“Is this the place?”
Wilhazelle muttered as she looked into the dark alley.
From the little information that was given in the novel, she realized that Raphelion, the child the Duke was searching for, was located in a dump somewhere in the slums.
Raphelion Helios.
He was the secret son of Yorne Halos, the previous Duke of Halos, also known as the richest man in the empire, as well as the male protagonist of the novel.
Raphel’s father, the Duke of Halos, did not take a wife for a long time, even after inheriting the title, this was because he already had a child with the woman he loved.
Six years ago, Yorne Halos went to a quiet villa to rest alone. While he was there, he fell in love with a country girl and the woman became pregnant with his child.
“Then what happened… Ah, they ran into opposition.”
The duke tried to take the woman as his wife, but encounters strong opposition from his father, who claimed the woman was of low status.
Finally, a few months ago, only after his father had passed away and the funeral was held, Yorne was able to call the woman he loved and his child to the estate.
However, Yorne, who left to go get his beloved wife and child, never returned to the Dukedom.
Unfortunately, he died, along with his lover, in a carriage accident.
Leaving Raphelion alone in the world.
Raphelion, who had suffered a blow to the head during the accident, loses his memory and wanders around until he is found by the Duke of Halos and returned home safely.
“That’s the background story of the protagonist. What was the plot again?”
While she was alone with her thoughts, searching the area, she recalled the general plot.
The main plot of the novel is that at the request of the Marquis and his wife, who were close friends of the Duke of Halos, the Marquis’ only daughter, Aincia Heneron, stays at the Duke’s residence for a while and becomes entangled with the male protagonist.
Raphel suffers from extreme pain every day because of his lost memories, and every time, Ainica, who has mysterious healing abilities, comes to his side to help him.
Through that opportunity, the two become friends and further develop into lovers, overcoming crisis together and finally becoming adults.
In short it was a ‘coming of age’ story about two children.
So now was the time when the Duke of Halos was spending time and money looking for his nephew, Raphel.
“I’m sure it was the garbage dump.”
In the novel, it was briefly written that Raphel, who had lost his memories, wandered around aimlessly and ended up staying in a garbage dump.
He wasn’t discovered for a while because no one thought he would be living among trash.
‘I can’t miss this great opportunity.’
The reward is a whopping 100 million shillings!
Even after she payed off their debt, 20 million shillings would remain, which was still a huge amount of money.
Wilhazelle’s face was overflowing with greed as she suppressed a laugh.
She entered the alley that was dark even though the sun was shining, full of anticipation.
Every time she walked down an alley, small pieces of trash were crushed under her feet.
If it had been the original Wilhazelle, she would have made a fuss because her shoes would smell like trash, but she didn’t care.
‘What’s wrong with a bit of trash when there’s 100 million shillings right in front of me?’
She walked through the alley with optimism, entering the garbage dump, then she stopped suddenly.
“You really stayed in a place like this?”
She was shocked by the unexpected sight.
She couldn’t believe it. Could someone really live here? The sight was horrendous. The dumpster was littered with all kinds of trash, from broken furniture to small pieces of waste paper and rotten food.
The ground was full of trash with nowhere to step.
“Ugh!”
She quickly covered her nose as the rotten stench wafted over. A strong acidic odor that instantly burned the nose was also present. The stench was so bad she was starting to feel dizzy.
Looking around, she tried to spot the source of the smell, face red as she held her breath, looking like she was about to burst. As she looked around, her gaze fixed on a hill.
‘It’s all trash…’
The trash, which looked like a hill from afar, was piled high as a small mountain. Flies were swarming around the area. Hungry dogs and cats were digging through the garbage piles, looking for food.
Rustle, rustle
Then, a rustling sound could be heard from somewhere. She froze in shock at the sound. It was nearby.
“Is anyone there?”
It could just be the sound of an animal looking for food, but her instincts were telling her it might be Raphel.
Wilhazelle moved closer cautiously.
“Raphel?”
However, all she could see was trash all around. There was no human figure in sight.
Wilhazelle dismissed it as her imagination and turned back around. She wanted to get out of here as quickly as possible.
A foul smell wafted through the blowing wind. She felt even more nauseous. She thought it was a real possibility that she could throw up if she stayed any longer.
It was an environment in which a person would not be able to survive.
No living thing could stay here for a month… They wouldn’t even be able to last a week.
‘I’d rather not stay a moment longer here.’
