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Chapter 25
The Children Ran Away (2)
I took out a sandwich and hurried over to the child. No matter what world you’re in, it’s unthinkable to ignore a starving child.
Without hesitation, I held out the bread.
“Eat this.”
The child looked back and forth between the bread and me with cloudy eyes. After a brief hesitation, the child spoke weakly.
“My brother said we’re not beggars.”
“I’m not giving it to you because you’re a beggar. I just want to feed you.”
“Are we sharing it?”
“Yeah. I’m eating too, so if you don’t eat, that’d make me weird.”
The child seemed conflicted for a moment. But when you’re hungry, pride doesn’t win. In the end, the child reached out and took the sandwich.
Turning his head to look around, the child took a small bite.
For a street child, his face and hands were surprisingly clean. His brown clothes were worn to the point the collar was fraying, but they didn’t look dirty. It probably meant his guardian was doing their best to care for him.
I deliberately sat in front of the child and started eating a cheese bun. Jake, who had been watching, soon came over and sat beside me.
After just a single bite, the child stopped chewing.
“Why aren’t you eating? Is it not good?”
“It’s good.”
“Then why stop?”
“I want to give it to my brother.”
How sweet. I quickly looked over at Jake. Without any hesitation, he nodded and handed me his leftover bread.
Maybe it was because he was from a rich family—he didn’t seem too attached to food.
I held the bread Jake had given me and showed it to the child.
“Let’s give this to your brother. Where is he?”
“He went to see if there’s any work.”
“Then why are you here?”
“He said people wouldn’t give him work if I was next to him, so I’m waiting here.”
Why not just stay home, then? Maybe he didn’t want to be alone. Could they be orphans?
Some parents force their kids onto the street, but this child didn’t feel like one of those cases.
“What about your mom and dad?”
“I don’t have any.”
So I was right. But if he was an orphan, he should have been in a shelter. I didn’t understand why he was wandering the streets.
“Anyway, you’re hungry. Eat up.”
Looking at the bread still in my hand, the child seemed reassured and took another bite. He must’ve been starving, seeing as he devoured the bread hungrily.
It would’ve been nice to have something to drink too, but unfortunately, they didn’t have any. I forgot about my own hunger and simply watched the child eat.
Just as he was finishing the bread….
“What the hell are you eating?”
An angry voice shouted from above. The child didn’t even have time to swallow before he looked up at the boy anxiously. A slight tremble flickered in his clear eyes.
When I turned my head, I saw a boy taller than us standing there. I immediately stood up to face him.
He was as tall as Rikael, but much skinnier. His shabby clothes looked just like his younger brother’s.
“I gave it to him to eat.”
“We’re not beggars. We don’t need it.”
“I didn’t give it because you’re beggars. I just wanted to share.”
I tried to speak as gently as I could. Some people, no matter how poor, have their pride, and I didn’t want to hurt that.
The boy stared at me coldly, then let out a bitter smirk, as if saying he didn’t need that kind of cheap sympathy.
That smile, filled with sorrow and despair, chilled my chest.
“Radan, get up. Let’s go.”
The boy called the child’s name—and in that moment, I felt a strange shiver.
Radan…?
I was sure I’d heard that name before, but I couldn’t quite place it.
Who was he? I was trying to remember when the boy named Radan stood up.
The older boy gently wrapped an arm around the younger’s back and walked away, around the corner. Radan still held the half-eaten bread in both hands.
The sunlight sparkled over the boy’s light brown hair, fluttering in the breeze. For a moment, it looked so dazzling it hurt my eyes.
The farther they walked away, the more my chest trembled. It was an indescribable, strange feeling.
I gestured to Jake to follow, and trailed after them. Sensing us, the older boy turned and asked coldly,
“Why are you following us?”
Good question. Why was I?
Was it because I felt like I knew the boy named Radan? Or because I couldn’t just leave him alone?
I didn’t know how to explain it, but turning back now just didn’t feel right.
Of course, I still didn’t want to get too deeply involved in this novel. But then why couldn’t I just walk away from those two? It made no sense.
Maybe if I knew the older brother’s name, I’d remember something.
“What’s your name?”
“What do you care?” the boy snapped.
Right. Asking like that, I guess I deserved that response.
“Raul. My brother’s name is Raul,” Radan answered in his brother’s place.
Raul. Another name I’d heard before.
But who were they, really?
As far as I remembered, there wasn’t any connection between the ducal house and the slums. So if I didn’t interfere, the novel would probably continue as written.
But now I regretted not reading the novel more carefully. I suddenly wanted to know what happened to those kids.
If they were adults or nobles, they’d be able to manage somehow—but what power did two poor children have?
I couldn’t just leave them.
While I was thinking that, Raul began walking again, taking Radan with him.
I took a step to follow, but Jake grabbed my hand.
“We’re still going? Aren’t we supposed to be somewhere else?”
“We are… but come with me for now. I just can’t walk away…”
“…”
“Anyway, come on.”
I didn’t know why, but I couldn’t get them out of my mind. I had to follow.
Raul no longer seemed to care that we were trailing them. We walked for quite a while and finally arrived at a place where the slum houses were clustered.
I couldn’t believe a slum like this existed just across a bridge.
I hadn’t lived a luxurious life either, so I couldn’t help feeling a sense of kinship and compassion.
Raul headed to what looked like the shabbiest of them all.
It was a structure pieced together with wooden boards, barely able to block the wind—definitely not a place you’d call a house.
Inside, the roof looked ready to collapse.
How cold must it be in winter? The capital’s winters weren’t described as that harsh, but still… it had to be freezing.
Once we followed them inside, Raul finally gave us a crooked glance.
“I didn’t tell you to come in, did I?”
I blinked, unable to respond to his snappish question. It was an intrusion, but I didn’t feel like turning back.
Raul looked at me as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. But at least his gaze wasn’t as icy as before.
He turned to Radan, who was sitting on the bed, and said,
“I’m heading out. Don’t go outside, just stay home. The fruit shop man said he’d give me food if I helped him move stuff, so wait for me.”
So that’s how they earned their daily meals. But even in this city, there were shelters run by the palace and funded by nobles. Why weren’t they in one of those?
As I wondered, Raul suddenly turned back.
“Aren’t you nobles going to leave now? Show’s over, isn’t it…?”
“Radan might get bored, so we’ll leave in a bit.”
I quickly handed him the bread Jake had given me.
“Eat this. You’ll need food to work.”
“No thanks.”
He snapped and pushed the wooden door open, leaving without even glancing at the bread.
I was worried. He should eat something if he’s going to work…
Watching Raul leave like that killed my appetite too.
There weren’t many places to sit, so I moved closer to where Radan sat.
Inside this makeshift house was a single bed and a few utensils, likely used for cooking. It looked like they did everything—sleep, cook, live—right in this one room.
How could someone be this poor? My heart ached.
“Why do you live in a place like this? Why not go to a shelter?”
“The head of the shelter hit my brother. He tried to hit me too, so we ran away.”
That pig head of a director.
No matter where you go, there are always monsters who abuse children even while receiving state aid. If I told the Duke, he might be able to help.
But seriously—who are these kids?
Can I help them safely? What if they’re future villains?
Even helping someone requires care…
