Melody of Strength novel

Chapter 237

Dylan continued to speak, sometimes with hiccups as he recounted the events in fragments.

As the group of beggars scattered, Rafael happened to look up and see a child beggar who looked a lot like Carrisa’s nephew, Ryan. The child beggar had a limp and moved slowly. When Rafael attempted to approach and catch him, a cart suddenly appeared and crashed into several people.

While helping others in the aftermath of the crash, Rafael glanced at the limping child beggar. A burly man soon picked him up and loaded him onto a horse cart.

Instinctively, Rafael called out, “Ryan!”

The child beggar’s head jerked up, and he stared at Rafael in disbelief.

Rafael immediately tried to pursue, but the same cart that had crashed earlier came rushing at him. It blocked his path and knocked several people to the ground. Rafael leaped over obstacles and finally reached the horse cart, only to find that both the burly man and the child beggar had vanished.

The streets of Greenbrook County were crowded and tangled with alleys, so Rafael had no way of knowing which direction they had gone. He had only brought Dylan with him, and the latter was preoccupied with holding onto the thief. He had no idea whom Rafael was pursuing and stood there in confusion, waiting for the prince to

return.

As Rafael couldn’t catch up to the burly man and child beggar, he interrogated the thief Dylan had captured, who was also dressed as a beggar. He was mute and illiterate, so he couldn’t provide any useful information.

Rafael handed him over to the authorities, and the county chief, upon learning that the Hell Monarch was involved, personally came to meet him. When asked about the beggars and the thief, the county chief shook his head and sighed.

These beggars have been in Greenbrook for a long time. Some beg for alms, while others engage in theft. They are controlled by someone behind the scenes. Despite several attempts, we haven’t been able to catch those behind them. It’s not just Greenbrook–several other prefectures have the same problem.

The beggars are mostly rendered mute by poison, and some have had their legs broken. We can’t determine their origins or send them back to their hometowns, so

+25 BONUS

Chapter 237

they are only temporarily housed in the county’s community hall. However, as soon as they are placed there, they escape. For instance, the thief you caught today has already been imprisoned two or three times for theft.”

Furious, Rafael demanded to know how the county chief could fail to capture the people behind this.

Unable to keep the truth hidden any longer, the county chief finally admitted that these beggars were members of the Beggar Guild. Each of them knew martial arts, and the government officials had sustained many injuries in their attempts to eradicate them. Over time, they simply gave up.

Rafael reprimanded the county chief for neglecting his duty, then stayed in Greenbrook to continue the search for the beggars. He also sent a message to the Pathfinders Guild, asking Carissa’s master to contact the leader of the Beggar Guild.

Eventually, the Beggar Guild intervened and revealed that these individuals were not true members of the guild, but were merely using the guild’s name to steal and beg. They were then required to hand over all stolen goods and alms to their leaders.

“His Highness managed to track them to Eldoria, where he finally found the child beggar. But the child beggar had been rendered mute by poison, and had a limp. When asked if his name was Ryan Sinclair, he neither nodded nor shook his head and remained extremely wary.

“He tried to escape multiple times. When His Highness attempted to take him, the child beggar either harmed himself by banging his head against the wall or bit His Highness. Given the long journey back to the capital, His Highness feared for the child’s safety, so he asked you to go to him instead.”

Carissa listened to Dylan with a pounding heart, her mind reeling. She shook her head in disbelief.

“It’s impossible.”

It couldn’t be Ryan. His body had been, mutilated beyond recognition, his head severed…

Ryan was dead!

The memory of that scene surged within her, causing her intense pain. She refused to believe it, she couldn’t accept this false hope.

However, she ordered someone to immediately fetch Lightning, her horse. She needed to depart for Eldoria at once.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.