Chapter 36
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 36
Merai had gone to the moneylender, insisting her son had put the building up as collateral on a foolish whim and that she couldn't possibly hand it over. Her pleas earned her nothing but a slap across the face before she was chased away.
She needed money. A fortune so vast that not even selling every last child would be enough to cover the debt.
She sought out the nobles who had purchased children from her before, but they rejected her at every turn. In her desperation, Merai even turned to the temple. One of its priests had been a particularly valuable client.
It was there, upon laying eyes on an exquisitely enchanting painting, that Merai felt a thrill shoot through her. It was as if an angel had reached down to take her hand.
Hidden within the painting was a magic circle—the very one the previous director had disposed of years ago to avoid scrutiny. Thankfully, the fools at the temple hadn't even realized what it was.
Merai abandoned her appointment with the priest and rushed back to the orphanage.
The previous director had once described the ritual process to her in detail, and fortunately, she remembered every word vividly.
After painting the circle with blood drawn from her own arm and using a child as a sacrifice, Merai succeeded in summoning a demon. That demon was the fool standing before her now—the one who refused the countless pleasures she offered him.
"That demon called himself Melek."
She had succeeded in summoning the same demon once more. Merai felt a wave of relief, but a problem arose from an unexpected quarter.
"I'm sorry, but that isn't me."
The demon denied his own past. The creature she had summoned using the exact same method, who had the same face, the same name, and even the same voice—he claimed he wasn't the one she knew.
"Pitiable creature. You are still shackled to the past."
The demon even had the audacity to pity her. Who do you think I became this way for? Consumed by a strange sense of betrayal, Merai made a declaration.
"In the end, you will devour children just as you did before."
Demons loved flawless, pure souls.
For reasons she couldn't fathom, the demon she had reunited with after twenty years was suffering from a ravenous hunger. He looked famished, and she thought that placing food right in front of him would only heighten the temptation.
Merai had brought all the "meals" the demon had once so loved down to the basement, but damn it all, the demon possessed incredible patience.
In the end, before the demon’s patience could run out, her beloved son had to go and bring guests to the orphanage. Was it the guards? The priests, just like twenty years ago? Or perhaps the people Troy owed money to? None of them were welcome.
Merai grew anxious.
If the demon refused to hunt for himself, there was another way. She used to have to spoon-feed the picky children to make them eat their vegetables.
Why not just pour the meal directly into his mouth? With that thought, Merai yanked on the chains binding the demon's body.
Melek began to walk, following Merai's lead. They were headed for the torture room where the children were locked away.
* * *
Soon after, the door swung open.
Yulma tried her best to maintain her composure. She just had to do exactly what she and Ranon had discussed. It wasn't difficult; she could do this.
But Yulma’s breath caught in her throat. The director hadn't come alone; she was dragging a man bound in chains.
Why did she bring him?
Because the man was standing directly behind the director, it would be difficult for Ranon to strike from the rear. The man, his entire body restrained, moved like a puppet at the director's command.
"Who let Yulma go?" the director asked, her voice tender as she scanned the room. "Why is no one answering? Your director is back. Everyone, turn around and greet me."
There was no response. All the children were covering their ears. Yulma had ordered her younger siblings to never look back, to keep their ears covered, and to huddle against the wall. The children were afraid of Yulma, so they would obey.
She had told the more impatient ones they could only look back after counting to one hundred—and as far as Yulma knew, none of them could count that high.
"Yulma. You answer me. What is going on here?"
"I should be asking you that. Director, what are you going to do with us? I thought you were going to sell us."
At her words, the director’s eyes crinkled into a deceptively pleasant smile.
"Sell you? Hahaha, well, that’s a pleasant misunderstanding. Or perhaps not, since that was my original intention. You too, Yulma. If my son hadn't damaged the merchandise, I could have gotten a high price for you... To leave such a blatant scar in such a visible place. Isn't he a wicked boy?"
Merchandise?
A wave of betrayal washed over Yulma, but mixed with it was a faint, startling sense of gratitude toward Troy. Being injured was better than being sold off to some unknown fate. To Yulma, a scar like this was neither a flaw nor a blemish.
"But the situation has changed. You see, Troy borrowed a huge sum of money using the orphanage as collateral. Even if I sold all of you, I wouldn't be able to pay it back. So, I found another way."
I take back what I just thought. That goddamn bastard! So all of this is happening because of the money he borrowed?
