"What are we going to do with these girls?" Rachel asked calmly, turning her gaze to the girls who appeared wounded and stood with a sense of numbness.
Even after being rescued, the girls remained emotionless, as if they’d lost all faith in life. This deeply disturbed Morrigan.
"They only respond to men," Richard said. He added, "And that’s just flinching and crying."
"There’s nothing we can do." Thomas turned to Morrigan. She bit her lip, her eyes narrowing in pain. Thomas continued, "After everything they’ve been through, reintegrating them into society is nearly impossible. Even if we wanted to."
"Is there really nothing we can do?"
"There’s absolutely nothing we can do. We don’t know where their families are, if they even have any. We can’t take them anywhere." Morrigan sighed as she listened to Thomas. She then looked at the girls with a calculating expression. "So what will we do? Leave them here?"
Thomas felt helpless for the first time, unable to offer his lady a solution after hearing Morrigan’s reproachful words.
"There’s only one thing to do," Richard interrupted calmly. His eyes were cold as ice, but there was a flicker of mercy and sadness within. Looking at Morrigan, he said, "Death would be a kinder fate for them."
Morrigan immediately rejected the idea, glaring at Richard. "We can’t do that. It’s too cruel."
"We have no other choice." Richard stood firm in his opinion, his eyes steady. "If you want to save them so badly, speak up and give us a plan. If not, stop wasting your breath."
"Richard!" Rachel grabbed his arm firmly, staring at him with intensity. Richard merely rolled his eyes and looked sharply at Morrigan. "You don’t need to take responsibility for people you’ve never even met."
Despite Thomas’ restrained words, Richard continued to stare sternly at Morrigan. "If you don’t want them to suffer anymore, then end it."
Morrigan flinched, looking down at the ground, her gaze darting between the wounded girls. Thomas coughed, drawing everyone’s attention.
Looking at Morrigan, Thomas said, "Let’s save this decision for later. For now, let’s discuss who’s behind selling these girls."
As Thomas diverted the topic, Rachel nodded in agreement, lightly tapping Richard’s shoulder before turning to Morrigan. "Even if the girls aren’t talking, we found notes in the carriage from a man named Gale."
When Morrigan’s eyes shifted to her, Rachel continued. "It seems Gale was trying to flee from the Capital. Apparently, he had ties to a Duchy. He had even grown powerful enough to manage the Duchy’s affairs in the region."
"What’s the name of the Duchy?"
At Morrigan’s question, Rachel looked at the notebook in her hand. After flipping through the pages for a moment, her eyes scanned over the contents until she found the name. "The Duchy of Thornfield. They were in a trade agreement with Gale, dealing in child trafficking. And it was a significant one."
"Thornfield?" Morrigan’s eyes widened in shock. Immediately, a woman with venomous eyes came to mind. Morrigan’s eyes narrowed as she clenched her fists.
"That witch..."
How had such a noble house like Thornfield fallen so low as to engage in child kidnapping and trafficking?
"This could only be expected from the Bastards of Sir Agravain," Morrigan muttered through gritted teeth, her eyes filled with hatred.
"And that’s not all. They’ve also been partnering with orphanages in rural and slum areas, using the children in brothels, mines, and even for human experiments..."
"This is heartless. This is—" Morrigan couldn’t comprehend how much more she could be shocked. Why was humanity so cruel? The poison of the Devil had consumed everyone’s hearts and was continuing to spread.
Thomas wasn’t just making one Rune. He was inscribing three Runes at the same time, an incredible feat. As far as Richard knew, only a few wizards throughout history had been capable of this.
Merlin, Morgana, and Vivian were among them. Aside from these legends, Rachel was witnessing the inscription of three Runes for the first time, making it an exciting event.
"Finally done," Thomas murmured quietly as he gazed at his new masterpiece. The Runes he had created were a sleep spell, a poison spell, and lastly, a numbness spell.
First, the person would fall asleep, then the numbness Rune would sever the communication between the brain and body, and finally, the poison spell would spread throughout the body, causing death and reducing the body to dust.
Turning to dust was far better than leaving the bodies here to rot. Slowly raising the glowing red-purple Rune, Thomas lifted his hand toward the sky.
As the Rune ascended into the sky, a green light emerged from it, enveloping the girls’ bodies. Over a hundred girls fell asleep simultaneously, and the second wave of purple light from the Rune caused their bodies to glow for a moment.
"It’s almost over."
Thomas spoke calmly. The third and final wave of red light descended from the sky, making the girls’ bodies glow red for a brief time.
"Is it over?" Morrigan asked, feeling weak. Thomas nodded, his eyes fixed on the slowly disintegrating girls.
Rachel looked at Morrigan with a comforting expression, gently patting her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
"I just feel awful," Morrigan said, averting her eyes. She placed a hand over her heart. "I feel so tight and exhausted."
"It’s normal to feel this way," Rachel frowned and said, "The decision you made is not something everyone could do, Morrigan. Pull yourself together and recover."
"The decision you made for them wasn’t a bad one. They’re at peace now. There’s no need to feel sad." Listening to Rachel, Morrigan sighed, but then a destructive hatred began to grow inside her.
The Thornfield Dynasty...
As this name etched itself into her mind, Morrigan felt a deep-seated resentment and fury. The images of Ren and Fred flashed in her mind. Thinking about the deaths of those little children was hard for her.
How many children had to live such painful and miserable lives? Why did innocent people have to suffer just so a few could make a little money?
Was the divine being that decided this unjust? Or was humanity created for evil? Morrigan couldn’t find the answer to any of these questions.
"Leave her, Rachel," Richard interrupted, locking eyes with Morrigan. "She’s mature enough to take care of herself. Let her deal with it on her own."
"You’re acting like a jerk today, Richard," Rachel said, reproaching him. Morrigan, however, looked at Richard calmly.
She understood that he wasn’t insulting her. What Richard meant to imply was that there was no point in wearing herself out with unnecessary sorrow.
"There’s no need for us to stay here any longer," Morrigan said calmly. She would take Richard’s advice. Wasting her energy would only benefit her enemies.
Straightening her posture, Morrigan looked at Rachel with calm determination. Her previous exhaustion seemed to vanish in an instant. "Let’s go, Rachel."
The Thornfield Dynasty had to be destroyed. Of that, Morrigan was certain. Wiping out Thornfield would make this world a better place.
The descendants of Agravain might live comfortably today, but when Morrigan came for them, they would drown in their own blood...