Chapter 119: Long Time No See, Scarlett Young Lady!

Chapter 119: Long Time No See, Scarlett Young Lady!

“Hyaaaaaah!!”

I trembled in surprise.

At the same time, Lucy, her eyes wide, woke up startled.

Oli, who had been sleeping on the drawer, also woke up, cursing.

“Ah, fuck..! Hey, you… bitch… let me… sleep!”

And standing at the door, mouth agape, was a man.

He was tall and had an overall handsome impression.

Beneath his short-cropped hair, thick eyebrows twitched.

Blue eyes, and black hair with a reddish tint.

I hurriedly covered my body with the blanket, an embarrassed expression on my face.

Oh no, I shouldn’t be caught moving.

But I couldn’t just pull the blanket back down either.

A very awkward situation where I couldn’t do this or that.

“Uh…”

In that situation, the man spoke first.

“Gh-ghost…?”

No. I take it back. He just spouted nonsense.

I was startled at first, but that nonsense actually deflated my tension.

I stared intently at the man for a moment, then

“…Who are you?”

I finally spoke.

“Uh, that. That’s… not it. I’m not a suspicious person, you know? I came to bring Young Lady by order of breakfast… no, that’s not it!!”

His head moved this way and that, and he was rambling, so he didn’t seem to be in a normal state.

Was he also on drugs like me?

Mine was at least a mild type, but he seemed even more serious.

The man seemed even more confused by the presence of Lucy and Oli, not just me.

If this continued, something big might happen.

I mumbled for a moment, then let out a faint sigh.

“…Calm down. Didn’t you come with breakfast at Young Lady’s request?”

“Ah, yes… that’s right. Uh… I’ll leave it here.”

He turned his head sideways, his face slightly flushed.

He seemed to have noticed that my body under the blanket was naked.

Perhaps because I walked around naked so much, I wasn’t even that embarrassed anymore.

‘He didn’t notice me lifting the blanket earlier, did he…?’

If so, that was a relief. He might say something strange to Scarlett for no reason.

I stared at him for a moment, then opened my mouth.

“Um… Mister. What’s your name?”

“Uh… I’m not an Mister. My name is John…”

“Alright, John. My body is like this, so… could you feed me?”

“F-feed you?”

John was deeply flustered by my suggestion.

That person, I saw him with Euston, the Knight Commander, before.

From their atmosphere, they seemed quite close.

Then there might be some information to extract.

At least, to escape outside as decided yesterday,

it was important to hoard any small piece of information without discrimination.

“Scarlett Young Lady… only told me to leave the food.”

“I’ll talk to Young Lady about it. Seeing as she sent Mister, she seems to plan on being away for a while.”

“That’s true, but…”

“Quickly. I’m hungry.”

As I stared intently at him and pleaded, John made an expression as if asking, ‘Is this right?’

He inwardly seemed to think, ‘Couldn’t I just ask Lucy next to me?’, but

Lucy was just nonchalantly taking care of Oli.

She also seemed to have noticed that I was going to pry something out of John.

“Phew… alright. Instead, you have to eat quickly. If Young Lady or the Knight Commander-nim find out, I’m dead…”

“I told you I’d talk to her. What’s for breakfast today?”

“…Fried rice.”

“Wow, I really like fried rice.”

I intentionally smiled brightly and looked at John as if bantering.

Then John scratched his cheek, as if feeling a little burdened.

Our reunion seemed quite awkward.

He also seemed to have a lot of questions he wanted to ask.

“Forget what you saw in the forest.”

I coolly scratched John’s itching spot, who was hesitating.

Actually, it didn’t look perfectly cool, but

John blushed slightly and nodded.

“…Yes. Ah, no. Actually, I didn’t see anything-“

“I told you to forget it.”

“Understood…”

And so, the ‘Naked Ghost in the Forest’ controversy ended.

John brought the bowl with a very subdued air.

“Should I… feed you like this?”

“Don’t sit on the bed, there’s a chair next to it, use that.”

