The wariness of those who trembled with fear at the families and friends being dragged away by strangers was stronger than anything else.

‘Are they all hiding?’

She could sense their presence, hiding and waiting.

In the space where only the footsteps of the two hitting the floor echoed.

“Why have you come here?”

They stopped at the sound of a woman’s voice coming from somewhere.

Violet eyes flowed in the direction of the voice, and for a moment, a guarded look appeared.

A slender girl holding the hand of a boy who looked about ten years old.

The person Lamein wanted to protect until the end.

Lamein’s beloved sister.

‘Lily Myers.’

She was standing in front of him.

A sense of caution was felt over Lily’s violet eyes, unable to see ahead.
“It’s been a few years since we met, right?”

A relentless and brutal war.

After Heter began to use Lamein as a tool of ambition in earnest, Lamein couldn’t find this place for a long time.

Now, at the age of 17, she had become a beautiful girl, not the child in the photo.

A space so still that it seemed frozen.

“Lily, it’s been a while.”

Lily’s violet eyes, distorted with hostility, sparkled prettily at the quietly exchanged greeting.

“Lamein, Miss?”

Lily, opening her eyes wide as if she couldn’t believe it, moved her toes.

“Are you really Miss Lamein?”

“……Yeah, Lily, it’s me.”

For some reason, Lamein, who answered a beat late with a choked throat, barely pushed up her lips.

Lily, who had approached while holding the boy’s hand, stood right in front of her. And,

“I was worried that something might have happened.”

As if reaching out to shake hands, she extended her small hand into the empty space.

Lamein warmly clasped that hand.

“You sent medicine, and I was worried because you didn’t come.”

“Sorry, I was a bit busy. Now that I’ve come to find you, don’t worry.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Lily, who smiled like a flower, turned her head slowly.

“Kids, it’s okay for me to come out now.”

At her words, somewhere, there was a murmuring sound.

“Can we go out?”

“Lily said it’s okay for her to come out.”

Children’s voices.

Behind a large tree.

Children hiding under the dense leaves one by one peeked their faces out.

“A while ago, strangers came and took away the children. So, I told the kids to hide when they hear footsteps.”

Lily spoke calmly but with a somewhat subdued voice.

‘She’s still the same.’

Children living in a cruel reality that hasn’t changed.

Lamein, who swallowed the bitterness, stood there for a while, looking at the children who were wary of her.

“Hey, is she not a monster?”

“Yeah, fortunately, monsters haven’t shown up.”

“If a monster appeared and took my brother away like Mom, I was going to use this stone to catch the monster like this.”

Was he about five years old?

The small child swung a stone thicker than his wrist in the air.

In the eyes of the children who consider the presence that took away their mom, dad, brother, and sister as monsters, what expression would they make if they found out that the monsters in their imagination were cruel humans?

“Miss Lamein, we’ll take you inside.”

Erasing her thoughts at Lily’s voice, Lamein smiled faintly.

Lily’s old wooden house.

As Lamein took a step inside, she slowly scanned the small space.

It might be a modest and shabby space, but for Lily and the children, it must be a precious space that protects them from the cruel wind and cold.

Having explored the inside of the wooden house, Lamein’s gaze turned to the boy standing next to the door.

The boy who had been holding Lily’s hand and walking continuously.

“Deon. Miss is a good person. It’s okay for her to be outside.”
The child who had been on guard without loosening up bowed in response to Lily’s words and left the room.

“Deon can’t speak. It’s because he lost his mom in front of his eyes when he was young.”

“…….”

“But he’s more mature and deep-hearted than me. He’s been here for about two years, always helping out.”

Lamein, who had been gazing at the empty space where the child, who served as Lily’s eyes, disappeared, turned her gaze.

Lily, sitting in front of a low table, breathed out with visible effort.

Why is it so tiring to walk just a little?

With her eyes on the struggling slender body, Lamein slowly opened her mouth.

“Lily, wait a little. I’ll develop the medicine soon.”

“…You’re developing medicine?”

“Yeah. So far, I’ve just been obtaining medicine, but with the help of others, I’ve decided to develop more therapeutic drugs.”

A subtle movement, whether it was a smile or not, appeared on Lily’s lips.

“Lily, aren’t you happy?”

“I am. But…”

Lily, who had hesitated, cautiously moved her lips.

“Miss, why are you trying to help us?”

It was clear why Lily made such an expression.

It must be a mix of apologies and gratitude, emotions on the boundary.

“Lily, then why are you helping the children here?”

Lily blinked her eyes slowly.

“I’m a person who can’t see ahead, whose body is in pain, and can’t do anything. Rather than helping the children, it’s to survive.”

“Then, can I go with you?”

“…What?”

Lily’s pupils trembled unmistakably.

“If I tell Lily that she can live in a much warmer house than here, wear nice clothes, and eat delicious food, will Lily leave with me?”

Lily, with a puzzled expression that was quickly erased from her face, lowered her head.

“No. I can’t leave the children behind.”

Knowing how cruel it is to be abandoned, she understands how painful it is to be abandoned.

“I can’t inflict more wounds on the wounded children.”

Her voice was straightforward and piercing.

You are such a kind child.

You must have suffered a lot too.

Looking at the lovely child who smiled innocently, looking at her sister who would come back soon without knowing anything, it was heartbreaking.

Knowing that she herself was the one who caused those wounds, a sense of guilt rushed over her.

‘I will come back to let you know that Lamein did not abandon you.’

She buried the truth she couldn’t reveal deep in her heart again.

“I feel the same way. I want to help as long as I know.”

Lamein spoke in a light tone.

Lily, who had been looking straight into her eyes, nodded silently.

“Anyway, I came today to let you know that I’ll be developing medicine.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you like this, but if you don’t hurry, the sun will set on your way.”

“Yeah, I’ll be going now.”

The short meeting was endlessly regrettable, but it was time to part.

As Lamein stood up, Lily also rose to her feet.
“It’s okay if you don’t come out. I’ll go back with Jane, who came with you.”

As if hesitating to follow, Lily’s footsteps, which were about to move away, calmly returned to their original place.

“Miss, please go back safely. And thank you.”

“I’ll come back soon. Please wait a little until then.”

The lingering attachment that didn’t easily fade away like a shadow.

Lamein, forcing her heavy footsteps with effort, left the village, leaving her sister behind.

The time when the sky is tinted with the color of sunset.

“Milord, have you returned?”

Roberto, who greeted Cedric upon arriving at the mansion, narrowed his eyes discreetly, without revealing any signs.

Cedric, with a deeply sunken gaze, didn’t even give a glance and passed by.

‘What happened?’

A sensation as if an invisible flame were emanating from his large body.

An unprecedented fear surged through.

At the moment when Cedric moved forward, following him with every breath held.

Cedric abruptly stopped in his tracks. And then.

“Where is Lamein?”

He asked in a chilling voice that sent shivers down the spine.