, a present in the name of âChildrenâs day giftâ was delivered to me.
There were 30,000 francs in the bag. It was the amount of Seriaâs bounty.