#093. The Weeping Woman (3)
—
The children’s faces were devoid of expression.
Dozens of eyes stared blankly, without even the slightest movement.
Philip and Veronica felt a chill run down their spines.
“You’ve come to take us back, haven’t you?”
One of the children spoke first.
It was Yeren, the Co-leader of Dranine’s gang, whose name had been listed among the missing.
Relieved that they could at least communicate, Philip responded.
“That’s right. Melom and Dranaine are looking for you. Not just them—other people are worried about you, too—”
“There’s no need for that. Go back. We like it here.”
“Huh…?”
At Yeren’s words, the other children all nodded in unison.
“That’s right. We have no intention of returning.”
“Madam Lenia treats us well. She gives us delicious meals, teaches us to read, and even dresses us in nice clothes.”
“It’s incomparable to life on the streets. Hm-hm.”
Praise for Madam Lenia’s kindness and the comforts of life in her mansion continued.
The shocking part was that even Petro, who had been kidnapped just last night, was saying the same things.
“Even Petro… to change so much overnight, something’s not right,” Veronica whispered.
Ray and Philip shared the same sentiment.
“Madam Lenia—did she do something to you? No, rather, did she offer you some kind of deal? I just find it hard to believe that someone would provide food, shelter, and clothing for nothing in return.”
At Philip’s question, the children’s faces immediately hardened.
“Of course not! There’s no deal or anything like that!”
“Watch your words. Madam Lenia is a kind person. She takes care of us purely out of the goodness of her heart.”
Some children were so agitated that they slammed the table as they stood up.
“Alright, alright. Calm down. That was my mistake.”
At Philip’s apology, the children settled down and resumed talking about Madam Lenia and life in the mansion.
“I don’t want to disappoint Madam Lenia. I want to make her happy.”
“Me too. I hope the mansion lasts a long time.”
The happiness and satisfaction on the children’s faces were genuine—at least, as far as Philip and Veronica could tell.
Shortly after, Madam Lenia returned with the tea set, and the meal came to an end.
“Thank you for the meal!”
“It was delicious as always! Thank you, Madam!”
The children dispersed to tend to their assigned chores—laundry, cleaning, dishwashing, and so on.
Once the table was cleared, only Madam Lenia and the group remained in the dining hall.
*Trickle—*
“How was it? Did you all enjoy your meal?”
A question directed at everyone.
But Madam Lenia’s gaze was fixed solely on Ray.
Even as they drank tea and continued the conversation, most of her questions were directed at him.
“Have you liked magic since you were young?”
“Do you have any favorite foods?”
“I’m curious about how you’ve lived on the streets.”
Every time Ray answered—or deflected—her questions, they only increased in number.
As if she wanted to know everything about him—without end.
‘What I see in her emotions right now is… regret. And obsession.’
While answering her questions, Ray observed Madam Lenia’s emotions.
It wasn’t a new type of emotion.
She had felt the same way when looking at the other children gathered in the dining hall.
However, the intensity of those two emotions as she gazed at him was…
‘…Much stronger. Compared to when she looked at the other children.’
Why?
Why was there such a difference?
What was the distinction between him and the others?
“Let’s end our conversation here for today. I have things to attend to. Would you like to have another meal together tomorrow?”
Again, her question was essentially directed at Ray.
There was no reason to refuse.
They had learned almost nothing about Madam Lenia or the mansion from today’s conversation.
“Yes. Let’s have another meal together tomorrow.”
“Good. I’ll prepare even better dishes for you.”
With a smile, Madam Lenia saw them out of the mansion.
As they returned to their lodging, each person harbored their own confusion and questions.
Especially Philip, whose emotions carried an undercurrent of disappointment.
It was an unconscious feeling.
The disappointment of being ignored by someone who might have been his mother.
But he himself didn’t even realize the reason behind his feelings.
“I don’t get it. No matter how comfortable the mansion is, it doesn’t make sense for them to change their minds so quickly. Even Petro—just yesterday, he was searching for the missing kids alongside us. How can he suddenly abandon them?”
Philip scratched his head in frustration and added,
“You said she’s a magician, right? What if that’s it? Maybe she manipulated their minds or controlled them somehow.”
“Hmm… I’ve never heard of magic that can control a person’s mind. And I didn’t sense any traces of mana in the children.”
Veronica lifted Nero, who had been waiting outside the mansion, and looked at Ray for confirmation.
“Veronica’s right. Madam Lenia didn’t use magic.”
“Then you’re saying they all chose to stay there voluntarily?”
“Not exactly.”
Ray halted in his tracks, turned, and looked back at the mansion.
“Their *vessels* held no emotions.”
***
From the moment Ray first saw the children’s *vessels* in the dining hall—
Until the very end of the meal—
There wasn’t a single trace of emotion within them.
“But their actions didn’t reflect that. They laughed, they got angry… Are you sure you didn’t misread it?”
“I’m sure. All eighteen of them were the same.”
What immediately came to Ray’s mind as he observed the children’s empty *vessels* was his own.
‘They were just like me. Completely hollow vessels.’
But there was a distinct difference.
The children, despite having no emotions, acted as if they did.
And they did it flawlessly.
How was that possible?
It was clear that Madam Lenia had done something to them.
‘…If it wasn’t magic.’
Only one possibility came to mind.
Murcred and *the Doctor.*
The Doctor was known to have the ability to manipulate others’ emotions.
But that was just a fragment of the available information.
In reality, his abilities could be far beyond that.
For instance, what if he could *remove* emotions entirely, turning people into mere dolls?
“…….”
Ray couldn’t shake off the thought that this situation might be connected to the Doctor.
