"You little thief!"
The owner of the fruit stall cursed at the black-haired boy in rags, who was at most nine years old, while two other adults were pushing the kid to the ground.
"Hold him still! I will teach you how we treat scum like you around here!"
The fruit stall owner shouted at his helpers before grinning cruelly at the child and taking out a large knife from the holster behind his back.
"Put it forward!"
"You wish! Argh!"
The man with the knife demanded, but the child scoffed bravely while struggling- but his bravado could not get him far as almost immediately one of the men holding him down twisted his hand and forced it forward – right next to a ripe apple with a small bitemark, the whole reason the child has been apprehended.
"Listen, you stinking beggar. This is what thieves get! They get their right hand cut off!"
The fruit stall owner declared threateningly and raised the knife in over his head, winding up for a big chop.
|A-a-ah... I once managed to steal a purse from a lower noble, but a stupid apple is what will get my hand chopped off...?|
The black-haired boy gritted his teeth, thinking about the thieves who ended up dying from an infection eating into their wounds while they were begging for spare change on the corners of the city because of the punishment he was about to receive.
|AS IF!|
The flames of anger ignited in the child's eyes, and he opened his jaws aiming to bite one of the men holding him down in order to get him in the way of the knife and...!
"STOP!"
"...!"
Someone's high-pitched shrill pierced the ears of the four people, making the armed fruit stall owner flinch and stop – looking for the person shouting...
*CHOMP*
"AAAARGHHHH!"
But it certainly didn't stop the boy from biting one of the men holding him down and succeeding with his plan to get away...
"YOU LITTLE BASTARD! WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!"
"GAH...!"
...at least for a second – because the moment that the boy tried to dash away, the other one of the two men ended up grabbing him by the clothes around his neck and forcefully pulled him back while choking him.
"I SAID, STOP IT! LEAVE HIM ALONE!"
"...?"
The shrill repeated, and this time, both parties managed to locate the person screaming.
It was a well-dressed young girl with silky blond hair, most likely around the little thief's age.
"...ah...! I-I'm sorry..."
Despite screaming so loud and bravely before, the moment she became the center of attention, the courage left her entirely, and she cowered and muttered apologetically.
The three men were standing still, looking at the girl with concern.
Not because of the girl herself – mind you - but rather because someone like her was definitely with an escort.
"Young miss...!"
The decision to not engage the girl in any way turned out to be a correct one as, literally the next second, a tall brown-haired man followed by a group of armed soldiers in leather armor reinforced with metal plates called out, approaching the trembling girl.
"Young Miss! I told you not to go away! Not only are you a member of the esteemed Rotteloss family, but you are also a girl! There are dozens of thugs who would kidnap you or try to get close to you to use you!"
"...I... I'm sorry, Kenneth..."
The brown-haired man straightened his crumpled suit and started scolding the girl, who cowered even more and continued to apologize.
"You always say that but end up pulling off stupid stunts like this...! Young Miss, you..."
The man called Kenneth shook his head while reprimanding the girl, and he ended up catching a glimpse of the three men holding the struggling boy.
"What are you all staring at?!"
Kenneth scoffed angrily, giving the group a very nasty glare.
"Nothing, kind master, nothing that we dare to bother you. Merely punishing a thief caught red-handed."
The two men looked at each other awkwardly, but the fruit stall owner bowed his head apologetically and explained, pointing with the knife at the struggling boy and then at the dusty apple with bitemark a few feet away from them.
"K-Kenneth! We have to help him!"
"!!!"
The young girl regained some of her energy and cried out, clinging to the brown-haired man's leg, stunning the three men holding the little thief, the thief, as well as the soldiers and the brown-haired man.
"My lady, not again...!"
Kenneth leaned back, closing his eyes and sucking in the air, doing his best to hold back.
"He... he must have been hungry – it was just an apple...!"
The girl gulped down her saliva and pleaded on the verge of tears.
"...if... if I might be so bold..."
The fruit stall owner sensed a chance to gain some favors, so he stepped up and began to speak.
"..."
Kenneth looked at him, squinting his eyes, and nodded after reading the man's intentions from his expression and body language.
"Young lady, today, this little thief stole an apple. But if he isn't punished, tomorrow it might be a whole bread. Or maybe even someone's purse filled with their weekly earnings that should be spent on their family. Then, if still unpunished, his crimes could become more and more severe. If we punish him now, so much that he won't even dream of stealing another thing ever again, we can stop all of those future crimes."
The fruit stall owner said, adjusting the sermon he had heard from the drunken priest in a bar the day before and changing it to fit the situation.
"Hmm~"
"A... a... I mean..."
Judging by Kenneth's expression, the fruit owner earned himself a customer, or maybe even a nice coin for helping out with the young lady's education... although the young miss didn't seem that convinced herself...
"...khhh...!"
Suddenly, the girl bit her lips and let out an odd hiss before hurriedly reaching towards a tiny purse on her side and reaching into it!
"Young miss, DON'T!"
Seeing her, Kenneth gasped in disbelief and grabbed the girl to stop her, but he was just a little too late...
The girl pulled out something from her purse and threw it at the fruit stall owner.
