Episode 140. Mark's Cry
Mark looked around in disbelief.
"What the hell is going on?"
"It's the wolf clan's doing!"
As they said, there were five claw marks on the bodies of the injured people.
"Understood. First, everyone, come in."
He opened the clinic door wide and let the patients in. The staff who were about to leave work also returned to their usual work posture.
"Amy, please triage the patients first! Line up the lightly injured in the hallway, and lay the emergency patients on the mats!"
"Yes, Count!"
"Lily, take the guardians and bring out all the supplies needed for first aid!"
"Yes, Count!"
"Thompson, prepare for the suture surgery!"
"Don't worry, Count!"
Mark quickly took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and commanded the clinic that had become a mess.
"Father! Father!"
At that moment, Mark turned around at Pauline's scream-like cry and held his breath.
What filled his pale face and wavering eyes was Jade, covered in blood, on Pauline’s back.
As soon as Mark left the operating room, Pauline quickly ran over.
“How’s Jade? Is he okay?”
“...”
Instead of answering, Mark staggered past Pauline with a blank expression.
His white shirt, face, and hands were all covered in blood.
“Father! What about Jade?”
When Pauline asked anxiously, she looked at his bloody hand and muttered as if she was groaning.
“He bled too much... I should have acted sooner.”
Pauline’s eyes filled with tears.
“Ugh! I’m sorry. I should have run faster.”
Now that he looked, Pauline was wiping her tears with the back of her hand, and one of her legs was covered in blood.
She had carried Jade on her back and run so hurriedly. Mark felt sorry for the child and hugged her tightly.
“It’s okay, Pauline. You should go and get treated quickly. Jade will live. He will live.”
Mark muttered as if he were praying and left the corridor of the clinic.
The floor was already covered in blood, and the injured people clung to him, begging for help.
However, he left the corridor and crossed the lobby, and left the clinic.
The inside of the building was a living hell filled with the smell of blood and screams, but it was incredibly sunny outside.
As the wind blew, cherry blossom petals fluttered, and the scent of unknown wild flowers and flowers spread fresh.
It was just one of those ordinary sunny spring days.
The two children had excitedly left the mansion, saying they were going on a picnic with their friends.
‘I shouldn’t have sent them back then...’
Mark, who had been standing blankly with his child’s blood all over his body, collapsed on the floor.
The child’s blood still clung to his body and was hot.
‘I should have taken them fishing instead of coming to the clinic where there were no patients.’
A flood of regrets surged through his throat, choking him. Mark, who was panting and unable to cry properly, suddenly had a thought.
It wasn’t his fault.
It was the wolf clan that made Jade like that.
A race that shared the same blood as the Emperor.
“Mark! What about Jade? You said she was badly injured?”
At that moment, he saw Adele running breathlessly across the clinic garden.
He felt that she was so worried that he hated her for some reason.
A woman who loved the wolf clan and gave birth to a wolf clan child...
It seemed that it was all her fault that the wolf clan was so active and running around.
“That child kept looking for her mother. You were the only mother Jade knew. Well, not anymore.”
“Oh my...! How bad was Jade? Is he okay?”
Mark laughed bitterly at Adele, who was sobbing and screaming.
“He has to be okay. If something goes wrong with that child, I will kill the Emperor you love with my own hands.”
“Ah, Mark!”
Adele hugged him tightly as he trembled with anger and sorrow. But he pushed her away and turned around.
It was true. Whoever touched Jade would not be left alone.
He would definitely send them to hell!
The street was like a battlefield.
The debris of broken objects, trampled food, flowers, and blood stains that had not been cleaned up were everywhere.
Everyone who was scared hid, so there was no one there.
The cherry blossom petals that had fallen on it and the red dusk that was dyed in the landscape were somehow eerie.
Christine was riding a horse and looking around the scene of the crime with Zimmer. Then, he saw a doll that had been kicked by a horse’s hoof and jumped off the horse.
The doll, which had been touched by a child’s hands, was also splattered with blood.
“Damn it...!”
Zimmer also got off his horse and approached.
“They say the wolf clan suddenly attacked. It was so fast that even the capital guard couldn’t do anything.”
Christine muttered as he carefully examined the traces that had appeared around him.
“The traces of the reckless behavior are limited to this street. Furthermore, several people moved systematically, dividing the area. It was as if they were under someone’s command, and they hurt many people in one breath. It can’t be a simple reckless behavior.”
“Are you saying this was a planned incident?”
“Probably. How many casualties are there?”
Christine, who had been examining the ground, asked as he got up.
“About 30~40 people. Two died instantly, and there are many seriously ill patients, so the death toll will continue to rise.”
“Have you caught the culprit?”
“There were four of them, and they were arrested without much resistance.”
“Are they all members of the wolf clan?”
“...Yes.”
