The Protagonists Of The Novel Escaped – Chapter 7

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: TushChen
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About 40 survivors of the ‘Wolves of the Blade’ attacked the Hohenberc family but suffered many casualties instead.

Copper Wolf Zebes, along with ten of his subordinates, were captured.

As they were the remnants of a criminal organization that had plundered numerous kingdoms, including the Valtarian Empire, they would undoubtedly face public execution.

The Hohenberc family sent all the captured criminals to the capital.

“Bang! Bang! Swoosh! Swoosh!”

“……”

A girl with green hair bounced around the office with light steps, making a fuss.

Her eyes sparkled brightly.

She even made gunshot sounds with her mouth, creating a commotion.

Despite sleeping soundly during the bloody situation… Who did she hear the story from? She had been running around making gunshot sounds for more than half a day.

Seeing the girl’s behavior, I let out a heavy sigh.

“I heard from the soldier uncle! Edan took down all the thieves who were stealing jelly candies!”

“Uh, well….”

How should I explain this?

I gave up on correcting her, finding it bothersome to answer each time.

“I told you to finish sorting the documents by the afternoon, but you’re just playing around….”

The progression of paperwork was not happening due to the playful little one.

Thud-.

I closed the drawer where the guns were stored and muttered.

“Young Master Edan, a letter has arrived from the imperial family.”

“Wha… What!”

The butler, dressed in an elegant uniform, presented a letter from the Imperial family.

The seal was engraved with the imperial family’s coat of arms.

It reminded me of the letter that had notified us of the enormous compensation.

I stared at the butler’s letter, breaking out in cold sweat.

I was afraid that the Valtarian Imperial Family might withdraw the existing compensation and perhaps demand an amount ten times higher.

-But come to think of it, I miscalculated.

-78 billion is too little. I should receive about 160 billion.

-I won’t say anything else, so give me 160 billion.

A deep fear weighed on my mind.

The image of knights dispatched from the imperial family raiding the Hohenberc family and attaching demand notes and seizure notices everywhere flashed like a mirage.

Tremble-.

I took out the letter with my whole body trembling.

“It really is from the Valtarian Imperial Family.”

Well, to be precise, it was a letter sent by Princess Ludmilla.

*There are many issues I would like to urgently discuss with you, so please come to the capital.*

It was the request Ludmilla had conveyed when she visited the Hohenberc County.

Relieved that it was a request to come to the capital, not about the compensation issue, I sighed in relief.

Perhaps because the tension had suddenly dissipated.

I slumped down on the spot like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

“Wh-What’s the matter?! Did someone send you a trick letter? You know, if you don’t send the letter to someone else, you’ll experience something terrible! If the problem is that you don’t have friends… send it to me first!”

“… It’s nothing.”

Startled by my reaction, Rue asked in an urgent voice.

Her hair swayed back and forth.

Evidently, she was alarmed, worried that something serious might have happened to her guardian.

Staring intently at Rue, I said.

“Should we go on a trip together? Like to the empire’s capital….”

“A trip?”

“There will be mountains of sweet desserts! I’ll buy them all especially for you!”

“Ooh! Then I’ll go!”

As expected of a naive fairy, she was easily enticed with desserts.

The Hero’s Party had headed east.

I wanted to bring Rue to prove that to Ludmilla.

The diabetic fairy was innocently delighted without knowing the underlying reason.

Although I felt a little guilty, I brushed it off as trivial, promising to buy her many desserts later.

‘But it’s difficult to depart right away.’

Even though we had repelled the assassins’ attack with minimal damage, the situation in the Hohenberc County had become somewhat turbulent.

Time was needed to repair the castle and comfort the territory’s people.

Moreover, the groups holding grudges against the Hero’s Party would move more boldly, considering this sudden attack as a turning point, so I couldn’t carelessly leave the County.

If I hadn’t been here, there would indeed have been casualties in the County.

It was difficult to leave my position due to the sudden attack by the assailants.

Unless the Valtarian Imperial Family took responsibility for providing protection.

However, our relationship with the imperial family was very awkward, so I couldn’t dare to ask for a favor.

“No, I should withdraw for now.”

“Eek! Why are you withdrawing?! Why are you shattering my expectations that were growing like bean sprouts! You deliberately raised my expectations and then plan to break them! Bad Edan!”

Pushing away the little one who was shouting loudly, I picked up a pen.

I sent a letter to Princess Ludmilla, asking for her understanding that it was difficult to come to the capital immediately.

After sending the letter,

Just three days later…

An unexpected situation occurred when Princess Ludmilla personally visited the County.

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Would this be the reaction of a military unit notified of the commander’s visit?

The Red Dragon of Valtaria had arrived.

The county knights were deployed for an escort as soon as the news spread.

The hastily summoned knights were anxious, worried they might commit even the slightest discourtesy.

So they repeatedly tidied their attire and swallowed dry saliva. They made complete preparations as Princess Ludmilla was visiting as a guest of honor, unlike last time.

“I heard the urgent news and hurried here. Is the Hohenberc family all right?”

“Of course.”

“The identity of the assailants… they were survivors of the ‘Wolves of the Blade’.”

“It seems the news about the Hero’s Party has begun to spread in secret.”