Recalling her role, Yulma pressed on. "So, what is this 'other way'?"
"Would you believe me if I told you? I didn't believe it myself until I saw it with my own eyes... Yes, you’ll understand once you see it."
The director walked over to the wall and ran her hand over the weapons. For a moment, Yulma grew incredibly tense. She won't notice one of them is missing, will she? Fortunately, the director seemed to pass over the empty spot without a second glance.
In the next moment, Yulma had to stop herself from cursing aloud.
The director had picked up a blade.
Damn it, she's insane. Ranon was right. The director really intends to use those lethal weapons on us.
"You’ll understand me later, Yulma."
Understand my ass! Yulma would rather starve to death than grow fat by selling innocent children.
"You’re a good girl, aren't you?"
Did being "good" even matter in a situation like this? Those "precious" words were something the director said often. The children used to act cute just to hear her praise them for being "good."
"I like good children. That way, the demon will be satisfied."
The director pointed the blade at Yulma. Her back was now completely turned to the door. And there, behind her, Yulma saw Ranon's horrified expression.
Aside from the director grabbing a weapon, things were proceeding almost exactly as they had anticipated. The plan was for Yulma to be the bait while Ranon struck the director from behind.
The director raised her hand.
"Ranon!"
Yulma squeezed her eyes shut, praying for their success.
* * *
The drawer Lady Evangeline had broken was where the director kept her important belongings. Daisy knew very well that the director always carried its key with her.
"8 silver 30 copper, 12 silver 150 copper, 10 silver 200 copper, 7 silver, 13 silver 32 copper..."
Daisy read the documents Troy had found over and over. No matter how many times she repeated it, the contents didn't change. The documents were records of the director trafficking children.
"I only found out these papers existed a little while ago."
Troy, hunched over, barely managed to continue his explanation. It was the first time Daisy had ever seen him look so dejected.
"You're not just trying to pin your own crimes on the director, are you?"
"Can't you see what year this starts? Do you think a five-year-old could have done this?"
Daisy knew that. She just couldn't bring herself to admit that the director—the woman who had seemed so kind, so devoted—had been selling children all along.
"Director, don't the kids even miss you? Why don't they ever come back to visit..."
"It just means they’re living that happily."
Daisy remembered the answer she had received long ago, when as a young child she had sadly pointed out that the adopted children never visited.
Happily? No, they simply couldn't come back.
"Troy, did you know all along? Is that why you scarred Yulma?"
Troy nodded. Daisy remembered how Troy had always been particularly cruel to the children right before they were to be adopted. Yulma’s adoption had been canceled because of the ugly scar on her arm. You mean that wasn't just bullying?
"Since when did you know?"
"I first found out when I was ten."
Troy was seventeen now, so that was seven years ago.
"Why are you only telling us now? If we had known sooner..."
"I told you! I did! I told you my mom was selling the kids! That you were all living off that money! And what did you say back then? You told me not to be jealous of the kids getting adopted by rich families!" Troy shouted, his voice thick with pent-up resentment.
Daisy fell silent, remembering how she had scolded him simply because she disliked him.
Troy had been trying his best, in his own twisted way. He had tried to stop the trafficking disguised as adoption, even standing up to his mother several times.
When words failed, he had even reported his own mother, but without evidence, nothing came of it. The guards didn't bother with a proper investigation, claiming it hardly mattered if an orphan or two disappeared each year. It was their roundabout way of saying they wouldn't get involved when the buyers were likely wealthy nobles.
"I know! My mom is crazy! That’s why I tried to get rid of this damn orphanage!"
So, Troy had chosen an alternative.
"There are thirteen kids left in the orphanage. I borrowed fifteen gold using the building as collateral, an amount she couldn't pay back even if she sold all thirteen of them. I thought if I did that, she’d stop selling the kids. But..."
But then, the director had vanished, taking all the children with her.
Troy admitted he only realized afterward that his plan might have pushed his mother to sell all the children at once. Overwhelmed by the guilt of making things worse, he had turned to drink.
"It’s because of me..."
Daisy hugged the tear-stained Troy.
The children probably hadn't been sold. As Troy said, it was a debt that couldn't be repaid even by selling all of them. Instead, just like her son, the director must have found another way.
She had used that drawing on the floor to summon a demon and make a wish. With a sinking heart, Daisy finally understood why that magic circle was in the director’s office.