Silence filled the armored carriage for a long time.
The only sound inside was the little girl's laughter—
her cheerful voice piercing the heavy, reinforced space without pause.
Eventually, one of the prisoners snapped.
He was a thin man with long brown hair. His sharp features and twisted expressions made one thing painfully clear—
he was a bastard. A complete one.
He slammed his cuffed hands against the seat and shouted:
"Make that damned creature shut up!
What is a little girl doing inside a carriage full of dangerous prisoners?!"
The girl, who looked no older than five, flinched in fear and tightly hugged the kind-looking soldier.
The soldier slowly turned his head.
He cast a dark gaze—filled with unmistakable killing intent—toward the bastard prisoner.
The prisoner instantly shut up, muttering curses under his breath.
Rolin knew it well—
there was something seriously wrong with that "kind" soldier.
'Damn it… just show your real face already, you bastard.'
Suddenly, the little girl jumped out of the soldier's arms and ran toward Rolin with innocent excitement.
She leaped straight into his lap and hugged him tightly.
"Big brother!"
Then she started pulling his hair.
Rolin froze.
'…No.
No.
This is the worst possible scenario.'
She pulled his hair even harder, laughing with pure innocence.
"Big brother! Your hair is soft!"
Rolin winced in pain—but didn't scream.
Screaming in front of prisoners was a terrible idea.
"W-Wait… stop… don't do that."
He tried to gently push her hands away.
He failed miserably.
'Why me?
I'm going to prison, not a daycare.'
Some prisoners laughed quietly in mockery, while the bastard prisoner turned his face away in irritation.
As for the kind soldier…
He was smiling.
A calm smile—far too calm.
That only deepened Rolin's suspicions.
"Big brother, are you a criminal?" the girl suddenly asked, her eyes sparkling.
Rolin choked.
"A c-criminal? No, no… I just… got lost."
'Terrible lie.
Absolutely terrible.'
The girl tilted her head innocently.
"Then why are you tied up?"
'Damn you and your intelligence.'
Before Rolin could answer, the kind soldier finally spoke, his voice calm and smooth.
"Because your big brother… is special."
Rolin stiffened.
'Special?
That's worse than being a criminal.'
The soldier's smile widened, yet his eyes remained cold—utterly devoid of warmth.
"Take care of her for a bit."
Then he added, as if whispering not to Rolin's ear—but to his soul:
"If you don't want to get hurt."
Rolin swallowed hard.
The girl pulled his hair again.
"Big brother! Do you like me?"
'…Looks like I'll die before we even reach the prison.'
As the armored carriage continued forward in heavy silence,
Rolin realized one thing—
This wasn't a prisoner transfer.
It was a test.
'Damn it…
Why did I become a babysitter at the end of my life?'
Rolin cleared his throat and looked at the girl still clinging to him.
"Why do you call me big brother?"
She placed a finger on her cheek and thought deeply—far too seriously.
"Because you look like my big brother."
A faint smile unconsciously appeared on Rolin's face.
'…Am I really that handsome?'
"Really? In what way?" he asked, unable to hide his curiosity.
The girl looked him up and down carefully, then said with lethal innocence:
"You're both short… and ugly."
Rolin froze.
His smile shattered.
'…'
'Alright.
Now I'm certain—
I'm living in hell.'
Some prisoners laughed under their breath, while the kind soldier subtly suppressed a mysterious smile.
The girl tugged his hair again.
"But don't worry. My big brother was kind too."
Rolin let out a deep sigh.
'Ugly… short… and a babysitter.'
He lifted his gaze to the ceiling of the armored carriage.
'What a magnificent end to my life.'
Yet deep inside…
he couldn't stop himself from feeling that this girl—
and that kind soldier—
would become his biggest problems…
if he survived at all.
Rolin released a heavy sigh.
Then his expression softened as he looked down at the girl—who had just spit on his chest.
'…Wonderful.
Now even children are humiliating me.'
He wiped his chest slowly with his sleeve, trying to preserve what little dignity he had left.
"Is this part of the introduction ritual?"
The girl looked at him seriously, then shook her head.
"No."
Rolin paused.
"Then… why?"
She smiled with an innocence far more dangerous than it should be and said:
"Because your chest was close."
'An irrefutable logic.'
Rolin turned his head slightly and looked at the kind soldier.
"Can I file an official complaint?
I've been assaulted."
The soldier simply smiled calmly—
a smile that sent chills down Rolin's spine.
"Endure it for now,"
the soldier said quietly.
"Children are honest… and annoying."
Rolin sighed again.
'Short… ugly… and spat on.'
He lowered his gaze to the girl, who had begun yawning in his arms.
'…Damn it.
I'm still alive, aren't I?'
As the armored carriage rattled along its unknown path,
Rolin realized something terrifying—
This little girl…
might be the most dangerous person here.
Rolin smiled faintly—an unusual expression for him—and looked at the girl who had finally calmed down.
"What's your name?"
The girl looked at him with wide eyes, then tilted her head as if trying to remember something she had just forgotten.
A brief silence followed.
Then she smiled.
"I don't know."
Rolin's smile froze.
"…You don't know?"
She nodded enthusiastically.
"My big brother used to call me something… but I forgot."
Something uncomfortable stirred in Rolin's chest.
'A nameless child… in a prisoner carriage… with a suspicious soldier.
Perfect. Just perfect.'
"Then… what would you like to be called?" he asked hesitantly.
The girl's face suddenly lit up, as if she had been waiting for that question.
"Mmm…" She thought for a moment, then said with absolute confidence: "Call me Lulu."
Rolin blinked.
"Lulu?"
"Yes!" She said happily, then added innocently: "Because it's easy."
Rolin sighed.
'Of course… a cute name for a terrifying child in a very not-cute place.'
He lifted his gaze toward the kind soldier, who was silently watching them.
Their eyes met for a brief moment.
The soldier's smile didn't change…
but his eyes told a very different story.
'…Damn it.
I stepped into something far bigger than me.'
Rolin gently patted the girl's head.
"Alright, Lulu…
try not to spit on me again."
The girl laughed with a clear, cheerful voice,
as the armored carriage continued its journey into the unknown.