Chapter 47: Young Lovebirds (I)

The lewd smile aimed at Carrie quickly vanished from Louis’s face as if it had never been there. He continued to eat the food Lucia offered him with gusto while snickering internally.

Gotcha, Yoonsuk!

It was obvious to everyone that Carrie harbored feelings for Lucia, and Louis decided to exploit this fact. His plan worked like a charm.

“…?!” Seeing Louis’s mocking grin, Carrie narrowed his eyes. With a determined look on his face, he approached Lucia.

“My lady…?”

“Yes? You’re still here?”

“I-is… Is something bothering you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You seem uncomfortable holding such a big kid. Wouldn’t it be easier to let her down so you can enjoy your meal…?”

As Carrie trailed off, Lucia stared blankly at him. Soon, her eyebrows twitched, and she spoke incredulously.

“Carrie…are you jealous of this child?”

“N-no…that’s not it.” Under Lucia’s icy glare, Carrie flusteredly waved his hands.

However, once her gaze turned cold, it wasn’t easily softened again. Lucia coolly looked away and said, “Please leave now. Your presence is disrupting our inn’s business.”

“W-wha?! Really?!”

“Hurry up!”

”…Understood. Apologies, Lady Lucia…”

Confusion, slight anger, and jealousy—all these emotions played across Carrie’s face as he reluctantly turned to leave. Noticing Carrie’s sidelong glance, Louis couldn’t resist sneering at him one more time.

Heh-heh.

Sh-shake!

Shoulders trembling with defeat, Carrie and his entourage departed. With their exit, the quiet inn once again became lively and bustling.

Unable to contain his curiosity any longer, Pablo asked, “Who is that guy?”

“Oh boy…” Moana sighed deeply before answering.

“He’s the eldest son of House Bunt.”

“Bunt? Bunt…?” Pablo racked his brain, trying to remember where he’d heard the name. Suddenly, it hit him, and he exclaimed, “Wait, you mean Terius Bunt? The fighter from the back alleys?”

“Yes, although…you can’t really call him a street fighter anymore. House Bunt has completely unified the underworld of Luft Hagenn. Everyone here knows about them.”

“Ha! I thought he was just some slick-talking noble brat, but he’s actually from the Bunts!”

“It’s not the Bunt faction anymore; it’s simply House Bunt now.”

”…Huh?”

The Bunt faction used to be one of many criminal organizations operating in the slums of Luft Hagenn, and Pablo had crossed paths with its former boss, Terius Bunt, in the past.

Over time, Bunt’s ‘faction’ became Bunt’s ‘family’, transforming into a powerful force dominating the underworld of Luft Hagenn.

Moana continued her explanation: “Yes, he is indeed nobility now.”

“What do you mean by that? Nobility? You’re talking about Bunt?”

“Yes. After unifying the back alleys of Luft Hagenn and gaining significant influence, Lordship personally bestowed a noble title upon Bunt. Now, they are known as Baron Bunt’s family.”

“Huh, Terius Bunt, that rascal… He always sang about becoming a noble one day, and it seems he finally achieved it.”

“That’s right. The current head of the Bunt family is Baron Terius Bunt, and Carrie is his son.”

Pablo shook his head with a look of disbelief at Moana’s lengthy explanation. Then, he turned to Lucia with a mischievous grin.

“Oh yeah, it seems like he’s smitten with Lucia. What do you think of him, Lucia?”

“Please don’t say such things…” Lucia waved her hand, clearly disapproving of Pablo’s comment.

However, Pablo continued to grin mischievously at her reaction. “Why not? Sure, his actions may be a bit odd, but he appears quite distinguished! His background as someone from the slums is a bit concerning, but isn’t he now part of a noble family? It’d be rare to find a suitable match for someone like him.”

“Haaah…” Lucia let out a long sigh and fell silent.

Seeing her sister tongue-tied, Moana stepped in. “It’s complicated…”

“Huh?”

“He’s…only fourteen years old.”

”…How old is Lucia this year?”

“Twenty-two…”

Pablo was rendered speechless, and Louis froze as well.

That brat… His height… He’s only fourteen?!

Louis looked crestfallen at realizing Lucia appeared much older than his actual age of fourteen.

Kids these days… Why do they grow so fast…?

Being shorter for his age had always been a complex for Louis.

As he slumped dejectedly, Moana continued talking.

“Sigh… This is his fourth year doing this…”

“H-how many years did you say?”

“Four years now.”

“But…didn’t you just say he’s fourteen?”

“That’s right. He started coming here every day since he was ten.”

“He…he seems quite mature for his age…”

“Hey, mister!”

“Ahem!”

Lucia’s gasp made Pablo scratch his head sheepishly.

While they chatted, the twins finished their snack and started nodding off at the table. Seeing this, Moana escorted them to the bedroom, followed by Lucia carrying Louis.

I’m not sleepy…

Before he could protest, Louis found himself lying on the bed next to the twins.

“Sleep tight.”

The sisters quietly left the room after tucking in the children.

Snore, snore.

“…They just keep sleeping, huh?” Louis looked incredulous as he watched the twins fast asleep. Despite his words, he nestled between them anyway. Then, something suddenly occurred to him, and he raised an eyebrow.

“Oh yeah… What happened to Lucia’s singing voice?”

Just as Louis was about to hear the answer, the oddball had interrupted them, and now his curiosity was washed away by sleepiness.

