Looking at the back of the child's hand, where the wound from the fruit vendor had completely disappeared.
“Like this apple.”
The man grabbed another apple from the stand and rolled it in his hands.
And when he took a big bite of the apple, the sweet juice spread into the man's mouth.
Everyone who was watching that scene thought.
The child who catches the eye of that gentlemanly man will soon find good luck.
Just like the fresh apple juice that the child tasted for the first time, the life that would unfold for the child would be as sweet as honey.
But that was everyone's mistake.
From the moment he met that nobleman, the child's real misfortune began.
The child's life was more bitter and sour than the weeds growing on the road.
Cold winter.
In the basement, which had only one small window above, a child was huddled together as if trying to fight off the cold.
The child thought as the biting cold enveloped his body.
He thinks the garbage dump he used to stay in would have been a little warmer.
It did smell a little, but there were a few old blankets piled up in the small shack where the child was staying.
If you add something like a wooden box to block the wind, the bitter cold can be endured somehow.
Unlike other shacks, in this place filled with damp air, the only thing the child had to rely on was a thin, damp, worn-out sheet.
It's already been two years since he came here following a strange nobleman.
At first, the nobleman was very kind to the child.
A warm bed and delicious food he'd never tasted before.
Like the warmth of a fireplace in a room, it seemed as if it would warm up the child's cold life.
But that was only for a moment.
<The power hasn't been manifested yet?>
<Yes. Perhaps because he is still young, he can only heal himself and cannot heal others. This is because his powers are not fully exerted when he is young.>
<Until he gains power, he is no different from a carnivore.>
<First, lock him up in a place where no one knows him. Then, all we can do is wait until his power is manifested.>
The nobleman changed his attitude towards the child as if he was turning over the palm of his hand after talking to the councilman who was experimenting with the child's blood.
His polite expression was gone, and he shouted at the child with a face like a demon.
And he took away everything he had given to the child.
A cozy blanket that gently wraps his body, warm and delicious food, and even a warm room with a fireplace.
The nobleman took away the shelter he had given to the child and abandoned the child in the basement.
Then he gave him just enough food to keep him breathing.
In the summer, the damp, muggy air tormented the child, and in the winter, the bitter, teeth-chattering wind tormented the child.
But what scared the child more than anything else was...
“Now it is time for the power to be manifested.”
The doctor, who had drained all the blood from the child's arm, sat up.
“If there is no change this time, the Count will not stay still. Well, it doesn’t matter since it’s not easy to die anyway.”
Once a week.
The doctor took blood to test the child's powers.
After the blood was drawn and some time had passed, the child became the target of the man who had brought him there to vent his anger. No matter how much he beat the child, his body quickly recovered.
Men sometimes laughed at children, calling them indestructible dolls.
The child crouched in a corner, his body trembling as the man's laughter echoed in his ears.
He thought that if he lay down like this, he might get hit a little less.
How much time has passed like that?
The basement door opened with the sound of someone coming down.
But something was strange.
Unlike the angry footsteps that had been heard until now, as if unable to overcome their anger, light and cautious footsteps echoed through the basement.
Even though the sound of footsteps has stopped, he doesn't feel any pain.
Only then did the child realize that something was different than usual and turned around.
Then, in front of the child was a little girl.
A girl wearing shabby clothes, just like the child.
She had dark green hair that didn't suit the winter.
A girl like a midsummer forest, bathed in warm sunlight.
The child blinked and stared blankly at the girl as if she was curious.
Then the girl frowned and asked.
“...What are you?”
The intruder who had entered this place without permission was not a child but a girl, but that did not seem to matter to the girl.
She was just curious about the child who was trapped alone in a place like this.
“Why are you locked up here alone? What’s your name?”
“...”
But the girl muttered as she watched the child, who only shrugged his shoulders and did not respond when asked his name.
“It doesn’t have a name. That could be the case...”
The girl, who was observing the child's behavior and surroundings, made various definitions on behalf of the child.
