Side Story 2-1
“Can you really stay by yourself, Adrian?”
Before leaving for their honeymoon, Ailen asked worriedly.
As if telling her not to worry, he smiled brightly.
“Of course, noona! Don’t worry and have a good trip.”
“But we’ll be gone for more than a week….”
“I’m not a kid! I’ll be fine with that much.”
Even at his spirited reply, Ailen’s expression did not soften, so Adrian threw himself into her arms and said,
“Instead, you have to buy me lots of presents on your way back. Okay?”
“…Alright. I’ll buy you lots of presents.”
Only then did she smile as well.
As she left the estate in a carriage, Ailen shouted one last time to Adrian.
“If anything happens, contact me through Heinell!”
“Yes, noona! Have a good trip!”
Adrian waved both arms from side to side as he saw Ailen and Richard off.
And at last, when he was left alone, he let out a short sigh.
“…Yeah. This is enough.”
A faint smile lingered at the corners of Adrian’s lips as he muttered.
It wasn’t as if he wanted to be apart from Ailen. If it were up to his heart, he would have followed her.
But he knew he shouldn’t. Adrian had enough sense to understand that.
Ailen had always taken care of Adrian. Surely before today and after today, she would have kept him constantly by her side.
Adrian liked that too. But now Richard was by Ailen’s side.
Since the two loved each other, he wanted to let them spend some time together, even if only for a short while.
Watching the carriage grow distant, Adrian clenched his small fist tightly.
“That doesn’t mean I can just sit still.”
The master of the estate had left. In a situation like this, the only one who could protect the estate was Adrian.
Of course, Richard would have taken all necessary precautions, but Adrian, who hadn’t thought that far, believed that only he could protect the estate.
With a resolute expression, Adrian muttered,
“I’m a little count too. I should know not only how to protect the estate, but how to manage it.”
As if imagining something, his face broke into a wide grin.
“Then when they return, they’ll see me differently, right?”
Adrian let out a giggle. Then, stepping lightly, he entered the estate with excitement.
❧ ❧ ❧
“Is this the place?”
“Yeah. This is it.”
At dawn before daybreak, two black silhouettes stood in front of the massive estate.
They were thieves intending to steal from the estate.
Calling them thieves might make them sound insignificant, but the two were fairly well known in other regions. Several nobles had already fallen victim to them.
Though they had no other particular skills, they did have a talent for stealing. To broaden their reach, they had come to the capital. And the place that caught their eye was this estate.
Duke Olden. The estate before them belonged to the man known as a prince of the Kainz Empire.
If it were someone else, they wouldn’t have even dared to think of touching it, but to the two who had already succeeded in several thefts, it seemed worth a try.
Moreover—
“I heard the master and his wife left for their honeymoon. Looks like they’ll be gone quite a while.”
“Honeymoon? Weren’t they already married?”
“That’s what I heard, but what do we care? It’s good for us.”
Hearing that Ailen and Richard had left only boosted their confidence.
After looking up at the towering estate, they began their operation.
“Alright, let’s go.”
As they strode toward the back door of the estate, they removed the black clothes wrapped around their bodies. Underneath were the servant uniforms used by the Olden household.
It was something they had created after observing the estate for days on end.
The two passed boldly through the back door. The knights glanced at them but soon looked away.
It was a perfect infiltration.
The two thieves smirked at each other.
‘See? No one notices a thing.’
‘Like I said, we’re the best thieves.’
Growing bolder, they entered the estate itself.
Since dawn was just beginning to break, a few servants were moving about inside. But no one realized the two were thieves.
Even so, they didn’t immediately start moving items. They intended to wait until all signs of people nearby disappeared.
In the meantime, they simply swallowed their saliva while looking at the artworks decorating the corridor.
‘Damn. How much would all that be worth?’
‘As expected, rich households are on another level.’
As they walked down the corridor, they reached an area where no maids passed by. After checking their surroundings, they looked at each other.
“Shall we start?”
“Shall we?”
They took out the pouches they carried in their arms. Then they reached toward the artworks in the corridor.
It would have been nice if they could take them whole, but that would surely be discovered quickly. So they planned to take only the jewels attached to the crafts.
‘Even just this will fetch a nice price.’
Thinking the same thing, they began prying the jewels off the items. But when they didn’t come off as easily as expected, they started grunting with effort.
“This won’t come off easily.”
“Hold it there. I’ll try.”
One person held the craft while the other struggled to remove the jewel.
Just then, they heard the sound of a door opening from the room next door.
