LDPL | Chapter 77

Episode 77

Everything was a complete mess.

People were fleeing, children lay collapsed on the ground, and knights were struggling to capture them.

Natasha stood in the middle of it all. The noise was deafening.

The blaring intruder alarm made it difficult to hear what the person right next to her was saying.

Through the fast-moving crowd, she spotted a child.

One of his eyes was covered with a bandage, and his hair was a mess, as if it had been cut unevenly.

His arms and legs were wrapped in layers of bandages stained with blood, and beside him lay the lifeless bodies of other children.

– …What’s your name?

Natasha crouched in front of the child and asked.

– Your real name.

The child’s forearm had the number 2-39 etched into it. But that wasn’t what she was asking about.

– ……

The child didn’t answer.

– You don’t have a name?

The child nodded silently. A name that no one calls holds no meaning. He had never been given one.

– Should I give you one?

– ……

– Edwin. Yes, let’s go with Edwin.

It was an impulsive decision. But whoever he was, this child needed someone to give him a name.

– Come on, let’s go.

Natasha reached out her hand to Edwin. Unlike the chaos around them, she remained eerily calm.

– …Where?

For the first time, Edwin spoke.

He had been here for as long as he could remember. Until Natasha and the others had barged in.

In the process, the adults had tried to erase the evidence, killing his friends. Edwin had survived by hiding among the corpses.

– Outside.

– What’s out there?

– Anything.

Edwin knew nothing about the outside world.

Sometimes, children brought from outside would talk about it, but he had never paid much attention.

‘It’s not like I could leave anyway.’

That thought had made him ignore their stories.

– Don’t worry, Edwin.

Natasha reached through the bars and firmly held Edwin’s small hand.

– You won’t have to suffer anymore. And if you do, I’ll be there with you.

It was a moment of salvation.

Under the flickering lights, Edwin would never forget the golden hair that shone faintly.

As soon as Natasha appeared at the edge of the cliff, Ivan grabbed her in a tight embrace.

Then, with swift movements, he led her into a small cave beneath the cliff.

Inside, Norman was sitting, looking pale.

“Did you get the documents?”

“I did. Though I’m not exactly sure what they contain.”

He showed a magical storage device meant for holding information. Seeing that the effort wasn’t wasted, Natasha felt relieved.

“The guards outside are still on high alert. We should wait here for at least half a day before moving.”

Natasha nodded in agreement.

Moving while everyone was on edge over an intruder wasn’t a good idea.

“There are some edible mushrooms in this cave. If necessary, we can last about three days.”

“Too bad there’s no drinking water. But I guess that’s unavoidable in a small cave.”

“Should we light a fire?”

“Too risky. Besides, the weather isn’t cold enough to be life-threatening.”

Natasha and Ivan calmly laid out their plans.

Norman started wondering if survival planning was just another skill lawyers needed.

Shaa… Shaa…

Despite initially complaining about sleeping on the hard ground, Norman quickly fell asleep, exhausted from the unfamiliar experience.

Natasha and Ivan took turns keeping watch. While Ivan gathered edible mushrooms, Natasha stared up at the distant sky.

Edwin.

It had been at least ten years since she last saw him, and memories of him surfaced naturally.

‘Was he always a mage? Since when? I never sensed anything like that.’

Then again, Edwin barely spoke, so even if he had known magic, he wouldn’t have mentioned it.

Edwin was the person in charge of that factory. He must have known what was happening inside.

‘Did he turn a blind eye, knowing everything?’

People had suffered and died in that place. Had he simply ignored it?

“……”

For a brief moment, Natasha felt a fleeting regret pass through her.

“Natasha?”

“Ah, Ivan.”

“You’ve been acting strange since earlier. What’s wrong?”

Ivan approached her, carrying an armful of mushrooms. Sitting beside her, he leaned in naturally.

“Inside that factory… I saw him.”

“Him? Who do you mean—”

Ivan studied her face carefully and hesitantly asked,

“Edwin?”

Natasha nodded.