“I’ve heard rumors that Count Gott is mentally unstable, but to leave a child alone in a place like this?”
Strictly speaking, he wasn't locked up.
The security was so lax that a girl was able to come in like this, and the door was open.
Despite this, the child had no intention of leaving this place.
Even if he went out, it was obvious that he would freeze to death or starve to death.
“Moreover, your eyes are red?”
The girl's voice faltered as the child's red eyes were revealed through his hair.
“An unpleasant color.”
The girl seemed to dislike the color of the child's eyes.
The child shrugged his shoulders at the girl's slightly fierce gaze.
Then the girl let out a low sigh, perhaps thinking that the child was scared because of her.
“Because my hair color isn’t blonde.”
The girl, who had been muttering so quietly that only she could hear, asked the child.
“Did Count Gott imprison you here? Because your eyes are a peculiar color.”
This was the annex of the workhouse, where the Count Gott was the director. Originally, it was a special area where only the caretakers and nobles who supported the workhouse were allowed to enter.
However, the girl staying at the workhouse was often able to enter the annex to run errands.
Then, today, she happened to find this basement and met a child.
The girl was so curious about this meeting that she started listing things about the poorhouse, starting with the director, Count Gott.
So, instead of just standing here like this, she said to think about running away. She also added some advice.
The child didn't understand more than half of what the girl said.
But since no one had ever spoken to him like that before, the child didn't find this time too bad.
The girl also seemed to like the child, who listened to her stories well, and she opened her bundle of stories one by one.
How much time had passed like that? The girl, who had been chattering to herself for a while, got up from her seat as if she had realized something.
“I think I’ve been here longer than I thought. I might get caught if I keep doing this. Well then, I’ll be going now. If I don’t go back now, I’ll arouse suspicion.”
The boy who didn't hate the girl who was kind to him grabbed the hem of the girl's clothes and hung on.
“Are you telling me not to go?”
This time, the child nodded as he understood what the girl was saying.
The child was lonely.
He could never get used to being left alone in the darkness without any light.
But contrary to his earnest wish, the girl coldly shook his hand away and answered.
“That’s difficult. Instead, I’ll come again next time.”
She added that she would bring something to eat next time she came.
The girl ruffled the hair of the child, who slumped his shoulders in response.
And just as the girl was leaving the basement, Count Gott appeared.
With a more benevolent expression than usual.
He smiled gently as if he were sharing an apple with a child.
“You’ve finally gotten your money’s worth.”
Then he started mumbling something difficult to understand.
“From now on, you just have to follow what I say.”
Then he took the child outside and washed him thoroughly.
He threw away the clothes that were stained with sweat because they hadn't been washed for a long time and changed them into stiff, good-quality clothes.
And then he took the child somewhere.
“You must not offend him. Just do as he says. If you do as he says, I will feed you plenty of delicious food.”
“...”
As expected, he didn't quite understand what he was saying, but the boy understood one thing.
Delicacy.
He definitely said he would give him delicious food.
The child nodded his head forcefully, rarely, at the Count's words.
The nobleman patted the child's shoulder as if he was satisfied with the child's attitude.
Inside the room, they arrived at.
The place was filled with warm, smoky air, unlike the basement where the child had been staying, but it also had an equally terrible smell.
And what's in that room?
“Did you bring it?”
“Yes, Count.”
“The effect will definitely be effective, right?”
He was an old man whose body was covered with disgusting boils.
“Just trust me. That boil that has been bothering you for so long will now completely disappear.”
“Yes, let’s go in quickly.”
The child was reluctant to enter the room because of the strong smell and unpleasant stares that he had never smelled before. However, the Count pushed him on the back, so he had no choice but to tremble and enter the room.
Bang.
The moment the child entered the room.
The door was locked with a bang.
The girl didn't lie.
Because whenever she had time, she would risk her life to come down to the basement to see the child.
The boy enjoyed spending time with the girl, and except when he was called by Count Gott, he would sit at the door like this, waiting for the girl to come.
