Staring into the eyes of such children, Lucia scrutinized each feature.

But then, at that moment.

Did one of the stiffened children throw up in tension?

It seemed like the child threw up a little on Lucia’s fine chin, but the surprise wasn’t because of that.

What was smeared on her chin now was dark red blood.

No,

‘Not blood. This is…’

“It’s hair dye.”

A cheap magic hair dye with side effects enough to make one vomit.

Even in such a situation, strangely, the children didn’t move despite their stiffness.

Perhaps it was because of the sharp gaze of the director, warning not to make a fuss as if such incidents were not rare.

“Oh my, why is the child like this? She’s not usually like this; maybe she’s not feeling well today. I should take her to see a doctor.”

Watching the director hastily making excuses, Lucia closed her eyes deeply.

And, biting her molars enough to feel the tension in her jaw muscles, she barely spoke to the stiff children.

“… Take care of this child, everyone.”

As if the chains that had been binding them were suddenly cut, the children rushed forward, patting her back.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Lucia silently grabbed the director’s throat and stepped outside, closing the door where the children couldn’t see.

“… Was this what she meant by preparing?”

“Oh, no, this is… Ugh!”

What Lucia wanted to hear wasn’t an excuse.

“Hidden ledger. The rest of the children. The conspirators.”

“K-Kuh… W-What are you talking about…”

In the stifling breath, a violent gesture caused Lucia’s hairpin to fall as it brushed against it.

Then, black and long hair flowing down.

Even the chilly wall succumbed to the overwhelming force.

Then, there was a word that flashed through the director’s mind.

‘N-no way. Black monster…?’

A black monster rarely seen in the Republic, far from the Empire.

But this overwhelming atmosphere made it difficult to think of anyone else.

“I only ask for an answer this one time.”

“I-I will give it!! Whatever you want, everything!”

Thus, leaving behind Lucia’s predatory, piercing gaze like a fierce carnivore, the underground of the orphanage headed towards, with trembling hands, the director took down the cloth attached to one side of the underground wall, revealing a neatly organized stack of papers.

Without hesitation, Lucia began to pull out those papers.

Although she turned around to take only the records of the last five years, the director had already escaped and was nowhere to be found.

She didn’t care about her because she already knew where she was.
As the heartbeats, remembered through spatial embodiment, echoed loudly like an alarm from somewhere, Lucia, holding the ledger in her hand, tried to open the firmly closed door with the doorknob. [Dash] Thud! Kicking it with her all-purpose key, she caught sight of the people inside. While selecting documents, everyone in this small town was waiting for Lucia with weapons, eyes filled with a beast-like intensity. However, even in such tension, Lucia faced them nonchalantly. Then, as she compared the names of the responsible person who handed over the documents and the number of children in them, she realized that the culprit was not just the director. The only livelihood means for this village that could be sustained without working the fields was a business involving children.