Chapter 52: Chapter 52

TL: Zimmings

The top of hope needs a guard who will frequently engage in small battles with bandits. I’m sure Zachary could help.

I looked at Henry and Isaac.

“I want swomething.”

“What is it, LeBlaine?”

“What is it! Tell me. I’ll buy you everything!”

“Puppy.”

The two mumbled, “Puppy….”

***

Me, Henry, Isaac, and the maids came out of the castle.

Just because I wanted to get a puppy, we’ll buy it together.

Isaac said he would buy me the prettiest dog, but I insisted that I would choose for myself.

“What if the puppy that I bwought back, didn’t like Bwaine very much?”

The brother replied with a really puzzled look on their face.

“There’s no creature in the world that would hate you, right?”

But eventually the two people lost to me, so I was able to go and see the puppy like this.

Our destination is Plum Street, beyond the Dubbled’s area. Because there is a pet shop for the nobles.

‘It’s also near the nursery where Zachary is.’

The carriage stopped when I was thinking so.

I grabbed my brother’s hand and got out of the carriage. I looked around the streets, which is luxurious like the Dubbled’s shopping district.

“Wow….”

I exclaimed. Then, the maids smile and said,

“It’s brilliant, isn’t it? The street owns the largest casino in the Empire. There’s a lot of things to see around because there’s a lot of restaurants and shopping districts.”

It was definitely a fun place to look around.

I grabbed the maids’ hands and chased after Henry and Isaac.

‘The casino is really big.’

Suddenly, Lea glanced back and whispered to the brothers.

“There’s someone following us.”

“Yes, I felt it too.”

Isaac’s eyes turned cold.

“Four…no, there’s five of them.”

“These people have been trained. They are good at hiding themselves.”

As I opened my eyes wide, Henry and Isaac looked at me with a casual look.

“Leblaine, stay with the maids for a while.”

“I’ll be right back.”

With a slightly nervous face, I grabbed the collar of the two.

“Are you worried? Stupid, we’re very strong. You don’t need to worry.”

Isaac grabbed me and put his face on my cheek. It must have made you feel very good.

Then Henry grabbed him and threw him sideways.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be right back.”

‘Who I’m worried about is the people who follow us…’

I thought Isaac was gonna snap their throats.

I repeatedly said, “come back fwast.”

Isaac and Henry left me with the maids and disappeared.

“Little miss, shall we go to the bakery? Plum Street’s plum sherbet is very delicious. It’s a gold building just past this alley.”

“Okay.”

Lea, the maids and me headed for the bakery.

The maids kept talking about this and that, fearing that I might be anxious.

“What kind of dog are you going to buy? a big, fluffy dog would be nice, right?”

“It’s cute even if it’s small and short…”

“A little poodle that looks cute just like the little miss would be nice.”

“Do you want me to bring a catalog of pets while you’re at the bakery? Would you like to look at it?”

Just as I was entering the alley, I saw someone in the alley of a shabby building.

“You eat all of my money, you jerks.”

The boy muttered grimly and threw embers at the building.

The maids gazed at the building that was starting to catch fire.

“Oh my god, this is a gambling house. If he gets caught, he’ll be in trouble.”

Yuni, a former loan shark said.

“Should I help him?”

It was the words of Dahlia, a serial killer who is the more warm-hearted one among the three maids.

“It’s none of our business though?”

asked the impostor Linda.

Honestly, Leblaine, a pessimistic adult, agreed with the thoughts of the maids. But as a child, I feel sympathy.

‘He looks thirteen, and I can’t just watch a gangster beat him to death.’

It’s enough to turn off the embers, it’s not that difficult.

I sighed deeply and grasped Lea’s skirt.

“My eyes hwot.” (My eyes are hot.)

Only then the maids ran to stop the fire.

“A bad ember that makes our little miss’s eyes hot.”

“Bad embers!”

The boy frowned at the unexpected intruders.

“What’s this nonsense?”

He looked at us ridiculously.

“Madames, why are you interrupting other people’s work!”

“It’s a cwime.” (It’s a crime.)

As I muttered so, he looked at me.

“Are you the owner of these maids?”

“Yes.”

“Do you want to die? Don’t interrupt and get out of here. You ugly thing.”

Then, the maids who stepped on the ember stopped their feet. The eyes of Lea, who was holding my hand, was also fierce.

