It was midday when the sun's intense heat usually reigns, but today was an exception. As the air grew heavier, thick clouds began to cover the sky. The sunlight slipped behind those clouds, and the daylight slowly dimmed.
People on the street sensed what this meant; blizzards were about to descend upon the small border town. They all quickened their steps.
Cart drivers did good business, their pockets stuffed with earnings as they raced across the snowy ground with full carriages.
A carriage rushed by, its wheels throwing snow into the air. The snowflakes flew towards a slowly moving figure on the side of the road, forcing the figure to feel the harshness of wind and snow before others.
Those in the carriage didn't care where the snow hit and sped away. The figure shielded most of the snow with their back, then looked down to check on the infant in their arms before silently moving on.
A pretty young girl…
His goal was so clear. Yet, in this cold and dark afternoon, where could prey be found on the streets? The dim light had already sounded the alarm for prey.
The little beggar had crossed several streets. Even after making a quick stop at home to fill the baby girl's belly with bread, he had not found a suitable target on the dark avenue.
Snow began to fall. Compared to the previous day's fierce blizzard, today's snow seemed almost elegant. But it wasn't a cause for happiness, as the snow only made it feel colder, making the little beggar shiver even more.
Enjoying the snow was a luxury only for the rich, while the poor had to think about how to not let the snow kill them.
He walked along the Eighth Street, having wandered for over five hours. His body, once rested, began to tire again and felt the cold and numbness anew.
Lights in homes along the street were slowly turning on, sending out tempting smells of dinner and the unrestrained laughter of children his age…
The little beggar's steps were determined but cold. Those lights, smells, and laughter did not belong to him. He had realized this long ago, even when his parents were still around.
His world was one of blizzards, where no sweet talk could get him delicious food or warm, pretty clothes, nor would anyone pity or love him. Everything had to be earned, stolen, or robbed. To survive the blizzards, he could only rely on himself.
The world was cold, and the little beggar knew it well; under the glow of the lights from the houses, he continued to walk. But he realized he couldn't be as cold as he used to be because he found himself occasionally looking at the baby girl in his arms, then touching her forehead to check her temperature…
...Fine…Never mind.
The little beggar lifted his head and stopped thinking about his irrational behavior.
Luckily, at the same time, he also found a reason good enough to stop pondering over his strange actions.
His prey finally appeared.
A girl, standing in the snow. She had brown hair and a playful face, wrapped in a fur coat that kept her warm in a way the little beggar couldn't even imagine.
The girl was cute. The little beggar hid in the dark corner of the street, and after a cold observation, he concluded this. His cold eyes turned into the calmness of hunting prey.
In this snowy weather, it seemed the girl might be the only prey he could hunt.
However, since the girl was clearly from a wealthy family, such a child would not be alone; indeed, she was surrounded by twelve adults, each armed with a weapon.
There was also a boy, about two years older than the little girl, following behind her, constantly grinning and trying to amuse her.
"Ladies and gentlemen! We must find those villains who are stealing babies! We need to protect the children and show those kidnappers that it is foolish to commit crimes under Miss Walnut's watch!"
The little girl commanded with a small wooden flag in her gloved hand, leading the way with the adults following, some with resignation, some sighing, and some with obsequious smiles.
The girl marched straight down the street, and the little beggar, spotting the direction of their advance, slipped into an alleyway alongside the street, taking a shortcut to follow them closely and look for an opportunity to strike.
"Hmm… eleven people, including four swordsmen, three archers, three gunmen, plus a useless boy. Ha, that's intriguing."
Blood Pupil chuckled coldly. To this sword, the group seemed naively ridiculous; it could wipe them out anytime it wanted.
But it didn't act because it preferred to see how the little beggar would approach such a force to achieve his goal. After all, it wasn't looking for an idiot who relied solely on its strength.
After the failure of its previous host, it knew that only someone who could stay calm and achieve goals without merely relying on its power was the right choice.
