Dirty Heart - Chapter 38

“Brother, are the others okay? Is everyone safe?”

“Yeah. Everyone’s safe.”

Marco, who usually shouted or acted irritable, replied in an unusually gentle voice. It would have been natural to suspect such a sudden change, but the innocent Liam was simply overjoyed to hear that the children were safe.

“Then where are the others now?”

“They all evacuated to a safe place, so don’t worry.”

“Ah, that’s such a relief.”

Unlike Liam, who smiled brightly in relief, Courtney’s face remained filled with caution.

‘Something feels off.’

From the moment she first saw Marco, she felt an inexplicable discomfort. He wasn’t even someone she clearly remembered, yet just his approach made a chill run down her spine. It was the complete opposite of the affection she had felt when she first saw Liam.

“Shall we go to the hideout together? Sister Courtney, you remember me, right? I’ll support you.”

Marco smiled overly kindly and held out his hand toward Courtney, but she shook her head.

“No. I can walk on my own.”

“What are you saying, sister? You can’t even stand properly right now.”

“Yeah, sister. We have to run quickly. What if those scary people from earlier come after us?”

When even Liam joined in and grabbed her arm, Courtney finally nodded reluctantly. It would be completely dark soon, and they couldn’t spend the night in this deep forest.

“Let’s go. The others are waiting.”

The moment Marco grabbed Courtney’s arm, her gaze fixed on the hem of his clothes. His clothes were already in rags, torn to shreds, but what stood out even more was the bloodstain spread vividly around his abdomen.

“Marco, but your blood….”

“Ah, it’s fine. I must’ve gotten hurt a bit while helping the kids evacuate.”

“…I see.”

Judging from the extent of the injury, she thought it would be difficult for him to use much strength.

For now, she decided to accept Marco’s support but stay on guard, and carefully began moving forward.

***

The children rescued from the orphanage were immediately transferred to a nearby clinic. The conditions were poor, with only a single old wooden building, but the medical staff moved busily, doing their best.

Fortunately, most of the children had only minor burns, and while some suffered from headaches and dizziness due to smoke inhalation, none were in critical condition. That was thanks to one child who had found Marco’s behavior suspicious and quickly woke the others, leading them to evacuate through the back gate.

Rather, the one in the most critical condition among them was Lionel. Lying alone on a bed, he looked as if he were on the verge of death, coughing repeatedly.

“Honestly, this guy is unbelievable, really.”

Clicking his tongue, Alex approached the bed, but the area was chaotic due to the children gathered around Lionel.

“Thank you for saving us!”

“But who are you, brother? You look just like a cool prince from a fairy tale!”

“That’s right! When I grow up, I’m going to help people in need just like you, brother!”

The girls shyly tried to offer him wildflowers, while the boys looked at him with sparkling eyes, full of admiration as if he were a hero. Yet Lionel’s expression only grew colder.

“…Get lost.”

Even though he spoke in a faint voice, the children only giggled and crowded closer around him. Compared to the way the director usually spoke to them, Lionel’s voice felt like that of an angel.

“Hey, kids. I helped save you too, you know?”

Meanwhile, Alex, who had been watching the scene with a somewhat envious look, casually joined the conversation.

One of the girls who had been staring at his face tilted her head and asked, “Who are you, mister?”

“What? He’s brother, so why am I a mister?”

“Don’t you know? If you’re handsome, you’re brother.”

“….”

Alex forced a bitter smile. He thought it was a dirty world, but he couldn’t come up with anything to argue back.

“Alex. Get these noisy brats out. Now.”

“Alright, alright. Kids, it’s time to go. The Young Duke is very weak, so he needs to rest.”

“We’ll be quiet, so can’t we stay here?”

“Ah! Should I tell you a fun story? Then it might not hurt at all!”

He waved his hands, trying to chase the children out, but when they refused to listen, he eventually had to call a nurse before the room finally returned to silence.

“His body’s completely wrecked. If the Duke finds out, I’m as good as dead.”

Letting out a deep sigh, Alex carefully wiped Lionel’s hands with disinfectant he received from the nurse. The palm that had gripped the sword hilt was covered in blisters from how much force he had used.

“It hurts. Be gentle.”

“Then why are you doing things you never do? Honestly, since when were you so righteous?”

“….”

Without replying, Lionel turned his gaze toward the window. If he said that his body had moved on its own the moment he heard someone crying for help, would anyone even believe him?

“My baby. To be honest, Mom wants to live too….”

Once again, that aching voice lingered. Was this some kind of repentance now, for failing to save his mother as a child? Was that why he had been so shaken when he realized Courtney wanted to live?

Even if he had developed sympathy for Courtney, nothing would change anyway. As planned, he would carry out the heart transplant, and Courtney would die as fate dictated.

And yet,

‘Why does it feel like this….’

Something stirred inside his chest. It was a feeling too complex to simply call discomfort or disgust.

He was still lost in a question he couldn’t even define himself when a loud voice rang out from outside the hospital room.

“We’ve found Courtney Balkan!”

***

“Brother Marco. Are we there yet?”

“We’re almost there. Just a little farther.”

It had already been thirty minutes since they started walking along the winding forest path following Marco. Thanks to his support, walking had become much easier, but as time passed, the pain in her ankle spread more and more uncontrollably.

‘Something’s wrong….’

Courtney’s eyes, scanning her surroundings, wavered with unease. Contrary to his claim of a hideout, the area around them was only growing more desolate.

“Brother, are you sure this is the right way? I don’t see anything no matter how I look.”

Liam seemed to feel the same unease, repeatedly looking around as he asked again.

“Just a little more, ha… a bit farther.”

Marco’s condition was strange as well. The amount of blood seeping through his clothes kept increasing, until bright red blood began dripping down his legs.

“Marco…! You’re bleeding right now.”

Courtney cried out in shock, but Marco only panted heavily.

“I-It’s fine. I’ll just stop the bleeding for a moment, so would you go o-on ahead?”

Marco, leaning briefly against a tree, jerked his chin, telling the two to go on ahead. Liam, worried, tried to approach Marco, but Courtney stopped him. She had a bad feeling, just as she thought.

“Liam. Let’s go first.”

“But brother….”

“Let’s go.”

Leading Liam, she hurried forward. Meanwhile, Marco, leaning against the tree and watching their backs, slowly curled his lips into a smile.

“Huh? There’s no path…”

After a few more steps, the forest trail abruptly ended, and a steep cliff appeared.

Only then did she realize they’d been had and quickly turned back, but Marco had already closed the distance and blocked their way.

“I’m sorry, Liam, Sister Courtney.”

“Brother…? Wh-what are you doing?”

“I didn’t want to go this far either… but I have a task the director gave me.”

“A task…?”

“I have to purify you, who’ve been defiled. If I complete this task safely, the director said she’ll take me as her son.”

Marco’s gaze wandered in the air, having lost its focus. Despite constantly dripping with blood, his movements, like a puppet, were chilling enough to make one feel terrified.

“I’ll find the bodies and make sure they’re burned. Don’t worry.”

“D-Don’t come any closer!”

Courtney shouted urgently, but Marco was already driving the two of them toward the edge of the cliff.