Don’t Throw Me Away

“Sian-nim, Sian-nim!”

“Hmm?”

Sian turned his head at the voice calling out to him. The high-pitched, clear voice unique to children tickled Sian’s ears.

“What is it?”

“Sian-nim, what is this?”

“Um…”

Theodore, having run up to Sian, held up something in his hand. Then, something like mud with a dull brown body drooped from Theodore’s palm.

Another week had passed, and Theodore had completely recovered and was up and about.

He had suffered a major injury that would have killed an ordinary person, but it was the astonishing vitality and stamina that only a protagonist could have.

Anyway, Theodore, whose body was perfectly recovered, was running around the mansion more energetically than before, like a puppy.

Since there were no monsters or dangerous animals in the vicinity, he was allowed to roam freely even in the garden.

However, Theodore, being a curious child, would occasionally discover something unexpected and bring it to Sian, surprising him.

Theodore’s frightened and hesitant appearance before him was still vivid, but seeing him now behaving in a way appropriate for his age was gratifying. Sian answered with a smile on his lips.

“That… is a mud slime.”

“Mud slime?”

“Yes.”

By the way, how did he get a slime that lives deep underground?

Sian looked at the slime, which was limply hanging from Theodore’s hand, with a sullen expression.

It wasn’t dangerous since it was a monster that weakened helplessly in sunlight, but since it lived by sucking up the magic within the mud, even touching it wouldn’t be good for the child.

Should I tell him to throw it away right now? Or is this amount okay?

Unfamiliar with children, Sian continued to feel inner conflict.

“So, does it only eat mud?”

“Well… yes.”

“Wow.”

Theodore let out a short exclamation and looked down at the slime again.

The slime, dark in color, was silent as if dead, it was full of mud.

Theodore, looking at the slime with curious eyes, murmured softly.

“I wonder if mud tastes good?”

“……”

His tone was purely curious. It was an innocent thought that was appropriate for Theodore’s age.

Not long ago, Theodore had been afraid of him, but after a week, he had completely fallen for Sian, who was being kind to him.

Well, he probably didn’t have many people to connect with in the imperial palace.

Moreover, the monster from the story was actually a person with an ordinary appearance on the surface, which seemed to have lowered his guard a lot.

“Are you curious?”

“Yes!”

Theodore was now so pure and lovely. For Sian, who was a reader of the novel, the current young Theodore was a sight he was seeing for the first time.

The novel mostly dealt with the story of the grown-up Theodore, with the events of his childhood only being occasionally mentioned as flashbacks.

Theodore in the novel’s world had a somewhat twisted personality due to his unhappy past.

His appearance was so beautiful that it could be called the descent of an angel, but his heart was not.

Returning to Inchamber, he didn’t immediately execute his uncle, who had tried to kill him.

He made his uncle watch as he lost everything, piece by piece.

Theodore, looking at his despairing uncle, felt a sense of satisfaction.

It was undoubtedly a cathartic scene when reading the novel, but comparing it to the current innocent Theodore, his mouth inevitably tasted bitter.

“Still, since it’s a monster, it’s not good to hold it for long. Put it back where it belongs.”

“Can’t we play with it a little longer?”

“……”

Sian received a twinkling-eye attack from Theodore. His whole body stiffened in an instant.

‘He’s so cute…!’

Such a cute and lovely child will grow into a nasty protagonist. Sian, who knew Theodore’s future as a reader, felt even more bitter.

“Let’s go inside and have a snack.”

“Yes.”

Theodore, looking dejected, perked up his ears at the mention of snacks.

Although the place wasn’t particularly rich in food, Kali’s skill in making food was outstanding.

Sian wanted to help a little, but he was always chased out of the kitchen by Kali, who was always angry at him for entering.

He had been kicked out of the mansion today.

When Sian reached out his hand, Theodore, who had returned after putting away the slime, naturally grabbed it.

“You have to wash your hands before eating a snack.”

“Yes.”

After answering obediently, Theodore washed his hands and then ate the dried fruit cookies with Sian.

Of course, the food eaten at the imperial palace tasted much better, if you’re talking about the taste.

But Theodore felt that the cookies eaten with Sian tasted sweeter. It was a really strange thing.

“Hoo…”

After putting Theodore to sleep, who was dozing off after eating a snack, Sian carefully closed the door.

He walked as quietly as possible so as not to wake up the sleeping Theodore.

“Sian-nim.”

“Oh, you’re back?”

