CH 57

Sir Azerton’s eyes, who quickly sensed his student’s change, filled with interest.

“As much as Denkart has a lot of things, there are also many people who want to steal it. You have to be perfect so that they don’t take them away from you. Of course, this is not my business, but.”

“….”

“You must vow eternal allegiance to the Imperial Family Terua if you wish to become the true Lord of Denkart.”

With those words, Azerton left as if he had finished his business.

Edric, who was left alone, was lost in thought.

Having studied the history of the Terua Imperial family, he is familiar with the imperial family.

And there was the name of the Imperial family that he was particularly concerned about.

‘The Crown Prince, Lewis Howard Terua…’

As soon as he recalled the name, he remembered Lobel’s expression of regret.

This is because Lobel wanted the Crown Prince to attend the last public reading session more than anyone else. However, when Lobel discovered he was on a duty trip, he was very disappointed.

It would be nice if His Highness the Crown Prince had come—his expression clearly said so.

So, Edric asked suddenly without thinking about it.

[Do you really want to see the crown prince?]

[Yes, of course! His Highness Lewis is the greatest imperial family in history.]

Edric was shocked inwardly. He had no idea that Lobel talked so much about people other than himself. Especially in such an excited tone—.

[Besides, he clearly distinguishes between public and private affairs, has a gentle charisma, good character, and is respected for his kindness…]

Edric’s expression slowly grew colder, but Lobel couldn’t see it because he had turned his back to pick a book from the bookshelf.

So, while they were talking, Crimson, who was restless as he watched the two people from behind, managed to stop the conversation by saying something silly to get them to stop and ask him to eat snacks.

“…Is the Crown Prince that great?”

Edric remembered that time and muttered without realizing it.

Since Lobel wasn’t there, the question was given to Crimson and Arif.

Crimson was pushing the wheelchair to go to the training ground, and then he rolled his eyes to see what he was talking about, while Arif tried to choose the answer carefully.

But, trapped in his own thoughts, Edric didn’t even care about the two of them.

‘…I’m glad Lobel is a commoner. If he had been a noble, there would have been no reason for anyone not to push him to the position of the Crown Prince’s servant.’

In the first place, he was relieved that he was his servant.

If it were Manellano or the other guy’s servants— with himself, he wouldn’t have run into him.

All his life, he only wanted him to be his servant.

‘…Why am I thinking like this?’

Then, when he realized what he had been thinking, he was very shocked.

Not long ago, he felt bad for Lobel because he had to do chores, and he couldn’t believe he thought this now.

He shook his head and looked out the window. There is still a lot of time left before he can meet Lobel.

However, he couldn’t just stay still when he remembered that fact.

“Prepare the carriage.”

*****

Lobelia.

In the commotion of the big market, the name that had been almost forgotten could be heard clearly.

As I turned my head toward the sound, I saw familiar faces. It was our merchant’s family member.

Most of them turned their backs on me. However, there’s no way I couldn’t recognize the faces with our merchant’s unique purple vest.

How long has it been—.

I stared blankly at them, forgetting that I had to leave.

Tears welled up with joy.

“…You’re Lobelia, right?”

It was the Oraboni, who had known me for a long time, who called my name.

Others carefully looked at the items on sale, and he was the only one looking at me.

However, up until now, he still has some doubts about it.

It was understandable.

My hair, which I usually let grow to my waist, was short, and I was dressed like a man.

‘But why are they here….’

Our merchants didn’t come directly to the big market in the capital, and most of their sales were in rural areas.

In the first place, assuming that we would meet here was impossible.

Even if they wanted to purchase something, it would be through a representative. They would never come as a group like this.

At that time, a middle-aged man with a warm impression came with a pile of silk on one shoulder.

‘…Don’t tell me, is Rainer Ahjussi also here?’ (T/n: 아저씨 / Ahjussi means uncle or someone middle age man.)

He is the merchant’s family member I followed the best, the father of Oraboni. (T/n: Oraboni here is a nickname Lobel has for people who are older than her in the merchant, not her actual brother. I just put it as Oraboni not to make it hard to understand if I put brother. And family here means a group of people working together in the same organization)

But the merchant’s Oraboni moved quickly, perhaps because he saw the shape of my mouth as I muttered.

“You… you! You’re Lobelia, right!”

Before I could answer, he hurriedly approached me.

I backed off reflexively.

Then, in an instant, he stood close and stretched his long arm to me.

“Lobelia! Stop right there!”

The merchant’s people reacted to the commotion.

“Lobelia? Lobelia is here?”

They whispered and tried to look at me.

But at that moment, I completely turned my back on them and ran away.

