Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 200
Charlie tried to explain that Duke Dwight wasn’t the type to instigate wrongdoing, but Green Eyes, despite his clever face, was stubborn and believed that Alger must have handed the item over to the Duke.
So they intended to use Dwight’s son to exchange for their treasure.
However, such an action was extremely dangerous. Although Duke Dwight was kind-hearted, this kindness likely wouldn’t extend to those who had kidnapped his young son. Lemena was known to possess a considerable amount of military power. Even if Green Eyes and his kind were physically exceptional and could fight ten men each, they were nothing in the face of the Imperial army.
Charlie looked at the stubborn Green Eyes, whose righteous and fearless expression reminded him of his own demeanor a decade ago. This filled him with a sense of foreboding.
“Pardon me,” he carefully asked. “I don’t mean to pry into your name. I’m just trying to be polite. I—”
He paused and lied. “I’m twenty-two years old. How old are you?”
Green Eyes gave him a curious look, seemingly puzzled by the relevance of age to politeness. But compared to revealing clan names and settlement locations, age was trivial information that wouldn’t leak any secrets. So he said, “I’m five years younger than you. So what?”
Charlie: “……”
He almost lost his composure and silently cursed.
Initially, seeing Green Eyes and his companions were all tall and sturdy, he wouldn’t have guessed this. But from their short conversation, Charlie realized their logical thinking was overly straightforward and somewhat naive—quite immature.
He was right. The kidnappers were just a bunch of teenage boys!
Probably seventeen-year-old Arnie’s steadiness and wisdom were quite exceptional. Charlie nearly forgot how troublesome teenage boys could be. Now, he didn’t dare speak rashly, guessing their next steps based on their behavior patterns—
Where to take the kidnapped son of a Duke?
To their territory, of course, to have the Duke come with the ransom.
But wouldn’t that expose their hiding place?
Uh-oh, didn’t think of that. Is it too late to kill the hostage and destroy the evidence?
Or…
Why not first try peacefully negotiating with the Duke?
What’s peaceful negotiation? Alger’s master must be a terrible person.
But what if Alger lied to you? What if Duke Dwight isn’t involved?
Then return the Duke’s son.
It’s not that simple. Kidnapping is illegal in the Empire and will implicate your clan.
Uh-oh, didn’t know that. Might as well kill the hostage and destroy the evidence?
No matter how he thought about it, Charlie felt explaining reason would only worsen things. Besides, these teenagers wouldn’t listen to just any adult—they needed someone who could command their respect.
Green Eyes didn’t realize Charlie was overthinking things. He stood up. “I’m going to blindfold and gag you. We’ll depart in a few hours.”
“Wait, wait, wait!” Charlie quickly said. “What about the child? I won’t resist but let him stay with me. He’s a pampered noble and might fall ill if frightened. You don’t want extra trouble, right?”
“He’s Dwight’s son,” Green Eyes said, trying to sound cold. “He can’t leave our sight before arrival. As for you…”
He paused, considering whether to bring along another “servant”, but Charlie’s earlier mention of the child’s pampered nature convinced him. No one wanted to babysit a fussy child.
“You’ll see him again when we arrive,” he said.
……
Duke Dwight strode through the corridor. The morning sunlight filtered through the rose windows, casting beautiful colored patterns on the floor, but no one noticed as the Duke walked over them.
The people following him suspected that if they weren’t in the palace, the Duke might have broken into a run.
“The Emperor is waiting inside,” the attendant at the door said, opening it for him. Dwight nodded and allowed the attendant to keep the others outside.
The Emperor had slept only four hours last night. A large pot of stimulant beverage sat on the table, and he held a briefing in his hand—highly unusual since the briefing arrived only ten minutes before Dwight.
“What’s happened?” he asked directly.
“I need to return,” Duke Dwight’s expression was grim. “Elves have gone to Lemena.”
The Emperor’s face grew serious. The Duke handed him an envelope marked with the Dwight family seal, but both the envelope and the ink were black—a sign of extreme urgency.
After scanning the letter quickly, the Emperor was at a loss for words—a letter from the capital while simultaneously kidnapping a child was unlike elven behavior.
“Emma cried so hard she couldn’t speak and couldn’t come to the palace to bid farewell.” Duke Dwight took a deep breath. “The carriage is ready.”
“I’ll have Olivier arrange your departure without needing my signature… but please stay calm.” The Emperor left his seat, squeezing the duke’s shoulder. “They have demands and won’t harm Arnie.”
Even he found such reassurance to be weak. Indeed, the probability that Arnie wouldn’t be harmed was high, but what father would want to gamble his child’s safety on probabilities? Besides, Arnie was only five years old. At that age, even being carefully protected during an outing could lead to illness from a cold wind. It wasn’t necessary to be deliberately mistreated—being handled roughly could be enough to cause harm.
