Dirty Heart - Chapter 37

“Ha, it’s a masterpiece in itself.”

Watching the blazing flames rising beyond the carriage window, Charlotte smiled in rapture.

By now, everything would have burned down and turned into a handful of ash. From the embezzlement ledgers to the countless traces of abuse, there would be neither evidence nor witnesses left. With this, her sins had surely been washed clean.

Meanwhile, Marco, who sat across from her, kept trembling all over, unable to settle down. The children’s screams he had heard while fleeing in a hurry after committing arson kept echoing in his ears.

“My son. Why are you trembling so?”

“N-No, it’s nothing, Director.”

“I see. You must be shaken after carrying out something so great.”

“Yes, Director….”

Marco forced a smile as he replied, but his hands were still trembling uncontrollably.

‘Pathetic fool.’

Charlotte, who looked at Marco with contempt, turned her gaze back to the window. She was calculating the right moment to dispose of him.

‘It’ll have to be before we board the ship.’

The method was simple. After letting him enjoy a feast, she would mix poison into the food and have him eat it. Dumping the body into the sea would be clean and easy.

Just as she smiled in satisfaction at her perfect plan.

“Hm?”

Far away, she spotted figures walking along the winding forest path, and her eyes widened sharply. Those nuisances had shown up on their own at the perfect time, so surely even the gods were watching over her.

“Marco.”

“Yes…?”

“There are still more things that need to be purified.”

The woman’s face, smiling quietly, looked more sinister than ever.

***

After learning the truth, Alex’s confusion had reached its peak. He even began to think it might be better if Courtney were never found at all.

‘So that’s what it was…. Now the puzzle is finally coming together.’

The reason he had kept a maid he didn’t even like by his side and pretended to love her all along was simply to obtain her heart.

‘No matter how I think about it, he’s a complete bastard.’

Lionel was both the master he had to serve and a long-time friend, but he couldn’t help feeling disgust.

Of course, he tried to look at it from another perspective. If he were in Lionel’s position, what choice would he have made? Would he have quietly accepted death? Or would he have struggled desperately to survive?

‘…Damn it.’

If he thought that way, he could almost understand Lionel, but what kept coming back to him was Courtney’s innocent face.

On top of that, she had reacted strongly to the idea of a willing donor, as if she had already sensed her own fate.

‘Come to think of it, does Miss Courtney know about this too? Is that why she ran away, waiting for an opportunity?’

Questions flooded his mind, but none of them had clear answers. One moment, he hoped Courtney would never appear again, but the next, the thought that Lionel might die threw his mind into chaos again. It was enough to make him want to tear his hair out.

Unlike Alex, who looked utterly miserable, Lionel showed no sign of emotional disturbance and continued riding in silence.

While the security force and the knights continued their thorough search, Lionel traveled with Alex toward the orphanage.

Of course, with Courtney and Liam missing, the rendezvous at the orphanage had already become meaningless, but even so, Lionel did not stop moving forward.

The reason was simple. Since both of them had come from the orphanage, he thought there was a chance they might come back here, worried about the children.

Especially considering Courtney’s usual nature, the possibility was even higher. She was the kind of woman who could never just pass by those in need.

“Young Duke! The flames are too intense!”

When they reached the orphanage, Alex hurriedly blocked Lionel’s path. Just as he said, the orphanage building had already half collapsed, and black smoke covered everything in all directions.

“There’s no way Miss Courtney would be in a place like this. Let’s head back right away.”

“….”

Just as Lionel slowly nodded and was about to turn the reins.

“P-Please save us!”

“Is anyone out there? Please help us…!”

“I’m scared, brother, I don’t want to die. Waaah…!”

At the desperate cries carried on the wind, both Lionel and Alex instinctively turned their heads.

“It sounds like someone’s inside.”

As Alex searched for the source of the sound, he soon discovered something and froze in shock. Near the back gate of the building, children huddled together were desperately pounding on a barred iron door. Compared to the front building that was collapsing, the fire hadn’t spread there as much, so it seemed there were survivors.

But with the fire able to spread at any moment, they couldn’t recklessly rush in to save the children.

“Y-Young Duke, it’s dangerous!”

At that moment, something completely unexpected happened. At the single plea for help, Lionel ran into the flames as if possessed.

Startled by the fierce heat, the horse kept trying to change direction, so Lionel finally dismounted and ran toward the back gate. Drawing his sword quickly, he struggled with all his strength to cut through the tightly bound chains.

Clang, clang! Each time the sharp blade struck the chains, a loud noise rang out. Once, twice, three times. Like a madman, Lionel kept swinging his sword, his eyes filled with desperation.

“Young Duke!”

Alex, who had rushed over breathlessly, struck the chains together with him. After several attempts, the chains finally snapped, and the door swung open wide.

“Cough, cough!”

The children, choking on smoke, staggered out in a rush. But Lionel’s body swayed heavily in the thick smoke. His already weak body couldn’t endure inhaling the toxic fumes any longer.

“When did you become so full of compassion, seriously!”

Just as Lionel’s knees were about to buckle, Alex quickly reached out and grabbed him by the collar.

Dragging him across the ground, they barely managed to get away from the flames, but Lionel’s body hung limp.

“Have you lost your mind? You can’t even take care of yourself, and you run into a place like that? Then why do you even need Miss Courtney’s heart? Are you planning to become some hero of justice after getting healthy?”

Looking down at his soot-covered face, Alex shouted in frustration, “If you’re going to be a bastard anyway, then just stay a consistent bastard. Don’t pretend to be kind halfheartedly!”

Harsh words that he would never normally say poured out of Alex’s mouth.

To save one life, another innocent life would be lost. Even knowing that better than anyone, he couldn’t understand his master acting like this.

***

“It’s not something to take lightly just because it’s a stream.”

Courtney, who had barely escaped from the rapid current, gasped for breath, panting heavily. It felt incredibly fortunate that she had learned how to swim in her previous life.

“Liam, let’s hurry. The knights will definitely be looking for us.”

With a gentle smile, she grabbed Liam’s hand tightly. Unlike her body, which was completely battered, Liam appeared relatively unscathed without even a scratch. That was only possible because Courtney had desperately tried to protect the boy.

“Ah!”

Just as she was about to take a step forward, a pained groan escaped Courtney’s lips. The moment her foot touched the ground, an intense pain surged through her.

“Sister, are you okay?”

“…Yeah, I’m okay. Let’s go.”

She waved her hand as if to brush it off and tried to move again, but the pain only grew worse. Her entire ankle throbbed, making it impossible for her to walk properly.

“What should we do…? I think my ankle is completely ruined.”

“Sister, lean on me. I’ll support you.”

Liam quickly grabbed Courtney’s arm to support her, but in the end, he couldn’t bear the weight tipping to one side and collapsed to the ground with her. Both of them were far too exhausted, and Liam’s body was noticeably small.

“This is bad. We need to run before the knights get here….”

As they remained stuck, unable to move, a rustling sound came from the bushes.

“…!”

Both Courtney and Liam froze in fear. Had the unknown kidnappers already tracked them down? If that was the case, then this time, they truly wouldn’t survive.

Holding her breath, Courtney’s heart pounded wildly as she scanned the surroundings. Meanwhile, the presence drew closer and closer.

“So you were here, Liam! I’ve been looking for you!”

At last, a man appeared out of the silence. The moment Liam recognized him, his face lit up with relief.

“Brother Marco?”