Lars had no intention of answering Yanken’s question because he was organizing his thoughts. He was recalling Nina’s reaction when talking with Lucienne.

According to her, harming Lucienne now would be like scratching a wound and making it worse for Nina. Laurel’s death and Lucienne’s death would have different meanings to Kirhin. Also, since Lucienne’s outing was sudden, there wouldn’t have been time to prepare for a kidnapping.

Balshwin?

No. He wouldn’t gain much by kidnapping Lucienne rather than Kirhin or Lars. Besides, if it were him, he wouldn’t have chosen such a clumsy, conspicuous method. It would have been much smoother. There was nothing to gain from causing such an uproar throughout the district.

“Clumsy?”

“What?”

Yanken retorted with an aggrieved voice to his low muttering, but Lars gestured toward a passing carriage. Watching him quickly board before the carriage even stopped, Yanken heaved a deep sigh.

“Hey, wait!”

Yanken grabbed the handle of the departing carriage and hurriedly hoisted his heavy body up. His eyes showed dissatisfaction as he looked at the commander who was still lost in thought, but it was useless. All he could do was shake his head while recalling the face of the troublesome girl.

* * *

The butchers’ district was brighter than ever before. Usually at this hour, not a speck of light penetrated the area, with nothing to be heard except occasional curses from passing drunkards, but today was different. People carrying torches were wandering around here and there.

Lars hardened his gaze as he watched the Bickman household servants forcing butchers to kneel while asking the same questions repeatedly. The butchers’ eyes were filled with fatigue, anger, and indignation. There was no way proper information would come out.

“It’s all useless, I tell you. What would these animal-slaughtering fellows know? Maybe the smell just got on her clothes.”

“These buildings are all falling apart anyway, why not just set them on fire and burn everything down? Then instead of the stench, there’d be only the delicious smell of barbecue, right?”

Someone’s words were met with giggling.

“That’s a brilliant idea. People could feast until their stomachs burst!”

The bearded man kneeling before them grimaced. As he was about to stand up, unable to bear the humiliation, Lars intervened, blocking him.

“And what if the young lady you’re looking for burns up too?”

“What?”

“Then it wouldn’t just end with death.”

The man with an alcohol-soaked face turned to look at Lars and hiccupped. The beautiful green eyes seemed to hold a knife, as if they might cut him down at any moment.

“Why are you picking a fight over a joke? Who are you anyway?”

“L-let’s back off. We should search over there instead.”

One was out of his mind, but the other still had some reason left. Following his survival instinct, he pulled his friend away and slipped out of the place. Lars kept his eyes on them until they were far away, and then heard a voice filled with resentment.

“Make them pay for my father’s cart, those damned bastards! Just because they work for a noble family, do they think they’re nobles too? If we cut open their insides, they’d look exactly the same as mine!”

“Enough. Stop it.”

The bearded man stood up. He appeared to have a solid build despite his short stature and gave a nod of greeting. Lars glanced at the boy with a fierce look on his dirty face and asked,

“Was your cart broken?”

“Someone stole it. And they just dumped the loaded pigs and ducks carelessly on the ground! I bet it was those guys doing it out of spite. Cursed bastards.”

The boy spat vigorously. One of Lars’s eyebrows rose.

“Does that happen often?”

“No! People here never handle meat carelessly. It’s food for someone to eat and merchandise for us to sell. If it rots, there’s no point in having slaughtered the animals. People think we swing our knives without any emotion, but that’s not true!”

The boy’s face turned red as he vented his indignation. Lars’s eyes formed sharp lines as he watched the man comforting his son.

“Where did you park the cart?”

“Behind my shop’s back door. It’s in the alley next door. I use a gray flag with a triangular pattern.”

The man responded calmly to Lars’s courteous tone. After a moment of silence while looking into the distance, Lars spoke,

“Are there any uninhabited or isolated houses around here? Within a distance where someone could pull a cart?”

“There are quite a few empty houses, but they’re all packed together……”

As the man blinked in confusion, the boy beside him raised his hand excitedly and said,

“There are some behind the slaughterhouse, in the forest. Abandoned huts or storage sheds for rarely used tools. Normal people don’t go there because they think it’s bad luck. That’s where we burn the rotting entrails and parts. Could our cart be there?”

Between Lars’s fingers, which he had put into and taken out of his pocket, shone a coin. He held it out to the boy and quietly met his eyes.

“Consider this payment for your cart. But don’t think about following us. It could be dangerous.”

The boy’s eyes widened at his definitive statement. Somehow, the coldness reflected in those green eyes up close made his body tense with nervousness. The boy swallowed hard and asked in a subdued voice,

“Why are you giving us money? It’s not like you stole our cart.”

“All things in the world are connected. Even if I can’t explain it.”

The boy, who had received the coin without thinking, looked back and forth between his father and Lars. After giving a light greeting to the man and boy, Lars signaled to Yanken. The two disappeared as if being sucked into the dark alley. It happened in an instant.

* * *

After dry heaving several times, I finally collapsed on the floor from exhaustion. My whole body was drenched in cold sweat. It was becoming increasingly difficult to breathe.

Judging by my loosened wrists, I didn’t have much time left, but I had no strength to get up again. I belatedly noticed the incense burner I had knocked over and extinguished.

It would have been better if I’d put it out earlier.

Gritting my teeth, I sat up again, and my head spun. As I twisted my head to place my wrists against the pickaxe again, I thought I heard footsteps in the distance. I hurriedly rolled my body.

With a rattling sound, the door swung wide open. More than anything, the fresh air blowing in forcefully was most welcome.

My shrunken lungs inflated as if about to burst. Troy looked down at me gasping for breath and grinned. He reeked of alcohol, as if he had poured it all over himself.

“Your jewels were quite useful, miss. I liked them so much I brought this.”

Outside it was still dark. It was definitely an isolated place with no houses visible nearby. Only forest.

“Here, eat. Don’t be shy.”

Troy dropped what he was holding in front of my face. They were candies made of sugar and flour, but I was in no state to look at anything sweet, so I kept my mouth firmly shut. I didn’t even want to smell them.

Ignoring my reaction, Troy staggered in and sat on a chair. I watched with narrowed eyes as he fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a booklet.

“So. What can I do with this ledger?”

……She left it with your lover!

I sighed involuntarily in exasperation. I resented Laurel anew, thinking it would have been a hundred times better to give it to me rather than entrusting it to this man who lacked normal judgment, but it was already in the past. Struggling to hold onto my foggy consciousness, I began speaking calmly.

“You can do whatever you want. You can pay off your debts, and if you want drugs, you can get those too. I’ll help you do that.”

“Will you bring Laurel back to life too?”

“What?”

Troy giggled as if my blank response was amusing. He waved the ledger in his hand and said,

“You said you could make anything I want happen. Then bring Laurel back to life. I can’t live without her. Not for a moment! Cannot! Live!”

My ears rang from his sudden shouting right in my face. When I frowned, Troy let out a wild cry and kicked away the candies rolling in front of him. Dust rose. With arms spread wide, Troy shouted as if he were on stage,

“Behold. How despair comes and burns my body. I am blessed by the devil, so ignorant lover, your hope is but a fleeting moment!”

Fortunately, with the door open, my mind was clearer than before despite the dust. Clear enough to feel the excruciating pain in my wrists. I twisted my wrists with all my might.