Zzzz.

Louis joined the twins, and soon their soft breathing echoed throughout the room.

The next day…

“Let’s go!”

“Yes…”

After getting plenty of rest, Louis was bursting with energy as he confidently declared their departure from the inn. Pablo, who would serve as both luggage carrier and guide, accompanied him. The twins were left under the care of the innkeeper sisters while Louis and Pablo set out to replenish their dwindling supply of elixirs.

“Come on, let’s hurry!”

“…We’re already going, sir.”

Louis and Pablo enthusiastically began shopping for elixirs but soon encountered obstacles.

“You don’t have it?”

Pablo frowned at the apothecary merchant, who looked genuinely distressed.

“But how could such a large shop not carry it?!”

“Oh dear, sir…such a rare item wouldn’t be found here.”

“What? Seriously… I see.” Pablo and Louis turned to leave the shop with a sigh.

“How many places have we tried now?”

“A-about eight or so…”

“Where’s that loudmouth who insisted we’d find it easily here in Luft Hagenn?”

“Ahem…” Embarrassed by Louis’s scolding, Pablo cleared his throat and avoided eye contact.

Luft Hagenn was known for having goods from all over the Winter Continent, but despite their expectations, they couldn’t even locate the elixir they sought. With ample funds at their disposal yet unable to procure what they needed, Louis felt increasingly anxious.

If I can’t find it even in this big city…we’re doomed.

Since Louis and his twin had consumed quite a lot of elixirs already, he needed to replenish their stock somehow. Otherwise, they might go down in history as the first hatchlings to die from malnutrition.

“Oh boy… Let’s keep looking for now.”

“Yes, sir.”

Reinvigorated, Louis and Pablo scoured Luft Hagenn once more, but every store they visited replied with the same answer: They didn’t carry such an item.

As the sun began its slow descent, exhausted Louis and Pablo collapsed near a fountain.

This is really bad…

Louis looked worriedly at Pablo.

Pablo hesitantly offered another option. “Um…there is still one way.”

“…Can I trust you on this?” Louis looked at Pablo with weary eyes.

The Spaniard nodded fervently. “Y-Your chances of finding it will be much higher than traipsing around like this!”

“You should’ve mentioned this earlier! What’s your plan?”

“We can use the black market.”

“The black market?”

“Yes, sir. There must surely be elixirs not available elsewhere!”

“Is that so? How do we get there?”

“I’m not exactly sure—”

“What?!” As Louis glared daggers at him, Pablo hastily explained himself.

“I-I was here about ten years ago…”

“Rubbish!” Louis shot daggers at Pablo with his eyes when he heard someone shout from nearby.

“What? You’re that…that sneaky kid from yesterday, aren’t you?!”

“Huh?”

The voice came from close by, so Louis turned to see where it originated. There stood a sleazy-looking boy of fourteen leading a group of about ten burly men, all staring at him in surprise.

Wait a minute! Isn’t that—?!

As the sun set behind them, the gazes of a seven-year-old and a two-hundred-fifty-year-old met for the first time.

Krak!

Sparks flew between them. They say one meets their sworn enemy on a narrow bridge, but in this case, it happened near a fountain instead.

Carrie crossed her arms as she approached with her entourage. “What brings you here, squirt?”

Bam! A vein popped on Louis’s forehead at being called a squirt again.

Louis’s vein popped at being called a brat so openly. He maintained his cool demeanor as he retorted, “Then what brings you here, oh grown-up little boy?”

Vwoosh.

This time, Carrie’s forehead vein bulged. The corners of his mouth twitched as he forced a smile.

With unwavering confidence, he declared, “There is no place in Luft Hagenn that I, Carrie Bunt, cannot reach. This entire area is my domain!”

“It’s not your territory but your father’s, O Grown-Up Little Boy.”

“Well, yeah! Since I’m the heir destined to inherit everything from the Bunts someday!”

“Oh sure, keep dreaming,” Louis replied half-heartedly while cleaning his ear with a finger.

The sight irked Carrie even more, causing another crack on his façade. With his eyes narrowing aggressively, he attempted a comeback.

“Ha-ha, you wouldn’t understand since you’re still young…”

“I may be young, but I know very well how warm Lucia’s embrace was!”

“…” Louis smirked.

Finally, Carrie had reached her limit. “This flea-sized—”

“Flea…? Did you just call me a flea?”

The insult slipped out unintentionally. She couldn’t have known that she’d touched a sensitive nerve of dragons. It was unlikely she would ever realize it, even until her dying day.

“That’s right. What are you going to do about it?” Carrie squared her shoulders defiantly, challenging him with a childish bravado implying he could never harm her.

Louis smiled and asked, “Let me ask you something.”

“…?”

“Do you prefer being stretched horizontally or vertically?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, never mind the answer. I’ll just do both.”

”…?”

At first glance or even upon closer inspection, it seemed like a typical argument between children, something straight out of a coming-of-age drama.

However, Louis’s next words shifted the genre from a teenage drama to a brutal thriller.

“Heh heh. I’ll slice you once horizontally and once vertically, neatly dividing you into four pieces.”

It felt like a scene right before the victim meets their demise.

“Don’t worry. It won’t hurt much. It’ll be over quickly.”

”…”

“How does that sound?” As Louis confidently uttered these murder threats, he flashed a grin.