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The Male and Female Leads Broke Up - Episode 11

"Why would you be dirty? You're not dirty at all."
To prove that I truly wasn't dirty, I quickly grasped ‌the Young Boy's hand ‌‌‌‌‌in mine.
Though I had held his hand moments before, his body flinched—clearly unaccustomed to such physical ‌‌‌contact.
"Let's go."
I carefully pulled the Young Boy's hand to continue our way, but he didn't budge an inch.
When I looked at him with a puzzled expression, asking why he wouldn't move, his face bore the mark of hesitation.
"What is it? Do you have something to say?"
"What's... your name?"
At his question, I nearly blurted out my real name without thinking, ‌‌‌but I caught myself and closed my mouth.
Then I recalled that during my travels, ‌‌‌I had instructed ‌‌‌Mary and William to call me Belita instead of my true name to conceal my identity, and I opened my mouth again.
"I'm Belita."
"Belita..."
Watching the Young Boy quietly turn my name over in his mind, a smile naturally bloomed across my lips.
"Shall we really go now?"
"Yes."
We ventured ‌back into the Street.
Hand in hand, each of us holding a skewer in our free hand, we walked through the bustling thoroughfare.
For some reason, it felt as though I were out on an outing with a younger brother I'd never had.
As we explored the Street, a Clothing Shop came into view.
The clothes he was wearing were terribly worn, so I had decided to dress him in new garments before taking him to the Orphanage.
Thus, I forcibly dragged the still-hesitant Young Boy inside and purchased a set of clothes that fit him well.
From the moment I first saw him, I had sensed it—the Young Boy was remarkably beautiful.
I was certain that once he grew a bit more ‌‌and his features became ‌‌‌‌sharper, he would become an extraordinarily handsome young man.
When I dressed him in new clothes of a green hue that seemed to suit his delicate beauty perfectly, his appearance shone even more brilliantly.
I completed the purchase with an expression of satisfaction, making no effort to hide my contentment.
As we left the Clothing Shop, the ‌‌‌night had grown deep.
The crowds that had filled the Street until moments before were now gradually disappearing.
It seemed everyone had returned home to rest before tomorrow's Festival.
Having completed all my tasks, I led the Young Boy toward the Inn.
We walked quietly ‌‌together in silence when ‌‌I felt a gaze watching us from behind.
And now, not only the gaze but also the ‌‌‌‌sound of footsteps was gradually drawing closer. ‌‌
When I sensed they had drawn completely near, I spun around and quickly hid the Young Boy behind my back.
"You all..."
Familiar figures stood before me.
Two of them were people I'd seen earlier, and the other ‌‌‌two were strangers.
"Heh heh, we ‌‌‌meet again."
The Large Man I'd encountered before spoke with an ‌unpleasant smirk spreading across his face.
"What do you want?"
"Well, you see...."
The man deliberately dragged out his words.
I kept my guard up and fixed them with a cold stare.
"Huh? Number ‌Five, what's this? ‌‌‌Did you buy new clothes?"
The tallest man among them addressed the Young Boy standing behind me.
"I asked what you want."
"Ah, well, you see. After thinking it over, I don't think we should have sold Number Five. Ah, ‌Number Five is what we call that one instead of using a name."
"What?"
At the Large Man's words, I felt the Young Boy gripping my hand flinch.
"Since Number Five seems to have some usefulness after all, we've ‌decided we need to take him back."
Watching the man speak so brazenly without batting an ‌‌‌‌eye, I nearly let out a hollow laugh.
"I thought the transaction was already complete?"
"Oh, the transaction is finished. But what we're saying is ‌that ‌‌we're not offering to return your money."
With an implication hanging in the air, the man stared at me with ‌‌‌a contemptible expression.
"In other words...."
I ‌‌forced down the rage boiling up inside me at the sight of these despicable creatures and opened my mouth.
"You're saying you'll take the child from me by force?"
"Exactly. Ah, now we're getting somewhere." ‌‌‌‌
The four men's legs were beginning to shift into position. ‌‌‌‌
"And I noticed earlier that you have a coin purse...."
So my suspicion had been correct—they'd ‌‌been eyeing my purse with ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌sinister intent from the start.
"If you simply set down the coin purse and hand over the child, we'll let you leave unharmed."
"What?" ‌‌‌
I was speechless.
