A sense of desperation lingered on Idel’s face as he stood at the entrance.
‘If you don’t want to be captured and become a sacrificial lamb without anyone knowing, you shouldn’t go near the double raven mark..’
Regardless of social status, it was a warning that all children born and raised in the capital heard at least once. Idel was no exception.
‘Miss, even if I turn a blind eye to you going outside, please don’t go near that area. Do you understand?’
At the time, she had just shrugged it off, but now she realizes it is a place to be strongly cautioned against. The special zone of Plaza Street, known as the “Raven’s Nest,” was notorious for its dangerous activities.
‘All sorts of materials used in melodramatic novels must have come from here.’
The Raven’s Nest dealt with things that were rare elsewhere, from sudden ambushes in turf wars to ruthless information guilds rivaling CCTV to even assassins and smugglers.
There were a few things the Raven’s Den didn’t cover.
Staring intently at the place she had only heard about, Idel slightly tugged the corner of her mouth in a smile.
“Well, being manipulated my whole life and having my head cut off or being a sacrificial lamb, it’s all the same.”
Isn’t that right?
With a cynical whisper of a bad ending, she stepped into the alleyway and once again rolled her eyes.
In order to find someone she had no clues about within a limited time, she had to diligently recall the book review her younger sister had left.
[I also read all the Q&As that were posted after the story was completed! The crown prince was two years older than Gianna. I had assumed that his first encounter with Gianna occurred when he unexpectedly showed up at the founding ceremony, but it turns out they had already met as children. Why is he the villain rather than the supporting male lead?]
[Until the secret is revealed, didn’t the Crown Prince sell ‘dolls’ with his master in the Raven’s Nest before? Are those cursed dolls?]
So basically, she had to find a boy selling dolls around Gianna’s age.
Realistically, it was crazy to search the raven’s nest alone.
Even in the post-reading notes, he’s not someone who appeared out of nowhere. So, if she were in her right mind, she wouldn’t have done such a crazy thing.
‘Since this is a melodramatic novel, maybe the laws of coincidence will apply to me too.’
After all, the essence of a melodramatic novel is the lack of plausibility and sudden encounters. Idel hoped that principle would also apply to her.
‘First, I’ll check out all the general stores in the Raven’s Nest.’
If I’m lucky, the person might show up there first. Usually, people hiding something tend to be sensitive.
Walking past the raven emblem, heading towards the shabby doll shop, Idel bit her lower lip firmly. She hoped that the laws of melodramatic novels would also apply to her.
‘It’s not every day I get to sneak out like today.’
Idel took a deep breath and confidently opened the door of the first store.
“Hello? Do you happen to know the owner of a doll shop, who goes around with a boy my age? I heard those dolls are cursed.”
It was a moment when one more commotion was added to the Raven’s Nest, which already had several disturbances every day.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
“You’re a fearless little brat; do you really want to die so badly? If that’s your wish, I can grant it without needing a doll master.”
“Oh, I see. Then you don’t know?”
“Hehehe! Hahaha!”
“Yes, um, mister. This is 1 knut, right? I’ll buy one.”
Idel left the cackling middle-aged man and exited the shop.
After making small purchases at each store, her hands were now full of useless trinkets.
‘It’s a good thing I brought the secret allowance pouch my father, I mean the Count, gave me to use when we played. There’s not much left, though.’
Well, at least it’s something. She had slyly taken some valuable ornaments or decorations from the Duke’s mansion, but it was difficult to use them like cash.
‘If I didn’t have the allowance pouch, it would have been hard to use this method.’
Idel stared wistfully at the things she couldn’t bring back to the Duke’s mansion, then glanced away.
There were children from the Raven’s Nest watching her.
She realized that the more she frequented the stores, the more people started noticing her actions.
“They might think I’m rich because I’m getting more stuff every time I come out of a store.”
Of course, some of the eyes watching must have bad thoughts. She was a young girl who was easy to subdue.
‘I’d better make the first move.’
Keeping in mind the likelihood of imminent crimes, Idel approached the children boldly.
“What’s up? Do you need something from us?”
The children were momentarily startled by her straightforward approach.
It was because of the items Idel was holding out to them.
“Take it.”
“What?”
“It’s a bribe.”
