IOPAFP 33

Chapter 33

After looking around the entire hideout, I sent Count Tolkiye back first since he had some business to attend to, then ran straight toward Liz, who was waiting for me with Sir Briburn a little ways away.

“Liz!”

I hadn’t been able to see clearly from a distance, but now that I was closer, I noticed that Liz was standing very close to Sir Briburn.

“Oh my! P-Princess! You’ve already finished looking around?”

“Hm?”

Liz was startled and quickly stepped away from Sir Briburn. His ears turning red, Sir Briburn hurriedly bowed to me in greeting before turning around and joining the other knights.

What? What? What was that?

Why were they suddenly acting all shy around each other? They could have just continued what they were doing. I wouldn’t have minded.

“Ohoho. Liz?”

I poked her side and whispered.

“Did I interrupt you?”

“Wh-What do you mean, Princess?! Absolutely not! It, it wasn’t like that at all!”

Oh-ho. They say that a strong denial is a strong affirmation.

It was obvious. Those two definitely had something going on!

As I narrowed my eyes and snickered, Liz quietly whispered,

“If there really had been something going on, I’d at least have been able to feel less wronged!”

“Huh? Really? Nothing happened? Then why are Sir Briburn’s ears so red?”

“Oh my! They really were red? His ears? I didn’t notice.”

Aww, what a shame…

Red ears would probably look pretty cute too. There, there. My loyal teddy bear.

While I was thinking such ear-rotting thoughts, Liz squirmed awkwardly.

“Geez! Then what was it, anyway? Why were the two of you standing so close?”

“Ah! That! Over there… Look over there. Can you see it? That black…”

Something was lying collapsed inside the dark alley Liz pointed toward.

“Is that… a dead person?”

Gulp.

Wait, we can’t suddenly change genres like this, can we?

This is a child-rearing story—not a kidnapping story or anything like that…

Clenching my little fists tightly, I squeezed my eyes shut in fear before opening them again. Liz gently took my hand and said,

“I was just about to check it out. But I thought I should get the Princess’s permission first.”

“Oh, I see.”

I looked past Liz’s back.

If that was a dead person, it would be a little creepy…

But if they were still alive, shouldn’t we save them?

After all, I was the princess of this country.

That meant I was allowed to stick my nose into other people’s business as much as I wanted!

“Have Sir Briburn check it out. But since I’m a child, I think it’s safer for me to stay here.”

“Yes. I’ll go tell him right away.”

As Liz hurried toward Sir Briburn, she said,

“I’ll make sure to check whether his ears turn red again this time.”

Even in a moment like this, she knew exactly what to look out for.

Liz, you really are something.

That attitude… I should learn from her. Hehehe.

Liz went over to Sir Briburn and conveyed my order. He immediately entered the alley with another knight.

“Did this happen in the original story?”

As I tried to recall the events of the original novel, I soon shook the thought away.

I had already twisted the original story beyond recognition.

In fact, I knew that once I became involved in this world, the story wouldn’t proceed exactly as it had in the original.

But every time an unexpected incident occurred, or whenever I met someone who hadn’t existed in the original story, an overwhelming exhaustion and fear came rushing over me.

“Princess? Are you all right? You must have been frightened, my Princess… You don’t look well.”

Liz returned to me, bent down, and hugged me tightly.

The warm, comforting scent coming from her arms helped calm me down.

“Is he really dead? What if he is?”

“If anything, I think it would be more troublesome if he were alive… Anyway, I think it would be best to wait here until Sir Briburn returns, Princess.”

Liz did her best to comfort me while calmly waiting for Sir Briburn.

She couldn’t leave me alone, but at the same time, she couldn’t take me into the alley either.

Not long afterward, Sir Briburn emerged from the alley.

The knight who had entered with him was carrying someone on his back.

After giving the other knights several instructions, Sir Briburn approached us.

“Sir Briburn? What happened?”

I peeked my head out from behind Liz and asked.

Sir Briburn answered,

“He doesn’t look to be in good condition, but he’s still alive. His breathing is weak, so I think it would be best to have a physician examine him.”

“Really? Then do that. It’s a relief that he isn’t dead.”

The boy looked about five or six years older than me.

What circumstances had left him collapsed alone in an alley like this?

Perhaps sensing the strange commotion, the boy on the knight’s back suddenly stirred.

“Uh? Is he waking up?”

The moment Sir Briburn turned around, the knight hurriedly dropped the boy away from his body in preparation for any possible danger.

As if they had rehearsed it beforehand, the knights simultaneously drew their swords and quickly surrounded the boy.

The ominous atmosphere pressed heavily against the air around us.

“Aaaah! I-I’ll be good! I-I’m sorry!”

The boy knelt on the ground, covered his head with both arms, and begged desperately.

That was when I realized there was something rather strange about him.

“Are you sure you’re all right, Princess?”

“You said he was fine. You said so yourself.”

