IWS Chapter 15

Chapter 15

 

“Look at this, Mary!”

The sound of small footsteps echoed from the end of the room. As I was tying up Cecil’s hair, I turned my head to see Lizzie approaching with a sheet of paper in her hand. She proudly held up a drawing in front of me.

“Look! I drew this! This is Mary, and next to her is Lizzie. Here’s Cecil and Abel too.”

“Where am I?”

Michael, who was sitting beside me, glanced at the drawing and asked Lizzie in a clear voice. At his question, Lizzie pursed her lips and pointed at a vaguely shaped figure standing at the farthest edge of the drawing.

“This one.”

“This one?”

The drawing, drawn solely in black due to the limited colors available, lacked harmony. Among the figures, the one she pointed to as Michael was nothing more than a simple circle with two dots for eyes.

While the others had at least arms and legs drawn, Michael was just… that. Lizzie, isn’t that a bit too much?

“How is this me? You’re terrible at drawing. Stupid Lizzie.”

“The one who calls someone stupid is the real stupid one! Stupid Michael! Stupid! Stupid!”

“You said stupid three times, so you’re even more stupid. Stupid~”

“You…!”

The two, who seemed to be unable to live a day without bickering, once again found themselves in a pointless squabble. I sighed at the sight of them and finished tying Cecil’s bangs with a ribbon.

“There, all done. Does it feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

“N-No. I-It’s fine… T-Thank you, Mary.”

“Good. That’s a relief. Now, you two, stop fighting. Lizzie, come here and show me the drawing again?”

I patted my lap, signaling Lizzie to come over. She, who had been shouting at Michael just a second ago, immediately climbed onto my lap. I lifted my head slightly and listened to Lizzie excitedly explaining her drawing while internally shedding a tear.

Sniff… My adorable baby. If only we had a fridge, I’d stick this on it.

“I drew Abel, too. Since he’s always sitting in the corner, I put him in the closest spot here.”

“You even included Abel? How sweet~ Our little Lizzie~ So thoughtful~”

As I habitually patted her head while looking at the drawing, Lizzie’s voice grew even more cheerful.

“I drew Cecil next to me! And these floating things around Cecil are her invisible friends!”

“T-Thank you… Lizzie…”

Cecil, touched by Lizzie’s thoughtfulness, blushed deeply and thanked her in a shy tone.

‘So cute~!’

Why are they acting so adorably? There’s no need for them to be this lovable!

Watching them exchange gratitude so bashfully brought a warm smile to my lips. Unable to resist, I pulled Lizzie into a tight embrace. She let out a bright giggle and snuggled into me even more.

At the sound of her laughter, I found myself wishing this peaceful moment would never end.

No matter how much the world feared them as future calamities destined to bring about destruction, right now, in my eyes, they were nothing more than children.

At first, I approached them to prevent the end of the world. But now, I just wanted to protect them.

But how?

As a fellow slave, and one with no money or power, there was no way for me to protect them.

Even my own life was constantly at risk—how could I possibly keep them safe?

‘There’s nothing I can do as a slave. What other options do I have?’

The helplessness gnawed at me, filling me with anxiety.

Burying my face into Lizzie’s small shoulder, I tried to recall all the nobles I knew of. If I could find the right one and properly target them, perhaps I could use them to buy all of us out of slavery.

I knew their weaknesses and secrets better than anyone—maybe, just maybe, I could use that to change something.

Click.

‘Huh?’

Then, the moment arrived far sooner than I expected.

The door opened, and as the caretaker entered the room, the warm atmosphere instantly turned cold and rigid.

I stiffened in shock at the sight of him.

It was too soon for the education. Normally, it only happened once a month, and it had only been a few days since Michael and I were moved out of solitary confinement.

Why has the education period returned so quickly?

“M-Mary…”

Lizzie’s voice trembled as she clung to me. She must have sensed something was wrong. I held her tightly and looked toward the caretakers approaching us without hesitation.

