Dirty Heart - Chapter 30

“I think it was around here….”

As she got closer to the orphanage, a strange sense of déjà vu washed over her. Maybe the original owner’s memories still lingered, because even though it was clearly her first time on this path, every bit of the scenery felt familiar. Strangely, the more time passed, the clearer those past memories became.

The winding hillside was where she used to run around as a child, and the gravel path beneath her feet held memories of walking hand in hand with someone. When she spotted the large tree where she used to play hide-and-seek with Liam, a faint smile even spread across her lips.

Of course, not all the memories left behind were good ones. The moment the orphanage wall came into view in the distance, the smile on her lips vanished instantly. Cold, starving winter nights, days when she couldn’t sleep from being beaten by the adults, and years stained with exploitation all surfaced vividly, as if they had happened just yesterday.

“Ugh, my whole body aches…. We’re a lot later than expected.”

At Alex’s words, Courtney let out a deep sigh. It had truly been a difficult journey. Normally, they should have arrived long ago, but Lionel’s condition kept holding them back.

One day, Lionel suddenly collapsed and lay unconscious the entire time, and on another day, he complained of severe headaches, forcing them to stop the carriage and wait for half a day.

“Young Duke, are you alright?”

It was no different now. The man’s pale face and labored breathing made it seem like he might collapse at any moment. The way he clutched his chest and complained of pain repeatedly was anything but normal.

‘He’s definitely getting worse….’

Courtney’s gaze wavered for a moment. She couldn’t shake the thought that if things went on like this, he might really die.

‘What am I thinking? If he dies here, that’s a win for me.’

Forcing herself to look away from Lionel, she tried desperately to focus only on the scenery outside the window.

But for some reason, every time he took a shaky breath, her chest tightened strangely. She couldn’t ignore it no matter how hard she tried.

‘Get a grip. No matter how crazy you are about men, this is a serious case!’

While she continued fighting with herself over and over, the rattling carriage finally came to a stop.

“Miss Courtney. Is this Saint Agatha Orphanage?”

“Yes. This is the place.”

Courtney was the first to step out of the carriage. After looking around at the surroundings, she nodded.

A neat exterior, a garden meticulously maintained without a single weed, and a peaceful atmosphere. Saint Agatha Orphanage looked like a paradise on the surface, but she knew all too well the truth hidden behind that calm exterior.

Beyond those tidy walls lived greedy adults who exploited children, and deep in the mountains behind the building lay countless graves of children who had died without proper care.

Soon after, Lionel stepped out of the carriage with difficulty, his face pale. Alex hurried to support him, but Lionel waved him off as if to say he was fine.

“Something about this feels off.”

Alex looked around and spoke in a serious tone. Sure enough, soldiers from the security force were investigating something in front of the orphanage.

Some of them were carefully recording the nuns’ statements, while others were searching the area around the building.

“Oh my, Courtney!”

At that moment, Director Charlotte spotted Courtney and ran toward her with tears welling in her eyes.

“You came yourself after hearing the news!”

“Yes…? What news?” Courtney asked in confusion. A bad feeling crept over her.

“Liam was kidnapped! Ah…!”

The director cried out like a tragic heroine and tried to collapse into Courtney’s arms, but Lionel blocked her at once. Even while he could barely take care of himself, he moved to protect Courtney.

“Director! Are you alright?”

Seeing Charlotte slump to the ground as if fainting, the surrounding nuns rushed over in a panic and helped her up.

“How could something so terrible happen to our sweet Liam…!”

Looking down at her wailing like a mother who had lost her child, Courtney clenched her fists tightly. The hypocrisy of the woman who normally treated the children like slaves and abused them made her sick.

***

“I truly… have no excuse.”

Director’s office. Sitting across from Lionel, Charlotte repeatedly bowed her head.

This was the story she gave. She had returned happily after receiving funds from the ducal house, but unidentified vagrants had suddenly barged in, stolen all the money, and in the process taken Liam hostage.

“I should have protected Liam even at the cost of my life… sob.”

Charlotte shed tears and blamed herself, but her words couldn’t be taken at face value.

Courtney recalled the horrifying package she had received a few days ago. The box containing a child’s finger that had turned purple.

‘Vagrants did this for Liam’s ransom?’

If their goal had been money from the start, wouldn’t it have been more efficient to kidnap Director Charlotte instead?

Above all, the timing didn’t match. If Liam had truly been taken as soon as he arrived at the orphanage, then that horrific package should have been delivered to the ducal house at least a week later.

The situation strongly suggested the director had staged it herself, yet the captain of the guard seemed intent only on wrapping up the case quickly.

“We understand your statement for now, Director, so we’ll take our leave today.”

“What do you mean leave when the child hasn’t been found? Aren’t you going to investigate further? Anyone can see the most suspicious person here is the director!”

Courtney protested in disbelief, but the captain gave only a formal response.

“We’ve confirmed the suspects’ descriptions, so we’ll put up missing posters. If we hear any news about the child, we’ll contact you again.”

“That’s obvious, and you should be deploying more personnel to search! Every second counts right now!”

“Miss, we have plenty of work to handle. We can’t waste manpower over just one orphan.”

The captain glanced at his pocket watch with clear annoyance. The subordinates with him yawned openly, as if they were only waiting for the end of their shift.

“Just one orphan? Are you done talking? Are you saying it is acceptable for a child to die a meaningless death just because he’s an orphan?”

A kidnapping had taken place, yet their careless attitude made her furious. Just as Courtney raised her voice to press the issue again.

“Would it be sufficient if I reinforce the unit?”

Lionel, who had been listening quietly, spoke at last.

“Pardon? Reinforce the unit…?”

“I’m referring to the mobile unit under the Erhardt ducal house.”

Reaching into his coat, Lionel placed the family seal on the table with a firm tap.

“Wait. The Erhardt ducal house…?”

The captain’s face turned pale the moment he recognized the finely engraved twin-sword emblem. Even in a rural area, there was no way he wouldn’t know the Erhardt family, which was closely tied to the imperial court. His eyes began to dart nervously between the seal and Lionel.

“Liam is a child I sponsor.”

“…!”

“A child like that is kidnapped overnight, and you expect me to sit and wait after putting up a few posters. Does that make any sense?”

The captain of the guard looked flustered and exchanged glances with Charlotte. Seeing the same hint of unease cross the director’s face, it seemed they were indeed in cahoots.

“If you need support, I’ll provide as much as necessary, so you must find Liam no matter what.”

At Lionel’s commanding tone, the captain immediately straightened his posture.

“O-Of course. We’ll mobilize all available personnel on our side as well.”

***

They combed through every corner of the village for more than half a day, but Liam’s whereabouts were still completely unknown.

Not only was there no one who had seen Liam, there wasn’t even a single witness account of any vagrants, which only made the anxiety grow even stronger.

“Should we try searching the mountains? He might have gone into the forest.”

At Alex’s suggestion, Courtney nodded immediately. But only for a moment. When she noticed Lionel staggering behind them, she clicked her tongue.

“Young Duke, in your current condition, this is too much. Please rest in the carriage.”

“I’m fine.”

Despite Alex’s attempt to stop him, Lionel remained stubborn.

‘This feels really bad….’

A sense of unease crept over her, but in the end, unable to break Lionel’s stubbornness, the three of them headed into the dense forest filled with thick trees.