Depending on the familiarity of these alleys, the beggar kept a tight tail on the group, watching the little girl and also the eleven people around her. He followed like this for more than a half-hour…
Finally, his patience paid off.
The aimless wandering seemed to be too boring for the older boy. Yet He did not dare to say it outright, so he approached the girl and said in a soft and gentle tone,
"Um, princess… no, miss. Look, it's getting late, and the snow is falling harder…"
With excitement on her face, the girl raised her flag and exclaimed,
"Yes! It's getting late, and the snow is coming down harder. This is when those bad guys start to act! We need to step up our search, and I believe we'll catch them soon!"
The older boy's mouth twitched after this reply. His legs had been trembling from exhaustion; having grown up in a sheltered environment, he had never experienced anything like this. He wanted to go back but didn't dare to say so directly. But if he didn't go back, he was so cold and tired that he didn't want to take another step.
In this situation, this boy had no choice but to make eye contact with the adults, and their guards, hoping they would step in and persuade the young princess to return.
To be honest, the guards were also somewhat fed up with patrolling the streets.
The girl's naive idea that simply walking around the streets so openly could catch anyone was stupid. Criminals would notice such a well-armed and obvious group easily and hide long before they approached. Following her around aimlessly was nothing but tiring and pointless.
"Miss, we believe those criminals must know that you are out to catch them, so they are hiding in fear. You should go back. Once they know you are not around, they will surely come out again to commit crimes, and then we can catch them," the guards suggested to the young girl.
The little girl pouted, clearly unhappy with the guards' continuous attempts to retreat at the first sign of snow. How could they become champions of justice if they retreated at a little weather? No wonder the city's guards were inferior compared to the soldiers of her country!
"I won't go back. Unless we catch those people, I absolutely won't return! You all need to perk up; protecting the citizens is your duty! As long as you are the protectors of the citizens, the side of justice, stop complaining and keep following me!"
After saying this, the little girl huffed and continued forward without paying further attention to the guards behind her.
Seeing the little girl's endless and determined enthusiasm, the little boy was thoroughly unwilling to go anymore. It seemed a long way before the princess was exhausted.
He started tugging at a gunman's clothes, shaking it persistently and begging. Unable to withstand his pleading, the ten guards finally decided to discuss what to do.
"Maybe… we should accompany the young master back first?"
"It seems that's the only option. You go quickly and come back soon. The young princess probably watches too many heroic musicals; her head's full of that stuff."
"Don't worry, no matter how tough she acts, she's just a child. She'll get tired soon, and then we'll escort her back."
"Uncle~! Haven't you finished discussing it? I'm so tired, so cold~"
"Alright, alright, we're going back. So, we'll divide into five people to accompany the young master back first, and we'll quickly rejoin the rest of you."
After the guards finished discussing which five would take the boy back, at the same moment…
"Ah! Found them! Don't run! Bad guys!!!"
Suddenly, the little girl shouted towards a dark alleyway, waving her little flag excitedly and running into it.
The girl's actions immediately frightened the guards. Except for the gunman held back by the boy, the other nine rushed towards the alley, loudly yelling at the girl to stop for her safety.
"Miss! Please stay back! It's dangerous! Leave this to us!"
After the girl entered the alley, the shadow of the person holding a child that had flashed by just a moment ago had disappeared.
While she was waiting for the guards to join her in searching the area, the dim figure appeared deeply in the alley, seemingly holding a baby!
"Ah! There he is! Hurry up! You guys, hurry! the kidnapper of babies is there!"
The little girl started waving her hands at the guards outside eagerly. But at that moment, the figure running deeper into the alley suddenly fell, tumbling into the snow.
Seeing this, any caution the girl had vanished. She raised her flag, no longer caring about the guards, and rushed into the depths of the alley.
Just as she was less than ten steps away from the fallen figure, it quickly got up, limping and toddling into a side alley.
"The figure was injured?!"
The girl was even more excited. She sped up and entered into the maze-like alley without hesitation...