About Gutter Alley, Part 7
"Retreat! Retreat!"
Unable to hold out any longer, Rina finally ordered a withdrawal.
Overwhelmed by the surging waves of Rabine's gang, Rina's crew scattered in all directions, fleeing back toward their hideout.
"Whoops! Got one!"
"Rina! Save me!"
Rabine was viciously efficient, making sure to capture at least one or two prisoners in every skirmish.
The captured child cried out desperately for Rina, but she turned away, dismissing it as a necessary sacrifice for the greater good.
It's not like Rabine will mistreat them anyway. She'll take good care of them.
The real problem was that the next time they met, that child would be fully integrated into Rabine's gang.
"Damn it, we lost again!"
"We couldn't help it. They had more numbers than us..."
"Yeah, they have more numbers and they're better fighters! And we're the idiots picking fights with them! But you know what? Who the hell keeps fighting when they know they're going to lose?!"
The boy protested fiercely, confronting Rina, but she had no retort.
Every time she confidently led them out, they were utterly crushed, and her excuses were always the same.
"If Rabine had actually tried, we'd all be dead. Arciel used to protect us before."
"Then what do you want me to do?!"
Rina shrieked, finally snapping. The children flinched, but their expressions quickly soured into open contempt.
"I'm going over to their side."
"Me too."
Without a shred of regret, they turned and walked in the direction of Rabine's territory.
Rin tried to stop them in a panic, but they roughly shook off his hands and vanished into the distance.
The remaining children dragged their exhausted bodies back to their sleeping quarters.
Once they were left alone, Rina collapsed into Rin's arms and burst into tears.
"I'm doing my best too...!"
"I know. You're doing everything you can, Rina."
"Effort isn't enough. I need something more definitive."
"Yeah. It's painful to worry, but you'll find the answer in the end."
His attempts at comfort had somehow become as repetitive and hollow as Rina's excuses.
She wanted to snap at him to shut up and stop repeating the same useless words, but she held it in.
Where did it all go wrong?
She had returned with Rin, coaxed him into seizing a new opportunity, gathered a following, and successfully became their leader.
She had become the leader of a group, just as she had dreamed.
She had even secured the loyalty of Rin, who was popular enough to prevent any thoughts of rebellion, keeping him firmly under her thumb.
With that idiot Arciel out of the picture, the stage was finally set for her to execute her strategies. Yet, before she knew it, the tide of war had already turned against them.
Rin, who used to offer decent advice when he was by Arciel's side, now did nothing but spout foolish, obvious platitudes. She spent every day correcting him.
Because of that, she could feel the subordinates looking at her differently, but that was short-lived. It meant nothing when they lost every crucial battle.
At a time when they needed to put their heads together and fight for survival, Rin was leisurely trying to start a farm.
"If we can show them that crops can grow here, everyone will change their minds."
Crops? Seriously?!
How long would they have to wait to grow and eat them?
Did he honestly believe that doing so would bring prosperity to the entirety of Gutter Alley?
If he truly believed that, Rina saw it as the absolute limit of Rin's capabilities.
And now, she had to admit, however reluctantly, that she too had hit a wall.
"Look at this. I even swallowed my pride because they called me arrogant. I'm clearly trying to change, but no one recognizes it, and no one wants to follow me."
"I recognize it."
You recognizing it doesn't help me at all.
It would have been better to have Rabine under her command instead.
In the end, just as Rina had judged from the very beginning, there was no one useful around her.
The fact that she, a woman of noble blood, was humbling herself like this and yet the situation remained unresolved was entirely the fault of those around her.
She was utterly sick and tired of these incompetent fools.
"Rina?"
"I want to be alone for a bit. I need to cool my head."
"Alright. Don't stay out too long, it's dangerous."
When she didn't reply, Rin quietly withdrew.
In his own way, he felt hurt that Rina hadn't called him by his name even once since then. But since her attitude had clearly changed, Rin comforted himself and hoped she would soon shake off her depression.
"Damn it...!"
Under the moonlight, Rina breathed heavily.
How long would she have to live like this? How long would she have to scrape by in this wretched place? The bleakness of her future suffocated her.
Just as she was gazing up at the pale moon, lost in melancholy, an unfamiliar voice drifted through the air.
"Lady Rinacien."
