NovelOnline Chapter 120: Why am I with you?
Chapter 120: Why am I with you?
‘I should have just come by horseback.’The time spent sitting around blankly in a shaking carriage was truly the worst. The attendant who would occasionally ask how his trip was going and the escorts who would nag him not to go too far because it was dangerous were extremely annoying.
He knew this would happen, but there was only one reason why he went through all the trouble.
‘Dragon’s bones?’
It was definitely fake. Even if it was the Caerleon Empire, it was a huge bluff.
The circumstances revealed by the Empire were also absurd. Even though he was a captain, he was able to defeat a dragon that had turned into a ghoul with only three subordinates.
Didn’t it seem like a straight copy of an old story?
Surely the royal family of the Caerleon Empire wouldn’t have lied so blatantly, but there must have been some exaggeration.
They must have mistaken it for a large wyvern, or some other winged monster.
He was going to go there himself and prove that it was fake.
Although he himself had never seen a dragon in person, he could tell the difference between a dragon and a wyvern.
But, just in case.
‘If it’s a real dragon…’
His fist clenched without him realizing it.
Despite the royal family’s persuasion, he traveled to all regions and found no trace of the dragon.
He’d been thinking about this and that in his head… but he actually knew.
The people of the Empire weren’t stupid. There must be excellent researchers there, so they wouldn’t have confused a wyvern with a dragon.
But he still didn’t want to admit it.
He didn’t want to admit it.
The dragon that the knight captain found by luck. While he couldn’t find it even after wandering around the world!
Such thoughts were spinning around in his head. His legs were shaking up and down.
Whether it was real or fake, it didn’t matter. He had to see it with his own eyes. That’s why he insisted on asking his father to go to the Caerleon Empire as an envoy.
“Damn, why is it so slow? This is why I hate carriages.”
Feeling increasingly anxious, he ended up opening the carriage window and taking out his irritability on the poor escort driver.
“Can’t you go a little faster?”
“I will do my best, Your Highness.”
Llewellyn, who had seen the knight urging the coachman, clicked his tongue and sat back down.
The carriage rolled along at even faster speeds.
After a long journey, they finally arrived at the imperial castle. As expected, there was a huge crowd there, perhaps because it was a festival period.
It seemed as if the word ‘lively’ had been transferred to the streets.
When Llewellyn couldn’t stand it anymore and stuck his head out again, the escort knight scolded him again.
“It is dangerous, Prince. Get back inside.”
“Oh, really. What’s so dangerous about it?”
After venting his anger once, he looked around the street again.
Even though the festival hasn’t started yet, the anticipation was already palpable as people moved around frantically, setting up stalls and displaying colorful decorations.
“Your Highness.”
“I got it!”
When the knight urged him again, Llewellyn finally had no choice but to sit down quietly.
The eve of the festival would be held this afternoon, and the full-scale festival would begin tomorrow. There were still a few days left until the banquet, so it may be possible for him to sneak out of the castle at night and take a look around.
Perhaps because it was so crowded, it took quite a while to even get through the crowds and enter the palace.
Only after going through security checks and identity verification procedures could one get off the carriage and enter the palace.
“Prince Llewellyn Charles Everan, thank you for visiting the Caerleon Empire. I am Jereon, an aide to His Highness Crown Prince Cantares Al Caerleon.”
The first to greet him was the Crown Prince’s aide, who wore a friendly smile.
“Then I will guide you straight to His Highness the Crown Prince. His Highness is looking forward to meeting you.”
“Oh, by any chance…”
Before Jereon could take a step, Llewellyn quickly caught him.
“Could I please have a look at the dragon’s remains first? I know it’s rude.”
“Prince!”
The terrified chamberlain tried to dissuade him, but Llewellyn did not give in.
Jereon blinked his gentle eyes as if he was thinking for a moment, then smiled.
“The researcher is currently conducting an investigation, so you cannot enter the hall.”