King Rustis and his soldiers were in charge of the security of the Kingdom of Kalame.
Therefore, arresting and punishing the culprits were both their jurisdictions.
However, since the culprits were members of the wolf clan, Christine couldn’t ignore them.
“Damn it, only four.”
“People will be more wary of the wolf clan for the time being.”
Greenhill was the region with the greatest hatred for the wolf clan. Furthermore, with such an incident occurring, the atmosphere of exclusion would only grow stronger.
If this news spread to other kingdoms...
This incident would be fatal to the wolf clan as well. They would not be able to live naturally in the human world.
He had been issuing special instructions to his clan, warning them against such a situation.
Especially, those who turned into wolves and harmed innocent people were executed regardless of the reason.
But if four people did this at the same time, something smelled.
When Christine returned to the palace, it was getting dark.
Adele, who was just getting off the carriage, spotted the Emperor and his party and ran towards them.
“Your Majesty!”
When she, who was usually calm, cried with a pale and urgent face, he was suddenly frightened.
“Adele, what’s going on?”
“We need Leana! Can she save Jade?”
“Saving Jade? Is there something wrong with Jade?”
Jade was a special child to Christine, who had been watching him since he was little. His heart pounded as he thought that there might be something wrong with him.
“I don’t know. He’s still breathing... Heh, he’s alive... His body is getting colder. Heh! Mark is having a hard time! What should we do? Please save our Jade! Please!”
Adele grabbed Christine’s clothes and cried.
“Calm down, Adele. Kenny, where is Leana now?”
Kenny, who was standing behind him, answered cautiously.
“Actually, I was trying to report that. I haven’t been able to contact Miss Leana.”
“I think I gave the order to return in the morning.”
“Yes, I haven’t felt Miss Leana’s mana at all since then. The knights who accompanied her also suddenly lost track of her.”
Christine had a bad feeling.
No matter how wild Leana was, she was the type who obeyed her master’s orders.
Was she falling into Maurice’s trap as she had feared?
“I heard a rumor that Maurice is bringing the wolf clan. So I’ll investigate further to see what he’s up to.”
What Leana had said this morning also bothered him.
Today’s incident was definitely related to Maurice. And Leana’s disappearance.
“Understood. Kenny, you gather some magicians with high healing powers and go with Adele. Help other critically ill patients. And send a search party to continue looking for Leana.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Zimmer, we’re going to the Black Castle to meet the criminals.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
But when Christine arrived at the Black Castle, the cells where the criminals had been locked up were empty.
They had all committed suicide and were already cremated.
On the walls inside the cells, the following was written in blood:
[I deeply regret harming innocent people.
Apologize to the head of the clan by dying!]
As if it had been planned, all four cells had the same suicide note.
Boom!
Christine slammed his fist against the wall.
Because they smelled like they were trying to cover up the truth with death.
And the fact that they burned the body so quickly was clearly an attempt to erase the clues to this case.
Could it be that the Kalame royal family was also involved?
The more so, the more they had to find out.
Who did this and for what purpose!
The day was slowly dawning.
Even though Kenny used healing magic, Jade didn’t wake up with a pale face.
The only good thing was that the child’s breathing had become easier.
Mark didn’t know how to leave the child’s side.
A worried Adele brought him soup and snacks, but his mouth wouldn’t open.
“I’ll be here, so please rest, Mark. If you keep doing this, you’ll be the first to get hurt.”
After a while, Mark finally said in a hoarse voice.
“Go back to the Emperor, Adele.”
“No!”
“There’s nothing you can do here.”
“No, I’m Jade’s mother. I’ll keep talking to him so that he doesn’t get lost and finds his mother.”
“Stubborn.”
“I’ve heard that a lot.”
Adele pulled a chair and sat down next to Jade’s bed.
Mark sighed as if he had given up, then looked back at the sleeping face of the child.
“Do you know why I adored Aaron? When I saw Aaron, wearing a diaper and babbling, I imagined Jade when he was a baby. I left him with my parents as if I had abandoned him since my wife died.”
“That’s understandable. You lost someone you loved so much.”
Adele patted Mark’s shoulder.
“I only saw his face once every few months... and every time I did, he smiled so beautifully. The first word he learned was ‘dad.’”
Mark’s throat shook as he swallowed back tears.
“I ended up bringing him here and living with him, and I think that’s when I started to smile. That’s when I finally started to regret it. That I didn’t hold him sooner. That I couldn’t take care of him with my own hands when he wet himself, vomited milk, and whined in his sleep. If I had known he would leave so early... I would have adored him more... more...”
Adele put her arm around Mark's sobbing shoulder.
"Jade won't leave. He won't. You and I, Pauline and Aaron, are all waiting for hkm so desperately. So he will definitely come back to us. Right, Jade?"
The big man finally started sobbing like a child.