“Ah, yes.”

At my words, John quickly brought a chair and sat down.

Then he took out cutlery and scooped a little delicious fried rice for me.

“Mmm…”

I stretched my neck out and ate it familiarly.

He slightly raised the spoon handle so I could cleanly suck off the rice grains, and kept moving his hand.

His skill was like someone who had taken care of a younger sibling a lot.

“By the way… John.”

“Yes?”

“Are you close with Euston Mister? I saw you two together before.”

“Well. I’ve known him for a few years, so we’re quite close. Why do you ask?”

“Then you must hear a lot of interesting news from outside. As you can see, I can’t go out.”

John stared at my limp body.

For the first time, not embarrassment, but pity melted into his face.

What was he thinking?

I didn’t know.

“Well… there are quite a few interesting things. This is a secret, but… we actually travel around a lot outside.”

Was it because of the pity he just felt for me?

John, who had been somewhat passive until now, slowly began to open up.

Indeed, people are most vulnerable to secrets when they feel pity.

He told me so many stories.

Stories of the underworld merchants they were investigating.

A bad noble who engaged in pedophilia.

Another surprising charm of the Royal Finance Administrator.

Things like the story of elves invading a noble’s estate.

There were stories I already knew, but the content was rich enough to quickly summarize the situation outside.

John was so excited that he chatted away, unaware of the time passing.

Only when the meal was completely finished and someone’s footsteps were heard,

did he realize how engrossed he had been in the conversation.

Thump, thump.

“Just a moment… how much time has passed? I just meant to bring the food and come back down…”

John made a flustered expression, not knowing what to do.

His reaction showed how infamous Scarlett was in the mansion.

What should I say?

It was an expression like a rabbit caught in a trap.

While he was flustered, the footsteps reached the room door, and

“Hey, John! What the hell are you doing that you’re not coming down? Are you chewing and feeding her every single grain of rice-“

Creak-

As the door opened, the person who burst in was Euston, slightly frowning.

“K-Knight Commander-nim?”

At the same time, relief and a feeling of ‘I’m screwed’ bloomed on John’s face.

Indeed, Euston was better than the unpredictable Scarlett.

I saw him unconsciously give a faint smile.

Euston stopped abruptly as soon as he entered the room.

He seemed to be looking around, assessing the situation.

The scene of me with the blanket slightly lowered, revealing my collarbone, and John leaning over me.

This was a little, no.

It was enough to cause a considerable misunderstanding.

“…What are you doing?”

“Ah, no, Knight Commander-nim! This is a misunderstanding…”

“It’s okay, Mister. I was bored while eating, so we were just chatting for a bit.”

“Hmm… if that’s the case, I don’t mind… Hey, you, be careful. What if Young Lady saw you?”

“I’m sorry…”

John nodded, his heart pounding.

Then Euston took John out, saying, ‘Young Lady will be here soon.’

In the quiet room, I stared at Lucy, who had been listening intently.

“…What do you think?”

“He doesn’t seem to be lying. To begin with, he was talking so excitedly…”

Lucy gave a sign that it was okay at my question.

Oli also shared the same opinion.

Things seemed to have gotten a little complicated, but one thing was certain:

there was nothing good about staying here any longer.

‘Two weeks later, as Lucy said…’

It seemed that was when we should make our move.

Why choose to escape two weeks later, instead of immediately?

That was because it was the King’s birthday then.

On the King’s birthday, all nobles gathered en masse to celebrate his birth and commemorate the future throughout the night.

Because of that, Scarlett also had to participate forcibly.

I didn’t know what she was thinking right now, but

at the very least, she wouldn’t do anything conspicuous.

It was extremely difficult to track someone whose identity was unknown, like me.

However, Scarlett was different.

That Carlson, the black market merchant, and

the King’s current objective.

With such unfortunate timings overlapping, there was no reason for Scarlett to cause trouble.

“…Lucy. What do you think Young Lady is thinking?”

