Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 192
Charlie followed Alfred across the grass. It seemed that Duke Dwight had left a good portion of the Brandenburg Knights with the children. Even in the dead of night, there were a dozen or so fully armed knights standing guard, their faces hard and cold in the firelight.
He glanced around, noticing that these knights were different from those in his memories. Not to mention others, even little Shiloh had a vastly different demeanor from his predecessors. It appeared that the composition of the knight order changed with each Duke’s personal preferences.
The tents of the two children weren’t far apart, but due to the medication, Priscilla hadn’t been disturbed by the commotion on her brother’s side.
A young attendant lifted the tent flap, and Charlie was greeted by a refreshing breeze that made him squint in pleasure.
The highest point of the large, four-cornered tent had a string of glass windchimes. Whenever the temperature inside the tent rose or fell, they would gently sway, releasing magical particles like fireflies that scattered into every corner.
The comfort level here was worlds apart from the small tents allocated to Charlie and the others. He couldn’t help but think of the Four Seasons book in the young Duke’s carriage after he grew up. It seemed Brandenburg’s luxurious habits were hereditary.
Elaby gestured with his eyes, indicating that everyone else had left the tent. Charlie walked to the bedside and sat cross-legged on the carpet.
After being caught crying, Arnie refused to speak to anyone and remained curled up in bed, unmoving—but he was certainly still awake.
Charlie studied the lump of blankets on the bed, finding it quite amusing.
Although Dwight had an androgynous look, he was almost never mistaken for a girl, largely due to his firm character and excellent bone structure. He was slender but had broad shoulders and long legs, suggesting a promising future.
The first time they met, the young duke standing on the porch of 22 Paulownia Street was still underage, but already taller than many of his peers. Over the next half-year, he continued to grow rapidly, even waking up in pain at night from growing too fast. Now, looking at Dwight from over a decade ago, although hidden under the blankets, he was still small enough to be scooped up with one hand.
It was truly fascinating.
Charlie wanted to lift the blanket to see what a younger, crying Dwight looked like, but he refrained and instead motioned Elaby over. Elaby, confused, walked over and also sat by the bed.
To Elaby’s surprise, Charlie didn’t greet the Young Master but instead started a casual conversation with him.
“Mr. Elaby, why did you choose me?” he asked.
Elaby glanced at Arnie on the bed. The blanket remained still, but Elaby was certain he was listening to the conversation outside.
“I walked through half the town and saw many busy vendors and housewives, as well as old men leisurely basking in the sun, but not many children playing. So, I followed their trail and found you,” Elaby said. “How long did it take for the children to like you so much?”
“They like my stories,” Charlie replied with a smile. “If I gave you my stories, the children would follow you too.”
“But where do you find such stories?” Elaby also smiled.
“Ah, that’s a secret I can only share with you: all my stories are based on true events.”
Elaby understood what Charlie meant. He cleared his throat and continued, “But that’s impossible—talking chickens, old goats, and pigs—I can barely believe they were under some spell, but why do even teapots and soup pots talk?”
“No one would believe it. But that’s the charm of my stories. Although strange, they’re all true. For example, the story of the little chicken Laddy you heard today—it told me that story itself.”
“But I still don’t believe it.”
“I understand. It’s hard to believe without experiencing it firsthand. But there are many strange things in this world—for instance, five years ago, in an unknown forest, I saved a very peculiar animal. It could also talk.”
“I’ve never heard of talking animals in any forest.”
“That’s the strange part. As a novelist, I travel across the continent to gather material. People like me, traveling alone, are very cautious, always carrying enough food and water, along with essential items like a compass and a map. But strangely enough, despite following the map meticulously, I gradually got lost in the dense forest. When I realized I was lost, I had already ventured too far—such a large forest with no markings on the map. So, I kept walking, hoping to find a way out. But God didn’t hear my prayers, and I was lost for three days. My water was running out, and exhaustion made me hallucinate.”
“I vaguely saw something moving between the trees, so I approached… Do you know what I saw?” Charlie asked in a lowered voice.
Elaby glanced at the bed, feeling that the blanket, which had been tightly wrapped up, seemed to have a small gap.
“What did you see?” Elaby asked quietly.
“Even if I drew it for you, you probably wouldn’t believe such an animal exists. It wasn’t even as tall as my thigh. Its body looked like an inflated short-legged lizard, and its head resembled a hippo. But the strangest part was that it had a pair of bat-like wings on its back, which were quite small compared to its body, possibly just for decoration—but still, they were wings.”
“Does such an animal really exist?”
“I found it very peculiar too. It was tightly bound by a large coil of wild vines. As soon as it saw me, it started yelling, ‘What are you standing there looking at? Can’t you see I’m trapped? If you have any bit of compassion, come and rescue me!'”
