Home/The Seven-Year-Old Village Chief of Exile/ch 12

Chapter 12

As we carefully opened the door, a chilling cold air greeted us.

A lonely room with nothing but an old bed and a shabby wardrobe.

Aunt Daliss's young daughter was sleeping curled up on that old bed, wrapped only in a thin blanket.

Her hair was tangled and matted, as if she hadn't received proper care, and her knuckles and heels were covered in white calluses.

"The Viscount of Deste needs to add child abuse to his list of crimes."

"......"

Ian couldn't even speak properly, suppressing his rising anger.

I quietly stroked Ian's clenched fist. His tightly balled hand gradually loosened.

'It's always the powerless children who suffer.'

Cruelly, that's how reality works. Human society, supposedly created to protect the weak, has always been harsh on them.

"But..."

Staring at the sleeping child, I muttered unconsciously.

"Does she even want to go to her mother?"

"What?"

Ian squinted one eye as if asking what I meant.

Realizing my slip, I quickly made an excuse.

"I was brought here by implication, you know. I'm not doubting Aunt Daliss, but, um, still, just in case..."

"That's... true."

Using my situation as an example, Ian wore a complicated expression.

He seemed desperate to refute my words, but he chose to acknowledge reality and not rule out the many possibilities.

'Ian is a solid person.'

So I proposed the most efficient plan.

"Let's inject her with a sedative. That way, she'll stay quiet until we get back to the exile camp. There's no need to give her a choice."

"That's quite an approach."

Next to a shocked Ian, Verity was already holding a syringe filled with sedative.

"But there's a problem."

Verity delivered the bad news.

"I don't have a medical license, so I can't give the injection. If I mess up, I could get arrested for violating medical laws."

"Bleached Demon said the same thing—why do demons care about that stuff?"

"If you ignore the law, you'll end up like the Viscount of Deste. Laws are meant to be followed."

"Do you think someone from an exile camp cares about that?"

"Hebenia, we're all innocent victims who were framed."

"I'm not framed—I'm implicated! I'm a prouder criminal than anyone!"

"Can 'proud' and 'criminal' even be used together?"

We chattered on like idiots.

So we didn't notice.

"......"

That Aunt Daliss's daughter had woken up and was watching us.

---

Five days had passed since Hebenia and her companions had headed into the primeval forest.

During that time, the Exilium family had been enjoying a comfortable exile life.

During the day, they farmed; in the afternoon, they participated diligently in social reintegration training like woodworking, reading, and herb cultivation. And in the evenings, they gathered together to discuss future plans.

"When do you think they'll come back?"

Late at night, Libby muttered as she prepared the bedding.

"They say leaving home is hard—I hope the three of them aren't having too tough a time."

"......"

Despite Libby's chatter, Daliss gave no response.

But Libby didn't mind and kept talking. It was because of her firm belief that someday Daliss would answer.

In fact, Daliss had improved noticeably since coming here. She moved more, and her expressions had become clearer.

"I'm worried about Hebenia. I just feel sorry that we couldn't be proper adults, and that little child has to carry so much."

"......"

"Oh, by the way, did you know?"

Libby showed her a notebook as if to say look at this.

[Hebenia's Help Ledger]

What the adults were most worried about wasn't money, food, or even the harsh outside gaze that misunderstood them.

It was the possibility that they might come to take Hebenia's help for granted.

"Everyone's recording the help they've received from Hebenia."

From the ingredients used to make meals, to the solid house that sheltered them from the wind and rain, to the clothes and shoes they wore, to the various tools.

Even the safety of the exile camp itself.

"It's all luxury we enjoy thanks to Hebenia."

"......"

"Even so, since we're adults, if we have to live depending on a child, at least we should have this kind of heart. Right?"

"......"

Daliss still didn't answer, but her eyes, fixed on the notebook, sparkled. She seemed interested. At least, that's how Libby felt.

"Auntie, you should write in it too, when you have time."

"......"

"By the way, no call today."

The watch on Libby's wrist was silent.

Every day since they went into the primeval forest, they'd called, but today there was no word even at this late hour.

'I hope nothing really happened.'

Just as she was tapping the watch with worry, a bright red inverted pentagram appeared on the black screen, buzzing.

Daliss's eyes blinked rapidly.

"It's a call from Hebenia!"

Libby quickly pressed the inverted pentagram on the screen. Then, a small square like a picture frame floated in the air.

[Libby unnie!]

Hebenia's face appeared in the video.