“Alfred has taken people to pursue them. Priscilla was terrified.” Duke Dwight, always standing straight, now seemed slightly hunched, his face tired and helpless. “I just hope Arnie is okay. As long as he’s okay.”
The capital dispatched two great mages and a small team of trackers to return to Lemena with the Duke’s carriage. Pennigra had enjoyed over two hundred years of peace. People relied more on the conveniences brought by mages than on auxiliary combat power, and Brandenburg was no exception.
The Emperor’s sealing of the news of Arnie’s kidnapping didn’t mean he didn’t take it seriously. The Empire only had three great mages, and two were sent to assist the Duke. Applying speed magic to horses’ hooves might have been overkill, but given the urgency, no one objected and just hurried along in silence.
Besides mages, the empire also had a very old astrologer, but he was too old to have the energy to help.
The gentle Duchess was rarely this serious. Though she nearly broke down crying when she got the news, she hadn’t once asked to rest after setting off. Even when the Duke worried that the accelerated journey might be too bumpy for her, she ignored it completely.
“Priscilla must be very frightened. What if you also fall ill?” Duke Dwight was anxious but also worried about his wife.
The Duchess shook her head. Usually, traveling by carriage was burdensome for her, often causing dizziness and nausea. But this time, she strangely felt none of those symptoms.
“My heart is not here. It’s with Arnie,” she pleaded. “Please don’t stop. Go faster. Until I see my son safe by my side, I won’t feel hunger or heat, let alone fatigue.”
She had read and re-read the urgent dispatch from Brandenburg countless times, missing no detail. Alger… Emma had never felt such anger toward anyone.
She remembered her opportunistic cousin, but they only saw each other once or twice a year during childhood. Boys and girls usually played separately, and she couldn’t even recall what he looked like now.
Since becoming the Duchess, many had tried to exploit their familial connection for personal gain. But this time, it crossed her bottom line. If Arnie was harmed because of this, she would make Alger’s family pay dearly.
“Don’t worry too much.” The Duke tried to comfort her, struggling to keep his own spirits up. “Elves rarely harm children. Arnie is smart. I’ve taught him how to protect himself.”
“I know Alfred. He believes this is entirely his fault. If he can’t bring Arnie back, he’d rather die.”
The Duchess’s eyelashes trembled. She wanted to say that it wasn’t entirely Alfred’s responsibility but didn’t voice it.
“Arnie has never traveled alone,” she said, her voice almost breaking from grief. “He’s still so young… Priscilla must be very scared too. She’ll probably blame herself.”
“We all have a responsibility,” the Duke said solemnly. “Once this is resolved, we must start training knights for Arnie earlier.”
The long peace had made them complacent. They never imagined anyone would be bold enough to kidnap their child. This incident revealed a security gap in Brandenburg: the castle had resident mages, but they usually didn’t accompany the children when they went out. Perhaps he should train one or two magical knights to stay with Arnie at all times.
However, Arnie’s independent nature made him dislike being constantly followed. He always wandered off alone, and there were few people he would accept as his companions.
The Duke didn’t want to sigh in front of his wife, so he turned his head to look out the window. With fast horses paving the way and the great mage’s speed spells, the carriage was moving unusually fast. For safety, the windows were closed.
If Arnie had been taken by carriage, it would have been better. But if he was being carried on horseback, such a young child couldn’t endure long periods of riding. The Duke’s worries grew.
……
“You weren’t riding horses,” Arnie said confidently.
“What does it matter?” the man in front of him said impatiently. “Are you going to eat or not?”
Arnie looked at the bowl of oatmeal in front of him, his face full of refusal.
He didn’t like the mushy texture of oatmeal.
“I’ll eat if you tell me what you’re using for transportation,” he bargained. “The swaying frequency is odd. It must be some kind of animal, but not a horse—cows are too slow, so it’s not that either.”
“Hey.” Another person entered the room, seeing the untouched oatmeal and frowning. “What’s the delay?”
“He won’t eat,” said the one arguing with Arnie, quickly complaining. “I’ve never seen such a troublesome kid. Are all nobles like this?”
Arnie thought, “You should meet my cousins in the capital. They would probably dismantle your house if they were here.”
“Maybe we should just let him skip a meal,” the newcomer suggested.
The first man assessed Arnie’s thin arms and legs. “No, that’s not an option.”
None of their children were this skinny at his age. No wonder the other guy said noble children needed special care. So skinny and still picky about food—if this kid skipped a meal, he might not survive till morning.
“Fine, fine,” the first man relented, glaring at Arnie. “We used birds to transport you. Satisfied?”
The author has something to say:
You can see personality traits from childhood; the Duke has always been meticulous and sensitive.
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