~Chapter 37~
The fact that her mom and dad weren’t there made Sertien feel unbearably sad.
At the same time, a fear crept in—what if her mom and dad had left him forever?
Just like how her mom had left him for a while before.
What if they had really left because they didn’t love him anymore?
He wanted to believe that wasn’t true, but at that moment, Sertien suddenly remembered what he had said to Litya and Latryne.
“Mom… don’t go…”
Remembering those words made it feel like his mom and dad had truly disappeared.
‘Mom… Sertien was wrong. Please don’t go…’
His fever was so high that Sertien couldn’t even tell what was in front of him.
But even in that state, the first thought that came to his was that he had to find his mom and dad before they left him.
Mumbling to himself, Sertien got up.
“H-hngh… Mom, I’m sorry… Dad, I’m sorry…”
Staggering on weak legs, Sertien began desperately looking for Litya and Latryne.
Meanwhile, Count Cloud, who had stepped out briefly to get some water, only then realized that Sertien was gone.
Just a moment ago, Sertien had definitely been lying there—but now, there was nothing.
His face went pale as he began searching for Sertien.
But he was nowhere to be found in the palace.
Just how far could those little legs have taken him?
Worried and frantic, Count Cloud decided to go find Litya and Latryne and rushed out of the room.
By then, Sertien had already left the palace.
He kept walking and walking, but he couldn’t see Litya or Latryne anywhere.
Was he never going to see his mom and dad again?
He had no more strength left and collapsed right where he stood.
He couldn’t walk any farther.
In fact, even getting this far was nearly impossible.
Out of energy, Sertien lay there, breathing hard and staring blankly at the ground, when suddenly, a man’s feet—someone he’d never seen before—appeared in front of him.
Sertien wanted to know who the man was, but he was too weak to even lift his head.
The man clearly thought it was strange.
After all, a small child had collapsed all alone in a place like this.
“Why is a kid out here alone? Where are your parents?”
“Mom… Dad…”
“Hey, are you sick?”
Sniffle, sniffle…
Sertien was in so much pain that he couldn’t say anything and just kept crying.
The man looked troubled, but in the end, as if he had no other choice, he gently picked Sertien up.
“There, there. Don’t cry.”
His voice felt kind.
After thinking for a moment about what to do, the man seemed to make up his mind and began walking somewhere without hesitation.
When we got to Ered, the inn was brightly lit even though it was late at night.
It made sense—most people staying at the inn were like Ered and didn’t go to sleep until late.
I was surprised a place like this existed, and curiously looked around the inn while standing beside Latryne.
We went to the room Ered was staying in, but it seemed like he wasn’t there at the moment.
So Latryne and I had no choice but to go down to the dining hall.
The dining hall was full of people drinking and passing the time.
It felt certain that Ered was here somewhere.
After searching for a while, I finally spotted Ered drinking at the table in the farthest corner.
“Ered!”
Worried, I rushed over, calling out his name.
Ered, who had been enjoying a quiet moment alone, quickly noticed us.
Looking at us as we came closer, he spoke with a teasing smile.
“Oh, look who it is… I told you to come find me if there was a problem, and it looks like one really happened? And faster than I thought, too.”
“I’m sorry, but this isn’t the time for jokes. Seri is sick.”
I spoke like that because I was more desperate than anyone else at that moment.
After hearing my words, Ered finally looked a bit more serious.
“Sertien?”
“The doctor said it’s a contagious disease going around right now. But there’s no medicine for it, so they can’t treat him.”
“That’s why we’ve been trying to find a merchant who might have the medicine, but we haven’t been able to find anyone. We came here hoping, even just a little, that you might be able to help,”
Latryne added those last words.
Ered listened to us, then looked thoughtful before finally speaking.
“So that’s why you came to me… Huh. Good thinking. Maybe I really can help.”
That was the best thing I’d heard all day.
I gave a faint smile, and Latryne’s face lit up with hope.
