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Chapter 60
After confirming that the two men had completely moved away,
I was finally able to open my mouth.
Of course, I lowered my voice as much as humanly possible—just enough for Edmund, who was holding me, to hear.
“How?”
“I woke up in the middle of the night and you weren’t there.”
“Why would you do something so dangerous?”
At that, Edmund made an expression as if he found it ridiculous.
“I’ll return that question to you exactly as it is.”
“Ah.”
That was true, so it was hard to find anything to say in response.
“I suddenly heard a strange noise while sleeping… ah, right. That troupe—they’re slave traders.”
“I heard part of their conversation too. Something about selling us and whatnot.”
Edmund’s red eyes glinted coldly with killing intent.
They were even more intense than Juto’s gaze, which had resembled a beast shining in the darkness earlier.
“It’s a good thing they don’t know you’re a woman.”
“But even knowing you’re a man, it still seems dangerous. It sounded like selling you was their main goal.”
Edmund stared straight at me and asked,
“So… are you worried about me?”
“Of course I am. Those guys are saying they’ll sell you into slavery.”
What a horrifying and cruel reality.
It had been quite a while since I truly felt it—ever since escaping Cohen’s villa.
‘That this world is a bleak novel with no dreams or hope.’
And yet, Edmund’s reaction was strange.
Even after being told that he was the one in the greatest danger, why was he grinning?
Like a child who had received a pleasant gift.
“Do you even understand the situation right now?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then why are you smiling like that?”
Edmund let out a long sigh.
“I don’t know whether this is a good thing or not.”
“Huh? What is?”
“That you’re only dense in this area.”
I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.
Since we couldn’t afford to waste time, I told Edmund everything I knew.
“You know that small carriage covered in cloth? I think there’s a beastfolk child inside. They’re planning to sell him as a slave.”
“Ah, that growling sound…”
Edmund’s expression turned serious.
Most beastfolk lived in the northern flooded forests.
And the human territory closest to that area was the Duchy of Lamberto.
The beastfolk and the House of Lamberto shared a history of fighting monsters together, so they had ties.
‘That’s why, even in the original story, Juto and Edmund were fairly close.’
They were also both in love with the female lead.
‘They’re going to meet eventually anyway, and they’ll form a connection. Wouldn’t it be fine if they met now? I met Willes earlier than in the original story, and the result was good.’
However, Edmund’s expression became a little complicated at my words.
“You’re not about to suggest we save that kid too, are you?”
“Huh?”
Edmund was clearly against it.
I had assumed he would be the one to suggest saving Juto.
Only then did I realize.
‘Ah… right now, Edmund hasn’t even met Juto yet, and he’s never been to the Duchy of Lamberto.’
He probably didn’t know much about the cooperation between the beastfolk and the House of Lamberto either.
‘But Juto would be someone who could help Edmund.’
And that wasn’t all.
I had already seen it.
A child who looked barely twelve years old, being captured and dragged away as a slave.
He must have been starving for so long—he licked clean every last crumb of the hardtack I had left behind because it tasted bad.
With a hardened expression, Edmund cut me off.
“No.”
“But—”
“I don’t want to see you in danger again.”
Right now, Edmund was like an immovable boulder that wouldn’t budge even if a hundred strong men rushed him.
He showed absolutely no sign of changing his mind.
It almost sounded like he was saying my safety mattered that much to him, and my face grew a little hot.
‘This isn’t the time for that.’
I shook my head hard to clear my thoughts.
Then I leaned in and began whispering into Edmund’s ear.
“Listen…”
I whispered the plan that had just occurred to me.
The next morning.
The slave traders, disguised as a traveling theater troupe, were met with an unexpected situation.
“W-What is this?”
The fools—who had even paid money to willingly walk into their trap—were doing something strange.
More precisely, the woman claiming to be the mother of a family of four suddenly rolled up her sleeves and declared that she would treat all the troupe members to a meal.
She even added plenty of venison, which she said her eldest son had personally hunted that morning.
“I may not look it, but I once worked as a cook for a noble family. Come on, have a taste. I’m just so grateful that I wanted to treat you all!”
The stew bubbling in a large pot gave off an incredibly delicious aroma.
The people who had planned to sell this foolishly kind family into slavery felt absolutely no guilt whatsoever.
‘To think they’d be this easy!’
‘A money pouch just rolled in on its own!’
On top of that, the stew they accepted without much thought was unbelievably delicious.
“You’re truly skilled!”
“It doesn’t even compare to the food at the village inn!”