Who exactly was ‌‌letting whom leave?
"You seem like a noblewoman, so we're not entirely without shame. ‌‌‌‌Just hand over the money and the child, and we'll send you on your way safely."
The more I listened, the more absurd it became.
"I'll give you a chance. Leave now as if nothing happened."
I offered them an opportunity to escape.
Honestly, with my abilities, dealing with four thugs like them wouldn't be difficult.
But with the child present, and not wanting to make a scene on a day like today, I decided to show mercy.
"Puhaha! Oh miss, what could you possibly do alone? We've already ‌assessed the situation. We noticed from the start that you haven't been traveling ‌‌‌‌with a single escort."
The Large Man scoffed at me, and the others laughed along with him.
"Imagine, a noble lady wandering about without protection. You must not know fear at all."
It seemed reasoning with them would be ‌‌impossible.
I glanced back slightly and gestured to ‌‌the Young Boy to step back.
But the Young Boy simply looked up at me with anxious eyes, refusing to move.
'It's all right.'
I mouthed the words of reassurance and released the Young Boy's hand.
He began backing away slowly, and once he'd put sufficient distance between us, I turned my gaze back to those men, fixing them with an unwavering stare.
"You're really not going to leave?"
I posed the ‌‌‍question, though I had no intention of hearing their answer.
I retreated backward, deliberately widening the distance between myself and them.
My eyes locked onto ‌‌‌the Large Man at the forefront of their group, and I carefully manipulated my fingers, coaxing forth the ‌‌flames. ‌‌‌
At first, as I withdrew, they watched with contemptuous expressions, curious what I was attempting—but their composure evaporated in an instant.
Fire had begun to spread across the hem of the Large Man's outer garment.
"What is this smell— Ahhh!"
He sniffed about, searching for the source of the strange odor, ‌‌but by ‌‌‌the time ‌‌he discovered the flames creeping uncontrollably across his clothing, it was far too late.
"What, what is this!"
"Fire!"
The men scrambled frantically, desperately trying to extinguish the blaze.
Beside them, I fixed my burning gaze upon the red-haired one, who was carelessly flailing ‌‌‌‌‌about in an attempt to douse his companion's flames.
In an instant, fire caught ‌‌‌hold of his hair.
"N-No!"
The flames roared so fiercely across the crimson locks atop his hideous face that one could scarcely distinguish hair from fire.
"Help me!"
One man pressed his head to the ground, frantically rubbing his scalp, while the other rolled across the earth, desperately trying to quench the inferno that had consumed his upper ‌garment.
The remaining ‌two simply stared in helpless horror at the spectacle before them.
A faint smile played at my lips as I observed them for a moment longer, then ‌‌‌‌I brought my fingertips together with deliberate slowness.
The flames that had seemed unstoppable vanished without a trace.
Their appearances and expressions were utterly ridiculous.
"Would you like more?"
At my words, their faces drained of all color, replaced by sheer terror and dread.
"Gasp! N-No, we're sorry!"
"Please forgive us!"
"We were wrong, we were wrong!"
"We deserve to die for our transgression!"
Apologies erupted simultaneously from their lips.
Without even waiting for me to speak again, they bolted in desperate flight.
I considered pursuing them to exact full retribution, but ultimately decided against it.
Based on their earlier words, it seemed they had merely been after money and the Young Boy—they harbored no genuine intent to harm me.
I simply watched as they fled from sight.
Once they had disappeared entirely, I ‌‌approached the Young Boy, who had remained motionless in the distance all this while.
"Were you frightened?"
His expression plainly betrayed his anxiety.
I ‌‌‌could feel the fear in his heart—the dread that I might abandon him without doing anything, that he would be ‌‌‌‌forced to return to the Circus Troupe. ‌‌‌‌
I gently stroked the Young Boy's hair.
It was meant to reassure him—that nothing would go wrong.
"It's getting too late. We ‌need to hurry!"
Looking up at the dark ‌sky, I saw the moon had already tilted considerably toward the horizon.
I took the Young Boy's hand again and quickened my pace.
But after only a few steps, the Young Boy who had been following obediently suddenly stopped in his tracks.
"What's wrong?"
I turned to look at him as I asked, and his expression had grown even darker than before.
"What is it? Is something the matter?"

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Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team ‌and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
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