Just as the prince was about to feel disappointed, Jereon added:
“Instead, you can look inside through the window facing the garden. Would you like to do that? Since His Highness the Crown Prince is waiting in the same building anyway, it won’t take long.”
There was no sign of displeasure at all at the prince’s rude request. Llewellyn nodded quickly, as if Jereon would change his mind.
“Then I guess I’ll have to tell His Highness the Crown Prince that we’ll be a little late. Please follow me, Your Highness.”
The chamberlain’s whispering and nagging, as well as the splendid gardens of the Caerleon Empire’s palace, were not immediately noticeable.
“If you are His Highness the Crown Prince’s aide, you must know the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the dragon’s remains. Is the story that has been passed down truly true?”
“Yes, that’s right. You’ll hear the details at the banquet. It’s not something I, a mere aide, can bring up.”
“Then it is true that the dragon was transformed into a ghoul and came to life and the commander of the imperial knights defeated it.”
Despite Jereon’s gentle refusal, the prince did not stop talking.
It was a series of dangerous statements that could easily be interpreted as saying that the Crown Prince’s announcement was not to be trusted.
Just as the chamberlain was about to intervene again, Jereon smiled kindly.
“Yes, he is a great knight and a wonderful man. I look forward to introducing him to you at the banquet.”
“Huh? Uh uh…”
Llewellyn nodded absentmindedly without realizing it.
Somehow he felt strange.
Even if he thought about it himself, the words he said just now were crossing the line even barely.
But somehow, it seemed like the provocations weren’t working for Jereon.
It wasn’t like he was looking at a distinguished guest of a country… He looked like a grandparent looking at his young grandson with affectionate eyes, saying that this level of pranking wasn’t even ticklish.
“We’re almost there, Prince. It’s right over there.”
But that feeling of discomfort was short-lived, and Llewellyn’s eyes immediately sparkled at Jereon’s words.
There was a large window right in front of him.
“You can take a peek inside.”
“Ah!”
The feeling of discomfort disappeared in an instant. Llewellyn ran straight to the window and stood on tiptoe to look inside.
Most of the windows were covered with thick curtains.
“Oh, no. The curtains are down inside. Sorry. It wasn’t like this when I saw it earlier.”
Although Jereon showed his discomfort, Llewellyn paid no attention and tried to look inside somehow.
All that was visible was a portion of what was presumed to be the remains of a dragon’s foot and a researcher preoccupied with something.
The size of its feet alone was enormous. It was incomparable to that of a wyvern or any other flying creature.
The prince, who had been leaning on his tiptoes, soon realized that the researcher was not alone. Another person had appeared next to the researcher who was absorbed in something.
It was a young man wearing a uniform that looked like the Imperial Knights he had encountered several times on his way here, but in a lighter color.
Llewellyn looked at him, forgetting even the dragon for a moment.
‘Is that silver hair?’
It was the first time he saw such pure white silver hair. It seemed to shine on its own even in the dark hall.
His handsome face, which now looked to be about 20 years old, still had a bit of boyishness left in it. Nevertheless, he had an unusually cold impression, and even if he just glanced at him through the window, he could tell that he had a unique atmosphere.
Although he was young, he seemed quite arrogant as he listened indifferently to the researcher who seemed much older than him and spoke to him about this and that.
Just as he was about to frown, the silver-haired young man looked back.
“…!”
“Your Highness, what happened?”
When the prince, who had been watching carefully, suddenly pulled away, the aide asked a question as if he was curious, but Llewellyn just quickly shook his head.
“No, nothing.”
“Unfortunately, you will have to wait for the banquet to see the dragon fully. Now, shall we begin moving again?”
Jereon, who checked the time, urged them gently.
Llewellyn, who had been looking back once more for no reason, followed Jereon with a worried expression on his face.
‘I feel like he was smiling at me…’
It must have ben his imagination.
He tried to shake the thought off.
The greeting with the Crown Prince ended surprisingly briefly.
It ended with a brief exchange of greetings and mutual introductions.
“Thank you for coming to the Empire once again, Prince. Please pay your respects to His Majesty the Emperor on the day of the banquet.”
