MPBAGS Chapter 54

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Daisy muttered back, full of confusion. What, the director? The director is the culprit who kidnapped the children? Not Troy? Right now, aren't you just making excuses to buy time?

"Don't lie."

"I know it's hard to believe too."

Troy came into the room and rummaged through the drawers.

"It should be here somewhere..."

The drawer seemed stuck and wouldn't open, so he was struggling with it, so I just opened it for him instead. He must not have any strength since he just woke up after fainting.

"Th-thank you."

Troy seemed embarrassed that he had received my help, so he couldn't even make eye contact and bowed to thin air. I'm right here, so where is he bowing to?

Troy, who had been searching through the documents, seemed to have found what he was looking for.

"It's increased again..."

What increased? I read the paper Troy had found. Daisy must have been curious too because she quickly stepped into the room.

"What, what is this?"

"Evidence that mom sold the kids. I only found out about the existence of such papers recently."

The first thing that caught my eye was a parade of numbers. Numbers that I couldn't estimate the cost of since I wasn't used to it yet were listed in a row. Next to them were dates written down.

Like an annual event, these items written at least once a year, sometimes up to twice, seemed to be the ransom prices.

So right now, the kidnapper isn't Troy, but the director whom Daisy praised as being so caring?

I had made a big mistake. I had completely forgotten the creative law that the person who seems least likely to be the culprit is usually the culprit.

"Director! Director!"

The director, who had been lost in thought, finally came to her senses at the sound of Ranon calling her. When she turned around, Ranon glanced at the child as if to say it wasn't him but Mary who had something to say.

"Director... my arm hurts."

"...I see."

When the director let go of her arm, Mary's arm was marked with deep handprints. She had gripped it so hard that it looked like it would bruise. The director pressed her forehead. She hadn't intended to be violent yet, but when things weren't going as planned, she must have unconsciously applied force.

Mary, who was rubbing her arm, suddenly looked up at the ceiling.

"It seems Troy has come again."

This stupid and foolish son of hers was apparently searching the orphanage again. That child really had never listened since he was young. This was the complete opposite of how Marai cherished her son. Though they say there's no parent who can overcome their child.

"Troy?"

Ranon had also heard the footsteps. Hadn't he already come once while they were sleeping? Why was he here again? Puzzled, Ranon soon realized that there wasn't just one set of footsteps.

'He must have come with the guards to find us!'

Troy had definitely brought the guards with him. Ranon felt hope seeping through the cracks.

Just a few days ago, the director whom they had trusted and loved so much had suddenly started confining the children underground and raising them like livestock. At first, they thought it was just a cruel prank, but only after seeing the man named Melech tied up in the basement did they realize the severity of the situation.

Even then, it was only the older children like Yulma and Ranon who noticed something was wrong. The younger children like Mary, while knowing the director had become strange, still relied on her out of habit.

That's why Yulma must have told the kids things like "we're being sold" to raise their awareness.

'Will they notice the basement?'

Ranon had never known there was a basement in the orphanage where he had lived his entire life. From the way Troy kept wandering around only the upper floors, it seemed he didn't know about the basement's existence either. The director hadn't even told her own son about this place.

They would need to search the director's office thoroughly... Even if they found it, would they be able to open it? When the director left the basement to get food each time, Ranon had once tried to follow her to escape the basement, but the door was firmly locked. Only the director knew how to operate the door.

"It seems Troy brought someone with him."

Unfortunately, the director had also realized that there were multiple intruders.

'Really, a son who does nothing but oppose his mother at every turn.'

Marai hadn't told her son about this basement. She had planned to reveal it later when Troy became more cooperative, thinking he would understand her eventually.

"We need to hurry."

She had to finish the job before Troy and the helpers her son brought found the entrance. Marai scratched her arm in anxiety. Red marks were newly drawn on her arm, scratched by her sharp nails.

Marai took Ranon and Mary to where the other children were. It was Ranon's first time in this place since being confined to the basement. Expecting to go to the bedroom, Ranon was horrified when he saw the interior.

"Good children, you've been quietly staying put as I told you."

The children were huddled together in one corner, cowering. They were frightened by the scene in the room. Unlike the basement scenery, which was gloomy but still adequate for sleeping and eating, this room was particularly terrifying.

