Wearing old, partly torn clothes, a boy named Unwanted, with black hair and dark eyes, sat quietly in the carriage beside the man who had adopted him that very day. By the laws of the "Shining Kingdom", they were now father and son — yet neither spoke a word.
His new father, a man with brown eyes, a beard and hair streaked with white, dressed in a dark-blue suit, didn't seem to pay Unwan any attention since they'd left the orphanage.
Other parents who came to adopt children would hug them even before leaving the orphanage, sometimes giving them a new name right on the spot.
But this man... when he saw Unwan standing in the hallway beside one of the caretakers, he merely glanced at the silver pocket watch in his hand, then at the boy, and said in a flat tone: "Let's go."
Had this been an ordinary situation, Unwan might have thought, "He seems like a good man — we'll probably talk once we get home." But that hated name — Unwanted — had long been eating away at him. It was the reason for his silent anger and quiet sadness.
According to the old caretakers, Unwan had been brought to the orphanage as a newborn — abandoned, or maybe left there for some other unknown reason. That year, the orphanage had too many children and too little food. Even then, the caretakers somehow managed to feed him and placed him in a shared bed with another child.
Because of all that misfortune, they named him Unwanted, but they usually just called him Unwan.
There were other children who had come to the orphanage under strange circumstances that same year. But unlike Unwan, most had already been adopted — some long before him. He wasn't the last child left behind… yet in his eyes, there was no one more disliked in that place than himself.
Unwan glanced at his adoptive father who didn't seem to care about his presence at all. Gathering a bit of courage, Unwan finally spoke:
– Excuse me, f-father… what's your name?
He had never called anyone father before, and the word came out trembling.
A man looked at him briefly, then turned back to stare out the window. But he did answer.
– Torin.
Unwan felt a sting of disappointment. He had asked with nervous hope, yet Torin's short, emotionless reply ended the conversation instantly.
No matter how much Unwan disliked it, he knew that this man had gone through a lot of trouble to adopt him. In the Shining Kingdom, adopting a child wasn't simple — sometimes even the royal council got involved. That's why Unwan couldn't help but blame himself a little.
He knew he wasn't good at talking. Even in the orphanage, he was always alone — as if no one noticed him, as if he didn't even exist.
He now wondered how a few simple words could make the man beside him keep a conversation going.
"Should I say it like a poem or something?" he thought bitterly.
But there was something else Unwan noticed — before answering, Torin always paused for a few seconds, as if thinking. Maybe it was just a nobleman's habit… or maybe Torin simply didn't want to talk to him. Either way, Unwan couldn't shake the thought that his new father disliked him.
Still, there was one question he needed to ask — where were they going?
They had been traveling for nearly an hour, and although he assumed they were heading to Torin's home, he had no idea where that actually was.
After rehearsing his words carefully in his mind, Unwan asked:
– Father, could you tell me where we're going?
Torin finally turned his eyes from the window to look at him. After a short stare, he replied:
– To a warehouse. About a kilometer or two from the capital center.
A warehouse?
From that single answer, Unwan realized two things.
First — yes, Torin truly didn't trust him, replying only with the shortest possible words.
And second — though it was just a hunch, the thought made his stomach twist. Maybe Torin was planning to sell him as a slave. It sounded ridiculous, but Unwan had heard that some orphans had been sold to foreign kingdoms, even killed.
Fighting his rising fear, Unwan asked again, his voice trembling:
– Why? Aren't we going to your house?
Torin looked at him for a moment — then suddenly laughed. After pausing his laughter, he said coldly:
– Why would I bring trash like you into my home?
Unwan's fear grew, though he tried hard to stay calm.
– But… I'm your son now…
Torin burst into laughter again — this time even louder. His sudden change from cold silence to cruel laughter made Unwan freeze in confusion.
When Torin finally stopped laughing, his expression twisted into something darker.
– My son? A filthy-looking brat like you? I wouldn't even take you as a servant — let alone a son.
Then he laughed again — louder, crueler.
Unwan's heart pounded. The fear inside him began to feel real.
Please don't let it be true… please…
Desperate, Unwan tried again:
– Then…
But Torin cut him off, shouting mockingly:
– Then what? Do you want to know why I took you from that place? Of course — to use you as bait. Night creatures crave human flesh and blood, so you'll lure them out. My friends and I will hunt them down. Don't worry — if you're lucky, they won't eat you right away.
Unwan's eyes widened. This was worse than anything he had imagined. If he had been sold as a slave, he might've lived — maybe even earned freedom one day. But as bait… his life would end within weeks.
– Why… why would you do something so horrible? - he whispered.
Torin smirked with cruel satisfaction.
– Because it's simple. Orphans like you are nothing but useless burdens to the kingdom. Better to make some profit out of you than to feed you for nothing.