I Became The Villain’s Master - Chapter 3.6

“But instead of disappearing alone, couldn’t we run away together?”

“I plan to do that if possible. But there’s always the ‘what if’ situation. Remember, don’t tell anyone and meet me at the train station no matter what. Understood?”

I emphasized repeatedly and made her promise.

In reality, there were no spies, and it was Rory, not me, who was exposed to potential threats.

It was like insurance, preparing for the most unlikely scenario.

I was sticking close to him all day, and with Sir Peanut and other knights on standby, it should be fine…

If worst came to worst, I was planning to sneak away with Rory through the dog hole.

***

“That’s how it happened.”

I revealed everything about the pledge I wrote with the Count and what I had asked of Ann.

Ann was shocked at the word ‘run away’ and nearly fainted, while Rory nodded as if he finally understood.

“Young lady. Run away? No, we can’t. Let’s go back to the mansion now.”

To Ann, who was trying to persuade me, not knowing what to do, I told her about what happened at the Crumble house.

I explained how Count Hauser had sold Rory to the Crumble family, how we were imprisoned, and how we escaped through the underground waterway with the help of young Lady  Crumble.

Of course, I omitted any mention of the Marchioness and the human experiments.

“Father broke the pledge. He sold Rory to the Marquis’s family. I will never go back.”

If we go back now, Rory might really die this time.

I whispered this so Rory couldn’t hear, and Ann pressed her lips tightly.

As a normal-thinking adult, she couldn’t put Rory in danger again.

But she also couldn’t leave a child who had lost his memories just anywhere.

She couldn’t say to his face that she would send him to an orphanage.

Looking at those pure and clear light pink eyes, even the fleeting thought of it made her conscience prick.

“I’ll go downstairs to put away the dishes.”

Ann went downstairs with the empty dishes after breakfast.

But somehow, downstairs was bustling with noise.

“I’m telling you, the Desert Treasure has gone missing!”

“Desert Treasure? What treasure are you talking about?”

“Come on, man. Don’t you know? Since Count Hauser is the master of the desert, the Desert Treasure obviously refers to his precious youngest daughter!”

“That young lady is still very young, isn’t she? Surely she hasn’t been kidnapped?”

“It seems that might be the case. I heard the Hauser family is offering a huge reward. They say they’ll give 10 million gold coins to whoever finds and brings back the young lady.”

“What? Did you just say 10 million?”

The mercenaries who were eating jumped up, saying they would go look for her right away.

But the man who talked about the reward wasn’t finished.

“Moreover, they’ve sent out all their private soldiers to search for the young lady. This news was also spread by a knight from the Hauser family who asked to spread the word widely.”

Ann put down the dishes and rushed back to the room.

“Young lady! We’re in trouble! They say the knights have already come this far. And with a reward of 10 million gold coins, everyone’s in an uproar trying to find you!”

Hmm, faster than I expected.

“There’s nothing to be surprised about, Ann. Take a deep breath and calm down. This was all within expectations.”

I waited for the terrified Ann to calm down before giving her orders.

Tell her to give money to the girl working part-time at the inn and ask her to buy black hair dye, makeup, and clothes.

***

“Rory. How do I look?”

I shook my head, making the black hair rippling on my shoulders sway.

Looking in the mirror, I saw that my blackened eyebrows and hair matched well with my dark eyes.

“You’re pretty.”

I couldn’t help but smile at his honest response, as if stating an objective fact rather than a flattering comment.

“I shouldn’t be pretty though.”

Well, it’s not like I can change my face.

Feeling a bit smug, I turned around to see a young boy with jet-black hair instead of his bright silver hair.

Hmm.

His eyes stand out too much.

I gently pulled his bangs to cover his eyes.

However, his recently trimmed bangs couldn’t cover his eyes completely.

“We need to get some glasses.”

Ann, who had dyed Rory’s and my hair and eyebrows and even drew faint freckles, cut her waist-length hair into a bob.

She also dyed her hair black.

With light makeup on her face, which had never worn any due to her job as a nanny, she looked unrecognizable unless you looked closely.

Changing from the white, thin clothes often worn in the desert to an ordinary navy dress, it was a perfect disguise.

“Where do we go now? We don’t have any connections in other places…”

I answered with a relaxed smile to Ann, who was worriedly packing our things.

“The Imperial Capital. We’re going to the Imperial Capital.”

***

Feeling it would be impossible to take the train, we rented a carriage.

There were frequent checkpoints when crossing from one village to another, and unless the knights had face blindness, I thought they might recognize me, so I hid under the seat each time.

Fortunately, we passed through all of them without even a hint of suspicion.

“But why are we going to the Imperial Capital?”

Rory asked.

“To create confusion. The Imperial Capital isn’t our final destination.”

“What’s confusion?”

“It means to make things puzzling.”

“Then what’s the final destination?”

“The place where we arrive.”

I calmly answered the curious Rory while sweating profusely from the gaze I felt from the front.

Ann was staring at me with a surprised expression.

Ann usually looked surprised nine out of ten times when she looked at me, but this time, her surprise and doubt seemed to have reached its peak.

A three-year-old naturally uses vocabulary that even five-year-old Rory didn’t know.

Calmly executing a runaway plan despite never having been outside the mansion.

I had long since given up on any effort to act like Merchen, as I was in a hurry to leave with Rory.

Moreover, I had been looking at Rory with a fond expression, as he chattered away wearing round glasses without lenses, his chubby cheeks looking adorably like a hamster’s.

Realizing I should at least attempt to act like a baby, I began to fidget with my perfectly healthy hand in an exaggerated manner. Then, without warning, I thrust it towards Ann.

 “Ann! Owie!”

 “What? What’s wrong?”

 “Here owie! Hand!”

As I pouted and whined, Ann checked my small, chubby hand.

“There’s no wound. Did you scratch it somewhere?”

“It stings here! Blow on it.”

When Ann gently blew on it, I smiled satisfactorily and then held out my hand to Rory.

“Rory, look too! Here!”

“Where?”

“Right here.”

Only after Rory blew on it too did I laugh, saying, “It doesn’t hurt anymore!”

Then, blinking my eyes innocently as if I knew nothing, I asked:

“Ann, have you been to the Imperial Capital? A maid said there’s a big castle there. Where a handsome prince lives!”

“You mean the Imperial Palace?”

“Is that the Imperial Palace? Is there a real prince there?”

Ann had set aside her suspicions that had risen like cumulus clouds and was now smiling as if I was cute.

I could almost hear her muttering to herself, ‘Of course. Our young lady is just a bit more extraordinary than other children. At times like this, she looks exactly her age.’

“Yes. His Highness the Crown Prince is there. He’s five years old, just like Rory.”

“Wow! He’s Rory’s friend!”

The southernmost city of the Imperial Capital.

Upon arriving in Rosemary, I sent short letters to both the Crumble young lady and Count Hauser.

It was slow mail that would arrive in 5 days.

Afterwards, we sent the carriage we had been riding to the Imperial Palace and changed to a new one to leave the Imperial Capital.