Chapter 39

Demian, who belatedly realized his mistake, tightly closed his eyes and lightly tapped his mouth with his fist to avoid hurting himself.  

‘This mouth of mine is trouble!’ 

He cursed inwardly.  

Eric, who had been stomping his feet in frustration as though he were terribly upset, abruptly stormed out of the dressing room.  

Demian, squinting his eyes, watched Eric’s retreating figure disappear and let out a sigh of relief.  

He was grateful that the trouble hadn’t spilled over to him. However, another question quietly settled in Demian’s mind.  

‘Since when did our Duke become so… expressive with his emotions?’  

The old butler tilted his head in confusion and stared down the empty hallway where Eric had vanished for quite some time.

***

Eric, upon leaving the Duke’s estate, strode confidently toward the bustling city.  

Since he needed to pass through the commercial district on his way to the slums located at the outskirts of the capital, he wasn’t wasting much time.  

The commercial district, being the empire’s largest hub of commerce, was teeming with a variety of people, creating a chaotic scene.  

For a brief moment, Eric pondered how he might locate Euphrasia amidst the commotion.  

Suddenly—  

Thud thud thud!  

The sound of hurried footsteps reached his ears, and soon shadows appeared in front of him.  

Eric narrowed his eyes and examined the individuals standing before him.  

They were unmistakably familiar—soldiers from the Herrington Duke’s private forces.  

“Duke?”  

One of them, standing in the middle, gave a short salute and spoke. He was the most experienced soldier among them.  

While escorting the Madam from afar, the soldiers had been startled to see a squirrel-like child snatch Madam’s coin pouch and run off.  

Caught off guard, they had pursued the pickpocket, only for the thief to vanish among the crowded streets.  

Unfamiliar with the complex layout of the bustling district, their failure was inevitable.  

Despite having searched nearly everywhere, there was no sign of the pickpocket, and their growing urgency quickened their steps.  

Even amidst the chaos, Eric’s dignified presence naturally drew their attention.  

Recognizing their master at a glance, the soldiers’ faces turned pale.  

Tsk. 

‘So much for disguising myself. I should have listened to Demian’s advice.’  

Eric clicked his tongue softly and addressed the soldiers in a chilling voice.  

“Where are you all headed? Has something happened to Euphrasia? No—where is she now? Aren’t you supposed to be escorting her? Why are you wandering around on your own?”  

The soldier, stiffened by discipline, responded.  

“Well, Madam is currently with Prince Leopold in the slums.”  

“The slums?”  

The soldier recalled the scene he had witnessed earlier.  

Their Madam, who had been left stunned after losing her coin pouch, had suggested to the Prince:  

“Well, there’s no other choice. We’ll have to search for the coin pouch ourselves. You said the thief was a child from the slums? Lead the way. Let’s go to the slums together.”  

Her attitude had been brazenly confident. The Prince had clicked his tongue lightly and, shaking his head, had taken Madam’s hand to lead her.  

“I’m not entirely sure, but… I heard they were heading toward the outskirts of the capital…”  

The soldier, struggling to recall, stammered through his report. Eric’s expression twisted further.  

“You must all be mad. You didn’t stop them and just let them go?”  

“There was no way to stop them! We were secretly escorting Madam without her knowledge, but she made the decision so abruptly…”  

The soldier’s voice trailed off, shrinking under Eric’s piercing gaze.  

Although failing to properly protect the Madam was undeniably their fault, there were certain circumstances that made their position somewhat understandable.  

In the blink of an eye, the Madam and Prince Leopold had vanished from sight while they stood idly by.  

“Still, we’ve sent half of the escort team to the slums.”  

“…Why didn’t you all go together? Surely you’re aware of how dangerous that place is.”  

“We were chasing the pickpocket!”  

“The pickpocket?”  

“Madam’s… coin pouch was stolen.”  

The soldier, finishing his explanation as though making excuses, pressed his lips together tightly, bracing for rebuke.  

Eric didn’t reprimand the soldiers. He simply resumed his steps, which had momentarily halted.  

“Let’s head to the slums.”  

Eric revised his plan to quietly investigate the slums alone.  

Although the slums were filthy and dangerous, he didn’t truly believe Euphrasia would find herself in peril there. He trusted the skills of the Duke’s private soldiers.  

Besides, he had been feeling slightly overwhelmed about where to start looking for her.  