*ching*
She didn't manage to hit him, and her projectile fell right in front of the man's feet.
It was... a small silver coin the size of a bottle cap.
"AH!"
The man gasped, dropping the knife and kneeling down, grabbing the silver coin as fast as possible.
"Here! That's enough for the apple, right?! Now leave that child alone!"
"YOUNG MISS!"
The girl declared before Kenneth grabbed her shoulders and shook her as if hoping to force her brain to start working.
"Of course, my lady! At once! You two, get out of the young lady's sight!"
Alas, it was too late – the fruit stall owner was already running off with the small silver coin, shouting at his accidental companions from a distance.
"..."
The two looked at each other even more awkwardly – they weren't actually connected to the fruit stall owner – they just heard him shout about a thief, and they decided to help out in hopes of getting a reward, but now...
Without thinking much, they dropped the little thief and rushed away, not looking under their feet and trampling the apple that was the cause of the whole situation into a muddy puree.
"Young Miss Zorivia! Why in the world would you toss that man a small silver coin!? A pound of those half-rotten apples wouldn't be even worth a quarter of a small copper coin!"
Kenneth got red in the face and took one hand away from Zorivia to take out a handkerchief and wipe the sweat off his forehead.
The black-haired boy casually picked up the knife that the stall owner dropped and tossed it into a leaky barrel next to an abandoned – and falling-apart building.
"That... that coin saved a life... so it was worth it..."
"NO, IT WAS NOT!"
The girl claimed in a trembling voice – only adding fuel to the flames of rage of the servant taking care of her.
"..."
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, BEGGAR?! SCRAM!"
After hearing something so interesting, instead of getting away, the black-haired boy walked up to the young Miss and her servant and waited – which earned him shouted at by the furious Kenneth once he got spotted.
"Kenneth! Don't... don't shout at him...! Look at him, he's a poor, hungry orphan... we have to help him!"
The girl pointed at the boy and cried.
"AGAIN, WITH THAT?! My lady! How many times do you want to make the same mistake?!"
"...?"
Kenneth hid his face in his hands, letting go of Zorivia, which allowed her to run up to the serious-faced boy and grab his shoulder.
*GRGBEGLB*
"...I knew it! Did you hear that? He needs help! We can't leave him like that!"
As if timing it for that exact moment, the boy's stomach grumbled, making the girl gasp and declare while also partially hiding behind the boy as if trying to shield herself from Kenneth's anger.
"YOUNG MISS, DON'T TOUCH HIM...! Haa....! As you wish, young Miss..."
The brown-haired man took a deep breath and started to shout but ended up breathing out and nodding his head in defeat.
"Kenneth, please, we can't... eh...? YOU AGREED~?!"
The young girl clearly reacted to the initial shout and thought she would have to continue convincing her servant to go along with her whim, so it took her a few seconds before realizing that he had conceded to her.
"But. Young Miss, let me be clear. I will not appease Master when he scolds you after the situation blows up in your face again."
"It won't!"
Kenneth straightened his back, towering over the two children, and declared – his glare was focused on the silent boy, but it was Zorivia who answered him cheerfully.
"Now, come with us! You don't have to worry about anything. We will feed you and give you nice clothes – you won't have to live on the streets anymore!"
The girl held on to the boy's dirty hand and pulled him with her.
"We're going straight back home, young Miss."
"Of course that we do! We can't keep this child hungry!"
"..."
Kenneth declared, and Zorivia agreed with him readily while the black-haired boy kept silent with an unchanging serious expression.
It turned out that mentioning the Rotteloss family wasn't just a trick, and the group ended up in the Rotteloss mansion, a spot so famous that the boy could recognize it instantly, even without visiting there even once.
"...another one...?"
"..."
The greeting that they received from the head maid only confirmed the boy's suspicion.
Nonetheless, he still was sent to be bathed and clothed before ultimately ending up by the large table in the smallest dining room of the mansion, getting served a hearty meal in front of the excited Zorivia and the grim-faced Kenneth.
"Hey, what's your name? How old are you? It must have been tough living on the streets... but you don't have to worry about a thing from now on!"
"..."
The boy remained silent through the entire meal, completely ignoring the abundance of questions that the girl barraged him with.
"I don't want to force you to do something you don't want to do, but I at least want you to learn how to read and write. You can start working here from tomorrow morning. How about trying out different jobs each day? Or do you have something in mind that you want to pursue? I will provide you with as much help as I can!"
The girl continued to talk, taking the boy's silence as timidness, and was gaining more and more confidence as she spoke about the future.
The boy calmly finished his food, clearing every plate before picking up a napkin and wiping his face.
"Now then, I will show you where you will see..."
"Thank you for the meal. I better go home now."
The girl perked up and jumped up from her chair, all cheerful, but then the black-haired boy put down the used napkin and declared.
"...e-eh...?"
Zorivia froze up for a second before turning around stiffly as if she was a puppet.
"...haaaa..."
Kenneth let out a long sigh and covered his eyes with one hand.
"Your... your home...? But... aren't you living on the streets...?"
