episode_0048

Fifteen years ago, in the southern coastal city of Marcelle, a slum that reeked of poverty as much as the horrible stench of fish skin and entrails that had piled up and stuck to the floor of the fish market for years. Even in this cramped, dirty, hellish place where crime was commonplace, life was born.

These poor siblings, who were born into this world without a single drop of blood between them and without receiving their parents’ blessings, and who were bound together by the commonality of not even inheriting their last name, were clearly born with all the misfortunes of this world. However, since they had never experienced even a small reef of hope apart from each other’s existence, they did not question all the irrationality surrounding them, to the point where they considered themselves to be fish struggling in a sea of pain from the beginning.

To them, life was defined as not dying but being alive and being able to wake up together the next morning, and they would do anything to achieve this. The siblings learned early on how to look pitiful to others, and how to quickly run away with the contents of their pockets while they were distracted, and how to quietly find a place where they could fill their bellies together so that other children in similar situations would not steal their profits that day. On days when things didn’t go well and they had to go to bed hungry, they became each other’s pillows, and on days when one of them was lucky enough to find a piece of fish with a lot of flesh left on, which a clumsy fishmonger had cut off, they always shared their joy with each other.

The sea is often called the source of all life. It is the charm of the sea that has drawn not only unfortunate people like the siblings, but also greedy merchants and nobles from wealthy families who are interested in goods flowing in from the continent across the sea to this tangled port city.

Cloche Songrad. A noblewoman who held a large estate in the southeastern region, she wore high black heels to keep her distance from the filthy streets of Marcellep, and purple stockings that were too flashy to be noticed if any sewage was splashed. The fact that she had not told anyone about this trip and had accompanied only a minimal number of attendants seemed to foreshadow that the purpose of her visit was not pure.

Having grown up in abundance, having inherited all the wealth and power from her parents, she had nothing in common with her siblings from the slums whose lives were marked by tragedy. However, unlike the clan of Cloche, where chaos arose simply because she stepped out for a moment, the fact that the young siblings could disappear from Marcelep that day and no one would remember them created their relationship.

“Let’s do it with those kids.”

With a single gesture from Cloche, the attendants approached the sleeping brother and sister. Their thin bodies, emaciated by poor nutrition, were lifted up with ease and placed on the carriage. By the time they woke up and were locked in a narrow metal cage, wary as stray cats, the carriage had already left Marcelep.

***

Back to the present.

“… … Son-Grad is a demon in human skin. Compared to him, a group of thieves who kill people for a few pennies are more innocent. When he shows up outside that demonic fortress, that’s the opportunity. We have to get rid of him right now. ”

Memer’s shoulders began to tremble as he poured out his unpleasant and horrifying story, and as soon as he finished speaking, he clenched his fists to try to calm his nerves a little. Sir Dice made an expression of disbelief.

“That can’t be true. This is the first time I’ve heard of this. The Songrad I know is a frugal person who loves his family.”

Before Sir Dice could finish speaking, Memer glared at her menacingly.

“… … How do you think I know all this?”

Before anyone could respond, Memer let the shoulder straps of his top slip down his arms, revealing his bare back.

“… … … !”

“Eek… !”

The ebony skin was incongruous with the pink scars that connected in a bizarre shape. From the savage scars that looked like the claw marks of a wild beast to geometric patterns that were clearly carved by someone with intelligence. Except for the small numbers of unknown meaning carved under the shoulder blades, the scars were unrecognizable at all, and just looking at them made one feel something like an indescribable madness, leaving those who were looking at his bare skin speechless. The princess, whose nausea went beyond discomfort, covered her mouth.

“And, and… … .”

Ray carefully approaches him and puts his clothes back on. Memer glances at the audience’s reactions and then quietly mumbles. It’s as if he desperately hopes that what he’s about to say has never happened in the first place.

“… Son-Grad is the one who killed my only sister. If there had been any reason to beat that child to death, I would have tried to understand that evil woman’s atrocities to some extent, but simply because I felt bad, I beat her so much that my body, which hadn’t even fully grown, could not bear it. That poor child, who was my whole world, the only light in my painful and cursed life.”