“Like this apple.”
The man grabbed another apple from the stand and rolled it in his hands.
And when he took a big bite of the apple, the sweet juice spread into the man's mouth.
Everyone who was watching that scene thought.
The child who catches the eye of that gentlemanly man will soon find good luck.
Just like the fresh apple juice that the child tasted for the first time, the life that would unfold for the child would be as sweet as honey.
But that was everyone's mistake.
From the moment he met that nobleman, the child's real misfortune began.
The child's life was more bitter and sour than the weeds growing on the road.
***
Cold winter.
In the basement, which had only one small window above, a child was huddled together as if trying to fight off the cold.
The child thought as the biting cold enveloped his body.
He thinks the garbage dump he used to stay in would have been a little warmer.
It did smell a little, but there were a few old blankets piled up in the small shack where the child was staying.
If you add something like a wooden box to block the wind, the bitter cold can be endured somehow.
Unlike other shacks, in this place filled with damp air, the only thing the child had to rely on was a thin, damp, worn-out sheet.
It's already been two years since he came here following a strange nobleman.
At first, the nobleman was very kind to the child.
A warm bed and delicious food he'd never tasted before.
Like the warmth of a fireplace in a room, it seemed as if it would warm up the child's cold life.
But that was only for a moment.
<The power hasn't been manifested yet?>
<Yes. Perhaps because he is still young, he can only heal himself and cannot heal others. This is because his powers are not fully exerted when he is young.>
<Until he gains power, he is no different from a carnivore.>
<First, lock him up in a place where no one knows him. Then, all we can do is wait until his power is manifested.>
The nobleman changed his attitude towards the child as if he was turning over the palm of his hand after talking to the councilman who was experimenting with the child's blood.
His polite expression was gone, and he shouted at the child with a face like a demon.
And he took away everything he had given to the child.
A cozy blanket that gently wraps his body, warm and delicious food, and even a warm room with a fireplace.
The nobleman took away the shelter he had given to the child and abandoned the child in the basement.
Then he gave him just enough food to keep him breathing.
In the summer, the damp, muggy air tormented the child, and in the winter, the bitter, teeth-chattering wind tormented the child.
But what scared the child more than anything else was...
“Now it is time for the power to be manifested.”
The doctor, who had drained all the blood from the child's arm, sat up.
“If there is no change this time, the Count will not stay still. Well, it doesn’t matter since it’s not easy to die anyway.”
Once a week.
The doctor took blood to test the child's powers.
After the blood was drawn and some time had passed, the child became the target of the man who had brought him there to vent his anger. No matter how much he beat the child, his body quickly recovered.
Men sometimes laughed at children, calling them indestructible dolls.
The child crouched in a corner, his body trembling as the man's laughter echoed in his ears.
He thought that if he lay down like this, he might get hit a little less.
How much time has passed like that?
The basement door opened with the sound of someone coming down.
But something was strange.
Unlike the angry footsteps that had been heard until now, as if unable to overcome their anger, light and cautious footsteps echoed through the basement.
Even though the sound of footsteps has stopped, he doesn't feel any pain.
Only then did the child realize that something was different than usual and turned around.
Then, in front of the child was a little girl.
A girl wearing shabby clothes, just like the child.
She had dark green hair that didn't suit the winter.
A girl like a midsummer forest, bathed in warm sunlight.
The child blinked and stared blankly at the girl as if she was curious.
Then the girl frowned and asked.
“...What are you?”
The intruder who had entered this place without permission was not a child but a girl, but that did not seem to matter to the girl.
She was just curious about the child who was trapped alone in a place like this.
“Why are you locked up here alone? What’s your name?”
“...”
But the girl muttered as she watched the child, who only shrugged his shoulders and did not respond when asked his name.
“It doesn’t have a name. That could be the case...”
The girl, who was observing the child's behavior and surroundings, made various definitions on behalf of the child.