“Yes, I’m back.”

Kali had gone to the Dark Elf village for a while because the investigation of the Dane merchant group was almost over.

The Dark Elves, who were good at hiding and tracking, were also skilled at background checks, but it seemed that it took time to investigate because the Dane merchant group was still small and not well-known.

“Where do you think they are now?”

“Um, that’s…”

“……?”

If they knew the approximate location, he could go and persuade them.

Sian had been worried about what to say to persuade them to take Theodore and had only just come up with a rough method a few days ago.

But for some reason, Kali’s face didn’t look good.

“Why?”

“Well… the Dane merchant group crossed the desert a while ago.”

“They crossed… what?”

“The desert.”

“The desert?”

“Yes.”

Sian doubted his ears. It was because he heard something from Kali that he hadn’t thought about.

“Are you saying the Garpa Desert?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“The last confirmed location was a village bordering the Garpa Desert, and it was said that they would cross the desert after buying Rampa from a merchant there.”

“……”

Garpa was the largest desert in Outchamber.

It was said that many desert kingdoms would appear after crossing that desert, but it was at the far eastern end, so Sian had never been there before.

Why did they go there, anyway? The desert kingdoms were still closed off and would reject outsiders.

Even if they risked their lives to cross the desert, they wouldn’t be treated well. But why…

‘Ah, is this it?’

Sian recalled the contents of the novel. The female lead, Yurina, often reminisced about the past, and every time, she berated her father, Anderson, like this.

She had gritted her teeth, reminiscing about how she almost died after crossing the desert, believing the absurd claim that there were mountains of gold in the desert kingdoms.

That the timing overlapped with then. Sian blinked blankly with both eyes, from something that he hadn’t thought about.

“How long do you think it would take to return after crossing the desert…”

“Well, assuming they’re alive, it would take at least a year, wouldn’t it?”

“A year…”

Well, they were almost crossing a continent, so they couldn’t come back quickly.

At least a year. What should he do with Theodore until then? His head ached.

“For now, plant some people in the village near the desert, and let me know when the Dane merchant group returns.”

“Alright.”

Kali nodded and glanced at Sian, lost in thought. He also knew the reason why Sian was looking for the Dane merchant group.

He had said that he would entrust that strange kid to them. It was also bad news for Kali, who wanted to get rid of Theodore quickly.

“So, what are you going to do with that little kid now?”

“Um, well…”

He had to either keep him for about a year, waiting for the Dane merchant group to return, or send Theodore somewhere else… The problem was that the races Sian had contact with all had similar tendencies, so they wouldn’t be able to get along with Theodore.

There might be a house to leave a child at if he inquired about the human village, although it was a bit far.

But he was worried about whether Theodore would be able to live well there, since his hair and eye color stood out so much.

In the novel, it seemed that the Dane merchant group had changed his hair color with a special dye and roamed around, but now, he didn’t know how the Dane merchant group had obtained that dye.

Come to think of it, he had to inquire about the dye as well. Sian groaned, feeling his head ache even more.

“Since the wounds have healed, just kick him out. Why are you so worried?”

“How can I do that?”

“If you just say the word, I’ll throw him into a nearby human village myself.”

“That’s…”

Just as Sian was about to say something to Kali, a presence was felt from behind. Sian, turning his head, saw someone standing behind the slightly opened door.

Thud.

“……!”

Theodore’s doll, had fallen to the floor. It was a rabbit doll that Sian, who wasn’t skillful, had barely made from cloth and straw.

Theodore was looking at Sian with a shocked expression, as if he had heard the conversation just now.

“Theo.”

“……”

Theodore flinched at the small voice calling his name and slowly backed away. And, turning around, he ran somewhere.

“Theo!”

Sian, startled, followed Theodore. Fortunately, Theodore didn’t go far. He had just run to his room and covered himself with a blanket.

“Theo, did you… hear what we were saying?”

“……”

“Theo…”

Sian approached Theodore, who was curled up. He had planned to tell Theodore when everything was decided.

He knew that the child was slowly opening his heart to him and that he liked this place.

That was why he was even more reluctant to speak in detail, in truth.

Still, it was a word he would have to say someday. Above all, moving to a safe place was a must for Theodore’s sake.

Sian reached out his hand and slowly stroked Theodore’s small back.

“Am… am I going to be kicked out?”

“What?”

“Are you going to abandon me?”

Sobbing flowed out from under the thin cloth. Sian looked at Theodore with startled eyes and opened his mouth.