Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal

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

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Chapter 215

“Arnie!” Priscilla quickly ran down the steps, tightly hugging her little brother, who had just gotten off the carriage.

She hugged him so tightly that Arnie could barely breathe.

“Priscilla.” Arnie comfortingly patted her back.

“Are you—are you okay?” Priscilla asked excitedly.

“Alright, do we have to stand here to talk?” Duke Dwight laughed. “Priscilla, let your mother and I catch our breath—this trip wasn’t easy.”

Priscilla gripped Arnie’s hand tightly, afraid that if she let go, her brother would disappear again. “Tell me, where have you been?”

There was no one in Brandenburg who wasn’t worried about Arnie.

He was placed on the large sofa in the living room, surrounded by a circle of people, staring at his face, checking if he had been mistreated.

Arnie, of course, hadn’t been mistreated.

Although the conditions in the forest were a bit rough, the Nawen tribe didn’t mistreat this young nobleman. When he returned, Arnie’s cheeks were still round and full, and his skin as tender as it was before he left home.

The young master of the Dwight family was still the cutest child in Lemena.

Knowing his sister was frightened, Arnie, unusually, sat close to Priscilla, slowly recounting the story of how the big, dumb guy from the Nawen tribe privately ran off to become a bandit and how the seer allowed him into the elf ruins.

Although she shared the same blood as her brother, Priscilla wasn’t very interested in elves. She repeatedly checked if Arnie was hurt, and although he assured her he had a decent time, Priscilla couldn’t believe he hadn’t been wronged, being taken alone to an unfamiliar environment.

“You’re the heir of Brandenburg.” Priscilla was still displeased with the troublesome relative. “You haven’t been without attendants since you were little—did the Nawen tribe know what you like to eat? Did they know that coarse fabrics would chafe your skin?”

In Priscilla’s eyes, five-year-old Arnie was still a baby (though she believed that at nine, she was mature enough), and how could he be without constant care?

Arnie was a bit confused. The long journey made his mind sluggish, and recalling specific details was suddenly very tiring.

Priscilla immediately noticed his fatigue and asked Elaby to arrange for him to wash up and sleep.

“When you wake up, there will be a surprise,” Priscilla said. “Have a good dream, Arnie.”

But Arnie didn’t sleep well. Perhaps it was because he had been away, lying in his big bed, tossing and turning, feeling something was off.

He wanted someone to sleep with him tonight—but Arnie was too embarrassed to ask.

So he got out of bed, pulled the largest long pillow from the closet, dragged it back to bed, and only then barely managed to fall asleep holding it.

Duke Dwight asked Elaby to wake Arnie around three in the afternoon. Rest was important, but overindulgence could disrupt Arnie’s otherwise excellent habits.

Arnie was quite grumpy when woken up today, unwilling to get out of bed, and was eventually carried out of the bedroom by Elaby.

“He might have a slight fever.” Elaby worriedly told the Duke, feeling that the child’s neck and hands were a bit warm.

“Check again in half an hour. He just got out of the covers.” The Duke had a hat put on Arnie, then took the grumpy little boy into his arms.

“Arnie, the capital has a gift for you.” The Duke coaxed as they left the castle. “Don’t you want to see what it is?”

Arnie, resting his head on his father’s shoulder, wasn’t very enthusiastic. “What is it?”

The Duke felt his son had become clingier after the incident, as Arnie wasn’t usually this affectionate. He softened his voice. “Two ponies—the Emperor sent them for you.”

There wasn’t a boy who disliked horses. Arnie indeed perked up, finally lifting his head. “Where are they?”

“Albert is bringing them over.” The Duke put him down. They were in a beautiful grassy area outside the castle, with the sun shining warmly but not too strongly.

Arnie’s eyes widened as he saw Albert riding over, followed by two small ponies, one black and one white, very cute.

“They’re still very young.” Albert dismounted and smiled at Arnie. “Do you want to pet them?”

Of course, he did.

The ponies were about the same height as Arnie, very friendly. Arnie petted them all over, finally smiling.

“These are a gift from the Emperor.” The Duke squatted beside Arnie, petting the ponies with him. “Your mother and I also have a gift for you. Although it’s a bit early, we think it’s time to consider your knight candidate.”

The Dwight family had a long history, and their inherited wealth was astonishing, but the responsibilities each heir had to bear were equally significant, making the head’s safety paramount. The Brandenburg Knights were established for this purpose.

Arnie knew he would have a knight eventually, but he didn’t like playing with other kids. Brandenburg had only two children, but the capital had many princes, princesses, and other noble kids. Boys his age were always too excited and sweaty, and while girls liked him, he didn’t like being touched.

Arnie asked, “Can’t I have Alfred?”

Though Alfred was his father’s knight, Arnie thought that when he inherited the title, Alfred would still be strong enough—he didn’t mind men being older.

The Duke laughed heartily. “You don’t want Alfred to retire? He would cry if he heard that. Apparently, he found a promising young candidate among the Nawen tribe to bring back as an apprentice.”

Arnie didn’t like hearing this and moved behind the pony, staying silent.

Both Arnie and the potential knight candidates were still very young. The Duke didn’t want to force Arnie to accept immediately, so he gently suggested, “For now, it’s just a trial. We haven’t decided who will be your knight. You have many years before you come of age, so think of it as having a few more friends to grow up with. Wouldn’t that be nice?”

Arnie said, “But I want Alfred.”

