Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 198

Unfortunately, Arnie’s frantic dash and fall onto the pile of leaves had made quite a noise, which was conspicuous in the otherwise silent woods. Charlie picked him up, trying to leave the area as quickly as possible, but after running a few steps, he abruptly stopped. The inertia caused both of them to fall to the ground.

A deep pit had appeared without warning right in front of them. If Charlie hadn’t stopped in time, they would have fallen right in. But what caught his eye first wasn’t the pit—it was the sudden burst of magical light characteristic of elf magic. It was a deep green, distinctly different from the toad-like green of certain dark magics.

Charlie felt this situation was very troublesome. If their opponent was truly an elf, their chances of winning were slim. Elves lived much longer than humans, so even a young-looking elf could have been practicing magic for longer than any elderly human grandmages. Moreover, elves were naturally superior in physical abilities, with almost all of them being born warriors. If Charlie were alone, he might take a chance, but with Arnie here…

He heard a small noise behind him. Charlie got up, seeing three people swiftly approaching through the leaves, their footsteps nearly silent. One of them was being dragged, seemingly unconscious, and it was his feet scraping the ground that made the sound.

Charlie pursed his lips and tightened his grip on Arnie’s hand. Sensing his nervousness, Arnie remained silent, hiding half his body behind Charlie.

The approaching figures were tall, with fair skin and striking green eyes, but no pointed ears.

“Who?” One of them spoke, addressing his companions rather than Charlie and Arnie.

Charlie felt a twinge in his head. The newcomers were speaking Southern Elvish. Arnie’s eyes widened as he recognized the unconscious man being dragged—it was his “uncle” Alger.

Alger looked nothing like the confident man from the day before. His shirt was dirty and wrinkled, and his pants were covered in mud, as if he’d spent the past half hour rolling on the ground. His limbs were limp, but his eyes were open, and he was somewhat conscious.

Seeing Arnie, Alger instinctively struggled. Charlie realized this was bad. Unfortunately, he couldn’t stop Alger from shouting out to Arnie, who responded with disdain.

The man holding Alger shook him, making him cry out. Another man stepped forward, staring at Arnie.

“Dwight?” he asked in Common.

Charlie assessed the situation. Alfred was nowhere in sight, and shouting for him was more likely to provoke these men than to call for help. He spread one hand, palm up, to show he was unarmed, while keeping a tight grip on Arnie with the other.

“We’re just passing through, sirs,” Charlie said humbly. “We mean no trouble.”

“That’s Dwight’s son!” Alger, eager to clear himself, said quickly. “My nephew, Arnie. Arnie, come to your uncle…”

Arnie wasn’t stupid. He hid further behind Charlie, avoiding eye contact with Alger.

“Dwight emblem,” the closer man said to his companion, noticing the emblem on Arnie’s clothes.

“Take them.” The man holding Alger dropped him and advanced towards Charlie and Arnie.

Alger, now free, immediately ran in the opposite direction, despite the pain from his minor wounds. He was confident that the presence of a Dwight would keep the attention off him, allowing him to escape.

Feeling no one chasing him, Alger ran faster, relieved. This forest wasn’t very large. He would soon be out—

A clod of dirt hit Alger on the head with surprising force. Already panicked, the blow made him stumble, almost falling over as dizziness set in.

Is someone chasing me? He clutched his head, trying to shake off the ringing in his ears.

“Hmm?”

Alfred approached quickly, taking a moment to recognize Alger.

Alfred was a knight of rank. Although Alger was a noble by birth, he had no title himself. Unlike Elaby, Alfred didn’t feel obliged to be overly polite to these relatives, even out of respect for the Duchess.

He walked up, appearing casual. “What’s going on?”

Alfred had heard the commotion from a distance, initially thinking it was something suspicious. But upon closer inspection, it was just someone running wildly through the forest, looking quite deranged.

Alger, realizing it was a Brandenburg Knight, felt guilty and stammered, unable to speak coherently.

Alfred scrutinized him. At first, he thought Alger had been chased by a wild animal, explaining his disheveled state. But the small, precise wounds on Alger’s body weren’t from rolling on the ground. Remembering why he had come into the forest, Alfred’s expression darkened. “What happened?”

“Ah… nothing, nothing happened,” Alger pleaded. “Can we just go back? Please?”

Alfred squinted, looking in the direction Alger had come from. “Who did you meet?”

Alger’s panicked expression confirmed Alfred’s suspicions: there were intruders in the forest. Oscar and he had sensed something wrong, and it wasn’t Alger who posed no real threat but someone or something else.

“Really, no one,” Alger insisted, knowing Alfred would be furious if he found out he had tried to use Arnie as a distraction to escape. “I’m feeling unwell. If you don’t go, I’ll go back myself.”

“No.” Alfred grabbed Alger by the collar and effortlessly dragged him along. “You’re coming with me to see.”

“No!” Alger struggled violently. “You can’t fight the elves!”

“Elves? What elves?” Alfred stopped, suspicious. “Those things have been extinct for ages.”

“They’re very vengeful! They’ll take me with them too!” Alger shouted in despair.

The next second, Alfred’s hand gripped his throat like a vise.

“You said ‘take with them’.” The usually smiling knight’s expression turned especially cold. “Who else did they take?”

Alger was no match for Alfred—naturally stubborn and weak-willed, he wasn’t a person of strong resolve. When his life was threatened, Alger would do anything, including betraying others and himself.

