I Will Return My New Brother - Chapter 222

She wanted to survive for a long time, so she didn’t mind being a double agent and an actor. There was no reason to choose Zen.

Lowering his head, Bertin’s shoulders began to shake faintly.

I pity him for trying hard to not laugh out loud.

Yeah, it must be difficult.

Rany, who was quick to hear rumors, might have collapsed from a tantrum after hearing rumors spreading like this.

No, she probably would have fought with Zen, with them grabbing each other’s hair.

If the two fought, there was no one who could stop them.

It was obvious that everyone around would just stand back quietly and tremble.

And we, their only peacemakers, were here.

“I wonder if we’ll have to go back.”

It seemed that the capital was in danger.

Bertin, who managed to calm down, shoved his head against the table again at my words.

Propping up my chin, I muttered.

“I feel really strange.”

I couldn’t believe I would hear such nonsense about my friends from someone else’s mouth.

Zen, in particular, was covered with unfamiliar labels.

The Crown Prince’s mage. The great archmage. The heir of the magic tower.

Not as Zenin Arcadia, but Ardin Dale.

“Well, it’s not like everything will go as they wish just because they like each other. He has the Crown Prince’s trust, so he might be able to connect with the collateral Imperial family.”

“He’s the Crown Prince’s person after all.”

Everyone closed their mouths as though they agreed with the man.

The Crown Prince’s person, huh.

That label wandered around in my head.

Not long after declaring he would have Zen, the Crown Prince certainly succeeded in making him look like ‘his person.’

“Marianne.”

“I envy you, Crown Prince.”

Staring at me, Bertin spoke softly.

“It’s okay. What that Crown Prince has is only the shell. Zen’s focus is solely on you, anyway. There’s nothing to envy. No matter how impatient the Crown Prince is to own him, he’ll never get a piece of Zen’s heart.”

“We don’t know about it. He might turn over if he treats him kindly.”

Bertin shook his head when I answered with words I didn’t mean.

“You really don’t know Zen? I’m telling you he only gave his body.”

I flinched at his words.

I clearly understood the meaning, but the phrasing sounded a bit weird.

Bertin continued, “Don’t worry. Even if the Crown Prince uprooted the pillars of the palace and gave them to him, he wouldn’t fall for it. He is only someone easy to take advantage of. What Zen wants is only to establish his position through his power.”

“That . . .”

That was a bit cruel, wasn’t it?

“Wouldn’t the Crown Prince hold a grudge and seek revenge for being taken advantage of later on?”

Bertin smiled widely.

“He should take care of it alone. Zen is the one who caused it. No one ordered him to seduce the Crown Prince.”

“But we also gained advantages from it.”

“We didn’t order him. He did it himself.”

I looked at the unexpectedly cold Bertin intently.

Outside the noisy eatery, the door rattled open with a quite loud roar.

“What is it?”

“What happened?”

In an instant, everyone in the eatery turned their eyes to the door.

The owner, who went outside, went back while clicking his tongue after grasping the situation.

“It’s nothing. Everyone, go back to what you’re doing. It seems like a criminal from another region has been captured.”

Through the gap in the open door as he came in, I saw a familiar face being dragged by the soldiers of the security forces.

It was the coachman who led the carriage we rode.

I opened my mouth out of confusion and then turned to Bertin.

Looking at his stiff face, it seemed like he also saw the coachman getting dragged on.

“Let’s leave this place for now.”

He stood up calmly, and paid for the drinks on top of the table.

When we went out to the street, the frightening soldiers were gathering around.

Fortunately, most travelers had dull hoods, so no one thought us to be suspicious right now.

However, if the inspection became stricter, the situation could get complicated.

Bertin’s appearance stands out too much.

“We can’t leave this village without a carriage, so we’d better get a room.”

He spoke while fastening my hood.

As of now, there was no better idea.

* * *

Roaming around as a brother and sister, we obtained a room in a shabby inn.

Perhaps because it was an alley that travelers often passed by, no one seemed to be suspicious of new people.

The inn owner gave us bread and water for dinner.

It was clearly tasteless bread at a glance, but I took it wordlessly.

“First, we’ll have to look at the situation by tomorrow.”

My body, which has gotten used to superior beds, could hardly adapt to the musty and hard mattress.

Bertin sat down next to my head, holding a sword and wary of the surroundings.

I thought I would toss and turn for a long time, but perhaps due to the tiring journey, at some point, I was in my ‘dream’ again.

I saw Mikel Jayhorn, who rolled down, lose his consciousness with blood covering his forehead.

He, who was a mess, soon regained consciousness and stood up and opened his mouth, complaining of the pain.

A huge temple I had never seen in front of him entered my eyes.

There’s something like that?

There were only rocky mountains all around, so how could there be a temple?

The man, swallowing dry saliva, quickly rummaged through his pocket.

Maybe he was looking for the note he dropped.

As though he realized he lost it, he took out a pen with a sigh. He wrote something on his wrist.

The ink spread so it was hard to read, but I clearly read two words.

Parkit region.

It was the name of a region where Mom had gone with Lord Duke.

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