Chapter 159
Luska seemed to be thinking the same thing. He resisted desperately as Siren’s subordinates tried to reach inside.
Perhaps realizing that this was only a waste of time, the men stepped back and began lifting the overturned carriage upright.
Irritated that the two boys had held out and bought time until the very end, they smashed the carriage door open.
Rough hands grabbed the boys and dragged them out.
“Luska! Arcel!”
When Aiden shouted their names, Siren lightly snapped his fingers.
At once, brutal violence rained down on the boys.
“You little bastards!”
Unable to hold back, Aiden shouted in rage, but Siren only watched with amusement, chuckling.
When the boys could no longer even make groaning sounds, Siren finally ordered them to stop.
“That’s enough. Let’s save the real fun for another place.”
As he spoke, he stepped on the boys’ hands.
“Ghk!”
“Ugh!”
Arcel and Luska writhed in pain, but Siren pressed down harder without a care.
In the end, both boys dropped the daggers they were holding. Siren picked them up and brought the blade close to their fingers.
“You were quite loved children. Not just by your families—Clois himself even considered making you his successors.”
The dagger’s edge hovered dangerously near their fingers.
“What kind of reaction do you think everyone will have if children like you get hurt?”
As if to show off, Siren lightly tapped their fingers with the blade.
“One finger won’t kill you. Should I cut off a few? Or maybe an arm or a leg?”
At the horrible threat, the boys clenched their teeth and glared at him.
Siren snorted.
“Eyes I don’t like—just like your fathers’. So arrogant.”
He put the dagger away and gave an order.
“Make them quiet and move them.”
“Yes!”
The men rushed in, hauled the boys up, and forcefully shoved something into their mouths.
The intense mint flavor of the candy spread through them.
They tried to resist, but after being struck in the face and having their throats grabbed, they had no choice but to swallow the small candy this time.
Once the resistance stopped instantly, the men slung the boys over their shoulders and loaded them into the supply wagon where Eve had been thrown.
Another man grabbed Irene and tossed her in beside them.
Siren looked into the carriage. Two girls were still inside.
“This one’s unnecessary.”
He had never planned to take Izriella with them.
That way, Count Aradman will be interrogated.
If everyone was taken except his daughter, suspicion would be unavoidable no matter what he said.
Of course, the count would claim that Noma ordered everything—but how much would Clois believe that?
Siren’s gaze moved to the other girl.
A much smaller girl compared to the rest.
“Ah.”
He knew exactly who she was.
“You’re the orphanage child.”
The one Clois had missed so deeply that he tried to make her his daughter instead.
“How pitiful.”
Despite his words, Siren roughly dragged Evie. out.
“Since Clois cherishes you, you’ll be useful too.”
Sending just a piece of Eve first wouldn’t be fun. Using this one first would be better.
Siren smiled as he thought about which part of the child to send.
“She’s small, so her hands are tiny too.”
Imagining how Clois would scream every time he received a piece made him smile uncontrollably.
He’ll think he lost his daughter again after she came back from the dead. He won’t stay sane.
Earlier this year, Clois’s mind had been collapsing rapidly.
So every time Siren heard news of him, he thought the perfect disaster was close.
But suddenly, starting in spring, Clois began recovering quickly.
When Siren learned it was because Clois had a child at the Academy whom he treated like a daughter, he was stunned.
That’s why I had to move quickly.
So he rushed to prepare Sabina.
If Clois had collapsed completely, Eve would have appeared as a princess after far more careful preparation.
Then the palace would have been thrown into chaos over the next emperor.
That had actually been Siren’s original goal.
Because—
Eve is the deposed emperor’s child.
Eve was not Clois’s daughter at all.
She was the child of a woman his former master had slept with for a few nights in a rural village while out hunting.
Siren hated children like that.
If half of you is trash, then you’re trash.
That was why he had never hesitated to dispose of the deposed emperor’s illegitimate children. It was part of his work.
Eve was a child who should have been killed.