Tracking down the soldiers already following her would be far easier.  

Eric positioned himself at the center of the soldiers and led them.  

Upon entering the slums, he immediately encountered the group of soldiers who had been following Euphrasia.  

“I heard you were escorting the Madam?”  

However, Euphrasia wasn’t present. For the first time, a flicker of unease appeared in Eric’s gaze.  

He had relied on these soldiers. So where was Euphrasia now, and what was she doing?  

The soldiers, huddled together and whispering nervously, turned pale upon noticing Eric and bowed deeply.  

“We-we definitely saw her heading this way, but when we followed her, she disappeared at some point.”  

“What?”  

“Truly, Your Grace! Even we can’t believe it… We’re sorry!”  

Their report aligned somewhat with what the soldiers Eric had met earlier had said.  

Despite paying close attention, Euphrasia had vanished in the blink of an eye.  

It couldn’t have been her ability. If so—  

‘Could the audacious Prince of Kettlin have hidden some secret trick?’  

Did the Prince possess an ability that allowed him to move like the wind? 

Perhaps it was an ancient technique passed down exclusively within the royal family, or an artifact created using the power of spirits.  

If that were the case, it would be understandable.  

Instead of reprimanding the soldiers, Eric spread them out across the slums.  

The outskirts of the capital were vast, but the areas where slums were formed were relatively small.  

Deploying this many soldiers to search every corner was no trouble at all.  

Before long, one of the soldiers returned with meaningful results—not Euphrasia’s whereabouts, but news of her lost coin pouch.  

Since there was little to gain by staying put, Eric willingly moved.  

As a result—  

A small, insignificant child lay trembling on the ground before him.  

But despite the child’s pitiful appearance, Eric was furious at the audacity of stealing Euphrasia’s property.  

No matter how young the perpetrator was, they had to face consequences for their actions.  

By principle, Eric could hand the child over to the capital’s security bureau or exercise his noble authority to immediately punish them by cutting off their hand—a standard punishment for stealing from a noble.  

“What should I do? Should I cut off that vile hand?”  

Of course, he had no intention of actually doing so.  

However, Eric’s cold and indifferent tone made the child’s face turn pale, and their entire body trembled.  

“I-I’m sorry…”  

The child’s voice quivered as tears welled up, choking their words.  

Creaaak.  

At that moment, the door of the ramshackle hut behind the child opened with a grating sound.  

The unpleasant noise of the ungreased door was followed by someone staggering out of the hut.  

Eric, who had been silently observing the child, turned his gaze toward the source of the sound.  

Only then did Eric properly take in his surroundings.  

What lay before him was a small, dilapidated hut made of rotting wood.  

He wasn’t even sure whether he should call it a house.  

The roof, patched together with mismatched planks, was full of gaping holes.  

If it rained heavily, the interior would surely flood. Could such a place even be called a home?  

Furthermore, the front door, riddled with black rot, looked ready to fall apart at any moment.  

“It’s my fault… I failed to properly teach my younger sibling… It’s my fault…”  

The person who emerged from the hut was a woman with a gaunt frame and a sickly complexion.  

Her frightened expression made her already pale face look even more ghostly.  

Upon seeing Eric and the soldiers surrounding her home, she shrank back and bowed deeply.  

“No, Sister! I told you not to come out!”  

The child, still lying on the ground, let out a despairing cry. However, the woman approached the child and held them tightly in her arms, as if determined to protect them.  

“My sister is very sick! That’s why I had no choice but to steal money for medicine! Please forgive me!”  

Eric detested such melodramatic pleas. He genuinely felt irritated.  

The child was the one who committed the crime, yet why did he feel like he was being cast as the villain?  

Sigh.

Eric let out a deep sigh and gestured to the soldier beside him.  

“Bring the culprit.”  

What had started as a simple matter had become unnecessarily complicated.  

Eric decided to resolve the situation straightforwardly. He would bring the child who stole the coin pouch before Euphrasia.  

The punishment for the crime committed against her should be decided by her.  

‘Though with her soft-hearted nature, I doubt she’ll administer proper punishment.’  

That wasn’t Eric’s concern.  

As soon as Eric gave his orders, several soldiers approached the child.  

And at that moment—  

The pale-faced woman stood up abruptly, her expression resolute, and opened her mouth to speak to Eric.