The weapons hanging on the walls weren't just for decoration—they were sharpened and showed signs of use, and there was also a chair of unknown purpose. The entire room was filled with a rusty, old, fishy smell. Ranon retched.

"Yulma..."

What was even more horrifying was that Yulma was tied up. That spirited girl was drooping, apparently exhausted. Fortunately, it seemed she had only been restrained and didn't appear to be injured.

"I punished Yulma for failing to properly take care of her younger siblings when you disappeared," the director whispered in Ranon's ear. Then she pushed Ranon and Mary into the room.

"If you misbehave again, you'll be punished like Yulma."

The director's voice still carried the tenderness of singing lullabies while praying for peaceful sleep after nightmares, which made Mary cry.

"My dear children, you know how much I cherish you, don't you? I have something to get, so I'll be back shortly. Until then, you must all wait quietly. Stay silent and be as quiet as the dead. Understand?"

The director made eye contact with each child as she warned them, then locked the door and left the room. Ranon confirmed that the sound had faded and the director had gone far away, then tried turning the doorknob, but only heard a clicking sound confirming the door was firmly locked.

Mary hurried to Yulma.

"Yu, Yulma, what should we do..."

As Mary's tears were about to burst, one of the orphanage siblings said "Shh" with a tear-stained face, warning her to be careful. Mary nodded and clamped her mouth shut, being the responsible older sister in front of a younger sibling.

Meanwhile, Ranon grabbed what looked like giant scissors from the wall. Pushing aside his curiosity about what this tool had been used for, Ranon cut the rope with the clippers. After also removing the gag from her mouth, Yulma spat and breathed heavily.

"Because of me... you must be in a lot of pain, I'm sorry Yulma..."

"Hah... it's not like you tied me up, so what are you sorry for?"

The director had rambled about various reasons why Yulma was being punished on behalf of the other children, but Yulma wasn't the type to accept that at face value.

"Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No. She just tied me up as punishment, that's all."

Ranon helped Yulma sit up. When the children gathered around Yulma asking if she was okay, instead of saying thank you, Yulma dismissed them for being noisy.

"But is it okay to untie me? She said she'd be back, won't we get in more trouble?"

"It's okay."

Ranon told her that he had just heard Troy entering with other people, and that's why the director was very anxious.

"She probably went upstairs. Maybe... Troy might rescue us."

"That's ridiculous, Troy? If that bastard returns empty-handed and the director comes back?"

"Then I'll handle it myself."

Through Ranon's answer, Yulma realized that if the director returned, Ranon intended to use the tools hanging on the wall.

Are you crazy? How easy do you think it is to harm someone in your right mind? Especially when the opponent is the director who had been like a parent to them their whole lives, even though they felt betrayed.

Ranon had followed the director the most faithfully. Even after carelessly wielding a weapon, he would be tormented by considerable guilt.

Yulma, irritated, sneered.

"So what happens after that? Where will you take all the kids? To another orphanage? Or to Sister Daisy?"

"Then is there another way? Do you know what might happen to us if we stay here? Yulma, you're smart, so you know well. All the tools here have been used before."

Yulma and Ranon had thought they would be sold. Even after being confined to the basement, meals were consistently provided and there was no physical violence.

But bringing them to a room like this suggested there might be corporal punishment in the future. Perhaps some of the orphanage children who had disappeared under the pretense of adoption had already suffered this fate.

"And Troy is here."

Yulma couldn't understand why Ranon trusted Troy so much. Yulma touched the scar remaining on her arm. This wound had been inflicted by Troy. Because of the injury, her planned adoption was cancelled, and Yulma had remained at the orphanage ever since.

Relying on Troy, who would open his mouth only to call them orphan bastards and say this damn orphanage should collapse?

For a moment, Yulma even thought, 'Did Troy do that on purpose?' If he had deliberately returned to the empty orphanage and brought other people with him, then all his past misconduct might have been intentional. Was this too hopeful a wish?

"Alright... fine. You're right that staying here won't help us at all."

Still, since there was no other way, they had to try trusting him once. After succeeding in convincing Yulma, everything proceeded smoothly. Yulma turned to the children and told them to go to the corner.

"No matter what sounds you hear, you must never turn around."

There was no need to make the younger siblings share in the responsibility.

"Yulma, I hear sounds. It seems she's coming back."

Ranon stood right next to the door with a weapon. Yulma swallowed. Soon after, the lock was released and the door opened.