Chapter 5

The young knight, who had been silently listening to her explanation, now looked utterly baffled.

It seemed he was trying hard to maintain a neutral expression, but in the end, he let out a small sigh as soon as she finished speaking.

‘Well, I guess my explanation might sound a little strange…’

She couldn’t entirely blame him. But still, this bizarre event had actually happened to her!

“Hau.”

Little One broke the awkward silence. The knight, who had been staring at her face, turned his gaze to the blanket that was shifting due to Little One’s squirming and asked:

“Are you perhaps referring to a missing child report?”

“Yes! Well, you could say it’s a kind of missing child report. So, has there been one filed?”

“There hasn’t been any report about a kidnapping or a child suddenly disappearing, but there was a report yesterday about someone losing their child in the crowded square.”

Could it be this one?

Her voice rose with excitement as she asked:

“Was it a baby?”

“What kind of baby are you referring to…?”

“A baby less than a year old. One who can’t walk yet and has two teeth on both the upper and lower gums. Oh, and they have blonde hair and gray eyes.”

In other words, this one right here.

She didn’t bother to say this out loud, instead pulling the blanket down slightly to reveal Little One.

‘It’s always better to show than to explain.’

The knight seemed to understand her signal and looked at Little One’s face.

Meanwhile, Little One, who had peeked his head out, glanced at him briefly before letting out a soft “Uu” and turning his head away.

“The missing child reported was five years old. And this baby…”

The knight trailed off.

As he hesitated, staring at the back of the squirming Little One’s head, another man, who appeared to be his colleague, approached her and spoke.

This man, with a scruffy beard that made him look more like a mercenary than a knight, addressed her.

“Miss, I don’t know your circumstances, so I won’t say too much, but isn’t this a bit too much for the Saint Esna Festival, a time meant to be spent with family?”

His sudden remark made her frown slightly.

‘What does he mean by “too much”?’

All she was trying to do was find Little One’s family.

If anything, shouldn’t she be praised for doing a good deed?

She had gone through so much trouble since morning to bring Little One here!

Unaware of her thoughts, the man raised his voice slightly and added:

“Besides, this is the security office, not an orphanage.”

What? An orphanage?

The moment he said that word, she realized what he must be thinking. Startled, she shook her head so quickly it seemed exaggerated.

“That’s not it! I’m really just trying to find this kid’s parents…”

“Not it, you say? We get people like that sometimes. Those who bring children here because they can’t raise them due to personal circumstances. It’s usually obvious they’re the parents, yet they all try to lie in such clumsy ways. You’re no different, Miss. How could a baby who can’t even walk go missing?”

The man’s gaze toward her was anything but kind.

It seemed he had already branded her in his mind as a heartless mother trying to abandon her infant child.

How could this be so unfair?!

“It could be a kidnapping, not a case of going missing!”

“Are you saying I should take that to mean you kidnapped this baby? If you’re ready to confess, come over here and explain the circumstances under which you kidnapped the child.”

His tone seemed to carry an unspoken threat, as if urging her to take the baby and leave before being treated as a kidnapper.

Sure, being mistaken for a kidnapper was probably worse than being mistaken for the baby’s mother, but this was still unjust.

“Well… What if I told you that when I woke up this morning, there was a baby I’d never seen before playing next to me… You wouldn’t believe me, would you?”

She hesitated, her voice trailing off into a whisper.

It was the absolute truth, without a single lie, but even to her, it sounded like a flimsy excuse hastily made up on the spot.

The knight, who she thought might get angry or annoyed, instead stared at Little One with a serious expression, quite unlike before.

Little One, who had been curiously looking around the room, immediately buried his face in her chest as soon as his eyes met the knight’s.

“Uu.”

It seemed Little One was scared of the large knight. Seeing this, the knight spoke again with the same serious expression.

“Pardon me for asking, but… is the baby’s father not around? If that’s why you’re doing this, we’ll find a way to help you. No matter how hard things are, that baby still needs his mother, don’t you think?”

“No, that’s not it. It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine. We’ll genuinely help you.”

“No, really, it’s fine. I appreciate the thought, though. Thank you for your concern.”

She forced herself to say things she didn’t mean as she left the security office.

Behind her, she could hear the knight’s voice, offering her an utterly unwanted encouragement:

“If you ever need help, please don’t hesitate to come back!”

‘How on earth am I supposed to find Little One’s parents?’

Standing in front of the security office, she stared blankly at her surroundings.

Unlike her complicated feelings, the bustling streets, now fully alive for the Saint Esna Festival, were lively and noisy even in the morning.

Street vendors had begun setting up their stalls, and people were walking busily, likely on their way to get breakfast.

Among them, there were already a few people who had drunk too much, shouting loudly with flushed faces.

Little One, seemingly fascinated by all the sights, opened his mouth in wonder and looked around.

His tiny head and bright, curious eyes darted quickly from one thing to another.

To an outsider, it might have seemed like an adorable scene, but for some reason, she felt a twinge of irritation and lightly pinched Little One’s cheek. Just lightly, so it wouldn’t hurt.

