Amidst the screams, I led Edward to the back door. Slave merchants were in a situation where they couldn’t catch the freed slaves because of the large fire in the protruding flowerbed and the fleeing people.
In the meantime, I slipped out of the alley and held Edward’s hand tightly.
Following the path I went through, right, left, right… I ran and ran between the alleys. After that, I crossed the street and crossed the block and came to another neighborhood.
I felt like I was going to fall and I never let go of my breath. I don’t know how much comfort his hands have given me.
“Gasp. Gasp.”
When I was out of breath and couldn’t run anymore, a stream around the nursery could be seen.
The world was beautiful enough just to find Edward, but the sunset and flowing water sparkled yellow and orange. I thought it was so pretty that I could cry.
“Ugh. Gasp. Gasp.”
I sat on the floor and took a breath. I thought Edward would gasp because he was out of shape like me, but he was better than I thought. Only then did I see his face properly.
‘Why are you so skinny?’
At first glance, he was much thinner, and his cheeks were slimmer to have chubby baby fat. The shoulders popped up and the eyes were shaded. I was upset.
As I stared at Edward, my eyes met his. With his eyes still clueless about what I was thinking, he asked.
“Why are you here? This is the Kyrgen Empire.”
“Why are you there? Did you not receive the letters we left?”
“…It happened in Godia.”
Godia was a rural area where Edward spent his childhood. It was amazing, so I screamed without realizing it.
“Did you go all the way down to Godia from the house? I didn’t even know that and I was going to look for you…! Whoo… I’ll explain it to you when we get there. But that side is…”
Fred, the boy who had been running away with us together, smiled at me. The colorful blonde waved his hand and greeted me.
“I’m Fred. Thanks to you, I survived.”
“I’m Edward’s older sister.”
Edward cut me off and told Fred.
“Let’s part ways here. She saved your life. Isn’t that enough?”
“Oh, Edward. If that’s the case, then we’ll go to the nursery together.”
Edward cut me off again and said what he had to say.
“It’s dangerous to stick together. They’ll be eager to find the slaves who ran away, so it’s better to disperse as much as possible.”
“Is that so?”
“Edward is right. Do you happen to know which area this is?”
“This is the countryside of Kyrgen’s Callio.”
“If it’s Callio… Thank you.”
“What if you meet a slave merchant on the way? Wouldn’t it be better to stay in the nursery for a few days?”
“No. I have to leave quickly before they search the whole area. Then Edward, it was nice to meet you. Let’s be careful not to be slaves again.”
