Chapter 10
Neither Maydillian nor those street punks knew it, but Winter was under the protection of a 24-hour secret guard detail.
There was no way a duke would simply leave alone a daughter who could go berserk at any moment like an executioner run amok.
On top of that, Winter had already received a terminal diagnosis.
Because no one knew when or what might happen to her, the duke had assigned twice the usual number of guards to follow her at all times.
They were monitoring Winter’s every move.
Even if she slipped out of the estate in secret, they would definitely be trailing her.
All it would take was a signal, and they would rush in instantly.
Winter curled her lips into a faint smile and was just about to speak when—
“Hey! You there!”
Someone shouted from the end of the alley.
The Wyvern Gang turned around reflexively, and their faces drained of color.
A massive figure, large enough to fill the entire alley with just his shadow, was striding toward them, snorting loudly with every step.
“W-What the hell, who are you?! …I mean, who are you, sir!”
“Shut that mouth before I turn you into porridge.”
The burly man’s rough, fur-covered face twisted violently.
At the sight, Big-Eyes shrank back, completely cowed.
“I–Yaaah!”
With a pitifully weak battle cry, one of the men behind the giant charged forward.
But the fur-covered man didn’t even bother turning around—he simply reached back and grabbed Skinny’s head with one hand.
“How dare you…!”
His growling expression was like that of a demon.
Facing him head-on, Skinny began trembling and dropped the knife from his shaking hand.
It didn’t even take five minutes for the burly man to wipe out the Wyvern Gang.
“D–Damn it!”
“You just wait! This isn’t over!”
They spouted textbook villain lines and ran off as if their tails were on fire.
Watching the giant defeat the gang with little more than a few shouts, Winter wore a deeply confused expression.
“Normally, this is where…”
This was supposed to be the original heroine’s big moment.
The reason Winter had deliberately brought Maydillian all the way here today was because she had been aiming for something very specific.
In the original story, this was where Maydillian, in danger, would be boldly rescued by the heroine.
At this point in time, she was the undisputed alley leader, a prodigy in magical manipulation.
A genius mage.
Winter had secretly been looking forward to the heroine’s dramatic entrance.
Instead, a random furry uncle showed up out of nowhere.
What the hell was going on?
The man who appeared was an important character in his own right—but the scene Winter had been eagerly waiting for was already ruined.
She shot the furry uncle a resentful glare, but he paid her no attention and rushed straight toward Maydillian, who was pushing himself up against the wall.
“Waaah! Y–Your High—! No, kid! Are you alright?!”
Despite having just beaten down the gang like a monster, the man’s eyes were now brimming with tears.
His thick hands hovered uselessly in the air, as if he didn’t even dare touch Maydillian.
“What in the world happened?! Your High—! No, kid’s precious face, injured like this! If you—no, if the kid gets hurt, I’ll go die myself! Waaah!”
After rambling incoherently, the man burst into tears.
He looked like an unfairly awakened hibernating bear.
Watching this, Winter’s expression visibly soured.
‘Your High—no, kid’… what kind of address is that? He might as well just say ‘Your Highness.’
“Hic… This won’t do. I, Hanta—the righteous man—cannot ignore this injustice! I will escort Your High—no, the kid!”
Dropping to one knee and bowing deeply, the massive man looked heroic beyond measure.
Well—he would have, if this weren’t a back alley of the imperial capital, and if the person in front of him weren’t just a grimy nine-year-old boy.
Maydillian quietly stepped away from the sniffling Hanta and looked to Winter.
Seeing the tears welling up in his red eyes made her chest ache, but Winter kept her expression neutral.
“Fine. Lead the way.”
“Huh? Wh–What?”
Instead of the answer he’d expected from Maydillian, Hanta turned in surprise.
Only then did he realize there was another child beside the precious kid—a little girl.
“And you are…?”
As he tilted his head, he noticed Maydillian tightly holding the girl’s hand.
Immediately, Hanta broke into a wide, harmless grin.
“I’ve been waiting. I’ll escort you properly.”
Scooping up the two children, Hanta dashed forward and stopped in front of a building.
<Jenima Trading Company>
Reading the neat lettering on the sign, the two children reacted very differently.
Winter nodded as if she’d expected this.
Maydillian clicked his tongue softly.
“Hey, Bailey! Bailey, where are you?!”