Little One pouted his lips and looked up at her with a sulky expression.

“Because of you, look at all the trouble I’m going through.”

“Ah!”

“Now I’ve become your mom out of nowhere.”

“Mua!”

“Anyway, where is Felix? Why isn’t he here?”

Before they had parted ways, they had agreed to meet in front of the security office.

Looking back, she had found it a bit cold of him to refuse her offer to come along, but now she was grateful. 

If Felix had come with her, she wouldn’t just be mistaken for a heartless mother; they’d be mistaken for heartless parents.

“Did you find the family?”

About ten minutes later, Felix appeared and, as expected, asked the most important question first.

She shook her head weakly.

“I couldn’t find anything. No reports about a missing baby have been filed.”

“If they were planning to report it, they would’ve done it by now.”

“Maybe they don’t realize the baby is missing yet?”

This time, Felix shook his head.

“It doesn’t make sense not to notice by now.”

“Or maybe they haven’t been able to file a report yet? Maybe they’re too panicked and are out searching instead.”

But again, he firmly shook his head.

“If it were you, could you stay calm and not report it if your baby went missing?”

“Well, if I were panicked enough, I might forget…”

“I don’t think so. There are things you might forget, but this isn’t one of them. If Lindsey or Tony suddenly disappeared, I’d run to the security office first thing.”

“I see.”

With nothing more to say, she quietly looked down at Little One.

Where did you come from, Little One? Where are your parents? Don’t you miss your mother?

There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but Little One’s bright and innocent expression made it impossible to voice them.

Not that asking would yield any answers, anyway.

Felix, too, stared at Little One for a moment before offering another theory.

“Maybe the parents aren’t looking for them.”

“What do you mean? Not looking for them? You just said you’d rush to the security office if your siblings went missing.”

“That’s if they disappeared suddenly.”

She couldn’t understand what he was trying to say.

“What do you mean by that?”

“What if the parents knew Little One would disappear? Or what if they were the ones who used teleportation magic on them…”

“Are you saying the parents abandoned Little One?”

“It’s not impossible. Given the situation.”

She had only considered Little One’s sudden appearance as the result of an accident—perhaps a botched teleportation spell or incorrect coordinates.

The thought that someone, especially the parents, might have deliberately abandoned Little One hadn’t even crossed her mind.

‘Come to think of it, the knight earlier did mention that some parents abandon their children.’

For some reason, that felt uncomfortably close to home.

Even as this serious conversation unfolded, Little One remained engrossed in observing his surroundings. She hugged Little One more tightly.

‘Does Little One even know it might’ve been abandoned by his parents?’

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, she felt a pang of pity for the child and decided to change the subject.

Even though Little One couldn’t possibly understand her thoughts.

“So, what were you doing that made you late?”

She deliberately asked in a curt tone.

She had assumed he might’ve been buying something, but his empty hands suggested otherwise.

“I was booking accommodations. There weren’t many rooms left because of the festival. And since we have to consider Little One, the options were limited, but I managed to find one.”

“What kind of accommodations?”

“A room for us to stay in until the last day of the festival.”

“What do you mean, a room?”

She couldn’t understand what he was talking about.

If they were travelers on vacation, it might’ve made sense, but they were only a ten-minute carriage ride away from the Verka Academy. Why would they need accommodations?

Seeing her confusion, Felix calmly explained.

“If we can’t find Little One’s parents, we’ll have to take care of it until the professor arrives. Can you manage that on your own in the dormitory?”

“Ah… no.”

She had no confidence in her ability to handle that. Now she understood his reasoning.

Since Felix couldn’t enter the women’s dormitory, he wouldn’t be able to help her even if he wanted to.

“Alright, let’s head back to the room for now. We’ll figure out what to do next there.”

“But before that…”

Trailing off, she glanced at him hesitantly. Felix looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue.

She looked down at Little One. The oversized clothes they were wearing made it difficult for them to move around.

“We need to do something about clothes. We can’t have Little One wearing this forever.”

“That’s true.”

Felix nodded in agreement.

The two of them began walking through the streets to find a clothing store.

Fortunately, they quickly found a shop that sold children’s clothing.

With the shopkeeper’s help, they browsed the store, holding up various outfits against Little One’s body. Before she realized it, she was completely absorbed in picking out colors that suited the child.

Felix stood off to the side, arms crossed, with a bored expression.

Little One, lying in a crib meant for children, stared intently at the clothes she held up.

The shopkeeper, an older woman who looked to be about her father’s age, smiled warmly at Little One.

“Are you buying new clothes as a festival gift?”

“Ah, yes. Something like that.”

“How about this one?”

The shopkeeper held up a lemon-colored outfit that matched Little One’s hair.

Little One kicked his legs excitedly and let out a cheerful cry.

“Kyaa-ha!”

The shopkeeper chuckled at the sight.

“Oh my, do you like this one? What a beautiful smile you have. You must’ve inherited all the best features from your mom and dad. Right?”