“I’ve heard rumors that Count Gott is mentally unstable, but to leave a child alone in a place like this?”
Strictly speaking, he wasn't locked up.
The security was so lax that a girl was able to come in like this, and the door was open.
Despite this, the child had no intention of leaving this place.
Even if he went out, it was obvious that he would freeze to death or starve to death.
“Moreover, your eyes are red?”
The girl's voice faltered as the child's red eyes were revealed through his hair.
“An unpleasant color.”
The girl seemed to dislike the color of the child's eyes.
The child shrugged his shoulders at the girl's slightly fierce gaze.
Then the girl let out a low sigh, perhaps thinking that the child was scared because of her.
“Because my hair color isn’t blonde.”
The girl, who had been muttering so quietly that only she could hear, asked the child.
“Did Count Gott imprison you here? Because your eyes are a peculiar color.”
This was the annex of the workhouse, where the Count Gott was the director. Originally, it was a special area where only the caretakers and nobles who supported the workhouse were allowed to enter.
However, the girl staying at the workhouse was often able to enter the annex to run errands.
Then, today, she happened to find this basement and met a child.
The girl was so curious about this meeting that she started listing things about the poorhouse, starting with the director, Count Gott.
So, instead of just standing here like this, she said to think about running away. She also added some advice.
The child didn't understand more than half of what the girl said.
But since no one had ever spoken to him like that before, the child didn't find this time too bad.
The girl also seemed to like the child, who listened to her stories well, and she opened her bundle of stories one by one.
How much time had passed like that? The girl, who had been chattering to herself for a while, got up from her seat as if she had realized something.
“I think I’ve been here longer than I thought. I might get caught if I keep doing this. Well then, I’ll be going now. If I don’t go back now, I’ll arouse suspicion.”
The boy who didn't hate the girl who was kind to him grabbed the hem of the girl's clothes and hung on.
“Are you telling me not to go?”
This time, the child nodded as he understood what the girl was saying.
The child was lonely.
He could never get used to being left alone in the darkness without any light.
But contrary to his earnest wish, the girl coldly shook his hand away and answered.
“That’s difficult. Instead, I’ll come again next time.”
She added that she would bring something to eat next time she came.
The girl ruffled the hair of the child, who slumped his shoulders in response.
And just as the girl was leaving the basement, Count Gott appeared.
With a more benevolent expression than usual.
He smiled gently as if he were sharing an apple with a child.
“You’ve finally gotten your money’s worth.”
Then he started mumbling something difficult to understand.
“From now on, you just have to follow what I say.”
Then he took the child outside and washed him thoroughly.
He threw away the clothes that were stained with sweat because they hadn't been washed for a long time and changed them into stiff, good-quality clothes.
And then he took the child somewhere.
“You must not offend him. Just do as he says. If you do as he says, I will feed you plenty of delicious food.”
“...”
As expected, he didn't quite understand what he was saying, but the boy understood one thing.
Delicacy.
He definitely said he would give him delicious food.
The child nodded his head forcefully, rarely, at the Count's words.
The nobleman patted the child's shoulder as if he was satisfied with the child's attitude.
Inside the room, they arrived at.
The place was filled with warm, smoky air, unlike the basement where the child had been staying, but it also had an equally terrible smell.
And what's in that room?
“Did you bring it?”
“Yes, Count.”
“The effect will definitely be effective, right?”
He was an old man whose body was covered with disgusting boils.
“Just trust me. That boil that has been bothering you for so long will now completely disappear.”
“Yes, let’s go in quickly.”
The child was reluctant to enter the room because of the strong smell and unpleasant stares that he had never smelled before. However, the Count pushed him on the back, so he had no choice but to tremble and enter the room.
Bang.
The moment the child entered the room.
The door was locked with a bang.
***
The girl didn't lie.
Because whenever she had time, she would risk her life to come down to the basement to see the child.
The boy enjoyed spending time with the girl, and except when he was called by Count Gott, he would sit at the door like this, waiting for the girl to come.
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