Chapter 13
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The Male and Female Leads Broke Up - Episode 13
'Now that I think about it, that makes sense. Why didn't I consider the Security Force from the start?'
Hearing their words, I found myself wondering why I hadn't thought of the Security Force earlier.
I nodded in agreement.
"You're right. We should report this to the Security Force."
"Yes. Once we do, the Security Force will handle the matter of the children's whereabouts."
Having spent time with the Young Boy, I realized I'd been approaching the situation far too emotionally.
I'd nearly acted recklessly without considering what would come after, and I was only now awakening to that fact.
In that moment, I felt grateful to have a capable knight and maid at my disposal.
"Then let's do that. Mary will keep the Young Boy at the Inn. William and I will go to the Security Force and return."
"Yes, Miss."
"I... I want to go with you too."
But the moment I said I would leave him behind, the Young Boy suddenly pleaded to come along.
His eyes, fixed upon me, were filled with anxiety.
"It's better if you stay here. We don't know how things will unfold there, so I can't take you. Stay calm while I resolve this. Understood?"
But I couldn't bring the Young Boy to a place that might be dangerous.
I had never intended to take him in the first place.
That was precisely why I'd brought him to the Inn.
So I spoke to him with firmness, yet with an expression meant to reassure him.
"I'll rescue all of your friends. You trust me, don't you?"
"Yes..."
I gently stroked the obedient Young Boy's head.
William and I then made our way directly to the Security Force, and even after arriving, I was careful not to reveal my true identity.
Instead, I made a veiled threat, declaring myself a noblewoman of the Capital and insisting that I would escalate this matter to the Capital if it wasn't resolved.
The threat worked perfectly—the officials sprang into action with remarkable speed, rushing out to locate the Circus Troupe's whereabouts.
William and I followed in the Security Force's wake.
Following them, we fortunately discovered the Circus Troupe's tents in a Remote Village Clearing.
They hadn't departed yet.
Dozens of Security Force officers swept through the tents in an instant.
They dragged out everyone who had been sleeping inside, leaving no one behind.
I stood at a distance, observing the situation unfold.
But something felt wrong.
According to the Young Boy, there should have been four more children, yet among those dragged out, I couldn't spot a single figure that resembled a young child, no matter how carefully I looked.
"What is this?"
"Is something the matter, Miss?"
"There are no children here."
"Perhaps they haven't all come out yet?"
"No. Something feels wrong."
An inexplicable unease settled over me.
I quickly approached the gathering of Security Force and Circus Troupe members.
Several familiar faces knelt trembling in their undergarments.
The moment our eyes met, they averted their gaze and hung their heads low.
I approached the large man who appeared to be the leader among those I'd encountered earlier.
"Where are the children?"
"Y-yes?"
The man stammered, uncharacteristically hesitant.
"I heard there were more children."
"Y-yes, sir. There are. The children are all in that tent over there!"
The man pointed with his finger toward one of the tents.
I glanced at William, signaling him to check it out.
William quickly rushed toward the tent and returned, but his expression was grim.
"There are no children inside."
"None?"
"No. There was no one there."
"That, that can't be! It can't be! The children were all staying in that tent!"
From the man's eyes, I could tell he wasn't lying.
Moreover, there was no reason for them to have smuggled the children away.
They couldn't have known the Security Force would raid this place, and they had to leave before dawn anyway.
'Then who took the children...?'
Who?
Who took them?
Searching the area thoroughly would take too much time.
I deliberated for a moment, then closed my eyes.
I concentrated my power toward my eyes.
When I opened them moments later, I detected heat emanating from everything around me.
It was an ability to sense the thermal signatures of people and objects by channeling the power of fire.
I quickly swept my perception across the surrounding area.
Then I detected small human signatures and several adults' heat signatures at some distance away.
"William, finish up here."
I returned my eyes to normal.
After instructing William to complete the cleanup, I bolted outside at full speed.
"Miss!"
I heard William calling from behind, but I ignored him and ran at maximum velocity.
Yet despite my desperate sprint, when I arrived at the location I'd sensed, no one remained.
I was about to use my power again when I noticed multiple footprints pressed into the dirt ground.
As I had sensed, the ground bore not only the small footprints of children, but also the footprints of an adult mixed among them.
Certain that someone had taken the children away, I hurried along the trail of footprints.
Yet even after following them for some ten minutes, I saw neither the children nor anyone else.
It was just as I was closing my eyes again, having concluded that I could never find them this way, that something happened.
Suddenly, a man appeared before me from just a few paces away.
'I didn't sense his presence at all....'
"Who are you? Why are you pursuing us?"
The darkness made it impossible to see the man's face clearly.
From his silhouette alone, I could tell he was tall with a sturdy build, yet strangely, his voice felt familiar.
"Did you take the children away?"
"I have no reason to answer that. Leave this place."
But in that moment, the moonlight that had been hidden behind the clouds peeked out, and the man's face, which had been obscured by the pitch darkness, became clear.
I realized he was the person I had collided with near where the Circus Troupe had performed.
The man, now seeing my face clearly for the first time, widened his eyes in surprise.
"You are...."
Suddenly, it occurred to me that meeting this man near where the Circus Troupe was performing might not have been a coincidence.
Had he been deliberately loitering around the Circus Troupe back then?
"Why are you kidnapping the children?"
"It's not kidnapping."
"If it's not kidnapping, how do you explain this situation?"
"That is...."
The man seemed to be hiding something, hesitating whether to speak or not.
"I came here at the request of one of the children belonging to the Circus Troupe to rescue that child's friends. That's why I raided the barracks together with the Security Force, but the children vanished without a trace. And now they've been kidnapped by yet others—this is not right. So hand the children over to me."
I gave him a lengthy explanation of why I was here, attempting to persuade him.
He didn't seem like a bad person, but it was true that one shouldn't judge people by appearance alone.
'So this handsome man was the Kidnapper....'
"That's not possible."
I had tried to end this without resorting to force, speaking kindly, but the man showed no intention of listening.
"So you're determined to kidnap the children? Then I can't stand idle any longer."
My courtesy toward the Kidnapper ended here.
No matter how breathtakingly beautiful this man was, I could not forgive a criminal.
Especially not a crime committed against children—I could never overlook that.
"Miss!"
Just then, I heard William's voice calling me from behind.
William quickly took his place beside me.
"What of the rest?"
"I've instructed the Security Force to arrest all the Circus Troupe members and hold them accountable for their crimes."
"Well done."
"But who is this man?"
"The Kidnapper."
I briefly introduced the man before me to William.
"If you're the Kidnapper, where are the children?"
"I suppose I'll have to ask him that now."
I signaled William with my eyes.
We needed to synchronize our movements to apprehend the man.
Just as William, having read my gaze, was about to move, the man opened his mouth.
"It seems you've misunderstood something. Let's talk about this."
I raised my hand to William, gesturing for him to wait.
"There's no need for conversation. Simply hand over the children and come with us to the Security Force."
"I am not the Kidnapper. I'm not taking the children to cause harm."
He kept insisting he wasn't the Kidnapper, yet someone intent on spiriting children away was, in my assessment, a perfect match for one.
"Come out."
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org