But then war broke out, things became chaotic, and Eve was forgotten for a time.
He remembered her again only after learning that Clois was deteriorating badly, unable to forget his dead daughter.
On a whim, Siren went to find Eve.
And the moment he saw the mark on the back of her hand in that rural village, he decided to use her.
After that, everything went according to his plan.
Except for one thing.
I thought Clois would go mad with love the moment he saw Eve and treat her blindly as his daughter.
But perhaps the bond formed earlier mattered more.
Contrary to Siren’s expectations, Clois did not act blindly toward Eve.
Instead, he coldly insisted on complete verification and even refused to allow the name Evebien, making everyone call her simply Eve.
Siren’s unease grew after the pond incident.
To save another child before his own daughter, even in danger.
It felt as if Clois might actually begin distancing himself from Eve.
So Siren rushed his plan.
Before Clois could investigate Eve’s identity further, he decided to kill her.
Clois would think the daughter he hesitated over had died again.
How shaken he would be.
Just imagining it was delightful.
“You forced me to hurry a bit.”
Muttering that, Siren grabbed Evie. by the hair and threw her deeper into the wagon.
Bound and gagged, Arcel glared at him as if he wanted to tear him apart.
Thud!
Siren struck Arcel’s face without hesitation, then turned back to Aiden.
“Now then, Sir Aiden. Once we leave, hurry back to the palace and tell that great emperor of yours. Tell him to look forward to seeing what kind of end his long-lost daughter will meet.”
“You bastard—ghk!”
Siren stomped hard on Aiden’s mangled hand and turned away.
“Hurry up!”
At his command, the men quickly brought the horses and covered the wagon.
Soon, with a loud rattle, the supply wagon carrying the children began to move.
As all the children drifted in and out of consciousness, the back of the wagon—poorly secured—slowly opened.
Because of the constant shaking, Irene’s body rolled toward the edge.
“Uh…”
After hitting her head repeatedly, Irene let out a groan and opened her eyes.
Seeing this through his fading vision, Luska twisted his body with all the strength he had.
Then—
Thud!
With all his strength, Luska kicked Irene with his bound feet.
Irene stared at him in shock.
No sound was made, but they understood each other perfectly.
Luska, you idiot!
Ah, save the thanks for later!
Before Irene could cry out, she rolled out of the wagon and fell behind it.
The sound of her fall was swallowed by the sound of hooves.
Ha…
Luska sighed in relief.
At least one person had escaped. That meant someone could later explain what had happened.
As his consciousness faded, Luska looked upward.
There, he saw Arcel had somehow moved beside Evie..
Arcel wrapped his body around her to keep her from hitting the walls, and then lost consciousness.
What a stubborn bastard.
Even now, he moved to protect Evie.
With that final thought, Luska’s mind sank into darkness.
* * *
The Imperial Palace was still busy despite it being the weekend.
Realizing that Clois was deliberately delaying Eve’s recognition, ministers crowded around him, pleading.
“Your Majesty, why are you hesitating so much?”
“That’s right. She is the only one Her Majesty Empress Lilian left behind. Please act quickly.”
At Lilian’s name, Clois’s expression hardened for a moment.
There was still no word from Duke Kailen.
Was I doing something unnecessary?
In the past, he would have recognized Eve as a princess the very day she returned.
A daughter whose face he couldn’t even remember clearly enough to leave a proper portrait…
Just as Clois was about to speak with a sigh—
“Your Majesty!”
The head attendant rushed in, gasping for breath.
“What is it?”
He was usually calm. Seeing him like this filled Clois with dread.
“L-Lady Eve has been kidnapped! Arcel Kailen and Luska Ragselve as well—and Evie.Alden’s whereabouts are also unknown!”
At that moment, Clois stood up.
He immediately ran out of the office.
The children were gone.
As he ran, their faces flashed through his mind.
Even though it was his daughter who had disappeared—
The child that appeared first in his thoughts was the smallest one.
Evie.