“That’s true, but…”

I knew why Sir Briburn was so uncertain.

The fact that the boy had awakened when they thought he was unconscious must have been completely unexpected.

That alone might make people question his qualifications as a knight commander.

And if the boy had some hidden danger that Sir Briburn hadn’t detected—such as being a different species, a black magician, or something like that—and I ended up getting hurt because of it…

Sir Briburn would be going to the afterlife before he even had a chance to do anything with Liz.

But for some reason, I had a feeling everything would be fine.

Hehe.

“Don’t worry. He’s tied up and kneeling on the ground. What could he possibly do? He doesn’t look dangerous at all.”

“This isn’t something we can simply brush aside.”

“Oh, come on. I’m telling you, he’ll be fine. We just have to keep this a secret from my father. So… can’t I at least try talking to him?”

Sir Briburn let out a deep sigh.

“You want to speak with him… Sigh. Very well. However, you must maintain this distance at all times, Princess.”

“Okay, okay. Now, could you move aside for a moment?”

Sir Briburn hesitated before stepping back.

Of course, he didn’t disappear completely.

He simply moved behind me.

Only then did I take a few steps forward and carefully examine the boy.

He was tall but extremely thin, and the dark circles beneath his eyes made him look severely malnourished.

Come to think of it, he had black hair and black eyes.

He looked almost Korean.

For some reason, I felt strangely familiar with him.

Feeling an inexplicable sense of kinship, I tried talking to him.

“Hi.”

“…”

“What’s your name? How old are you?”

The boy stared at me for a moment before his face suddenly turned bright red.

Then he lowered his head.

“Hmmm.”

Was there ever a character like this in the original novel?

I didn’t think so.

As I pondered this, a sudden clap of thunder rang out beneath a clear sky.

I looked up.

“Huh? Is it going to rain?”

According to my hair forecast, there wasn’t supposed to be any rain yet.

I grabbed the hair I had tied up like an apple stem and stretched it out.

“It’s not boing-boing.”

Another rumble of thunder sounded.

Rumble… rumble!

“That’s strange. This shouldn’t be happening.”

Just as I was about to pull my hair again, Liz whispered softly into my ear.

“Princess, that sound isn’t coming from the sky.”

“Ohhh? Is there a harbor here? Sniff, sniff. But I don’t smell the sea.”

“No, not that kind of ship. This kind.”

Liz pointed at my stomach.

“Not me.”

“Of course not.”

Liz tilted her head in confusion before suddenly raising her eyebrows.

“Ah!”

That was when I finally realized the thunderous sound was coming from the boy’s stomach.

Oh dear, I felt so sorry for him.

My instincts only seemed to work properly when it came to my favorite characters, so it had taken me far too long to figure it out.

“You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

At my words, the boy lowered his head again in embarrassment.

I had one of the knights buy some bread.

Then I handed it to the boy.

“Here, eat this. Take your time, chew it well, and eat plenty.”

The boy cautiously glanced at me before taking a bite of the steaming bread.

His eyes immediately widened.

Then he began stuffing the bread into his mouth frantically.

“Oh dear. You’re going to choke.”

I felt sorry for him.

He looked perfectly normal on the outside, so why had he been left alone in an alley like this?

According to Sir Briburn’s examination, there were no bruises or injuries on his body that suggested he had been abused.

Was he simply an unfortunate child?

Would it be better to send him to an orphanage?

While I was thinking about all sorts of things, the boy devoured two more pieces of bread.

He even gulped down the water Liz offered him in one go.

Then, in an extremely small voice, he said,

“Th-thank you.”

It seemed he was finally willing to talk.

I nodded and asked,

“Will you tell me your name now?”

“…Jeyong.”

“Jaeyong?”

I did know someone named Jaeyong…

But that didn’t fit this world at all.

Or was he actually Korean?

No, that was ridiculous.

“Not Jaeyong. Jeyong.”

“Not Jaeyong?”

“Jeyong. It’s Jeyong.”

What was he saying?

You’re like Jaeyong but not Jaeyong, yet somehow still Jaeyong?

I pouted and looked at Liz.

Liz giggled and spoke to the boy on my behalf.

“Jeron. Is that right?”

“Eh! Jeyong!”

“No way!”

How could Jeron turn into Jaeyong?!

He looked about twelve years old, so why was his pronunciation so clumsy?

I had plenty I wanted to say, but I kept quiet.

Looking at his completely intimidated eyes, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.

“Jeron, then. Hmm… How old are you?”

“…”

“Where are your father and mother?”

“…”

“Where is your home? I’ll take you there.”

Jeron answered each question with silence.

But when I said I would take him home, he shook his head frantically.

As though he had some terrible memories, he squeezed his eyes shut and began trembling.

“D-dere! No home! I-I’m not going back there!”

“Hmm…”

So he didn’t want to go home.

Oh! Perfect!

In that case…