"Where is he?"
"By any chance, when you first brought Duren here, did you use warp?"
It was an out-of-the-blue question.
Lennox answered, ready to ignore any more far-fetched talk.
"They probably used it when moving him from the capital to the Winteren territory."
"Then I'd like you to focus the investigation along that route."
"Why?"
"It's only my guess, but Duren might be heading back to his hometown right now."
That was something unexpected.
"To Duren, his original home is more familiar than his current one. Instinctively, he'd want to return there."
"The idea that he wants to go back to his original home… that makes sense."
"...But."
Lennox spoke coldly.
"He's still just a child. It's already been over a month since he came to the Winteren territory—there's no way he'd remember the road from back then."
" ... "
"It would only scatter our manpower for nothing."
"No. Duren will remember."
Estelle replied without hesitation.
"Because he's a smart boy."
If one included the time before reincarnation, Lennox had known Duren far longer than Estelle had.
And yet, Estelle spoke with certainty, as if she knew him better.
'In the first place, in the previous life, that boy was never kidnapped.'
Before he was officially registered, he had stayed cooped up inside the castle.
'Perhaps he's no longer the boy I once knew.'
Estelle tried to say something, but Lennox ignored her and brushed past.
Any further waste of time would do nothing to help find the child.
After walking a few steps, Lennox stopped and addressed the stiff, frozen Estelle.
"Are you not coming?"
"Huh?"
"I'm going to the place you mentioned. But if you'd rather rest, you may return to the main castle first."
"No! I'll go with you."
Estelle, eyes widening as if she had just heard something completely unexpected, quickly hurried after him.
Duren had been kidnapped.
[We're rich now!]
The man's cry of joy didn't last long.
[The Duke of Winteren is looking for us! The village is crawling with knights! What are we going to do?!]
[It's fine. No one can find us here. Have you already forgotten how tightly we wrapped him up when we brought the kid?]
[* ....*]
[Even the great Duke of Winteren wouldn't be able to come this far out in the middle of nowhere. For now, we should at least tie the brat up—ugh!]
The moment the man reached out his hand—
Crunch!
Duren bit the man's hand.
And in the moment of shock when the man let down his guard, he bolted.
There was no way he could know where this place was.
But one thing was certain—he had to escape from them. So he ran, and ran again.
He wanted to see his grandmother.
And that person—no, his mother too.
'Mom...'
After running for a long while, Duren suddenly stopped.
The scenery felt strangely familiar.
'If I go this way, I can meet Grandma!'
Before arriving at the place called Winteren Castle, Duren had carefully memorized every path he had taken.
So that he could return anytime.
He was about to run straight toward his grandmother when he hesitated.
If he retraced his steps, he could meet his grandmother.
But that meant if he went the other way… he could meet his mother now.
'I want to see Mom too.'
Unable to decide, he wavered, stuck in place, going nowhere.
At that moment—
"...ren!"
A familiar voice struck his ears.
"Duren!"
It was a little different from the voice he knew.
Normally it was gentle, soft, and comforting just to hear—but now it was cracked and strained.
Almost as if a monster were imitating his mother's voice.
And yet, without hesitation, Duren ran toward the source of the sound.
"There's no point—he won't listen just because you call."
"Still, you never know! Duren! Mommy's here!"
Because his mother was there.
"Duren!"
"Mom!"
In an instant, Duren reached Estelle and leapt into her warm embrace.
—or at least, he tried to.
"Filthy little thing."
Had Lennox not intercepted him midair and snatched him away.
"First, he needs a proper wash."
Seeing Lennox, Duren went pale and struggled frantically.
"You're the one who scrubbed me raw!"
The memory of being scrubbed as if his very soul needed to be cleansed was still vivid.
Grandmother's hands had been rough too, but this man was on an entirely different level.
"Please, put Duren down. He's uncomfortable."
"He could be tainted with miasma."
No one could know exactly where or how Duren had wandered.
