What Happens When The Second Male Lead Powers Up [EN]: Chapter 274

#274

Langbue Caravan and the Intruders (4)

‘Your Highness.’

I showed the flyer to the Crown Prince and spoke honestly.

I didn’t even know the child’s face, and I couldn’t be sure of the situation just by looking at the flyer, but I wanted to help anyway.

If that was difficult, I wanted to know the whole story of the incident.

‘I can’t just ignore a child in a difficult situation.’

-Squeak

It was a perfectly obvious thing to do.

The missing child was only ten years old, and the person looking for her seemed to be another child of the same age, not an adult guardian.

This kind of case needed adult help.

Cedric, the Crown Prince, was dissatisfied but didn’t object.

He just clicked his tongue like his mother and went to wash up in his gown.

Sant, who woke up the latest among us, was also very worried about the children when he saw the flyer.

Sir Johan came in from outside the room, dressed perfectly for work.

‘You have it, Your Highness. I knew you’d be concerned.’

Then he smiled like a painting. He seemed to have grasped the whole situation in the meantime.

What time did Herit’s father wake up?

“…This is a pity.”

A moment later, Clement Langbue, the viscount, said as he sat at the breakfast table.

In his right hand was a spoon, and in his left was the missing person flyer for ‘India, the ten-year-old archaeologist.’

I heard that the flyer had also been delivered to the old couple’s room without fail.

Even though they didn’t have as thorough security as the Imperial Guard, there were guards, and they came all the way to the VIP guest room and slipped it in through the crack in the door before running away.

The child must have been familiar with the caravanserai staff.

“The child named Marion is eleven years old, dear. She’s India’s sister. I heard that an old pawnshop owner is taking care of them…”

Viscountess Mariz Langbue added worriedly.

If the couple, who had been traveling through the desert for a long time, didn’t know the sisters, it didn’t seem like the children were acting conspicuously.

I listened to their conversation and diligently filled my stomach.

One must have a full stomach to do anything easily.

It was my first meal at the desert caravanserai.

Above my head, Christel’s ice ring was in full swing again today. It was nice and cool.

“Wow, it’s really delicious.”

First, I quickly finished three bowls of boiling chicken tagine [a North African stew traditionally made in a clay pot].

The well-cooked meat melted in my mouth.

The lemon peel covering the surface of the stew added a refreshing taste, and the rich tomato broth had an amazing saffron flavor.

It seemed like there was some cilantro in it too.

‘Ha, refreshing.’ When I mumbled that it was refreshing while eating something hot, the Crown Prince looked at me like I was crazy.

I couldn’t explain it, so I ignored him and attacked the next menu item.

“Oh.”

“That.”

Discovering a dish that looked like fried rice, Christel and I pounced on it at the same time.

We must have been thinking the same thing, and I laughed.

I took a generous spoonful and put it on her and Joan’s plates (“I’ve never received such treatment in my life.”), and then I put some on Sant’s and mine (“I’m honored, Your Highness!”).

The Crown Prince stared at me, so I provided service to him as well.

He’s been a royal since birth, so what can I do? His four-year-old older brother has to help him with his meals.

“Um! This isn’t rice, Your Highness. The texture is interesting.”

“I agree. Is it millet?”

“It’s called ‘couscous,’ Your Highness. It’s made by rubbing flour into millet-like shapes. This is a salad made with couscous.”

Sir Johan, the walking encyclopedia, told us again.

As we expected, it wasn’t a warm dish, but it had a healthy and fresh taste with tomato puree and colorful vegetables mixed in.

It seemed like it would be good to eat with meat dishes. Overall, it was a great breakfast.

In fact, I didn’t have high expectations because of the environment, but there was an oasis in the village of ‘Chaum’ right next to the lodging, so they were farming on a small scale.

They also irrigated from the Winite River, so there was no shortage of water.

I heard that it was also easy to supply goods thanks to trade with the caravans that came and went.

Each house had livestock, and they made plenty of cheese and ham.

I was foolish to think that the desert would be vaguely desolate.

“…Then, while sending a letter to the Papal States, let’s ask for help from the soldiers here. If necessary, we’ll send some of our guards to the ruins to help with the search.”

“Yes, let’s borrow their hands until we leave, since we’re not strangers. Anyway, we have to unload our luggage and trade for a day.”

The old couple, who were moving their tableware gracefully, concluded.

Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed that the two of them were willing to help find the missing India.

