Chapter 24: The Chosen Path

"Come, tell me—what made you abandon the easiest road, only to retreat into a place like this?"

The young beggar cradled the infant girl. After smacking her lips a couple of times, she drifted back into slumber.

"...The number of people."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Darkbane seemed intrigued.

The beggar raised his head expressionlessly and spoke in a low voice. "The number of searchers is far too few."

At this, a spark of interest flickered in Darkbane's blood-red eye. Laughter echoed in the boy's mind as the voice said, "Fascinating. You're truly an interesting one. Very well—then tell me, why would fewer searchers not be a boon, but rather a bad omen?"

The boy was silent for a moment before slowly answering, "Last night, that woman said she would leave today."

"Oh? The same lady who probably sees you as a thorn in her side, a constant nuisance she'd rather slice into a thousand pieces? The one you almost sold off to become either a prostitute or a corpse?"

"...So you already know everything."

The blood-red eye gleamed, and a sneer slipped into the boy's mind. "Heh, just pretend I don't. For now, I'm nothing more than a foolish dagger that can speak a little and knows nothing of the world. Please, enlighten me—educate my ignorant self~!"

Though Darkbane's tone had taken a humble turn, not a trace of genuine respect could be heard. After only three days together, the beggar knew full well that this weapon was anything but trustworthy. Even so, he gave it some thought, and finally chose to play along.

"She said she'd be leaving. If I were tasked with escorting such a noble lady, she'd be protected with a heavy guard."

"Hold on—wait just a moment," Darkbane cut in abruptly. "Before you continue, I want to clarify one thing. Do you... know what the title 'Princess' truly means?"

The beggar's expression turned icy. He stared into the crimson eye as if trying to read the hidden meaning within. After a long pause, he gave a slow nod. "I do."

"Oh? Then explain it to me," Darkbane pressed, still not entirely convinced.

"...A 'princess' is merely a high-class courtesan. They possess striking beauty and remarkable intellect, often mingling with the upper echelons of society as mistresses."

"..."

Now it was Darkbane's turn to fall silent.

The boy's understanding wasn't wrong. In a place like Sainarg, where desire ruled all, "princess" was just a more palatable name. He was somewhat surprised, though, that a girl so young—only nine years old—could already earn that title. It spoke volumes about her cunning, her manipulation, her polished lies, and her ability to exploit men.

"…Very well. I must admit, given the world you've grown up in, it's not surprising," Darkbane muttered, seeming to sigh. The blood-red eye shut briefly before continuing, "Go on, then—your deduction."

Yet even as he said that, Darkbane never corrected the boy's interpretation of the title. Offending a powerful man's mistress was no less dangerous than crossing a princess. Besides, it amused him.

How... entertaining.

To Darkbane, there was pleasure in watching things unfold.

After confirming Darkbane truly wanted him to continue, the boy resumed, "If I were in charge of escorting my mistress—" (Darkbane couldn't suppress a cackle at hearing such a serious, grim-faced boy utter the word mistress) "—then I would ensure the roads out of the city were completely clear. I would not send out search parties. Or, I would seal the gates entirely and allow no one to pass."

Darkbane stifled his laughter. "A sound strategy. And then?"

"...Last night, a certain assassin organization was wiped out."

"Heh, I see. So your thinking is this: the mayor, seizing the moment before the 'princess' departs, pins the crime of the abducted infants on the eliminated group, declaring the case closed. Because…"

"Dead men tell no tales," the beggar replied coldly, without pause.

"Case solved, and thus no more investigations to risk contradicting the narrative. However, there's one crucial thing they never recovered."

"Heheheh—that would be the missing infant, correct? And the mayor's darling 'mistress' demanded he find the child before her departure. Hence, the gate lockdown. But!"

The beggar cut in, "If that's truly the case, then even for appearances' sake, the mayor should have dispatched a sizable force. Not just five or six men. Especially when, according to him, the culprits were an assassin guild. With over a hundred babies being smuggled out, there would've been dozens of handlers."

"Heheh, I understand now. If the search teams at the gates were a fully equipped unit, it could be assumed they were sent by the mayor. But a mere handful of men? That's far too lax. The truth hiding beneath the surface must be—his forces are actually escorting the 'mistress' out of the city. As for the city's outer defenses, the mayor no longer cares."

The beggar nodded silently and shifted the infant girl in his arms, ensuring her sleep remained undisturbed.

"Good. So, if these gate-searchers aren't from the authorities but are pretending to be, what does that tell us? Heh... you can guess that much, can't you, boy?"

Silence settled in. The beggar lowered his gaze to the infant nestled in his arms. This pause stretched long—long enough that it seemed he might stand there, in the snow, until time itself stopped.

"…The Key."

"Oh?"

"The Key Organization. The ones who once... hunted her parents."

"Heh. You mean that fine, upstanding family slaughtered in the name of righteousness? Frankly, I ought to thank them. They did well."

There was no reaction on the beggar's face—only a flat, simple statement.

"They're searching for her."

Darkbane understood immediately. If the Key Organization had the power to annihilate this girl's entire family, then surely they would not hesitate to silence a beggar who found her. And should she fall into their hands again… what fate would await her was unthinkable.

The beggar had said all there was to say. After a brief moment of contemplation, Darkbane slowly opened his blood-red eye again. He fixed his gaze on the boy's expressionless face, and stared.

"Heh... heheheh... hahahahaha! How amusing! Boy, you're truly amusing! Now, is this wild web of logic actually the truth? Or… do you just not want to part with this brat so soon, regardless of who's chasing her? Heh… fine. For now, I'll humor the idea that the ones searching are indeed that terrifying organization in disguise. But that means you've drawn a line in the sand that you cannot cross. So then—how will you escape this decaying city with her, without being found? Let's see what you're made of, human boy!"

The beggar stared coldly into the blood-red eye embedded in his arm. A moment later, he began to lift his head, scanning his surroundings for any possible path forward.

It was nearly noon. The snow on the ground had begun to melt slightly under the sun, only to freeze again just as quickly, creating a slick surface. This was the city's gate—a place filled with shops.

Grrrr…

The boy's stomach growled. He looked down at it, then at the baby in his arms. Then his gaze shifted toward the nearby stores. It was easy to spot several that sold food.

He reached into his coin pouch. A heartbeat later, his eyes turned to ice. Without hesitation, he began walking slowly toward the food stalls.

"Heh, planning to fill your belly first?"

The boy gave no answer. He wandered briefly in front of the shops, then strode into a small pasta stall.

…

That day, the pasta vendor welcomed perhaps his strangest customer yet—a boy in rags, a beggar carrying a baby. But in Sainarg, as long as one had money, even a dog would be served. What was odd was that this beggar ordered more than a dozen different pasta dishes—and asked to have them all packed.

Other customers glanced at the boy, then at the coin pouch he pulled out. The sulas and inars inside weren't many. After buying this much food, he would have barely any left. Was he running errands for a gang of beggars?

But soon, they realized—he absolutely was not.

After receiving the plastic takeaway boxes, the boy opened them one by one. He ate first, without care for anyone's eyes. Then, mixing sauce with hot water, he fed the infant girl. Finally, he asked for a bottle of hot water to be filled, and sat there silently, lost in thought.