Mr. Death in the Steam World

"The first time I was caught and taken back, they beat me up." Melina's voice was calm, as if she were talking about someone else's story.

"The second beating was even worse; that woman branded this on my hand."

Her fingers gently traced the ring of branding marks.

She said that way, even if I run to the ends of the earth, they can still find me.

No one spoke in the room.

Arthur stood by the door frame, silently making the sign of the cross with his right hand in front of his chest.

"And the third time?" Moen asked.

Melina looked up, her light brown eyes reflecting the hazy light of the sky outside the window.

"The third time was this time," she said. "I used a piece of iron to pry open the iron window, climbed out of the stone building, and hid in an old shed next to the rubble pile."

"I thought I wouldn't be able to escape this time either, but Sai found me, and then..."

Her gaze fell on Moen's face.

"And then you came."

Moen was silent for a few seconds, then stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to everyone.

"Can you remember the way from the stone building to the ground?" he asked.

Melina thought for a moment and nodded.

"That altar? Have you seen it?"

"I've met you." Melina's voice lowered even further.

"Deepest in the mine, there is a huge crystal. Every time that woman takes me to check the mark, we have to pass by the altar."

"Although I didn't dare to look too closely, I remember how to get there."

Moen turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.

"We now have two of the three candidates, a detailed map of the mining area, and eyewitnesses who know the location of the altar."

He paused.

"We don't have much time left."

Arthur straightened up from the door frame, walked to the table, and laid out the map that marked the structure of the mining area again.

"The stone building Melina mentioned is here." His finger landed on an area marked "Old Mine Tunnel" on the eastern side of the map.

"Sidwin imprisoned people in this location, which suggests that the altar should be nearby."

He moved westward along the mine tunnel and stopped at an area circled in red ink.

"If the altar is really here, then the fact that Melina was able to escape from the stone building means that the security in this area is not tight—or rather, their attention is focused on the deeper parts."

"Maybe they never even imagined that a twelve-year-old could break through the iron bars," Emily said.

"Or," Moen continued, "they thought the brand was enough to keep her from getting far, so they let their guard down."

"In any case, we now have an advantage they didn't expect—Melina is in our hands."

Phils suddenly spoke.

"Mr. Marcus, I'd like to stay and keep her company."

Moen glanced at her.

Are you sure?

"I'm sure." Fils' tone was more firm than usual. "She'll be scared here alone. And—"

She looked down at the flame flower mark on the back of her hand.

"If she can sense my presence, maybe I can sense her too, so that if those people come looking for us, I can know in advance."

Moen was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Alright, you stay at the hotel and take care of Melina's safety. Mr. Arthur, Miss Manro, the three of us are going out for a bit."

The three filed out. They didn't go far this time, but just wandered around the streets and alleys around the inn to make sure they weren't being followed. They then went to the contact point provided by Catherine and retrieved some supplementary information about the shift change times of the mine guards.

When the three returned to the Swallow Inn, the rising sun had just peeked out from behind the chimneys in the east, and the hazy sky over Ironcrown City was tinged with a thin layer of gold.

Moen went upstairs and tiptoed past Phils's room.

The door was ajar, and Fils was sitting on the edge of the bed, gently patting Melina's back with one hand, humming an unknown lullaby.

She seemed to have a maternal instinct, Moen shook his head and smiled.

If Phils knew that she thought this way about her, she would definitely be scolded for a long time.

He didn't disturb them and turned back to his room.

Several hours passed, and as he sorted through the intelligence he had, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps in the corridor. He turned around and saw Emily standing at the door with a cup of hot tea in her hand.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm just thinking about what will happen next, it's a minor issue."

Emily handed him the tea, then leaned naturally against the doorframe, holding the other cup in both hands and sipping it slowly.

"Catherine sent another message this morning," she said. "She said that old Sidwin is already preparing for the worst, transferring some of the family's assets to overseas accounts."

"In other words, he no longer believes that Sidwin can succeed."

"He may not be optimistic," Emily shrugged, "but he doesn't have the courage to stand up and stop his own son."

"Blood ties can sometimes be the greatest shackle."

Moen did not respond.

He thought of Clara, the little girl who would wait for him to come home at night, and the expression on her face when she earnestly said, "I'm not a child anymore."

Is blood relation really a shackle?

Perhaps what truly traps a person is never blood ties, but rather the unbreakable bond that cannot be severed no matter what happens.

Furthermore, Emily seemed somewhat absent-minded when she said this, and considering her mysterious identity, he couldn't help but have some guesses.

"Mr. Marcus," Emily suddenly spoke up.

"Um?"

Do you believe in Melina?

Moen picked up his teacup and took a sip.

"I trust my own judgment."

Emily glanced at him, smiled at him, and turned to go back to her room.

Meanwhile, Phils stayed by the bedside for almost the entire morning.

Around noon, Melina finally woke up completely.

She opened her eyes and saw Phils sitting on the edge of the bed, her long silver hair hanging over her shoulders, looking down at a small notebook.

"Sister Phils?"

Fils looked up, a smile playing on her lips. "Awake? Hungry?"

Melina shook her head, but her stomach answered Phils's question honestly.

Phil covered her mouth and smiled, then got up and brought over a bowl of hot porridge.

"Mmm! Delicious!"

"That would be great, drink more, drink more!"

Phils sat beside her with a smile, watching Melina drink her porridge, and suddenly remembered her own childhood.

At that time, she had just learned to use fire magic. Every time she successfully condensed a flame, her mother would bring her a bowl of sweet soup.

At that time, she thought the world was like that: warm, bright, and full of kindness.

Later, as she grew up, she learned about the other side of the world.

But now, watching Melina drink her porridge, she suddenly felt that the world might not be as good as she imagined, but she could make it a little better.

At least, to the girl in front of him.