Chapter 33
After checking out the hideout, I sent Count Tolki off first, saying he had some business to attend to, and then I dashed over to Liz, who was waiting for me with Sir Brivern a little ways off.
“Liz!”
Earlier, she had seemed distant, but up close, Liz was standing very close to Sir Brivern.
“Oh my! Your Highness! Y-You’ve already finished looking around?”
“Huh?”
Startled, Liz stepped back from Sir Brivern, and his ears turning red, Sir Brivern quickly bowed to me in greeting before turning to rejoin the knights.
What’s going on? What’s happening here?
Why are you two acting all coy? You might as well just continue what you were doing. It’s fine.
“Ooooh, Liz?”
I nudged her side and whispered.
“Don’t tell me I interrupted something?”
“Int-Interrupted? Your Highness! N-No! Absolutely not!”
Oh-ho. They say a strong denial is a strong confirmation. Just looking at them, something’s going on. Something’s definitely going on!
I squinted and smirked, and Liz whispered quietly.
“If something had really happened, I wouldn’t be feeling so frustrated!”
“Eh? Really? Nothing happened? Then why are Sir Brivern’s ears so red?”
“Oh! Really red? His ears? I didn’t notice.”
Ah, too bad… Red ears would’ve been kind of cute. My stubborn little teddy bear.
Muttering such ridiculous thoughts, Liz twisted her body playfully.
“Argh! Then what was it? Why were you two sticking together?”
“Ah! That… well… over there… can you see it? That black…”
Liz pointed to a dark alley, where something had collapsed.
“C-Could it be… a dead person?”
Gulp.
Sudden genre changes are not allowed! This is supposed to be a keyholder story—or rather, a parenting story…
I clenched my fists tightly and blinked in fear. Liz took my hand gently and said:
“I was about to check it out. But I thought I should ask your Highness first.”
“Ah, I see.”
I glanced over Liz’s shoulder. If it’s a dead person, it’ll be a bit gross… but if it’s alive, we should help them, right?
After all, I am the princess of this country. I can exert my authority to the max!
“Have Sir Brivern check it out. But I, being a child, should stay safely here.”
“Yes. I’ll go tell him right away.”
Liz hurried over to Sir Brivern.
“Check if his ears turn red again this time, please.”
Even in this situation, she made sure to cover everything properly. Liz… I must learn from her. Hehe.
She delivered my message to Sir Brivern, and he quickly entered the alley with a knight.
“So this is how it unfolds.”
Recalling the original story, I shook off the thought. I had already twisted the original plot completely.
In truth, since I had intervened in this world, I knew the story wouldn’t go according to the original.
Yet every time an unexpected event occurred, or a character who didn’t exist in the original appeared, sudden fatigue and fear would wash over me.
“Your Highness? Are you alright? You must be startled… you don’t look well.”
Liz came back to me, kneeling down and giving me a warm hug. Her comforting scent reassured me.
“Is he really dead? What if he is?”
“Honestly, if he’s alive, it might be more of a problem… Let’s wait until Sir Brivern returns, Your Highness.”
Liz patiently comforted me, remaining calm. She couldn’t leave me alone, nor could she take me into the alley.
Not long after, Sir Brivern emerged from the alley, and the boy they had carried on the knight’s back came with him. After giving a few instructions to the knights, Sir Brivern approached us.
“Sir Brivern? What happened?”
I peeked from behind Liz and asked. Sir Brivern replied:
“He doesn’t look well, but he’s still alive. His breathing is weak, so it’s best to show him to a physician.”
“I see. Then do that. I’m glad he’s not dead.”
The boy looked about five or six years older than me.
Why would he be collapsed alone in an alley like this?
Sensing some unusual commotion, the boy on the knight’s back wriggled.
“Uh-oh? I think he’s awake?”
The knight quickly dropped him to be safe, and the knights drew their swords, surrounding him swiftly.
The tense atmosphere pressed heavily on the surroundings.
“Ahhh! T-Please! D-Don’t!”
