Chapter 28
I brushed the remaining snow off my head.
Damn it!
If he had been hit, it would’ve hit his chest, but because it was me… it hit my head.
At times like this, I really hated being short. I waved off the worried knight and walked toward the culprits already caught by Caspian.
They were children.
Two skinny, shabby-looking boys, and a girl standing a bit away, pacing with panic.
The boys caught by Caspian and the other knight resisted fiercely.
“Let go! I said let go! You stupid idiots!”
The tallest boy bit the back of Caspian’s hand.
Caspian had thick leather gloves on from riding, not the carriage.
The boy’s small, weak teeth couldn’t pierce Caspian’s thick, high-quality gloves.
Caspian pressed lightly on the boy’s shoulder as he resisted.
With a cry, the tallest boy fell to his knees, and the other boy twisted even harder in the knight’s grip.
“Don’t touch my brother! Get lost! Get out of our village!”
“Stop resisting and stay still! You’ll get hurt!”
Even if they acted fierce, children were still children. There was no way they could beat trained grown men.
Caspian shouted so they wouldn’t get hurt, but the kids’ hostility didn’t lessen at all.
“Go! I said go! Get lost! Leave my brother! Leave our house! Leave our village!”
At the younger brother’s almost-screaming voice, the tall boy struggled even harder to escape.
“We don’t need a lord! What are you here to steal again?!”
The boy grabbed by Caspian glared at Kaylen. If he were an adult, or a trained fighter, he probably would have drawn a sword or a gun to kill him.
Fortunately, he was still a child, holding only a snowball instead of a weapon.
Kaylen’s eyes shook violently. He seemed startled by the unexpected hatred.
I took a big breath, set my feet shoulder-width apart, clenched my fists, and shouted from deep in my belly:
“Stop! Right now!”
My voice boomed across the empty square. I shouted so loudly that snow fell off the one weak tree standing nearby.
Caspian, the knights, the screaming boys, even Dylan—everyone froze like time had stopped.
Hic.
The hiccup from the girl showed time hadn’t really frozen.
I walked toward the children. As I approached, they flinched and opened their eyes wide.
I looked at the boys one by one, then gestured to the girl in the back.
She came hesitantly, her face red from holding her breath to stop her hiccups.
“Are these two boys your brothers?”
She nodded.
“Okay. Then the three of you—come with me.”
I jerked my chin and walked to the carriage we came in. After a few steps, I turned. They still stood there, unsure whether to follow.
“What are you doing? Come.”
I raised one eyebrow and spoke in a low voice. That alone made the siblings hurry behind me.
“Madam, what are you—”
“The duke should go meet the village head. I’ll be in the carriage with the children.”
“But—!”
His eyes clearly said: “Are you out of your mind?” Staying in a carriage with hostile children?
I smiled.
“Just leave Caspian. He can wait outside the carriage.”
I gave him a thumbs-up and walked to the carriage. Without help, I climbed in with effort, then turned around and held out my hand.
“Hurry. It’s cold.”
Should we run?—that thought was written plainly on the boys’ faces.
“If you run, I’ll give you a much worse punishment.”
At the word punishment, the girl flinched and grabbed my hand.
“Hanna!”
So the girl’s name was Hanna.
When Hanna climbed in, the oldest brother panicked.
I nodded at him to hurry. Finally, both boys followed her up.
Thud.
When I shut the carriage door, the children jumped.
I looked over them. Their clothes were thin and worn-out. Hanna’s sleeves were short, revealing her thin wrists.
As soon as they entered, a strong stale smell filled the carriage.
Anyone could see they had no adult caring for them.
I could guess why they hated Kaylen so much.
I brought them into the warm carriage because of the cold, but I didn’t know what to say first.
Then a sharp voice broke the silence.
“You can’t take anything more from our village.”
It seemed they were terribly mistaken.
The village head’s house—supposedly the nicest in the village—wasn’t in good shape either. A shivering old man knelt on the cold stone floor. Kaylen glanced at Dylan.
Understanding the signal, Dylan helped the village head and his wife into chairs and began asking questions in a gentle voice.
Kaylen stood by the small window, arms crossed, staring toward the carriage.
Caspian was outside pacing, but nothing seemed wrong.
Hatred without reason was something Kaylen was used to.
But the anger of unprotected children hit something deep inside him.
On the thin window glass, his reflection overlapped with the memory of Eliana’s back—her small figure stepping in front of him, arms spread wide.
Her back as she took the snowball meant for him, calmly brushing snow off her head.
Her warm brown eyes looking at the furious children.
And he could still hear her loud commanding voice echoing in his ears.
She marched them to the carriage like a general. He worried about her.
Her voice had made the children back down a little, but their hatred hadn’t disappeared.
He worried they might hurt her—yet part of him thought maybe she’d be fine.
That thought had no real basis.
He did leave Caspian as she asked, but his mind was still on her.
The murmuring in the room quieted. Dylan had finished questioning the couple. Kaylen waited for the right moment to leave.
When he opened the door, a trembling voice stopped him.
“Those children… they’re pitiful children.”
Kaylen turned.
Startled, the old village head bowed deeply, his bark-like hands shaking.
“The previous lord took their mother. When the father returned from winter hunting and learned what happened, he went mad and disappeared. Their uncle raised them for a while, but he left for the winter hunt recently. They’re alone now.”
Kaylen said nothing, so the old man bowed deeper.
“Of… of course the children deserve punishment for what they did.”
His voice trembled.
“But if Your Grace could please forgive them… with a generous heart…”
Kaylen looked at the frail white hairs sticking out from the old man’s knitted hat.
“I don’t intend to punish them.”
The village head bowed repeatedly, teary-eyed, thanking him, saying the entire village would never forget this kindness.
Kaylen’s expression hardened more with every bow.
Seeing that, Dylan stepped forward to stop the village head’s excessive bowing.
“But why did the previous lord take their mother?”
Kaylen asked. The old man glanced at his wife helplessly.
When she nodded, he licked his dry lips and spoke with difficulty.
“The children’s mother was famous in the village for her pretty face. A young man from the next village came to propose to her after hearing rumors.”
After that, there was no need to hear more.
Kaylen raised his hand to stop him and left the house.
He walked toward the carriage with unusually fast steps. Dylan hurried to keep up.
Caspian bowed when he spotted him.
As Caspian raised his hand to knock on the carriage door to announce Kaylen’s arrival—
Bang!
The door burst open.
The children from earlier climbed out one by one, and then Eliana’s face popped out.
