Chapter 53: 53

The sound of sweets being chewed was refreshing to hear.

Michael’s red eyes suddenly widened.

“Isn’t it delicious?” 

I smiled as I pushed the cookie to the boy’s lips, indicating that he should eat more.

“……”

Without saying anything, Michael chewed the cookie like a baby bird being fed by the mother bird.

He swallowed what was in his mouth and mumbled after a while.

“…Not bad. Not as good as a pomegranate.”

‘Pomegranate is tastier than this cookie?’

His passion for pomegranate was truly admirable.

“You really like pomegranates. Is it because you’re from the South?”

It reminded me of the Southern Carnival where fruit stalls were scattered.

Michael muttered softly.

“…If I have to say, it’s lower than the places I’ve been to with Brother Pedro. A much hotter area”

Ever since we discovered each other’s identities, Michael would share personal stories without hesitation.

“It would be cold to live here.” 

I nodded lightly and looked around Michael’s room.

His room was still as cold as before I went to the Imperial Palace.

The door was the same in that the lock was broken, and no decorations were seen.

“Did you wait for me and the Duke to come back from the palace?”

“What do you mean waiting…”

Michael grunted and took another bite of the delicious cookie.

Whether the first bite was the trigger or not, he kept pushing it into his mouth.

His lips were softly touched by his fingertips.

He ate the cookie without leaving a single crumb, then turned his head to the other side again.

‘You don’t even say thank you.’

Anyway, he was a cheeky little boy. 

I just wanted to go back now if I could, but I had an important business with him.

“Michael.” 

I paid a bribe, so he had to pay the price.

But as soon as I brought my face closer, Michael pulled himself away again.

“What’s wrong? Come here.”

“……”

Michael still didn’t move.

I finally crawled and grabbed him with both hands.

“Do you know where Benny is?”

“…Who?”

Michael raised his eyebrows as if he had never expected my question.

I looked around and said over and over again.

“Benimus, the kid who won the gladiator match.”

“Ah, that slave gladiator.”

Michael used the expression ‘slave’ rather than ‘monster’ because he still thought that Benny was an ordinary human being.

“If it’s him, maybe… Wait a minute. Did you bring this to ask that question?”

Michael stopped talking and suddenly turned to look at me.

‘Then did you think it came from pure goodwill? Not to anyone else, but to you?’

I couldn’t say it… so I just rolled my eyes.

Michael looked at me and went under the blanket.

“You, stop that and go now.”

He was being cranky again.

Apparently, it seemed that I was the only person who had greeted him after visiting the Imperial Palace.

I sighed and got up from the bed.

“It’s okay if you don’t know.”

Michael was keen about the situation inside the castle, that was why I asked him, but it was not worth bringing the sweets.

Then Michael, buried under the blanket, murmured.

“If you want to know where he is, ask Father.”

It was a pretty blunt tone. I responded bluntly at the same time.

“I’m asking you because I can’t meet him even if I want to.”

“He’ll let you know if you pester him. Because you are what Father needs…”

Michael’s voice grew fainter. He paused for a moment, then mumbled as if he was talking to himself.

“North Tower.”

“Huh?”

“I overheard the guards talking. A slave gladiator is imprisoned in the northern tower.”

If it was the northern tower, was it the magic tower where Alan and I went to see the moon?

Considering the dangers of Benny, I thought he would have been locked up in a more iron barrel-like place, but it was a surprise.

“Where the hell did you pick it up from?”

I envied Michael’s ability to eavesdrop.

Even when I tried to get information, I only heard gossip that I didn’t want to know.

“I just keep paying attention to what the people around me are saying.”

Somehow, I felt a sense of kinship with Michael’s words.

It was strange to have sympathy for a guy like that, but…

“I’m going to sleep.”

Michael dug into the blanket like a worm.

“…It’s dinner time soon, so are you going to sleep now?”

I tapped the rolled up blanket.

It was a little late for lunch, but dinner was being made in the kitchen right now.

It was because I woke up late.

“I’m going to eat it on my own.”

“The Duke always left your seat empty.”

It didn’t matter to me whether Michael had breakfast or not.

However, his reaction was a little surprising.

Why didn’t the kid who wanted to be a member of House Bauner so much not eat at the table they prepared?

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“They’re not waiting for me.”

“Huh?”

Michael poked his red eyes through the gap in the blanket.

