After allowing Bluebell to enter the palace, Carl’s work has become much more stable. There have been many problems with the progress of the work due to the aristocracy’s reluctance to deal with the problems quickly, but now it was going smoothly.
Sienna and Carl sat at a table in the garden and drank tea together under the warm sun.
“This is nice.”
Sienna breathed in the cold air and said, “I’ve been busy, so it wasn’t easy to drink tea in the garden like this for a while.”
At Sienna’s words, Carl looked only at her teacup without a reply.
-Her Majesty the Empress and Priest Roy, didn’t you feel like you were truly in love? Not just because of the rumors, but because of that look. Moreover, there were rumors that there was a trace of another man in your room that day after the Empress’s wedding.
Carl knew that what Bluebell had said to him after the banquet was nonsense. Because on the wedding night, it was not another man but himself who stayed in her bedroom. But Roy bothered him.
Carl wanted to ask Sienna about her relationship with Roy. However, he kept his mouth shut because he might seem like an ugly husband who was speculating for no reason. Nevertheless, his head was full of Roy and Sienna’s friendly looks.
“With you…”
Eventually, he tried to open his mouth, but Sienna first uttered an exclamation.
“Oh my!”
On her lap was a cat with black fur, which Carl did not even know when it came.
Meow-meow-meow-
The cat cried nervously.
“Coco! What brings you here?”
Sienna stroked Coco’s back.
“But you didn’t come here without telling Roy, did you? Roy will be worried.”
Sienna was glad to see the cat but was worried that Roy might be looking for it.
“By the way, why are you so wet? Did you roll yourself in the mud?”
Sienna scratched the cat’s chin and pulled her hand out with a strange feeling. There was blood on her fingers. Carl smelled the blood and reached for the cat.
“Coco, are you hurt?”
“It’s not the cat’s blood.”
Sienna looked surprised at Carl’s reaction.
“That’s the smell of human blood.”
“Where… don’t tell me!”
Sienna’s hands trembled with a scary feeling. She tried to think that the cat might have caught some blood on the way through the palace, but her anxious thoughts did not subside easily.
“I have to go… Oh, how do we get there? I have to go…”
She began to talk gibberish.
“Where are you going?”
Asked Carl, grabbing her arms and making eye contact.
“In the temple, priest Roy and the children…”
“You mean this cat came from the temple?”
“Coco is a temple cat. I’m sure she came all the way here to ask for help. I have to go.”
Sienna jumped to her feet, thinking that she should go there, even if she had to run right away.
“If you go out like this, I’m sure there’ll be a backbiting.”
Now she had an office as the empress. As a member of the imperial family, there were many eyes to watch her every move. Although she enjoyed many benefits, there were restrictions.
“It doesn’t matter.”
Sienna said firmly. It didn’t matter what they said. For now, the children and Roy in the temple were more important to her than such gossip.
“Do you not know what’s been said about you and the Roy Priest?”
“What…?”
“There are rumors circulating about you and the priest that I don’t even want to put in my mouth. If you keep running to the temple as it is, the rumor will become credible. There’ll be a lot of believers.”
“Then what do I do?!”
Sienna cried out in tears. Carl spoke to scared Sienna in a gentle voice.
“I’ll come with you. Let’s get out through the Elf’s woods.”
“Really? You’ll take me to the temple?”
“It would be much faster for you to get out on a horse than to walk there.”
Carl had previously told her that he used to sneak out of the palace through the forest of Elves and it was somewhat reassuring to Sienna as he suggested that. He urged Sienna to change her clothes, as he was hurrying to step forward.
Sienna wore a skirt that at first glance looked casual and wore a brown cape. Carl also changed into a regular knight’s outfit. The two, who left the cat to Hain, rode through the forest of Elves on Carl’s black horse.
For the first time, Sienna felt nothing but uneasiness, even though she was doing a wonderful job of walking through the forest of Elves and exiting the palace. She was frustrated and worried because she couldn’t know what had happened at the temple.
