Chapter 172: Oath
At the entrance of the village, a child tugged at the hem of my clothes. He looked up at me with wide eyes. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
“Wow, are you a fairy?”
Ah… this kid is going to grow up to be someone important one day.
I smiled as sweetly as I could, not wanting to shatter his fantasy.
“Yes, I’m a fairy.”
The child spun around me. “Your hair shines like starlight!”
Haha, I think this kid is going to save the country in the future.
“Fairy, can you grant my wish?”
“What’s your wish?” I asked, expecting a childlike request for sweets or something similar.
“Please bring Eze back.”
“Eze? Is he your friend?”
The child nodded with a sad expression.
“Yes, we’re friends. He promised we’d eat apple pie together two days ago, but now I can’t find him anywhere.”
He continued to talk about a young boy named Eze. At first, I thought he might be describing an imaginary friend, which wouldn’t be unusual at his age. But as I listened, I realized that wasn’t the case. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
“The adults told me not to go into the forest because there are lots of monsters there. Those monsters must have taken Eze!”
At this point, I couldn’t help but take him more seriously. It seemed like this ‘Eze’ was a real child who had gone missing.
“Well, I can’t promise anything, but I’ll look for your friend Eze. And you’ll be the first to know if I find him.”
“Thank you!” the child exclaimed, waving as he walked away.
I returned to the quarters, where Carl was waiting. We quickly discussed what we had each discovered.
“There’s a missing child. His name is Eze, and I think he might be the village chief’s grandson.”
“It seems a group of bandits has sneaked into the village.”
“Bandits?” Sigren asked.
Carl responded calmly, “A gang of thieves, essentially.”
Sigren quickly summarized the situation. “So a gang of thugs has kidnapped the chief’s grandson and is threatening him?”
“Yes, I believe so. Perhaps the discovery of the diamond mine leaked to nearby bandits.”
It seemed the bandits hadn’t expected that, after arriving at the village, the prince’s party would arrive soon after. In their haste, they decided to kidnap the village chief’s grandson and use him as leverage. That explained the tense atmosphere in the village.
“They must be threatening to kill the child if the chief tells the prince.”
“I think so,” I agreed. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
Later that night, we went to the village chief’s house to investigate. The chief looked terrified when he saw Sigren. It appeared he was about to leave, with a package in his hand.
“Y-Your Highness!”
In his fear, the village chief dropped the package, and several stones rolled out. Wait, not stones—rough diamonds.
The chief fell to his knees, head bowed. “I’m so sorry, Your Highness! I’ve committed a terrible sin, but I swear I didn’t mean to steal the gemstones!”
“Then why?” Sigren asked, feigning ignorance.
The village chief hesitated for a moment, then finally confessed. “Your Highness, my grandson has been kidnapped. If I don’t hand over the diamonds, they’ll kill him…”
It was just as we had suspected.
Sigren nodded, his expression calm.
“Your Highness, aren’t you angry?” The chief asked hesitantly. He likely expected the prince to be furious over the theft of such valuable gemstones.
But Sigren gently pulled the chief to his feet and answered indifferently, “A child’s life is more precious than diamonds.”
***
The bandits’ hideout was said to be an old lodge further up the mountain. There was a good chance Eze was being held captive there. It was reported that the bandits had demanded the diamonds be delivered by a young woman, but the village chief didn’t have the heart to follow through. He seemed to be planning to deliver the gemstones himself. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
“If we want to save the child, the best option is to pretend we’re handing over the diamonds,” Sigren said.
I quickly raised my hand. “Shall I go? They asked for a young woman to deliver the gemstones, and I fit the role perfectly—”
“Dismissed.”
“I’m against it.”
These guys… Did they really have to speak at the same time?
Even Carl added, “Miss, have you noticed? You have a knack for making things harder for yourself without even trying.”
Wow, that was harsh.
“Then who’s going to go?” I asked. We couldn’t send a real village girl.
Carl smiled, the corners of his mouth curling with a subtle charm. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
“I’ll go.”
Well, I couldn’t argue. Even I had to admit that he fit the role better than I did.
In the end, though, we decided Carl and I would go together. It would be too difficult to fight off a group of bandits and protect the child alone. Sigren planned to lurk outside the hideout and capture anyone who tried to escape.
“It can’t be helped, Sigren,” I said, trying to comfort him. “Your bone structure is too broad to dress up as a woman.”
“Fiona, it’s been a long time since your words have given me this much comfort,” he replied dryly.
Lately, it seemed like every comment Sigren made struck a nerve.
Then, with a serious expression, he kissed the back of my hand. “I have something important to discuss with you when this is over.”
“It’s not bad, right?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t say anything bad to you,” he responded calmly.
Hmm, then it must be something good. Read the translation on itsladygrey.com.
***
Check out my Patreon to read advanced chapters!
