When Dorothy awakened from her nightmare, she shot up, sitting on the bed, filled with adrenaline and shock. She quickly came to from the adrenaline and felt a wet sensation on her leg.

Realizing it was teardrops that fell when she sat up, she wiped her eyes and took a moment to calm herself. Afterward, she glanced around the small house and noticed Noah wasn’t there yet. “Where is he?” she mumbled to herself.

She stood up and looked outside the house, and saw the usual sight in the slums during the morning. A barren and dreary landscape with glimpses of individuals digging among waste mounds.

Dorothy went back in before recalling the events of the night before with Noah.

“I guess I went too far last night; I was planning on giving him this on his birthday… but…” she murmured before stopping and placing a plastic cover over something on the table.

Why hasn’t he come back yet? Did something happen to hi-

When she realized what she was thinking, she stopped herself and questioned – Why am I even worrying about him... do I even have the right to be worried?

She remembered a remark that was constantly stated by people around her, "People will never change," and she persuaded herself further by adding, "Yeah, that’s right, people will never change.”

Climbing back into the bed, she wrapped herself with a blanket. But just as she closed her eyes, a man barged in, wearing a blue vest while firmly gripping his blade.

Dorothy immediately sat up and opened her eyes which were immediately directed towards the door. Dazed and confused, the first thing she thought was INTRUDER. "What's going on!? Why did you enter!?”

The man who entered picked up on who Dorothy was, and shouted, “Sir! We found her!”

Outside Dorothy’s home, three other men dressed the same barged in as well.

“Ma’am, my name is John, and in accordance with the Earl of Mort dun, you are hereby ordered to come with us.”

“You think I would believe whatever you say? You know I can clearly tell this is one of those so-called scams that’s been frequently happening in the slums! Just get out!”

"Force will be employed if you continue to resist," John bluffed, refusing her demands.

Dorothy proceeded to the door, pushing John to the side. “Enough! If you don't want to go, I will! By the time I come back, I better not see you anymore! ”

"Ma'am, please just follow us," John said as he held her shoulder.

She had enough, she turned around and went to kick John’s shin. But once it landed, John was unfazed, but he felt a cold perspiration drip down his back. Because he knew that if he failed to complete the mission, he and his men would face punishment far worse than death at the hands of the earl, possibly even at the hands of the infamous cardinal.

He couldn’t take no for an answer, and he couldn’t directly harm her, because who knows what would happen if Herod saw her wounded. The only other option was to signal for one of his men to hit her at the nape to knock her unconscious and cause her to endure the fewest damage possible.

The men followed orders and chopped her by the neck, which was hidden by Dorothy's long hair. She went unconscious and John caught her in his arms before she fell to the ground.

The men hurriedly returned to the tavern, with John leading the way, and carrying Dorothy in his arms.

When they arrived, John gently laid Dorothy on the stool next to Herod and placed her head on the desk. John then went to the corner of the tavern with his men.

After a while, Dorothy woke up. she squinted one of her eyes and wiped the other, wondering – Where am I? She turned her head slightly, and as she saw the four soldiers who had knocked her unconscious, she thought – Did those bastards kidnap me?

Suddenly a gentle voice came to Dorothy’s ear, it was from the seat next to her. “Hi madame Dorothy, I heard a lot about you from your son.”

As Dorothy heard that, she speculated that he might be their leader, since when she saw the guards, they were standing hands behind their backs, with a respectful gaze focused on the guy beside her. Without a second of thought, she turned her body and tried to punch the person seated next to her.

It was swiftly and easily seized by Herod, and as her body continued to move, his sharp features captured Dorothy’s attention, particularly his hair and eyes. Herod smiled, greeting her, “Hi, I’m Herod, Earl of Mort dun, and it’s quite the pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Dorothy reasoned in her head – I don’t think he’s lying; I’ve never seen someone with golden hair before. But she quickly remembered what Herod said in their first introduction, recalling the words ‘her son’. Where is he? She sought for him immediately, and when she found him behind her. She had a concerned and worried expression on her face, finding him in a pathetic state, with dread in his eyes.

Despite the fact Dorothy never once, in her own words ‘cared for Noah’, her motherly instincts activated. She started to think of ways on how to get Noah and her out of this situation.

She then noticed a bartender in front of her, who was casually preparing drinks as he asked her with a smile, “Would you like a specific drink, milady?”

Dorothy was too dazed to even hear what he said, with Herod stepping in and answering Judas, “Just give her what I’m having, my good old friend.”

Herod then asked Dorothy a question that snapped her out of her dazed state. “Madam, may I ask as to why a youngster is in the red-light district; shouldn't children these days be off playing these days?"

Dorothy immediately responded with a bluff, which she tried not to make obvious. "I'm not sure what he's doing here either; my husband and I put him to bed last night. And, when I woke up, he was already gone." She doubled down on her bluff, adding, “Thank you for taking care of my son all night, but if he did anything that offended you, please do give him a punishment, but please don’t be too hard on him.”

Herod cheerfully replied, “Oh? Don’t worry about it, it’s all fine, a great mother like yourself shouldn’t worry about that. But might I add another question?”

Dorothy replied, “Of course, my excellency, but I’m sorry as I did not apologize for my impolite behavior earlier.”

“Let’s let bygones be bygones, and the question I wanted to ask was what is your spouse doing for him not to be with you trying to find your son?”

Dorothy couldn’t take a second to ponder, as that would just give her bluff away, so she replied, “He’s out working hard right now in the market district, and because we barely have enough to get by in a day with what he's making, he couldn’t stop working.”

Herod smiled quite happily when he heard that, saying, “You know I’m an earl of this country… and as an earl, I need to remember every single one of my citizens, and I just memorized the list of people working in the market district.” Herod then altered his tone to a cold one, continuing, “But why is it, that I never saw a man who had a son like that boy over there with the name Noah?”

Although this was just a bluff by Herod, the reaction in Dorothy’s expression was enough to reveal everything she said was a lie.

“You know… I really hate liars.”