Mark looked around in disbelief.
"What the hell is going on?"
"It's the wolf clan's doing!"
As they said, there were five claw marks on the bodies of the injured people.
"Understood. First, everyone, come in."
He opened the clinic door wide and let the patients in. The staff who were about to leave work also returned to their usual work posture.
"Amy, please triage the patients first! Line up the lightly injured in the hallway, and lay the emergency patients on the mats!"
"Yes, Count!"
"Lily, take the guardians and bring out all the supplies needed for first aid!"
"Yes, Count!"
"Thompson, prepare for the suture surgery!"
"Don't worry, Count!"
Mark quickly took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and commanded the clinic that had become a mess.
"Father! Father!"
At that moment, Mark turned around at Pauline's scream-like cry and held his breath.
What filled his pale face and wavering eyes was Jade, covered in blood, on Pauline’s back.
***
As soon as Mark left the operating room, Pauline quickly ran over.
“How’s Jade? Is he okay?”
“...”
Instead of answering, Mark staggered past Pauline with a blank expression.
His white shirt, face, and hands were all covered in blood.
“Father! What about Jade?”
When Pauline asked anxiously, she looked at his bloody hand and muttered as if she was groaning.
“He bled too much... I should have acted sooner.”
Pauline’s eyes filled with tears.
“Ugh! I’m sorry. I should have run faster.”
Now that he looked, Pauline was wiping her tears with the back of her hand, and one of her legs was covered in blood.
She had carried Jade on her back and run so hurriedly. Mark felt sorry for the child and hugged her tightly.
“It’s okay, Pauline. You should go and get treated quickly. Jade will live. He will live.”
Mark muttered as if he were praying and left the corridor of the clinic.
The floor was already covered in blood, and the injured people clung to him, begging for help.
However, he left the corridor and crossed the lobby, and left the clinic.
***
The inside of the building was a living hell filled with the smell of blood and screams, but it was incredibly sunny outside.
As the wind blew, cherry blossom petals fluttered, and the scent of unknown wild flowers and flowers spread fresh.
It was just one of those ordinary sunny spring days.
The two children had excitedly left the mansion, saying they were going on a picnic with their friends.
‘I shouldn’t have sent them back then...’
Mark, who had been standing blankly with his child’s blood all over his body, collapsed on the floor.
The child’s blood still clung to his body and was hot.
‘I should have taken them fishing instead of coming to the clinic where there were no patients.’
A flood of regrets surged through his throat, choking him. Mark, who was panting and unable to cry properly, suddenly had a thought.
It wasn’t his fault.
It was the wolf clan that made Jade like that.
A race that shared the same blood as the Emperor.
“Mark! What about Jade? You said she was badly injured?”
At that moment, he saw Adele running breathlessly across the clinic garden.
He felt that she was so worried that he hated her for some reason.
A woman who loved the wolf clan and gave birth to a wolf clan child...
It seemed that it was all her fault that the wolf clan was so active and running around.
“That child kept looking for her mother. You were the only mother Jade knew. Well, not anymore.”
“Oh my...! How bad was Jade? Is he okay?”
Mark laughed bitterly at Adele, who was sobbing and screaming.
“He has to be okay. If something goes wrong with that child, I will kill the Emperor you love with my own hands.”
“Ah, Mark!”
Adele hugged him tightly as he trembled with anger and sorrow. But he pushed her away and turned around.
It was true. Whoever touched Jade would not be left alone.
He would definitely send them to hell!
***
The street was like a battlefield.
The debris of broken objects, trampled food, flowers, and blood stains that had not been cleaned up were everywhere.
Everyone who was scared hid, so there was no one there.
The cherry blossom petals that had fallen on it and the red dusk that was dyed in the landscape were somehow eerie.
Christine was riding a horse and looking around the scene of the crime with Zimmer. Then, he saw a doll that had been kicked by a horse’s hoof and jumped off the horse.
The doll, which had been touched by a child’s hands, was also splattered with blood.
“Damn it...!”
Zimmer also got off his horse and approached.
“They say the wolf clan suddenly attacked. It was so fast that even the capital guard couldn’t do anything.”
Christine muttered as he carefully examined the traces that had appeared around him.
“The traces of the reckless behavior are limited to this street. Furthermore, several people moved systematically, dividing the area. It was as if they were under someone’s command, and they hurt many people in one breath. It can’t be a simple reckless behavior.”
“Are you saying this was a planned incident?”
“Probably. How many casualties are there?”
Christine, who had been examining the ground, asked as he got up.
“About 30~40 people. Two died instantly, and there are many seriously ill patients, so the death toll will continue to rise.”
“Have you caught the culprit?”
“There were four of them, and they were arrested without much resistance.”
“Are they all members of the wolf clan?”
“...Yes.”
