I Helped The Imprisoned Male Lead And He Became Obsessed - Chapter 78

I jerked back in alarm, my heart pounding.

The intruders were children—five or six of them, all dressed in ragged clothes.

Even though they were just kids, the fact that they had broken into my house in the middle of the night was terrifying.

“W-who are you? Why did you barge into someone else’s home like this?” I asked, my voice trembling.

The tallest of the group, a sharp-eyed boy who seemed to be their leader, frowned deeply and shouted back at me.

“Who are you to be in our house? This is our home! You’re the one who barged in!”

“What are you talking about…?” I started to respond, but then something clicked in my mind.

Could the ‘stray cats’ the innkeeper mentioned… be these kids?

The boy glared at me as if I were his sworn enemy, and the other children followed suit, their expressions equally hostile.

It was clear they believed I was the intruder.

The black-haired boy, who seemed to be their ringleader, snapped at me again, his tone sharp and threatening.

“We’re not giving this place up. So get out of here!”

“Wait! Listen to me!” I tried to reason with him.

“Didn’t you hear me? I said GET OUT! Are you mocking me?!”

“No, that’s not it…!”

“One… two…”

The boy wasn’t listening. He reached into his pocket, and I froze as I saw something gleaming in his hand.

“…!”

A knife.

A sharp blade flashed in the dim light, and my breath caught in my throat.

Cold sweat trickled down my back.

A boy no older than twelve or thirteen was threatening me with a knife.

What should I do?

Even if he was just a child, the knife was real, and a single misstep could mean getting cut—or worse.

I glanced around quickly, trying to assess my options.

My bag—my enchanted bag containing all my belongings—was already in the hands of another child. They shook it curiously, completely unaware of its value.

That bag has everything I own. I need to get it back.

But if I moved rashly…

“What are you doing? THREE!”

The boy shouted, gripping the knife tightly. His voice was laced with anger, and he adjusted his stance, ready to strike.

My chest tightened with fear.

Seeing my hesitation, the boy’s expression turned fiercer, and his grip on the knife grew steadier.

“THREE!” he yelled again, this time swinging the blade.

“…!!”

I stumbled back in a panic, narrowly avoiding the knife, which grazed the edge of my sleeve.

He really swung it…!

My heart raced as though it would burst. My throat was dry, and I swallowed hard.

“Next time, I won’t miss,” the boy growled, his voice low and menacing.

I didn’t think he was bluffing.

If I pushed any further, it could truly become dangerous.

But without that bag, I’d lose everything.

I had planned to stay in this village until Emilian recovered under Serena’s care. I didn’t know how long that would take, and without money, I wouldn’t survive here.

I can’t leave without my bag.

My sweat-dampened hands curled into fists. Even if it meant getting a little hurt, I couldn’t just back down.

I tried to steady my pounding heart, waiting for the right moment.

And then—

A sudden cry of pain broke the tense silence.

“Argh!”

The boy holding the knife grimaced, clutching his stomach.

The other children gasped and rushed toward him.

“Finn! What’s wrong?”

“Ugh… Ahhh…!”

The sound of the child’s anguished groans pierced the air.

Instinctively, I turned toward the source of the noise.

A boy, who looked about seven, was clutching his stomach and writhing on the floor in pain.

The other children panicked, crowding around him with pale faces.

“C-captain! Finn’s acting weird!” one of them shouted.

The boy called “captain,” still keeping a wary eye on me, crouched down beside the fallen child to examine him.

Finn writhed and groaned, his breathing ragged, before suddenly gagging and vomiting what little food he’d eaten.

The abrupt turn of events left the children frozen in fear, their pale faces stricken with helplessness.

“What do we do? Finn might die like this…!”

“Don’t jump to conclusions!” the captain barked, trying to sound composed, but his trembling eyes betrayed his fear.

The sharpness that had been in his gaze earlier, when he was threatening me, was now entirely replaced by desperation.

I couldn’t watch any longer.

Steeling myself, I stepped forward.

As I approached, the boy snapped his head up, raising the knife toward me again.

