journey towards the northen duke

"No one here is aware of the drug experimentation; they only know about child abduction. We cannot disclose this information to anyone."

A cold realization settled over me. The other workers were complicit, but even they didn't know the full extent of what was happening. That meant only the dean and nanny were directly involved in the experiments.

That meant they were the ones I had to take down.

But I had to be careful. Because if they discovered I knew too much… I'd be the next one to disappear.

The nanny nodded thoughtfully before lifting one of the bodies, dragging it toward the door. The dean followed, their footsteps fading into the night.

Only when I was certain they were gone did I let out a shaky breath. My body felt drenched in sweat, my shirt sticking to my back.

For the first time in my life, I truly understood the depths of human greed and ruthlessness. This wasn't just cruelty—it was something far worse.

I spent the rest of the night staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep. When morning came, I tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness washed over me. My body burned with fever, as if I were being consumed from the inside out.

I clenched my jaw. No one can know.

If they realized I was sick, they might force the same drugs on me—the ones that turned kids into empty shells. I couldn't let that happen.

Ignoring the weakness in my limbs, I forced myself to stand and move as if nothing was wrong. But I needed medicine. And I knew exactly where to get it.

The nanny always kept her medicine in a brown bag by her bedside. I had seen her reach for it whenever she was unwell. That meant it had to be safe.

Moving quickly but carefully, I slipped into her room. My breath was ragged, my skin hot, but I focused. Find the bag. Get out.

It didn't take long. Near the bedside, tucked away, I found what I was looking for. My fingers fumbled as I opened the containers. Grabbing all the pills, I shoved them into my pocket and rushed back to my bed.

I sat down, hands shaking, and popped open a yellow pill. I had seen the nanny take this exact one before. If it worked for her, it should work for me.

I swallowed it dry.

At first, nothing happened. Then, a wave of heat crashed over me. My vision blurred, sweat poured down my face, and my body grew unbearably heavy. I barely had time to register what was happening before unconsciousness pulled me under.

The moment I woke up, my first instinct was to check the time.

Still 30 minutes left before morning classes ended.

I exhaled in relief. Good. That meant I had time.

Moving quickly, I changed into fresh clothes and climbed out the window, scaling up to the rooftop with practiced ease. From there, I made my way toward the dean's room, carefully lowering myself down.

I slipped inside and immediately started searching for food.

A cupboard full of instant meals and snacks.

Jackpot.

To avoid suspicion, I only took one of each type, stuffing them into my clothes before climbing back up. I moved fast—if I walked through the doors, the CCTV cameras at every entrance would catch me. Wall climbing was my only option.

Good thing I had mastered it.

By the time I reached the sleeping hall, my stomach was twisting with hunger. The moment I sat down, I tore open a pack of food and devoured it. An entire day without eating had left me starving.

Once my hunger was under control, I got to work.

I found a plastic cover, packed all the stolen food inside, and grabbed the stuffed toys we received every year from the neighborhood factory. Carefully, I sliced them open, stuffed the food inside, and sewed them back up before tucking them under my cot.

A perfect hiding spot.

I tidied up, making sure there were no traces of what I had done, then slipped out through the back door of the classroom, avoiding the cameras once again.

No one noticed—I blended in easily. Everyone was too absorbed in their lessons to care about my late arrival.

I sat down, but my mind was already elsewhere.

I couldn't eat anything prepared by the nanny. Not after what I knew.

My stolen food would last a week if I rationed it to one meal a day.

But I couldn't risk stealing again. Once was fine. More than once? That would get me caught.

I needed a plan.

As Seon sat lost in thought, the bell rang, signaling the end of yet another torturous mind-control session.

But something was… off.

Even after the sound echoed through the room, no one moved.

The students remained frozen in place, eyes glazed over, as if trapped in some invisible trance.

Only after a few long moments did the dean smile warmly and say, "It's time for break, kids. Go on."

And just like that, they scattered.

It was as if someone had flipped a switch. One moment, lifeless. The next, moving like nothing had happened.

Seon watched carefully, taking in every detail.

This… this wasn't normal.

He had already suspected that something was off, but now, seeing it up close, he truly understood the depth of the mind control.

But he couldn't afford to stand there thinking for too long. He got up, blending into the crowd, and made his way to the lunch hall.

Once there, he went through the motions—picking up his meal, sitting at the table—but never actually eating. He couldn't.

Instead, he smashed the rice together, mixed the soup around to make it look like he had eaten, and then casually walked over to wash his dishes.

A quick stop at the toilet—he flushed the soup, washed the dishes again, and set them aside to dry.

He acted as if nothing had happened. Skipping a meal once was fine, but skipping every day? That would raise suspicions.

From now on, he would have to pretend to eat at least once a day.

Mornings were the perfect time to get rid of food.

For now, though, it was time for the afternoon nap.

He lay down, but instead of sleeping, his mind was racing.

The weird behaviors were adding up:

The dean and nanny only ate in their rooms.The kids were never allowed outside.Visitors couldn't meet the children.Adoptions weren't allowed.And yet… newborn babies kept arriving every month.Every single child had blood tests every month.

All signs pointed to something dark.

But no one cared to notice.

Or rather… they knew and had chosen not to care. Because of the consequences.

Unlike the other children, Seon had memories from outside.

Most of the kids here had never stepped beyond these walls. To them, this place was their whole world.

But Seon… he knew better.

His memories were scattered, incomplete—but he remembered eating street food. Talking to people. Feeling the wind on his face. The outside world was fun.

How had he even ended up here?

He could recall arriving at the orphanage and, out of curiosity, following a kid into a classroom.

They must have assumed he was a new student because they made him sit through the lesson.

And he had liked it.

Talking to new people, learning new things—he had wanted to come back.

But… something was missing.

There was a gap in his memory.

How did he go from visiting the school to becoming a permanent resident at the orphanage?

The more he thought about it, the more unsettling it became.

And that could only mean one thing—

He needed to get out.