novelraw Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Chapter 56. Theft
The little boy whom Iowen had been protecting behind him suddenly had his legs give way and collapsed onto the ground, trembling all over in terror.
Lilith stepped on Iowen’s back and proudly reported to Logaris, “Boss, it’s done! This guy was pretty slippery!”
Logaris ignored her.
He stood up and slowly walked over to Iowen, who had been tied up like a rice dumpling.
Iowen truly deserved his reputation as a well-traveled bard.
Even in this situation, he still managed to squeeze out a fawning smile.
“You must be the famous Mr. Logaris! A misunderstanding, a tremendous misunderstanding! I am merely a wandering poet. Because I admire your talent, I came to visit the birthplace of the divine medicine and bask in a little of its celestial aura!”
His voice rose and fell dramatically, filled with the exaggerated flair of stage acting.
Logaris did not even glance at him.
He walked straight past the smooth-talking bard and stopped in front of the little boy who was collapsed on the ground.
Looking at the small face that was so dirty and frightened that its features were almost indistinguishable, he spoke in a completely calm tone without the slightest ripple.
“Why did you come here to steal?”
The boy’s body jerked violently.
He shook his head desperately, his teeth chattering with a clattering sound.
When the boy noticed Logaris’s gaze, he reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.
He instantly pulled his hands back into his chest, his eyes filled with fear.
But beyond that fear lay something deeper.
A kind of despair so heavy it seemed almost solid.
Logaris looked at the small, filthy face and crouched down so that his eyes were level with the boy’s.
“If you refuse to speak, I will throw you to the city guards.”
His tone remained calm.
“Their methods for interrogating thieves are far more numerous than anything I could think of.”
This was not a threat.
The boy shuddered, yet no tears fell.
He simply raised his head and looked at Logaris with hollow eyes.
His lips trembled for a long time before he finally forced out a sentence.
“I… I need money…”
Logaris did not rush him.
He simply waited.
“Why do you need money?” he asked calmly.
The boy bit his lip.
His voice was flat, so flat that it sounded as if he were telling someone else’s story.
“Last winter was too cold for my father.”
“He went into the forest belonging to a noble lord to chop firewood.”
“And then… he caught a rabbit.”
“And then?” Logaris asked.
“Then he was caught.”
The boy’s voice did not rise or fall.
“The lord said he was a thief and that the law demanded he be hanged.”
“My mother knelt on the ground and begged for an entire day, but it was useless.”
“My father was hanged just like that.”
Logaris’s fingers twitched slightly.
The spell “Mind Detection” returned perfectly clear feedback.
There was no lie.
There was no exaggeration.
There was no emotional disguise.
There was only pure, numb truth.
Logaris said nothing.
The boy lowered his head and continued speaking.
“After my father died, my mother fell ill.”
“She kept coughing up blood.”
“There is also my little sister at home.”
“She was born blind.”
“She cannot do anything and can only lie in bed.”
“I heard people say that ‘Fleeting Youth’ can be sold for a lot of money.”
“So I thought… I thought I would steal a bottle and sell it to buy medicine for my mother.”
When he said this, there was no hope in his eyes.
There was no pleading.
Only numbness.
Logaris watched him.
The spell’s feedback remained steady.
Every single word was true.
The child did not even understand what “Fleeting Youth” actually was.
He only knew that it was valuable.
So he wanted to steal it.
How naive.
And how tragic.
Logaris stood up and looked toward Iowen, who was tied on the ground.
The playful grin had long disappeared from Iowen’s face.
He sighed.
“Alright, stop looking at me.”
“I did bring him here to steal.”
Logaris raised an eyebrow.
Iowen shrugged.
“A few days ago, I was drinking in a tavern when I heard people talking about this kid.”
“They said he was raising a sick mother and a blind sister all by himself.”
“He works at the docks every day carrying sacks until his bones are about to break.”
“I had too much to drink at the time.”
“My heart softened, so I told him, ‘Big brother will help you pull off something big.’”
He glanced at the boy and gave a bitter smile.
“I did not expect to kick an iron plate this time.”
Logaris ignored him.
His mind was thinking about something else.
That boy’s father had been hanged for nothing more than a rabbit.
According to the old laws of the Northern Territory, trespassing on a noble’s land and poaching was indeed punishable by death.
But what was a rabbit to a noble?
It was not even worthy of being a side dish for dinner.
But to a serf, it could mean the difference between surviving the winter or dying.
Logaris felt a tightness in his chest.
He remembered when he was eleven years old.
At that time, his mother had just died, and he was wandering alone within the kingdom.
Once, when hunger became unbearable, he sneaked into a luxurious house to steal some food.
The terrified owner of the house shot him in the shoulder.
He still remembered the despair he felt at that moment.
When a person is pushed to the brink of desperation, they no longer think about right or wrong.
They only know that they must survive.
Logaris had escaped that mire through luck and talent.
But what about the child in front of him?
He had nothing.
Logaris remained silent for a long time.
He turned and walked to the shelf, picked up a bottle of Disease-Cleansing Elixir, and then took several Golden Lion Coins from his pocket.
He returned and stuffed the items into the boy’s hands.
“Get lost.”
The boy froze in shock.
Logaris’s face remained expressionless.
“I said, get lost.”
“Do not let me see you again.”
The boy clutched the medicine and the coins as tears began to fall again.
He stammered out a “thank you” and then stumbled toward the door.
Lilith stood nearby, looking completely bewildered.
“Boss… what are you…”
Logaris ignored her.
He remembered that when the owner of that house realized he was only a ragged child, the man had not turned him over to the guards.
Instead, he had summoned a doctor to treat his gunshot wound, given him some food, and then sent him away.
Logaris watched the small figure disappear at the end of the corridor.
The nameless anger in his chest had still not dissipated.
He turned and looked at Iowen.
Seeing this, Iowen forced a grin.
“So… I can go now, right?”
“I am a law-abiding citizen.”
“Look, I even helped that kid out a little…”
“He can leave.”
“You cannot.”
Logaris interrupted him.
The smile on Iowen’s face froze.
“Huh? Why not?”
“I really am a good citizen!”
Logaris walked over to him and looked down from above.
“Judging from your ears, you are an elf.”
“And a bard proficient in soundwave magic.”
“I cannot just let talent like that walk away.”
Iowen’s mouth twitched.
“So you are planning to abduct an innocent man?”
Logaris did not respond.
He glanced at Lilith.
“Lock him up.”
“I will interrogate him tomorrow.”
Lilith immediately became excited.
She stepped on Iowen’s back and smiled brightly.
“Do not worry, Boss.”
“I guarantee I will keep a very close eye on him!”
Iowen looked as though he wanted to cry but had no tears.
“Sir, can we negotiate?”
“I can sing for you, tell you stories, or even work as your bodyguard…”
Logaris walked away without looking back.