There was a childish surrender in his eyes.

“They always put a fork and knife in front of each seat, right? Even though no one is coming.”

“…Yes.”

“That’s not my seat.”

If it was not Michael’s seat, then whose seat was it? There were only four people in Bauner, including me…

“Go.”

It was his last word. Michael then kept his mouth shut.

***

“I’m going to talk to Benimus for a while. Will you come with me?”

Peaceful lunch time. Alan wiped my lips and asked.

I was surprised because I didn’t know that Alan would let me meet him first.

There was no reason to pass up this opportunity. 

As I nodded my head, a sharp sound pierced my ears.

Naturally, I thought it was Pedro’s rough movements with his fork, but when I turned to the side of the sound, it wasn’t.

“Father.”

Hugo dropped his fork and looked at Alan in disbelief.

“If it’s an interrogation, can’t you do it without Lily? How can you put a monster face to face with Lily…”

It seemed that Hugo’s nickname for Benny was gradually fixed as ‘monster’.

“Benimus doesn’t open his mouth at all unless he’s facing Lily.”

Alan also calmly presented his theory this time.

“We need to know what he’s thinking if we want to use him in a way that’s not dangerous to Lily.”

“Brother, I will be fine.” 

I tried to reassure Hugo, but it seemed to have backfired for he clenched his fists.

“What if something dangerous happens to Lily?”

“I don’t know what you mean.” 

Alan shrugged his chin slowly and spoke as if it was natural.

“Do you think I’ll just watch?”

It was a nonsensical answer. 

Being quite angry, Hugo licked his lips and left the dining room.

There was silence in the hall. It reminded me of the battle I had spied on in the Imperial Palace. I calmed my mind.

The rift between Alan and Hugo had not yet disappeared.

“Has Hugo left?”

Then Pedro brought Hugo’s leftover chunks of meat to his plate.

“Then this is mine!”

…I couldn’t laugh even if he said it on purpose.

***

Alan and Benny. The tripartite meeting took place in the basement of the tower.

I had climbed to the top of the tower for moon-watching, but it was the first time I ever went inside.

Worn stones, crude jade windows, etcetera; traces of time were seen everywhere in the tower.

It looked like it had been built for a long time, but it seemed surprisingly well maintained as there was no dust or cobwebs.

A well was underneath the tower, the same as the one I had seen in the Imperial Palace.

I wondered if he had thrown Benny into the well just like the monster in the Imperial Palace, but luckily it wasn’t.

Benny was locked up in a cell next to the well.

With only one shackle on his ankle, his other limbs were free.

After all, it would be useless to tie up a child who couldn’t even use magic tools.

He was reading a thick book, and he suddenly raised his head to look at me.

He shouldn’t be able to hear her footsteps, how did he know?

“…Are you here, Princess?”

Benny closed the book he was reading and bowed politely.

Alan glared at him coldly and grabbed my shoulder as if saying to not approach him.

This allowed us to start a conversation about five or six steps away.

“From now on, I will ask you about evil spirits.”

Even if Alan spoke harshly, Benny looked at me, not him.

“If I answer you, will you listen to my request?”

What did he mean by request? 

I didn’t immediately understand what he was talking about, so I looked at Alan and Benny in turn.

“I thought you had told the Princess…”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

Alan spoke as if he knew what Benny was talking about.

At this point, I couldn’t help but ask. 

“Dad, what kind of favor does he want?”

“…Don’t worry about it, it’s a ridiculous request.”

Alan tried to pass it, but Benny struck first.

“I want to become the Princess’ escort knight.”

It was a solid voice as if it could pierce into a bone. 

Benny looked straight at me, as if he wasn’t afraid of Alan, who had a stern expression on his face.

I was dumbfounded. 

“The escort knight?” 

“Yes.” 

Benny nodded as if it was natural.

“Because I promised to protect you.”

I did ask Benny to protect me a while ago. Because I was in need of his help.

“You asked for it when I was first imprisoned in the Imperial Palace. But he said that he couldn’t use me as an escort knight, as he wasn’t sure if I was on the side of the evil spirits or not…”

Benny raised both hands as if asking us to look at it. 

His palms swelled up and slumped down. It was the hand of an evil spirit.

The vague black figure wobbled like pudding and then returned into a human hand.

“I’ll prove it. My power will be used for the sake of the Princess, not the evil spirits.”

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