“Edwin? But Edwin disappeared not long after he was rescued.”

“Yeah. He escaped on his own.”

Of the 31 children they rescued that day, 30 remained.

Edwin had secretly run away, leaving no trace.

“I thought he was dead. But he survived.”

“No wonder Vasily couldn’t find him. Turns out he was in the Mage Tower.”

Even Vasily, who had searched for Edwin, had assumed he was dead. And understandably so—Edwin had escaped when he was just twelve.

It was an age far too young to survive alone.

“Still, isn’t this a good thing? You thought he was dead, but he’s alive. And you even met him.”

“Edwin is the one in charge of that factory.”

“Ah…”

Ivan immediately grasped the situation.

“…You know what happened inside.”

His voice carried a bitter edge.

“In there, we had to kill others to survive. We had to pretend not to see people dying.”

“I know.”

“So Edwin… It’s not right, but maybe this is the only way he knows how to live.”

“Maybe.”

That didn’t erase the suffering of the victims.

Natasha remained silent, showing no change in her expression.

Noticing this, Ivan had to ask.

“Do you regret it?”

“……”

“Do you regret saving us?”

“No. Of course not.”

For just a moment, she had. But she couldn’t say that to Ivan.

“I just… feel responsible.”

Because that’s what it meant to save someone.

“In a way, his sins are my fault.”

If the life she saved had harmed others, then whose fault was it?

If a doctor saved a murderer, who later went on to kill again, was the doctor responsible?

“Why would that be your fault? Edwin is the one who made his own choices.”

Ivan didn’t understand.

“Don’t regret it.”

His tone suggested he saw right through her inner turmoil.

Then, he pressed his forehead against the back of her hand, as if pledging loyalty.

“You saved me, didn’t you?”

As he lowered his head, the back of his neck was exposed beneath his crimson hair.

A brand was clearly burned into his skin.

2-17.

The 17th test subject of Experiment Facility No. 2.

A mark that would never fade.

Natasha instinctively stroked the back of his neck.

“Not just me. All of us are grateful to you. How could we not be? You pulled us out of that hell.”

Ivan’s voice became quiet and distant.

He was sinking back into the darkness of his past.

Monstrous people.

Ivan silently cursed them with every foul word he knew.

One day, he would kill them all with his own hands.

The men shoved him forward, even though he could barely walk.

Thrown roughly to the ground, his knees and elbows scraped against the floor, oozing blood. But no one cared.

He pulled himself together and looked around.

Some were trembling uncontrollably as if out of their minds, while others barely clung to life after brutal experiments. Each had their own story, but Ivan only needed one person.

— Hey. You there, one-eyed.

— ……

— I’m talking to you.

— ……

But there was no response.

He had no real name, just the number “39.” Ivan hated calling him by a number, so he called him “one-eyed” instead.

— Are you ignoring me?

— ……

— Hey, I know you’re not mute, okay? Stop being annoying and answer me.

As Ivan persistently pressed on, Number 39 subtly turned his head, as if finally deciding to see what Ivan was talking about.

— Where is he? Number 41. The one who’s always with you.

— ……

— He’s from the outside, right?

That was a rather intriguing fact within the lab.

For most of the children born and raised inside, the world beyond the laboratory was an unknown realm.

— Did you hear anything from him?

— ……I don’t care.

— Oh, come on~. I heard there’s no dull gray ceiling out there, no labs like this one… Isn’t that right?

Ivan had picked up bits and pieces about the outside, but in truth, he knew very little.

He had only ever seen gray ceilings, so he couldn’t even imagine a blue sky. The only adults he had ever known were the researchers, so he couldn’t picture adults wearing anything other than white coats.

— ……

Apparently uninterested, Number 39 turned his head away again.

— Tch. Forget it, then. Stingy bastard.

Annoyed, Ivan lay down on the floor. His limbs were still tingling.

‘A blue sky, huh…’

All he could see was the same gray ceiling.

Would painting that ceiling blue make it feel like “the sky”?