It was a polite, pleasant baritone.
Yet, it carried a hint of youth.
"Who's there?!"
Rina sharply scanned her surroundings, on high alert.
The moonlight bathed her, accentuating her beauty.
She looked every bit a sovereign queen, and the young, hooded knight marvelled at the sight.
"Forgive my rudeness for calling upon you so suddenly. I have come to serve you."
"That manner of speech... you are a noble. But even the street rats in this filthy alley wouldn't blindly trust someone who hides their face."
The knight smiled beneath his hood.
Perhaps because she had grown up in such harsh conditions, she was entirely different from the sheltered noble ladies of the Empire, who cared only for their appearance.
Her beauty, her sharp instincts, and the high dignity befitting her bloodline pleased him immensely.
The knight lowered his hood and dropped to one knee.
"I have offended you."
As the knight looked up, Rina caught her breath.
Neatly swept-back blonde hair, with sharp, prominent features.
He was, without a doubt, the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life.
Rin didn't even begin to compare.
"Morgan Reinhold, eldest son of the House of Reinhold. I pay my respects to the Crown Princess."
"Are you trying to mock me? Me, the Crown Princess? Do you even know how many children His Majesty has?"
"Yes, I do."
"Children"... her vocabulary has grown crude due to her environment.
Reinhold's steady gaze locked onto Rina—no, Rinacien.
"The sole heir to His Majesty the Emperor is Rinacien Carlun. Only you."
"Nonsense! I have more than five siblings."
"You did. But not anymore."
"...What?"
"The first prince died of illness. The second prince fell in battle on the demon front. The third princess died from a fall. The fourth prince died in a riding accident. And the fifth prince, the last of them, succumbed to the recent plague early this year."
Rinacien's eyes widened.
All five of her older siblings had died of different causes?
Which meant...
"I know you must be deeply grieved by the loss of your siblings, but unfortunately, we have no time. This, too, is the tragedy of imperial blood."
Reinhold wore a solemn expression.
That alone was enough to captivate Rinacien.
And he, too, was thoroughly captivated by Rinacien's beauty.
"I have spent over half a year searching for His Majesty's sole heir. Now I see why it took so long. To escape the assassins by hiding in a place where almost no one would know you... I, Morgan, am in awe of Your Highness's wisdom."
"How did you find me?"
"I disguised my subordinates as merchants and had them scour the land."
"Merchants?"
"Yes. One of the outsiders who visited this alley on the day its power shifted was my subordinate."
Rinacien's brow arched.
"Then you must have heard what almost happened to me that day! Are you saying your subordinate just stood by and watched?!"
Of course.
Unless she was a woman to his liking, she had no value.
But now that he had met her in person, she was of the highest quality.
A masterpiece exquisite enough to satisfy his incredibly fastidious tastes.
Reinhold snapped his fingers. Instantly, ten men in black hoods materialized behind him.
One of them reached into his cloak and pulled out a severed head.
Rinacien flinched, but she did not look away.
She had spent years rolling in the dirt of Gutter Alley.
She was long past the point of trembling at the sight of a corpse or a severed head.
This pleased Reinhold even more.
Unlike other noble ladies, she was a woman he wanted to keep looking at.
Feeling his intense, lingering gaze, Rinacien did not call out his rudeness. Instead, she offered a faint blush as her reply.
"This is the head of the man who behaved so outrageously back then."
"How am I to know if this is truly his head? I didn't even know who he was."
"Would you believe me if I offered you the heads of everyone present here?"
"The living are far more useful than the dead. I trust you will make up for that day's insolence in due time."
Vitality gradually returned to Rinacien's voice.
Yes. Subjects bowing before their lord's majesty, begging for mercy.
And herself, ruling over them.
This was how it was supposed to be.
This was the status she was born with.
"What do you intend to do with me?"
"I will escort you to the capital, to the Imperial Palace, and announce to His Majesty the Emperor and all the citizens of the Empire that the rightful heir is here."
"After leaving the rightful heir to rot in a place like Gutter Alley all this time?"
"What do you mean by that?"
The knight remained perfectly calm, even in the face of her direct resentment.
Bwoooooooo—!
"What is...?!"
Only then did Rinacien tear her eyes away from Reinhold and look toward the hideout.