“Stay back! If you take even one more step, I won’t hesitate!” he shouted.

I understood his need to protect his group, but there was no time to argue.

The fallen boy was now flailing his arms weakly, muttering nonsense, his gaze unfocused.

Severe abdominal pain and hallucinations—it had to be poisoning.

I needed to act fast.

“Now isn’t the time for this!” I yelled at the captain. “If we don’t do something, he’s not going to make it!”

My raised voice caused the knife in the boy’s hand to tremble.

If I delayed any longer, the boy on the ground would be beyond saving.

I moved in quickly, ignoring the blade as the captain instinctively shielded Finn and turned the knife toward me.

But I knelt by Finn’s side anyway, brushing past the threat.

His face was as pale as death, and his body was cold to the touch. I quickly rolled up his sleeve to examine him.

Scarlet spots dotted his thin arm.

The sight made me bite my lip in worry.

“This is a textbook case of poisoning from a brown deathcap mushroom.”

“What?” the captain exclaimed.

“Did he eat anything unusual in the forest recently?” I asked urgently.

The children exchanged nervous glances before one timidly raised a hand.

“Um… now that you mention it… Earlier today, I saw Finn squatting near a tree stump and eating something. He said he was hungry…”

That confirmed it. He’d eaten a poisonous mushroom.

“We don’t have time! Give me my bag!” I demanded.

“Uh… o-okay!”

The children glanced at their captain. When he remained silent, they scrambled to return the bag to me.

I quickly opened it and pulled out a pouch of dried herbs.

Among its contents, I found silantree root and red clover leaves—the ingredients I needed.

Pulling out a mortar, I placed the herbs inside and ground them into a fine powder as quickly as I could.

Meanwhile, Finn’s pained groans grew louder, each one tugging at my heart.

I transferred the fine powder to a small sheet of medicine paper and folded it neatly.

Holding Finn’s head up with one hand, I carefully pried his mouth open.

“Hold on, Finn. Just a little longer…”

“Please, just bear with it for a moment,” I murmured, my voice soft but resolute, as I tipped the medicine into his mouth.

I carefully tipped the antidote into the mouth of the sobbing child, soothing them as I did so. Then, I took out a water bottle and let some water flow gently into their mouth.

The other children silently watched my every move. Even the boy who had pointed a knife at me earlier.

I anxiously waited for the medicine to take effect. Before I knew it, the children had huddled close to me.

One of them, teary-eyed, squeezed their eyes shut and clasped their hands together.

“Goddess, please save Finn. Please…”
“I promise we won’t do anything bad anymore, so… please…”

I comforted the children, who looked as if they were about to burst into tears.

“It’ll be alright, kids. Don’t worry too much.”

“Really? Finn won’t die? He’ll survive?”

“Of course.”

At that moment, I felt the gaze of the boy staring at me blankly. His hand, still gripping the dagger, lowered slightly, and his expression seemed strangely conflicted.

 

***

 

“The antidote seems to have worked. You can all relax now,” I said gently, wiping the sweat from the sleeping boy’s face.

At my reassurance, the children let out a collective sigh of relief, their tension visibly easing.

The boy’s symptoms had gradually subsided after taking the antidote. Thankfully, I had intervened in time.

As I stroked the sleeping child’s hair, a small smile of relief tugged at my lips. The worst was over.

“…Why?”

“Hmm?”

“Why did you save Finn?”

The question came from the black-haired boy, the group’s leader. He stood with his head lowered, lips pressed tightly together.

“I… I was awful to you. So why…”

His voice, filled with guilt, was almost a whisper. He seemed genuinely remorseful for his earlier actions.

To be fair, he scared me half to death earlier.

When he had pointed the knife at me, he had looked like a wounded animal, lashing out in desperation to protect his territory.

Still, I had seen the vulnerability behind his anger.

As I continued to stroke the sleeping boy’s hair, I replied softly,

“I guess… because it felt familiar.”

Memories of my own childhood floated to the surface. Losing my mother and becoming an orphan had left me to fend for myself on the streets.

Those days had been a battle for survival, filled with hunger and hardship.