It was fortunate that the child was not in this dirty and miserable place.
“Mom…”
But, she had no choice but to stop again at that small sound she heard a moment later.
“Is there anyone there” Is it you Raphel?”
Desperate eyes scanned the surroundings, but all they could see was trash.
At that moment, a piece of trash jumped out from a far corner.
“Ugh…”
A faint voice was heard again.
Wilhazelle quickly moved her legs, regardless of whether or not her dress was dragging on the dirty ground or her shoes stepped on trash.
“Sigh.”
A sigh escaped from her mouth. Where she stopped, a child was helplessly lying on the ground.
His dull black hair was scattered over the trash and his red eyes were lifeless and dull, as if he would give up at any moment.
Black hair and red eyes.
Traits that only the Halos family had.
The child was clearly Raphelion Halos.
“Raphelion…”
Wilhazelle covered her mouth.
The moment that she saw the child with her own eyes, she felt a feeling that could not be described in words. He appeared as if his life would end at any moment. His face and limbs were scruffy, as if rolled in muddy water, and the bones in his sunken face were clearly exposed.
His lips were a lifeless purple color, cracked and bleeding.
“…mom?”
A small trembling hand grabbed the hem of her skirt. Like a lost child who had finally found his mother. At that moment, her nose twitched and her eyes turned red.
“no…, I’m not your mom. I’m sorry.”
Along with pity, she had a faint feeling of guilt welling up in her heart.
‘Shame on me for only thinking about money. I didn’t even consider the feelings of the child who had just lost his parents.’
“Where is my mom?”
“…”
She was unable to answer his question. Of course, she knew the answer, but she wasn’t cruel enough to tell the small, lonely child his parents were no longer in this world. She also wasn’t shameless enough to lie and tell him his parents would be coming soon.
“Mom… Dad… Ugh, it hurts…”
Transparent tears flowed down his cheeks.
Wilhazelle felt sad and pitiful as she wiped Raphel’s tears away with her hand. Such a tiny child, crying for his missing parents. Her fingertips trembled and her heart hurt.
“Huh… Ha…”
He shed tears and breathed irregularly. His face was bright red and hot, like a sweet potato.
Surprised, she quickly placed her hand on his forehead.
“It’s burning up.”
The child’s body was hot. It felt like falling into a pit of fire. The child’s eyelids must also feel heavy, when they closed it took a long time for them to open again. The sound of his irregular breathing was becoming faint, as if it would stop at any moment.
“Can you get up?”
First, she had to get the child to a doctor as soon as possible.
Wilhazelle put her hand behind the child’s back, who was laying down. She tried to help him up, but he was to unsteady to properly control his body and fell helplessly to the ground again.
“Huh, it hurts…”
“You’re going to be okay. I’m going to get you treatment as soon as possible.”
She raised Raphel’s body with difficulty. Since he didn’t seem to have the strength to walk, she thought she would have to carry him out.
“Sniff… It’s cold…”
Raphel muttered as he stared blankly into space, like a person who was delirious.
“Cold? Hold on a moment, is there anything that could be used as covering…”
She spotted a blanket a short distance away. However, she couldn’t cover a sick child with a trashy blanket that was covered in food and dirt all over.
Without hesitation, she then tore off the hem of her dress with her hands. The torn fabric was wrapped around Raphel’s shivering body.
Fortunately, it was made up of three layers of fabric so it would be able to help maintain his body temperature. Wilhazelle took off the shoes she was wearing and placed her feet into a pair of mismatched boots nearby. There was an unpleasant smell, but it didn’t matter. It was better than falling when wearing her fancy shoes while carrying the child.
“It’s okay. You’ll feel better soon.”
She immediately picked up the child with both hands. Although he was thin from lack of food, he was still a child and felt heavy to her.
She walked out of the garbage dump, holding the child in her arms and ignoring her knee length dress.
“…”
Meanwhile, the child felt her warm embrace that was like a mother. It was his first-time receiving help in this place where no one listened even if he asked for help.
The child felt as if this person who called him Raphel was a ray of hope.
“Mom…”
Perhaps that was the reason? Raphel held onto Wilhazelle’s arm with trembling hands tightly. He didn’t want to let go.
He held onto his increasingly fading conscious and looked at Wilhazelle’s face, sweating from exhaustion. It was all deeply engraved in his heart.
Aww poor baby! Thank you for the chapter