Memer bites his lip and stops talking. He turns his face away from anyone, but judging by the shaking of his shoulders, his emotions are running high.

“Let me tell you a story. Don’t you think you shouldn’t make hasty emotional judgments?”

Dice Sir rises from his seat.

“… I’ve waited for over 10 long years. How can it be rash to execute that abominable demon?”

Memer’s voice trembles as he stares at the floor.

“But… didn’t they say they were taken prisoner at the bandit camp? I don’t know how it happened, but it must have been painful for them to come to this point… … Can’t you consider it as paying a little bit of the price for the sins they committed against you and your sister? Can’t you ask for just one more moment of the generosity you showed to me and the princess? ”

As for Dice, there were still many things he had to talk to the Songrad family about. He had to inform them of Uriel’s misdeeds in the palace and ask them to protect the princess who had escaped with him. The story that came out of Memer’s mouth was certainly shocking, but he firmly believed that the Songrad that remained in his memory was absolutely not a person like that, and that there had been some kind of misunderstanding.

“I started this job to prevent any of those guys from destroying the future of the children growing up. There are things that need to be eliminated, even if they aren’t bandits. That’s the end of the story. Take me to the mother and daughter.”

Memer gives Sir Dice a cold look and turns away. The scout who had been standing awkwardly starts running ahead of Memer, and Ray follows him with a worried expression.

“Let’s go together!”

Ray felt a pang in his heart. Maybe it was because he was the one who watched investigative programs every day, drinking cheap snacks and beer in a desolate house without a wife or children, and whenever he came across a story about a heinous crime similar to Memer’s, he would shed tears and swear. After hearing the story of Memer, whom he had thought to be a man whose inner thoughts were incomprehensible, he had no idea what to say to comfort him.

“Did you say mother and daughter? The daughter is definitely Teria. Who would have thought that those two would appear before my eyes again in the ridiculous form of prisoners?”

Memer asked the scout in a much more calm and collected voice. Ray couldn’t tell whether he was being controlled more by reason or emotion at the moment.

“Ah? No… . We brought not two, but three. They are young twin sisters. Teria is definitely… her mother’s name. ”

Memer stopped dead in his tracks at the scout’s words, and Ray, who was following behind, almost bumped into him because of it.

“Mother… … ?”

Three mothers and daughters tied up with ropes appear in front of Memer, supported by the hands of the agents. They had thought they had been rescued, but they were dragged to a place like this again, and their expressions were filled with anxiety. They pressed their bodies closer to each other and walked hesitantly.

“What happened to Cloche?”

Memer leans back and asks a question with his legs crossed. When the name is mentioned by a stranger, a woman named Teria raises her head.

“My mother… passed away a few years ago.”

Memer frowned at her answer. He seemed more offended by the fact that she didn’t recognize him than by the content of her words.

“… … Really? Then next question. What happened to that great fortress and why are you here now? This place is your execution ground. ”

Teria’s eyes waver. The little twin sisters burst into tears and bury their faces in their mother’s arms.

“Please, spare the children…! We were invaded by a large number of bandits going to Songrad. We offered to give them everything we had, but they were stubborn. They brought siege weapons, broke through the walls, killed people, and even set fire to them. In the end, we lost everything and were left wandering with only our lives. That’s all! ”

After hearing Teria’s words, Memer leaned forward,

“Jackie… … .”

And he mutters.

***

About a month after being taken to Songrad, the older sister of Marcelep’s siblings discovered a boy crying loudly in an iron cage that looked exactly like the one they had been taken in.

“Where am I? Let me out. My little brother hates cold and dark places!”

A dark-skinned boy who looked to be around his age, and a smaller boy squatting next to him, his eyes filled with anxiety.

“Shh, if you make a noise, he might get angry again. What’s your name? My name is Jackie.”

“Who’s coming? My name is… Memer.”