“You, what have you just said?”

“Who’s ugly?”

“Yuni, let twhat go.”

Lea smiled at me and said,

“Little miss, close your eyes for a moment and count to 30 here.”

I glanced at the gruff boy and stood still, covering my eyes with my hands.

“One, two, twee…”

The boy’s screams echoed in the narrow alley.

***

“Sob…”

The boy held his arms up close to the wall and cried, with his nose runny.

The maids looked at the boy and shouted.

“Why aren’t you saying it? Hurry!”

The little boy cried as the maids shouted.

“The little miss is the cutest in the world!”

“One more time!”

“The little miss….”

As soon as he shouted, I heard a rumbling sound from the boy’s stomach. “Hungwy?”

“Why do you care?…”

As he said so, he quickly treated me with respect when he saw her maids fierce gaze.

I shook my hands at the maids who had been intimidating the boy.

The maids backed away sullenly as I reached out to him. Then the startled boy backed away. I guess he thought I was trying to hit him.

I rubbed the soot on the boy’s cheek with my fingertips and wiped it off.

“There.”

“……”

“We’re going to the bakery. Let’s go togethwer.”

“I don’t have any money…”

I rummaged through my bag and pulled out a handful of gold coins.

It was an allowance that the vassals secretly give to me when they heard I was going to Plum Street with Henry and Isaac.

“I do!”

“Is that all yours?”

“Yes.”

“Wow, that would make thirty rounds of roulette.”

The boy nodded, glistening his eyes as he looked at the maids.

Soon, we entered the bakery.

The maids piled up breads on the tray like a mountain.

This bakery’s bread was quite expensive, so the clerk and customers looked at us with their mouths wide open.

I held out the bread that the maids brought me to the boy.

“Here.”

“…….”

He looked a little wary at me and picked up the bread. His eyes got bigger after tasting a bite. Then, he puts everything in his mouth with fear.

“Kek!”

I was worried that the food will got caught in his throat while eating in a hurry, so I gave him milk.

“Don’t the awdults feed you?” (Don’t the adults feed you?)

“Who’ll feed an orphan?”

An orphan?

The only nursery near here is a private nursery where Zachary was located.

‘Is he Zachary?’

I looked at him thinking so and shook my head inside.

Zachary is one of the four knights who showed off his great skills.

It doesn’t make sense that a strong man comparable to Isaac was this weak.

Usually, the strong were alert to the presence of people.

Isaac, who was five years younger than the boy, also noticed the presence of a followers before Lea.

But the boy set fire without knowing the noise right next to him. Far from being aware of the signs, it meant that his senses were dull.

Above all, the boy is not seen as a serious and thoughtful character as in the rumor.

‘I wanted to meet Zachary, but if this kid is in the same nursery, I might have a chance to meet him.’

I answered as I grabbed the milk cup.

“I’m an owphan too.”

“······Lie, you have maids.”

“I’m adopted.”

“You must be from the state or public nursery, right?”

“No, pwivate nursery.”

The boy’s eyes widened.

“Wow, you’ve hit the jackpot.”

There are only a few cases of adoption from private nurseries. Even if there is, most of them are taken to farms where workers are not enough.

“Why didn’t those maids kill me before?”

The boy whispered with bread in his hands

“Because they won’t beat a kid.”

My maids were criminals, but good kind of criminals.

‘It’s a strange thing to say.’

The boy put the leftover bread into his mouth.

Then, while sneaking around, without the maids noticing, he hid some bread under his shirt.

“You interfered with my work, but you gave me something to eat, so I’ll forget it.”

“The gwambling house. Why did you try to set a fire?”

“I try gambling in hopes of gaining more money for my family, but it turned out, they were manipulating the roulette.”

“But you’we gambling.”

“Are you an idiot? How can you not do something so fun?”

He’s a fool….

I gave a deep sigh.

“If you start a fiwe this time, you’ll lose your owrgans, not your money.”

“Oh, you look young, but you know about losing organs… you’re also an orphan. I’m feeling very troubled.”

The grinning man lightly pressed my cheek with one hand.

Just then.

“What are you doing bastard?”

A cold voice was heard at the door.

He strode and grabbed the boy’s wrist.

“Don’t touch my little sister.”

Isaac’s eyes were very fierce.