Chapter 11
“Why are you dirty? You’re not dirty at all.”
To show that I really meant it, I quickly held the child’s hand.
The child flinched slightly, not used to this kind of contact, even though he had grabbed my hand earlier by accident.
“Let’s go.”
I gently tried to lead him forward, but he didn’t move.
When I looked at him with a questioning expression, he seemed hesitant, unsure of something.
“Why? Do you have something to say?”
“What’s… your name?”
For a moment, I almost blurted out my real name, but I quickly shut my mouth.
Then I remembered that during the journey, to hide my identity, I had told Mary and William to call me Bel instead of my real name. I opened my mouth carefully.
“I’m Bel.”
“Bel…”
Seeing the child quietly repeat my name, a smile naturally appeared on my face.
“Shall we really go now?”
“Yes.”
We walked back into the streets, each holding a skewer in one hand and holding each other’s hands with the other.
Somehow, it felt like I was out with a younger brother I didn’t actually have.
While walking, I saw a clothing shop.
The child’s clothes were too worn, so I decided to buy him new clothes before taking him back to the orphanage.
Even though he still hesitated a little, I gently pulled him in and bought him a set that fit perfectly.
From the first time I saw him, I had noticed he was very pretty.
I was sure that as he grew older, his face would become sharper, and he would become incredibly handsome.
I picked a green-toned outfit that suited his appearance, and it made him look even better.
Feeling proud, I paid for the clothes with a satisfied expression.
By the time we left the shop, night had fallen.
The crowded streets from earlier were now mostly empty.
Probably, everyone had gone home to rest for tomorrow’s festival.
Feeling that we had done everything we needed to, I headed toward the inn with the child.
We walked quietly, step by step, when I felt eyes watching us from behind.
The footsteps behind us slowly grew closer.
When they were almost on top of us, I quickly turned and hid the child behind me.
“You two…”
Familiar figures stood in front of us.
Two of them were the ones I had seen earlier, and the other two were strangers.
“Heh heh, nice to see you again.”
The large man I had seen before smiled unpleasantly.
“What do you want?”
“Well… about that…”
He dragged his words out noticeably.
I kept my guard up and stared at them.
“Huh? Number 5, what’s this? Wearing new clothes now?”
The tallest one spoke, noticing the child behind me.
“I asked what you want.”
“Oh, yes… well, we were thinking that selling Number 5 might not be the right choice. Ah, Number 5 is the name we use for that kid instead of a real name.”
“What?”
I felt the child flinch in my hand at the man’s words.
“Since Number 5 is actually useful, we’re going to take him back.”
The man said this boldly, without blinking, and I almost laughed at his audacity.
“I already paid everything, you know?”
“Yes, you paid. But we’re not talking about giving back the money.”
He added, with a mean look, “You understand what I mean, right?”
“So…”
I clenched my teeth to suppress the anger boiling inside me.
“You mean you want to take the child from me?”
“Exactly. Ah, now you finally understand.”
The four men started moving their legs toward us.
“And I noticed you have a money pouch…”
So it was true—they had noticed my pouch earlier and looked at it lewdly.
“Put the money down and give me the child, and we’ll send you away safely.”
“What?”
I was dumbfounded. Who’s sending whom safely?
“From what I see, you seem like a noble girl, but we’re not that shameless. Just hand over the money and the child, and you’ll be fine.”
The more they spoke, the more ridiculous it sounded.
“I’ll give you a chance. Turn back now like nothing happened.”
I gave them a chance to leave.
Honestly, with Belita’s abilities, handling four of them wouldn’t be difficult.
But with the child here, and not wanting to make a scene today, I decided not to go all out.
“Hahaha! Miss, what can you do alone? We’ve noticed you didn’t even bring a guard with you.”
The big man laughed, and the others followed.
“You really don’t know the dangers of the world, wandering alone like this.”
It seemed talking wouldn’t work.
I gestured for the child to step back slightly.
He looked up at me with anxious eyes but didn’t move.
‘It’s okay.’
I mouthed the words and let go of his hand.
He slowly stepped back, and once at a safe distance, I turned back to face them.
“You really aren’t leaving, huh?”
I asked, though I didn’t expect an answer.
I moved slightly back to create distance and focused on the large man in front, preparing to summon fire with a careful touch.
At first, they looked smug, thinking I was bluffing, but their expressions quickly changed.
The hem of the large man’s shirt caught fire.
“What’s that smell—ah!”
He sniffed around, trying to find the source of the strange smell, only to realize his own shirt was burning out of control.
“What… what’s this?”
“Fire?!”
They panicked, trying to put out the flames.
Next to them, I stared at the red-haired one, pretending to help his comrade, then quickly set his hair on fire.
“Ugh! Ah!”
The red on his ugly face was hard to tell if it was hair or fire.
“Save me!”
One man pressed his head to the floor and rubbed furiously to put out the fire, another rolled on the floor to stop the flames from spreading.
The other two just watched in shock.
I smirked and touched my fingers together lightly.
The fire, which seemed unstoppable, disappeared without a trace.
Their faces looked completely ridiculous.
“Want more?”
Their expressions turned pale with fear.
“N-no! It’s fine!”
“Sorry!”
“We’re wrong!”
“We’ve sinned!”
All four cried out at once.
Then, without me saying another word, they ran away.
I thought about chasing them for revenge, but I stopped.
From what they said earlier, they only wanted money and the child, not to harm me.
I just watched them flee.
When they were gone, I approached the child who had stayed frozen nearby.
“Scared, huh?”
His expression clearly showed fear.
He had probably worried that I couldn’t protect him, or that I would leave him behind, and feared being sent back to the circus.
I gently stroked his hair.
It was to comfort him, to show that nothing would happen.
“It’s late. Let’s go quickly!”
Looking up at the dark sky, the moon was already low.
I held the child’s hand and hurried forward.
But after a few steps, the child suddenly stopped walking.
“Why?”
I asked, looking at him. His face was darker than before.
“Why? What’s wrong?”
