TGDLBF 26

Chapter 26

The Children Met Gangsters

I gazed absentmindedly into Radan’s eyes. His clear brown eyes looked far too kind and pure.

Right. There’s no way a kid like that is meant to become a villain. Sometimes kids like him “go dark” later, but surely… not him, right?

I quickly turned to look at Jake. He still hadn’t moved from where he stood by the wooden door.

“Jake, can’t you use some of your pull? If we talk to the Duke, couldn’t we at least get them a heater or something?”

Jake nodded immediately, as if it were nothing.

I made a mental note to talk to the Duke about it once we got back, and turned my eyes back to Radan. He was still holding the half-eaten bread.

Now that his brother was gone, he could eat it if he wanted…

If Raul had really hated seeing his brother take handouts, he would’ve just snatched the bread and thrown it away. But he hadn’t.

He spoke sternly, but maybe deep down, he wanted his brother to eat.

“Do you only eat once a day?”

“Sometimes… just water.”

Yeah. No wonder he was so thin.

The thought of children going hungry weighed heavy in my chest.

“Sit here.”

Radan pointed to a spot beside him on the bed. There weren’t really any other seats.

I looked around and spotted a small stool that looked like it was used for cooking.

“It’s okay. I’ll sit here.”

Just as I pulled the stool closer, Jake darted over and sat at the edge of the bed, he was as quick as when we’d raced earlier.

Were his legs hurting?

Well, he should’ve sat and rested sooner if that was the case.

[TL: Aw! I think he was being a gentleman, how precious!]

I placed the bread I’d meant to give Raul on a utensil that looked like a plate and sat on the makeshift stool.

Even if he was meant to be a villain later, he wasn’t one now—so helping him felt right.

If I’d never seen them, maybe I could’ve ignored it… but I had seen them now, and I couldn’t just walk away.

I was thinking that when, suddenly, Jake pulled out a few gold coins from his bag.

“Take this.”

He handed a few coins to the child, then flipped the whole bag upside down and dumped all the money out.

Hey! That’s overkill!

“I’ll give you everything.”

“My brother’s going to scold me…”

Even at the sight of gold, the child didn’t look happy. He wasn’t too young to understand what money was. But it was clear Raul had raised him right—he showed no greed at all.

“Hide it and use it when you need it.”

So Jake had this side to him? He was recklessly kind.

Having gold in a place like this would be extremely dangerous. But trying to stop Jake didn’t feel right either. What these kids needed most was money.

“We’re not beggars.”

“I know. I’m not giving it to you because you are. Just think of it as something a friend gave you.”

Not bad, Jake.

Radan looked at the pile of coins on the bed, then turned away, seemingly uninterested. I quietly began to think.

What should we do with all that money? Should I hide it somewhere?

Or maybe… should I take the kids back to the Duke’s estate? But do I even have that right? I was just a guest there too…

No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t bring myself to leave the kids alone. Leaving children behind like this—when I was the adult—felt like neglect, like abuse.

If they didn’t appear in the original story, it meant they were extras. And that worried me more than anything.

Extras in stories were often sacrificial lambs or pawns used by villains before being discarded.

If the author had blessed them with a lucky fate, I wouldn’t be worried, but I didn’t think that was the case.

While I was deep in thought, Radan started to nod off. Jake, too, began dozing beside him. And then… I started feeling sleepy as well.

Was this the limit of a child’s body? Admitting defeat, I quietly gathered the spilled coins from the bed.

Gold was too risky, so I set aside only silver and smaller coins, and hid them under the bed.

Once I finished, sleep hit me even harder. I had no choice but to lie down at the edge of the bed.

I’m not sure when I fell asleep.

The surroundings were harsh, but the time itself had been oddly warm and comforting.

***

“You guys still here?”

I woke to the scolding voice of a boy.

Bleary-eyed, I looked around and saw both Radan and Jake had fallen asleep without a care in the world.

“We dozed off, huh?”

“I don’t think it was just a doze. It’s almost dark now.”

“Wha—?”

I looked out past the open door. Just as Raul said, it was already dark outside.

I didn’t even get to eat ice cream and now it was evening already? What a loss.

Jake finally opened his eyes and looked around groggily.

“Already? Guess we should go.”

I quickly got up from the bed, and that’s when I noticed the small bag in Raul’s hands. It looked like all he’d managed to get was flour and a bit of salt.

How long could they survive on just that?

While Raul went to put the flour in a bowl, I leaned toward Radan and whispered,

“Radan, it’s under the bed. Use it well.”

Whether he heard me or not, he just blinked sleepily. With Raul watching us so closely, I couldn’t say anything more.

Jake was already slinging his bag over his shoulder, ready to go. Though I was reluctant, I waved goodbye to Radan.

“Bye.”

Still half-asleep, Radan waved back.

With our farewell done, Jake and I stepped through the wooden door. At the same time, Raul stepped out and moved ahead of us, almost like he was escorting us.

He might’ve been prickly, but he had decency. And seeing that made me worry even more.

Extras like him… often end up as sacrifices for nobles in these stories. What kind of fate had he been given?

With a growing unease in my chest, I followed behind him.

The sky had grown darker since we’d arrived, and the streets were falling into silence. Eventually, Raul stopped in front of an arched bridge and turned around.

“You can make it from here, right? Just a bit farther and you’ll find a carriage.”

He turned around, not even waiting for an answer—but then Jake spoke up.

“Tomorrow, come to the Arcardes Dukedom. I’ll ask them to find some work for you.”

Raul’s steps halted. His brown eyes shimmered in the encroaching darkness.

He already knew we were nobles, but he clearly hadn’t expected us to be from the Arcardes family.

To be honest, I was surprised by Jake’s words too. He had this side to him?

Maybe seeing how hard those kids lived had moved something in him. Even if the northern dukedom’s family were known for being cold and unfeeling, Jake was still just a kid.

Maybe that ‘cold-blooded’ reputation only applied to his grandfather or to Rikael.

As soon as I thought of Rikael, a chill swept over me. Ugh. So cold!

By now, word must’ve reached him that I’d vanished… Would he be relieved? Hopefully…

“You said you weren’t beggars. So working and getting paid is fine, right?”

Jake said firmly, his voice full of noble authority.

Raul hesitated for just a moment. Whether he didn’t know how to accept kindness or just didn’t trust people, he said nothing and walked away.

Jake and I watched him until he disappeared around the corner. But Jake soon nudged me.

“Let’s go. We need to reach the carriage stop.”

With nothing better to do, I followed him. I didn’t know anything about this world—so following Jake felt safest.

The darkened streets were quiet. The few shops in the distance were either closing or lighting up for the night.

Just as we passed over the Torre Bridge and headed farther up, a group of men suddenly surrounded us.

They looked like your typical local thugs.

“Who the hell are you kids?”

“Cute little runts. What’s in that bag?”

The biggest, most rugged-looking one asked. His face gleamed with oil from overeating…, he had to be their leader.

“You guys are gangsters or something?”

“Gangsters? What’s that?”

“What do you mean ‘what’? Street thugs.”

“Haha! This kid talks funny!”

They laughed crudely, clearly understanding enough.

That cheap, disgusting laughter told me everything about what kind of lives these men led.

“Why don’t you hand over that bag? If there’s something nice in it, we might let you go.”

But of course. Meeting the cliché street thugs of a fantasy romance world was oddly motivating.