Chapter 163
At those words, Lynette faltered slightly.
She hadn’t expected him to openly say that he didn’t want to go home.
‘Does he not get along with his mother?’
That’s something she could easily understand.
Families struggling to survive usually fell into only two types. Those who clung to each other all the more dearly in unbearable circumstances, and those who saw each other as a burdensome weight.
She had gone through that herself. Her relationship with her parents, whose faces she could barely even remember now, had been far from good. She had known from a very young age that they were the kind of people who would sell their own child if the opportunity arose.
She thought she had forgotten everything during the few years she lived in the Imperial Castle, but seeing Edwin made the memories that she had buried begin to quietly resurface.
She closed her eyes tightly for a moment, then opened them to shake off the thoughts forming in her mind.
Lynette quietly looked at the child’s face.
‘What do I do?’
Strictly speaking, there is nothing she could do for him.
She’s merely a stranger staying in this village for a short time, and this child still has a family.
She could take him to the inn and let him sleep there, but… there’s no way of knowing how Edwin’s mother would take that, so she couldn’t just do something so reckless. And if she lets him stay for one night, then what? What would happen after she leaves the village?
Lynette gently pushed the packaged food into the child’s arms.
“You still need to go home.”
The child lowered his head with a gloomy expression.
Even when she had told him to get home safely, he didn’t budge.
“…”
A silence settled between them.
Watching him hold the package and stare down at the ground, Lynette eventually turned away first.
‘Did I do something pointless?’
She had only acted on impulse because he caught her eye.
Because he looked pitiful, she thought she would simply let him eat a full meal. She hadn’t expected it to become anything more complicated than that.
She let out a small sigh, then began walking slowly. After a few seconds, she started hearing small footsteps. Turning around slightly to check, she saw Edwin following her from a distance.
She swept her hair back with a slightly troubled expression.
Would he give up if she pretended not to notice and kept going?
She quickened her pace a little, but the boy continued chasing after her, practically running.
The rustling sound of the packaged food and the light patter of his steps followed her.
Instead of turning back, she bit her lip lightly.
‘What do I do?’
If there were a way to truly help him, she would not hesitate to reach out.
But she couldn’t.
She had already felt guilty for feeding him a single meal then leaving him behind, but it wasn’t as if she had any miraculous solution.
After walking a little farther, she broke into a light run.
It wasn’t a busy district, but there were enough people passing by so that he wouldn’t be able to keep up easily.
She could tell Edwin is desperately trying to follow her.
A moment later, she heard a wet splatter on the ground.
“Oh dear.”
“My goodness.”
Hearing the murmurs around her, she could guess what had happened.
Lynette stopped running, dropped her shoulders, and let out a long sigh.
She slowly turned back.
As expected, Edwin had fallen to the ground.
The food spilled, leaving a mess on the road.
“Are you alright?”
She lifted him up as she asked.
The child blinked.
She had expected him to cry, but he didn’t, which was a relief in its own way.
His already worn-out clothes were smeared with food and dirt.
When she brushed off the part of his pants where no food had spilled, she saw his knee scraped and bleeding.
‘Haah…’
Lynette swallowed a sigh.
After this happened, how could she possibly turn away? He’s a mess, and on top of that, injured.
Edwin didn’t say a single word.
He only stared at her blankly.
A child that’s hurt should be crying, yet not a single tear formed in his eyes.
They looked dry, as if he had forgotten how to cry altogether.
“You’re hurt.”
On top of that, because his pants were so worn, the fabric around the scraped area had torn wide open. Thanks to that, she could clearly see the wound.
Lynette crouched in front of Edwin and fell into thought.
The best thing to do would be to take him back to his home.
She could buy some bread, hand it to him, and walk him to his doorstep. Then he wouldn’t be able to follow her anymore.
Dirty clothes could be changed easily enough.
But the problem is that she didn’t know where Edwin lived.
‘I said I wouldn’t go somewhere dangerous.’
She had no intention of breaking her promise to Sillian.
She didn’t know exactly where this child lives, but she’s certain it isn’t one of the proper houses near the main road. It’s likely in some deep alley or on the edge of the village.
It doesn’t seem dangerous, but there is no need to take unnecessary risks.
‘I’ll take him to the inn first, then tell Sillian he should take the child home.’
Having come to that decision, she straightened her knees and stood up.
When she began walking without a word, she could feel Edwin’s gaze on her back.
Instead of waiting for him to follow, she extended her hand slightly.
“Come here.”
At those words, the child’s eyes widened.
He hurried over, grabbing her hand tightly.
He seemed afraid that she might run away again.
“Does your knee hurt?”
Edwin hesitated for a bit, then nodded.
‘I should treat his knee first.’
Would the inn have any ointment?
She planned to explain the situation to whoever of the three she meets along the way and ask them to escort him, but during the walk back, she didn’t run into any of them.
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