The girl's eyes widened, and she asked, smiling nervously.
"No? When did I say that I was homeless?"
"!!!"
The boy raised his brow and asked, all taken aback.
"But... it surely is some kind of fake orphanage where criminals are gathering kids to steal for them...! Don't worry! I can protect you from all the bad people!"
Zorivia shook her head, regaining some of her gusto, and declared while pressing one hand to her chest, looking like the embodiment of selflessness.
"I am living with my mother and a bunch of older sisters, though?"
"!!!"
The boy tilted his head and asked, and his question made the blond-haired girl flinch as if she had received a physical hit.
"You... weren't an orphan...?"
She asked through her teeth.
"Huh? When did I say anything like that? I might not know my father, but my mother and sisters are completely healthy."
"..."
"..."
The serious-faced boy blinked a few times before answering in an offended voice, causing Kenneth to glare at Zorivia as she cowered, biting her lips.
"Now, if you excuse me..."
Seeing the reaction of the two, the black-haired boy nodded with satisfaction and stood up.
"Hold it right there, boy."
He walked around the table, but the tall, brown-haired man blocked his way.
"Thank you, sir, but I remember the way out."
"You think you can make a fool of the Rotteloss family?"
The boy looked up in Kenneth's face and bowed his head, but the brown-haired man had no intention of letting him go.
"Ah...! Th-that's right! It's already late, and it's dangerous for children like you to walk around outside. Why don't you stay the night? And what about working in the mansion? Don't you want to help your mother and sisters?"
Zorivia pushed herself past Kenneth and still tried to repair the situation to the best of her ability – which only showcased how much she was lacking in that department...
"...that sure does sound like you are kidnapping me..."
The boy looked between the man and the girl and said.
"...!"
The girl flinched and turned pale, affirming the boy's opinion of her being a pushover.
"True. We need to contact your mother then..."
"..."
...but that wasn't the case with the brown-haired man...
Kenneth smirked mockingly at the serious boy, who became quiet again and reached out to the inside pocket of his suit.
He ended up taking out a small metallic box that looked very similar to a cigarette case and opened it.
Inside, in red velvet, around a dozen marbles of different colors were nested snuggly.
Kenneth carefully picked up a single green marble and showed it off to the suddenly tense boy.
"You know what this is, don't you? It's a magic pellet. One with a communication spell."
"..."
Kenneth snickered, rolling the green marble between his index finger and thumb, enjoying the sight of the boy's confidence disappearing.
"Kenneth...!"
"Young Miss, don't. You made another mistake, but since at least nothing was stolen this time, I will help you out one last time."
Zorivia grabbed onto the brown-haired man's leg, trying to stop him, but the servant merely shook his head and glared her down, which made her back off fearfully.
"When a magic pellet like this gets crushed, the mysterious phenomenon called magic will occur, and after the person who crushed it says the name and the home address of another person, the two of them will be able to have a conversation for a full minute."
Kenneth looked back at the silent boy and explained.
"It is very costly, but I'm sure that your mother will be so relieved knowing that you are safe that she will show up here as fast as possible and compensate for the cost of the communication pellet as well as the food you ate and the clothes you are wearing."
"...!"
"...Kenneth...!"
The brown-haired servant declared with a triumphant grin, scaring the boy into taking a step back while the young Miss whimpered, completely ignored.
"Hmph~! Sure, let's do that, sir!"
"...huh...?"
But then, all of a sudden, the black-haired boy grinned confidently and nodded, causing Kenneth to stop smiling.
"You see, sir. My mother's name is Victoria, but she goes by a nickname... Madam Phryne..."
*WHAM* *thunk* *thunk*
"Kenneth?!"
The boy took a step forward and revealed, and that very moment, the brown-haired man slammed his fist against the table, dropping the green marble to bounce on the floor before rolling away, startling the blond-haired young Miss.
"What is it, sir? Here, please, go on and contact my mother, madam Phryne. Ah, of course, you already explained to me how the communication pellet works. We live in the..."
"STOP!"
The boy crouched down, caught the green marble, and placed it on the table in front of Kenneth, continuing to grin and speak – but ending up being stopped by the servant.
"Young Miss. Go to bed."
"...okay... I'm sorry..."
Kenneth spat out through his teeth, and the fearful Zorivia nodded and scuttled away.
"And you. I will take you to the gate."
The man glared at the boy and growled before grabbing the green marble, putting it back into the silver box, and hiding it back in his pocket.
"Okay~"
For a second, the black-haired boy wanted to be cheeky and repeat that he had already memorized the way to the exit, but he didn't want to risk pushing it too far.
"Kid."
As they were by the gate outside of the mansion's grounds, Kenneth grabbed the boy's shoulder and said in a low voice.
"Remember, there is nothing so convenient as free food and clothing in this world. Sooner or later, you will have to pay for it."
The man warned the boy and pushed him onto the empty street.
"Pfft. Of course, there is!"
As soon as the boy managed to stop himself from tripping and regain his balance, he dusted off his shoulder with one hand and called at the back of the leaving servant.
"As long as there are people stupid enough to hand them away."
He added with a scoff and walked off into the night.