“So you really did work for a noble household!”
Lewd glances were exchanged between the leader and his men.
‘I thought an older woman wouldn’t fetch much, but she’s surprisingly useful.’
‘If she’s worked as a noble’s cook, she’ll have decent value.’
‘And if we sell that beastfolk brat too, we’ll make a proper fortune!’
Satisfied with the extra profit that had fallen into their laps, the slave traders completely emptied their bowls of stew.
It had been a long time since they’d eaten something this good.
Their tongues were satisfied, their stomachs full.
Maybe that was why—they couldn’t resist the sudden wave of drowsiness that washed over them.
Once even the last slave trader, who had been blinking stubbornly, collapsed into unconscious sleep, we jumped to our feet.
The nanny, who had maintained an oblivious expression the entire time, twisted her face and stepped back.
“So these people are slave traders? My goodness. To think the people we traveled with were such trash…”
The nanny spat on the ground.
Willes let out a long sigh. He was the one who had made the powerful sleeping drug added to the stew.
“It’s truly fortunate that the young duke and the young lady noticed in advance.”
“How long will the drug last?”
“I made it as strong as possible. They’ll probably sleep like the dead until tomorrow.”
Willes and Edmund used ropes taken from the slave traders’ luggage to bind their owners.
Meanwhile, Cassia approached the small carriage wrapped in cloth.
She tapped twice on the carriage wheel and asked,
“Are you okay?”
“…I. Am here.”
When a small voice came from inside, Cassia finally let out a sigh of relief.
Then she shouted to Willes and the nanny,
“Find a knife!”
When the cloth covering the carriage was torn away, Juto’s miserable state was revealed.
The emaciated child had shackles on his neck and limbs, with chains connected to the body of the carriage.
The nanny let out a low groan.
“My goodness. Even a child this young… those damnable bastards!”
She kicked the unconscious slave traders.
The drug was so strong that none of them woke up despite being struck.
Meanwhile, Edmund followed Cassia’s instructions diligently, even with a sullen expression.
He searched the bald leader’s body and retrieved a bundle of keys.
The bars of the carriage were opened, and the shackles constricting the beastfolk child’s neck and limbs were removed.
The child slowly stepped out of the barred carriage, his expression and posture filled with caution.
Cassia spoke to reassure him.
“It’s okay. You’re free now.”
“I… free?”
“Yes.”
As soon as he was freed, the child began assessing his surroundings.
After seeing the fallen slave traders, he growled with an enemy-like expression and stepped back, then began sniffing.
A loud growl echoed from his stomach.
“Smell… nice. Smells good!”
He had finally caught the scent of the stew the nanny had cooked to lure the slave traders.
The smell was so tempting that we barely managed to stop Juto from rushing toward the pot.
Cassia scolded the teary-eyed child sternly.
“No! If you eat that, you’ll end up like those people lying there.”
“If eat… sleep?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
“I believe you. You. No. Sleep. Dangerous.”
It seemed that from the brief meeting last night and being freed, Juto had come to trust Cassia completely.
And for a human to gain the trust of the beastfolk ruler—the pure-blooded royal of the werewolves—was an extremely difficult thing.
Beastfolk didn’t trust humans much to begin with, and he was a child who had suffered after being captured by slave traders.
Naturally, Juto’s trust in humans was at rock bottom.
For a child like that to believe Cassia so easily was no small thing.
Cassia smiled gently and patted Juto’s head.
“You’re smart, Juto.”
The child looked up at Cassia with sparkling golden eyes, then tilted his head.
He looked just like an innocent puppy.
He was so adorable that Cassia clutched her chest.
“So cute!”
She was barely restraining herself from hugging and rubbing against him.
Juto asked,
“I curious. Name. Of benefactor.”
Cassia pointed to herself and asked,
“My name?”
“Yes. I. Juto. Curious. Benefactor’s name.”
Cassia scratched her cheek and replied,
“Well, this is our nanny, Miriam. This is Willes. And this one is Edmund.”
The child’s golden eyes scanned each member of the group in turn.
But he showed little interest in the others and plainly repeated,
“I. Want to know. You.”
“Um… Cassia.”
“Cassia. Cassia.”
Juto’s face brightened as he rolled the name of his benefactor around in his mouth a few times.
“I remember. Benefactor. Name.”
Calling Cassia’s name, the child threw himself into her arms.
“Cassia!”
Cassia instinctively caught Juto.
And—
From watching that scene unfold right in front of him, flames ignited in Edmund’s eyes.