One particularly bad day, my stomach ached so badly that I scavenged through a trash pile and found a discarded piece of bread. I ate it, only to spend the next several days bedridden with stomach pains.

Seeing Finn eat a poisonous mushroom out of desperation had reminded me of that little girl I used to be.

“And, believe it or not, I’m a pharmacist. I can’t just ignore someone who’s suffering,” I added with a small smile.

The boy lifted his head, his expression conflicted. After a moment, he closed his eyes tightly and murmured,

“…I’m sorry.”

I looked at him quietly.

“I was wrong. I shouldn’t have done that.”

His apology was clumsy, awkward, and hesitant, but it felt sincere.

Hearing him, the other children quickly followed suit, their voices trembling with guilt and regret.

“It wasn’t just the captain’s fault. I was wrong too. Punish me too.”

“Sniff… I’m sorry.”

“Waaaahhh! Please forgive me!”

Tears poured down their faces, and before I knew it, the entire room had become a sea of crying children.

I blinked in surprise, momentarily overwhelmed.

So much for those “aggressive stray cats.” Turns out they’re more like crying kittens.

“I already forgave you all earlier,” I said, my tone soothing. “Now stop crying and come here.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, the tear-streaked children threw themselves into my arms, clutching me tightly.

I patted their backs gently, murmuring words of comfort as their sobs gradually subsided.

Through the window, I caught sight of a shooting star streaking across the dark sky, leaving behind a shimmering silver trail.

 

***

 

“Anise! Big news, big news!”

It was a sunny afternoon, a few days later.

I was busy attending to customers in the apothecary. Handing a customer a packet of prepared medicine, I explained the dosage and usage when the door suddenly burst open.

A boy came rushing in, and I raised my voice in mock severity.

“Leo, how many times have I told you not to run around recklessly? It’s dangerous.”

The boy, Leo—the same one who had once threatened me with a knife that fateful night—now worked as my assistant.

The other children were still too young for serious tasks, so they helped with simple errands.

Having lost their parents during the Seven Years’ War, these children had been left to wander. I couldn’t turn a blind eye to them, so I allowed them to stay here in exchange for helping out at the apothecary.

That said…

I had sent Leo to buy firewood from a nearby shop, and now here he was, out of breath from running.

“What’s gotten you so excited?” I asked, watching him as he caught his breath.

“A noble! A noble moved into the house just down the street!” Leo exclaimed, practically glowing with excitement.

“A noble?”

Leo set the bundle of firewood near the fireplace and nodded vigorously.

“Yeah! He’s tall, really good-looking, and he looks like he has loads of money! Maybe he’ll come to the apothecary and spend a ton!”

Visitors to this remote village were rare, so Leo’s enthusiasm was understandable. His excitement made me smile.

“That’s odd,” I said, shaking my head with mild disbelief. “What kind of noble would move to a place like this? Are you sure he’s actually a noble?”

“Anise! Don’t you trust my eyes? He had this air of authority… like a predator. Definitely a noble,” Leo declared, wagging his finger at me.

Amused, I decided to play along with his dramatic storytelling.

“And what exactly was it about his ‘air of authority’ that convinced you?”

“Well,” Leo said, puffing out his chest, “it was the kind of gaze that says he’s above everyone else. Oh, and when our eyes met, his eyes were like rubies—bright red!”

I froze, my hand hovering over the shelf where I was organizing medicine bottles.

“Leo,” I said slowly, “what did you just say?”

I couldn’t believe what I had heard and turned to him, but before I could press him further—

Ding-a-ling.

The sound of the door chime interrupted me as the apothecary’s door swung open.

Leo turned his head and cheerfully greeted the visitor.

“Welcome, sir!”

But I couldn’t even muster a greeting. I stood frozen, staring at the man who stepped inside.

The afternoon sunlight poured in through the doorway, framing his tall figure.

“Long time no see, Anise.”

That voice, so achingly familiar, stirred something deep within me.

Then he smiled, his ruby-red eyes soft yet piercing, as he spoke again.

“How was your journey?”