“Of course, I didn’t go over immediately. I had never seen such a strange animal before, so I asked it, ‘What are you?’ It got very angry and said it was a dragon.”
Elaby: “……” Even in a story, there was no need to describe a dragon in such a bizarre way, making him seriously ponder what kind of creature this could be.
“It not only said it was a dragon but also that its name was Gino.” Charlie’s tone was calm, with little fluctuation, matching the quietness of the night.
“I realized it was still a child, so I cut the vines and freed it. In gratitude, it agreed to lead me out of the forest. You must be wondering, if it knew the forest so well, why did it get trapped by the vines? I was curious about that too, and Gino told me those weren’t ordinary vines. Ordinary vines couldn’t trap a dragon.”
“‘These were enchanted by an evil mage!’ Gino said angrily. ‘There’s a mage living deep in the forest who’s the most spiteful person in the world. If anyone offends him, he goes to great lengths to get back at them—do you have any food? I’m starving.’ To me, its round belly didn’t look like it was starving, but I shared my bread with it. After eating, Gino’s temper improved significantly. As it led me to the forest edge, it told me about the mage. This mage hated contact with humans, so he lived in seclusion, building a tall tower in the forest filled with magical books, and below it, a garden, but not one with roses or lilies—he grew all kinds of precious herbs.”
Elaby listened intently. “How does he live alone in the forest? People need clothes and food, right?”
“Exactly. The mage leaves the forest once or twice a year to shop in nearby towns. Gino accidentally wandered into his tower during one of these outings and accidentally burned a few of his books. After being caught, Gino had to stay in the tower and work for the mage—that’s how Gino put it. But from what I gathered, its work mainly involved watering the herbs and catching bugs, occasionally cleaning the tower stairs. The mage didn’t seem so bad, but Gino, still disgruntled, spoke ill of him a lot. Guess what happened next?”
Elaby was about to speak but saw Charlie gesture for silence.
Both stood up without making a sound. Charlie leaned in to observe and gently pulled the blanket down a bit.
Technically, this was against the rules, but Elaby was still absorbed in the story, and—he held his breath as Oscar very slowly pulled the blanket down.
Even with the magical items regulating the temperature, being wrapped so tightly would still be hot. Arnie’s light blond hair was damp with sweat. He was lying on his side, still clutching the blanket tightly, but his eyes were closed, and his breathing was even.
He had fallen asleep.
Charlie couldn’t help but smile silently. To be honest, Dwight had always had a masculine air with a somewhat stiff temper due to his noble upbringing. While Charlie knew everyone had a childhood, seeing it in person was still marvelously intriguing.
The child curled up on the bed was round all over, with his cheeks slightly puffed from being pressed. His eyelashes and eyebrows were light but beautifully shaped. Perhaps due to crying and having a stuffy nose, his mouth was open, creating an adorable shape just like his cheeks.
The only similarity to his adult self was the slightly furrowed brows, even in sleep.
Such an expression was common on adults but looked a bit out of place on a five-year-old. Charlie pulled the blanket up to Arnie’s neck and glanced at Elaby.
Elaby instinctively said, “Young Master Arnie had a bad night tonight. Thank you.”
Charlie blinked. This was the first time someone told him Dwight’s childhood name—no one had mentioned the names of the noble children who hired them during the safety checks he and the birdkeeper underwent earlier.
The name suited his younger self well, but thinking of the Duke a few days ago, who had given him the cold shoulder, was amusing.
Arnie, deep in sleep, couldn’t hear the conversation about him. He had trouble falling asleep earlier. He thought Priscilla wouldn’t have gotten sick if she didn’t wear those cumbersome clothes and kept her hair long.
But they were always surrounded by people insisting they “behave according to their status”. Priscilla wouldn’t defy such demands. Arnie believed her sickness was caused by these rules but didn’t know how to express this.
The reactions of those around him made him even more unhappy. He had a reason for being upset, unrelated to the attendants or Elaby, and he hadn’t taken it out on anyone. Why were they all so worried, thinking he was causing trouble?
Feeling increasingly aggrieved, Arnie couldn’t help but cry in his sleep, which embarrassed him when noticed. Furious, he resolved not to sleep and refused to talk to anyone, ignoring whoever came to check on him.
If they dared to fetch Priscilla… Arnie planned in his mind, he would throw a tantrum, just as they expected.
But Elaby didn’t fetch Priscilla. He brought in a stranger.
The stranger didn’t put on airs or formally greet him but instead chatted with Elaby.
Curious, Arnie couldn’t help but listen, and the stranger began telling a story—his voice was so pleasant. Arnie grew sleepier, wanting to peek at who it was, but eventually fell asleep without realizing it.
The next morning, as soon as he woke up, he remembered the person who had talked by his bed last night. But when he opened his eyes, he saw only his attendant of three years, Orem.
The person from last night was gone.
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