I greeted Ludmilla on behalf of my bedridden father.

How much effort did it take to dissuade my father, who was determined to come out… If I hadn’t said, “I have a close relationship with Princess Ludmilla, so there will be no problem if I go,” he would have tried to get up, even if it meant his demise.

The Central Knights of the Capital followed.

They seemed to have been deployed by the imperial family to escort Ludmilla.

Custom-made full-body armor and weapons, undoubtedly worth a fortune, caught my eye.

They were of a different caliber than the county’s knights, even at a glance. The resplendent full-body armor engraved with a golden lion attracted the attention of numerous people.

“In the end, the thing we feared has happened.”

Ludmilla, walking beside me, muttered while furrowing her beautiful brows.

The spread of evil.

The evils that had been defeated by the Hero’s Party had awakened.

The malice directed towards the Hero’s Party occurring throughout the continent was proof of that.

I had tried to track down the Hero’s Party to prevent the catastrophe. Still, the evils had begun to move even before that.

“The Holy Kingdom will start to make a move in earnest. They are the force that has most actively supported the Hero’s Party, right? They will be the most sensitive to the spread of evil. In the end, if they fail to stop the spread of evil, the Holy Kingdom will bear the brunt of the damage.”

“Speaking of which, an envoy from the Holy Kingdom came and went.”

“Since the Second Saintess Beatrice has disappeared… the First Saintess, who had temporarily stepped back from the front lines, will take the lead.”

“…Hmm.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Ludmilla swallowed her saliva.

The First Saintess of the Gael Holy Kingdom.

When that name was mentioned, her beautiful face subtly changed.

Perplexity. Anger. Displeasure.

It was an expression that didn’t suit her, who claimed perfection with a dignified appearance and authority. I momentarily felt curious about such an overt display of emotions.

‘Why is she reacting like that? As if someone had touched a reverse scale. Clearly, the name of the First Saintess….’

Who was it again?

The First Saintess of the Gael Holy Kingdom.

She was a character who was only indirectly mentioned, just like Ludmilla.

Therefore, it took considerable time to recall the information related to the First Saintess.

The deep contemplation that had begun while crossing the garden reached an answer by the time we were about to get to the entrance.

‘…The White Dragon of the Holy Kingdom.’

Zebeline Albion Russell.

The successor of the White Dragon who protected the goddess Gael.

I could roughly guess the reason for Princess Ludmilla’s unpleasant mood.

‘In the myths, the Red Dragon and the White Dragon were rivals like water and oil. I don’t know the reason though.’

Unfortunately, I wasn’t an expert who could recite even the ancient myths that appeared in the story to the point of being knowledgeable.

I’ll look into it later.

Or should I casually ask Ludmilla?

With that thought, I guided Ludmilla to the entrance of Hohenberc Castle.

“We have been waiting for you.”

“It is an honor to serve you, Your Imperial Highness.”

The butler and maids, who had perfectly arranged their attire, were mobilized to welcome the princess.

Seeing the servants lined up on either side of the red carpet at the entrance felt grand.

The Red Dragon had arrived.

It seemed that considerable effort had been put into showing the robustness of the Hohenberc family.

Hadn’t the relationship with the imperial family been broken due to the annulment?

To score points with her, the servants were fully mobilized to welcome the princess, who was visiting the Hohenberc family as a guest of honor.

In response, Ludmilla smiled faintly and reciprocated the welcome.

“Thank you for welcoming an uninvited guest like this. I feel a bit embarrassed.”

The bright chandelier.

The top-quality carpet and the floor shining like a mirror.

And the impeccable appearance of the servants.

They must have prepared to receive her in a hurry.

Perhaps feeling apologetic, the princess scratched her cheek with an awkward smile.

“The reception room is over there.”

“I shall excuse myself for a moment.”

I then guided Ludmilla to the reception room.

As soon as both parties sat down, the maids brought refreshments for the guests.

“Huh?”

While we were sitting together and drinking black tea,

A brazen girl poked her cute face in and interrupted.

Was she lured by the sweet scent?

She’s not an ant swarming to crumbs.

It shouldn’t matter.

I was going to call her to the reception room anyway.

Ludmilla, who made eye contact with the green-haired girl, reacted surprisedly.

She seemed to have recognized Rue, the mascot of the Hero’s Party. They must have encountered each other by chance at least once.

“The girl who accompanied the Hero’s Party on their journey. Are you taking care of her?”

Ludmilla asked, putting down her teacup.

In response, Rue tugged at my collar and opened her mouth.

“Edan, but who is this auntie?”

“……”

Uh.

Uh-oh…

What did she just say…?

Unconsciously losing strength, I spilled the black tea from the teacup.

Auntie.

‘Edan, but who is this auntie?’

The straightforward question kept ringing in my ears.

The face of the twenty-seven-year-old spinster, who had been disparaged as an auntie by a cute girl, stiffened.

Through her overt change in expression, I could tell that the voice ringing in my ears was not an auditory hallucination.

“Ah, oops! I forgot that I shouldn’t call an auntie! Sorry, I momentarily forgot!”

Oh, my goodness.

I let out a sigh while running my hand down my face. At least she apologized.

My gaze was fixed on the carpet that had become soaked with black tea.

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