‘If I could get more information about him from Curiosa, that would be helpful.’
But after their last meeting, Ray hadn’t encountered Curiosa again.
Unlike the other executives, he couldn’t use Walter’s ring to track Curiosa’s location.
When Curiosa had reset the binding magic on the rings, he must have ensured that his presence couldn’t be traced.
Still, Ray was certain.
Curiosa was out there, watching them from the shadows.
‘If I really wanted to, I could draw him out.’
But negotiating information beyond what they had exchanged in the clearing would be risky.
The moment his curiosity was even slightly satisfied, Curiosa wouldn’t hesitate to attack.
Any further information exchange would have to wait—until Ray was strong enough to face him on equal footing.
***
## The Next Day at Lunch
The group returned to the mansion once again.
They gathered around the banquet table and began their meal with Madam Lenia and the eighteen children.
“Isn’t life on the streets difficult?”
As before, Madam Lenia directed most of her questions at Ray.
“I’ll teach you that later. I learned it from Madam.”
“Alright. Today’s task assignments are…”
The children conversed calmly among themselves as they ate.
Veronica, after glancing around at the children, sent Ray a startled look.
*Dranine is missing!*
Another child had disappeared overnight.
And this time, it was none other than Dranine—the leader of the gang.
*I know.*
Ray had already confirmed it.
The red light that had swallowed Dranine had led straight to this mansion.
Philip was just as unsettled.
He had expected that, like Petro, Dranine would appear at today’s meal.
“…….”
Ray used his binding magic to check Dranine’s location.
Dranine’s presence was nearby, unmoving inside a room.
It could mean one of two things—
He had either lost consciousness.
Or he was being restrained.
*What is the purpose behind abducting the children?*
If the goal had been to absorb their life force to increase one’s power—like Walter did—that would have been easy to understand.
But when Ray looked at the *vessel* of Madam Lenia as she gazed at the children, there was no malice.
There was some anger and resentment, but those emotions were not directed at anyone present in the room.
“Would you like to try this? I prepared this dish especially for you all.”
At that moment, Madam Lenia placed a serving of food onto their plates.
It was a pork dish garnished with fresh vegetables, the kind that would make anyone’s mouth water.
Yet, none of the other children had touched it.
*There’s a sedative in it.*
Ray recognized it instantly.
Even without sensing the emotions of guilt and concern in Madam Lenia’s *vessel*, he already knew.
Because the gang’s information network had informed him that she had visited a pharmacy the day before.
*”Metaalpemin? Curotinol? Those are just common fever reducers and painkillers. Why would she buy those?”*
*”Yeah, she didn’t look sick yesterday. Did one of the kids catch a cold?”*
Ray had answered,
*”It’s a sedative.”*
*”Huh?”*
*”If you crush those and mix them with certain ingredients from a general store, you can make a powerful sedative. It’s a common trick in the backstreets.”*
Over-the-counter sedatives were weak, functioning more as sleep aids.
But sedatives made using this method were different.
They could knock someone out within seconds of ingestion, and their effects were so strong that they could cause memory blackouts.
That’s why they were called *Blackout.*
*But how…*
A small question arose in Ray’s mind.
How did Madam Lenia know about backstreet drug concoctions?
On the surface, she appeared to be nothing more than a noblewoman from a wealthy family.
“Go on, eat. It won’t taste as good if it gets cold.”
“…….”
Madam Lenia’s gentle but insistent urging continued.
Ray stared down at the piece of meat he had skewered with his fork.
*The sedative is most likely in the sauce.*
He was used to this.
He had made *Blackout* himself before and had also been targeted by it numerous times.
And he knew how to counter it.
*All you have to do is take a resistance drug in advance.*
*White.*
A drug that neutralized *Blackout’s* effects.
Like *Blackout*, *White* could be made by combining specific pharmacy medicines with a few general store ingredients.
And before coming to the mansion, the entire group had already taken *White.*
“Come on, have a bite. It’s delicious.”
Madam Lenia’s voice seemed to echo louder than it should have.
The room had grown eerily silent.
All of the children were now watching them.
Philip and Veronica had also realized that the food was drugged.
Now, they were waiting for Ray’s decision.
*…If we want to extract information from Madam Lenia.*
The most direct method would be to subdue her by force.
Yet, Ray hesitated.
Because she was a Second-Circle magician, and he couldn’t be certain of victory?
Because of his principle not to retaliate unless the other party showed clear hostility?
Because Curiosa might be watching this situation unfold from somewhere nearby?
No, none of those were the reason.
It was because there was a possibility—no matter how slim—that Madam Lenia was Philip’s mother.
*Given the circumstances, the chances are incredibly low.*
Even so, Philip hadn’t let go of that hope.
Hope, in other words—attachment.
Ray didn’t want to crush that hope.
No matter how insignificant it might be.
“…….”
And suddenly, Ray felt a strange sense of discomfort.
*I don’t want to crush it? Why?*
If efficiency and saving time were the priority, then force was the logical choice.
Even if Madam Lenia hadn’t shown open hostility, she could still be subdued.
And Philip had already accepted that the likelihood of her being his mother was extremely low.
So why?
Why did he feel the urge to respect Philip’s lingering hope rather than trample on it?
“…….”
The thought unsettled him.
But for now, his next course of action was clear.
*Plop.*
He dipped the piece of meat deep into the sauce and lifted his fork to his lips.
He had to play along with the setup.
At least, for now—if they wanted to get closer to the truth.
*Chomp!*
As he bit into the meat, the rich juices and the sweet sauce spread across his tongue.