"You're late—I was worried. Is something wrong?"

[Yeah, nothing much.]

"Then why is it so noisy over there?"

A clattering sound came from beyond the screen.

[It's nothing. Ian oppa just caught a fat rat.]

A rat?

Libby tilted her head.

[Anyway!]

Hebenia looked for Daliss.

[Aunt Daliss!]

"......"

[Do you remember what I said? That I'd bring you a present.]

With a ta-da, Hebenia stepped aside from the screen.

Then, in the center of the screen, an unfamiliar girl appeared.

Libby, who had been frowning at the screen trying to figure out who it was, gasped. Then she quickly turned to Daliss.

"Auntie...!"

And she saw it.

Light filling Daliss's empty eyes.

[I found the present.]

---

Aunt Daliss's daughter didn't make a single sound even at the appearance of strangers.

It wasn't because the child was composed and mature—it was because she had given up on everything.

That's what happens when you repeatedly experience a reality where hopes and expectations are crushed.

'I was like that too.'

I knew that expression well—I'd seen it every morning in the mirror.

"Hi?"

Shaking off the overlapping past, I greeted her with the kindest smile I could muster.

Following my lead, Ian and Verity quickly waved too.

"We're not bad people. We came to help you."

"......"

"Don't you want to see your mom?"

"Mo, mom...?"

For the first time, life sparked in the child's dry eyes.

Seizing the moment, I, Ian, and Verity spoke in turn.

"That's right, Mom!"

"We'll take you to her."

"Instead, you have to listen to us—wait, doesn't this make us look like kidnappers?"

But this classic kidnapping pitch worked.

"Mommy..."

Aunt Daliss's daughter just kept repeating the word 'mom.' Each time, tears like beads dripped down.

The sight was so heartbreaking it ached in the chests of those watching.

I quietly felt relieved.

'Aunt Daliss is a good mother.'

That meant I could take her without worry.

But it wouldn't do if the child kept crying.

"My Lady."

Tap, tap. Verity pointed to his wrist.

Catching his meaning, I quickly activated the watch.

"Sweetie. Do you want to call your mom?"

"Mom...?"

"You can hear her voice, and see her face too!"

Aunt Daliss's daughter nodded eagerly.

While I made the call, Ian suddenly stood up and headed toward the door. He pressed himself against the wall beside it and held his breath.

Soon, someone opened the door and entered.

It was the stout man we'd seen earlier in the bedroom where the Viscount of Deste had been lying.

The man saw us and his chubby cheeks twitched.

"Wh-who...!"

Before the startled man could shout, Ian, who had been hiding, drove his fist into the man's thick abdomen. The man let out a guh and collapsed unconscious.

Ian quietly lowered the unconscious man to the floor, bound his limbs, gagged him, and stuffed him into the wardrobe.

Verity clicked his tongue.

"It seems the succession ceremony preparations are already complete."

In the meantime, I had connected the video call between Daliss and her daughter.

"Ah, Mom! Mommy!"

[My baby! Flora!]

Amazingly, Aunt Daliss came to her senses the moment she saw her daughter.

Her always-empty eyes regained clarity, and her expressionless face painted a clear picture of sorrow.

Not only me, but Ian and Libby in the small screen were also stunned. Verity was no exception.

'Aunt Daliss's mental state deteriorated because she was forcibly separated from her daughter.'

The shock must have been that great.

'...So this is what real family is like?'

This should have been a moment of relief, but my heart, being the petty thing it was, couldn't feel purely happy.

I was envious and became anxious.

'Everyone in the family has real family and friends outside the exile camp.'

But I don't.

The Clavis, who I don't even remember and are practically strangers, left their youngest daughter behind and were destroyed.

They might be alive, but I don't know where they are. They haven't come to see me.

'...Everyone must want to leave the exile camp, right?'

For the first time, I realized that my wish to live together in harmony inside the primeval forest might be only mine.

But I couldn't keep them trapped in the exile camp because of my selfishness.

[Do you think I don't have greed? I'm just an ordinary girl too!]

[But I endure it. Because this world isn't just about me.]

The season 1 finale of Magical Girl Milkshake.

When the final villain tries to corrupt the protagonist, Magic Milky, and steal her magical power, the protagonist resists and shouts these lines.

'Magical girls really are amazing.'

Once again, she held me steady when I was about to waver.

'Yeah, Magic Milky, you probably put them before yourself.'

I don't regret the millions of won I spent on you.

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