"Your Highness, the Crown Princess has no history of ever staying in a filthy place like Gutter Alley."
Behind Reinhold, who spoke in a gentle, soothing tone, flames were beginning to rise in the distance.
As always, tragedy begins in a single instant.
Rabine's gang, who were keeping watch at the entrance of the alley, spotted an organized army marching toward them.
"Look over there! White cloaks and armor!"
"Could it be... the Holy Kingdom?"
The children immediately called for Rabine.
Hearing that the army of the Holy Kingdom had arrived, Rabine ran over in shock.
Amidst her shock, a sliver of hope flickered.
The hope that Arciel's—the Holy Kingdom's—reinforcements had finally arrived.
"Rabine! It's been a long time."
"Sir Casti?"
"It's Sir Casti! Guys, it's Sir Casti!"
Recognizing Casti, a Holy Knight who had always been exceptionally fond of children, they scrambled to greet him.
Casti smiled and waved back.
But in that exact moment, Rabine saw it.
Under the unusually bright moonlight, a naked blade hung at Casti's waist, reflecting the cold, pale light.
"Sir Casti, why did you only come now? We were so hungry!"
"I'm sorry. It took quite a long time to prepare."
"What kind of preparation? What kind of meat and bread did you bring this time?"
"Oh, dear."
Casti chuckled, looking troubled by the barrage of questions.
"This is the problem with lowborn trash. Treat them well once, and they think they're entitled to it."
"Sir Casti...?"
"Listen closely, little ones."
She felt a sudden presence.
Rabine barely managed to duck, a blade slicing through the air right where her head had been.
Armed men in black hoods had crept up on the children before anyone noticed.
"Gah!"
"Ugh...!"
In an instant, the children were seized, daggers plunged into their chests and throats, ending their lives.
"Now, let me apologize once more."
Casti wore a benevolent smile.
"Cleaning is simple, but it isn't easy. You have to do it thoroughly so not a single speck of dust remains, which requires proper preparation. From this moment on, I will sweep this place clean."
Spreading his arms wide just as Agreus had done in the past, the white army began its charge into Gutter Alley.
"Jack, Lapham! Secure Lee!"
Rabine screamed in desperation, but no answer came.
Jack, his throat already slashed, stumbled to Rabine's side and took a defensive stance.
"Jack...?"
"We'll handle this. Rabine, go to Lee."
"Lapham! Your stomach...!"
Clutching his spilling entrails, Lapham raised his club.
"Go. Escape this place with Lee. That's what you wanted, wasn't it?"
"What about you guys?!"
"Go, Rabine."
Lapham smiled sadly.
"I guess we really are just the stagnant water pooling in this gutter."
Slash.
With those final words, Lapham's head rolled.
The white army had closed in, stealing her friend's life in the blink of an eye.
She did not scream.
Instead, Rabine drank a dark red elixir.
The very same elixir Groom had consumed on the Day of Liberation.
"Aaargh!"
The world slowed down.
In this world where she alone moved at high speed, her breath could barely keep up.
Enduring the burning agony, Rabine sprinted toward the hideout where Lee was.
Leaving misery and grief behind, she ran with the sole purpose of protecting him.
"Rina!!!!!"
Rin was already searching for Rina, having seen the fire spreading from the entrance.
I shouldn't have left her alone!
Rin grit his teeth, cursing his complacency for leading to such a critical mistake.
Fortunately, he found Rina back where they had parted.
But Rina was not alone.
She was surrounded by black-hooded knights and a handsome, blonde youth.
Seeing them armed, Rin lunged forward without hesitation to save her.
"Let go of Rina!"
And he was immediately struck down by a heavy gauntlet.
Rin collapsed from the brutal, merciless blow, but Rinacien did not even blink.
"Kill him."
"Wait."
Rinacien stepped forward, stopping Reinhold.
"I told you, didn't I? That I am of noble blood."
"Rina... it's dangerous..."
"It's not dangerous. These men are my escort knights."
"Knights? I don't understand..."
"Of course you don't. It's too much for your stupid head to grasp."
Look at him. This incompetent fool can't even touch a hair on my subordinates.
It really came down to the caliber of the leader.
"I am different from you all. I will rise to a higher place and achieve great things. When that day comes, I will personally bestow my grace upon you."
