Chapter 52
52
Escorting merchants often involved small-scale battles with bandits trying to seize the cargo. His mind would certainly be helpful.
Muttering to myself, I looked at Henri and Isaac.
"I wan' sumthin'."
"What is it, LeBlaine?"
"What is it! Tell me everything. I'll buy it all for you!"
"Doggy."
The two of them blankly murmured, "Doggy..."
I, Henri, Isaac, and the maids went outside the castle.
It was to go see the dogs together because I said I wanted to adopt one.
Isaac said he would bring the prettiest puppy, but I insisted on going to see them myself.
[What if Ishak brings a doggy and Leubu doesn't like it very much? The doggy is pitiful.]
The young masters looked truly bewildered at my words and replied.
[There's no way there could be a creature in the world that could dislike you?]
The rose-colored glasses were getting thicker day by day.
Still, the two of them gave in to me, so we were able to go see the puppies like this.
The destination was Plum Street beyond Dubled. That was because there was a pet shop for nobles there.
'And the private orphanage where Zachary is.'
As I was thinking that, the carriage stopped.
I took Henri and Isaac's hands and got out of the carriage. And I looked around the street, which was as luxurious as the Dubled shopping district.
"Wow..."
The maids smiled at my surprise and said.
"Isn't it dazzling? The largest casino in the empire is located here. The restaurant and shopping district are formed around the casino, so there's a lot to see."
It was certainly a fun place to look around.
I took the maids' hands and followed behind Henri and Isaac.
'The casino is really big.'
At that moment, Leah glanced back and whispered to the young masters.
"Something's following us."
"I felt it."
Isaac's eyes turned unusually cold.
"Four... no, five, I think."
"They are trained. They are skilled in covert operations."
As I widened my eyes, Henri and Isaac looked at me with indifferent expressions.
"LeBlaine, stay with the maids for a moment."
"Uh, you have to come back soon...?" I grabbed the hem of their clothes with a slightly nervous face.
"Are you worried? Silly, I'm super strong. You don't need to worry about things like that, okay?"
As he said that, Isaac grabbed me and rubbed his face against my cheek. He must have felt very good about my worry.
Then Henri grabbed the back of his neck and tossed him aside with a laugh.
"Don't worry and stay put. We'll be right back."
'What I'm worried about is the people who are following you...'
I was afraid Isaac would cut off all their heads.
I repeatedly said, "Come back soon," and Isaac and Henri left Leah and the maids with me and disappeared.
"Young Miss, shall we go to the bakery? The plum sherbet on Plum Street is very delicious. It's just past this alley."
"Okay."
Leah and the maids headed to the bakery.
The maids kept telling me stories in case I was anxious.
"What kind of puppy are you going to get? A big, fluffy puppy would be nice, right?"
"Small and short-haired ones are cute too."
"A small poodle that looks just like Young Miss would be nice too."
"While you're at the bakery, shall I bring the pet shop's catalog? Would you like to look for a puppy that you like?"
Just as we were about to enter the alley, I found someone holding a match and grinning in front of a shabby building.
"You think you can eat all my money and get away with it, you bastards."
The boy muttered grimly and threw the embers at the building.
The maids were staring blankly at the building that was starting to catch fire.
"Oh my, that's the gambling den run by Dog-Eyes. That kid's going to get in big trouble if he gets caught."
Uni, who used to be a loan shark, said.
"Should we help him?"
That was Dahlia, the most compassionate of the three maids, a serial killer of sex offenders.
"Why bother when it's not our business?"
Linda, the con artist, asked.
Honestly, the cynical adult LeBlaine's thoughts agreed with the maids' opinions. But as a child, my conscience was pricked.
'He looks about thirteen, I can't just watch him get beaten to death by thugs.'
Putting out the embers wouldn't be that difficult.
I sighed deeply and shook Leah's sleeve.
"Hurt eye."
Only then did the maids open their eyes wide and rush to stomp on the embers.
"Bad embers that make our Young Miss's eyes hurt."
"Bad embers!"
The boy frowned at the sudden interlopers.
"What is this nonsense?"
He made an absurd expression.
"Hey, aunties, why are you interfering with other people's business!"
"Settin' fire not business. Crime."
When I said that, he muttered, "What's this now," and looked at me.
"Are you the owner of these crazy people?"
"Yup."
"You want to die? Get lost and stop interfering, you ugly thing."
Then the maids who were stomping on the embers stopped abruptly. Leah, who was holding my hand, also became fierce.
"What did you just say...?"
"Who's ugly?"
"Uni, go get my club."
Leah smiled brightly at me and said, "Young Miss, close your eyes for a moment and count to 30 here."
