BDML 06

Chapter 06

From a distance that was neither too close nor too far, Perion’s body stiffened as he listened to their conversation.

Why…?

With trembling eyes, Perion looked at Aerial, who wore a faint, unreadable smile.

“…What… do you mean… escaped…?”

Roberic’s voice, as if his soul had left him, echoed hollowly.

“…Si-on Archaith Bastavan!!”

Soon, that murmur turned into a roar filled with intense rage.

Ah. Roberic had learned the truth of everything.

Perion could not take his eyes off the Wind Spirit King, who looked down at the furious Roberic with a calm, almost leisurely smile.

Why is he interfering?

If the Wind Spirit King had not interfered, nothing would have gone wrong.

Perion’s plan had been perfect. Even though Roberic had unexpectedly lost his mind, it would have ended after he vented his emotions.

Roberic would never have learned the truth.

How did the Wind Spirit King know about Si-on Bastavan and his granddaughter’s escape?

Was he watching them separately?

Why?

The supreme Spirit King… was watching humans who were nothing more than an old man and a child?

The more questions piled up, the more it became something he could not understand at all.

“!”

At that moment, a sharp gaze, like the sky itself, turned toward Perion.

Before an existence of such overwhelming rank, Perion trembled like a powerless child.

Aerial’s lips curved into a smile.

It was a mocking smile filled with coldness.

[Find where they went yourself.]

Leaving only those words, Aerial turned into a strong gust of wind and disappeared.

Only Perion and Roberic remained in the silent ruins.

Looking down at the scattered ashes, Roberic moved his lips.

“Ha.”

A breath escaped.

“Ha… hahahahaha!”

It turned into a crazed laugh, like he was forcing out blocked breath.

“…Perion.”

Perion, who had been blankly watching the scene, knelt down.

“Call the knights.”

Perion’s fingers scraped the dry ground.

“Understood.”

The only thing he could say was obedience.

“…So you are Aron Hight, and this small kid beside you… is it a boy or a girl? Take off that robe and let me see.”

“My grandson. Can’t you tell at a glance!”

At a checkpoint that should have been in a quiet village.

An old man and the checkpoint officer were arguing.

I bit my lip lightly.

Two weeks ago, in the middle of the night, our escape had begun smoothly.

The moment I stepped beyond the small village I had never left since birth, the feeling of freedom was beyond words.

I saw magnificent cities that I had only read about in novels with my own eyes. Since we were escaping, we couldn’t properly travel, but I still saw famous valleys, ancient ruins, and snowy mountains from afar.

Everything was going smoothly.

Until I heard that damn name—Roberic.

A notice had been posted across the streets along with his words:

“His Grace the Grand Duke Heilian is searching for an elderly man in his late 60s and a little girl who looks about five or six!”

The wanted posters displayed detailed descriptions of both of us.

Suddenly, we had become fugitives wanted across the entire empire.

There was no choice left for us.

The escape had already begun.

Whatever the ending, we had to keep going.

“…It can’t be helped. Dye your hair and disguise your appearance. As for the child, disguise her gender.”

So we quickly used the method suggested by Perion’s subordinate, who had been accompanying us under the pretense of being escorts.

“You read the wanted notice too, right? Do you know how much pressure is being placed even on small towns like this? Honestly, who are that old man and girl for His Grace the kind Grand Duke to act so harshly?”

Every time the officer praised Grand Duke Heilian, veins bulged on my grandfather’s hand.

“Anyway, let me see the child’s face.”

Damn it. I should’ve done something to my face too!

But because of my grandfather’s overprotectiveness:

“Impossible! If you put such cheap makeup on Idis’s delicate skin and leave a scar, who will take responsibility?!”

So I ended up wearing boys’ clothes and covering my face with a robe, without touching my face at all.

“Then at least cut the hair short.”

Perion’s subordinate raised scissors with a tired expression.

“No!!”

But again, grandfather objected.

“How can you cut off such beautiful hair so carelessly!”

“…But she is supposed to disguise as a boy.”

Even I thought it was a bit of a waste, but for perfect disguise, it couldn’t be helped.

Just as I was about to try calming him—

Tears filled my grandfather’s golden eyes as he looked at me.

“Roberic Arne Heilian, that damned bastard… now he’s making us cut off our precious granddaughter’s hair…”

That look was irresistible.

“…I won’t cut it.”

Yes, if Grandpa was this heartbroken, there was no need to cut it.

“But!”

“Boys also grow their hair long sometimes. I’ll tie it back. Wouldn’t that look neutral?”

Why did I say that?

I regretted my past decision as I looked at the large hand slowly reaching toward me.

The officer clearly looked strict. Of course he would doubt my overly pretty appearance… damn it.

“Ugh, mmph!”

At that moment, a flash of steel crossed my vision.

The officer was suddenly gagged and struggling.

Huh?