King Rustis and his soldiers were in charge of the security of the Kingdom of Kalame.
Therefore, arresting and punishing the culprits were both their jurisdictions.
However, since the culprits were members of the wolf clan, Christine couldn’t ignore them.
“Damn it, only four.”
“People will be more wary of the wolf clan for the time being.”
Greenhill was the region with the greatest hatred for the wolf clan. Furthermore, with such an incident occurring, the atmosphere of exclusion would only grow stronger.
If this news spread to other kingdoms...
This incident would be fatal to the wolf clan as well. They would not be able to live naturally in the human world.
He had been issuing special instructions to his clan, warning them against such a situation.
Especially, those who turned into wolves and harmed innocent people were executed regardless of the reason.
But if four people did this at the same time, something smelled.
***
When Christine returned to the palace, it was getting dark.
Adele, who was just getting off the carriage, spotted the Emperor and his party and ran towards them.
“Your Majesty!”
When she, who was usually calm, cried with a pale and urgent face, he was suddenly frightened.
“Adele, what’s going on?”
“We need Leana! Can she save Jade?”
“Saving Jade? Is there something wrong with Jade?”
Jade was a special child to Christine, who had been watching him since he was little. His heart pounded as he thought that there might be something wrong with him.
“I don’t know. He’s still breathing... Heh, he’s alive... His body is getting colder. Heh! Mark is having a hard time! What should we do? Please save our Jade! Please!”
Adele grabbed Christine’s clothes and cried.
“Calm down, Adele. Kenny, where is Leana now?”
Kenny, who was standing behind him, answered cautiously.
“Actually, I was trying to report that. I haven’t been able to contact Miss Leana.”
“I think I gave the order to return in the morning.”
“Yes, I haven’t felt Miss Leana’s mana at all since then. The knights who accompanied her also suddenly lost track of her.”
Christine had a bad feeling.
No matter how wild Leana was, she was the type who obeyed her master’s orders.
Was she falling into Maurice’s trap as she had feared?
“I heard a rumor that Maurice is bringing the wolf clan. So I’ll investigate further to see what he’s up to.”
What Leana had said this morning also bothered him.
Today’s incident was definitely related to Maurice. And Leana’s disappearance.
“Understood. Kenny, you gather some magicians with high healing powers and go with Adele. Help other critically ill patients. And send a search party to continue looking for Leana.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
“Zimmer, we’re going to the Black Castle to meet the criminals.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!”
But when Christine arrived at the Black Castle, the cells where the criminals had been locked up were empty.
They had all committed suicide and were already cremated.
On the walls inside the cells, the following was written in blood:
[I deeply regret harming innocent people.
Apologize to the head of the clan by dying!]
As if it had been planned, all four cells had the same suicide note.
Boom!
Christine slammed his fist against the wall.
Because they smelled like they were trying to cover up the truth with death.
And the fact that they burned the body so quickly was clearly an attempt to erase the clues to this case.
Could it be that the Kalame royal family was also involved?
The more so, the more they had to find out.
Who did this and for what purpose!
***
The day was slowly dawning.
Even though Kenny used healing magic, Jade didn’t wake up with a pale face.
The only good thing was that the child’s breathing had become easier.
Mark didn’t know how to leave the child’s side.
A worried Adele brought him soup and snacks, but his mouth wouldn’t open.
“I’ll be here, so please rest, Mark. If you keep doing this, you’ll be the first to get hurt.”
After a while, Mark finally said in a hoarse voice.
“Go back to the Emperor, Adele.”
“No!”
“There’s nothing you can do here.”
“No, I’m Jade’s mother. I’ll keep talking to him so that he doesn’t get lost and finds his mother.”
“Stubborn.”
“I’ve heard that a lot.”
Adele pulled a chair and sat down next to Jade’s bed.
Mark sighed as if he had given up, then looked back at the sleeping face of the child.
“Do you know why I adored Aaron? When I saw Aaron, wearing a diaper and babbling, I imagined Jade when he was a baby. I left him with my parents as if I had abandoned him since my wife died.”
“That’s understandable. You lost someone you loved so much.”
Adele patted Mark’s shoulder.
“I only saw his face once every few months... and every time I did, he smiled so beautifully. The first word he learned was ‘dad.’”
Mark’s throat shook as he swallowed back tears.
“I ended up bringing him here and living with him, and I think that’s when I started to smile. That’s when I finally started to regret it. That I didn’t hold him sooner. That I couldn’t take care of him with my own hands when he wet himself, vomited milk, and whined in his sleep. If I had known he would leave so early... I would have adored him more... more...”
Adele put her arm around Mark's sobbing shoulder.
"Jade won't leave. He won't. You and I, Pauline and Aaron, are all waiting for hkm so desperately. So he will definitely come back to us. Right, Jade?"
The big man finally started sobbing like a child.
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