The Duke pulled him close and stood up, holding him with one arm.

“Duke Dwight will have only one Knight Commander. Alfred and I met when we were very young.” The Duke said, “He will protect you, Priscilla, and your mother with his life, but that’s because his oath of loyalty is to me, before you were born.”

“When you inherit the title, Alfred will still love you like your mother, sister, and I do, but it will be a different kind of responsibility—you’ll understand that in time.” The Duke patted his head, in the same way, he had just petted the pony.

……

“So, they’re all future Brandenburg Knights?” Erica leaned on the windowsill and looked down. Brandenburg often held banquets, but it was rare for the main characters to be children, like today. She was a bit curious.

“Erica, can’t you act a bit more ladylike?” Albert, with a headache, pulled his sister down. “Why are you still wearing that? Where’s the dress mother prepared for you?”

Erica rolled her eyes at her brother and ran off as soon as she landed.

Albert didn’t have time to catch her. He was very busy today. Just dealing with the grumpy Young Master Arnie was enough for everyone.

“Still haven’t found him?” he asked the person hurriedly passing by the terrace.

The person gave a wry smile. Brandenburg was so large that a small child could hide anywhere, making it hard to find him.

“Albert!” Elaby leaned over. “Can you see what Miss Priscilla is doing down there?”

Albert was stunned for a second.

The castle garden’s lawn was decorated with many things children liked. The long table covered with a white tablecloth was filled with candies, puddings, small cookies, and drinks, stretching as far as the eye could see. But among the guests, the slightly older children looked a bit puzzled, just like their parents.

Everyone knew that this banquet was held by the Duke to select playmates—or rather, knights—for his son. Although all the invited children came from good families, titles and wealth couldn’t withstand the increasing division among more and more descendants.

Parents with some foresight were consciously seeking future prospects for their children, and this was undoubtedly a great opportunity. Regardless of whether their children could understand the significance, they emphasized before departure that it was crucial to leave a deep impression on the future Duke Dwight. Making friends would be even better.

But who could have thought that the main target wasn’t present?

“I was going to bring the rocking horse in advance, but Miss Priscilla said she had other plans.” Elaby had a headache. “Please, see what she’s up to?”

“No.” Albert looked at Priscilla on the lawn below. With Arnie not around, she was naturally the focus of the banquet, currently talking to everyone. From this distance, Elaby couldn’t hear what she was saying, but it was clear everyone was listening attentively.

“She said to let the children find Master Arnie.” Albert, skilled in lip-reading, easily relayed what was happening on the lawn.

“The first one to find him gets a mysterious prize… Miss Priscilla is really clever.” Albert raised an eyebrow.

A hide-and-seek game was naturally more interesting than being led by parents to perform talents. The children didn’t need much prompting and soon left the lawn.

“But where did Master Arnie go?” Elaby wondered. “We’ve searched all his usual places.”

Arnie was in a tree.

No one knew he could climb trees—not even himself. It was a sudden whim. Walking in the garden, he saw the tree with the densest crown and suddenly wanted to climb it.

So he did. He didn’t think he missed the Nawen tribe’s high-hanging wooden house, but he was willing to admit that the smell of the trees improved his mood.

Arnie sat on the trunk with his legs dangling, occasionally seeing people looking for him through the branches and leaves, feeling a mischievous glee. The sunlight filtering through the gaps warmed him, making him drowsy.

‘No one knows I’m here,’ he thought. ‘No one can find this place.’

So Arnie comfortably hugged the trunk and fell asleep. When he woke up again, the air had turned a bit cool.

“You’re awake?” someone asked.

Arnie leaned forward to look. On another branch, a child sat, looking older than him, very handsome, especially with that pure golden hair—it looked like the sun had fallen onto the tree.

Arnie hugged the trunk and said nothing.

He wanted to go down but suddenly realized he didn’t quite know how to climb down.

Without a response, the boy wasn’t annoyed. He skillfully stood up on the trunk and started climbing down using the protruding branches and knots. Arnie watched him without blinking, then slowly extended a foot, imitating him.

He was a bit scared, but the boy didn’t climb down all at once. Instead, he waited on the lower branch for Arnie.

Arnie slid down a bit, and the boy would lead the way down a bit further until both of them were on the ground. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and smile at Arnie.

“You climbed really high,” he said.

Not far away, someone shouted and ran toward the two suddenly appearing children. Arnie tilted his head to look at him and finally spoke. “Can you climb to the top of the tree? The highest point.”

The boy looked up. “I probably can, but it’s best not to. It’s the season for White Arc Birds and Snow Finches to raise their chicks. Their nests are high up, and humans climbing up would scare the adult birds.”

“Oh.” Arnie also looked up at the top of the tree but couldn’t see if there were nests. He wanted to say something else but was scooped up by the rushing Elaby.

“Master!” Elaby could hardly control himself. “You’ve been missing for hours. The Lady was about to cry.”

The people who followed Elaby surrounded them, checking if the two children were hurt.

“By the way, you—” Elaby, holding Arnie, turned to the boy standing there, looking much more relaxed. “Thank you for finding him. What’s your name?”

“Just a coincidence, sir,” the boy replied. “My name is Shivers.”

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The author has something to say:

Arnie’s memories are a bit disordered after just returning home. He still has some traces of living with Rabbit Head, but he can’t find the source.

The two ponies are Araceae and Midnight, who appeared at the beginning.

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