Upon entering from the back, the men split into several groups. Leon followed Eliza, who stealthily crept through the corridors, frantically searching for Christopher.
"Where the hell are they keeping my Christopher?!"
Elisa sprints down the corridors, desperation apparent in her eyes. While passing down a corridor, several men approach and spot them. Elisa quickly conjures a weapon with a silencer and shoots, killing them both without much noise and continuing on.
Leon watches Elisa in awe, wondering how a girl of merely 12 could move so skilfully and execute cold-blooded killings as if accustomed to it. Despite witnessing a massacre as brutal as the one they found at the mansion, perpetrated by her, it is still hard to believe.
"What on earth has my little sister lived through to become like this?"
It's not hard to conjecture, given that even though the empire enjoys prosperity and riches, and the commoners do not struggle for sustenance as in years past, the status gap, where nobles still treat commoners inhumanely, cannot be erased.
And it's clear that this was the case for his long-lost sister. It's evident that Elisa is used to killing, and that's not learned from an easy life.
"What's your name?" he asks while they run through the corridors, not stopping.
"Eliza," she replies without looking.
"Christopher, he's the one you're looking for, right? You mentioned him before, who is he, your friend?"
"He's my husband," Elisa responds, leaving Leon somewhat taken aback by this revelation.
"Husband?!!..."
"After all this is over, how about you come with me?" Leon asks, slightly surprising Elisa.
Feeling puzzled by his behavior is inevitable, but this is not the time for it. At this moment, the most important thing is to find Christopher and save him.
On second thought, it wouldn't be a bad idea after all. He is the crown prince and if she goes with him, Christopher will be safe until he comes of age and can claim the title of the Grand Duchy.
But before answering, she needs to understand his true motives.
"What do you gain by taking me with you to the palace? I'm just a bastard. I hold no value to anyone in this empire. Why would His Highness the Crown Prince want to take me with him?"
Leon is momentarily taken aback by the way Elisa speaks. It's clear she's assessing his intentions, and it's no surprise after all—she is intelligent, his sister, and the daughter of the same father.
With a smile of satisfaction, Leon begins to speak.
"What if I told you I know who you really are?"
He asks, causing Eliza to stop immediately and look him straight in the eyes with seriousness.
"What do you mean? Do you know who my real parents are?"
This is a question that Eliza has always had. She is aware that she was a commoner before being adopted by MarKo. While one would normally assume she was an orphan, at some point, she started to wonder if she actually had real parents, if they were still alive, and who they were. Not that it matters—as this body isn't even originally hers—but curiosity remains. They could be any commoners who abandoned her to survive, or they could be someone important, like nobles, for instance.
The thought seems absurd, but in this fantasy world where everything is possible, it's not entirely far-fetched.
"Of course I know. I am well acquainted with your father, but this is not the time for that discussion," Leon says, and three knives appear floating above the palm of his hand, swiftly dispatched towards three men who had entered the hallway.
"Let's talk about this once we've taken care of everything," says Elisa, looking seriously at Leon, who nods.
Both start running again, checking every room in search of the children.
As they continue their search, they arrive at a place where you would expect to find the children, recognizing several cages meant for people, but regrettably, the children are no longer there.
"Damn it!"
Eliza silently curses and darts off to a specific location. The novel briefly described corridors that led to the auction space, so if the children aren't here, it's apparent the auction has begun.
They swiftly reach a grand hall and, using their remarkable stealth skills, both slip inside unseen, observing with disgust the scene that unfolds.
As if watching a theater play, hundreds of masked people sit watching the stage, where all the kidnapped children are chained by their necks and feet, awaiting their turn to be auctioned while the announcer excitedly touts each child's attributes, initiating the bidding from the audience.
"This is disgusting..." Elisa mutters, unable to hold back her rage at the sight of Christopher and the other children chained like animals.
"Hey, I'm going to kill everyone here, don't try to stop me. I don't care if you're the crown prince. They've signed their death warrant by touching what's mine, and I'll also be doing the world a favor by eradicating this scum that infects it," Elisa says, her anger palpable in the blue aura enveloping her body, similar to when Leon found her amidst that mountain of corpses.
"Then let me help you. Cleaning up the filth of this empire is something I should be doing, and I assure you that no one here will survive. You will not be affected in any way, no matter who these pigs may turn out to be," Leon says seriously, and Elisa is slightly surprised to see that his body is enveloped by the same blue aura that surrounds her.
"Then let's clean up the trash," says Eliza, and Leon nods in agreement. They separate to begin the massacre.
Securing Christopher and the other children comes first. Eliza heads towards them, summoning two silenced pistols.
"Well now, let's continue with the auction. Next up, we have this brilliant mer—"
The announcer's words are cut short as a bullet pierces his skull, dropping him dead to the floor and leaving everyone in shock.
"Your time's up, you filthy scum..." Eliza declares, shooting down the other men approaching her, eliminating everyone on the stage in an instant.
The audience immediately panics, standing up ready to flee, but they are not expecting the doors to be blocked by huge swords conjured by Leon, who coldly starts slaughtering everyone in his path, summoning swords and knives that fly, impaling all those in the room.
"This empire does not need scum like you, so die, all of you..."
Leon also contacts the rest of his men, issuing the order to begin a merciless purge, sparing only a few to serve as witnesses; the rest are to be slaughtered without mercy.
After killing all the men on stage, only the children remain standing. Eliza promptly runs to one of the men holding the keys to the children's shackles and, seizing the key, rushes to Christopher.
"Elisa..."
It really is her; she's come to save him. Tears start streaming uncontrollably from Christopher's eyes, which are uncovered, revealing his beautiful face and eyes that, though blind, are mesmerizing to Elisa.
Free from his shackles, Christopher immediately wraps Eliza in a tight embrace, clinging to her as he weeps, and Elisa, without hesitation, returns the embrace, soothingly stroking the back of the dark-haired boy.
"I'm here now, Cris... now we'll truly be safe..."
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