And if he carried miasma and came into contact with someone else, that person could die.
Because it was a matter of life and death, Lennox would not allow even the slightest contact.
"It's okay, Duren."
When Estelle soothed him, Duren finally calmed down.
She then asked the boy, who had stopped struggling,
"But why did you suddenly run off?"
"Because… Grandma wath there…"
"Grandma?"
"I wanna thee Grandma."
At the mention of his grandmother, Duren's eyes welled with tears.
In that moment, Estelle's mind grew tangled.
Had he been abused?
But she knew for certain he had been abused by his mother.
'So… was Grandma really okay?'
But there was only one thing Estelle needed to say right now.
"Then, shall we go find your grandmother?"
"Mm!"
"Don't waste your time. Dwelling on the past is utterly pointless."
Just as Duren nodded, Lennox poured cold water over the moment.
"There's nothing pointless when it comes to family."
But Estelle had no intention of staying silent either.
"If Your Grace had lost your family in an unforeseen accident, could you truly say the same thing to yourself?"
Lennox was a cold man, yes—but he was also someone who, for the sake of his sick sister, would go to any lengths to obtain mandrake. His sibling bond ran deep.
'If it came down to a stranger's life or curing his family's illness, he wouldn't hesitate for a second to choose his family.'
That was why this argument would strike home.
"Until he sees it with his own eyes, Duren will keep grieving over his original family."
"....."
"And something like today might happen again. Since you even went so far as to marry for the sake of adopting Duren, that's not an outcome you'd want, is it?"
"Even so, there won't be anything worth salvaging by going back to his old village."
"I heard… that besides Duren, there was one more survivor."
"..."
"Please, let him meet her. If you grant us just that, I promise never to trouble you again after this."
"... Fine. So be it."
In the end, Lennox raised the white flag.
"But."
But?
"After he's washed."
On that point, at least, he refused to yield.
After bathing Duren, they went to see the one who had lost her home overnight—an old woman.
She was said to be staying temporarily at her married daughter's house.
When they knocked, the old woman's daughter came to greet them.
"Mother has stepped out for a while. What brings such esteemed guests all the way here?"
Black hair, crimson eyes.
Anyone could see it was the Duke of Winteren himself.
Though Winteren's men had visited before, it was the first time the Duke had come in person—leaving the old woman's daughter frozen stiff.
"We've come to ask if you know of a child called 'Dudu.'"
"I told you last time as well, I think you're mistaken. There was no child in that village with such a name."
She spoke quickly, unable even to meet Lennox's eyes.
"I heard it directly from my mother, and I even visited her house a few weeks before the disaster struck. I know for certain."
The anxiety on her face was clear—one wrong word and she feared she might suffer for it.
It was understandable that she wanted them gone quickly, but for Duren's sake, they couldn't just leave without a single clue.
Estelle stepped in.
"Was there perhaps a child who used 'Dudu' as a nickname? Or even a similar name would suffice."
"..."
"If there was a child who lost their family in such a catastrophe, then leaving them without even a proper funeral would be too cruel, wouldn't you agree?"
At that, the woman lifted her head to look at Estelle.
Her guarded eyes softened, as though Estelle had touched the most tender part of her heart.
She herself hadn't lost her mother in the disaster, but she knew full well it was nothing but luck.
"This is the only clue we have to the child's past. Please, I beg you." Estelle pleaded earnestly.
"There was no child… but…"
The woman hesitated, as if worried whether she'd be punished for offering up whatever scraps of information she could.
"About three or four years ago, my mother did have a dog she raised… its name was Dudu."
A dog?
"It may not be of any help, but truly—that's all I know."
"Just in case, let me ask—do you still have that dog with you?"
"No. The dog… is dead."
"..."
"I heard it died saving my mother on the day the miasma swept through the village. It was such a clever and admirable dog."
For some reason, Duren puffed out his chest proudly, as if he himself were the one being praised.