“I am the one who would like to thank you for the invitation, Your Highness the Crown Prince.”
“You must be tired. Get rid of your fatigue. There will be a servant waiting outside.”
This kind of place was not very pleasant.
Llewellyn quickly bowed his head once more and greeted them, then quickly walked to leave.
As soon as he opened the door of the office, he came face to face with a person.
“Uh?”
It was the silver-haired young man he saw earlier.
It seemed like he had come up here from the hall while he was briefly talking to the Crown Prince.
When Llewellyn blinked at him, the young man stepped aside, perhaps thinking he was blocking his way.
“Oh, excuse me.”
Then he passed Llewellyn and went into the office.
Bang.
The door closed again, and Llewellyn’s chamberlain, waiting outside, flustered.
“The knight is so rude…!”
“Thank you for waiting so long. My name is Seton, and I am here to serve the prince.”
But that only lasted a moment, as a boy who came running from somewhere interrupted his words with perfect timing.
When the chamberlain could not bring himself to continue speaking due to the bright smile on his face, the servant who introduced himself as Seton guided the prince and his party.
“I’ll take you to your accommodations!”
“Huh? Huh huh…”
This time too, Llewellyn could only nod in bewilderment.
“I have a concern.”
“What is it?”
“I wonder if it would be okay to show you off in front of foreign dignitaries.”
Arendt responded nonchalantly to Cantares’s serious remark.
“Well, it’s rude for someone who’s too smart to keep hanging around. It can lower the other person’s self-esteem.”
“Everything about you is a problem from start to finish, except for your face, you punk.”
“Thank you for the compliment.”
The solemn atmosphere that had been hovering around until just now was blown away by the young apprentice knight who immediately started to irritate the Crown Prince.
“This is the report that the Count asked me to deliver. By the way, is the person who just left a royal family member? Oh, if he arrived not long ago, then he must be the third prince of the Everan Kingdom.”
“You know that, and yet… Okay. Let’s stop talking.”
Cantares, who was about to say something more, just wiped his face.
Jereon, who had been watching the scene, explained naturally.
“That was Prince Llewellyn Charles Everan. I’ve heard he’s quite the troublemaker… a free spirited man, and it seems he lives up to his reputation.”
Compared to Arendt, that level was very cute.
Thanks to having become accustomed to Arendt, the palace people have now reached a point where they don’t even blink an eye at the average eccentric.
“Sir, why do you look at me like that?”
“No, nothing.”
Jereon responded to Arendt’s odd question with another kind smile.
Arendt gave the aide a disapproving look, shrugged his shoulders, and changed the subject.
“Come to think of it, today is the eve of the festival, right?”
“Yes, I heard that Lord Arendt is off duty this afternoon. Are you going to take a look around?”
“Well, I don’t really like crowded places. But still…”
Arendt paused for a moment and then added plainly.
“It depends on how one person behaves.”
His golden gaze briefly fell on the door through which Prince Llewellyn had exited, then dropped.
He already bought Seton in.
He’d already asked Enoch and Rosie, the siblings who entered the palace due to the recent casino incident, to cooperate, so they’ll be in contact soon.
“Please, I beg you, just remain quiet until the National Foundation Day ceremony is over. I won’t ask for anything else.”
“How much will you give me?”
“Oh, really!”
Eventually, the Crown Prince grabbed anything he could get his hands on and threw it.
Arendt simply grabbed the thick book flying in front of him and placed it back on the desk as he spoke seriously.
“Your Highness, do you know?”
“What.”
“If you get angry a lot, your hair will fall out quickly. If that happens, it will seriously hinder your ability to marry a crown princess in the future…”
“Kwaaak!”
Leaving the Crown Prince who was throwing a tantrum behind, Arendt quickly left the office.
He heard someone yelling from behind him, “If all my hair falls out, it’s all your fault!” but of course he ignored that.
‘I told you that person is funny too.’
Cantares, who was more sensitive than usual, was a great target to tease.