Hanta flung the door open and shouted.
All eyes inside the trading company turned toward him.
“Hanta, what is it now? The manager stepped out for a bit—”
A woman who had been dealing with customers hurried over.
Then she noticed Winter and Maydillian in Hanta’s arms and widened her eyes.
“Wait… who are these kids? You didn’t just pick them up because they were cute, did you?”
“Haha! Of course not. Rachel, can’t you tell just by looking? This child here is none other than His High—mmph!”
Just as Hanta was about to spill Maydillian’s entire background, Winter quickly clamped her tiny hand over his mouth.
Hanta froze, finally realizing his mistake and nervously glancing around.
“His High—? What were you about to say just now, Hanta?”
“Oh! N–Nothing! Hahaha. More importantly, the kid’s badly hurt—could you help treat him?”
“Oh my goodness… you’re right. What on earth happened? Hurry, bring him inside.”
Seeing the bruises beginning to form on Maydillian’s face, Rachel led them into the inner office.
“Kid, don’t worry anymore. I, Hanta, will faithfully serve by your side.”
As he gently dabbed medicine onto Maydillian’s forehead with fingers like bear paws, Hanta spoke solemnly.
What kind of adult talked about “serving” a child he’d barely met?
Watching Hanta act exactly as described in the novel—simple, foolish, and pure to the core—Winter shook her head.
“Well? Don’t I look reliable?”
“More like overwhelming.”
Unable to take Hanta’s constant self-promotion, Winter shot back.
Hanta’s fierce gaze snapped toward her.
With his massive, beast-like build, any normal child would’ve burst into tears by now—but Winter was far from normal.
She simply crossed her arms and smirked.
That, instead, made Hanta look away first.
He trusted his instincts more than his brain, and something about Winter felt… dangerous.
While that happened, Winter opened the office door and glanced outside.
The three-story building wasn’t just impressive in name—it was genuinely one of the largest trading companies in the capital.
In the story, after encountering the people of Jenima while they were searching for him, young Maydillian would make this place his base and begin planning his return to the imperial palace.
“Hm. Not bad.”
Winter gave a brief evaluation and sat back down.
Just then, the office door burst open without a knock.
A woman with short blue hair stepped inside.
Her name was Ellison—the recipient of the letter Maydillian had delivered not long ago.
“Ah, finally.”
Seeing the person she’d been waiting for, Winter smiled brightly.
“Hanta! Rachel said you kidnapped some kids—is that true?!”
“What?! Why does everyone think so little of me?! Of course not!”
Hanta wailed indignantly.
“They were getting beaten up by weirdos in the alley. So I brought them here.”
“By weirdos…?”
Tilting her head, Ellison finally noticed the children hidden behind Hanta’s bulk.
The red-eyed boy, tearfully looking around—
That was definitely the one from the letter.
“The Wyvern Gang.”
Ellison froze in shock, half-dazed.
“They were called the Wyvern Gang.”
“Wyvern Gang…”
Hanta’s eyes gleamed dangerously.
Those punks would soon regret ever breathing.
Just then, Maydillian tugged on Winter’s sleeve.
“Hm? What is it, May?”
“I don’t really hurt anymore… so let’s go. Please.”
“What are you talking about? Your wrist is sprained.”
Pointing to the swollen, reddened wrist, Winter said firmly.
Maydillian’s face immediately drooped.
“But I’m fine, so—ah…”
He almost habitually called her “Young Lady,” but stopped himself.
He remembered Winter telling him to use names while outside.
Seeing him keep the promise so diligently, Winter smiled and gently patted his head.
Maydillian beamed in response.
Hanta didn’t like that at all.
How dare she treat His Highness like a pet puppy?
He glared indignantly, but Winter wasn’t the type to be intimidated by that.
“Why are you staring like that, mister?”
The blunt question made Hanta click his tongue.
“What exactly are you, kid?”
“Me? Winter.”
Beside them, Maydillian muttered quietly,
“They said not to follow strange men…”
His eyes were already glassy with tears.
Winter patted the back of his hand reassuringly.
“It’s fine. We were coming here anyway.”
That was when Ellison noticed something odd.
“You were planning to come here from the start?”
“Yeah. I’m the one who sent the letter.”
“…The letter?”
“You got one recently, right? A purple love letter. I sent that.”
Winter grinned.