I smiled brightly and said, ‘Thank you.’

Isabelle, who was drinking mint tea, smiled kindly.

“It’s the least we can do, Your Highness.”

“Still, thank you. I hope the child is safe.”

“Since you’re so concerned, she’ll be back soon.”

She returned kind words. I was relieved that the viscount’s family were good people.

While I was enthusiastically eating kofta [a type of meatball or meatloaf] wrapped in naan [a type of leavened flatbread], Sant turned the plate of rose-shaped cookies to the side.

Isabelle folded her beautiful eyes and explained, ‘This is called chebakia [a Moroccan sesame cookie]. It’s a dessert that I especially like.’

It was a fried cookie with a sweet honey and rose scent tickling my nose.

She put chebakia on her daughter’s plate as well.

“I’m okay.”

Then Christel immediately declined. Isabelle’s expression briefly hardened before quickly relaxing.

I was surprised and stopped eating, looking at the two of them.

Christel frowned slightly and smacked her lips, but didn’t say anything.

I quickly looked at the viscount couple, but they didn’t seem to be looking this way as they were talking about the wholesale of spices that would take place today.

Joan and Sant were also chatting.

“Hmm.”

I slowly chewed and swallowed the minced meat.

I think there’s really something going on. Her tone wasn’t sharp, but I have a good sense.

-Clatter

Just in time, the Crown Prince finished his meal and put down his fork, so I quickly met his eyes.

Then I sent signals with my eyes and nose.

You saw it too, right? Wasn’t the atmosphere between our friend and her mother just now strange?

“······.”

He gave me a look that said, ‘Did you finally swallow your brain along with your food?’

Then, with graceful movements, he glanced at Christel and Isabelle.

His sculpted jaw tilted slightly. I was right!

*

“Hyah!”

“Giddy-up!”

-Clatter, clatter······!

I stood by the window, watching the departing Papal States knights and caravan guards.

Everywhere the horses’ hooves touched, sand dust rose like smoke.

“Come back safely, okay? ‘Please find India.’”

-Squeak

-Squeak

-Squeak

The troublesome kids greeted obediently.

The search party for the ten-year-old girl India quickly became small black dots.

I rubbed the back of the little ones’ necks one by one, told them to play only on the floor where our room was, and then put them down from my arms.

The lesser pandas ran to their friends in the living room as if they had been waiting.

I couldn’t help but laugh because it seemed like they didn’t even think about going far.

As befitting capable merchant nobles, the viscount couple were quick to handle things.

The two called Monica, the manager of the Chaum Caravanserai, as soon as they finished breakfast.

She already knew the situation.

‘I am very sorry that my child caused a disturbance this morning. I have scolded Marion, so please forgive our VIP guests.’

‘It’s okay, they can do that if they’re desperate. Please don’t scold her too much.’

I put on my magic stone glasses (designed by that man, made by that man. Makes the pupils appear ‘Duem Rose’ color) and asked.

Monica bowed her head deeply and promised to do so.

Then she calmly explained the situation.

‘The sisters Marion and India are orphans who are cared for by the pawnshop grandfather like his own grandchildren. They are young but very smart, so we also hire them as errand girls when we are short of hands. But last week······.’

The problem occurred during the Festival of the God’s Descent.

The Chaum Caravanserai was the closest lodging to the Liester Empire, and it did not accept tomb raiders or gangsters at all.

This was because they had to maintain a certain level of dignity as many nobles came and went.

If there were tomb intruders, the atmosphere of the business would be tarnished, and the residents of Chaum Village would be uneasy.

Knowing Monica’s strength, there were hardly any lawbreakers who came all the way here.

But last week was different.

It was already the peak season, so they were very busy, but a group claiming to be archaeologists registered their names in the lodging book.

Monica took the guests as they were for the time being.

Even though disguises as merchants or acrobats were common, she had never seen tomb raiders disguised as educated people.

The Shin-guk-style clothes and behavior were also quite luxurious.

It was rare for Shin-guk nobles to come all the way here, but she thought it was possible because so many different groups came and went through the neutral zone during the festival.

‘India is a child who dreams of becoming an archaeologist. She always buys books from the caravan with the wages and allowance we give her. Her sister Marion also studied similarly. But it just so happened that these people called archaeologists came as guests······.’

‘Did she follow them?’

‘Yes. She left a note for Marion and her grandfather and left early in the morning. She said she was going to the Chaum ruins.’

