The Protagonists Of The Novel Escaped – Chapter 3

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
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An unpleasant rumor briefly circulated that Young Master Edan had a hidden daughter, but it soon subsided.

The mascot of the Hero’s Party.

The guide who followed the hero Maximilian like a shadow.

Rue Luinong.

Attracted by the lovely appearance of the girl with impressive green hair and eyes, the servants of the Hohenberc family flocked like clouds.

They began offering numerous snacks, including candy and chocolate, as if presenting offerings to a fairy.

It was no wonder she was immensely popular.

Indeed, she was worthy of being the mascot representing the story.

As the second son of the family, I had never received such treatment from the servants…

“Edan!”

“Yes?”

The greedy little one approached, holding chocolate in both hands.

I bowed my head and answered.

“I heard a lot about you from Max! You’re Max’s younger brother!”

“That blunt iceberg talked about me? Most of it must have been curses.”

“Oh, how did you know?!”

“……”

I was at a loss for words at the innocent answer without a hint of falsehood.

Damn brother.

It’s scary to think about what kind of gossip he might have spread behind my back.

My head hurt as I imagined that guy spewing out words like a machine gun with a blunt face.

“But he also said a lot of nice things!”

“I don’t believe that.”

“You’re right, actually that’s a lie.”

“……”

Ahem.

I felt pathetic for believing it even a little bit.

“I need you to take a bath first. Besides, you must be very tired. I want to ask right away about the whereabouts of the guy who suddenly became a runaway teenager at the age of twenty-five, but…”

“Ba-bath?! I’m fine! I just need to wash off a little with water…”

“The smell of dirt is really strong.”

“Eek!”

I gestured to call the maids.

Soon after, the maids began escorting the fairy, who had become dirty and covered in mud due to the long journey, to the bathroom.

Rue resisted by waving her arms like a cat that hated water, but in the end, she waved the white flag to the maids’ coercion.

‘Just how treacherous of a forced march did she go through…? Damn kid.’

Twelve years old, maximum thirteen, I’d say.

Her physique was so frail that she looked much younger than her age.

Just as he left his family behind, he must have abandoned this child as well.

I felt disgusted towards the person who had ordered the fragile little one to go through an arduous forced march.

To be precise, it was towards his cold-bloodedness, abandoning even the partner who had accompanied him on the journey like a piece of luggage.

Ultimately, I felt pity and sympathy for the girl who was left alone.

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Luinong.

A spirit or a fairy born from nature.

They are a race known for their pure and brazen personality, like the mountain breeze in the valley.

They lived in a space wholly cut off from the world, wary of the ruthlessness of humans who repeated expansion and conquest.

However, a curious and eccentric Luinong attempted an escape.

One Luinong, who chose to run away from home alone like a lone wolf, encountered the Hero’s Party by chance and was recorded in various heroic tales.

“They all look like children on the outside. Moreover, they are a single-sex race with only females. What kind of race is this? They’re not even albinos.”

I returned to the office and read through a book that recorded information about the Luinong race.

There weren’t many records.

After all, they were a race that lived in a space wholly cut off from the world.

The eccentric member of the Hero’s Party revealed all the information related to the Luinong race.

If it weren’t for Rue Luinong, they would have remained an unknown race until the end.

‘Should I call it a commission, or abandonment…?’

I thought about why he sent his partner while biting my nails.

Did he throw her away because she was useless?

Or did he evacuate her in the face of a dangerous mission?

I kept pondering, but no clear answer came out.

The hero who had saved the continent was a lonely existence who never revealed his true feelings to anyone.

Even his lover, the saintess, would surely be unable to fathom his inner thoughts.

“Ugh, my whole body stings because they rubbed me hard with a towel!”

Thump-. Thump-. Thump-.

With the sound of the door opening, the girl appeared.

And as if replacing her discomfort, she repeatedly took small steps in place.

“You finally look a bit decent now.”

I stroked the girl’s fluffy hair, which was like dried straw.

Rustle, rustle…

As her hair flowed down, the scent of perfume wafted out.

The accumulated fatigue from the forced march must have been relieved a little.

I gave up the guest sofa to the little fairy and handed her a sweet cup of cocoa. Then, her green eyes sparkled with joy.

“It’s hot…!”

“There’s plenty, so take your time drinking it.”

How should I describe this feeling?

It felt like dealing with a mischievous nephew.

Hmm.

Is it too much of a delusion?

Watching Rue sip on the cocoa, I felt a sense of familiarity.

“Where did my brother disappear to? He couldn’t have really run away with the saintess for love, could he?”

Maximilian is a stubborn person who blindly values reason.

There’s no way such a person would abandon his family and responsibilities and run away.

As I calmly thought about it momentarily, questions began to arise regarding Maximilian’s actions.

Then there must be something behind it.

Considering various variables, I asked the fairy.

“He said he was going east.”

“… East? Then it’s the Gisterd Kingdom.”

I tapped the desk with my finger again.

Tap-. Tap-.

