episode_0131

The man was now sitting up.

Of course, it wasn’t a comfortable position. He was tied tightly to the chair. His arms were tied behind his back, his legs were tied to the legs of the chair, and a strap passed across his chest and was tied to the back of the chair. If the man wanted to, he could probably struggle to get out. But even if he tried, he’d probably just fall over sideways.

Like all the furniture and decorations in the room, even the chair the man was sitting on was of high quality. It would not break even if it were toppled over.

“The royal family knew.”

I repeated the last thing the man said.

“What does that mean?”

“Literally.”

Blood was flowing from the man’s face. When I saw his face directly, the memory came back much more clearly. The man’s face with a monocle. A distinctive mustache, and a well-groomed hairstyle. Of course, the clothes he was wearing were different from then, just a shirt with the sleeves rolled up and pants.

The man’s nose was crooked to the side. It looked like it had been broken when he hit his face hard on the floor earlier.

Judging from the fact that he answered my questions obediently, it seemed like he thought I was asking him these questions simply because I was a member of the royal family.

It couldn’t be helped. This person had never even seen my face. At least not since I turned back time.

“The Imperial Family must know, right? In the islands and other cities… …there are places that sell drugs and people. ”

I heard a small groan and turned around to see Mia Crowfield with a pale face. Judging from the way she was leaning against the wall, it seemed like she wasn’t in a position to stand comfortably.

But Alice wouldn’t let her out of the room.

I think you should hear it here.

That’s why I asked from the beginning and brought you here.

Besides, Mia Crowfield didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving yet. She was barely standing, leaning against the wall, but her eyes were looking straight at the man.

“The nobles are also all turning a blind eye. If you don’t challenge their authority, and if you don’t harm their territory, they… … didn’t bother to catch us. It’s easier to control them if they gather in a place they can see, rather than hiding and moving around in a place they can’t control. ”

That’s how relationships become intertwined.

“But His Majesty the Emperor would never have given his direct permission. Unlike some nobles.”

“… … .”

But the man didn’t make any more excuses in response to my answer.

It was like covering one’s eyes and pretending not to see. The orphanage I was in was under Lucas’ surveillance. If Lucas had wanted to, he could have killed the orphanage director and taken all the children away. But Lucas didn’t bother to do that. And the emperor didn’t give Lucas the order to save the children…

… … No, wait a minute.

“In the system, what position were you in?”

At my words, the man looked up at me intently. It was as if he was asking if I had come looking for him without knowing that.

I felt like just punching him in the face, but I held back and waited for an answer to come back.

“I was just a middleman. I bought the items that the orphanages ordered and sold them to those who were too busy to go around to the orphanages.”

“… … .”

I looked back at Alice. Alice nodded with a stiff face.

Alice said that she had been manipulated from above and had come down here.

This man is just an ordinary man. He pretends to have a gentlemanly expression and speaks in a way that seems easygoing, but the people who actually buy and use the goods are nobles, and this man is just a distributor who receives orders and… …buys raw materials, processes them, and sells them.

That ‘thing’ might have been there when I was a child, or it might have been a drug.

But then.

If that’s the case… … then the orphanage this man visited was just one of many orphanages.

Then, why was Lucas guarding that ordinary orphanage? If the Emperor had not intended to destroy the organization itself, Lucas would not have been guarding the orphanage.

“Sylvia.”

Suddenly, I came to my senses when I heard Alice calling me.

“Are you okay?”

Even though he was asking that, the expression on his face was one that told me he knew I wasn’t okay.

It wasn’t okay. But it wasn’t because of this guy. I felt bad, and I thought it wouldn’t be bad to kill him right away, but there was a bigger problem that came to mind.

If Lucas was looking at the orphanage on purpose, no, of course I thought he would have been after something from the orphanage—

If the reason Lucas was there was to find ‘Claire’.

There must be a reason Lucas chose me over Claire.

And the emperor saw me brought by Lucas, and judged me to be ‘something’.

The ‘something’ that the Emperor was ‘looking for’.

How was it in the original?

Claire, who was barely holding on in a terrible environment, eventually awakened her powers under extreme stress and caused a huge fire. The cause of the fire was a lamp, but it was Claire’s natural talent that allowed her to escape the huge fire without a single scratch.

In the original, Lucas sought out Claire after seeing her talent.

In the original, after Claire sacrificed herself for Alice, the Emperor’s plans began to fall apart rapidly.

In the original, there are several hints that there may be some secret behind Claire’s birth.

So, what about here?

Here, Lucas saw my talent and found me.

If so, then that is a mistake. There is no secret of birth for me. In the first place, such a thing does not even exist.

What did the Emperor mistake me for to accept me?

“Sylvia?”

Alice called my name again cautiously.

I looked at Alice’s face.

It’s a face I’ve been seeing for the past 10 years. From when I was very young until now.

That’s probably why Claire sacrificed herself for Alice. For Alice, who was like her sister, with whom she fought and bickered every day.

If so, if.

In this world, what would happen if I sacrificed myself for Alice?

If Claire is still alive, the story will proceed similarly to the original.

… … Why didn’t I notice this until now? I knew that Lucas had taken Claire there, and that there were other orphanages besides that one. I had even asked myself similar questions so many times. Why now?

*

“So, what happened here?”

After the man was dragged out, Mia Crowfield came hanging on and asked.

“What kind of person is that guy? What does he have to do with my father… … .”

Yeah, there was this problem too.

“Mia, please sit down for a moment.”

There were still no knights in the room. We were the only ones in the room.

The place Alice had given permission to was not where the man had been sitting until just now, but the bed. There wasn’t any blood on the chair or anything, but it seemed like she was reluctant to have him sit in the place where the criminal had been held captive until just now.

Of course, this bed was also used by a sinner.

“That man… …sold stuff to your father, that is, the Earl of Crowfield… …and also… #◦

“Things?”

Even if it was Mia Crowfield, if you heard the previous conversation, you would be able to vaguely recall it.

Maybe it was because she didn’t want to believe it. She asked us as if she didn’t know anything.

“… … Children. On the other hand, opium must have been something they were selling here.”

Alice hesitated for a moment and then answered.

Mia Crowfield’s face went blank. It was a face that seemed to have been drained of all emotion.

“… … No.”

After standing there for a while, she muttered.

“No!”

And the words grew louder little by little.

“No, Dad, Dad, there’s no way!”

The eyes that had been blankly open became sharp again. It was the sharpest face I had ever seen of Mia Crowfield, even including the face before time was turned back.

“You, the honor of our dead father—”

“… … pupils.”

I opened my mouth just as Mia Crowfield was about to get up from her seat.

“Do you remember your father’s eyes?”

“… … .”

I looked up at Mia. She still had a confused expression on her face.

“Have you ever seen the pupils shrink like dots?”

Mia’s mouth opened slightly.

I have seen it. Every time I looked into the count’s face, his pupils were as small as dots. I have never seen their size change.

Pale face. Thin body. Dark circles under the eyes. Bloodshot eyes and small, dot-like pupils, like someone who hasn’t slept for days.

Even in the dark, in this gloomy room, his pupils were as small as dots.

“These are the eyes of a person who is on drugs. The pupils continue to contract even in the dark.”

“Ah, father… … just worked hard for the land… … .”

“Do you really think so?”

To my question, Mia Crowfield looked up at me without saying anything.