The familiar appearance of the capital city was revealed as they passed through the tunnel of the long forest. Carl quickly drove his horse to the temple of the goddess of the earth, which was located near the fortress. The temple was close to the forest of the Elves, so it was possible to get there without attracting people’s attention.
“It’s quiet here.”
It was as he said. The temple was very quiet.
Sienna sighed with relief at the sight. But soon it was strange that the temple was so quiet.
“It’s strange.”
Usually, people would be coming in and out of the temple. Due to the large number of children living in the dormitory, children who went to and from the temple and playing in the fields were always present.
Even if all the children were inside the temple, they should have heard some noise, but it was so quiet. There was no sign of activity. The whole temple seemed to be holding its breath.
Carl murmured at the time of the creeping up of anxiety.
“It smells like blood.”
Sienna opened the temple door with one stroke and stepped inside. The place was quiet just as it had been from the outside.
She headed for the warehouse behind the temple with anxiety. It was the place where the children were using as dormitories.
“It’s a footprint.”
It was as Carl said. In the garden leading from the temple to the warehouse were footprints left by big men.
“It’s probably a child’s footprint.”
“No. It’s an adult male by size. About ten people.”
Sienna sped up at his words. When she reached the dormitory door, Carl stopped her.
“I’ll open it.”
Carl pushed the light brown wooden door before Sienna. The well-managed door opened gently.
Soon there was a strong smell of blood inside the door. Sienna shut her eyes to the terrible disaster.
“Damn it!”
Even Carl, who was accustomed to war, was not used to such a sight. They were such young children that were bleeding. The children were mutilated to the point where it felt excessive. This was a scene of a one-sided massacre.
“Robin!”
Sienna ran toward the child lying at the entrance. He was the oldest-looking child among them.
“My God, Robin!”
Sienna called Robin’s name over and over again. Although he was young, he was a child who was acting as the older brother to other kids so that the kids on the street could grow up properly. He even had a younger sister.
Sienna even heard a news recently that Robin got a job in the Merchants after he learned how to write. The child, who said his dream was to make money and buy a house to live with his sister, was hanging lifelessly like a broken puppet. Sienna called Robin’s name out loud, but the child couldn’t answer.
Unlike Sienna, who was holding on to a cold child, Carl calmly grasped the situation. The direction of the footprints and the array of the children lying down on the floor confirmed the route of the intruders. He saw another door behind the warehouse.
“What is that place?”
Sienna, sobbing with Robin in her arms, seemed unable to answer his questions. Carl observed the scene carefully and found out that no intruders remained nearby, then opened the door.
Inside was a row of bunk beds. Red blood spattered on a newly made bed.
“Two here, a total of seven?”
Carl quickly figured out how many children were killed in the incident. All the victims with blood were children, and priest Roy was not one of them.
“Uhhh…”
One of the children who he thought was dead groaned thinly. Carl approached the child in a step.
It was a young boy who looked about ten years old. His stomach had been badly torn, part of his gut had escaped through the wound. It was unbelievable that he was still breathing.
The child was in great pain. Carl thought it might be better for him to take his life now.
It was obvious that Sienna would object if he told her that. If she was also close to this child, the process of having to take his breath would be more painful than confirming the child’s death.
It was time for Carl to pull out the sword to take care of it before Sienna knew it. Then the door opened.
Thinking she couldn’t just stay in despair, Sienna came in to see if there was any living child and found a child breathing heavily in front of Carl.
“Kevin!”
“Do you know him?”
“He was the one who told me about you when you got stabbed.”
At Sienna’s words, Carl carefully examined the child’s face. He looked like a child who told him where to hide. He couldn’t recognize him at a glance because he got bigger and fatter.
“Ugh…”
Kevin was blinded by pain. Carl made up his mind. He wanted to hurry especially if the child was the one who helped him. It occurred to Carl that it would be better to take his life quickly and release him from this pain.
“Turn around Sienna.”