INAS - Chapter 51

Marca screamed.

“We talked about our brother a while ago! Everyone said that my brother played with them a lot, read books to them, and played tag with them. Why are you lying?”

“Ugh, when did we ever...”

Although the child screamed desperately, the three witnesses just pushed him away with puzzled expressions.

The director, who had been quietly watching the scene, sighed deeply and stood up.

“Marca, stop it. You’re making things difficult for your brothers and sisters.”

“But, Director...!”

“Stop.”

The director, who had been warning Marca with a stern face, spoke to us cautiously.

“I... I’m sorry, but I wonder if we shouldn’t stop here. The kids will be embarrassed, and if this fight continues, it won’t be good for Marca’s feelings either...”

“..."

That was right.

It wasn't good for the children to continue this kind of heated argument.

But...

'Why do I feel so uneasy?'

Everyone unanimously denied it, but something didn't feel right.

However, there was no reason to continue the search any longer, so we had no choice but to get up as the director advised.

“I unintentionally caused trouble.”

“It’s a shame. It all happened because of our child.”

“Then let’s go now. As I said earlier, I trust that the fact that we came here will be kept a complete secret.”

“Of course. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

While the Crown Prince was getting the director to give her his assurance, I affectionately stroked Marca's head.

“It was nice meeting you, Marca. Eat well, have fun, and stay strong in the future.”

Marca's eyes became moist at my farewell.

When I saw the tears filling both eyes as if they would roll down if I touched them, a part of my heart felt a chill.

As I was unable to take a step, the Crown Prince urged me.

“Let’s go, Shayne.”

“...That’s right.”

Only then did I come to my senses and pat Marca's head once more before turning away calmly.

Just as we were about to leave the director's office.

"Marca!"

Suddenly there was a commotion behind me.

I looked back wondering what was going on, and suddenly I felt a heavy weight on my leg. It was Marca.

“No, my lady! My brother really exists! Everyone is lying! Please believe me!”

Marca grabbed the hem of my skirt and burst into tears.

“No, why are you crying all of a sudden... Marca, calm down for now. Let’s stop. Yes?”

As I was stamping my feet, not knowing what to do, the director came running with a frightened look on her face.

“Marca, what are you doing! How rude! Can’t you come here quickly?”

“No! If you keep going like this, I’ll be the only one who’s a liar! The liars are the director and my older brothers and sisters!”

As if I were her last resort, Marca held on tightly to the hem of my skirt and had no intention of letting go.

He had a really resentful look on his face.

“..”

I felt so sorry for that sight that I ended up making an impulsive choice.

“Can we take this child with us for a moment?”

“Huh? What do you mean by taking hi. away...?”

The director's eyes widened at my sudden suggestion.

“The child doesn’t look very well. We’ll keep him and bring him back when he’s calmed down a bit.”

“Ha, but how could we cause such trouble...”

“It’s okay. I’m doing this because I want to.”

Although the child seemed likely to have a mental illness, he had been living a normal life until recently.

But because we suddenly showed up, that peace was broken and confusion engulfed him, and I felt very uncomfortable.

'I'll feel better if I console him by buying him some snacks.'

I carefully held the child's tiny, fern-like hands.

The director's expression became unpleasant, but what could dhe do?

This is the Saintess's request.

She had no choice in the first place.

“...Then please.”

We left the orphanage with Marca, leaving the director with her head bowed deeply behind.

Even after returning to the lodging, the child still could not stop crying.

“My brother really exists! There are pictures that look exactly like this, so why are you all lying!”

The child held the drawing of the assassin we had drawn carefully and burst into tears.

Looking at that sight, questions arose again.

'Are you sure you have a mental illness?'

Despite the testimony of four people, my heart still wavered.

How can such a bright-eyed child be struggling to distinguish between the virtual and the real?

It was at that time that I was wiping away the child's tears and was lost in thought.

The child who had been crying nonstop suddenly stopped crying. Then he wiped his eyes with his sleeve and pleaded with me.

“Saintess, please take me to my brother.”

“Huh?”

When I opened my eyes wide at the unexpected request, the child grabbed my hand on the table.

“You know my brother, don’t you? You said you wanted to help him because he was being used by bad people!”

“Oh, right. But that’s...”

“Then please take me here. Once I meet my brother, everything will be revealed. That I am not a liar!”

“Hmm. That’s right, Marca... I want to do that too, but...”

I was speechless in embarrassment.

If we took the child to the assassin and talked to him as the child said, we could find out the truth, but that was impossible.

Because the assassin was currently unconscious.

'But I can't tell you the truth, it's driving me crazy.'

It was when I didn't know what to do and just stood there with my mouth wide open.

The Crown Prince, who had been staring at the child silently for a long time, finally lifted his lips.

“We don’t know where your brother is. We came here to find him.”

“...You don’t know?”

The child's expression fell as he heard that the only way to clear his name was gone.

It was at that moment that the child's eyes became tearful as if he was about to burst into tears again.

“But if you tell us what kind of person your brother was, we can compare it with the information we have and make a judgment.”

Wow, this scary human.

How can you make a comparison when you don't know a single thing about assassins?

I knew it from the time he deceived the Emperor, but he was actually a very good liar, even though he didn't look like it.

But it certainly did its job of stopping Marca's tears.

“Can you really do that?”

"Yes."

As the Crown Prince nodded, the child quickly wiped away his tears. Then as if he had never cried before, he began to excitedly explain about his brother.

“Well, my brother’s name is Evan James, and he learned swordsmanship when he was young. That’s because our father was a knight. Oh, not a famous knight order, but a mercenary knight! But he said that in his eyes, my father was the coolest. That’s why he wanted to be a knight too. But my father went to some war and died. My mother also passed away from the shock. So he couldn’t take swordsmanship lessons anymore. He said he had no money.”

The boy with the sullen expression continued speaking.

“But my brother didn’t give up. While he was at the orphanage, he continued to train himself in swordsmanship with sticks. He said he would definitely become a knight someday! Then, someone saw him and said they would adopt him. They said they would teach him swordsmanship too! That’s how my brother became a knight!”

The child raised his chin high in pride as if he was proud of his older brother who achieved his dream without giving up despite the difficult circumstances.

I was caressing the cute child's head and then I fell into thought again.

'Yeah, this kid said his older brother was a knight.'

If the assassin was really this child's older brother, there was a high chance that he lied about his occupation as a knight.

Because he couldn't possibly tell his younger brother, who was so proud of him, that he was finally able to buy him.

'But that doesn't mean we can be sure that what this child is saying is true.'

Usually boys at this age look up to knights.

He could have superimposed his ideals on his fictional brother.

At that moment, when I was still unsure, the child suddenly raised his voice.

“Saintess!”

“Uh, yeah? Why?”

Thanks to that, I woke up from my reverie and answered in a hurry. The child opened his eyes wide and glared at me.

“You don’t believe me right now, do you?”

“Huh? No? No? I completely trust you?”

I hurriedly waved my hand, but the child didn't believe me.

“Lies! You still look like you can’t believe it!”

What the heck, why is an eight-year-old so quick-witted?

I didn't say a single word of disbelief, but I have no idea where he got the inkling of my feelings.

As I blinked in surprise at the unexpected blow, the child burst into tears as if it was unfair.

“Saintess, it’s true! My brother really exists! He even uses an incredibly unique sword!”

...What?




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