It wasn’t until I noticed the boy, kneeling with his arms over his head, begging desperately, that I realized something was odd.
“Are you alright, Your Highness?”
“I said I’m fine. The knight said so.”
“That may be, but…”
I understood why Sir Brivern seemed so uneasy. The boy, who he thought was unconscious, had woken up unexpectedly. Just that alone could make one question the competence of the commander of knights. If the boy had unknown dangers—like being a different species or a dark magician—that could put me at risk…
Sir Brivern might end up dead before he even figured out what to do with Liz and me.
Yet I had a hunch everything would be fine. Hehe.
“Don’t worry. Kneeling like that, tied up, what can he really do? He doesn’t look dangerous at all.”
“It’s not something to just brush off.”
“Oh, it’ll be fine. As long as we keep it a secret from my dad… So… can we try talking to him a little?”
Sir Brivern sighed deeply at my words.
“You wish to talk… Hah, very well. But you must maintain this distance, Your Highness.”
“Got it, got it. So, can you move aside for a moment?”
He hesitated, then stepped back—though not disappearing, just moving behind me.
I took a few steps forward and studied the boy. Tall but skinny, with dark circles under his eyes—he looked malnourished. Black hair, black eyes… like a Korean? Somehow, I felt a sense of familiarity.
Feeling this internal connection, I spoke.
“Hello.”
“….”
“What’s your name? How old are you?”
The boy stared at me, blushed, and lowered his head.
“Hmm…”
Did this character exist in the original story? I didn’t think so. Pondering, I suddenly looked up at the sky at the rumble of thunder.
“Huh? Is it going to rain?”
But there was no sign of it from my hair forecast. I tugged at my hair tied like an apple stem.
“It’s not making its usual sound?”
Another thunderclap rang out.
Strange… this shouldn’t happen.
Just as I was about to tug at my hair again, Liz whispered in my ear:
“It’s not the sky, it’s coming from his stomach, Your Highness.”
“Oh? Is there a harbor here? Sniff… I don’t smell the sea.”
“No, not that harbor. His stomach.”
Liz pointed to the boy’s stomach.
“Not mine?”
“Of course not.”
Liz raised her eyebrows.
“Ah!”
Finally, I realized the thunder-like sound was coming from the boy’s stomach. Oh, sorry! It took me too long to notice.
“You’re hungry, huh?”
The boy bowed his head shyly.
I sent a knight to buy some bread and handed it to him.
“Eat this. Chew it slowly and eat a lot.”
After a moment of observing me, the boy bit into the warm bread. His eyes widened, and soon he was shoving it into his mouth frantically.
“Oh dear. You’re going to choke.”
I felt sorry for him. He looked fine, so why was he alone in this alley?
Sir Brivern said there were no signs of abuse or injuries.
Just an unfortunate child, perhaps. Should I send him to an orphanage? While I pondered this, the boy finished two more pieces of bread.
He gulped down the water Liz handed him and spoke in a very small voice:
“Thank you.”
So he’s willing to speak now. I nodded and asked:
“Will you tell me your name now?”
“…Jeyong.”
“Jaeyong?”
I know someone named Jaeyong, but… it doesn’t fit this world. Or is he really Korean? Ridiculous thought.
“Jeyong… yes, Jeyong.”
“Not Jaeyong?”
“Jeyong. Jeyong.”
What is this? Jeyong, not Jeyong…?
I pouted at Liz, who chuckled and spoke to the boy for me.
“Jeron, right?”
“Eh! Jeyong!”
“That’s impossible!”
Jeron turned into Jeyong? He looks twelve, but his pronunciation is so clumsy.
I had a lot to say but didn’t. Looking at his timid eyes, I couldn’t.
“Jeron, huh… How old are you?”
“….”
“Parents?”
“….”
“Where’s your home? I’ll take you there.”
At the offer, Jeron shook his head violently, tightly closing his eyes and trembling.
“No! Home! Don’t take me there! I won’t go!”
Hmm… he doesn’t want to go home.
Oh! That’s perfect! Then…
