IWLMS 57🔐

Chapter 57

“Mother?”

Rune asked, puzzled. Jun froze mid-motion as he set down his bag and widened his eyes.

“I heard you invited Lepium. She hasn’t arrived yet?”

“If you mean Marlin, I sent the invitation timed with the festival. She still has four days before she arrives.”

Jun let out a short sigh and pressed his hand to his forehead.

“It seems there’s been a mix-up. She told me she’d come to the capital a week earlier.”

Since Rune had been communicating with Jun through letters, Marlin likely couldn’t inform Rune of the change in schedule. Jun blinked steadily and asked calmly:

“She said she would come for a visit yesterday… Did the Education Office contact you separately?”

“…No, not at all.”

Even when Rune had stopped by the Education Office that morning to collect the sword, no message had come through.

It didn’t take long for him to realize something was wrong.

A bad premonition rising, Rune abruptly stood up, only for Ellen to grab his shoulder and steady him. Whispering “calm down,” he looked at Jun and said:

“If she filed a visit under that name, it wouldn’t have reached this guy anyway.”

“Yeah, there shouldn’t be any problem, right?”

Daniel, who had been observing silently with his arms crossed, picked up the book Jun had set down and stood. With a teasing “oops,” he grumbled that this could even be used as a weapon and gave a nod toward her.

“What are you waiting for? We should check with the Education Office again.”

As Daniel strode down the stairs, Ellen followed, patting her shoulder. Rune exchanged uneasy glances with Jun and then quickly followed them out of the library.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

“There is a record of a visit request, but no one came on that day.”

Von, checking the visitor log again, spoke with an awkward expression.

If Marlin had left at the time the letter was sent, she would have already arrived.

Rune hurried his steps, trying to brush away the rising dark thoughts.

Having stayed in the marquisate to take care of him until now, Marlin was probably just a little lost in this unfamiliar capital.

Ellen contacted the Gotham guild members across the city, while Rune, with Daniel, inquired among the local merchants.

Yet by evening, despite searching all day, they could find no one who had seen Marlin.

Then, from the opposite alley, Daniel came running, waving his hand.

“Rune! We found her!”

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

The person who had seen Marlin was Flute, the fruit shop owner.

“Your handsome son must be this way… and your pretty son that way, I suppose?”

He spoke in an unintelligible way, alternating glances between Jun and Rune, before delivering astonishing news:

“She’s staying at a clinic on 6th Street.”

Why Marlin was at a clinic was unclear. Jun gently held Rune’s anxious hand as he spoke:

“She’ll be fine. Don’t worry, Rune.”

Rune nodded at Jun’s reassuring smile. Even if she said so, it was Jun who was more worried.

The clinic, arriving shortly afterward, was a small, worn building in a relatively quiet alley.

Pushing open the handle worn by countless hands, they entered a small hall with a patchy carpet.

“Is someone here?”

Pulling the cord by the entrance, a clear sound rang from the faded bell. Soon, a frail elderly man stepped out, his vest hanging loosely.

“No one seems to be hurt. What brings you here?”

“We’re looking for someone. A woman of about this height and build. We heard she’s been staying here recently.”

“Ah, you mean Mrs. Marlin? Go up to the inpatient rooms on the upper floor.”

Squinting behind thick glasses, the old man instructed them.

A hospital room! Surprised, Rune stepped forward and grasped the man’s shoulder.

“Is she injured?”

“Oh, no, it’s not that…”

Before the elderly man could wave them off, a familiar voice called from the central stairs to the upper floor.

“Miss?”

Marlin was descending the stairs, wiping her wet hands on her apron.

“Oh my, my mind…!” Marlin instinctively covered her mouth as the word “miss” slipped out, hurrying down the stairs.

Rune scanned her from head to toe with a flustered expression.

Fortunately, Marlin looked healthy, though she seemed dressed as if she were working there.

“Marlin, that outfit… What are you doing here?”

“And how did you know to come here?”

Realizing the old man was watching, Marlin tugged Rune’s arm awkwardly and smiled.

“Hoho… Let me introduce you. This is Owen, the clinic’s doctor.”

Owen pushed his crooked glasses up, eyes wide.