It finally felt like we had a chance to save Sertien.
But Ered followed up with a troubled look.
“Though… I’m not sure if I can really get the medicine.”
“Why not?”
“Well, the person I came to this country to meet—he’s a friend of mine. He owns a really large merchant group, and he has things no one else can get.”
“Then he might have the medicine too.”
“Exactly. But that’s just a guess. And if it’s a medicine that is rare, there’s a chance even he might not have it. And even if he does, it could be so valuable that he won’t just hand it over.”
“We’re willing to pay whatever it costs.”
“Hmm… it’s not really about the money. The medicine might be reserved for the royal palace, which could make things complicated…”
If that was the case, I was determined to convince him no matter what.
Ered hesitated, looking unsure, then glanced at me and shrugged.
“Oh, but for you two, maybe it won’t be a problem. He might give it to you without much fuss.”
“Huh…?”
I didn’t understand what he meant at first and looked confused, but then a thought popped into my head.
“Wait… is your friend, by any chance…?”
“He was actually staying here with me, but he went out to do a bit of shopping. I think it’ll take a while before he’s back. Let’s just sit and wait for now.”
But there was no way we could sit and wait calmly.
Latryne and I were sitting nervously, waiting for this merchant lord, when we saw someone hurrying toward us from a distance.
Wondering if it was the merchant, I paid close attention—he looked familiar.
“Count Cloud, what brings you all the way here?”
Recognizing him right away, Latryne stood up and asked.
Count Cloud’s face was completely pale.
And what he said next made both Latryne and me go pale as well.
“Sertien… he’s gone!”
“What?!”
“He disappeared when I looked away for just a moment!”
Count Cloud was so shocked that all his usual childish behavior was gone. He spoke in a serious and frantic tone.
Ered, who had been listening with his arms crossed, chimed in.
“Anyway, how did you even find this place? How did you know these two came to see me? Did they tell you in advance?”
“No, but I had a feeling they would come here.”
“You’re more sharp than you look, huh.”
Count Cloud did have surprisingly good instincts, but this wasn’t the time for chit-chat.
I stood up right away and said,
“I’ll go look for Him.”
“Alone? We already know he’s not in the palace, so how would you know where to find him? It’s better to send out a search party…”
But since I usually led knights and knew how the system worked, I also knew how long that could take.
“That would actually take even more time. Besides, Seri is sick right now. He’s just a little child—he couldn’t have gone far. I’ll go look myself.”
Latryne added,
“I’m sorry for repeating myself, but I can’t let Litya go alone. I’m going with you.”
We were getting ready to leave immediately to search for Sertien, when suddenly, a voice spoke up nearby.
Because whoever it was had approached so quietly, I hadn’t even realized they were there.
“I’ve been listening… and it sounds like you’re looking for a child? By any chance… is the child about this tall, with black hair, and looks kind of like that gentleman over there?”
Just hearing that, I felt relief—it had to be Sertien.
But for some reason, the man’s voice sounded familiar.
Like I’d heard it many times before…
Ered looked behind us and greeted the man cheerfully.
“Hey, you said you’d be back soon. What took you so long? People might think you went off to start a new life or something.”
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Something came up on the way.”
I turned around—and nearly fell over from shock.
I had a feeling from what Ered said earlier, but I still couldn’t believe it.
The man Ered called his friend was someone I knew very well.
There was no way I wouldn’t recognize him.
With his ocean-blue eyes and brown hair, he stood there smiling at me.
“Big brother…?”
“Litya, it’s been a while.”
It was my second older brother, Kiark Alpress.
The very person surrounded by so many rumors, and the owner of that huge merchant group—Kiark Alpress.
At our sudden exchange, Latryne and Count Cloud, who had been listening with tense faces, turned to look at my brother.
Their faces clearly said, “So this is the Kiark Alpress?”
Even in this strange situation, I was both surprised and happy to see my brother again.
