Ch.2Special Guest (1)

After my parents died on the same day, I clearly sensed several presences nearby.

They stared at me with gazes so sharp and piercing it felt like they had needles instead of retinas. It took several seasons before I could finally identify who they were.

I had always assumed the Empress had sentenced my parents to continue a life of humiliation. But that was only half the truth. In reality, they had never once left us unattended.

Despite our fallen status, my father was the only legitimate descendant of the imperial family, and my mother had given birth to me, who carried his bloodline. If any ambitious noble family had found us and plotted something, it would have become a massive threat to the empire.

So they assigned subordinates to maintain strict surveillance. They censored countless possibilities to ensure we remained completely subdued, unable to harbor any disrespectful thoughts.

Yet even now with my mind free, two questions remain puzzling:

Despite the punishment of humiliation, why did they keep us alive at the cost of manpower and risk?

And if they wanted us alive, why did they allow us to be murdered?

I didn’t find answers to these questions until I had rendered all the surveillance personnel incapacitated.

It was a mistake. I should have at least pretended to avenge my parents. But even as they fled, I just sat quietly in that shabby house, feeling empty.

My mind was filled with corpses from that day—the debt collector’s body, my father’s body, and my mother’s body, crushed under carriage wheels, location unknown.

Becoming a blank slate with neither loss nor guilt, all I could think about were foolish questions: “What do I do now?”

How do I earn money?

How do I prepare food?

What should I do from today?

Such peaceful concerns. Perhaps because I was an ignorant fool. I don’t know what gave me the nerve to assume tomorrow would be just like today.

From far beyond where I sat motionless, voices louder than the royal guards’ thundered:

“Where is the deposed emperor’s child!”

“Gold for whoever finds them!”

“By imperial decree, a title will be granted to whoever captures them alive!”

The slum stirred at this thunderous command. Through the cracked window, a man who had been staring at me intently began to show strange desire in his eyes. Ignoring the filth around him, he strode in and reached toward me.

“Child, won’t you come with me? It’ll only take a moment…”

Though his gesture seemed kind, his hand aimed for my shoulder rather than my hand. Even a child could sense his impure intentions. I choked him with black mist, then fled my shelter and ran aimlessly.

“Found them! The deposed emperor’s child!”

“To think they were hiding inside the house all along…!”

“Our mistake for not checking. After them, quickly!”

Some complained angrily about a child remaining at the scene of ordinary people’s murders.

How could I have known? I had no idea.

I was born to parents who were cursed by others. Though they were pointed at with scorn, that man and woman were my family who raised me, my rickety fence against the world. So I didn’t know what was good or evil. No one taught me how a child who receives the world’s scorn should walk upon this earth.

Even as I ran through narrow, dirty streets, I couldn’t understand why I needed to flee. It seemed that on a day like this, people would only be happy if a despised family died completely.

Tap, tap-tap, tap!

A man in a black uniform closed the distance with nimble movements. He drew his scabbard instead of his sword and leaped. For the first time, I felt my life was truly in danger from his chilling presence.

Whoosh!

“Ugh… what is this…!”

I sprayed black mist to block his vision. Completely blinded, he lost his balance and staggered.

Clang!

The scabbard struck something nearby with a clear resonant sound. Having escaped the momentary danger, I ran endlessly. Strangely, I wasn’t out of breath. Until today, I had never run for so long, so I only now discovered my own level of stamina.

“I won’t let you escape, child of the deposed emperor!”

The man had a body as strong as if covered in plate armor. He quickly regained his balance and vision, keeping me in his sights.

“I understand now. I thought the Empress was being oversensitive to offer a title just for capturing a child, but my judgment was foolish.”

His pace accelerated steadily. The cold wind struck my face like arrows as he moved faster. Then, his scabbard flashed brightly once more.

“Physical abilities far beyond your peers and mysterious powers. It’s clear that letting you escape would create a major problem. Therefore…”

A merciless sound of air being cut rushed toward me.

“Today, I must carry out His Majesty’s judgment.”

Swish, crash!

His strike was too fierce for me to evade the flashing threat.

I felt my body float. Until the air burst from my lungs, I couldn’t comprehend what had happened to me.

Only when thick dust covered me did I realize I had been slammed into a wall.

“Cough, cough!”

As I touched where I’d been hit, footsteps approached through the dust cloud.

Thud, thud, slow and regular. The desperate concentration from earlier was gone.

His gait suggested complete confidence in his victory in this chase.

“Now, quietly accept the judgment of the new imperial family…”

Though his tone was like an adult soothing a tantrum-throwing child, his words were merciless. It was the arrogant voice of someone certain of their superiority.

Perfect carelessness. Seizing the moment to exploit his weakness took only an instant.

Swish.

