Side Story – First Experience

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Long before Theo found Lena again, on the day Lena was kidnapped by the back alley gang.

Theo abruptly opened his eyes on the dirt floor.

“Ugh?!”

The first thing Theo did after barely regaining his senses was, of course, to look for Lena.

“Lena… is…?”

Theo struggled to get up and hurriedly looked around.

But there was no sign of Lena, or even a shadow of a person.

All that came into view was the darkened back alley and rats scurrying around, rustling through the garbage nearby.

“Ah….”

-Thud.

Theo’s legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the ground.

“No… this can’t be happening.”

What this situation meant was simple.

Lena had not only been raped but had also been dragged away by the gang members.

The end. It was all over.

Theo knew that the chances of someone who had been taken away like that ever returning were close to zero.

“Ha, ha….”

Lena’s figure, crying out as she was pinned down by the man.

That tragic sight wouldn’t leave Theo’s mind.

Anger and despair welled up from deep within.

“Aaaaaah!”

Theo screamed and tore at his hair.

He wanted to kill all the bastards who had defiled his sister right away.

He had to rescue his sister from hell right away.

But.

‘What can I do now?’

There was no way.

In the first place, Theo didn’t even know where Lena had been taken.

Moreover, the earlier fight had made Theo realize the cold reality.

Weak as he was, he couldn’t take on the gang members alone.

If he recklessly chased after them now, the result was obvious.

“…Why? Why does this kind of thing keep happening to me?”

Theo had learned a lot from Lena.

He was able to escape from a life where he had to struggle for survival and move towards a new goal.

Theo had received a lot from Lena.

Being protected by someone. He knew better than anyone how blessed that was.

That’s why Theo loved the short time he had with his new family.

But… that happiness was taken away in an instant.

Just like when he lost his parents to the Demon.

“I… what should I do now….”

Overwhelmed by helplessness, Theo blankly looked up.

‘It’s dark…’

The night sky of City Raven was quite beautiful with moonlight and starlight. But today, the clouds had covered it all, making it pitch black.

From Theo’s perspective, it was as if the sky was showing his broken reality.

At that moment.

-Plop. Plop.

To make matters worse, raindrops began to fall on Theo’s face.

And the amount gradually increased,

-Swish.

Soon, a heavy rain began to pour down.

“Lena….”

In that rain, Theo continued to stare at the sky, where he couldn’t see anything.

-Bang!

The front door burst open, and Theo walked inside.

Water dripped from his hair and clothes, soaked in the rain. Theo looked like a drowned rat.

Instead of going straight inside, Theo stopped for a moment at the entrance, as if waiting for someone.

‘If all of this… is a dream.’

Theo stood still, closed his eyes for a moment, and imagined a hopeful scenario.

In fact, it was all his misunderstanding, and Lena had not been kidnapped.

Now, as usual, Lena would come out of her room and welcome him home.

But no matter how much time passed… Lena didn’t appear.

Instead, only a suffocating silence flowed through the house.

“Ha, ha…. What was I expecting?”

Theo, who had been standing at the entrance, let out a hollow laugh.

No matter how much he denied the truth, nothing would change.

Everything that had happened today was real.

‘…Let’s rest for now.’

Theo forced his tired body to move and slumped onto a chair in the living room.

At that moment, a delicious smell tickled Theo’s nose.

Theo had fainted and hadn’t eaten for hours. So he instinctively raised his head.

“This is….”

On the table in front of him were the many dishes he had prepared a few hours ago.

The food he had carefully prepared for Lena, who must have had a hard time.

But a lot of time had passed, and it had already gone cold.

“Ah….”

Tears began to well up in Theo’s eyes as he looked at the cold food.

“Hic….”

Theo buried his face in his hands and sobbed.

He regretted everything.

He should have stopped Lena from going to the back alley in the first place.

At the very least, if he had been by her side in case something happened, the worst-case scenario could have been avoided.

‘No. If only I had been stronger…’

In fact, Theo knew very well.

Whatever the case… it was all meaningless speculation.

“Hic… I’m sorry… I’m really sorry….”

Theo kept repeating his apologies, even though he knew they wouldn’t reach Lena.

He felt so foolish for being so weak that he couldn’t protect even one precious person.

“Hic… sob….”

Theo’s sobs, which had started like that, continued all night long.

The terrible day passed.

The next day, Theo was curled up on the bed.

“Lena, what should I do?”

Whether to give up on Lena or try to do something to save her.

It was a time for decision.

Lena’s belongings were still in the house. Along with a fairly large amount of money.

It was an environment where Theo could live comfortably on his own.

But… Theo’s decision had already been made.

“…There’s no way I can give up.”

Theo wasn’t some ungrateful beast.

Even if he ended up failing, he had to try.

Lena was like an angel who had saved him from a life like a sewer.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

Theo clenched the blanket tightly, determined.

