Ryan was walking with quick steps toward a hotel.
On his way, he noticed that people were looking at him strangely.
"Yes"
He remembered that he was stained with blood; the clean clothes he had put on that morning were stained with blood.
His face, too, was stained with the blood of the man he had killed.
Ryan quickened his pace. Upon arriving at the hotel, he entered and walked swiftly toward his room, noticing that everyone in the hotel was looking at him as well.
They were whispering about him.
"Is that blood?"
"I think so."
"What happened to him?"
He rushed toward his room, and when he placed his hand on the doorknob, he noticed that his hand was trembling.
He opened the door, rushed into his room, then leaned against the door and grasped his hand which was trembling.
And it is the very same hand that killed that kidnapper.
"All of this is because of those memories."
He would not have intervened—indeed, he was determined not to intervene in a matter that did not concern him.
He did not care about the death of the boy and the girl, or about the kidnappers.
But when he was about to kill a boy, memories of his past life flashed through his mind.
This caused his thoughts to fix upon a single objective: killing those two scoundrels.
Had it not been for Anna's intervention, he would have killed the second one as well.
But he felt no guilt; that was a person who deserved to die.
Therefore, he did not know the reason for his trembling—was it because he had killed for the first time?
Or because he recalled memories from his past life.
Ryan sighed, stood up, and removed his blood-stained clothes.
After removing his clothes, he lightly touched the burn scars on his body.
Then he advanced toward the bathroom to see his blood-stained face in the mirror.
He took a bucket of water and began washing his face until it was clean.
Then he looked at his reflection in the mirror and spoke to himself:
"No mercy for the bastards who know nothing of humanity; they do not deserve to live—rather, they deserve to die."
He was merely justifying his actions to himself.
**********
Anna arrived at the entrance of the White Crown Hotel, carrying Elisa, where Alith and Serene were waiting in front of the entrance.
For Anna had sent a messenger to inform them of what had happened to Elisa.
Therefore, they were waiting outside, with signs of anxiety upon them.
When they saw Elisa, they rushed toward her.
Anna spoke:
"Can you stand up now?"
Elisa replied:
"Yes."
Then Anna placed her on the ground. The parents stepped toward their daughter, and the first thing the mother did was embrace her.
He stroked her head and reassured her:
"Don't worry; everything will be fine."
After hearing her mother's words and receiving her warm embrace, Elisa burst into tears, tightening her grip around her mother.
"Mother... the two guards and the maid... they... they are dead."
She spoke those words, gasping.
Sirine was still reassuring her:
"Don't worry—everything will be fine."
Then she looked at Anna and nodded; afterwards, she took Elisa and headed toward her room.
Alith remained with Anna, his face pale; he had never imagined that anyone would target his daughter.
Anna noticed this and reassured him:
"Don't worry, she'll be fine. She wasn't injured. They sedated her slightly, but the effects have worn off now."
But he blamed himself.
"How could I not worry? I am her father, yet I was unable to do anything. I didn't even know what had happened to her, even though she was mere steps away from me."
Anna looked at him as he stood with his head bowed.
"You shouldn't be like this when you go to see her; I don't think she would like that. Besides, she needs to start relying on herself."
Alith raised his head.
"Yes, you're right."
Then, he recalled something he had heard just moments earlier.
"Oh—I heard from the staff that the child who came with you returned covered in blood. What happened? Was he injured?"
Anna sighed.
"No, he wasn't hurt—rather, he was the one who caused the harm."