I glanced at the snorting boy and obediently covered my eyes with both hands.
"One, two, three..."
The boy's screams echoed in the narrow alley.
"Hwaaaaa..."
The boy was plastered against the wall, tears and snot streaming down his face, with both arms raised high.
The maids looked at the boy with narrow eyes and shouted.
"Raise your arms higher! Shout the slogan!"
The boy, startled by the maids' shouts, sobbed and shouted.
"Young Miss is the cutest in the world!"
"One more time!"
"Young Miss is the..."
Just as he was about to shout, a rumbling sound came from the boy's stomach. He was embarrassed even while crying, and muttered, "Aish."
"Hungry?"
"Why do you care...? Ma'am."
He was sniffling as he spoke, but when he saw the maids' glaring eyes, he quickly used honorifics.
I waved my hand at the maids, who used to chew on kudzu roots back in the day, surrounding the boy.
The maids sullenly stepped back, and I reached out my hand to him. Then the startled boy shrugged his shoulders. He must have thought I was going to hit him.
I rubbed the soot on the boy's cheek with my fingertips and wiped it off.
"Here, smudge."
"..."
"We go bakery. Go together."
"I don't have any money..."
I rummaged through the bag I was carrying sideways and took out a handful of gold coins.
It was pocket money that the retainers had secretly given me when they heard that I was going to Plum Street with Henri and Isaac.
"I have!"
"That's all yours...? Ma'am."
"Yup."
"Wow, that's enough to spin the roulette thirty times."
The boy nodded, his eyes sparkling, even as he glanced at the maids.
I went into the bakery with the maids and the boy.
The maids said, "Our Young Miss will like this too. She'll like that too, and this too..." and piled bread on the tray like a mountain.
The bread at this bakery was quite expensive, and the clerk and customers stared at us with their mouths open, as if no one had ever bought this much at once.
I handed the bread that the maids had brought to the boy.
"Here."
"..."
He looked at me with slightly wary eyes before taking the bread. His eyes widened after taking a bite. Then he stuffed it into his mouth ravenously.
"Cough!"
He coughed because he choked on it from eating too quickly, so I gave him milk too.
"Adults not give food?"
"Who gives food to an orphan...? Ma'am."
An orphan?
The only orphanage in this area was the private orphanage where Zachary was.
'Could he be Zachary?'
I thought as I stared at him, then shook my head inwardly.
Zachary was one of the 'Four Knights' and boasted tremendous martial arts skills.
It didn't make sense that someone as strong as Isaac would be this weak even as a child.
Usually, strong people were keenly aware of people's presence.
Isaac, who was at least five years younger than this boy, noticed the presence of the person following us before Leah did.
But the boy committed arson without knowing that we were talking right next to him. It meant that he was not only unaware of the presence, but also had dull senses.
Above all, the boy didn't seem to have the serious and thoughtful personality like the Zachary in the rumors.
'Anyway, I was lucky. I was wondering how I should meet Zachary, but if this kid is from the same orphanage, I might have a chance to meet him.'
I grabbed the milk cup and replied.
"Me too orphan."
"...Liar, you have maids."
"Adopted."
"From a state-run or public one, I guess?"
"No, private."
The boy's eyes widened.
"Wow, you hit the jackpot."
It was rare for someone to be adopted from a private orphanage. Even if they were, it was usually by a farm family that needed help.
"We're in the same situation, but you didn't even stop those monsters from beating me?"
The boy whispered, holding the bread.
"Not hit."
"I almost got hit. Almost."
"Not people who really hit kid, so."
My maids were criminals, but they were good criminals.
'That's a strange thing to say, though.'
The boy clicked his tongue and stuffed the remaining bread into his mouth.
Then he glanced at the maids and hid a few pieces of bread under his shirt.
"I'll let you off the hook for interfering with my business, but you gave me food."
"Not interfere. There gambling den. Why try set fire?"
"I gave them everything I earned, but it turned out they were rigging the roulette. Those bastards."
He clicked his tongue and frowned.
"Not gamble then can."
"Are you stupid? How can I not do something so fun?"
You're the stupid one...
I sighed deeply.
"If set fire, this time not lose money, lose organs?"
"Oh, you look young, but you know about losing organs... You're definitely an orphan. I can feel the hardship."
He smiled and lightly pressed my cheek with one hand.
That was the moment.
"What are you doing, you bastard."
A cold voice was heard from the doorway.
Isaac was staring at the boy with eyes that seemed to want to tear him apart.
Isaac strode over and grabbed the boy's wrist.
"Why are you touching my sister?"
Isaac's aura was very fierce. The boy swallowed hard and looked at Isaac, who was a head shorter than him.