“Lena. Just hold on a little longer.”

Even at this moment, Lena was probably suffering at the hands of those guys.

Nevertheless, Theo believed. The Lena he knew wasn’t the kind of weak person who would break down like that.

“I’ll definitely come and save you.”

No matter how long it took.

No matter what it took.

**

The first thing Theo prioritized was finding out where Lena was.

He didn’t know how to save her, but it was important to know what situation Lena was in.

At first, he went to the city guard with a glimmer of hope, but the guard’s answer didn’t deviate from Theo’s expectations.

“I’m sorry. It’s difficult for us to get involved with back alley gangs. We don’t have enough manpower.”

The words that followed were even more absurd.

“Of course, if you provide sufficient compensation… we will do our best to help.”

“Ah….”

‘These trash bastards.’

Theo had to try not to spit out the curse words that rose to the back of his throat as he went outside.

In a chaotic society, the guards were as corrupt as the criminals.

“Haa….”

A deep sigh escaped from Theo’s mouth as he came out of the guard station.

‘I knew there was no one to trust anyway. I have to do it alone.’

Now, the only thing left for him was to go back.

To that place he never wanted to go back to.

“As expected… this is the only place.”

Theo, who was wearing a black robe, muttered softly in front of the back alley.

It was now a place with nothing but hellish memories.

But he had no proper connections or informants.

In the end, even if it was dangerous, he had to go into the back alley and get information.

‘…I guess I have no choice but to grab someone and test the waters.’

With that, Theo carefully began to gather information from various people.

**

Theo invested quite a bit of time, hoping for something.

But despite his efforts, he gained nothing all day long.

‘This is… like finding a needle in a haystack.’

Theo doesn’t have a device or photo with Lena’s image recorded on it.

Blonde hair down to her shoulders, blue eyes, beautiful appearance.

These were the only clues Theo could ask about.

It was difficult to get proper information with this.

Of course, he wasn’t saying he would give up already.

“It’s okay. It’s only the first day.”

Theo reaffirmed his determination and left the back alley.

However, his face, as he returned home, contained an undeniable sense of depression.

Two days after he started digging for information.

Theo finally succeeded in catching a clue.

The source of the information was a beggar begging on the street.

“Ahem… I have a few questions to ask.”

Theo lowered his voice as much as possible and asked the beggar.

“….”

But the beggar, who was covered in rags, only bowed his head as if he hadn’t heard Theo’s question.

Seeing that, Theo threw a coin into the bowl on the floor.

-Clang!

Only then did the beggar smile and raise his head.

“Ask me anything.”

“Do you know any organization that has a beautiful woman with blonde hair and blue eyes?”

“Hmm… blonde hair and blue eyes. I heard a rumor that some organization got a good quality product.”

“If you don’t know, that’s… what?”

Theo was embarrassed by the unexpected answer.

He thought it would be another wild goose chase. That’s why he wasn’t expecting much.

“Can you tell me more?”

“I don’t know exactly. I heard a rumor that a small organization called Silent Night got a top-quality product.”

“Silent Night….”

It was really great information. Moreover, the fact that it was a small organization made Theo have even greater hope.

“Then what do they do with a woman like that?”

“What a silly question. They either sell them as slaves or use them in brothels, right?”

“Slaves or brothels….”

Theo prayed that Lena had been taken to a brothel.

If she had been sold as a slave, it would be even more difficult to find Lena. If a noble was involved, there would be no answer.

“Huh. Looks like it’s someone related to you.”

“….”

Theo, who had been caught off guard, remained silent without answering.

“I can tell you’re young. I wouldn’t give information to that organization, but… you should give up. Don’t throw away your life.”

Fortunately, the beggar’s attitude wasn’t threatening.

‘I don’t know if I can trust him… but there’s nothing I can do.’

Theo calmed his pounding heart and continued.

“Thank you, but that’s my business.”

“Well… I’ll support you. You have to experience life to know.”

“Thank you for the information.”

Theo bowed his head lightly, left the beggar behind, and quickly left the back alley. And he started heading to another district of the city.

Theo immediately searched all the brothels in the night streets that were presumed to be managed by an organization called ‘Silent Night’.

He secretly climbed onto the roofs of other buildings and checked inside the windows with binoculars, or climbed up the walls and peeked inside.

It was a simple and crude method, but conversely, it was a sure method.

There were times when he was almost caught by the gang members… but Theo managed to do it.

A building that looked too antique to be a brothel.

He found Lena in a room there.

‘Th, that’s right. That’s Lena!’

Theo almost screamed the moment he found Lena.

Blue eyes. Golden hair. It was definitely Lena.

But Theo’s face quickly contorted in pain.

“It’s about time you realized your situation, isn’t it?”

“…Get lost.”

“Hehehe. It’s not bad to resist until the end.”

Lena was kneeling naked in front of a fat man.