Every single muscle in Kesi's body tensed, and with increasing horror, she slowly turned around to see the Empress's two guards.
All she wanted to do was to find a deep hole in the ground and hide, and she cursed herself for spending so long here. She should have taken the little boy further away before questioning him, but it was too late for regretting now.
In the present moment, there was only one thing she could do. Plastering on a fake smile, she coughed to hide her awkwardness. "I'm so glad that you two were able to find me! I was so terribly scared that I would be left to feed the wolves late at night."
Grabbing one of the guards hands with her own, she shook it vigorously, trying to keep him from walking past her. "During all the chaos, I thought I had seen someone I used to know on the streets, but it had been but a mirage. And well… quite frankly, this city isn't what I had remembered it to be, and I found myself roaming the streets a bit aimlessly."
She tried to use her body to shield Mu Luming from their view, but her now-old shriveled physique couldn't hide anything at all. It was practically as if the little boy had been hiding between a thin stick.
A guard narrowed his eyes, scanning Kesi from head to toe and contemplatively circling her. Pointing a finger at Luming, he frowned.
"Little boy, what are you doing here with this nanny? Where had your sister gone?"
Kesi opened her mouth to speak, but Mu Luming was one step ahead of her. Out of the guards' field of vision, he offered a reassuring nod to Kesi before dropping to the floor.
The bright smile from before faded without a trace, the corners of his lips trembling before large beads of tears slid down the sides of his cheeks.
"Sir…" He croaked out, his words barely an intelligible mumble. "Sir… my sister…"
His body slumped against the dirty wall, almost as if all of his strength had left him. "The bandits came back, and my sister had run away to distract them, telling me to run away on my own."
Kesi took this opportunity to jump in. "I saw a girl wearing the same robes I had been wearing run off into the distance, and I came here to find this little boy hiding in the corner of the alleyway."
"She… she never came back for me…" His voice trembled with every word he spoke. "And… this nanny… was kind enough to… to comfort me."
The guards exchanged questioning glances, but they ultimately said nothing, only looking down at the little bundle of sadness in pity. The little boy was more than woeful, and with every single one of his sniffles, something tugged at their hearts as well.
It wasn't like the two of them had come from good family backgrounds, and the sobbing kid seemed so vulnerable, nearly mirror reflections of their own woes.
While it had been suspicious that the boy's sister and the nanny had worn the exact same dress, it was just a pure gray robe after all, one that wasn't at all uncommon for lower class citizens. Not to mention, there was no other ounce of resemblance between the old woman and the budding girl.
They blinked, forcing themselves to shake their strange suspicions from their minds.
All that really mattered was that they had found the nanny and that they would be able to report back to the Empress without losing their heads.
"Nanny Rong, it's a bit late now, and it is time to head back to the palace before the gates close." A guard gestured to the setting sun. "The Empress will not be pleased if we do not go back on time."
Kesi tried to think of a valid protest, but there was nothing in the back of her mind. Her gaze met the little boy's. "What about him? We can't just leave a kid out on the streets!"
Now that she knew Mu Luming's touch could temporarily give her back her youth, as much as she felt a strange aura radiate from this boy, she knew that there must have been something about him specifically. Whether it be that he was a name on her list of people to save or someone else, there was no doubt that he connected to her redemption and mission in some way.
Surprisingly, the little boy perked up. "Did you say palace?"
He looked up with wide eyes, a hint of astonishment and awe in them.
Avoiding his glances, the guards replied, "We'll contact local guards to find his sister." In a lower voice, they added, "If they cannot find her, then we'll contact his close relatives to take him in."
Their looks told Kesi that they thought the chances of rescuing the little boy's sister was next to none. And if she hadn't known that the "sister" never existed in the first place, she would have been actually worried for the little boy as well, utterly fooled by his acting. Even after years of specialized training in the agency, his superb acting skills put hers to shame.
"But, can he not accompany us to the palace?" Before her question even sounded, she already knew the answer.
"No. You should know the rules more than anyone."
"Can I get a few minutes with him before we head back? I've taken quite a liking to him, and I just want a few words."
The guards looked a bit worriedly at the setting sun, but ultimately, after seeing Mu Luming wipe away another crystal tear, they gave in. "Please be quick about it. The palace gates are going to close soon." They turned their backs away, standing in the alley entrance and letting the two head to the back for a private moment.
"Where can I find you?" Kesi's voice was urgent. After all, she had been clinging onto her second chance for youth and a second life. "I —"
The little boy pressed a small hand to her lips, stopping her frantic words.
"I'll find you instead, Kesi." His trademark toothy grin was back. "Believe me, and I'll find you again."