Episode 11: Two Children
After sliding down the cliff, Luke found himself ensnared in thick underbrush.
“…Ouch.”
Thanks to the verdant treetops, he only suffered a few scrapes.
Brushing the dirt off his scraped hands, Luke let out a sigh of relief.
“I’m glad I was able to quickly take a defensive position…”
Ever since childhood, Luke had gotten used to being hit or pushed off unexpectedly. His younger brother, Matthias, treated Luke like a toy that could be mistreated to his heart’s content.
Punching and kicking were everyday occurrences, and Luke’s few personal belongings—even Luke himself—were seen as just things to be trampled or broken whenever desired.
No matter how much he bullied Luke or used unreasonable violence, their mother, Hermine, never lost her cool. Instead, she praised Matthias, saying things like, “You really know how to identify the nuisances. How clever of you.”
When people are praised instead of reprimanded, they tend to get arrogant. Matthias began to wield sticks and swords for amusement, seizing every opportunity to pounce on poor Luke.
If Luke took the hits head-on, he would get hurt. If he dared to fight back, Hermine would rat him out, leading to even more trouble.
Thus, Luke learned over time that the best approach was to avoid resistance, react as little as possible, protect his head and stomach, and adopt a defensive stance.
If he didn’t show any noticeable reaction, Matthias would eventually tire of the game. And when he got bored, that would be Luke’s victory.
That’s how he managed to survive his days in the familial abode, yet he never thought those skills would come in handy in such a remote area.
“…?”
The underbrush was dense, and the trees loomed tall, making it impossible for him to discern his location.
Determined to move toward something that could serve as a guidepost, Luke brushed off the dirt and began to walk.
However, after moving only a short distance, he halted again, having heard a sound reminiscent of an animal’s cry, gently carried by the wind.
“Another wolf…?!”
Instinctively growing wary, he listened closely. But the faint sound was high-pitched, distinctly different from the low growl of the previous wolf. It almost sounded human.
Pushing through the brush, Luke continued on, climbing the mountain in the direction of the voice. After navigating through particularly thick growth, he emerged into a sprawling grassy plain.
“Huh, a child…?”
Sitting on the grass and sobbing was a little girl.
The girl had chestnut hair tied in a braid that draped over her shoulders. Her round eyes were red and swollen from crying, and at her feet lay a woven basket brimming with ripe wild strawberries.
“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”
Luke asked, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible by shrinking back. His scrawny frame, which had previously drawn mockery from his ex-fiancée, surprisingly worked in his favor at moments like this.
“I wonder if she’s lost?”
“…My, big brother…”
The girl pointed behind her while sobbing.
In the shadows of the bushes crouched a boy who looked about two or three years older than her. With chestnut hair closely resembling the girl’s, it was obvious they were siblings.
“Are you okay?”
As Luke rushed over, the boy winced in pain while opening his hazel eyes.
“My leg… my leg…”
“Your leg?”
Luke spotted two semicircular metal plates stacked on top of each other, pinching the boy’s right leg.
Thanks to the leather shoes he was wearing, they didn’t dig directly into his skin, but the jagged metal plates constricted his ankle tightly, making it almost impossible to remove his shoes.
“Is this… a trap?”
Indeed, it was a metal trap. Judging by its size, it seemed designed to capture creatures the size of a fox or a weasel.
Luke hadn’t encountered an animal trap outside of books, but it didn’t seem too complicated in design.
As he pondered, the boy shook his head vigorously.
“It’s no good. It’s broken.”
“Broken?”
“Yeah. I can usually unlock normal traps, but this one… it just won’t budge…”
There was a protrusion in the center of the metal plate, but the inside was hollow. Normally, there would be a handle here to pinch and turn, loosening the spring.
However, perhaps the force from stepping on it had knocked the handle loose, for it was nowhere in sight. Looking around yielded no trace of any dislodged metal fittings.
“If there’s something thin and long, like metal… I think I could turn it…”
The gap between the protrusions was so narrow that even a pinky finger wouldn’t fit through.
If only something thin and rod-like could be inserted and twisted…
“That’s it!”
Luke reached inside his clothes.
His jacket had a pocket on the inside, which held a small leather pouch.
Gently opening the pouch, he revealed a pair of finely crafted silver scissors engraved with intricate designs.
This was a cherished keepsake from his grandmother, one he brought with him when he left home.
“This might work…”
With the thin and elongated tips of the sewing scissors, he hoped they could reach the mechanism.
“Just hold on a second.”
As expected, the tips, thinner than his pinky, slid easily into the narrow gap.
“…It’s tight… but just a little more…”
Being a makeshift tool, it didn’t fit perfectly with the metal parts. The clasp felt close to loosening, yet it wouldn’t turn.
Just then, Luke strained all his might into it.
With a loud crack, the scissors’ blades snapped in half at the joint.
In contrast, the previously tightly closed metal plates sprang open, resembling an animal yawning, tumbling onto the ground.
“Alright!”
“Th-Thank you…”
Relief washed over the boy as he was freed, though he soon glanced at the broken scissors with an abashed expression.
“That seemed really expensive… was it okay?”
The boy asked, and Luke chuckled, shaking his head.
“It’s fine. Really.”
His grandmother had always been kind. Even with Luke’s commoner lineage, she embraced him as her grandson and showered him with quiet affection.
He believed that if he had damaged his beloved scissors to help the child before him, she would surely forgive him.
The girl stopped crying and hugged the boy, calling him “Big Brother.”
After tenderly putting the broken scissors away again, Luke tore a strip from the sleeve of his jacket, creating a makeshift bandage.
“I hope you didn’t break any bones…”
Despite wearing shoes, it must have been excruciating. The boy’s ankle and heel were swelling, turning a deep shade of purple. Luke gently wrapped the torn fabric around the wound.
Reaching out his hand to the two children, he smiled.
“Can you show me the way? Let’s head back to your house.”
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