Chapter 10
The Boy Named Teron
The leader of the gang that Elias had destroyed, Zello, trembled uncontrollably.
In front of him stood a child, no older than five at most, who was smiling eerily.
But the killing aura coming from the child was terrifying.
“W-Who… who are you?”
Zello asked, automatically using polite language.
Elias smiled softly.
“I just want to ask you a few things.”
“Y-Yes, go ahead.”
“The kids in this area—where did you sell them?”
“W-What?”
“I already know everything. So don’t even think about lying. If you don’t tell the truth…”
Elias raised a hammer and looked straight at Zello.
“I’ll chop off your hands.”
“Hiiik!”
Zello was pale with fear. This kid really meant it.
Even though Elias looked small, he could probably cut off not just a hand, but a head too.
“I-I haven’t sold them yet!”
Zello finally confessed.
“Hmm. Are you sure?”
Elias didn’t believe him right away.
“Yes! It’s true! You can check! They’re in the basement!”
Elias nodded slightly. Pelles, understanding the signal, quickly went downstairs.
Soon after, Pelles came back.
“It’s true! All the kids are safe, even more than we expected. They’re not hurt either.”
“Good. Please let them go, Pelles. I still have more to ask.”
“Yes, understood!”
Pelles left again, and Elias looked coldly at Zello.
“Looks like your hands are safe—for now.”
“Th-Thank you…”
“Don’t thank me yet. You still have your ankles.”
At Elias’s creepy smile, Zello flinched again.
“Next question. Who’s behind you?”
“W-What?”
“Don’t play dumb. Someone must’ve told you to kidnap those kids.”
“Yes, b-but I don’t know who that person is! I just took the money.”
“What? You took money from someone you don’t even know?”
“Yes! People like us will do anything for money!”
Elias stared at him for a moment, then moved her hand slightly.
‘I’ll have to use Lilith’s power.’
When Elias connected with Lilith, she learned she could sense lies through her power.
She called on that power and sent it gently toward Zello.
Zello was shocked as a dark red light flew toward him and entered his body.
“Say it again. You really don’t know who’s behind this?”
“No! I don’t know. I only heard his voice—his face was covered. But he wore expensive clothes and jewelry. Oh, and he was strong too.”
“How do you know he’s strong?”
“Because… he hit me…”
Zello answered weakly.
Elias stared, then nodded slowly.
“I see.”
Lilith’s power confirmed the truth.
‘So all I know is that he’s rich. Not much to go on.’
Elias gripped the hammer tighter.
“Thanks for the info. Now go back to sleep.”
Zello’s eyes widened.
“W-Wait—!”
Crack!
But Elias didn’t wait. She knocked Zello unconscious and stood up.
‘I can’t let human trafficking happen near Lilith’s temple.’
She thought about handing the gang to the city guards, but the authorities here were corrupt.
‘They’re probably already bought off.’
So Elias decided to wait for the gang’s real leader to show up.
‘These kinds of groups fall when the leader is taken down.’
Just then—
“Lady Elias!”
Pelles returned from the basement. Behind him were ten dirty-looking kids and one child wearing a robe.
‘What’s that?’
Elias was curious, but not for long.
“Are you all okay?” she asked the children.
“Yeah! We’re okay!”
Thankfully, none of them were hurt.
“Alright. Let’s go see your moms.”
Elias and Pelles led the children out of the building.
Parents came running right away.
“Billy!”
“Papa!”
The kidnapped children returned to their parents. Elias watched as families hugged each other, crying.
“If anything like this ever happens again, come to the temple. I’ll help anytime.”
Elias smiled her “work smile.”
“Thank you, Lady Saint!”
“Thank you, Priest!”
“It’s all thanks to Lady Lilith,” Elias said, emphasizing the name.
‘Even poor people can become followers.’
But she had no intention of taking money from them—only hoping more people would believe in Lilith.
One by one, the families went home.
Except for one child.
It was the boy wearing the robe.
“You’re not going home?”
Elias asked.
The boy shook his head.
‘Strange… Why does he feel so familiar?’
Now that they were in the light, she could see his face.
Unlike the other kids, he looked different.
Though a bit dirty, his skin was pale. He had jet-black hair, red eyes, and sharp features.
It was a face that hinted at a handsome future.
She had never seen him before, but somehow she had a bad feeling—like he would bring her trouble.
So Elias grabbed Pelles’ sleeve and whispered,
“Do what you want with him.”
Then turned to leave—but the boy spoke.
“Um…”
Elias didn’t want to answer, but his weak voice made it hard to ignore.
“What?”
“Are you the one who defeated those bad people?”
His eyes sparkled.
“I heard people talking… You’re the Saint, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then… can I stay at the temple? Just for a few days?”
Elias’s eyebrow twitched.
Instead of answering, she asked,
“What’s your name?”
The boy answered.
“Teron.”
Elias held back a sigh.
She knew that name.
‘No wonder he felt familiar.’
This boy… was Teron Pierret.
The male lead of the novel that this world was based on—“Shadowless Flower.”
‘A face like that isn’t common.’
But why was he here?
She thought about the story.
‘The Pierret family is garbage.’
So bad that the male lead ran away from home constantly as a kid.
He always went through hardship before being dragged back home.
‘So he ran away… and got kidnapped?’
The temple was far from the Pierret estate.
‘He made it all the way here? Impressive.’
Elias stared at him and asked,
“You don’t have a home to go back to?”
“No.”
‘I do know your home, but… honestly, I wouldn’t want to go back there either.’
Still, she didn’t really want to bring him to the temple.
‘Or… maybe I should. Maybe he’ll meet Seria there.’
This world revolved around those two anyway—maybe fate would do the work.
‘If Seria falls in love, maybe she’ll leave the temple…’
Taking this boy in might solve more than one problem.
Just then, Pelles quietly said,
“Lady Saint, why not let him stay? He has nowhere else to go…”
“I was thinking the same.”
Elias smiled softly.
Then she turned to Teron and said,
“Alright. You can stay for a little while.”
Teron’s face lit up.
“Thank you, Lady Saint!”
As they continued walking to their destination, Elias sighed inwardly.
‘One more burden to carry.’
She glanced at Pelles on her left, and Teron on her right.
‘Was this the right choice?’
She wasn’t sure—but there was no turning back now.
‘Wait, was he always like this?’
Teron kept smiling sweetly every time their eyes met. For a seven-year-old, he was very charming.
‘The Teron from the original story was colder and sharper… Maybe it’s because he’s still young?’
As she thought that, Pelles spoke.
“We’ve arrived.”
They had reached the sculptor’s house.