I can’t get caught!

As soon as I thought about it, I started running like crazy in the opposite direction to them.

“Stop there, Lobelia!”

He came after me with all his might, shouting my name.

However, I couldn’t come right away due to the crowds of people in the big market.

It was the same with me running away. I had to move through the crowd with difficulty.

Finally, after barely hiding in the alley, I covered my mouth with both hands.

After a sudden chase, I could hear the sound of my heart beating fast.

‘I will die if I get caught… I can’t.’

There was a more gloomy sense than joy.

Because of me, my family and the people at the merchant could all be in danger.

If it is revealed that I served Young Master Denkart while disguised as a man, a huge amount of reparation that can’t be repaid even with the full amount of money and the crime of deceiving the nobility will be added.

Holding my breath, I leaned against the wall and hid my head slightly.

In front of me, I saw our merchant family, who chased me to the alley. Fortunately, they didn’t seem to know that I was hiding here.

Among them, Oraboni was punching his chest as if he was frustrated.

“She was here. I saw Lobelia clearly with these two eyes!”

“Are you sure you saw it right?”

“That’s right! It was definitely Lobelia. Do you think I can’t recognize her? How long do you think it has been since I’ve seen Lobelia!”

The merchant family members covered their foreheads as if they were in trouble or sighed.

But there wasn’t a single person who wanted to go back.

After exchanging glances, they scattered all over the place as if they were trying to find me somehow.

I put my head back into the wall and hid. This is really touching, but… it was a big problem.

‘Ah… I’m going crazy. How do I go back?’

I had to cross the market to get to the Denkart carriage.

But right now, it was impossible because there were people from the merchant.

‘I can’t keep doing this here.’

I kept looking back and forth between the blocked alleyways and where my family was.

Fortunately, I didn’t wear a servant’s uniform today.

Because I don’t know if Gerald Oraboni, who is sad to be the second sharp eye in the merchant, will notice the clue from the Denkart’s pattern engraved on it.

Still, I was at a loss on my way back.

As I covered my face, drenched in sweat in nervousness, I heard someone’s voice.

“Do you need help?”

When I turned my head, I saw a boy standing in the shade of an alley.

‘I didn’t even sense him… Who is he?’

No, I shouldn’t have heard a conversation.

I put my index finger on my mouth and asked him to be quiet, ‘Ssh!’

But the boy only laughed and shrugged his shoulders.

“Don’t worry. There’s no one. They’re all gone.”

“…Ha.”

I took a step at a time as I was breathing hard.

‘…Is he planning on doing something bad to me?’

I glanced sideways again at the escape route.

But it wasn’t necessary.

I didn’t know it when I saw it in the dark, but he was a skinny, white boy who reminded me of the Young Master in the past.

I couldn’t find any pressure living on his bright face.

“I can help you.”

So…I guess, I need to bring a cloak from somewhere. The boy added.

“You don’t have to worry. I know the way here very well. I can take you where you want to go unnoticed.”

Even though he was kind and gentle, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was planning something bad.

So I didn’t trust him.

The daughter of a merchant family can’t be deceived. There’s nothing free in the world.

Meanwhile, the pretentious boy stood in front of me before I knew it.

And his hand is pointing to my shirt.

Exactly the silver button on my jacket.

“That button.”

It wasn’t gold, but it was finely crafted and quite expensive.

“If there is one, everything will be solved.”

I looked around suspiciously at the boy who was still in that state.

First of all, the appearance was exceptional.

Uniquely, he had curly hair with a mysterious color like natural turquoise, which came down to the middle of his nose.

Nevertheless, he was a boy with a strong, soft impression rather than messy, perhaps because of the corners of his mouth that rolled up nicely and the smooth and thin jawline.

But a person’s appearance is not everything. Every part of his gentle manner made me feel a little bit uneasy.

As I was being chased all over the place, it was also annoying that he tried to get close to me without any boundaries skilfully—.

‘…Jsn’t he a real con artist?’

I thought that maybe he might call his group and kidnap me.

Even if it’s not as good as our Young Master, they’ll be seduced by his appearance, regardless of age or gender, so I should be careful—.

But the boy shook his head at my suspicious gaze, smiling softly as if he wasn’t a strange person.

The movement shook the bangs covering his forehead, revealing clear eyes like the sky of autumn.

I was drawn to his beauty.

The double eyelids were shallow, but between the clear pupils, a straight bridge of the nose was placed, and there was a cut diagonally across the upper part.

I was so sorry to see that it was covering up his good looks— oh, wait.

For a moment, a very polite tone came out of my mouth.

“Sir. I don’t have to give you one, right?”