The person who came out of the room rubbed his eyes and asked the frozen pair,
“Mm… What are you doing there?”
The one awakened by the noise the two thieves were making was none other than Adrian.
Though they were relieved their opponent wasn’t an adult but a child, the two still broke out in cold sweat.
‘Damn it. No wonder no maids were passing by here.’
‘There was someone in the room.’
While they exchanged troubled glances, Adrian looked at them and asked again,
“Why are you holding that?”
“Ah, well…”
“W-we were cleaning! Sorry for making so much noise.”
The two pretended to wipe the craft with their pouches. Adrian tilted his head but didn’t seem particularly suspicious.
Relieved, the thieves spoke up to send Adrian back to his room.
“By the way, young master, why are you up so early? You should sleep a bit more.”
At those words, Adrian stared at him intently. The sudden gaze made the thieves uneasy.
‘Damn. Why is he staring like that?’
Cold sweat trickled down their backs, but Adrian smiled faintly and said,
“I just woke up early.”
“I-I see.”
“But you two are faces I’ve never seen before. What are your names?”
Startled, the two thieves exchanged looks before answering.
“Charles… sir.”
“I’m Ellen.”
“I see. Charles, Ellen. You must be new.”
“Yes, yes. That’s right.”
He was just a small child, yet strangely difficult to deal with.
The real problem came next. After staring at them for a moment, Adrian dropped a bombshell.
“Say, are you two free today?”
“Why do you ask…?”
“Mm. If you’re free, I was going to ask you to play with me for a while.”
Charles and Ellen stiffened. Oblivious, Adrian continued with a sigh.
“As you both know, noona and His Excellency have left. I’ll be bored in the meantime, so play with me. Okay?”
“B-but, young master, we have our own duties…”
At Charles’s words, Ellen secretly gave a thumbs-up. But Adrian was one step ahead.
“Don’t worry! If anyone says anything, just tell them I called you.”
‘Damn it!’
Charles and Ellen cursed inwardly, but forced their lips into smiles.
And so began the secret life of Adrian and the two thieves.
❧ ❧ ❧
“Oh my. Little Count, did you sleep well? You’re up early today!”
“Yeah! Just happened to. Hehe.”
With the thieves trailing behind him, Adrian greeted the maids. Charles and Ellen were dumbfounded at the sight.
It was fortunate they hadn’t been caught, but this situation was just as troublesome.
Unaware of their feelings, Adrian comfortably went to the dining hall for a meal. Of course, the two thieves followed.
A moment later, as they looked at the dishes set before Adrian, they swallowed hard.
‘As expected, nobles are different. Do they eat like this every day?’
‘Damn. I’m starving.’
Leaving the two aside, Adrian calmly finished his meal. They wanted to snatch at least the leftovers, but Adrian didn’t give them the chance.
“My tutor will be arriving soon.”
“I see. Then while you’re with your tutor, we’ll wait outside…”
“What are you talking about? What kind of attendant leaves their master alone? Of course Charles and Ellen should stay too.”
“Us as well?”
“Yeah. You won’t be taking the lesson together, but you should stay by my side.”
Charles and Ellen’s faces turned pale. They would rather that time never came, but unfortunately, time was not on the thieves’ side.
As the three waited quietly in the study room, Adrian’s tutor entered.
“Hmm? Little Count, these people are…?”
“Hello, teacher! Well…”
Adrian whispered something into his ear. The tutor’s expression turned strange before he nodded.
“Yes, understood. Then let’s do that.”
“Thank you!”
Meanwhile, the two thieves frowned.
‘What do you mean, let’s do that? I don’t want to.’
‘I want to go home.’
Adrian began his lesson with the tutor. The conversation they exchanged sounded like an alien language with no discernible meaning.
Standing quietly while listening to it made their legs ache and drowsiness creep in, but they endured.
‘We can’t get caught as thieves. We have to pretend to be servants no matter what. It’s a high-ranking household—if we’re found out, we’re done for!’
‘Damn it. Why did Ellen insist on coming to a place like this?’
While they cursed inwardly and tried to think of something else, time mercifully passed and the lesson ended.
“Goodbye, teacher!”
“Yes. Good work today, Little Count.”
Click—
As the door closed, Charles and Ellen quickly approached Adrian.
“Young master, the lesson is over now, right?”
“Yeah. The morning lesson.”
“What? If it’s the morning lesson…”
“Why ask? As always, the afternoon lesson is waiting.”
Charles and Ellen’s faces were no longer just pale—they looked haggard.
Adrian beamed at the two of them.
“But first, let’s have lunch. You two as well.”