The voice answering me trembled slightly. Her face was clouded with worry and anxiety.

Her sister Marion found India’s letter late in the morning, and only then did she realize that the bad guests had left with her sister as a guide.

The Chaum ruins were about a 30-minute horse ride from the village.

Marion could have gone alone if she borrowed a pony.

However, ordinary people in the neutral zone did not enter the ruins unarmed.

This was the same as their survival instinct, so Marion did not act alone either.

The child informed the pawnshop grandfather of the situation in detail, and then sought out Monica, the strongest adult she knew.

She, who learned of the terrible truth, asked the Papal States knight to find India, but······.

‘I can’t leave the caravanserai without orders from above. It would be difficult if we harmed the security of the lodging and the entire village for just one commoner child.’

‘Monica, your fault is also great. You are responsible for not managing the guests who secretly left in the early morning. Not just one or two.’

They only gave cold and principled answers.

In the end, some of the caravanserai mercenaries left for the ruins due to Monica’s decision.

‘So what happened?’

‘They came back······ empty-handed. That was what happened just the day before yesterday. They said that they seemed to have gone underground, and the sound of the spirits crying from underground was so terrible that they couldn’t bring themselves to go down.’

‘Good God. How can they judge a tomb by putting a child in front of them?’

‘The Papal States knights don’t know chivalry! They’ve been acting like that all along. Tsk!’

The viscount’s family was horrified and lamented.

Christel also gritted her teeth, saying, ‘Those who use children should all die.’

That’s how the situation is now. The old couple pressured the Papal States forces from all directions.

They threatened to write a letter to High Representative Rüpert immediately, saying that there were knights who were so insensitive to the safety of the residents.

‘······I understand, Viscount. We’ll look for her.’

What Monica had been begging for all day was resolved in just 10 minutes.

The authority of a noble who was favored by the emperor was great.

This wasn’t even imperial territory. That was amazing and sad.

“The Papal States knights and soldiers have been disgusting since the first impression. ‘Just one commoner child’? I should sew their mouths shut.”

Christel stroked the sleeping Ttuksimi and grumbled.

In one hand, she held the chebakia that she hadn’t eaten in the morning.

Now she was eating it deliciously again.

I wondered if I should ask her what was wrong this time, but I just gave up and sat on the sofa.

The Crown Prince was reading the neutral zone reference book that I had told him to study yesterday.

How commendable. He looks like a commendable sofa model.

“So the viscount grandfather ended up writing a letter to the Papal States, right? No? Well, they’ll be in trouble soon.”

“That was about His Highness the Crown Prince and the Prince going to the temple, Baron. The High Representative has to prepare the protocol for the two of them.”

Sir Johan, who was looking at the map, gently corrected Joan’s words.

‘Was it? I didn’t know that, so I teased you that you were all going to die now.’ Joan, who was drawing a tomb on drawing paper, picked up a jujube [a type of date] awkwardly.

I chuckled and stroked Tite, who was spread out next to me.

Even though they were low-ranking, trained mages and swordsmen formed the search party, so they would be able to find India this time.

They wouldn’t be attacked if they didn’t touch the ruins.

The child had carefully packed snacks and water, so she would last three days.

The underground was cool, so it would be even more bearable.

“I hope so,”

-Kwaaaang!

I was horrified and got up from my seat. It was a roar close to an explosion.

As I quickly turned my head so that my neck cracked, the paladin was already jumping out the window!

“Sir Johan!”

-Kugugugu······!

“Aaaaaaah!”

Then the entire building vibrated. Guests’ screams poured out from the courtyard.

Clang, clang! The sound of flower pots breaking outside was loud. Everything was so sudden.

I couldn’t tell if the roar from before came from near the lodging or from the distant ruins.

I gathered the divine beasts in my arms as much as possible. The kids were now used to clinging to me.

“Your Highness, I entrust the Prince and our friends to you. I’ll protect the family!”

Christel shouted urgently to the Crown Prince. The man immediately nodded with a determined look.

The noses of the two men and women seemed to touch before moving away. I was stunned as I watched the protagonist running out.

Sant and Joan stayed by my side and bent over.

“What the heck is this,”

-Ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling······!

The bell began to ring in my arms. Huk, a gasp of horror burst out.

-Sreung!

At the same time, a man drew a black sword and stood in front of us.

Black clouds were rolling in from outside the window. Whirring······!