“Honestly, given Young Lady’s personality, I think she’ll take Cecil Young Lady and leave the kingdom.”

“Young Lady would do that.”

I agreed with Lucy’s words.

Surely. Scarlett would somehow take me, whom she ‘loved,’ and want to continue a happy life.

Of course, whether that would go as planned, I didn’t know.

Thanks to John’s chatter, all the plans were taking shape.

Two weeks later, at the moment Scarlett was away.

That evening.

We would cross the border.

****

“Two weeks later is too late.”

“…So, you’ve decided to cross the border after all?”

“Yes. The later it is, the less I know when that old man will attack.”

Scarlett said with a calm expression.

And Euston’s expression, listening to her words, was also

calm, as if nothing was wrong.

Her absence meant that they would have nowhere to go.

Scarlett was not a person broad-minded enough to take care of everyone left behind.

No matter what she brought, it would ultimately just be a gray world.

From the moment she first met Cecil, Scarlett’s mind had only been on her.

And Euston, who had received a new life from Scarlett,

knew that fact better than anyone.

“I see. Then, when do you plan to cast the tracking magic?”

“Hmm… that elf. When did you say she contacted Carlson?”

“It would be about two weeks ago.”

“That’s the perfect deadline. Let’s cast it now. The catalyst is alive… when else would I use it if not now?”

Thump, thump. Scarlett’s footsteps echoed on the cold basement floor.

And the elf, who had been staring intently at Scarlett,

was trembling violently, half-convulsing in terror that scorched her entire body.

“P-please… I told you… I… now, I don’t… have anything. It’s true. You even kneaded my mind… right? Please… save me…”

Her pupils constricted, and she slammed her head against the ground to somehow assert her survival.

And then, as if to show ‘maximum sincerity,’ the elf headbutted until her forehead tore.

Scarlett’s interrogation was not ordinary.

First, she cross-referenced statements to fact-check.

Second, she began interrogation using a mind-worm to see if there was any hidden information.

The elf, whose mind had been stirred thoroughly, peed herself and spat out the names of all her relatives.

“Oh… don’t do that. It hurts if you keep doing that, you know?”

Then Scarlett raised the elf’s body and smiled brightly.

In response, the elf also forced a smile, blood dripping from her forehead.

Since ‘dealing with’ Asher right next to her, she had shown a noticeably submissive attitude.

And then Scarlett opened her mouth.

“It’s going to be used as a catalyst for tracking magic… your body needs to be perfectly fine.”

The elf’s expression rapidly stiffened.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry… Please, not the catalyst…”

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. It’ll just hurt a little.”

Grab-

Saying that, Scarlett gripped the elf’s head.

At the same time, a blue light emanated, and

the elf’s eyes widened, and she screamed until her throat tore.

“Kyaaaaaaah!! No!! Please! I-I’ll give you everything! If you ask for an arm, I’ll cut it off! Pleaaaaase!!”

But then.

The elf’s condition was a little strange.

Clearly, a creature used as a catalyst only felt ‘a very slight’ pain, but

blood vessels began to bulge in the elf’s white eyeballs.

“N-no… I’m sorry…”

A faint crackling sound came from her body, and bloody tears streamed down her cheeks.

Only then did Scarlett realize who the words ‘I’m sorry’ were directed at.

“Young Lady!!”

Slam!

Then Euston, feeling something was wrong, immediately threw himself, covering Scarlett’s body.

At the same time, a chilling explosion sound was heard.

Thud-

“Kyaaah!”

She let out a short scream and tightly closed her eyes in Euston’s arms.

Blood splattered everywhere, and the smell of blood filled the basement.

‘Tracking disruption magic…?’

It was a somewhat drastic but sure way to prevent tracking by exploding the catalyst and blocking all tracking.

But it was too early to be surprised.

Scarlett frowned and slowly stared at the air where blood was gathering.

-Long time no see, Scarlett Young Lady!!

There,

a very familiar face was smiling, revealing buck teeth.