Manipulating the black mist, I shaped it into a blade proportional to a child’s body. The mist, previously insubstantial as clouds, took on physical force and sharpened.

The thick dust still obscured vision. To seize this opportunity, I needed to concentrate.

Thud.

When he finally stopped before me, it was time for my counterattack. I slashed across the man’s face diagonally with my black dagger.

Slash, hiss!

“Ugh, ah… AAAAAHHHHH!!!”

His scream came late, matching his delayed realization. I darted away while he dropped to one knee.

I heard pursuit from behind, but it didn’t last long. I found it strange at the time, but his subordinates probably held him back to treat his wound.

“Haa… haa…”

So I ran and ran, escaping the district.

The vast sky and wide earth seemed to point at me, calling me an outcast.

Without knowing where to go or what to do, I had become free.

◇

A new connection came on the third anniversary of my parents’ death.

“Crazy… crazy… to suffer such humiliation from a brat like this…!”

These were the ramblings of a man who had tried to kidnap me.

He hadn’t recognized me as the deposed emperor’s child. He had simply approached a noticeable-looking child walking alone, intending to profit somehow.

“Are you going to kill me…?”

“I don’t know.”

“What kind of kid are you…?”

Of course I should kill him—even the captured man would have reached that conclusion. But strangely, I felt remarkably numb to hatred toward threats against me.

“…”

Perhaps I’d grown insensitive from receiving only hatred since childhood. If anyone had shown me affection, it would have been my mother, though half of that was twisted by her own obsessions.

Then, the man who had been desperately watching my expression spoke.

“Hey, kid.”

“Hmm.”

“Let’s make a deal, you and me.”

Deal. At that profound expression, I closed my mouth. The man, interpreting my silence as agreement, began babbling.

“You don’t seem to realize, but you’re not the kind of kid who should be living shabbily like this. You could be raking in money by the handful.”

Money!

I still keep the coin purse my mother left behind. The coins inside haven’t diminished at all. It was something she treasured.

She must have loved it because it was essential for survival. Perhaps if I had a lot of money, I could understand my mother’s feelings.

“Ha, haha. Curious about the rest of the story?”

My interest must have shown on my face. He continued excitedly.

“I can teach you. I’ll help you live lavishly without envying anyone. So please… spare me. I’m Rodrick. I’m somewhat famous in our circles…”

His pitiful gaze focused on me uncomfortably. Intrigued, I nodded. The man squeezed out tears of joy as if he’d grabbed a lifeline.

“Damn… I really thought I was going to die…”

“What do I do now?”

I trampled on his sentimentality without hesitation.

Without further explanation, he pulled a hood over my head.

“First, let’s get you a mask. Your face is too striking to show openly.”

He gave me the same assessment as my mother. I accepted his teaching and from that day on, I covered my face.

…

……

From that day forward, Rodrick took me to all sorts of underground groups. I learned then that a separate world existed, seemingly filled with filth. In that sense, Rodrick fulfilled his role as a teacher well.

We destroyed criminal cartels, gathered fugitives, and hired people with special talents.

As one incident buried another, remarkable changes occurred in my daily life.

As seasons changed, I acquired shelter to block the cold wind, and human warmth stayed by my side. A life where I didn’t have to worry about today’s meal came like early-blooming cherry blossoms.

By this time, I was already ruling over a bizarre group disguised as mercenaries.

Bringing people out of darkness into the light was difficult work, but I eventually succeeded.

Surely, that’s how it was…

“…Rodrick.”

“Wait, don’t say anything. I’m beyond bewildered—I’m completely dumbfounded.”

“No, Rodrick.”

“Please, I’m begging you. If you confirm the kill now, I feel like there’ll be no going back.”

“…”

“Those crazy bastards, do they still think they’re human traffickers? Even excessive loyalty doesn’t explain this. They’re going to get us all killed.”

“Rodrick. This is also…”

“Just wait and don’t do anything. I’ll go wring those kids’ necks first.”

“…Go ahead.”

I quietly let the fuming Rodrick go. Or rather, I had no intention of stopping him. Because experiencing the world turning completely white was truly rare.

“Ugh, who are you…? Where am I…?”

A woman’s sobbing moistened my ears. Only then did I raise my head to look directly at her.

‘Just like before.’

A woman with her vision sealed by a tightly wrapped blindfold. If only it had ended there.

“Um… excuse me…?”

Even her low-quality clothes couldn’t hide her elegance. And black like powdered obsidian colored her hair. Though her eyes were covered by the blindfold, I could easily guess their color.

‘Why…’

Facing this awkward feeling after so long, a sigh escaped me.

‘Why is the imperial palace’s precious treasure in a place like this…’

The girl who had paraded through the district on my parents’ death anniversary.

She who had waved her hand with the happiest face in the world had now arrived here on a strange wind.