She calmly placed all the items she had in her hand on the ground, observing the children who remained frozen in place.
“I know you’re annoyed that I’ve been rummaging around everywhere. I’m sorry. I just need to find one person quickly, and then I’ll leave. I’m in a hurry.”
“…are you talking about the doll master?”
“Yeah, everyone calls him that, right? Do you know?”
One of the slightly older kids, who seemed somewhat intrigued by the items in front of them, hesitated for a moment while fiddling with a lower-grade healing potion.
“We know, but just leave it and go. Anyway, that person…”
“Hey, stop it. Why are you talking to a stranger like that? Do you want to get yourself in trouble?”
A boy beside him awkwardly intervened, tucking the items under his arm and clicking his tongue. The glances that briefly swept over Idel remained hostile.
“If you leave her alone, she’ll just give up and leave. Or she’ll disappear without a trace in this area.”
“…….”
“Let’s go, crazy dog. And you, consider yourself lucky; we’re not knocking you out ourselves.”
Idel muttered under her breath as she watched the children vanish like the wind.
‘Anyway, I’m going to get caught up in it, like a crazy dog.’
It was a small but clear clue.
A clue that as long as the ‘crazy dog’ was around, no one would provide information about the doll master.
Idel, who had not missed any necessary information in the brief conversation, was turning the corner while contemplating her next move.
Suddenly, someone’s rough hand swiftly grabbed her from behind.
‘So you finally came?’
For a moment, clarity surged through her mind.
She had not come here with a naive attitude that would flounder at the expected occurrence.
In that fleeting moment, as she grasped a small weapon to free herself, she felt a strong pressure from the arms encircling her neck.
It was undoubtedly an attempt to suffocate her and make her lose consciousness.
‘If I stab inside like this, will his arm loosen?’
As Idel pondered the scenarios, considering the possibility of more than one assailant, a subdued yet menacing voice reached her ear.
“Who are you? Why are you looking for the doll master?”
Idel was certain at that moment that this was the ‘Crazy Dog’ the street children had mentioned and the Crown Prince, the ultimate villain in the original story.
In other words, if she could just apprehend this brat who was interrogating her, she would be able to find the black mage.
‘Even if that wasn’t the case, I never planned to be taken down easily in the first place!’
Idel put back the weapon she was about to use and quickly grabbed the crazy dog’s finger.
A short curse reached her ear, but she had no intention of stopping here.
-Thunk!
With all her might, Idel bit down on the crazy dog’s finger, which was gripping her neck.
“Argh!”
The pressure around her neck loosened slightly due to her biting action.
Idel did not miss the opportunity. Using her small stature and the cloth, she swiftly escaped from his grasp. She then unhesitatingly grabbed the boy’s collar and slammed her head into him.
With a dull thud, accompanied by excruciating pain as if her forehead would shatter, Idel felt dizzy enough to lose consciousness at any moment, but she didn’t falter.
“You’re…! Y-you crazy…!”
“Crazy? You’re the crazy one!”
Rushing toward the boy who had bowed his head after taking a direct hit to his nose, Idel climbed onto him, adding her weight to his body.
Idel’s bright blue eyes and the crazy dog’s crimson eyes briefly met in the air.
Gazing into his eyes, as intense as the blood flowing from his nose, Idel twisted her lips slightly.
“You, you have bad manners. Attacking someone from behind, just like that.”
“Hah!”
It seemed the nickname ‘crazy dog’ was well-earned, as the boy did not lose his fervor despite the sudden shift in the situation.
Scoffing at Idel’s taunting, he glared fiercely.
“I asked first, why are you looking for him? Who sent you?”
Even as pain surged through him, the crazy dof gripped Idel’s elbow forcefully, as if ready to overpower her at any moment.
Watching the stubborn and relentless boy, Idel smirked briefly as if impressed.
“Are you stupid?”
“Shut up and answer my question.”
For the first time, Idel understood what the phrase “growled” meant in novels.
Even though puberty hadn’t arrived, the boy’s voice sounded rough as if being scraped.
Ignoring the pain spreading from her head to her eyes, Idel gritted her teeth.
“Huh… Isn’t it obvious why an outsider would come to the crow’s nest to find the doll master?”
“…….”
“I came as a customer, you dog.”