"What are you talking about? You said we were equals! Weren't we supposed to stand by each other, protect each other, and care for each other?"
"You? Protect me? By my side? Ah!"
Rinacien clapped her hands and extended her palm.
"Fine. If you want it that badly, I'll appoint you as my chief chamberlain. That way, you can serve by my side. You can attend to me in times of peace, and protect me in times of crisis. How about that?"
"Your Highness."
"Morgan, this is my decision."
"Rinacien."
They had barely met, yet they were already calling each other by their names.
Even to Rin, they looked like a perfect match.
A handsome man and a beautiful woman. If not for the way she was treating him, he would have had no choice but to admit defeat and step aside.
"You would do well to make the right choice."
At Reinhold's threat, Rin pushed himself up from the ground.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, but he felt no pain.
His heart pounded, but for a completely different reason than before.
"You haven't changed at all! You held onto your arrogance until the very end, just waiting for this moment!"
"It was a very long, patient wait. Do you see now? The world was on my side all along."
"I was on your side from the very beginning!"
"A useless ally, you mean. I'm only offering you the position of chief chamberlain because you're good at chores. You have no idea how generous that is. Normally, only those with verified status can hold such a post, let alone a male chamberlain for a noble lady."
"Yeah, I don't know. I had no idea what kind of person you truly were!"
Even in the face of Rin's absolute fury, Rinacien did not shrink back.
She was no longer the Rina of the past.
She was the Crown Princess, Rinacien Carlun.
"Are you actually daring to reject my offer?"
"I'd rather die than be your servant! Just wait. I will return as someone who can look you in the eye as an equal! I'll rise higher than these people you call your knights, and I'll stand before you proudly!"
"Sigh."
Sighing, Rinacien stepped closer and caressed Rin's cheek with her outstretched hand.
This pity was the first genuine emotion she had shown since coming to Gutter Alley.
Stab.
"Then die."
"...Rina?"
A sharp sensation pierced through his abdomen.
"A noble lady always carries a silver dagger to protect her chastity."
Rinacien explained gently to Rin as he collapsed helplessly.
"This is my final mercy. Mercy for being my only ally in this place. I'll admit, you were the best companion here, but you were utterly useless."
I'll call you by the name you wanted to hear, just this once at the end.
"Goodbye, my Rin."
Rin could not move.
A bottomless pit of despair and frustration weighed heavily upon him.
Looking down into his lifeless eyes, Reinhold whispered to him.
"Since Her Highness calls it mercy, I shall let you be. Looking at you, you won't amount to anything anyway, but I will remember your face."
The end.
The moment she stabbed him, the relationship between Rin and Rinacien was severed forever.
He wouldn't die from a mere silver dagger wound, but the pain filled Rin with deep regret and burning rage over the days he had spent with Rina.
Did I love her?
"Lee!"
Yes. Very much.
"Everyone is dead... Jack... Lapham...!"
Was it a foolish romance, then?
"On my way here, I saw Rina at the hideout. She was with the bastards who killed Jack and Lapham!"
It was a one-sided love. Rather than foolish, he was simply young.
"She said it with her own mouth! To kill everyone in this alley!"
He was too young to know his place, too young to act mature in front of his unrequited love.
"We have to run. There's no hope left here. Get up, Lee!"
Let's admit it. It was his first love.
"Please, get up... I checked everywhere... Everyone is dead except for us..."
And now, she was a mortal enemy who had slaughtered his friends.
Clutching his bleeding stomach, Rin stood up.
Looking around, he realized he was no longer where he had collapsed.
Rabine must have carried him on her back, fleeing from the army.
"Let's part ways here."
"Lee?"
"I have something I must do."
I shouldn't have half-heartedly sided with Arciel back then just because of Rina.
"I'm coming with you!"
"They remember my face. It's dangerous if you come with me."
"I'll protect you! Lee, I'll protect you! Please, please!"
Rin finally looked at Rabine.
Blood was dripping from her nose and mouth, and tears streamed down her face.
"I only have you left now, Lee..."
His heart ached terribly at her words, but Rin turned his head away.
"Lee!"
"I have something I must do."
I will definitely strike back at Rina.
"Lee! Let's just disappear together. The two of us can live a normal life in a normal place. In peace! Just like you wanted!"
Peace? Yes, there was a time I wished for that.