“I didn’t know they’d follow me here.” Dragged around twice in one day, Alger felt like his insides were going to be squeezed out of his mouth. He mumbled, “They’re elves, incredibly fast. They might already be out of Lemena by now… Ah!”

Alfred’s punch landed squarely on Alger’s face. Alger let out a short cry and collapsed like a noodle.

The area was deserted. Alfred meticulously inspected the surroundings, even turning over fallen leaves on the ground. Finally, near a pine tree, he found what he was looking for: two pieces of handmade candy.

These were the snacks prepared for Arnie by the maids at the pavilion. Even before his birth, the Duke and Duchess had hired a special confectioner for him, and even the candy wrappers were unique to Brandenburg. Just half an hour ago, Alfred himself had eaten a piece.

He put the candy in his pocket and looked around. The soil and leaves in several places were messy, as if someone had fallen there, but there was no trace of blood.

Whether Alger’s talk of elves was true or not, at least for now, Arnie’s life wasn’t in immediate danger. Although the elves were warlike, they weren’t bloodthirsty, and they had a high tolerance for innocent younglings, even human ones—after all, younglings were younglings.

Although the Young Master rarely showed an innocent side, given his intelligence and noble upbringing, he should be capable of using cuteness to save his life.

But why elves?

Alfred turned to look at the unconscious Alger, his anger barely contained.

……

“What did you say?” Priscilla stood up abruptly from the sofa, the sudden movement causing a bout of dizziness. Ignoring it, she took two steps forward, nearly losing her composure. “What do you mean, Arnie is missing?”

Her aunt, who was sitting opposite her, turned pale when she saw Alger being dragged in by Alfred, the pallor breaking through her makeup.

Her lips trembled as she wanted to check on her husband’s condition, but Alfred’s intimidating presence kept her frozen in place.

“Get Albert and Gray to interrogate this guy,” Alfred said to the shocked Elaby. “It’s probably their mess.”

Elaby, snapping back to his senses, looked at the trembling woman on the sofa. Without needing a word, two young footmen stepped forward to escort her away.

“Lock them all in the tower,” Elaby ordered sternly. “Seal the windows, and no one is to approach them until the Duke returns.”

Priscilla hadn’t noticed Elaby’s commands. She ran to Alfred, hoping that her little brother would suddenly appear from behind him. Alfred supported her, noticing her whole body trembling. It had only been a minute since he entered, and Priscilla was already in tears.

“Where is Arnie?” she shouted at Alfred. “Where is my brother? I told you to watch him! Alfred! I told you to watch him!”

Alfred knelt on one knee on the carpet, quickly explaining the situation while wiping her tears.

“Elven magic is more potent in natural environments. It’s hard to detect immediately in the woods. Young Master Arnie left two pieces of candy. I think he meant that Oscar was taken with him.”

Priscilla became more distressed. “He’s just a novelist! If—if he could protect Arnie, how could he be taken too?”

What she didn’t say was that Oscar was just someone hired by Elaby with a generous payment to accompany the children. His loyalty and sense of responsibility couldn’t compare to others. She could trust anyone else to protect her brother with their life, but for heaven’s sake, Oscar hadn’t even received his first paycheck yet!

Alfred thought that Oscar wasn’t as simple as he seemed, but seeing Priscilla crying so hard, he didn’t want to upset her further.

“This is my fault,” he assured her. “They left less than an hour ago. We still have a chance to catch up. We need to identify the intruders and their purpose. You know Albert’s skills. He will extract the truth quickly.”

“Once we find Arnie, I will accept any punishment. But until then, he may be waiting for us to rescue him. Please, hold back your tears, and let’s think of a plan. He must be very scared now.”

Priscilla took several deep breaths but couldn’t stop crying. She gulped down a glass of water and said, “Elaby, write a letter immediately. Have the butler send it to the capital. They need to know what happened.”

Even if her parents blamed her, Priscilla had no other choice but to seek their help.

Elaby left quickly. Two maids held Priscilla, comforting her and fearing that her body wouldn’t withstand the shock.

But Alfred’s words reminded her that without their parents, if even the elder sister panicked, Arnie would have no one to rely on. Priscilla forced herself to drink another glass of water and said, “Get another person to interrogate my good aunt. Make sure Alger tells the truth. From her reaction, she’s clearly involved.”

“You said there’s elven magic in the forest,” Priscilla, still hiccuping from crying, said to Alfred. “But this race disappeared long ago. If the stories of their retreat to Paradise are false, they wouldn’t easily leave their seclusion to contact humans.”

For a child, Priscilla was strong. Alfred himself hadn’t recovered as quickly in the forest. He handed the two pieces of candy Arnie had left behind to her.

“Elven magic isn’t exclusive to elves. Some mages who are naturally attuned to nature can also learn their spells,” Alfred explained. “If it is truly elves, that’s good. Elves rarely harm children or pregnant women, as it goes against their beliefs. Moreover, Arnie is innocent. Revenge and anger aren’t typical elven behaviors.”

Priscilla, well-versed in history, knew Alfred wasn’t just making this up to comfort her.

“What if they’re pretending to be elves?” Priscilla couldn’t hide her worry.

“Those who are cruel and bloodthirsty can’t learn elven magic,” Alfred reassured. “Because it’s a power of healing.”

He lifted Priscilla into the carriage, staying behind to await the interrogation results. Elaby, meanwhile, hurried back to Brandenburg on horseback to use the communication point in the Duke’s study. If they acted quickly, the capital would receive news of the heir’s disappearance by morning.

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