“You, brown hair. You’re going for education today. Follow me immediately.”

…Huh?

I stared at the caretaker with a frozen expression, my mind failing to process the words.

Wait… Me?

Oh no! This is bad!

In the original story, I always knew who was taken for training, so I could prepare in advance. But as an extra—an unmentioned nobody—I had no idea what kind of training awaited me.

Oh no, this is really bad!

What should I do if the lesson is something dangerous?

Because of my momentary panic, I failed to react quickly. My hesitation made the others tense as well, and all eyes were on me.

What do I do? If I get killed because of this, what happens to the children?

I was too overwhelmed to properly take in their expressions. Noticing my unusual behavior, Lizzie must have sensed my anxiety, as she clung to me tightly, her eyes filled with fear.

“I-I’ll go! I’ll go instead!”

Sensing my distress, Abel suddenly stepped forward, blocking my path.

It was a gesture meant to protect me, but I was so shocked that I immediately stood up and grabbed Abel, pulling him back in a panic.

“No! Abel—!”

If you go, it’ll definitely lead to the disaster ending!

At my protest, Abel turned to me with a wounded expression, as if asking why it couldn’t be him. I had more than a hundred reasons, but this wasn’t the time to explain them all. I could only shake my head firmly and send him a look that told him to step back.

“Why…”

Abel looked hurt by my reaction, his gaze wavering. I wanted to offer some words of comfort, but before I could, a dark shadow loomed over both of us.

Before I had a chance to react, the shadow stretched out, grabbing Abel by the collar and lifting him off the ground.

“You little brats! Do you think this is some kind of joke?!”

“Urk…!”

“Abel—!”

The caretaker, furious at our attempts to stall for time, raised his hand threateningly as he held Abel up. Abel’s small frame dangled helplessly, his feet no longer touching the ground. His breath hitched as the grip on his throat tightened, and he began to struggle desperately.

“Kh…! Kehk…”

“Abel! I-I’m sorry! I’ll go! Please, just let Abel go!”

Oh no! My poor baby is going to die!

Seeing Abel struggling in the manager’s grasp, I frantically clung to him, pleading for Abel’s release. The caretaker glanced down at me before roughly tossing Abel aside.

Oh no! My baby!

I gasped and rushed over to Abel, checking him frantically for injuries.

“Abel…!”

“Where do you brats get off thinking you can defy our orders? Listen up! If any of you question our decisions again, you’d better be prepared to spend all your time in solitary confinement! Got it?!”

The caretaker’s voice boomed, but I was too focused on Abel to pay much attention.

Thankfully, nothing seemed broken, but Abel lay limp, unconscious. Worried he might have hit his head, I leaned in closer to check—only for the caretaker to suddenly yank me away by the wrist.

“You’re coming with me. Now. If you waste any more time, you’ll be the one getting punished.”

I couldn’t even resist as he dragged me along.

From behind me, I could hear Lizzie’s cries, her voice breaking as she called my name. I turned my head back toward the room, taking in the chaotic scene.

Ah, this is bad. I hadn’t planned for things to escalate this much… What do I do now?

“Lizzie!”

“M-Mary….”

At the sound of my voice, her tear-filled eyes turned to me.

Relieved that she was still able to respond, I quickly forced a bright smile onto my face, trying to reassure her.

“I’ll be fine! Don’t worry! I promise I’ll be back soon! Until then, take care of Abel for me! I swear I’ll be back quickly, so don’t cry—just wait for me, okay—”

Thud—

Excuse me, sir? I was still talking.

The door slammed shut before I could finish my sentence, and I shot the caretaker a glare.

Heartless bastard…! Do slaves not even get basic human rights?!

…Well, I guess technically they don’t.

Noticing him glance at me, I quickly schooled my expression into something more docile.

“Stay quiet and follow me. Before your education begins, there’s someone you need to meet.”

?

Someone I need to meet before the education?

I tilted my head in confusion.

This wasn’t in the original story… What’s going on?

Why do I have a bad feeling about this…?

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