I tilted my head in confusion.

Then I saw Perion’s subordinate, now familiar to me, holding a sword to the officer’s neck while looking at my grandfather.

“…Won’t killing him cause trouble?”

“We won’t kill him. Just knock him out and lock him somewhere.”

As the officer said, this was a small rural town, and luckily there were no passersby.

“Please go ahead first. I will follow.”

“…Understood. Let’s go, Idis.”

We were lucky.

I held my grandfather’s hand and passed the checkpoint.

…We got through this time, but I shouldn’t assume luck will always be on our side.

Just how did Perion mess things up so badly that Roberic already found out?

I cursed the incompetent sub-male lead in the original story as I walked quickly toward the carriage in the distance.

Terma City.

It was the last city of the empire, located closest to the border of the Roshan Empire.

“Idis, if you are tired, I can carry you.”

After a difficult journey, we finally arrived here.

“I can walk on my own.”

Once we pass here, we will be completely free from Roberic’s pursuit.

“Have you received any reply from your friend yet?”

The subordinate walking behind asked.

“I will send the letter now. She rules all wind spirits, so she will receive it within a day.”

I didn’t know exactly who grandfather’s friend was, but she seemed to be a powerful spirit user.

In the original story, spirit users only appeared to highlight Roberic’s strength, and no major spirit users appeared except him and Perion.

…No, wait.

Mariette… she was also mentioned as a spirit user in passing.

I suddenly remembered a line:

“Shastia exhaled softly, thinking of the princess as beautiful as the frozen glaciers of the northern sea…”

Ah, I forgot this!

Mariette had definitely been described as a spirit user too.

So this is the downside of skimming character emotions…

I pressed my fingers in frustration.

“Idis, let’s go inside.”

“Ah, yes.”

While I was recalling Mariette’s setting, grandfather called me.

I raised my head and saw a large inn sign.

[Inn Terafopopo]

What a strange name.

“We will stay here until we leave.”

I took grandfather’s hand and stepped into the inn.

Grandfather wrote a letter to his friend as soon as we got a room.

“[Sylph].”

With a chirping sound, a small wind spirit shaped like a bird appeared in the air.

“Deliver this to Mekaila.”

Peep peep.

The bird chirped in response, grabbed the letter, and flew out the window.

I watched in amazement.

“Is it interesting?”

“…Yes.”

Grandfather smiled gently.

“Until two years ago, I used to tell you many stories about spirits, but I stopped at some point.”

I felt a little guilty.

“…I said I was bored…”

“Oh ho, I see. Now I remember.”

It was true. Listening every night to stories about the beginning of the world and spirit origins had become exhausting.

Still, it helped me learn worldbuilding that wasn’t in the original story.

“Shall I tell you spirit stories again after a long time? We have nothing else to do.”

Grandfather’s love for spirits could not be stopped.

Before I could respond, he had already begun.

“In the ancient times, the universe was filled only with endless darkness…”

The inn owner sat at the counter and yawned.

At 30 years old, he had inherited the inn due to his father’s sudden illness and was deeply unhappy with his life.

He had once abandoned everything for love, running away with a beautiful actress he adored, but was forced back due to financial pressure from his father.

And then he ended up inheriting this inn.

“If there is a hell, it must be here.”

He sighed.

If only he had money.

He could return to his lover and leave proudly together.

…If only he had money.

“…An old man and a little girl. How am I supposed to find them?”

He grumbled while looking at the wanted notice from Grand Duke Heilian.

But then—

Creeeeak.

“!”

As if the wind spirit king had heard him, the door opened with a creak, and a small child walked out of the room.

Yes. That child.

A strange “boy” wearing a robe pulled up to the head, walking between a rough old man and a wooden-faced young man.

…Was it really a boy?

He had never seen the face, so he couldn’t tell.

The voice was clear and soft like glass beads, just like in the notice.

The companions did not match the wanted descriptions, but if the gender was confirmed, it seemed possible…

“Ah!”

At that moment, the child let out a small cry.

The innkeeper’s eyes widened.

The robe got caught on a corner, pulling it down, and the hood slowly slipped off as the child turned—

This was his chance.

He stared closely.

“…!”

A hallucination of floral fragrance filled his senses.

The child’s hair was a clear lavender color.

“Damn it, why won’t it come off…”

A small, soft face with delicate features—beautiful enough to leave him speechless.

“….”

Even though it was just a child, it stunned him completely.

“!”

Then the child’s bright red eyes turned toward the counter.

The innkeeper instinctively threw himself under the counter in panic.

“…No one…”

The child muttered softly, scanning the area.

After a while, the sound of the door closing echoed again.

Silence returned.

The innkeeper slowly lifted his upper body.

The child was gone.

He stood up shakily and walked to the spot where the child had been standing.

“…No way.”

A faint suspicion began to grow in his mind.