“Don’t take your eyes off me.”

True to those words, Leo didn’t take his eyes off Belinda for even a moment.

Even when the man’s agonizing screams could be heard from behind.

Finally, as Belinda approached Leo, she cupped his head with her hands to prevent the child from turning his head.
“Kao, it’s okay to eat as much as you want, as long as it doesn’t kill him.”

With that chilling sound, the man’s screams were no longer heard.

The deserted street was instantly plunged into silence.

It was Leo who spoke first.

“Vi, Vivian is……”

“She’s fine.”

Only then did the tension leave Leo’s stiff shoulders.

The child took a step back and looked up at Belinda.

The dress that had been beautiful when they left the mansion was now a mess of mud, and her hair was half undone.

She reached out and tidied Leo’s disheveled hair.

“Ratchet, why are you in a place like this, looking like a drowned rat?”

Despite her harsh words, her touch was gentle and sweet.

Her hand that brushed against his cheek, a white marble-like hand in tattered lace gloves, was colder than his own cheek, and suddenly Leo felt a lump in his throat.

It felt as if all the tension in his body was melting away at her touch.

The anxiety he had been hiding carefully resurfaced.

“I got… lost……”

As he mumbled his answer, Belinda’s hand stopped.

Her expressionless face, impossible to read, looked down at Leo for a while.

Then, as if filled with contempt, an icy voice was heard.

“To think that an idiot who can’t even find his home would be my servant.”

Leo looked up at Belinda without showing any sign of being hurt by those words.

He couldn’t call the Blanche mansion home.

It was just… just a temporary place to stay.

But even so, Leo decided to be brave.

He wanted to trust these cold hands.

The child’s small hand tightly gripped the hem of Belinda’s dress.

At last, Leo asked.

“Is that… my home?”

* * *

Was it because of the desperate mindset that I had to succeed no matter what?

I succeeded in synchronizing with Kao, which I had never managed to do before.

Night beasts, especially magical creatures, had extremely sharp night vision.

The alley that looked like one dark mass to human eyes appeared as bright as daylight.

“With the magic stone I gave to Seedo, I can’t track the exact location, but I can narrow it down to some extent. Here, focus on searching this area first.”

With Cheshire’s help, I was able to reduce the search area.

Thanks to that, I could find Leo faster than the Rats.

Leo was huddled up in a place unfamiliar even to me.

After throwing the vermin who had tried to take Leo away as food for Kao, I hurriedly checked on Leo.

After confirming that he wasn’t seriously injured, emotions resembling frustration, exasperation, and anger surged up.

Why had he been wandering around here?

He could have at least asked people where the Blanche mansion was.

Why in a place like this……

“Ratchet, why are you in a place like this, looking like a drowned rat?”

“I got… lost……”

“To think that an idiot who can’t even find his home would be my servant.”

At my cold reply, Leo looked up at me with clear eyes.

And then he asked.

“Is that… my home?”

At that moment, it felt like all the strength left my body.

Anger, directed at no one in particular, made my mind go blank.

My breath caught, and I could clearly see the child trembling with anxiety.

“They said I’m Lady Belinda’s weakness….. But is it okay for me to be there?”

Slowly, without rushing, I tried to recall Belinda’s way of speaking.

I carefully chose my words to ensure my emotions didn’t show.

“Nothing can be a weakness to me. So, such thoughts……”

Ah, I wanted to speak calmly.

It feels like oil is boiling inside me.

Leo’s words poured water on it, leaving my insides completely scalded.

Unable to bear the pain, without considering how my words would come out through the translator, I shouted recklessly.

“Never think such stupid thoughts again, and if you get lost in the future, say it straight out. Tell them to take you to Belinda Blanche of the Blanche family, even if you have to shout at the top of your lungs!”

Startled by my sudden outburst, Leo stared at me blankly.

Moisture began to well up in his eyes, which had been cloudy as if overcast with dark clouds.

Leo bit his lower lip hard, struggling to hold back his tears.

Shedding tears silently, he whispered.

“I’m sorry.”

I knelt on the ground to meet Leo’s eye level.

Although my skirt was completely soiled with mud, even if thorns had been laid before this child, I would have willingly knelt.

And I hugged Leo with all my might.

Filled with affection that couldn’t be expressed in words, as if he were the most precious thing in the world.

A heart wandering with nowhere to go.

Not lost, but the helplessness of having no place to go.

The isolation of having nowhere to shelter from the rain except under the awning of an unfamiliar shop.

I understand all of that.

Because I was once such a child.

Perhaps because such a child grew up to become an adult.

I was still so inadequate.

To think I couldn’t even create a proper place for this small child to live.

Patting the child’s small back, I whispered gently.

“That’s right, Ratchet. It’s your fault.”

It’s not your fault.

“So as punishment, I’m going to feed you lots of desserts. I’ll keep feeding you until you’re too full to sleep. That way, you won’t say such stupid things again.”

Let’s eat desserts sweet enough to forget today’s events.

I’ll teach you that some painful memories can be forgotten with just a spoonful of sweet sugar.

So that you don’t learn about such a life too late, I’ll show you right now.

Only then did Leo cling to me and burst into tears.

“Hic, waaah, I’m, I’m sorry for being stupid.”

“Don’t call yourself stupid. I’m the only one who can call you stupid.”

“Hic, sniff, y-yes, waaah.”

Leo cried in my arms for a long time, unable to stop.

After crying his heart out, gasping for breath, Leo started to doze off as soon as he got into the carriage, seemingly feeling at ease.

As he kept bumping his forehead against the carriage door, unable to stay awake, I carefully cradled his head and laid him down.

Leo stirred for a moment, then soon fell fast asleep using my lap as a pillow.

I covered him with the blanket I had placed under the carriage seat, then held the sleeping child’s hand tightly, just like that day when he had a nightmare.

I held his hand worried that he might have nightmares because of today’s events, but the small warmth of our touching hands actually reassured me.

As I gazed down at Leo’s face, sleeping peacefully like a young beast, a light weight settled on my shoulder.

“It’s cold.”

Sir Penadel, sitting across from me, had draped his coat over my shoulders.

‘We’re inside the carriage.’

I smirked at Sir Penadel’s words, which were consistently the same due to his lack of adaptability.

I fiddled with his coat before leaning back against the seat.

Fortunately, we had safely found Leo and also successfully rescued Vivian.

Thinking we had overcome a major hurdle, an overwhelming fatigue washed over me.

But it’s not over yet.

Isn’t the root cause of all this still wandering around freely?

‘I need to gather at least some information about Sybel.’

Right now, I don’t know anything.

But ‘Belinda Blanche’ wouldn’t be in the same position, would she?

What I needed now was information.

“I’m a bit tired.”

Muttering that, I pretended to close my eyes and summoned the quest window.

After confirming that a new reward had been updated, I inwardly murmured ‘obtain’.

Then, a familiar dizziness enveloped my entire body, and a comfortable darkness descended upon me.