The gang leader began to interrogate each person thoroughly.
But it was destined to be futile; neither the one who wanted him dead nor the real thief would reveal the truth.
He desperately tried to find a different expression on someone’s face, but with his abilities, he was doomed never to see what he wanted.
Even the beggar children outside the courtyard were called in one by one.
Finally, a timid child, under harsh questioning, spoke up: “That day, Akai and the others gave us a lot of bread.
We really didn’t steal.”
Hearing this, Mel Carlo frowned slightly.
The three of them had just been beaten, and now they were caught up in this mess again.
But as long as they explained the origin of the bread clearly, it should be fine.
He’d only ever used one silver coin, so it shouldn’t involve him.
“Was it you three who stole it? Then used the money in the wallet to buy bread? Where’s the wallet! Hand it over!”
The gang leader tugged at the whip in his hand.
Akai shielded the other two behind him.
The whip snapped down on his face, leaving a glaring red mark.
“Grab those three and search them!”
Gang members moved quickly to search them, but aside from a few copper coins, nothing else was found.
“Where did these copper coins come from?”
“I stole them.”
Mel Carlo stepped forward.
“So, the wallet was stolen by you too!”
The gang leader brandished the whip, glaring angrily at Mel Carlo.
But his intimidation had no effect on the child in front of him, because inside this child’s body was an adult’s soul.
“It wasn’t me. I never stole it.”
Mel Carlo shook his head, and a lash immediately struck him, a burning pain searing through.
Still, he felt little anger; to him, the gang leader was already a dead man.
How could they possibly find it in a week? The wallet had been put into the system space.
But to appear frightened, Mel Carlo still staggered back a few steps, avoiding the man’s gaze.
“Go look! All you little piglets, if you don’t find the wallet, just go die!”
The gang leader turned away in fury, then gave more orders to his men.
“Keep an eye on these little bastards. Maybe they really did steal it and are hiding it now.”
“And go search the pigpen too.”
He hadn’t expected there would be someone so blind to reality.
That was the Duchess’s Daughter—anyone could tell just by the clothes.
How could anyone dare to make a move?
After all the beggar children were chased out, they wandered aimlessly on the street.
Luckily, it wasn’t too cold yet; otherwise, they might have frozen to death outside.
—
Meanwhile, inside the Duke’s Mansion Area, the doll had locked herself in her room ever since her wallet was stolen.
She curled up behind the door.
It was the only gift her mother had left her, and now it had been stolen.
Outside the door, the Head Maid walked over.
“Has the young lady still not come out?”
“No, it’s all that hateful thief’s fault. The wallet must be very important to her.”
A female guard also approached.
“Actually, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have taken the young lady outside. If we hadn’t gone to the market, none of this would have happened.”
“My lady, you don’t need to blame yourself. The Duke’s Mansion has already pressured the gang responsible for that area. I believe the wallet will be recovered soon.”
The Head Maid bowed slightly to the guard.
It had originally been her idea to let the guard take the young lady out for a walk; she couldn’t stay locked in the Duke’s Mansion forever, as that wouldn’t be good for her physical or mental health.
Ever since the Duke’s Wife passed away, the young lady hadn’t been as lively as before.
—
Mel Carlo, Akai, and Lily walked to a bench still glowing with light.
Though this world had no electric lights, it seemed to use a magical ore instead, and the brightness wasn’t low—like little suns emitting red light.
“Mel, are you okay? Why did you stand up earlier? You could’ve just said I stole it, then only one of us would’ve been whipped.”
Akai sat down.
He figured he had thick skin, so a couple of lashes wouldn’t hurt much, and he’d be fine after a night’s sleep.
But Mel was different—he was so thin that even a single lash would probably hurt for days.
“It’s nothing. People who love to use whips that much never live long.”
Mel Carlo gave a dark smile, as if the whipping meant nothing.
“Really?”
Lily craned her head.
Discussing someone’s death like this felt a bit creepy.
“Yes. If the wallet isn’t found, he’s as good as dead. The person who lost the wallet seems to be a big shot.”
Mel Carlo knew the wallet was on him, but he’d never take it out.
The only thing that made him wary was the scarred man called Anke.
First, he’d given Mel 20 Orlen to resolve a crisis, and then he’d looked at Mel again during the wallet incident.
With so many gang informants, it was possible the scarred man had seen Mel steal it.
Things were about to get complicated.
For now, he shouldn’t go back, or he’d risk being taken by the gang leader as a scapegoat.
At least in the short term, his interests and the scarred man’s were aligned.
Once the boss died, Anke could become the new leader, and the beggars would still be beggars.
“There are only a few months left until Winter, did you know?”
Mel Carlo asked.
“So what? Three months from now?”
“Nothing. We just need to think about how to survive Winter. If we don’t prepare now, it’ll be hard to get through.”
Mel Carlo calculated.
He’d only been in this other world for three days, and his information was limited.
If he couldn’t escape before Winter, he’d need to prepare for the cold in advance.
It felt like game survival mode: little information, but quite interesting.
As the three chatted, a chubby kid walked over, clutching a mysterious oil-paper package.
“Mel!”
“What, looking for trouble?”
Mel glanced at the chubby kid, thinking he’d come to pick a fight.
After all, they’d just been whipped; it was normal for this little fatty to gloat.
“No, no! I’m here to treat you all to something good!”
The chubby kid hurriedly explained and opened the oil-paper package.
Inside was a huge pork chop, beautifully roasted, with bite marks already visible.
Under the glow of the ore lamp, the oil stains at the corner of the chubby kid’s mouth became apparent.
“Where’d you get that? Did you steal it?”
Mel Carlo looked at the pork chop, feeling a bit hungry.
He hadn’t eaten since yesterday.
“No, definitely not stolen. You all eat. I’m already full.”
The chubby kid patted his belly.
Seeing he meant no harm, Akai and Lily started to drool, and Mel Carlo had nothing more to worry about.