It’s a habit I often show when I’m worried.

As I continued to ponder, I frowned and opened my mouth.

“Then at the time you parted… who was with my brother?”

“Only Max and Bea. Felix, Leg, and Mad said they would join later.”

It was just as Princess Ludmilla had conveyed in the confidential information.

The Mercenary King, Felix Pavan Savoia.

The Sword Saint, Legnas Pavan Pug.

The Sage, Madbay von Gisterd.

The remaining members were scattered at intervals except for the hero and the saintess. It was probably to shake off the eyes of the world watching the Hero’s Party.

“The mission of the Hero’s Party should have been accomplished with the fall of the Demon King, so why did they disappear without a word? It couldn’t be because of the old-fashioned reason that they would only be a hindrance in a peaceful era.”

The members of the Hero’s Party were never idealists who valued peace.

The saintess. The hero. The mercenary king. The sword saint. The sage.

The heroes representing humanity were beings entangled in all sorts of interests.

“I… I don’t know that much either. It’s true…! Until the moment we parted, Max didn’t tell me.”

“Don’t worry. I believe you.”

Was it because of the sadness of parting?

Or was it because of the fear that she might be abandoned forever?

Holding the mug with both hands, Rue cried out in a sobbing voice. The mug shook, and it seemed like the cocoa would spill at any moment.

If it were the empire’s intelligence department tracking the whereabouts of the Hero’s Party, they would have expressed distrust and questioned the details. Still, I believed Rue’s words as they were.

There was no way those arrogant heroes who had defeated the Demon King would make the mistake of letting the girl know the details and getting their tail caught.

“You… you believe me?”

“Well… I’ve also been abandoned by arrogant people before.”

Isn’t there a saying about shared pain?

That’s why I could understand the misery of becoming an outcast better than anyone else.

It was also out of a sense of responsibility.

Rue was a victim swept up in my brother’s heartlessness.

‘Damn brother. So you made me her guardian, knowing full well that I would take care of her.’

The little one, delighted while twirling her hair, stood up like an antenna.

As I watched Rue, I grasped why Maximilian had sent the mascot of the Hero’s Party.

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Ludmilla, who had returned to the capital, summoned her subordinates as soon as she arrived at the office.

The disappearance of the Hero’s Party.

It was to deal with the massive aftermath of it.

Known for their strict hierarchy, the subordinates who assisted the Princess gathered in the office without fail as soon as the summons were issued.

The subordinates examined the complexion of the Red Dragon, who had returned from the East, with stiff expressions.

“It is clear that the hero has disappeared along with the saintess. And the Hohenberc family is not involved.”

Ludmilla had headed east to hold Maximilian, who had unilaterally annulled the engagement, accountable and to track down the Hero’s Party, whose whereabouts had become unclear.

The mercenary king, the sword saint, and the sage had disappeared.

And the hero and the saintess, who were at the center of the subjugation team, were the same.

The Hohenberc family is not involved in the disappearance because Maximilian would have become enemies with the imperial family by annulling the engagement.

If the Hohenberc family had known about this, they would have tried to stop Maximilian by any means necessary.

“Keril, did you find out what I asked for?”

“Yes.”

The Princess asked.

The female knight with red hair flowing down answered with a salute.

“The sixth member of the Hero’s Party… The Warmonger. Unfortunately, there weren’t many documents related to him.”

“Of course there wouldn’t be. Good work.”

As if to prove the female knight’s explanation, there were very few documents related to the person called the “Warmonger.”

For a long time, his identity had been treated as unknown.

That’s why the revealed information didn’t fill half the parchment.

Only the members of the Hero’s Party would know his identity. Ludmilla carefully read the small amount of information that filled the parchment and frowned.

“Ah, and… Your Highness.”

“What is it? Speak.”

One of the subordinates hesitated before opening his mouth.

Ludmilla extended her hand and permitted him to speak.

“The imperial family has sent a communication. It seems to be about Princess Elizaveta’s marriage proposal.”

“Have they already found a new spouse for her?”

At Ludmilla’s question, the subordinate was about to blurt out the disrespectful remark, “Because there is a precedent of her unfortunately missing the marriageable age.”

Cold sweat poured down as he bit his lip tightly.

Unaware of this, Ludmilla tilted her head and fell into contemplation.

“Hmm… Liza’s new spouse, as her elder sister, I should duly look into it.”

At the muttering of the old bachelorette slowly approaching thirty, the subordinates emptied their minds while reciting a solemn prayer.

‘My dear princess, you are in no position to worry about others.’

Princess Elizaveta is twenty years old, but you are twenty-seven this year.

Blasphemy rose to their throats, but they barely endured it with superhuman patience.

“I met Edanant von Hohenberc, the younger brother of the hero Maximilian, at the Hohenberc County. He was a man with an impressive sharp gaze and quite eloquent.”

She had met the second son of the Hohenberc family, whom she had only heard about through rumors.

Ludmilla shared her impressions of meeting Edanant and closed the parchment.

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