“So these are the ones you mentioned.”

“Yes, these are the young master I serve, and this is my son. By the way, Jun, weren’t you supposed to be at the palace?”

“I hurried back today. No one came as promised, and we had no way to contact her. Everyone was worried. Why are you at a clinic?”

“Ah, well, let’s just say it’s guild business.”

After getting the clinic’s permission, Marlin guided them upstairs. Along the corridor, several single beds covered in white sheets were lined up.

Some patients lay under blankets, while others, like Marlin, received meals from caretakers wearing aprons.

“Ma’am, did you get fired from your nanny job because Rune wasn’t there? You said you were just visiting, but it seems you found work in the capital.”

“You sure haven’t lost your knack for words,” Marlin replied, smiling slyly. At the end of the hall, she glanced at Rune, looking slightly embarrassed.

“I ran into some trouble upon arriving in the capital, so I’m staying here for a bit.”

Taking a short breath, she carefully opened a closed door.

“Let’s go inside and talk more. She can be fierce with strangers, so be careful—”

“Thwack!”

As soon as the door opened, a wooden bowl flew, hitting Daniel in the face. Clattering across the floor, Rune stared in shock.

Daniel, veins bulging on his forehead, wiped the mushy porridge off his face and muttered lowly:

“…Ma’am, you should’ve warned me before opening the door.”

“Get out! I said get out!”

With the child’s scream, every object in the room flew through the air. Rune caught a pillow aimed at his face and stepped into the chaotic room.

“Gon! Can’t you calm down?”

Marlin hugged the thrashing child, patting his back.

“Are you alright, miss? Please understand, the child got scared.”

“Waaah!”

Rune’s eyes widened as he looked at the boy’s bloodied, disheveled face. He recognized the red hair that stuck out wildly.

“You are…”

The child he had found in the outskirts.

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

A small lounge next to the ward.

After confirming the exhausted child had fallen asleep, Marlin brought out a neatly peeled peach.

“My, how hungry you must have been. He dashed at this peach, barefoot and covered in blood, without even proper shoes.”

Marlin had encountered starving, injured children in a deserted alley, likely wandering after fleeing the temple.

“Because he wasn’t healthy, I brought him to the clinic. As you see, he’s wary of people, so he’s in a single room. He had little money, so he helped with small chores.”

Rune hesitated to reach for the ripe peach and took a sip of water.

“Are these children orphans?”

“Yes. We searched but couldn’t find anyone. Gon doesn’t speak about it either… The doctor thinks they might be from an orphanage.”

Rune frowned, imagining the dilapidated shacks in the slums.

“If they’re from an orphanage, why were they living out in the outskirts?”

“Ah… that is…”

As Marlin chose her words carefully, there was a knock, and the lounge door opened.

A girl with long braided hair peeked inside.

“Oh, you’re awake? Come here, Eveline.”

At Marlin’s gentle voice, Eveline ran over and jumped into her arms. She stroked the girl’s back and said:

“Interestingly, this child was born on a ‘winter night.’”

“Even today, many baby girls are abandoned at birth. Those girls aren’t accepted by orphanages either.”

Recalling Daniel’s recent words, Rune involuntarily grimaced.

Daniel scratched his nose, speaking awkwardly:

“Don’t think so seriously. It seems these kids left the orphanage on their own.”

“Daniel, tutor.”

Rune’s expression grew heavier, and Marlin clicked her tongue.

A girl born on a winter night… Perhaps the children couldn’t withstand those gazes and left the orphanage.

With the story of the “Lady of the Moon” resurfacing, Rune let out a frustrated sigh.

Even the glorified White Dragon was merely a superficial symbol of the temple.

“I don’t understand. It doesn’t make sense that a dragon from a myth would deliver a prophecy. No one has seen or heard of it, right?”

“Long-held faith often works that way. Deep beliefs don’t always require explanation,” Marlin said, trying to soothe him.

Jun, fidgeting with his glass, spoke:

“For now, treatment is necessary. But what will you do afterward? Other than sending them back to the orphanage or temple, it seems there’s no choice.”

Eveline, still in Marlin’s arms, clutched her clothes tightly.