"Rabine. I have to do this."
Revenge. I will become someone powerful, make Rina look at me in horror, and force her to apologize and pay the price.
Though he didn't say it aloud, Rabine could guess.
The boy who had been so gentle now desired the most destructive path.
A girl could not stop a man's resolve.
"Then I'll build a place for you to return to. Once you've done what you must, I'll prepare a place where you can live comfortably, normally, and peacefully. When you hear my name, come and say the words we always used to say. The words only you can say to me. Then, I'll come to greet you."
"...I'll look forward to it."
That was their final conversation.
She didn't have the courage to hold him back as he dragged his body away.
Watching his back fade into a tiny speck in the distance, Rabine wept bitterly.
Hearing Rabine sob like that for the first time choked Rin up, but he had to keep moving.
And so, five years passed before Rabine reunited with him in Waltercroix.
With a man whose heart had died.
"Well, that's the end of it. Quite long, wasn't it?"
Only enough time had passed for night to turn to dawn, but for some reason, Lucy felt like she hadn't seen him in ages.
Her own childhood, born as a fallen noble who had to earn her bread with nothing but a sword, didn't even compare.
Lucy finally understood.
The look in Rin's eyes when he stared at Rinacien was not affection, but resentment.
"I'll give you credit for one thing."
Rabine stroked the hair of the sleeping Rin.
He looked adorable fast asleep.
"Because you told him to wear a mask, Reinhold never recognized Rin."
Since she hadn't made him wear the mask out of pure goodwill, Lucy flinched.
Hearing Rin's past made her own misdeeds feel even more heinous.
"For the first three years, Rin just drifted from city to city, doing manual labor. Ha, maybe because of that, the watcher assigned to him eventually left. Must have been short on hands, because that watcher ended up working as a servant for a family that was a political rival to the imperial family."
Lucy felt a chill run down her spine at Rabine, who knew every single detail of Rin's life after the destruction of Gutter Alley.
"Then, Rin, who was hard-working and quiet, was offered a job as a porter for the Hero's party. Seriously, who recruits for a Hero's party like they're posting a guild quest? Rin saw it as an opportunity and took it immediately. He needed a title if he wanted to stand as an equal, just like he told that bitch Rina."
Before she knew it, Lucy was kneeling politely, listening intently.
The bond between Rabine and Rin, which she could never hope to match, naturally made her humble herself.
"You know best, but the Hero's party was only doing odd jobs back then, right? Until they achieved something major, only their classes were known to the public. Shield Knight, Hero, Mage, Archer, Saint, and so on. That's why Rin joined the party without knowing the Shield Knight was Reinhold."
I suppose that answers most of your minor questions.
"Does Arciel... know nothing?"
"What would a slum girl know? She was probably just dragged around by the nose."
Unlike her tone when speaking of Rin, Rabine spoke of Arciel with complete indifference.
Shallowly, Lucy felt a slight sense of relief at the fact that Arciel was ignorant.
And Rabine did not miss that opening.
"What are you looking so relieved for?"
"Huh?"
"Does it put your mind at ease that Arciel is an idiot?"
"It's not that..."
"Luciena Estelle. Do you still not realize what kind of situation you're in?"
As Rabine suddenly turned hostile, Lucy panicked, unable to find the words to reply.
"Knowing Rin, he must absolutely loathe Reinhold. He knew what that bastard was really like from the very beginning."
Lucy froze completely.
"How do you think Rin feels about you, who fawned all over that same Reinhold?"
Her entire body began to tremble like a leaf.
"You committed every mistake in the book, and now you're acting like this toward Rin? Rina already did all of that first. Back in Gutter Alley."
She couldn't breathe.
"Luciena, do you know that the way you acted in the City of Romance has already become a famous love song among the bards?"
"Ugh... ah..."
"You should seriously reconsider your stubbornness to stay by Rin's side. From where I stand, you would have acted the exact same way toward anyone who dragged you out of that abyss. Whether it was Arciel, or some other random man."
"That's not...!"
"Hey."
Rabine pulled Rin's head tightly into her chest.
"Rin is mine."
A firm, hostile declaration from the thief.
Like a stone statue, Lucy remained frozen until Rabine fell asleep and the sun began to rise.
Until Rin woke up and called her name,
she did not make a single movement.